Page 495 - Icks News Today

Uzbek officials say their efforts to get back assets "illegally" earned by the jailed daughter of late President Islam Karimov has led to the return of $10 million to Tashkent from France.

The British ambassador to Ukraine says the international community must make it clear to Russia that the cost of an invasion would be “high” for both sides as the crisis over the Kremlin’s buildup of troops near the border reaches a “critical phase.”

The World Health Organization is warning that a new wave of infections from the omicron variant of the coronavirus is moving toward Eastern Europe, and urging authorities to take appropriate measures.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has yet to see signs on the ground to back up Russian claims that it has pulled back some troops from border areas with Ukraine, though there are signs from Moscow that it is willing to continue dialogue.

"The future of Ukraine may hinge on a man ensconced in a bubble that both feeds his aggression and shields him from its consequences," a pair of analysts write. RFE/RL takes a look at the conservative close associates who may be influencing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Here are some of the most compelling photographs from the seventh week of 2022 from around RFE/RL's region.

With Kyiv warning that a Russian escalation could create millions of refugees, activists and local officials in neighboring Romania warn that they could only accommodate about 2,500 people.

Transdniester, a breakaway region of Moldova that borders Ukraine, hosts more than 1,000 Russian troops and Eastern Europe's largest munitions depot. As Kyiv faces a massive Russian military buildup to its north, east, and south, little attention is being paid to this sliver of land.

Switzerland-based mining and commodities trading giant Glencore has said it recently sold its stake in a Russian oil company after its founder was placed under sanctions by the European Union.

Russia has massed military forces on Ukraine's borders, with the United States estimating that around 130,000 troops have been deployed by Moscow. The latest satellite photos show major deployments in Russia, Belarus, and the Crimean Peninsula, which was seized from Ukraine in 2014.