Section: US & Canada
AP EXPLAINS: The rise of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Merkel, 61, is the European Union’s longest-serving head of government and has been a serial winner of Forbes magazine’s title of world’s most powerful woman. Merkel helped negotiate the Kyoto accord to curb greenhouse gas emissions as environment minister in the 1990s. In the crisis over Ukraine, she has stuck doggedly to...
Russia-Ukraine Conflict Update: Putin Threatens Lawsuit Against Kiev If $3B Debt Not Paid
The economic battle between Russia and Ukraine could enter the courtroom soon with Russian authorities calling Ukrainian officials “crooks.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday if Ukraine does not repay $3 billion worth of debt by the Dec. 20 deadline a lawsuit would be filed, Reuters reported. …read more Source: International...
German leader Angela Merkel named Time magazine’s Person of the Year
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named Time’s Person of the Year, praised Wednesday by the magazine for her leadership on everything from Syrian refugees to the Greek debt crisis. Time also cited Merkel’s strong response to “Vladimir Putin’s creeping theft of Ukraine” and on its cover called…...
UN: As Ukraine Fighting Dwindles, Rights Abuses Rise
While the United Nations has found a marked decrease in fighting between Ukraine’s forces and Russian-backed rebels in the country’s east, it also reports an increase in abuses of civilians in the insurgent-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. Monitors for the U.N.’s Human Rights Office in Ukraine reported Wednesday that the...
Syrian refugees participate in Berlin public menorah lighting
BERLIN (JTA) — A group of Syrian refugee children — along with other Muslim groups in Berlin — joined with Jewish groups for a public Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony in the German city. On Sunday, the Syrian children joined with local Jewish kids to light the giant Chabad menorah at the Brandenburg Gate. Aiman Mazyek, head of the Central...
Ukrainian militia accused of holding Dutch paintings for $55M ransom
Ed AdamczykHOORN , Netherlands, Dec. 9 (UPI) — Artwork stolen from a Netherlands museum is being ransomed for nearly $55 million by Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, the museum said. …read more Source: United Press...
Time Magazine Names Merkel “Person of the Year 2015”
Time magazine has named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its 2015 “Person of the Year”, noting her leadership during the Syrian refugee crisis, the Greek bail-out deal, currency turmoil in the European Union, and Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. The magazine said Merkel “stepped in” every time Europe faced a serious crisis. It...
IAAF begins reallocating events Russia lost over doping
MOSCOW (AP) — Rome and Kiev are among the bidders to host track and field events that were taken away from Russia when it was suspended last month by athletics’ world governing body, the IAAF, because of a doping scandal. …read more Source: CNS...
UN: 9,000 killed in Ukraine conflict, but violence now easing up
More than 9,000 people have died in 21 months of fighting in eastern Ukraine, even as a new cease-fire has largely held and contributed to a sharp decline in casualties since mid-August, the U.N. human rights office said Wednesday. …read more Source: FOX...
Putin Orders Government To Sue If Ukraine Defaults On Debt
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Finance Ministry to take Ukraine to court if the country defaults on its $3 billion debt to Moscow. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
