Day: May 14, 2017

    In Limassol, on the southern coast of Cyprus, shop signs in Cyrillic outnumber those in Greek, the local language. Yachts emblazoned with Russian monikers fill berths in a newly built marina. And just past the office of radio station Russkaya Volna, restaurants lining the boardwalk serve pelmeni with, of course, vodka. This Moscow-on-the-Mediterranean has blossomed as Russians and their money flock to the tiny European Union outpost to become, in a sense, not Russian. Long known as a hub for offshore Russian finance and more recently as a focus of investigations into Russian links to President Donald Trump’s entourage Cyprus has enabled a more sophisticated way to camouflage those funds: If you can’t launder a Russian’s cash, the scheme goes, launder the Russian himself. T...

    Emmanuel Macron will be inaugurated as France’s youngest ever president on Sunday, facing daunting challenges to rejuvenate the economy and breathe new life into the beleaguered EU. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, will take over from President Francois Hollande, the Socialist whose five years in power were plagued by stubborn unemployment and bloody terror attacks, in a ceremony at 0800 GMT. After ascending the red carpet at the Elysee Palace in central Paris, Macron and Hollande will have a private meeting in the president’s office where Macron will be given the codes to launch France’s nuclear weapons. Hollande is clearly delighted at the election of the former investment banker, who scored a clear victory over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen on May 7. The current pres...