Section: US & Canada
A Russian chief rabbi stands by his strongman, aka Putin
Rabbi Berel Lazar, right, with congregants at an unfinished synagogue in Sevatopol, Crimea, July 14, 2014. (Cnaan Liphshiz) MOSCOW (JTA) – Rabbi Berel Lazar’s mother was eager for grandchildren. So she gave her 25-year-old son an ultimatum: He could return to his beloved Jewish outreach work in Russia if — and only if — he got married. His...
‘Everything is destroyed’: Tug of war in eastern Ukraine takes toll on civilians, may forewarn new rebel push
Lebedinskoye, Ukraine — In a stark violation of February’s Minsk II ceasefire agreement, which banned the use of heavy weapons, Russian-backed forces rained fire down on this bucolic farming village for about 40 minutes Tuesday, demolishing 27 homes and shattering the lives of hundreds of peasants. “I have nothing to live on. Why? What for?...
Stephen Harper says Russia can’t rejoin G-7 with Putin in power
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Russia should never be allowed back in the Group of 7 as long as Vladimir Putin is president. Harper said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press that he expects the group won’t ever let Putin back in. He made the remarks ahead of his trip to Ukraine and the Group of 7 meeting in...
Ukraine’s President Tells Military To Prepare For ‘Full-Scale’ Russian Invasion
By Richard Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk KIEV, June 4 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s president told his military on Thursday to prepare for a possible “full-scale invasion” by Russia all along their joint border, a day after the worst fighting with Russian-backed separatists in months. His address in parliament was one of the first...
G-7 leaders seek answers from Obama on Russia, Islamic State issues
With European euphoria for President Obama now just a memory, leaders of the G-7 summit that begins Sunday in Germany are hoping simply for the president to lead on emergencies ranging from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine to the Islamic State terrorist group. Mr. Obama, who was greeted by hundreds of … …read more Source: The...
Obama to urge Europe not to waver from Russia sanctions
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans to urge European leaders this weekend not to waver from sanctions against Russia, pursuing what the White House is calling a “steady as she goes” policy while accusing Moscow of flagrantly violating a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. …read more Source: CNS...
Eastern Ukraine Tense After Outbreak of Fighting
DONETSK, Ukraine — Separatist and government troops in east Ukraine stood nervously poised hundreds of meters apart Thursday in the wake of bloody battle that has threatened to demolish what remains of the brittle cease-fire there. Underscoring anxieties in the Ukrainian capital, President Petro Poroshenko warned of a possible large-scale...
AP Interview: Canada’s Harper says Russia can’t rejoin G-7
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Russia should never be allowed back in the Group of 7 as long as Vladimir Putin is president. Harper said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press that he expects the group won’t ever let Putin back in. Harper noted Russia has ramped up its long-range bomber...
A Short History of Russian Poisoning
On May 23, 1938, a Soviet intelligence agent named Pavel Sudoplatov assassinated the Ukrainian nationalist leader Yevhen Konovalets in Rotterdam. The order for the murder had come personally from Josef Stalin. The method was none too subtle: Sudoplatov had given his victim a box of chocolates, containing a bomb.Subtler forms of liquidation had...
Roger Cohen: How Putin bested America
It was not a surprise that President Vladimir Putin of Russia came out in strong support of FIFA against the “blatant attempt” of the United States “to extend its jurisdiction to other states.” Institutionalized corruption is Putin’s thing. The governing body of world soccer has become a near-perfect illustration of how such a system works,...
