Section: European Voice (EU)
Germany fears escalation in “explosive” Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is worried that the conflict in eastern Ukraine could escalate dangerously and has urged Kiev and Moscow to cooperate with ceasefire monitors, he told Bild am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday. Steinmeier has proposed that his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts hold talks with the...
Kiev’s hipster revolution
KIEV — A disc jockey spins a remix of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” on a stage by the river, while scores of young fashion brands that have sprung up in Ukraine’s capital since the revolution hawk their wares in a carnival atmosphere. T-shirts decorated with slogans like “Putin is a Dick,” “Pray for Ukraine” and “Separatist Buyer’s...
How Japan pushes coal on the world
TOKYO — The world’s attention fell on a Japanese power plant yesterday, as technicians turned on a nuclear reactor for the first time since it was shut down following the catastrophic 2011 Fukushima disaster. It’s scheduled to be the first of dozens to start up again, despite public opposition to reviving nuclear power in the...
War games raise risk of Russia-NATO conflict
Supposedly defensive military exercises by Russia and NATO are actually leading the two sides closer to war, according to a new report by the European Leadership Network. The think tank’s policy brief released Wednesday analyzed their major military exercises this year and found that “each side is training with the other side’s...
If Minsk fails, let Moscow pay
The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany held a conference call last month to discuss the peace process in Eastern Ukraine. During their two-hour conversation, Presidents Putin, Poroshenko, Hollande and Chancellor Merkel agreed that all the terms of the Minsk-2 ceasefire agreement must be implemented by the end of 2015. Notwithstanding...
How a secretive US agency discovered the A-bomb’s effect on people
When the the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, 15-year-old Do-oh Mineko was working inside a Mitsubishi factory, eagerly awaiting her lunch break. The massive concrete and steel factory imploded on top of her and thousands of other adults and young people. Doh-oh sustained severe injuries, including a large gash at the...
Obama’s proliferation problem
When President Barack Obama this week repeated John F. Kennedy’s 1963 call for a “more practical, more attainable peace” in his pitch for the Iran nuclear agreement, absent was any mention of the broader mission both presidents proclaimed: “global disarmament.” In 2009, Obama electrified much of the global nonproliferation movement by...
The contract that almost sank two ships
After a year of negotiations, French President François Hollande confirmed Friday that his government would refund Russia a sum “under €1.2 billion” for not delivering two Mistral warships. Exactly how much France must pay has been the subject of much media speculation. Le Figaro reported that the bill would end up being below €1 billion. Russian...
Russia steps up war on terroir
Russian authorities have bulldozed and burnt a huge pile of food imported from the West — leading to an outcry by anti-poverty campaigners. Russia announced an import ban on food products from the European Union and the United States last August in response to the sanctions imposed on it because of its actions in Ukraine. To mark the one-year...
Echoes of annexation
Seven years ago, on August 8, 2008, Russian troops crossed national borders and attacked another sovereign state. Not many saw it coming. To the contrary, signs of escalation were ignored and warnings dismissed as groundless paranoia. The five-day war between Russia and Georgia sent shock waves across the international community at the time....
