Section: US & Canada
Canada to send military advisors to Ukraine
The Canadian Forces are signing onto a training mission in Ukraine. iPolitics has learned Canadian trainers will joining American troops currently serving in that role. Observers are set to deploy to the eastern European country in mid-May to shadow the Americans, with the remainder of the contingent to follow near the end of the month. The...
The Case Against Robert Menendez
Joshua Roberts/Reuters “Politics as usual”—it’s a phrase that’s rooted in a cynical view of how our elected officials operate. The assumption is that even if what they’re doing isn’t exactly illegal, it’s probably untoward. The central theme of the Department of Justice’s 68-page indictment of New...
A trio of models are at the center of the corruption case against a US senator
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) allegedly used his political influence to help expedite the visa applications for three models who were dating his close friend and donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen. The claim was included in an indictment that was obtained against Menendez by the Department of Justice on Wednesday. The Justice Department said the...
Ukraine Working to Stabilize Cease-fire, Merkel Says
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Ukraine “is determined” to reach a more stable cease-fire with pro-Russian rebels in the country’s restive east. Merkel, speaking at a joint news conference Wednesday in Berlin with visiting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, said the Ukraine situation has been calmer since February...
Keystone Poisoning US-Canada Relations
Congress isn’t alone in its frustration at the Obama administration’s continued inaction (and in some cases deliberate intervention against action) on the controversial Keystone pipeline. Our northern neighbor is fed up with the interminable delays of the project, which would connect Albertan oil sands with Gulf Coast refineries. The...
Fired Russian Journalist Runs News Website in Exile
A year after she was fired as editor of one of Russia’s most popular news websites for running afoul of the authorities, Galina Timchenko has decamped to Latvia and launched a new site to keep the flame of Russian independent media alive. Meduza, published since last October out of a newsroom in Riga, offers an alternative to Russia’s...
Sustainable Peace for Sustainable Development: Scrutinizing the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 16 in Question
My name is Ajarat Bada and I am the Director for The Missing Millennium Development Goal Initiative. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to these efforts. Transformative shift number 4 in the High Level panel’s report particularly inspires us. We agree that freedom from conflict and violence is the “essential foundation...
Ukrainian Pilot Savchenko’s Lawyer Claims Russian Twitter ‘Extremism’ Probe
A lawyer for Nadia Savchenko, a Ukrainian air force officer who is on hunger strike in a Russian prison, says Russian authorities are investigating him for potential “extremist” language posted on his Twitter account. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Russia Denies License to Tatar-Language TV Station in Crimea
Crimea’s independent Tatar-language television station ATR went off the air Wednesday after Russian authorities refused to give it a broadcasting license. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year, ATR, like other local media outlets, had to reregister by March 31 of this year to continue operating in Crimea. Only...
Russia Shuts Down TV Station Serving Crimean Tatars
Regulators rejected four applications filed by ATR, which members of the Tatar minority said reflected a continuing pattern of discrimination. …read more Source: The New York...
