Section: US & Canada
European Union agrees to extend economic sanctions against Russia
BRUSSELS — The European Union reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday to extend economic sanctions against Russia that expire at the end of next month until January next year, frustrating a campaign by Moscow to break the unity of the 28-nation bloc in its response to the conflict in Ukraine. The United States lobbied Europe against any let-up...
Hungary Plans Fence to Block Migrants’ Entry from Serbia
Hungary announced plans Wednesday to build a fence 4 meters high (13 feet) along its border with Serbia to stem the flow of illegal migrants, a move that triggered a swift rebuke from the U.N. refugee agency. Hungary, a landlocked central European country of 10 million people, is in the EU’s visa-free Schengen zone and thus an attractive...
Rebels in Ukraine Want Autonomy but Depend on Russia
Russia-backed rebels in Ukraine’s southeast say they are fighting for autonomy from authorities in Kyiv, who lean to Europe and the West. But as the rebels struggle to define that autonomy, the region is increasingly dependent on Russia. Meanwhile, growing numbers of war-weary people in Donetsk are becoming indifferent to their political...
Blacklisted in U.S., Russian Railways head boasts of Canadian connections
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – One of the most influential members of Russia’s business elite says the reason he’s not on the Harper government’s sanctions list is likely that Canadians, unlike others, are not “masochists.”Vladimir Yakunin, the powerful head of Russian Railways, made the comment to The Canadian Press...
6 out of 10 top oil-producing countries are under serious corruption risk
In the wake of the recent FIFA scandal, a risk analysis company called Verisk Maplecroft has ranked 198 countries on their prevalence of bribery and corruption. That ranking also looked at the top 10 oil-producing countries and found that six of them were under serious risk of corruption. The countries are divided into four risk categories: low,...
Ukraine creditors reject ‘haircut’ despite default threat
Kiev (AFP) – Ukraine’s biggest private creditors mounted a firm defence Wednesday of their refusal to accept a debt write-off that could keep the impoverished but strategic ex-Soviet nation from slipping into default.The group of four US investment giants — owed nearly two-thirds of the $15.3 billion (13.6 billion euros) Kiev is...
Why Putin’s War Talk Isn’t Fooling Anyone
MOSCOW — At the recent Army-2015 international military forum President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is prepared to deploy more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles. A year or more ago, such a statement would have had immediate repercussions on the market. The ruble would have lost value, investors would have abandoned...
Greece the IMF and Ukraine
Are you wondering why the IMF is standing by Ukraine against Ukraine’s creditors, while the IMF is refusing to extend even a smidgeon of an olive branch to Greece? Creditors have loaned Ukraine $70 billion dollars. To receive payment of $40 billion from the IMF, the IMF required Ukraine to convince its creditors to agree with a...
Kiev Mulls Naming Street After Slain Kremlin-Critic Boris Nemtsov
Kiev could soon honour slain Kremlin-critic Boris Nemtsov by naming a street after him, according to the Ukrainian capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko. Nemtsov was fatally shot within view of the Kremlin last February, prompting thousands to take to the streets of Moscow in honour of the politician. Nemtsov, who was deputy prime minister of...
European diplomats are going to take another shot at resolving the Ukraine crisis next week
Europe and Russia are headed into another high-stakes bid at solving the conflict that has been raging in eastern Ukraine since early 2014. A ministerial meeting between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany aimed at finding a rapid solution to the conflict will be held next week in Paris, Reuters reports. The high-level talks will be the latest...
