Month: December 2019

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) – Yuri Luzhkov, who as Moscow mayor transformed the drab former capital of the Soviet Union into a glitzy playground for Russia’s super-rich with help from his construction magnate wife, has died aged 83. President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Luzhkov’s family in a telegram, calling him an outsized…

(Bloomberg) — Yury Luzhkov, who served as Moscow’s mayor for 18 years, presiding over the rapid transformation of the Russian capital after the Soviet Union’s collapse, has died at 83, City Hall said. Luzhkov, whose billionaire wife Elena Baturina grew wealthy from construction contracts in Moscow, drawing accusations of cronyism, was removed from his post…

MOSCOW (AP) — The former mayor of Moscow and one of the founders of Russia’s ruling United Russia party, Yuri Luzhkov, has died at the age of 83. Russia’s Ren TV channel reported Tuesday that Luzhkov died in Munich, Germany, where he was undergoing heart surgery. Luzhkov, a political heavyweight of the Boris Yeltsin era,…

A 75ft wave was recorded off the Californian coast after a ‘bomb cyclone’ pounded the West Coast during Thanksgiving week. Scientists from the University of California said it was the tallest wave they had documented in the last 15 years. The Coastal Data Information programme noted the storm generated some of the largest waves ever…

BEIJING (AP) — China is hinting at upcoming trials for two Canadian citizens held for a year on vague national security charges in what is widely believed to be an attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Tuesday…

China defended on Tuesday its year-long detention of two Canadians after Ottawa accused Beijing of “arbitrarily” arresting the men in what was widely seen as retaliation for the arrest of a Huawei executive. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor have been languishing in China’s opaque legal system since they were apprehended on December…

By Nate Raymond WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a novel case by Arizona seeking to recover billions of dollars that the state has said that members of the Sackler family – owners of Purdue Pharma LP – funneled out of the OxyContin maker before the company filed for bankruptcy…

A Baltimore County cop has been charged with sexually assaulting at least three women, including one he allegedly tricked into going to his house after claiming he was ordering her a car to her friend’s home, court documents state.  Baltimore County Police Officer Michael Westerman, 25, was charged Sunday with two counts of second-degree rape…

Key Point: We’ll probably never know what happened. Russian diesel subs chased a British nuclear sub off the Syrian coast, according to British media. The incident reportedly involved one or two Russian Kilo-class diesel-powered submarines, which have been dubbed the “Black Hole” by Western navies because they are remarkably quiet. Their prey was a British Astute-class…

(Bloomberg) — House Democrats leading the panels running the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump announced their next steps during a news conference Tuesday in Washington. Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal and Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney…