Section: US & Canada
Hard Talks: Moving Forward From Vienna
What Secretary of State John Kerry described as the ‘most promising opportunity’ for a political solution to the Syrian war, was an opportunity that could only be realized through compromise. Frustrated by Iranian positioning in the Vienna talks, the U.S. has stepped up the military side of their Syria strategy by committing special...
Ukrainian Jewish politician arrested on embezzlement charges
(JTA) — A Ukrainian Jewish politician has been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and participating in organized crime. Hennadiy Korban, head of the UKROP party that he founded in June, was arrested Saturday in Dnepropetrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine. He is accused of stealing $1.7 million intended to fund Ukrainian troops fighting the...
UN group says Malaysia Anwar’s jailing politically motivated
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Imprisoned Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was prosecuted for political reasons and should be released, a U.N. body concluded after reviewing the case widely seen as politically motivated. The government rejected the findings and called for the legal process to be respected. Anwar began serving a five-year...
Human rights groups team up to oppose Canada selling arms to Ukraine
OTTAWA – Two human-rights groups have teamed up to oppose a plan by the outgoing Conservative government to allow the sale of so-called prohibited weapons to Ukraine, including automatic assault rifles and armoured vehicles.Amnesty International Canada and Project Ploughshares have written to the Department of Foreign Affairs expressing...
Human rights groups oppose Canada selling arms to Ukraine
Two human-rights groups have teamed up to oppose a plan by the outgoing Conservative government to allow the sale of so-called prohibited weapons to Ukraine, including automatic assault rifles and armoured vehicles. …read more Source: Global...
Information Transparency and No-Fly Zones in Conflict Areas
The crash of Metrojet flight 7K9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg over the weekend has again raised question about the safety of flying anywhere near a war zone. However, the Sinai Desert is not technically a war zone, and early indications are that the plane was probably brought down by a bomb rather than a missile. The video released...
A Triage Guide to Thinking About the Russian Airliner Crash Over Egypt
Marina Lystseva / ReutersThe Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt this weekend (Reuters) The Atlantic’s Krishnadev Calamur has a wrap-up of the latest news, rumors, statements, and so on about the Russian airliners crash over the Sinai Peninsula two days ago. In response to incoming queries, here is a triage guide to thinking about causes...
Amid Russian Tensions, US And Canada Military Flights For Observation To Be Conducted Over Russia
A joint group of U.S. and Canadian military surveillance teams is expected to conduct a series of observation flights over Russian territory this week as part of a treaty designed to create transparency and trust between Russia and the West, according to a report Monday from Russian news site Tass. While similar flights have been commonplace...
Cause of Russian Aircaft Tragedy Remains a Mystery
Two days after a Russian airliner crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 people on board, the cause of the disaster remains a mystery. Earlier, a top official at the Russian airline Metrojet said at a news conference in Moscow on Monday that a technical failure was out of the question. The official, Alexander Smirnov, said...
Thomas Blatt, survivor of escape from Sobibor, dies at 88
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish-born Blatt, who lost both parents and a younger brother in the gas chambers of Sobibor, died Saturday morning at his home in Santa Barbara, California, a Warsaw-based friend, Alan Heath, told The Associated Press. Heath remembered Blatt as a “quiet and modest person” who suffered nightmares and depression until the...
