Section: US & Canada
Ukraine investigates tax chief over possible $75 mln graft – lawyer
KIEV (Reuters) – The head of Ukraine’s tax and customs service, Roman Nasirov, is being investigated over the suspected embezzlement of around… …read more Source:...
Sessions Recuses Himself From Russian Nothing-Burger
Attorney General Jeff Sessions officially recused himself yesterday from the nonsensical, possibly even nonexistent, federal probe into claims of Russian interference in the election – claims that for all we know were invented by President Trump’s enemies in the intelligence community and the Democratic Party. Despite the oceans of mass...
The Booming Global Arms Trade
By Markus HeinrichRemember the “peace dividend”? The world, it seems, can never have enough weapons. The global arms trade has reached its highest point since the end of the Cold War. According to the Swedish-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) – which provides authoritative data on global arms production...
Donald Trump Jr. was paid $50,000 for meeting to discuss U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria
A month before the November elections, Donald Trump Jr. attended a meeting in Paris to discuss the Syrian conflict and possible U.S.-Russian cooperation in the region. The Wall Street Journal now reports he was paid at least $50,000 to attend that meeting. Donald Trump Jr. addressed a dinner on Oct. 11 at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, hosted by the...
Ukraine has a peace deal. Why isn’t it working?
With the Trump administration getting its policy framework in gear, it’s a good time to reflect on the lack of progress to date in implementing the key political terms of the Minsk 2 ceasefire deal, agreed to in February 2015 between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany and intended to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine....
Let’s Settle the Russia Question Once and for All
Gary Hart Politics, Eurasia A nonpartisan commission can finally shed light on Trump’s problem that just won’t go away. Presidents in the past, most notably Bill Clinton with Boris Yeltsin and George W. Bush with Vladimir Putin, have committed what might be called the “buddy fallacy” where U.S.-Russian relations were concerned. That...
Government Watchdog Questions Sessions’ Need for Recusal From Russian Probe
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday he would recuse himself from any Justice Department investigation that relates to the 2016 presidential campaign. “He should only recuse himself from the investigation of illegal leaks,” @TomFitton says. “My staff recommended recusal. They said since I was involved in this campaign, I cannot be...
Jeff Sessions Met With Ambassador As U.S.-Russia Tensions Flared
Now that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from any Justice Department investigations into Russian meddling in the presidential election, a timeline shows how his reported contacts with its ambassador last year came at key points in U.S.-Russia relations and in Donald Trump’s campaign. Sessions’ recusal Thursday came...
‘We Have to Forgive Them’: Front Lines in Ukraine Divide Families and Friendships
TARAMCHUK, Ukraine—The war is always there, even if the shooting stops for a while. It is a quiet, overcast winter morning in the front-line village of Taramchuk in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers from the National Guard’s Aidar Battalion mill about outside the abandoned homes within which they have garrisoned, tending to their morning...
Sweden introduces military draft for both men and women
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Sweden’s left-leaning government introduced a military draft for both men and women Thursday because of what its defense minister called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden. Sweden abolished compulsory military service for men in 2010 because there were enough volunteers to meet its...
