WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – At Lautoka harbor in the heart of Fiji’s sugar cane region, five US federal agents boarded the Russian-owned Amadea, a luxurious superyacht the length of a football field. “They want to take 20 crew and sail east!” the ship’s captain wrote in a frantic May 5 WhatsApp message to lawyer Feizal … Read more
The sign displays gas prices at a gas station on May 10, 2022 in San Mateo County, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty Images The surge in gasoline prices is impossible to miss and at the top of consumers’ minds as large billboards announce that gas now costs $ 4, or $ … Read more
KHARKIV, UKRAINE – A celebrated Ukrainian medic recorded her time in Mariupol on a data card no bigger than a thumbnail, smuggled out to the world in a tampon. Now, she is in Russian hands, and Mariupol itself is on the verge of falling. Yuliia Paievska, who as a medic went by Taira, used a … Read more
Ukrainian Cpl. Andrii Shadrin’s unit sets off daily from its makeshift base to points along the front lines in Luhansk Oblast in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where the war with Russia rages on. “Some of the regions we have to reach, the only road available is under absolute fire control of the enemy,” … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during a NATO summit in Brussels, June 14, 2021. Photo: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS Every member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has enthusiastically welcomed Finland and Sweden except one: Turkey, which on Wednesday blocked an early vote to begin accession talks. For reasons that are … Read more
As Finland and Sweden’s political leadership posture to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) —Russian President Vladimir Putin’s worst nightmare — Putin is suddenly projecting calm, stating just this week that he has “no problems” with Finland and Sweden joining the collective defense organization. “As for the expansion, including the accession of two prospective … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pool Reuters Russia believes it has swerved a financial crisis as its currency rallies and economic data improves, but strategists say the numbers mask some ugly truths for Moscow. Although inflation in the country is running hot, there are signs that price rises are slowing and will continue to do so, … Read more
President Biden welcomes leaders of several Asean member states to the White House, May 12. Photo: Adam Schultz / White House / Zuma Press The Biden administration rolled out the red carpet last week for leaders of eight of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Hosting what the White House described … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks ahead of the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkiye on March 29, 2022. Arda Kucukkaya | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has doubled down on his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the NATO alliance, … Read more
Efforts were underway Tuesday to rescue the last of the defenders inside the Azovstal steel plant in the ruined port city of Mariupol after Ukrainian officials said the fighters had “completed their mission” and there was no way to free the plant by military means. The Ukrainian military avoided using the term “surrender” to describe … Read more
