Section: US & Canada
EU Official: Union Considering Payouts to Compensate for Russian Ban
The European Union’s trade chief said on Thursday the bloc was considering compensating European food producers hit by trade restrictions that Russia has imposed in retaliation for EU sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told business leaders in Cyprus the EU was looking at ways to help food producers during...
Divorce, European Style
“All happy families are alike,” Leo Tolstoy wrote at the beginning of Anna Karenina. “Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Imagine, as Lenin liked to do, that a country is a marriage of different nationalities. Lenin believed, and he enshrined this principle in the Soviet constitution, that if the federal family...
Russian Activist Seeks Spain Asylum, Citing Threats
A prominent activist and gay rights advocate from St. Petersburg says she has left Russia after receiving death threats following her participation in a rally in support of Ukraine. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
The $1.6 Billion Warship Deal With Russia Is Now A Huge Headache For France
Suspending the sale of two Mistral-class warships to Russia would cost France as much as $1.3 billion, a French diplomat told BBC. On Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande decided to suspend delivery of the warships in a signal of Western cohesion amid Russia’s continued escalation in Ukraine. Russia has reportedly paid much of the...
Eastern Hopes for NATO Bases Stymied by Russia
WARSAW, Poland — On the eve of a NATO summit, President Barack Obama gave the alliance’s eastern European members a soaring assurance of protection from any Russian threat. But Poland and the Baltic states are seeking more than lofty words: They want permanent bases with troops on their land. And they probably won’t get that. While...
Russia: Ukraine’s NATO ambitions threaten talks
Unmarked military vehicles burn on a country road in the village of Berezove, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, after a clash between pro-government troops and Russian-backed separatis… …read more Source: The Bismarck...
NATO: Russia ‘attacking’ Ukraine as rift widens
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Russia is “attacking” neighboring Ukraine on Thursday. …read more Source:...
Australia to Give Military Assistance to Ukraine
The Australian government is to provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Canberra is also offering to join U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State militants. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has previously branded Russia a “bully” over its actions in Ukraine and this week he compared Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq to...
At NATO Summit, Allies Consider Lethal, Non-Lethal Aid To Ukraine
The alliance’s supreme allied commander in Europe says what Russia is doing in Ukraine is something “we thought would never happen again.” Meanwhile, Russia warned Ukraine against trying to join NATO.» E-Mail This …read more Source:...
Ukraine’s NATO ambitions are ‘blatant’ attempt to derail peace efforts: Russian FM
Russia’s foreign minister warned Thursday that Ukraine’s NATO ambitions are threatening to derail peace talks in eastern Ukraine. Undeterred, Ukraine’s president began a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and other top NATO leaders in Wales. …read more Source: CTV...
