Section: US & Canada
Remarks by Belarusian Leader Upstage Sensitive Kremlin Talks
Less than a day before arriving in Moscow to salvage frayed ties with his Russian counterpart, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he no longer considers Russia a “brotherly nation.” According to a television broadcast by Belsat, a Belarus-focused satellite channel headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, Lukashenko told a Monday...
Russia Expands Economic Sanctions on Ukraine
Russia on Tuesday expanded its economic sanctions on Ukraine, adding more than 250 people and businesses to a blacklist first announced at the start of November. According to a decree by Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, 245 individuals and seven companies, mostly in the energy and defense sectors, were sanctioned by Moscow. Relations between...
Pope Francis Calls for Stronger Bonds of Brotherhood Across the World in Christmas Message
(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis offered a Christmas wish for fraternity among people of different nations, cultures, faiths, races or ideas, describing the world’s differences as a richness, not a danger, and championing the rights of religious minorities. His plea Tuesday for stronger bonds among peoples came as nationalism and a suspicion...
Russia Expands Targeted Sanctions Against Ukraine
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has expanded Russia’s targeted sanctions against Ukrainian individuals and legal entities. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Pope Calls For Peace In Syria, Yemen In Christmas Message
Pope Francis used his Christmas message on December 25 to urge the world to put aside “partisan interests” to find a political solution to conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and other flash points. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Weightlifters From Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia Hit After Doping Tests
Five weightlifters from former Soviet states, including two former Olympic champions, have been provisionally suspended after retests of their samples from the 2012 London Olympics came back positive for doping, the sports’ governing body says. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
UN: Human Rights Violations Victimize Ukrainian Civilians
As Ukraine enters its fifth winter of conflict, the United Nations says civilians continue to be victimized by widespread human rights violations and abuse perpetrated by both the government and Russian-backed rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. The report issued by the U.N. Human Rights Office covers the three-month period between...
Ukraine’s President Signs Law Forcing Russia-Affiliated Church To Change Name
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law requiring the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to change its name to one that reveals its affiliation with the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Russian Fighter Jets Moved To Annexed Ukrainian Region
More than a dozen advanced Russian fighter jets have arrived at a base in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow occupied and annexed in 2014. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
U.S., Britain Vow To Support Ukraine’s Navy After November Kerch Strait Attack
The United States says it will provide an additional $10 million in military financing to Ukraine to help bolster its navy after Russia captured three of Kyiv’s ships at sea in late November. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
