- From TikTok to Hollywood, the irresistible rise of Italy's Khaby Lame
- Verstappen punished for swearing in Singapore press conference
- Sri Lanka lead by 202 in first New Zealand Test
- Brook 'not too fussed' by England's batting in heavy Australia loss
- India's Ashwin 'happy' to embrace pressure
- A modern 'Trojan Horse': two days of mayhem in Lebanon
- Third of Burundi mpox cases in children under five: UN
- Man Utd appoint Foster + Partners to develop Old Trafford 'masterplan'
- Israel-Hezbollah exchanges intensify on Lebanon border
- French mayor sorry for 'no one died' remark over mass rape trial
- Mohamed Al-Fayed, outsider shunned by British high society
- Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women
- India in box seat after Bumrah takes four against Bangladesh
- Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases
- Ferrari's Leclerc sets early pace in Singapore ahead of Norris
- 10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost
- France poised to finally get new govt
- Kompany, Alonso call for action on player workload amid strike talks
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson doubtful for Bournemouth clash
- Bumrah takes four as India bowl out Bangladesh for 149
- Sri Lanka 134-1 to take upper hand in first New Zealand Test
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Bumrah takes three wickets to have Bangladesh in trouble at 112-8
- Kimchi threat as heatwave drives up South Korea cabbage prices
- UK economic data delivers fresh blow to new govt
- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
- India minister blames dam release for flooding
- O'Rourke strikes early for Kiwis as Sri Lanka trail by three
- Deep takes two as Bangladesh totter in reply to India's 376
- Israel pounds Lebanon's Hezbollah after device blasts
- Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
- Ashwin's 113 powers India to 376 in Bangladesh Test
- Biden opens home to 'Quad' leaders for farewell summit
- Sally Rooney returns with 30-something questions
- Wallabies sense 'massive' chance to upset All Blacks
- Taiwan questions two in probe into Hezbollah pagers
- Viral Korean Olympic shooter scores first acting role as assassin
- Farrell set for 'challenge' of downing Bordeaux in Top 14
- Springbok Etzebeth diverts attention from looming caps record
- Inter on a high ahead of Milan derby as Napoli face Juve test
- Bank of Japan leaves key interest rate unchanged
- Arnold quits after six years in charge of Australia
- Asian markets track Wall Street record to extend global rally
- Guirassy and Anton to return to Stuttgart with new side Dortmund
- Marseille bidding to continue 'almost perfect' Ligue 1 start
- Arnold quits as coach of Australia men's football team
- Harris and Oprah hold star-studded US election rally
Biden announces 'first' sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced sanctions against Russian banks and the country's wealthy elite after what he said was Moscow's launching of an invasion against Ukraine.
"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," Biden said in a televised speech at the White House.
Biden stressed that the measures were only a "first tranche" in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin "carving out a big chunk of Ukraine."
Biden said that more sanctions will follow if Putin extends Russia's military grip beyond two small territories in the eastern Donbas region that are already under control of Russian-backed separatists.
Putin announced Monday that he has recognized the independence of both areas and said the Russian military would mount a so-called "peacekeeping" mission in the territories.
"He's setting up a rationale to go much further," Biden said.
The first round of sanctions targeted Russia's sovereign debt, cutting "off Russia's government from Western financing," Biden said. Also targeted are two banks and specific members of the Russian "elites," he added.
Biden said the United States will continue to send "defensive" weapons to Ukraine's military but underscored there was "still time" for diplomacy and "to avert the worst case scenario."
Biden's tough approach followed an initially more hesitant US response to Putin's recognition of the two rebel-held enclaves in Ukraine on Monday.
For weeks, the United States and its allies have said that a full invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces massing on its ex-Soviet neighbor's borders would trigger devastating economic sanctions.
But with doubts continuing over Putin's ultimate intentions after a speech he delivered Monday, it took hours for the Biden administration to shift to a harsher tone.
Biden announced limited sanctions against the two separatist enclaves, which already have next to no dealings with the United States. And in the first public comments from the administration after Putin's geopolitical bombshell, a US official said merely that "we are going to assess what Russia's done."
The official stressed that Russian forces have already been deployed covertly in the separatist areas of Donbas for eight years. "Russian troops moving into Donbas would not be a new step," the official said.
Only later that evening, did the White House signal it was moving toward a tougher response.
- Beyond Nord Stream 2 -
Putin's move has sparked intense phone diplomacy between Washington, European capitals and Ukraine, as the United States tries to maintain unity among dozens of partners over how to respond to Russia, which supplies much of the European Union's energy needs.
Earlier Tuesday, the White House welcomed Germany's decision to halt the mammoth Nord Stream 2 pipeline project meant to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe. The pipeline was vital to Russia's commercial and geostrategic goals.
Biden "made clear that if Russia invaded Ukraine, we would act with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 does not move forward... We will be following up with our own measures today," Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.
After announcing he was stopping the near-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia "there are also other sanctions that we can introduce if further measures are taken."
On Friday, the deputy US national security advisor for international economics, Daleep Singh, warned that the full set of sanctions under preparation would turn Russia into an international "pariah."
M.Furrer--BTB