Section: US & Canada
Snowden Cleared for 3 More Years in Russia, Lawyer Says
Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by the United States for leaking extensive secrets of its electronic surveillance programs, has been given a three-year residence permit by Russia, his Russian lawyer told reporters on Thursday. The announcement comes at a time when Russia’s relations with the West are at Cold...
ECB leaves rates on hold as Ukraine crisis looms
The European Central Bank has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.15 percent as the crisis in Ukraine casts a shadow over Europe’s modest economic recovery. …read more Source: Miami...
Reports: Snowden Granted 3 More Years in Russia
Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden received permission to stay in Russia for an additional three years, his lawyer told local media Thursday, amid the worst U.S.-Russian relations since the Cold War. Snowden revealed troves of classified information on the American government’s surveillance activities before fleeing...
German Interest Rates Go Negative
Investing.comThe German bond market is considered one of the safe havens for investors looking to get out of riskier asset classes like stocks. As tensions remain high on the Ukraine-Russia border, German bond prices have been rallying, pushing yields lower and lower. Earlier Thursday, the yield on Germany’s two-year bond actually went...
Fighting, Fires On Kyiv’s Independence Square
Demonstrators clashed with city employees and armed guards in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on August 7 as the workers tried to clear barricades and tents from Independence Square. Protesters set fire to piles of tires and threw bottles and bricks at the municipal workers, who eventually withdrew. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service) …read...
Russia Imposes One-Year Ban on Food Imports from West
The Russian government has imposed a ban on most food imports from the United States, the European Union and other Western nations in apparent retaliation for their sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the sanctions Thursday in Moscow. The import ban includes meat, fruit, vegetables and milk...
Ukraine crisis: Shelling at major hospital in Donetsk kills 1
A mortar hit a large hospital in the troubled Ukrainian city of Donetsk Thursday, killing at least one person, as government forces tighten their grip on the pro-Russian rebel stronghold. …read more Source: CTV...
Ex-leader’s estate embodies Ukraine’s past, present, hope for future
On a summer’s day in the park, children gripped Frisbees and ice cream cones as they tottered next to distracted parents. A wedding party simulated a conga line for a patient cameraman. A trio of twentysomething men sipped kvass, a favorite only-looks-like-beer beverage. …read more Source: Los Angeles...
Ukraine Crisis: 1 Killed At Donetsk Dental College In Attack Meant For Rebel Headquarters
A Ukrainian military strike intended to hit the headquarters of pro-Russia separatists Thursday instead hit a dental college, killing one patient. The attack was the second unsuccessful attempt at blowing up the rebel headquarters in Donetsk. The strike inflicted massive damage on the dental college in Donetsk, including the college’s...
Russia Bans Wide Array of Food Imports from the U.S., EU
Russia banned a wide array of food imports from Western countries Thursday in a spiraling sanction war amid the worst ties between Russia and the West since the Cold War. A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the additional restrictions, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he signed a decree banning for one year the import of foods...
