EU ‘very close’ to finalising Russian diamond ban, says Belgian PM

Western countries are “very close” to finalising a ban on Russian diamonds from retail markets in countries that are already sanctioning Kremlin assets, the Belgian prime minister has said.

In a move that will cut off another vital source of revenue for Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine, Alexander de Croo said a year-long attempt by the European Union and G7 countries to reliably trace diamonds coming from Russia was almost complete.

EU threatens sales bans to block use of western parts in Russian drones

Brussels has warned European companies and governments that it could ban the sale of certain components to Turkey and other countries from where Iran and Russia are sourcing parts for drones and other weapons striking Ukrainian cities.

The comments from the European Commission follows a leak to the Guardian of a 47-page document in which the Ukrainian government detailed the use of western technology and appealed for long-range missiles to attack drone production sites in Russia, Iran and Syria.

Canada hits pause on trade mission to India after tensions at G20 summit

Canada has announced it would postpone an October trade mission to India, in the midst of strained relations between the two countries.

A spokesperson for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng confirmed the change on Friday, though no reason was offered for the delay.

“At this time, we are postponing the upcoming trade mission to India,” the spokesperson, Shanti Cosentino, said.

Ukraine cries foul as fuels refined from Russian oil pour into the EU

Diesel, kerosene and other fuels refined from Russian crude are flooding into Europe, prompting Kyiv to call for tightening sanctions against Moscow.

In an interview with POLITICO, Oleg Ustenko, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appealed for the EU, as well as the U.K. and the U.S., to close the "loophole" that allows third countries like India, China and Turkey to refine crude bought from Moscow's state energy firms into petrol, diesel and other products before selling them on without restrictions.

China’s new bogeyman: Europe

Europe's attempt to keep politics and business apart in China is blowing up in its face.

Only three months after China and the EU struck a trade deal to make it easier to do business in each other's markets, Beijing's acid-tongued officials are now training their full ire on the EU and other Western countries. Party officials and celebrities alike are encouraging 1.4 billion consumers to boycott certain European brands. Hundreds if not thousands of shops are closing their doors to European clothes amid a nationwide backlash over Western sanctions imposed last week because of Beijing's crackdown against Muslim Uyghurs.

Hit with Western sanctions, China, Russia push for UN summit

Russia and China have called for a United Nations Security Council summit over what they term heightened “global political turbulence”, which has seen Western powers impose fresh sanctions on the pair over alleged human rights violations.

The two allies, whose relations with the West are under increasing strain, made the call in a joint statement on Tuesday following talks in Guilin between Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

US and Canada follow EU and UK in sanctioning Chinese officials over Xinjiang

Britain and the EU have taken joint action with the US and Canada to impose parallel sanctions on senior Chinese officials involved in the mass internment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province in the first such western action against Beijing since Joe Biden took office.

The move also marked the first time in three decades that the UK or the EU had punished China for human rights abuses, and both will now be working hard to contain the potential political and economic fallout. China hit back immediately, blacklisting MEPs, European diplomats and thinktanks.

Russian PM: Any U.S. Effort To Curb Russian Banking Will Be ‘Declaration Of Economic War’

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia would consider any U.S. move to curb the operations of Russian banks or their foreign currency dealings a declaration of economic war, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.

The United States announced a new round of sanctions on Wednesday targeting Russia that pushed the ruble to two-year lows and sparked a wider sell-off over fears Russia was locked in a spiral of never-ending sanctions.

Putin’s tycoon friend Gennady Timchenko, under sanctions, sells private jet

Gennady Timchenko, a billionaire friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has sold his private jet, according to a broker and aircraft registration data, after complaining that U.S. sanctions made it impossible for him to use the aircraft.

The owner of the Gulfstream jet now is a subsidiary of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the registration records showed.

Russian Billionaires Are Scrambling to Stay Off a New US ‘Black List’

Last August, Congress sent President Trump a clear signal that he could not be trusted when it comes to Russia; A near-unanimous, bipartisan majority delivered a bill to the president’s desk imposing new sanctions on the country, while also slashing his office’s power to ease those restrictions. Trump, under scrutiny by federal investigators for possible collusion between his presidential campaign and the Kremlin, had little choice but to sign the bill into law.

Barack Obama Sanctions Russia Over Election Meddling

WASHINGTON ― President Barack Obama sanctioned top Russian officials on Thursday in response to Moscow’s reported hacking during the U.S. presidential election.

“All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions,” the president said in a statement.

Obama’s successor, president-elect Donald Trump, has cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia was responsible for unearthing and releasing material damaging to Trump’s Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On Wednesday, Trump said it was time to “move on” and repeated that he believes it’s impossible to know who targeted Clinton.

EU leaders deliver sanctions ultimatum to Russia over Ukraine

European Union leaders have given Russia a week to reverse course in Ukraine or face a new round of sanctions as Kiev warns it is on the brink of full-scale war with Moscow.

Fears are growing that the confrontation on the EU's eastern borders could engulf the whole continent after Russia sent troops to back a new offensive by pro-Kremlin rebels in south-east Ukraine.

The EU president, Herman Van Rompuy, said the 28 leaders meeting in Brussels had agreed to take "further significant steps" if Moscow did not back down.

Canada trimmed Russia sanctions to protect business interests

(Reuters) - Canada broke with the United States and did not impose sanctions on two key allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin because the pair had Canadian business interests, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The revelation puts into question the government's tough line on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently compared Putin's actions to those of Adolf Hitler in the run-up to World War Two.

Ukraine crisis: G7 countries agree to intensify sanctions against Russia

The leaders of G7 major economies have agreed to intensify sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, with a US official warning some punitive measures could be imposed as early as Monday.

In a statement, the British prime minister, David Cameron, the US president, Barack Obama, the French prime minister, François Hollande, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and counterparts from Italy, Japan, and Canada expressed "deep concern at the continued efforts by separatists backed by Russia to destabilise eastern Ukraine".

Iran Sanctions Bill From Sens. Bob Menendez And Mark Kirk Could Endanger U.S. Negotiations

WASHINGTON -- Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are threatening to push the United States toward war with Iran, circulating and planning to introduce a sanctions bill despite warnings that it could derail nuclear negotiations at a delicate moment.

International observers and both parties to the negotiations have repeatedly pleaded with Congress to allow the talks to unfold -- warnings that Kirk and Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, appear intent on ignoring. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also part of the effort, though much of the final decision rests with Menendez.

Economic sanctions against Iran affect students in Canada

Mohammed Shahsavari doesn't know how he is going to pay his tuition.

The second-year master's student at Carleton University is one of hundreds of Iranian students in Canada affected by deepening economic sanctions against Iran.

At the end of January, Canada followed the United States and the European Union in tightening its sanctions. This included prohibiting all financial transactions with Iran. Although Iranians in Canada can send less than $40,000 home, it's difficult to transfer funds from Iran to Canada.

Shahsavari says that students who depend on money from their parents have no way to access it.

"We can't get loans from the government, we can't get money from the banks. We are just dependent on the money we've got from our savings," he said. "We're in a very tight situation right now."

He says the only way to transfer the money would be to arrange for someone in Iran to pick it up and physically bring it to Canada -- a costly and time-consuming process.