Eastern Europe / News
Lukashenko roasts his officials over soaring price of potatoes
Potato prices have jumped by 10% over just the past two months, and an irate Lukashenko expressed his frustration at the authorities’ inability to maintain stable prices for staple goods.
US Defence Secretary Hegseth downgrades Russian threat, focus exclusively on Taiwan in new foreign policy strategy
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has reoriented the US military to prioritise deterring China’s seizure of Taiwan and shoring up homeland defence, but has downgraded Russia to a second tier, along with several other potential enemies.
US postpones sanctions on Serbia's NIS for another 30 days
Negotiations have been ongoing between NIS representatives and US and Russian officials since the company was included in a broad package of US sanctions against Russia’s energy sector.
Russia close to withdrawing from the 30-day ceasefire deal – Peskov
Russia is close to withdrawing from the 30-day ceasefire deal struck last week, accusing Ukraine of breaking the agreement, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a radio interview with Ria Novosti on March 29.
Death toll in Myanmar earthquake could hit 10,000 claims US agency
The death toll from the March 28 M7.7 earthquake in Myanmar has reportedly moved past the 1000 mark. It is expected to climb further with some claims hinting at several thousand people still unaccounted for.
Panama revokes 128 ship registrations in crackdown on Russia and Iran’s shadow fleet
Panama has intensified its crackdown on sanctioned vessels by revoking the registration of 128 ships, a move primarily targeting the "shadow fleet" facilitating oil exports from Russia and Iran.
Belarus’ president gives citizenship to Iranians, Lebanese and Syrians in surprise move
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree accepting 311 for citizenship, including Iranians, Lebanese and Syrians among dozens of other nationaities.
Hungary opposes Ukraine's EU accession due to unclear borders, says cabinet chief
The head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office described the push for Ukraine's fast-track EU membership as "absurd," citing unresolved issues in agriculture, labour markets and cohesion, but also due to its unclear borders.
US sends Kyiv an even harsher fourth version of the mineral deal
A new draft of the proposed US-Ukraine minerals deal has drawn criticism in Kyiv as the new demands are even harsher than the previous three versions.
EU Paris summit breaks up with little achieved, highlighting Europe’s increasing irrelevance in Ukraine conflict
The latest EU emergency meeting in Paris broke up again with little decided, significant backtracking on earlier commitments to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine and Europe’s increasing irrelevance to Ukraine’s fate in its conflict with Russia.
Europe pulls back from peacekeeper plans as unworkable
European countries are struggling to establish a some sort of security framework for Ukraine to prevent a second invasion should a ceasefire be agreed.
Hungary to expand energy cooperation with Russia, foreign minister says in live stream from Red Square
Hungary views the operations of its oil company MOL in Russia as highly successful and expects further expansion, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said during his visit to Moscow.
Russian pranksters trick Kosovo PM Kurti in fake call
Kurti told prankster posing as Latvian president he was victim of hybrid war by Russia and said US special envoy Richard Grenell brought down his last government.
Indonesia joins BRICS' new development bank
Indonesia has formally decided to become a member of the BRICS-affiliated New Development Bank, just months after fully integrating into the China-led economic alliance
The Red Terror Returns: Quarter of Russians say they are willing to snitch on neighbours for criticising military
Nearly one in four Russian citizens would report a neighbour for criticising the country’s armed forces, according to a new survey conducted by the government-aligned Public Opinion Foundation.
Russia, US discussing restarting Nord Stream gas deliveries to Europe
Moscow and Washington are currently in talks on the possibility of restarting Nord Stream gas pipelines deliveries to Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Kremlin demands sanctions relief in temporary Ukraine conflict ceasefire deal
The White House said that both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to ensure safe shipping in the Black Sea and will “develop instruments” to ban strikes on energy assets in two separate statements after a second round of negotiations wound up.
No country has agreed to resettle Palestinians, says acting Israeli envoy to Russia
No country has yet agreed to accept Palestinians in their possible future resettlement from Gaza, Acting Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi has said.
Russian region bribes schoolgirls to get pregnant
Russia’s Oryol Region has introduced a new decree offering schoolgirls RUB100,000 ($1,200) if they officially register a pregnancy with the social services while studying full-time.
Nitty gritty horsetrading gets underway at second round of Ukraine talks in Riyadh
The horse-trading got underway in earnest at the second round of ceasefire talks in Riyadh on March 23. Two negotiating teams from Ukraine and Russia met separately with their US counterparts to start setting the conditions for an end of hostilities.