Section: US & Canada
Russia gets battle-ready with troops, firepower buildup at Ukraine border
Russia has built up 17 battalions of about 20,000 troops into a force of infantry, armour, artillery and air defence within a few miles of the border. It has also vastly expanded its firepower. …read more Source: Toronto...
Thai surrogate mom would be happy to get twin back
SRI RACHA, Thailand (AP) — A Thai surrogate mother raising a Down syndrome baby she claims was abandoned by his Australian biological parents said Tuesday she would be happy to have the boy’s healthy twin returned to her, especially after learning the father is a convicted sex offender. The Australian government is considering policy...
Eurozone Recovery Holding up but Ukraine Looms
LONDON— Further evidence emerged Tuesday that the economic recovery across Europe is gaining traction, though it remains vulnerable to an escalation in the crisis in Ukraine, which has seen sanctions on Russia ratcheted up. As well as raising speculation that Russia will slip into recession following the sanctions imposed by the United...
730,000 have left Ukraine for Russia to escape fighting, UN says
About 730,000 Ukrainians have left the country for Russia this year due to the fighting in eastern Ukraine, the European head of the United Nations agency for refugees said on Tuesday, pointing to a far bigger exodus than previously thought. …read more Source:...
Germany’s Spy Agency Is Ready To Shake Off Its Second Tier Reputation
“In the CIA people view liaison relationships as a pain in the ass but necessary,” says Valerie Plame, the CIA undercover agent whose identity was infamously disclosed by aides to President George W Bush soon after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Liaison relationships are the CIA’s term for cooperation with foreign intelligence...
Japan Fears For Security As Neighbours Build Up Arms
Japan finds itself in a worsening security environment as North Korea pushes ahead with missile development and China and Russia step up military activity in the region, Japan’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry’s annual white paper comes after intermittent testing by North Korea of ballistic missiles in defiance of a...
Will Sanctions on Russia Tip the World Into Recession?
In the summer of 1997, Larry Summers, then the deputy treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, was having a private meeting with a senior Wall Street executive who oversaw his bank’s international operations. The executive had been watching with concern the mounting turmoil in the financial and property markets of Thailand, the...
Ukraine troops push toward rebels in Donetsk
Government forces seen in control of key checkpoint near pro-Russian separatists’ stronghold …read more Source:...
Switzerland Expands Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine Crisis
Switzerland has extended its sanctions over Ukraine’s crisis by adding 26 more Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians to the list. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (DIA, SPY, QQQ, GCI, DIS, Z, GRPN, FSLR, PBPB)
Good morning! Here’s what you need to know. 1. Israel Withdraws From Gaza. Forces withdrew in advance of a 72-hour ceasefire brokered by Egypt, and after Israel had announced it had completed its mission to destroy Hamas tunnels. “Hamas and Islamic Jihad appeared ready for the conflict to come to a halt,” the New York...
