Russia has its own list of US officials that would be similarly sanctioned under the ‘Dima Yakovlev law,’ and will release those names when the United States publishes the names on the Magnitsky List, Kommersant daily reported, quoting an unnamed source in the Russian presidential administration.The Russian list initially included 71 names, but has recently been expanded to 104 US officials, the source noted, adding that this step was taken as a reciprocal measure after Moscow began to suspect that the US blacklist could be longer than 60 names.Kommersant also said that the head of the lower house commission for international relations, Aleksey Pushkov, confirmed its report “in principle.”One possible complication is that the US could classify the Magnitsky List under the umbrella of ‘national security.’ Since Russia has not released any official details about its own blacklist, it is uncertain if the names on the Dima Yakovlev law would likewise be classified as national security threats in the name of reciprocity.The final draft of the Magnitsky List will now be sent to the US Congress and published before April 13. This date is particularly important, as it falls on the previously postponed visit to Russia by US National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon, who is expected to meet top Russian security officials on Monday. Donilon will also reportedly deliver a message from US President Barack Obama expressing a desire to salvage the stalled ‘reset’ in Russia-US relations.In Friday comments, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the publication of the Magnitsky List would have a definitively negative impact on bilateral relations between the two nations. At the same time, Peskov explained that Russia-US relations were multidimensional, and that “even while being under a burden of various negative manifestations and taking damage from these manifestations, these relations still have a lot of perspectives for future relations.”“Therefore, there will always be a lot of topics for discussion,” Peskov concluded.The official objective of Donilon’s visit to Moscow was announced as talks over nuclear arms control and ballistic missile defense, as well as preparations for Obama’s future visit to Russia.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the blacklist issue with his US counterpart John Kerry in London earlier this week. The Russian Minister warned that the publication of names on the Magnitsky List would create an extremely negative climate for Donilon’s visit.On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that the timing of the publication of the US blacklist was extremely poorly chosen, considering Donilon’s forthcoming visit. Lavrov also told reporters that if the list is published, Russia would react accordingly, and that the US side is aware of this.Top Russian officials have repeatedly blasted the Magnistky Act as an attempt to subvert the laws of a sovereign country, and also to exploit a human tragedy for political ends.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in January this year that the PR campaign around Sergey Magnitsky’s death was “an attempt of certain citizens to accumulate political capital.” He accused these individuals of making billions of dollars by trading in Russian assets, and assuming political positions only after law enforcement had uncovered fraud. … Read More
U.S. finally removes minesweeper from UN-protected coral reef
The Philippines on Sunday welcomed the removal of a US minesweeper that had been stuck on a protected coral reef for 10 weeks, but stressed that compensation must be paid for the environmental damage. Salvage crews contracted by the US Navy Saturday extracted the last remaining piece of the USS…
U.S. Navy ship removed from Philippine reef
Salvage teams on Saturday removed the last piece of a US Navy ship that was stuck on a UNESCO World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for more than 10 weeks, the coast guard said. The stern of the USS Guardian was lifted off the Tubbataha Reef after the 68-metre (223-foot) vessel was…
U.S. Navy ship set to be lifted from Philippine reef
The final sections of a US Navy ship that has been stuck on a UN World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for more than 10 weeks are set to be removed within days, an official said Thursday. The USS Guardian’s bow was cut and lifted onto a salvage vessel this week, and good weather…
Massive blaze in southeast London tackled by dozens of firefighters (PHOTOS)
The fire was brought under control by 17:45 GMT, according to the London Fire Brigade.Thirty people were evacuated from inside the building.The cause behind the blaze is not yet known, the entire roof of the Cuming Museum and the Newington Library in Wansey Street was ablaze.About 120 firefighters from 20 stations tackled the blaze in the four-story building.Fire engines from Southwark, Lambeth, Old Kent Road, Dowgate, Kensington, Kingsland, West Hampstead, Dockhead, Peckham, Whitechapel, Paddington, New Cross, and surrounding fire stations were at the scene.”We now have water jets attacking the fire from the four corners of the building. We evacuated 30 people from inside the museum and firefighters will be making efforts to salvage as many of the artifacts as possible,” the official website of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) quoted station manager Peter Critchell as saying.They are expected to remain there for the night, according to the LFB.There are no reports of any injures.“We’ve got well over a hundred firefighters working hard at the scene to bring the fire under control. It’s a large blaze and the whole of the building’s roof is alight but fortunately we’ve not had reports of injuries,” the brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Operational Assurance Dany Cotton said.The Wansey Street building was previously the Old Walworth Town Hall. The council is concerned about the possible damage to the museum’s collection.”A fire has broken out in one of our buildings on the Walworth Road which houses the Cuming Museum, the home of the worldwide collection of the Cuming Family and the museum of Southwark’s history,” the leader of the council, Peter John, said. … Read More
Another LAPD Cop Confirms Corruption in a “Manifesto” Supporting Fugitive Dorner
If one disgruntled LAPD officer on the run isn’t enough, a former officer has made a public announcement of support for Chris Dorner. … Read More
Navy to dismantle minesweeper stuck on coral reef in Philippines
A badly damaged minesweeper stranded on a World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for nearly two weeks will need to be dismantled before it is removed, the US Navy said Wednesday. The drastic measure of pulling apart the 68-metre (224-foot) USS Guardian was proposed in a salvage plan to…
