Section: US & Canada
US Helping Ukraine Investigate Power Grid Hack
The U.S. government said it was helping Ukraine investigate an apparent cyber attack last month on the country’s power grid that caused a blackout for an estimated 80,000 customers. Experts have widely described the Dec. 23 incident at western Ukraine’s Prykarpattyaoblenergo utility as the first known power outage caused by a cyber...
UN: International Migration Surged 41 Percent Since 2000
UNITED NATIONS—The number of people who migrated to foreign countries surged by 41 percent in the last 15 years to reach 244 million in 2015, according to a United Nations study released Tuesday. Of those people, 20 million are refugees. The U.N. is planning a series of meetings in 2016 to address migration, including a March 30 gathering in...
Ex-spy chief: Ukrainian cyberattack a warning sign for US utilities
Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA, says the US faces ‘darkening skies’ after malware linked power outages in Ukraine. …read more Source: Christian Science...
UN: International migration surged 41 percent since 2000
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The number of people who migrated to foreign countries surged by 41 percent in the last 15 years to reach 244 million in 2015, according to a United Nations study released Tuesday. Of those people, 20 million are refugees. The U.N. is planning a series of meeting to address migration in 2016, including a March 30 gathering...
Athletics Body Considered Cover-Up of Russia Doping, Report Says
(Paris, France) — Six years before the IAAF banned Russia, track and field’s governing body knew of doping so out of control it feared Russian athletes could die from abuse of blood-boosting drugs and transfusions, and officials considered collaborating with Russians to hide the full extent of the cheating before the 2012 London Olympics,...
APNewsBreak: IAAF officials explored hush up of Russia bans
PARIS (AP) — Six years before the IAAF banned Russia, track and field’s governing body knew of doping so out of control it feared Russian athletes could die from abuse of blood-boosting drugs and transfusions, and officials considered collaborating with Russians to hide the full extent of the cheating before the 2012 London Olympics,...
Timeline of Russia’s doping scandal and of IAAF papers
PARIS (AP) — A timeline of how internal IAAF documents reported by The Associated Press fit into Russia’s sports doping crisis: —July 6, 2009: IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss tells Russian athletics chief Valentin Balakhnichev of “the constant difficulties in testing” elite Russian athletes who will compete at the World Championships in...
How Ukraine Weaned Itself Off Russian Gas
A changing European market deprives Putin of leverage. …read more Source:...
Pro-Russian Activist Falls On Hard Times In Annexed Crimea
For more than 20 years, Valery Podyachy lobbied for a Russian takeover of Crimea. But when Moscow finally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine, the activist found himself punished for his efforts. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
The Polish Boomerang: How Warsaw’s Adoption of the ‘Budapest Model’ Could Threaten the Original in Hungary
There is no denying that 2015 was a great year for Viktor Orbán, the illiberal Prime Minister of Hungary, who made the most of Europe’s tragedies to transform himself from political pariah to ideological leader. While Time chose his nemesis German Chancellor Angela Merkel as “Person of the Year,” driven by convention and wishful...
