Putin puts nuclear forces on high alert, escalating tensions
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert Sunday, while Ukraine's embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin's troops and tanks drove deeper into the country, closing in around the capital.
Citing “aggressive statements” by NATO and tough financial sanctions, Putin issued a directive to increase the readiness of Russia's nuclear weapons, raising fears that the invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear war, whether by design or mistake.
The Russian leader is “potentially putting in play forces that, if there’s a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss rapidly unfolding military operations.
Putin's directive came as Russian forces encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders. Moscow has so far failed to win full control of Ukraine’s airspace, despite advances across the country. U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts.
Amid the mounting tensions, Western nations said they would tighten sanctions and buy and deliver weapons for Ukraine, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.
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Live updates: War in Ukraine knocks down Asian stock prices
The latest on the Russia's invasion of Ukraine:
TOKYO — Asian stock prices have fallen after Western nations moved to tighten sanctions against Russia and as President Vladimir Putin escalated tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces on high alert.
U.S. futures fell, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 2.5% early Monday. The stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai declined while Sydney was higher.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused markets to swing wildly, given the potential impact on inflation, energy supplies and other areas. The Russian ruble has weakened sharply but was steady early Monday at 83.86 to the dollar.
Japan joined moves by the U.S. and Western nations to impose sanctions on Russia, including blocking some Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system.
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EXPLAINER: Does Putin's alert change risk of nuclear war?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin's implied threat to turn the Ukraine war into a broader nuclear conflict presents President Joe Biden with choices rarely contemplated in the atomic age, including whether to raise the alert level of U.S. nuclear forces.
This turn of events is all the more remarkable for the fact that less than a year ago, Putin and Biden issued a statement at their Geneva summit that seemed more in keeping with the idea that the threat of nuclear war was a Cold War relic. “Nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” they agreed.
Putin on Sunday told his top defense and military officials to put nuclear forces in a “special regime of combat duty," but it was not immediately clear how that might have changed the status of Russian nuclear forces, if at all. Russia, like the United States, keeps its land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, on a high state of readiness at all times, and it is believed that Russian submarine-based nuclear missiles, like America's, are similarly postured.
Putin indicated he was responding to economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western nations in recent days for his invasion of Ukraine, as well as “aggressive statements regarding our country,” which he did not further explain.
The Biden administration was assessing Putin's move, which it said unnecessarily escalates an already dangerous conflict. In fact, Putin's words amount to the kind of threat rarely heard even during the Cold War period, when vastly larger nuclear arsenals of the United States and the former Soviet Union threatened the world with nuclear Armageddon.
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Qatar deploys ex-spies to blunt German's World Cup criticism
DIEZ, Germany (AP) — As head of the German soccer federation, Theo Zwanziger was among his sport’s most prominent critics of the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. He publicly attacked the energy-rich Gulf nation’s human rights record. He questioned the wisdom of staging the world’s most popular sporting event in searing desert heat.
“The infinite wealth of this small country of Qatar spreads almost like a cancer through football and sport,” Zwanziger once said. A member of FIFA’s executive committee, he urged world soccer’s governing body to reverse its 2010 decision.
The Qatari government was so concerned by Zwanziger’s criticism that it took action. It paid more than $10 million to a company staffed by former CIA operatives for a multi-year covert influence operation codenamed “Project Riverbed,” according to internal company documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
The records indicate that the goal of the operation was to use spycraft to silence Zwanziger. It failed.
“It’s a very, very strange feeling when you’re involved in sport and committed to the values of sport, to be followed and influenced,” Zwanziger told the AP in an interview last week.
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Biden's Russia sanctions may let Moscow profit from oil, gas
There is a glaring carve-out in President Joe Biden's sanctions against Russia: Oil and natural gas from that country will continue to flow freely to the rest of the world and money will keep flowing into Russia.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden defended his decision to preserve access to Russian energy in order “to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump.” But some academics, lawmakers and other analysts say that excluding an industry at the heart of the Russian economy essentially limits the sanctions and could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Energy exports are the whole game,” said Columbia University historian Adam Tooze, an expert on finance and European politics. Politicians in the United States and Europe chose to “carve out the one sector that might truly be decisive. I don't think Russia is blind to what is going on and it must indicate to them that the West does not really have the stomach for a painful fight over Ukraine.”
As part of a broader international push, Biden announced sanctions on Thursday that target Russian banks and the country's elites, and restrict the export of vital technologies that are key for the military and economic development. The U.S. and its European allies intensified the sanctions on Saturday by announcing plans to freeze the reserves of Russia's central bank and block certain financial institutions from the SWIFT messaging system for international payments.
But the rules issued by the Treasury Department allow Russian energy transactions to keep going through nonsanctioned banks that are not based in the U.S. And administration officials stress that the sanctions are designed to minimize any disruptions to the global energy markets.
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'CODA' takes top honors at SAG Awards, Will Smith wins
In an upset, the deaf family drama “CODA” took top honors at an unpredictable 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards that also saw wins for the leads of “Squid Game," the cast of “Ted Lasso” and Will Smith.
The ceremony, held Sunday at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and broadcast on both TNT and TBS, was notably border-breaking, with historic wins for deaf actors, Korean stars and some of Hollywood's biggest names. It culminated with “CODA," Sian Heder's heartwarming Apple TV+ coming-of-age film and Sundance Film Festival sensation, winning best ensemble.
"This validates the fact that we, deaf actors, can work just like anybody else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors," said Marlee Matlin on stage before teaching the crowd sign language for “I love you.”
Matlin is the only deaf actor to win an Oscar, but her “CODA" co-star, Troy Kotsur, may be in line to join her. Kotsur won best supporting actor Sunday, becoming the first deaf actor win an individual SAG award. When his name was read, the 53-year-old veteran actor plunged his head into his hands. On stage, he thanked his wife for “reminding me to check my fly before walking the red carpet.”
Netflix's “Squid Game,” the first non-English language series nominated by the actors guild, came on strong with three awards, including Lee Jung-jae for best male actor in a drama series and Jung Ho-yeon for best female actor in a drama series. Those wins came over the likes of “Succession” stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, and Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston of “The Morning Show.”
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New York to lift statewide school mask mandate by March 2
NEW YORK (AP) — New York's statewide masking requirement in schools will be lifted by March 2, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday, citing a dramatic drop in COVID-19 infections and new federal guidelines.
Hours later, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he's considering lifting vaccine mandates on restaurants, bars and theaters by early next week if infections and hospitalizations continue their downward trend.
A mask mandate on the city's approximately 1 million schoolchildren could also be lifted, Adams said in a statement. The decision won’t come until Friday, following a full week of classes after students in the country’s largest school system return from a weeklong vacation, he said.
The pair of announcements signaled an important turning point for the city and state, once an epicenter of the global pandemic.
“The day has come,” Hochul said at a press conference in Albany.
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A shelling, a young girl, and hopeless moments in a hospital
MARIUPOL, Ukraine (AP) — In the port city of Mariupol, where Ukrainians are trying to fend off a Russian advance, an ambulance raced into a city hospital Sunday, carrying a 6-year-old girl mortally injured in Russian shelling.
She was pale. Her brown hair was pulled back with a rubber band. Her bloody pyjama pants were decorated with cartoon unicorns. She was brought in with her wounded father, his head bloodied and bandaged.
A medical team pumped her chest, fighting desperately to revive her. Her mother stood outside the ambulance, weeping.
“Take her out! Take her out! We can make it!” a hospital worker shouted, pushing a gurney to the ambulance.
The girl was raced inside and doctors and nurses huddled around her. One gave her an injection. Another tried to revive her with a defibrillator. A nurse wept. A doctor in blue medical scrubs, pumping oxygen into her, looked straight at the camera of an Associated Press videojournalist who had been allowed inside.
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Major floods swamp Australia's east coast, claiming 7 lives
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Parts of Australia’s third-most populous city Brisbane were under water Monday after heavy rain brought record flooding to some east coast areas and killed seven people.
The flooding in Brisbane and its surrounds is the worst since 2011 when the city of 2.6 million people was inundated by what was described as a once-in-a-century event.
A 59-year-old man drowned in Brisbane’s north on Sunday afternoon after he tried to cross a flooded creek on foot and was pinned against a fence, Queensland state police said on Monday.
Queensland emergency services warned life-threatening flash flooding was occurring south of Brisbane in parts of Gold Coast city.
Residents were advised to shelter where they were unless it is unsafe to do so. Access to many areas was cut in multiple places, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said in an alert.
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AP PHOTOS: Citizen soldiers train to repel Russian troops
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fingernails painted pink, blue and purple pastels grip the barrel of a gun.
Men line up dozens of empty wine and liquor bottles in a courtyard to make Molotov cocktails.
A newlywed couple poses for a photo with newly issued rifles.
Captivating images by Associated Press photographers show everyday Ukrainians taking up arms as civilian soldiers to repel a Russian invasion.
Men and women have volunteered in droves and stood in long lines to get weapons and learn how to defend their country. Some even returned from abroad to join the resistance.
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