Section: US & Canada
Ukraine’s Economy Likely To ‘Plunge’ In 2015
The Ukrainian government said on March 5 the country’s economy “will shrink this year and consumer prices will jump” due to the effects of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Ukraine’s Coal Pits Dangerous in Peacetime, Deadlier in War
Ivan Lazarenko, one of those pulled out alive after an explosion at a mine near the front line in rebel-held east Ukraine killed 33 workers, lay in hospital on Thursday, still unconscious and in bandages. If he recovers, it will not be the first time this year he had escaped death at the mine: he was trapped once in an elevator when the mine was...
Turkey Takes a Tumble
With the Turkish lira at a record low against the dollar and growth stalling, President Erdogan is employing some unusual measures to keep Turkey’s fragile economy afloat. The Financial Times reports: Last week, after intense pressure for lower interest rates from Mr Erdogan, the central bank cut overnight rates by a bigger than expected 50...
Putin wants to destroy NATO, ‘not by attacking it but by splintering it,’ says head of U.S. forces in Europe
BERLIN — The commander of the US army in Europe has accused Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, of seeking to destroy Nato, and accused Russia of having 12,000 troops inside eastern Ukraine. Speaking to military and political leaders in Berlin, Lt-Gen. Frederick “Ben” Hodges said Russia could seek to use the sort of “hybrid warfare” seen in...
Halifax-based warship arrives in the Black Sea for NATO exercises
HALIFAX – A Halifax-based warship has arrived in the Black Sea to take part in NATO training exercises.The Defence Department says HMCS Fredericton and five other allied warships will participate in a month-long operation to improve maritime security in central and eastern Europe.The department says the exercises are directly related to...
Ukrainian MP Held by Russia Ends Hunger-Strike After 83 Days
Lawyers for Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian MP and former military pilot held by Russian authorities since last June, have confirmed the “partial cessation” of her hunger strike, which she has undertaken for the past 83 days. Russia has charged Savchenko, 33, with involvement in a mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists last summer, in...
NATO Official: Putin’s Suppression to Blame for Nemtsov’s Death
Vladimir Putin is seeking to turn Ukraine into a failed state while silencing dissent at home, a top NATO official said on Thursday, suggesting the Russian President was ultimately responsible for the murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov. “President Putin’s aim seems to be to turn Ukraine into a failed state and to suppress and...
Op-Ed: For Ukraine Jews, Purim holiday merely a respite
A heavily damaged hotel near the airport in Donetsk, Ukraine, Feb. 26, 2015. Jews still living in the embattled city have become enormously dependent on foreign assistance, according to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images) NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish perseverance, and more than a bit of chutzpah, lies at the...
A year after Russia seized Crimea, Ukraine braces for a long fight
The irony of a year of war with Russia is that Ukraine today is far better prepared to defend itself than it was last March, after Russian troops invaded the…Click to Continue » …read more Source: The Bellingham...
NATO, Russia exchange barbs reminiscent of Cold War days
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO and Russia exchanged heated language reminiscent of Cold War days on Thursday with accusations of sinister geopolitical plotting and human rights abuses flying across an increasingly deep divide. NATO’s top U.S. civilian official, Alexander Vershbow, said Thursday that “an angry, revisionist Russia” was stopping at...
