Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Updated 9:29 am, Thursday, May 10, 2018 Photo: Richard Drew, AP Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 FILE- In this March 29, 2018, file photo, the logo for Facebook appears on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York's Times Square. Democrats on the House intelligence committee have released more than 3,500 Facebook ads that were created or promoted by a Russian internet agency, providing the fullest picture yet of Russia's attempt to sow racial and political division in the United States before and after the 2016 election. Most of the ads are issue-based, pushing arguments for and against immigration, LGBT issues and gun rights. less FILE- In this March 29, 2018, file photo, the logo for Facebook appears on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York's Times Square. Democrats on the House intelligence committee have released more than ... more … [Read more...] about Lawmakers release thousands of Russian Facebook ads
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Detained Russian director gets standing ovation at Cannes
The cast of Kirill Serebrennikov's "Leto", a biopic of the Soviet-Korean rock legend Viktor Tsoi, were cheered as the movie premiered at the world's top film festival. They had earlier held up a white placard with the director's name on it after climbing the steps of the red carpet to the cinema. A seat was left symbolically empty inside for Serebrennikov, who has been under house arrest on embezzlement charges since last August. He has dismissed the charges as "absurd" and his supporters see them as political. Serebrennikov's detention has sent shockwaves through the Russian arts world. The 48-year-old has revolutionised Moscow's theatre scene with radical stagings of new plays and by reinventing classics. He has also won prizes at the Cannes and Rome film festivals, while his 2012 film "Betrayal" was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion at Venice. "Leto", which means summer, is in the running for Cannes' top prize, the Palme d'Or. It tells the story of Tsoi, whose songs … [Read more...] about Detained Russian director gets standing ovation at Cannes
Russian Foreign Minister meets German counterpart
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass (Source: AP)During the meeting, the two leaders discussed, among other issues, the situation in Syria and eastern Ukraine, as well as German-Russian relations. German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said that Germany will try to keep the 2015 Iran nuclear deal alive despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was pulling the US out of the agreement. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has also said Russia remains committed to the deal. Earlier, on April 20th, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. This was the first contact between the ministers since Mr Haas' appointment to the position in March of this year. The officials exchanged opinions on pressing international issues, including Moscow and Berlin's interaction in support of the Syrian settlement under the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2254, with consideration for the Astana process and … [Read more...] about Russian Foreign Minister meets German counterpart
Balancing act: software giant SAP navigates Russian risks
MOSCOW/WALLDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Most Western technology companies are losing ground in Russia under the weight of restrictive rules and mounting local competition. Germany’s SAP (SAPG.DE) is thriving. A view shows an installation with the logo of SAP software company on the roof of an office building, with a traffic sign seen in the foreground, in Moscow, Russia April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva SAP is the clear leader in the Russian business-planning software market, supplying 53 of the top 100 Russian companies by revenue, according to a Reuters analysis of company filings. Its success has come at a time of intense legal pressure on foreign technology firms, including a law requiring them to allow Russian authorities to hunt for vulnerabilities in their software, which has raised security concerns in Washington. While the likes of Oracle (ORCL.N), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) have been losing market share, Russia is one of SAP’s … [Read more...] about Balancing act: software giant SAP navigates Russian risks
Russian firm pleads innocent to meddling
WASHINGTON -- A Russian company accused of funding a conspiracy to meddle in the 2016 presidential election pleaded innocent Wednesday in federal court in Washington. The court appearance was the first by any of the Russian defendants accused by special counsel Robert Mueller of participating in a covert social media campaign aimed in part at helping Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. The indictment against the company, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, and 15 other defendants was the first brought by Mueller's team to directly attach criminal charges to Russian attempts to interfere in the election. The company is controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman who was placed on a U.S. sanctions list earlier this year and who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. During a brief afternoon hearing, attorney Eric Dubelier, who represents the company, entered the innocent plea to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, but neither Prigozhin nor a … [Read more...] about Russian firm pleads innocent to meddling