Section: US & Canada
Kerry, Lavrov Meeting Again on Ukraine Conflict
The top U.S. and Russian diplomats are meeting in Rome in a new bid to ease tensions in Ukraine, but their latest talks are complicated by U.S. legislation calling for military aid to be sent to Kyiv forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were...
Putin’s Popularity Could Change Faster Than Many Expect
A GOVERNMENT television channel dubbed Vladimir Putin’s latest state of the nation address “A Message from Above”. Dmitry Kiselev, Mr Putin’s chief propagandist, even likened it to speeches by Roosevelt, Churchill and De Gaulle. Mr Putin’s sermon had both messianic and defensive overtones. He called Crimea a sacred...
Claims that Russian military aircraft came dangerously close to passenger jet now being questioned
This is an interesting article from the Associated Press. Both the airline and the Russians are saying that this “incident” has been blown out of proportion by Sweden’s military…..essentially they are saying the incident never happened. Perhaps some anti-Russian/anti-Putin propaganda on the part of the Swedish military? Here is the...
Ukraine Aid Bill Heads To Obama
A bill authorizing lethal aid for Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia unanimously passed the U.S. Senate late on December 13, sending it to U.S. President Barack Obama to sign or veto the measure. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Russian jet, civilian airliner nearly collide, Sweden says
A Russian military jet nearly collided with a commercial passenger airplane in international airspace near southern Sweden on Friday, the Swedish authorities said, but Russia insisted on Sunday that its jet had kept at a safe distance. Relations between Russia and the West have soured over Moscow’s role in the conflict in Ukraine and its...
The Modern Luxury Industry Rests On A Paradox
AT THE TRANG TIEN PLAZA shopping mall in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, on some evenings a curious spectacle unfolds. Couples in wedding finery pose for photographs in front of illuminated shop windows, with Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton and Gucci offering the sort of backdrop for romance more usually provided by the sea or the mountains....
Sweden Says Russian Military Jet In Near-Crash With Passenger Plane, Russia Issues Denial
(Reuters) – A Russian military jet nearly collided with a commercial passenger airplane in international airspace near southern Sweden on Friday, the Swedish authorities said, but Russia insisted on Sunday that its jet had kept at a safe distance. Relations between Russia and the West have soured over Moscow’s role in the conflict in...
Russia Denies One Of Its Military Planes Nearly Collided With A Passenger Jet
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday denied Swedish claims that for the second time this year a Russian military aircraft had nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden, insisting that the two planes were never less than 70 kilometers (42 miles) apart. Scandinavian Airlines, which was operating the commercial flight, also...
Heartrending Letters From Soviet-Era Siberian GULAGs
Banned from writing to loved ones, and only allowed letters from family members twice a year, prisoners in Soviet labor camps came up with many ways to squirrel out messages. With no pencils, papers, or envelopes, they were forced to write on cigarette boxes, scratch out words on tree bark, or embroider messages with fish bone on pieces of...
Russia denies another near miss in Baltic skies
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday denied Swedish claims that for the second time this year a Russian military aircraft had nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden, insisting that the two planes were never less than 70 kilometers (42 miles) apart. Swedish officials said the Russian intelligence plane had turned off...
