Section: US & Canada
Orthodox Churches Hold Diminished Easter Services Amid Pandemic
Orthodox Christians observed the Easter holiday amid extraordinary coronavirus-related restrictions on services that forced many parishioners to watch services on TV or online. Church leaders have struggled to figure out how to observe the April 19 holiday — the holiest day in the Orthodox calendar — while avoiding spreading the coronavirus. Some...
Smart Weapons Need to Be Smarter
In January, an Iranian gunner, using Russian equipment, fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) at a Ukrainian passenger airliner, killing 176 people. When the airliner was shot down near Tehran, tensions were high. Iran had struck an American base in response to the U.S. killing of the Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. Nervous Iranian...
Orthodox churches empty for Easter amid pandemic
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Orthodox priests in much of Europe held Easter services in churches empty of parishoners because of restrictions imposed to block the spread of coronavirus. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv, priests at the services that began late Saturday night wore the elaborate robes that characterize Orthodoxy’s most important...
Air quality levels in Ukraine dip to ‘moderate’ as fires continue to burn
Multiple wildfires spreading across Ukraine have burned 38 homes and 15.4 square miles of forest and forced residents to keep their windows shut due to air pollution. …read more Source:: United Press...
Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Death Cult Takes to the Streets
“LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!” These Friday tweets from President Donald Trump condemning coronavirus restrictions by Democratic governors came less than a day after a press briefing that seemed to end a week-long rhetorical standoff with the states. At...
Ukraine in flames: Chernobyl wildfire highlights a dangerous tradition
Villagers’ embrace of traditional field-burning clashes with modern need to safely contain nuclear waste for generations to come. …read more Source::...
Beware the Lion in the Kremlin
Attend almost any major global summit and you may spy a lion in sheep’s clothing, pretending to belong to the flock of the civilized nations of the world. When back at home, this same lion, its claws peeking out behind its paws, pads around the halls of the Kremlin, seeking his next prey abroad while also eyeing his compatriots closer to...
Behind Putin’s Power Grab
When Vladimir Putin became President in 2018 for the fourth time, Russians steeled themselves for a long six years of Brezhnev-style sclerosis, knowing that no real political revival could take place until this last term was up. Under the Russian constitution, Putin could not legally assume the presidency in 2024—at least not without rewriting...
Spencer: COVID-19 is a media eclipse like no other – and rightly so
Thursday marked 100 days since a surface-to-air missile obliterated a Ukraine International Airlines flight over Iran. Fifty-five Canadians were among the 176 people killed. Yet it feels as if this horror occurred light-years ago. Read More …read more Source:: Ottawa...
Counted Out: Separatist-Held Areas Of Eastern Ukraine Don’t Factor In Global Coronavirus Tally, But Face ‘Considerable’ Threat
The parts of eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists — ravaged by six years of armed conflict, and challenged with a weakened health-care system and a sizable elderly population — may face a COVID-19 outbreak of considerable scale. …read more Source:: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
