The European Union agreed Monday to impose targeted sanctions against Russian officials and entities allegedly involved in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny but officials insisted the move should not undercut Europe’s continued high-level contacts with President Vladimir Putin. Foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg backed a Franco-German proposal to impose a travel ban … Read more
The U.S. and European Union imposed sanctions against Belarus officials on Friday, part of a coordinated effort by Western allies to censure the authoritarian regime over accusations of political repression and rigging elections. The EU reached an early morning deal to advance a sanctions package against more than three dozen Belarusian individuals deemed responsible for … Read more
LONDON—The U.K. and Canada imposed sanctions on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and senior figures in his government, a sign of widening discontent in the West over ongoing repression of peaceful protests against his purported victory in a disputed election. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Mr. Lukashenko and his allies of multiple human-rights violations in … Read more
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration outlined an array of new measures that are intended to preclude China and Russia from selling weapons to Iran and to block the shipment of goods that might be used for its missile programs. The new steps consist of sanctions that were authorized in an executive order signed by President Trump, who … Read more
Support is growing in Europe for targeting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with sanctions, as the European Union looks to toughen its response to the political crisis in the former Soviet republic. On Monday, EU foreign ministers discussed hitting Mr. Lukashenko with a travel ban and asset freeze for his responsibility in the continued repression of … Read more
The Trump administration threatened Wednesday to impose an array of fresh sanctions to deter China and Russia from selling weapons to Iran after an arms embargo on Washington’s Middle East foe expires next month. Elliott Abrams, the administration’s special envoy for Iran and Venezuela, told reporters that the sanctions “will have a very significant impact” … Read more
TOKYO—Yoshiyuki Kasai, longtime boss of Japan’s biggest bullet-train line, says he thinks Tokyo’s alliance with the U.S. comes first and China needs to hear that message. If Beijing doesn’t like it, he says, tough luck. Hiroaki Nakanishi, head of Japan’s most powerful business federation, says he thinks that attitude is self-defeating. After all its work … Read more
Federal prosecutors stepped up a campaign against North Korea on Friday, unsealing two cases involving alleged sanctions violations as officials warn Pyongyang remains a significant threat to national security and the global financial system. Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., asked a federal judge to order the forfeiture of funds associated with … Read more
Venezuela’s oil industry—rich in reserves, a crucial Allied resource in World War II, a founding member of OPEC—is grinding toward a halt. Venezuela has greater oil stores than any other country. But after years of corruption, mismanagement and more recently U.S. sanctions, its oil output has dropped to a tenth of what it was two … Read more
BERLIN—European Union foreign ministers agreed to impose sanctions on senior Belarusian officials in response to what the EU called violent repression against peaceful protesters and opposition figures by the country’s autocratic regime. The EU in coming days will draft a list of roughly 20 officials to face sanctions and the roster will be extended if … Read more