Russia expels US diplomats and shuts consulate in tit-for-tat move
Updated 0526 GMT (1326 HKT) March 30, 2018
Russia will expel 60 US diplomats and close the US Consulate in St. Petersburg, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday, in retaliation for a similar move by Washington.
The 60 diplomats -- 58 from the US mission in Moscow and two from Yekaterinburg -- were declared "persona non grata" for activities "incompatible with diplomatic status," the ministry said, ordering them to leave the country by April 5.
US Ambassador Jon Huntsman had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be told of the decision, Lavrov said.
In response, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that Moscow "should not be acting like a victim."
The long read
Two minutes to midnight: did the US miss its chance to stop North Korea’s nuclear programme?
An unprecedented US mission to Pyongyang in 1999 promised to defuse Kim’s nuclear threat. But it all came to nothing – and then the hawks took power. By Julian BorgerFri 30 Mar 2018 06.00 BST
Pyongyang International is one of the world’s quieter airports. The country’s chronic isolation means that there are not many places to fly, and few foreigners keen on visiting. At least until a new terminal was built in 2012, many of the flights on the departure boards were just for show, giving the appearance of connection with the outside world. They never actually took off.
Against this melancholy backdrop, one day in late May 1999, something quite extraordinary happened. An official plane bearing the blue-and-white livery of the US government and emblazoned with the stars and stripes landed and taxied along the runway. The plane was carrying a former defence secretary, William Perry, who had been brought back from retirement by President Bill Clinton to try to end the frozen conflict between the US and North Korea. With a small group of aides, Perry was embarking on a mission that he hoped would avert a return to the armed stand-off that had brought the two countries to the brink of war five years earlier.
Israel lines up snipers and special forces along border with Gaza Strip as Hamas organises mass protests
Military personnel say they will not allow crowds to breach fence or damage army infrastructure
A Palestinian farmer was killed by an Israeli tank shell in the Gaza Strip early on Friday, hours before Palestinians were to stage mass sit-ins along the border with Israel, a health official and a witness said.
Ahead of the protests, called for by Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, Israel’s military said it doubled its standard troop level along the border, deploying snipers, special forces and paramilitary border police units, which specialise in riot control.
Hamas has said the activities would be peaceful and the chief Israeli military spokesman, brigadier general Ronen Manelis, said Israel wants to avoid violence.
Can foreign 'Islamic State' fighters' kids return to Europe?
Should the children of foreign IS fighters in Iraq and Syria be allowed to return home? Security agencies are alarmed, but aid workers say they're no danger if they get proper support. Judit Neurink reports from Irbil.
Thousands of children left behind by Western IS fighters are currently stuck in limbo, locked up with their mothers in Iraqi or Syrian prisons, as politicians in their countries of origin debate whether they have an obligation to bring them home.
While grandparents in the Netherlands and Belgium are demanding the return of the kids as their citizens, governments are dragging their feet. The authorities say they may be dangerous and that allowing the children to reunite with their grandparents might encourage their IS parents to return home.
Sacramento mourns man killed by police, and protests
A standing-room-only crowd packed a church Thursday to celebrate the life of a 22-year-old black man who was killed by Sacramento police, spurring protests in California’s capital and a resolve to change police departments around the country.
The musical and scriptural celebration of Stephon Clark’s life was interrupted by his emotional brother Stevante, who hugged and kissed the casket, led the crowd in chanting his brother’s name, pounded his chest and shouted. Others on the stage attempted to calm him, with limited success.
The Rev. Al Sharpton hugged and consoled him and told the crowd not to judge how families grieve.
Abe to raise North Korean abductions at Trump summit
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday he would explain Japan's stance on the North Korean abduction of Japanese citizens in a meeting with Donald Trump, ahead of the U.S. president's planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan's government worries the emotive matter of the abductees, which Abe has made a key issue during his political career, will take a back seat to nuclear and missile issues in the U.S.-North Korean summit.
"I plan to visit the Unites States next month and have a summit meeting with President Trump and discuss the North Korean situation," Abe said.
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