Russia-Turkey war of words escalates over downed warplane

Moscow slapped sanctions on Ankara on Friday as the war of words over a downed Russian warplane escalated, with Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning Russia not to "play with fire". Russia announced it was halting a visa-free regime for Turkish visitors, after threatening a raft of retaliatory economic measures to punish the NATO member state. Tuesday's incident has sent recriminations flying between two rival players in the Syrian war just as countries such as France are pushing for a