Section: US & Canada
EU ministers call for new sanctions against Russia
The meeting of the 28-nation bloc’s top diplomats in Milan came one day after NATO said Moscow slipped at least 1,000 Russian soldiers and much heavy weaponry into Ukraine. Fighting between Ukrainian military forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has already claimed at least 2,200 lives, according to U.N. figures. The...
Russian-backed rebels aim to push west along coast
None of the half-dozen tanks seen by reporters in the town of about 12,000 people bore Russian markings, but the packaging on their field rations said they were issued by the Russian army. The Ukrainian government the day before accused Russia of sending tanks, artillery and troops across the border, and NATO estimated at least 1,000 Russian...
Putin Orders Rebels to Allow Surrounded Ukrainian Troops to Escape
Pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine will comply with a Kremlin request to allow surrounded Ukrainian government troops to safely leave rebel-held areas. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk announced on Friday he wanted Ukraine to join NATO — the mutual defense treaty between the United States and European countries....
S&P 500 to New Record on Improving Economy
Wall Street bounces around into the weekend as escalating tensions involving Ukraine offset another round of mostly upbeat economic data out of the U.S. Gains were small, but small enough for the S&P 500 to log its fourth record close this week. The Dow and Nasdaq extending a weekly rally to week number four. Britain raised its international...
Gung-ho rebels impose tough rule of newly-taken Ukraine city
Novoazovsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Camouflaged rebel Alexander hung a sign on the wall of a busy supermarket Friday laying down the harsh new laws now governing the town of Novoazovsk after fighting drove out Ukrainian forces.”Robbers, thieves and violent criminals must be judged before a military tribunal!” the decree...
Weekend Roundup: Where in Hell Did ISIS Come From?
What happens when the strategic fatigue of the West meets an energetic jihadist surge aimed at setting up a Syriaq caliphate? That is the question The WorldPost asked our contributors to address this week. Writing from Beirut, the legendary former MI6 agent and “middleman of the Middle East,” Alastair Crooke, examines the link between...
AP News in Brief at 5:58 p.m. EDT
Families of Russian troops captured, killed or missing in Ukraine want answers on their fate MOSCOW (AP) – The last time Valeria Sokolova saw her husband, the 25-year-old paratrooper told her that he and his fellow soldiers were heading for military exercises in southern Russia, near the Ukrainian … …read more Source: The...
Canada looks to join NATO force of 10,000 troops meant to keep Russia in check
Canada is interested in joining a NATO joint expeditionary force of at least 10,000 troops that is being created to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank in an effort to check Russia’s creeping military takeover of eastern Ukraine, according to Britain’s Financial Times newspaper. The British-led division-sized force will include...
Ukraine Battles Pro-Russia Rebel Assault
After NATO concluded an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in eastern Ukraine, the country is struggling to contain heavy fighting near the strategic port of Mariupol, on the Azov Sea. Separatist rebels are trying to capture the city, allegedly with Russian military help, and Ukraine’s defense forces are digging in. VOA’s Daniel...
U.S. Warns Against Ukraine Travel
The U.S. State Department warned Americans Friday to avoid traveling to eastern Ukraine, in response to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine’s armed forces and Russia-backed separatists. “The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly,” the statement said. “U.S. citizens throughout Ukraine should avoid large crowds and...
