#sanctions

#sanctions

Businessman who was penalised by the US Treasury now helps wealthy clients acquire 'rare assets' An Irishman in Dubai sanctioned by the US because of his business dealings with Russia has reinvented himself as a consultant helping the super-rich invest in "rare assets".

A top Russian military official has been taken to hospital after being shot in Moscow, state media reported. Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev was shot several times on the stairwell of his apartment on Friday by an unknown gunman in the north-west of the city and remains in critical condition, according to early reports. Alekseyev is a deputy director of Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, a unit in the defence ministry known for organising covert operations abroad, including assassinations, sabotage and espionage.

Asked by the Guardian in November in Tehran what cost benefit analysis could possibly conclude that the nuclear programme was a worthwhile project, the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, referred to Iran's sovereign right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the medical benefits, and the blood of past assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. He suggested a compromise whereby a consortium including possibly the US could enrich uranium in Iran, but insisted the principle that uranium would be enriched inside Iran remained sacrosanct.

Keir Starmer has taken a major step towards rapprochement with China, opening the door to a UK visit from Xi Jinping in a move that drew immediate anger from British critics of Beijing. During the first visit by a British prime minister to China in eight years a period which Starmer described as an ice age he said talks with the Chinese president had left the bilateral relationship in a stronger place.

Prost, whose name now shares the same list as some of the world's most dangerous people, from terrorists to North Korean hackers and Iranian spies, described the effect of sanctions on her life as "paralyzing" in an interview by The Irish Times. This high-profile case provides a glimpse into the disruption that being cut off from the U.S. can have on a person's everyday life; lawmakers and government leaders across Europe are growing more aware of the looming threat facing them at home, and their over-reliance on U.S. technology.

"agreement is a long-overdue step toward dismantling one of the Kremlin's most powerful economic weapons. Every cubic meter of Russian gas kept flowing into Europe has helped finance the missiles that strike Ukrainian cities. This Regulation, if implemented without loopholes, brings Europe closer to honouring its promise to end this deadly dependency."

Venezuela and the United States have taken first steps towards restoring diplomatic ties after a dramatic US military raid led to the capture and ouster of Venezuelan ex-President Nicolas Maduroand his wife Cilia Flores last week. Venezuela said on Friday that it had launched talks with the US on reestablishing relations as a team of US diplomats and a security detail visited the South American country.

US Southern Command said in a statement that Marines and sailors, working in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and captured the tanker, Olina, "without incident." It appears to be the first time that the US has directly acknowledged the Ford's involvement in the five boarding and seizure operations that began in early December. However, the government has indicated that the carrier was used for at least one of the other missions.

Graham's Sanctioning Russia Act, drafted with Democrat Richard Blumenthal, would give Trump the authority to impose a tariff of up to 500 percent on imports from countries doing business with Russia's energy sector. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin's war machine, Graham said in a statement, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The United States of America is a rogue nation, run by a violent criminal who operates outside the rule of law. The bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president, Nicolás Maduro, so that he can stand for a show trial in New York, is a flagrant violation of international law. It is proof positive that the United States, under Trump, is the biggest "bad guy" on the international stage and should be treated accordingly.