Fears were growing on Wednesday night that Moscow's refusal to extradite the man wanted in connection with the murder in London of Alexander Litvinenko would seriously fray diplomatic ties with Moscow and damage British businesses working in Russia.
Analysts said the standoff would accelerate the Kremlin's attempts to muscle in on a huge Siberian gas field run by a joint venture involving BP.
But Tony Blair's office in Downing Street said Russia would improve "confidence" in trade by fulfilling its international obligations to hand over former KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi to stand trial for murdering Mr Litvinenko, who died in London last year after apparently being poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210.
On Tuesday the director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, Sir Ken Macdonald, said there was enough evidence to charge Mr Lugovoi. Tony Blair and the British foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said they expected cooperation from the Kremlin. However, Moscow is citing its constitution, which rules out extradition of Russian citizens.
Britain was the biggest single foreign investor in Russia's economy last year, but Moscow's sentiments toward western companies are hardening in line with a downturn in relations with the EU and the US.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘BODIES EVERYWHERE’: The incident occurred at a Filipino festival celebrating an anti-colonial leader, with the driver described as a ‘lone suspect’ known to police Canadian police arrested a man on Saturday after a car plowed into a street party in the western Canadian city of Vancouver, killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election. A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police wrote on X. The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a new naval destroyer, claiming it as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, state media said yesterday. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim attended the launching ceremony for the 5,000-tonne warship on Friday at the western port of Nampo. Kim framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the US and its allies in Asia, who have been expanding joint military exercises amid rising tensions over the North’s nuclear program. He added that the acquisition
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