MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Thursday of trying to squeeze Russia out of European energy markets, saying the latest round of U.S. sanctions was designed to force Europe to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas instead. Speaking at a policy forum in southern Russia, Putin launched a withering critique of U.S. foreign…

NEWS DESK: Russian efforts to meddle in American politics did not end at Facebook and Twitter. A CNN investigation of a Russian-linked account shows its tentacles extended to YouTube, Tumblr and even Pokémon Go, reported CNN. One Russian-linked campaign posing as part of the Black Lives Matter movement used Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr and…

MOSCOW:  North Korea’s leadership has told Russian lawmakers that it possesses a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1864.11 miles) that will be able to reach U.S. territory after modernization, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday. Interfax cited Anton Morozov, a lawmaker and member of the lower house of parliament’s international affairs…

Russia on Monday threatened US media operating in the country with new legal restrictions after Kremlin-controlled broadcaster RT complained of persecution by Washington. The Russian justice ministry sent letters to “a number of US media operating in Russia” warning them of the “unacceptability of breaching Russian law,” its press service said in a statement quoted…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said recently that Pakistan was no longer dependent on the United States for military aid. In a recent interview with Arab News, the prime minister said that the world was recognising Pakistan’s efforts when it came to fighting the war on terror. “Any obstacle or ban on Pakistan would…

WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it has no intention of signing a nuclear weapons ban treaty backed by this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, while stressing its commitment to “creating the conditions for nuclear disarmament.” “Today’s announcement does not change the US position on the treaty: the United States does not support and will…

Saudi Arabia signed on Thursday preliminary agreements to buy S-400 air defence systems and receive “cutting edge technologies” from Russia during King Salman’s landmark visit to Moscow, the Saudi military industries firm said. The agreement was announced as King Salman, who is on the first official trip to Russia by a Saudi monarch, and Russian…

On a landmark visit to Russia, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and President Vladimir Putin were set on Thursday to clinch a host of multi-billion-dollar energy and defence deals despite discord over the Syrian war. The first official trip to Russia by a Saudi monarch will also see the leaders of the world’s largest energy exporters…

MOSCOW: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian state television footage showed, reported Reuters. The Rossiya-24 channel showed Salman’s plane arriving at Vnukovo airport outside the Russian capital. According to AFP, Saudi Arabia’s ministry of information called the visit by 81-year-old Salman “historic” as it would be the first official visit to…

Russi RIYADH: King Salman of Saudi Arabia will arrive in Russia this week to conduct the first official visit to the country by a Saudi king, a senior Kremlin aide said Monday. “We are awaiting the king’s visit on Thursday,” President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, was quoted by the state TASS news…

WASHINGTON D.C.: Donald Trump will travel to Asia next month for the first time since becoming president, stopping in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines on a trip expected to be dominated by the North Korea nuclear threat. Joined by his wife Melania, Trump will travel Nov. 3-14. His visit will include attending…

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel heads into a fourth term with no shortage of global challenges in her in-tray, as a world beset by crises increasingly looks to Europe’s most powerful woman to take centre stage. Here’s a look at some of the issues that promise to test Merkel’s diplomatic finesse: Europe: Steering the Franco-German motor…

RAWALPINDI: A two week long joint exercise DRUZBA 2017 between special forces of Pakistan and Russia Armies started in Minralney Vody, Russia, according to Pakistan Army’s public affairs department. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated in the press release that the opening ceremony was attended by senior military officials of special forces of both countries….

WASHINGTON: U.S. investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the 2016 election, CNN reported on Monday. The New York Times, citing two people close to the case, also reported that prosecutors told Manafort they planned to indict him. Federal agents had raided Manafort’s Virginia house in July….

BEIJING: China and Russia began naval drills near North Korea on Monday amid continuing tensions over the isolated state’s nuclear ambitions and ahead of a United Nations General Assembly meeting this week, where North Korea is likely to loom large, reported Reuters. North Korea launched a missile over Japan last Friday, its second in the…

Astana: Russia, Iran and Turkey on Friday agreed a deal to jointly police a fourth safe zone around Syria’s Idlib province as part of a Moscow-led plan to ease the six-year conflict. In a joint statement after two days of talks in Kazakhstan the three powers said they agreed “to allocate” their forces to patrol…

Russian police has claimed to have arrested alleged several teenage masterminds of the ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ which has incited several youngsters to commit suicide.

The US government has banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky Lab security software, a Russian company, over concerns it may be tied to state-sponsored espionage, reported The Independent. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke has issued a directive given at least six federal agencies a timeline to get rid of the software from government networks. The move comes amid…

BEIRUT/MOSCOW: The Lebanese Shi‘ite group Hezbollah has declared victory in the Syrian war while Russia said government forces had driven militants from much of the country where President Bashar al-Assad’s rule seemed in danger two years ago. The comments from two Syrian government allies mark the most confident assessments yet of Assad’s position in the…

XIAMEN, CHINA: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that any decision by the United States to supply defensive weapons to Ukraine would fuel the conflict in eastern Ukraine and possibly prompt pro-Russian separatists to expand their campaign there. On a visit to Kiev last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he was actively…

ISLAMABAD: A three-day conference of selected Pakistani envoys begun in Islamabad today (Tuesday) to discuss important foreign policy matters. The participants will discuss potential strength of the foreign policy and options available in view of the current geo-political and regional situation, official said. The meeting will also discuss progress in Pak-US relations in the light…