Browsing: Russia news

‘A cold cell for being a journalist’: Husband of US-Russian national Alsu Kurmasheva calls for her release EU

Alsu Kurmasheva is a dual US-Russian citizen and journalist who has been detained by Russia since October 18, charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent” despite having travelled to Russia for a family emergency. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted. Her husband has called for the State Department to designate her as “wrongfully detained”. “She is a US citizen and has the same rights as any US citizen,” he says.

The furore over the Israel-Hamas war has reached all the way to Birobidzhan in Russia’s Far East, the world’s only autonomous Jewish territory outside Israel, after a local newspaper published its support for the Palestinian cause. FRANCE 24 examines the history of this remote region – which in many ways is “Jewish” and “autonomous” in name only – and how it came to be.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will begin a four-day visit to Russia for security talks on Monday, his foreign ministry said, the latest in a series of high-level visits and phone calls between the two countries. Read our liveblog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

A new Iron Curtain? Finland bolsters border with neighbouring Russia EU

In this week’s Focus, we turn to the tense frontier between Russia and Finland. The rapport between these neighbouring nations has soured significantly in the wake of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Historically, their mutual border has been a theatre of confrontation and conflict. Currently, Finland is taking drastic measures by erecting a formidable barbed wire fence along this boundary. According to authorities in Helsinki, the intention behind this undertaking is twofold: ensuring the nation’s protection and enhancing scrutiny over entries from Russia.