Section: US & Canada
Ukraine Fighting Creates New Refugees
Thousands of people who thought the worst had passed have suddenly found themselves catapulted back into the crossfire and scrambling for safety in the dead of winter. …read more Source: The Wall Street...
Greece’s New Finance Minister Is A Loose-Lipped Blogger And A Snarky Media Critic
Yanis Varoufakis is the new finance minister of Greece, after the far-left party Syriza won a resounding victory in Greece last week. Before being elected to parliament and named finance minister, Varoufakis was an economics professor and regular blogger. His site is called “Thoughts for our post-2008 world,” and it generally focuses...
Oil Prices Changing the Face Of Global Geopolitics
In a documentary that aired recently on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s popular The Fifth Estate program, an allegory of Vladimir Putin was presented. The wily Russian president was described growing up in a shabby St. Petersburg apartment, where he would often corner rats. Now, punished by low oil prices and Western sanctions...
Russia Says It Would Consider Financial Help for Greece
Russia’s finance minister said his country would consider providing financial support to Greece, raising the stakes for the European Union as it confronts the new Euroskeptic reality in Athens. Anton Siluanov told CNBC that Russia has not received a request from Greece for assistance, but his comments come days after the anti-E.U. party...
EU to extend existing Russia sanctions over Ukraine
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the EU has steadily increased restrictive measures. In July, the EU imposed economic sanctions which, combined with the drop in oil prices, have stung Moscow. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Russian-backed Ukraine rebels overrun another town in east
Military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the separatist forces, backed by tanks, attacked the town of Vuhlehirsk on Thursday and government troops were fighting to push them out. September’s cease-fire deal signed in the Bealarusian capital, Minsk, envisaged a pullback of heavy weapons and other steps to end hostilities in eastern...
Ukraine: Russia-backed rebels overrun another town in east
ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s military conceded Thursday that its forces had been overrun by Russian-backed separatist forces in another town in their battle to hold onto a strategically valuable railway hub. A soldier wounded in combat for the town, Vuhlehirsk, said armored vehicles and tanks were used in the …...
Greece Is Quickly Turning Into Europe’s Worst Nightmare
Greece is quickly turning into a nightmare for Europe. Syriza, the radical left-wing political party which won the Greek parliamentary elections over the weekend, surprised the EU by challenging economic reforms as well as the sanctions imposed on Russia. Berlin and its European partners insist on reforms as a condition for receiving more aid...
Ukraine: Russia-backed rebels overrun another town in east
ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military has acknowledged that Russia-backed separatists have overrun another town in their onslaught against government troops in the east of the country. …read more Source: U.S....
The Global Order Can Only Be Saved If New Powers Are Let In
GENEVA — As 2015 begins, the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are under threat. Around the world, personal liberty, human rights, and democracy are at risk — even in countries that have embraced democratic ideals. The international community is deeply divided, blocking...
