Section: US & Canada
Cease-fire in east Ukraine set to begin on Orthodox Easter
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The international envoy working to bring peace to eastern Ukraine says agreement has been reached to observe a cease-fire with the start of the Orthodox Easter and May Day holidays. Martin Sajdik, the special envoy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said after talks Friday in Minsk, the Belarusian...
Donald Trump’s New Secret Weapon: How the Man Who Ran the ‘Torturer’s Lobby’ Is Securing the Billionaire’s Nomination
Paul Manafort has represented oligarchs and tyrants. So it makes sense that now he’s representing Donald Trump. Perhaps one of the most unnerving political developments over these last few days has been the beginning of the reluctant acceptance of Donald Trump among the Republican establishment. Watching the likes of Senator Bob Corker on...
Russia’s nuclear strategy: It’s a trap!
Of late, Russia has not been a particularly good neighbor. Since Vladimir Putin reclaimed the presidency in 2012, Russia has annexed Crimea, invaded eastern Ukraine, and sent a steady stream of its warplanes to probe NATO… …read more Source: The...
30th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster
Ukraine this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster – the world’s worst civilian nuclear accident. Sirens were sounded in the early morning hours on April 26 in Ukraine to mark 30 years since the moment that the first explosion blew the roof off the building housing a reactor at the Chornobyl […] …read more...
Thirty years after Chornobyl disaster, Ukraine doubles down on nuclear power
Nearly 30 years after Chornobyl spewed nuclear dust across Europe and sparked fears of fallout around the globe, a strapped, war-torn Ukraine is opting for “upgrades” rather than shutdowns of its fleet of Soviet-era nuclear power reactors. Kyiv is planning to spend an estimated $1.7 billion to bring the facilities, many of which are nearing […]...
Ukraine’s new concept paper on security and defense reform
On March 16, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko approved the “Concept for the Development of the Security and Defense Sector” (President.gov.ua, March 16). The document lays out the “Western” vision for Ukraine’s security and defense sector reform and specifies the goals for this process. The concept paper also shows that security sector...
RFE/RL Contributor In Crimea Accused Of Calls For Separatism
Officials in Russia-annexed Crimea have charged Mykola Semena, a contributor to a news site about Crimea run by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), with calling for separatism. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Former SS Auschwitz Guard Apologizes at Trial in Germany
DETMOLD, Germany (AP) — A 94-year-old former SS sergeant admitted in court Friday that he had served as an Auschwitz death camp guard, apologizing to Nazi Holocaust survivors looking on in a German courtroom that even though he was aware Jews were being gassed and their corpses burned, he did nothing to try to stop it. Reinhold Hanning told the...
Finnish report highlights Russian threat of NATO membership
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland could expect “harsh” reactions from Russia if it decided to join NATO, but would be better off doing so together with neighboring Sweden, an expert panel told the Finnish government on Friday. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned of a “military-technical” response if its “neutral neighbors” became...
Ukraine Far-Right Group Defaces KGB Monument
Activists from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists defaced a Soviet-era monument dedicated to KGB officers in Kyiv. Members of the far-right group tried but failed to chisel off the nose of one face on April 28. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
