Section: US & Canada
Finland OK’S Russian-Backed Nuclear Plant
Finland has approved the building of a Russian-backed nuclear power plant at a time when many western capitals are seeking to isolate Moscow over its intervention in Ukraine. …read more Source: The Wall Street...
Russian ‘Humanitarian Convoy’ Heads for Separatist Moldovan Region
A Russian NGO with close ties to the Kremlin plans to send a 60-lorry ‘humanitarian convoy’ into Moldova’s pro-Russian separatist region, amidst growing tension in the small former Soviet state after pro-EU parties defeated the pro-Russian Socialist party in last week’s parliamentary elections. The first three lorries had...
Obama Nominates Ashton Carter For U.S. Defense Secretary
U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated a former weapons purchaser at the Pentagon, Ashton Carter, to become the next U.S. Secretary of Defense. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Interview: Gazprom Must Play By EU Rules, Says EU Vice-President
European Commission Vice-President and Energy Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told RFE/RL’s Rikard Jozwiak on December 5 that Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline could be revived if Moscow understood that Gazprom had to abide by EU energy market rules. This week Russia announced it was abandoning the project. Despite this, and current...
Obama Nominates Ashton Carter For Defense Secretary
President Barack Obama on Friday nominated former Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Obama said Carter is regarded “as one of our nation’s foremost national security leaders.” “He knows the Department of Defense inside and out,” Obama said. “On Day One,...
Ukraine uses one-day truce to test ground for lasting ceasefire
KIEV, Ukraine — A one-day truce announced by Ukraine’s president will serve as a test to see if the fighting in eastern Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists can truly be halted, a military spokesman said Friday. President Petro Poroshenko’s declaration of a break next Tuesday in the fighting marks a new attempt to revive a...
Ukraine tests ground for lasting cease-fire
Spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the “day of silence” would demonstrate the degree of coordination possible within rebel forces — an apparent reference to reports of schisms among the separatists. Lavrov said it was brokered with the help of Russian military experts at Poroshenko’s invitation and “is linked to create a...
New U.S. defence secretary could bring a hard-nosed view on Russia and North Korea to the White House
The experiences that Ashton Carter would bring to the job of defence secretary are vastly different from Chuck Hagel’s in several important ways, starting with the fact that Carter is an academic and a policy wonk, Robert Burns of the Associated Press writes. Here is the rest of the Associated Press article: How Carter would pursue...
Russia may never receive Mistral-class warships, says French defence minister
France’s defence minister suggested on Friday that two warships ordered by Russia may never be delivered because of its actions in Ukraine, the Associated Press reports. Here is the rest of the Associated Press article: Last month, President Francois Hollande suspended the delivery of the first of the ships “until further notice” due to...
French Defense Minister Says Russia May Never Receive Mistral Warships
The deal to sell the ships, designed to transport troops, tanks and helicopters, ran into opposition after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March. …read more Source: The New York...
