Section: US & Canada
An Alliance of Necessity: Putin’s Russia Enjoys a Strategic Partnership With Israel
President Vladimir Putin & Prime Minister Netanyahu maintain a shared understanding of how to keep the Mideast stable despite the Kremlin’s alliances with some of Israel’s bitter foes/ Courtesy of AFP “The development of mutually advantageous and constructive relations with Israel in the political, economic, humanitarian and...
EU Air Freight Rules Draw Moscow’s Ire
New European Union air cargo rules that have ignited a row with Russia and jeopardized annual trade worth more than 13 billion euros ($18 billion) came into force on Tuesday, and is likely to heighten tensions between the EU and Moscow. The EU is gradually tightening its security rules for air shipments. Russia argues its airlines and airports...
Crisis Hits Tourism, Business in Odessa
While the separatist crisis continues in two small regions of eastern Ukraine, the rest of the country is trying to return to business as usual, including the port and resort city of Odessa in the south. VOA’s Al Pessin, who recently was in Ukraine, reports on the impact in Odessa from the revolution and the continuing aftermath....
IMF: Sanctions Bring Russian Economic Growth to Standstill
Sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine have brought growth to a standstill, had a “chilling effect” on investment and could force Moscow into economic isolation, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The international lender’s report chimed with words from Russia’s central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, who...
Hungary to build its part of Gazprom’s South Stream gas pipeline that bypasses Ukraine
Hungary says it will go ahead and build its part of Gazprom’s South Stream gas pipeline that bypasses Ukraine to supply Europe, despite U.S. and EU objections to the project. …read more Source: FOX...
Ukraine renews military attacks against rebels after president ends cease-fire
Ukraine renewed its attacks against armed pro-Russia separatists Tuesday after the president called off a unilateral cease-fire, carrying out air and artillery strikes against rebel positions in eastern Ukraine. …read more Source: CTV...
Putin Accuses Ukraine Leader of Shunning Road to Peace
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he and European Union states had tried unsuccessfully to persuade Kyiv to extend a cease-fire in east Ukraine, and the Ukrainian president had veered off the road to peace. President Petro Poroshenko renewed a military campaign against pro-Russian rebels, saying they had not abided by the terms,...
Putin Says West Is Using Ukraine Crisis To Destabilize Region
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of seeking to use the crisis in Ukraine to destabilize the whole region. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
Fragile Calm Reigns In Luhansk, Ukraine
The city of Luhansk, the seat of the self-declared separatist “Luhansk People’s Republic,” is one of the flashpoints of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Some rebels in the Luhansk region agreed to observe a 10-day cease-fire called by President Petro Poroshenko, but renewed clashes broke out in the region even before the truce...
NATO General Blames Russia for Rising Tensions
Simmering tensions in Eastern Ukraine are rising yet again, as President Petro Poroshenko said Monday he is ending a unilateral cease-fire in the conflict with pro-Russian separatists. A top U.S. and NATO general is laying much of the blame on Russia. Even with the cease-fire in effect, peace seemed elusive. In the flashpoint town of Slovyansk,...
