Latest news with #AlexanderKazakov
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Belarus qualifying for European soccer event forces UEFA to find third co-host nation
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, June 27, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA changed the hosting plan for its 2026 European Championship for indoor soccer on Friday because Russia's military ally Belarus has qualified for the finals tournament. Co-hosts Latvia and Lithuania 'prohibit the organization of matches involving Belarusian teams on their domestic territories,' said UEFA, which added Slovenia as a third host for the 16-team futsal event. Advertisement Slovenia, the home nation of UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, will now organize more than half of the four-yearly tournament that opens on Jan. 20 and includes Ukraine. UEFA said Belarus will be drawn to play in one of the two groups moved to Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, which also will stage two quarterfinals, both semifinals and the final. One group will be played in each of Riga, Latvia's capital, and Kaunas in Lithuania. 'Each city will also host one quarterfinal, reaffirming their central roles in the tournament,' UEFA said, giving no details of how Ukraine will be separated from Belarus in the draw. Advertisement Russian teams have been banned from international competitions by UEFA and FIFA since the full military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. UEFA's move in 2023 to reintegrate Russian under-17s teams was stopped by a backlash from Ukraine and other member federations. National and club teams from Belarus have continued to play, though must host 'home' games in neutral countries with no fans in the stadium. Belarus will start qualifying for the men's 2026 World Cup in September in a group with Denmark, Scotland and Greece. Belarus is playing home games in Hungary. The previous futsal Euros played in the Netherlands saw one of the last soccer matches between teams from Russia and Ukraine, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 4, 2022. Russia won 3-2. ___ AP soccer:
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Putin authorises creation of state messaging app to combat WhatsApp and Telegram
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting at the Kremlin's St. George Hall in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a law authorising the development of a state-backed messaging app integrated with government services, as Moscow strives to reduce its dependence on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. Russia has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services. Its push to replace foreign tech platforms became more urgent as some Western companies pulled out of the Russian market following Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian lawmakers say the state app will have functionality that the likes of Telegram and Meta Platforms' WhatsApp do not. Critics say the fact that Russia will exercise state control over it poses risks to privacy and personal freedoms. Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Protection Society, a Russian digital rights group, said earlier this month he expected Russia to slow the speeds of WhatsApp and Telegram to encourage people to switch over to the new app. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Glasgow Times
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
US and allies accuse North Korea and Russia of violating UN sanctions
They made the accusations in their first report since joining forces to monitor sanctions against North Korea after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 to continue the monitoring by a UN Security Council panel of experts. It had been issuing reports of Pyongyang's sanctions violations since 2010. The 29-page report produced by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team — comprised of the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom — said the evidence it gathered demonstrates that North Korea and Russia have engaged in 'myriad unlawful activities' explicitly prohibited by UN sanctions resolutions. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin via AP) It said North Korea has transferred arms and related materiel by sea, air and rail, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, for Russia's use in the war in Ukraine. Russia has transferred air defence systems to North Korea, and its forces trained the North's troops deployed to support Russia's war, the team said. And Moscow also has supplied refined petroleum products to Pyongyang in far excess of the yearly cap under UN sanctions, and has maintained corresponding banking relations with the North in violation of sanctions. The 11 countries said this unlawful cooperation has 'contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.' The cooperation has also provided resources for North Korea to fund its military and banned ballistic missile programmes, and it has allowed the more than 11,000 troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia since October 2024 to gain first-hand military experience, the team said. There was no immediate response from the Russian Mission to the United Nations to a request for comment on the report. The report covers the period between January 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, and points to evidence that Russia and North Korea intend to further deepen their military cooperation for at least the foreseeable future. It cites an unnamed country in the team reporting that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as 9 million rounds of ammunition for artillery and multiple rocket launchers from North Korea to Russia in 2024. The report includes images of containers, which the team says were from North Korean and Russian ports and an ammunition dump in Russia. Citing an unnamed team member, the report says North Korea last year transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, which were launched into Ukraine 'to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorise populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.' North Korean Public Security Minister Pang Tu Sop, right, meets with Russian Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang (AP/Jon Chol Jin) It also transferred 'elements of three brigade sets of heavy artillery,' the report said. It includes images of a North Korean 170mm self-propelled gun that it said was being transported through Russia, and North Korean multiple rocket launcher ammunition and an anti-tank missile, which it said were found in Ukraine. The team said in a joint statement that it will continue to monitor implementation of UN resolutions 'and raise awareness of ongoing attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions'. It urged North Korea 'to engage in meaningful diplomacy'. The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking, so far unsuccessfully, to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and have blocked all other UN action against North Korea.
Western Telegraph
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
US and allies accuse North Korea and Russia of violating UN sanctions
They made the accusations in their first report since joining forces to monitor sanctions against North Korea after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 to continue the monitoring by a UN Security Council panel of experts. It had been issuing reports of Pyongyang's sanctions violations since 2010. The 29-page report produced by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team — comprised of the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom — said the evidence it gathered demonstrates that North Korea and Russia have engaged in 'myriad unlawful activities' explicitly prohibited by UN sanctions resolutions. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin via AP) It said North Korea has transferred arms and related materiel by sea, air and rail, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, for Russia's use in the war in Ukraine. Russia has transferred air defence systems to North Korea, and its forces trained the North's troops deployed to support Russia's war, the team said. And Moscow also has supplied refined petroleum products to Pyongyang in far excess of the yearly cap under UN sanctions, and has maintained corresponding banking relations with the North in violation of sanctions. The 11 countries said this unlawful cooperation has 'contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.' The cooperation has also provided resources for North Korea to fund its military and banned ballistic missile programmes, and it has allowed the more than 11,000 troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia since October 2024 to gain first-hand military experience, the team said. There was no immediate response from the Russian Mission to the United Nations to a request for comment on the report. The report covers the period between January 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, and points to evidence that Russia and North Korea intend to further deepen their military cooperation for at least the foreseeable future. It cites an unnamed country in the team reporting that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as 9 million rounds of ammunition for artillery and multiple rocket launchers from North Korea to Russia in 2024. The report includes images of containers, which the team says were from North Korean and Russian ports and an ammunition dump in Russia. Citing an unnamed team member, the report says North Korea last year transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, which were launched into Ukraine 'to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorise populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.' North Korean Public Security Minister Pang Tu Sop, right, meets with Russian Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang (AP/Jon Chol Jin) It also transferred 'elements of three brigade sets of heavy artillery,' the report said. It includes images of a North Korean 170mm self-propelled gun that it said was being transported through Russia, and North Korean multiple rocket launcher ammunition and an anti-tank missile, which it said were found in Ukraine. The team said in a joint statement that it will continue to monitor implementation of UN resolutions 'and raise awareness of ongoing attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions'. It urged North Korea 'to engage in meaningful diplomacy'. The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking, so far unsuccessfully, to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and have blocked all other UN action against North Korea.
South Wales Argus
30-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
US and allies accuse North Korea and Russia of violating UN sanctions
They made the accusations in their first report since joining forces to monitor sanctions against North Korea after Russia vetoed a resolution in March 2024 to continue the monitoring by a UN Security Council panel of experts. It had been issuing reports of Pyongyang's sanctions violations since 2010. The 29-page report produced by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team — comprised of the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom — said the evidence it gathered demonstrates that North Korea and Russia have engaged in 'myriad unlawful activities' explicitly prohibited by UN sanctions resolutions. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin via AP) It said North Korea has transferred arms and related materiel by sea, air and rail, including artillery, ballistic missiles and combat vehicles, for Russia's use in the war in Ukraine. Russia has transferred air defence systems to North Korea, and its forces trained the North's troops deployed to support Russia's war, the team said. And Moscow also has supplied refined petroleum products to Pyongyang in far excess of the yearly cap under UN sanctions, and has maintained corresponding banking relations with the North in violation of sanctions. The 11 countries said this unlawful cooperation has 'contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure.' The cooperation has also provided resources for North Korea to fund its military and banned ballistic missile programmes, and it has allowed the more than 11,000 troops Pyongyang has deployed to Russia since October 2024 to gain first-hand military experience, the team said. There was no immediate response from the Russian Mission to the United Nations to a request for comment on the report. The report covers the period between January 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, and points to evidence that Russia and North Korea intend to further deepen their military cooperation for at least the foreseeable future. It cites an unnamed country in the team reporting that Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as 9 million rounds of ammunition for artillery and multiple rocket launchers from North Korea to Russia in 2024. The report includes images of containers, which the team says were from North Korean and Russian ports and an ammunition dump in Russia. Citing an unnamed team member, the report says North Korea last year transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles to Russia, which were launched into Ukraine 'to destroy civilian infrastructure and terrorise populated areas such as Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.' North Korean Public Security Minister Pang Tu Sop, right, meets with Russian Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang (AP/Jon Chol Jin) It also transferred 'elements of three brigade sets of heavy artillery,' the report said. It includes images of a North Korean 170mm self-propelled gun that it said was being transported through Russia, and North Korean multiple rocket launcher ammunition and an anti-tank missile, which it said were found in Ukraine. The team said in a joint statement that it will continue to monitor implementation of UN resolutions 'and raise awareness of ongoing attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions'. It urged North Korea 'to engage in meaningful diplomacy'. The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea's first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking, so far unsuccessfully, to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and have blocked all other UN action against North Korea.
