News in Brief
BERLIN (Reuters) -- German Europe Minister Michael Roth called for the European Union to adopt a united front against Russia with the aim of reducing tensions, warning that "anti-Russian reflexes" were as dangerous as naivete about Russia's "nationalist" course.
Roth's intervention, in an article for Die Welt newspaper, came amid signs that under conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel and Social Democrat (SPD) Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Germany's position towards Russia is hardening, especially since a poison attack in Britain, widely blamed on Russia.
Roth, in remarks that seemed designed to reflect the more pro-Russian views of the SPD's members, said Europe's sanctions against Russia should be maintained, but with the aim of bringing Russia to the negotiating table.
"Sanctions aren't a goal in themselves," he wrote. "They should encourage people back to the negotiating table to work on reasonable solutions ... Anti-Russian reflexes are just as dangerous as naively relativizing the nationalist-tinged policies of the Russian leadership."
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MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russia's state telecommunications regulator said on Monday it had begun blocking access to Telegram messenger after the company refused to comply with an order to give Russian state security access to its users' secret messages.
The watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement on its website that it had sent telecoms operators a notification about blocking access to Telegram inside Russia.
Roskomnadzor was implementing a decision handed down on Friday by a Russian court, which ruled that Telegram should be blocked because it was in violation of Russian regulations.
Telegram has repeatedly refused to comply with requests to give Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) access to its users' encrypted messages.
The FSB has said it needs such access to guard against security threats such as terrorist attacks. But Telegram said compliance would violate users' privacy.
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NISCOSIA (Dispatches) -- Greek Cypriot protesters gathered in front of the entrance gates of a British air base to denounce U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria.
Protest leader Akis Poullos told the Associated Press that demonstrators are demanding the closure of RAF Akrotiri, from where four British Tornado warplanes took off to take part in Friday night's missile strike.
Poullos said the demonstration also wanted to send the message to the Greek Cypriot administration not to lend any assistance to "imperialist attacks" on Syria and to demand an end to the war in the country.
Protesters used red paint to write "NATO killers go home" on a nearby wall outside the base's gate.
Former colonial overseer Britain retained RAF Akrotiri and another military base on Greek Cyprus after the east Mediterranean island gained independence in 1960.
The Greek Cypriot administration said that it wasn't given any forewarning about Saturday's airstrikes.
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WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Barely a week since accepting his new job, U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly-appointed National Security Adviser John Bolton, is considering far more changes to the national security team at the White House than he has already made.
Since taking office last Monday, Bolton has fired or forced to retire four senior aides on the National Security Council (NSC) and officials aware of the situation have revealed that more changes will come as soon as the veteran Republican forms his own team.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, current and former administration officials told the Hill that although Bolton had already made most of the big changes that he wanted, there were many mid-level aides who expected to get the axe from him.
This is the second major reshuffle of the NSC in the past 15 months, after Bolton’s predecessor, General H. R. McMaster, turned upside down the council’s lineup.
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TORONTO (The Canadian Press) --- Tens of thousands of people across southern and central Ontario remained without power Monday morning as the province's massive ice storm transitioned to drenching rain.
The mix of snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, rain and powerful winds that battered the region Saturday and Sunday made driving treacherous, with provincial police reporting more than 1,450 non-fatal crashes over the two days.
The poor conditions also prompted bus and school cancellations in parts of the province Monday.
The storm also played havoc with air traffic, with more than 600 flights cancelled at Toronto's Pearson International Airport and many others delayed -- often for hours. Toronto's downtown Billy Bishop airport cancelled all departing flights on Sunday and received only one arrival all day.
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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- Dutch prosecutors said Monday they had arrested four men suspected of planning an attack on the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam.
In a statement, the national prosecutor's office identified the four as Moroccan-Dutch, and evidence of their plot had surfaced from a wiretap of a different man arrested in 2017.
Three of the men are to be brought before a judge this week, while the fourth was arrested in Belgium and will be extradited, prosecutors said.
Roth's intervention, in an article for Die Welt newspaper, came amid signs that under conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel and Social Democrat (SPD) Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Germany's position towards Russia is hardening, especially since a poison attack in Britain, widely blamed on Russia.
Roth, in remarks that seemed designed to reflect the more pro-Russian views of the SPD's members, said Europe's sanctions against Russia should be maintained, but with the aim of bringing Russia to the negotiating table.
"Sanctions aren't a goal in themselves," he wrote. "They should encourage people back to the negotiating table to work on reasonable solutions ... Anti-Russian reflexes are just as dangerous as naively relativizing the nationalist-tinged policies of the Russian leadership."
***
MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russia's state telecommunications regulator said on Monday it had begun blocking access to Telegram messenger after the company refused to comply with an order to give Russian state security access to its users' secret messages.
The watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement on its website that it had sent telecoms operators a notification about blocking access to Telegram inside Russia.
Roskomnadzor was implementing a decision handed down on Friday by a Russian court, which ruled that Telegram should be blocked because it was in violation of Russian regulations.
Telegram has repeatedly refused to comply with requests to give Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) access to its users' encrypted messages.
The FSB has said it needs such access to guard against security threats such as terrorist attacks. But Telegram said compliance would violate users' privacy.
***
NISCOSIA (Dispatches) -- Greek Cypriot protesters gathered in front of the entrance gates of a British air base to denounce U.S.-led airstrikes on Syria.
Protest leader Akis Poullos told the Associated Press that demonstrators are demanding the closure of RAF Akrotiri, from where four British Tornado warplanes took off to take part in Friday night's missile strike.
Poullos said the demonstration also wanted to send the message to the Greek Cypriot administration not to lend any assistance to "imperialist attacks" on Syria and to demand an end to the war in the country.
Protesters used red paint to write "NATO killers go home" on a nearby wall outside the base's gate.
Former colonial overseer Britain retained RAF Akrotiri and another military base on Greek Cyprus after the east Mediterranean island gained independence in 1960.
The Greek Cypriot administration said that it wasn't given any forewarning about Saturday's airstrikes.
***
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Barely a week since accepting his new job, U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly-appointed National Security Adviser John Bolton, is considering far more changes to the national security team at the White House than he has already made.
Since taking office last Monday, Bolton has fired or forced to retire four senior aides on the National Security Council (NSC) and officials aware of the situation have revealed that more changes will come as soon as the veteran Republican forms his own team.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, current and former administration officials told the Hill that although Bolton had already made most of the big changes that he wanted, there were many mid-level aides who expected to get the axe from him.
This is the second major reshuffle of the NSC in the past 15 months, after Bolton’s predecessor, General H. R. McMaster, turned upside down the council’s lineup.
***
TORONTO (The Canadian Press) --- Tens of thousands of people across southern and central Ontario remained without power Monday morning as the province's massive ice storm transitioned to drenching rain.
The mix of snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, rain and powerful winds that battered the region Saturday and Sunday made driving treacherous, with provincial police reporting more than 1,450 non-fatal crashes over the two days.
The poor conditions also prompted bus and school cancellations in parts of the province Monday.
The storm also played havoc with air traffic, with more than 600 flights cancelled at Toronto's Pearson International Airport and many others delayed -- often for hours. Toronto's downtown Billy Bishop airport cancelled all departing flights on Sunday and received only one arrival all day.
***
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- Dutch prosecutors said Monday they had arrested four men suspected of planning an attack on the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam.
In a statement, the national prosecutor's office identified the four as Moroccan-Dutch, and evidence of their plot had surfaced from a wiretap of a different man arrested in 2017.
Three of the men are to be brought before a judge this week, while the fourth was arrested in Belgium and will be extradited, prosecutors said.