Section: US & Canada
Putin: ‘We’re not attacking anyone’
President Putin says his nation is ready to mediate in the Ukraine crisis and denies Russians killed there were military. …read more Source:...
Swiss central bank imposes negative interest rates
BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Following the fallout of the slide in the Russian ruble, Switzerland sought Thursday to prevent the Swiss franc from breaching upper limits imposed on the currency by introducing negative interest rates on commercial bank deposits. The move forces commercial banks to pay to deposit their francs with the Swiss National...
Father Raymond J. de Souza: Russia’s economic collapse offers the West a chance to rein the country in
How will editors in the Russian press craft their year-end stories? Will they lead with a burst of nationalism, celebrating the extravagant Sochi Olympics and the violent annexation of Crimea from Ukraine? Or are they still reeling from Monday’s collapse of the ruble, which has lost 50% of its value this year against the U.S. dollar?...
FP’s Situation Report, presented by Lockheed Martin: Cold War-era deadlock between U.S. and Cuba is over; Russia searches for a Ukraine deal as its economy tumbles; Pakistan turns to Afghanistan for help after school attack; and much more.
By David Francis and Sabine Muscat The Cold War-era deadlock between the United States and Cuba is over, marking a new age for U.S.-Cuban relations. The standoff began in 1962 with Soviet missiles pointed at the United States from Cuba. It ended yesterday when U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro made simultaneous TV...
Putin Blames West for Russia’s Economic Crisis
MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to fix Russia’s economic woes within two years, voicing confidence that the plummeting ruble will recover and promising to diversify Russia’s gas-dependent economy. Speaking with strong emotion and looking confident, Putin also displayed a defiant stance toward the West, which he...
Record-breaking French aliyah dwarfs immigration from North America
(JTA) — Jewish immigration from France to Israel reached an all-time record of 6,655 newcomers, in the first 11 months of 2014. The figure, which appears in a Jewish Agency document compiled this month, may guarantee that France will be this year’s number one source for aliyah, or immigration by Jews and their relatives to Israel. The...
Putin Accuses the West of Trying to Sideline Russia
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to fix Russia’s economic woes within two years, pledging to diversify the gas-dependent economy and persuade businesses to help prop up the collapsing ruble. While using a litany of accusations against the West, Putin acknowledged that Western economic sanctions over Russia’s...
Vladimir Putin: Ukraine must remain 1 entity
Russian President Vladimir Putin is voicing hope that the crisis in Ukraine could be solved through peace talks. …read more Source:...
Putin accuses West of trying to sideline Russia
While using a litany of accusations against the West, Putin acknowledged that Western economic sanctions over Russia’s course on Ukraine was just one factor behind the Russian economic crisis, saying a key reason was the nation’s failure to ease its overwhelming dependence on oil and gas exports. Speaking with strong emotion, Putin...
Western sanctions partly to blame for Russian economic crisis: Putin
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Western sanctions have been an important factor in the current economic crisis, but not the only one. Putin said Thursday the influence of Western sanctions acounts roughly for 25 to 30 per cent of factors behind the Russian crisis. He accused the West of trying to infringe on Russia’s...
