Section: US & Canada
Ceasefire fails and preparations for war begin
The shelling of Mariupol, a city on the front lines of the war in eastern Ukraine, resumed in earnest at the end of October, just as the country had finished electing a new parliament. It has not let up since. “Day and night, they have been bombing from two directions,” says Vasyl Arbuzov, an adviser to the local authorities in Mariupol,...
Former Aide Says Putin Has No Strategic Plans
At times during the past year Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared to make somewhat sudden changes in policy as he has confronted the West over Ukraine and Russia’s influence in Eastern Europe. Earlier this year, for example, he publicly insisted the uniformed troops who began taking control of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in...
Voices: East Germans wary of helping Ukraine
Germans support sanctions on Russia but fear Ukraine conflict will lead to war. …read more Source: USA...
Ukraine to halt subsidies to rebel-held areas
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine will freeze budget subsidies for the eastern territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists, the prime minister announced Wednesday — a move that could worsen t… …read more Source: The Bismarck...
Ukraine Peace Plan in Tatters, ‘Frozen Conflict’ Takes Shape
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Kiev said on Wednesday it would halt payment of state funds in areas controlled by pro-Moscow rebels, as both sides hardened positions in what is rapidly becoming a “frozen conflict”: a long-term stalemate that the West believes is Russia’s aim. A day after the rebels held inauguration...
Now We Know Why Russia Has Been Building Up Its Gold Reserves
Since September 2012 Russia has been quietly building up its gold reserves, hitting 1,149.8 tonnes last month — it’s highest level since 1993. In the process the country has overtaken both Switzerland and China on its way to amassing the sixth largest gold reserve pile in the world. This was part of a sensible strategy to diversify its...
Standing Together for Crimean Tartars
By Rabbi Marc Schneier and Mohammed Khan As an American Jewish and an American Muslim leader dedicated to the principle that Muslims and Jews should stand up for each other whenever the rights of members of either community are violated anywhere in the world, we are speaking out together against the ever-intensifying campaign of intimidation and...
Fighting resumes in Ukraine as peace plan collapses
Ed AdamczykDONETSK, Ukraine, Nov. 5 (UPI) — Fighting between Ukrainian and pro-Russian separatist forces resumed Wednesday in Donetsk, as a precarious cease-fire collapsed. …read more Source: United Press...
Russia Tells U.S. It Will not Attend 2016 Nuclear Security Summit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia has told the United States that it will not attend a 2016 nuclear security summit, the State Department said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of frosty ties between Washington andMoscow. The bi-annual summit, to be held in Chicago in 2016, aims to enhance nuclear security around the world and, in the past, has...
Vladimir Putin Is The World’s Most Powerful Person, According To Forbes
Russian President Vladimir Putin was once again chosen by Forbes as the world’s most powerful person, successfully defending his title from last year. Putin shot Russia to the front of the world stage in early 2014 when he led Russia’s occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and clashed with Western leaders over...
