Section: Business Insider (USA)
NATO will not establish a permanent military base in Poland amid tensions with Russia
The NATO alliance will not pursue the establishment of permanent military bases in Poland, a top United States diplomat said Wednesday. The announcement came during increased tension between NATO and Russia following the alliance’s bid to increase its military presence in Eastern Europe as a check against Russian aggression in the region....
Scythe matters: Depardieu gets mowing tips from Belarus strongman
Minsk (AFP) – French star Gerard Depardieu is no stranger to unusual roles and controversy.But even hardened Depardieu-watchers may be taken aback by his latest visual foray — scything a field with authoritarian Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.Video and pictures released by Belarus on Wednesday showed a burly Lukashenko...
‘Putin wants me for economy minister’: Berlusconi
Rome (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to give Silvio Berlusconi Russian citizenship — and the job of economy minister — the disgraced Italian billionaire politician was quoted as saying Thursday.”In Italy, I have been relegated to the sidelines, but Putin has told me he is willing to give me citizenship, and...
Farmers block France’s second city as Hollande bids to ease crisis
Paris (AFP) – Hundreds of furious farmers on Thursday blocked access roads to France’s second city Lyon with their tractors, unimpressed with a 600-million-euro government plan to ease a dire financial plight sparked by falling prices.Faced with a growing political crisis, President Francois Hollande added to his schedule an impromptu...
After ‘Goodbye Lenin’, a Berlin resurrection
Berlin (AFP) – Buried and long forgotten, the head of a giant Lenin statue is set to make a comeback in the German capital a quarter-century after the fall of the Berlin Wall.The Soviet leader will gaze again on the people when the 3.5 tonne piece is resurrected from its current grave — a sandpit under a pile of rocks home to a colony...
French farmers vow to step up protests over prices
Paris (AFP) – French farmers protesting over falling food prices threatened to step up blockades of cities, roads and tourist sites on Wednesday, as the government prepared to unveil emergency aid for them.Farmers have dumped manure in cities, blocked access roads and motorways and hindered tourists from reaching Mont St-Michel in northern...
China bets on North Korea in gamble to save rustbelt
Hunchun (China) (AFP) – At China’s very farthest limits, a town sandwiched between North Korea and Russia stands at the heart of Beijing’s plan to revitalise its bleak, frigid northeastern rustbelt.Beijing has a vision of turning the nondescript outpost of Hunchun into a regional Asian trading hub, and is spending tens of...
Russia is testing new intercontinental missiles and it could intensify the crisis with the US
Russia is working on the third stage of developing and designing the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile. An official said the tests are expected to start in 18 to 24 months. The Sarmat heavy ICBM will replace the current Voyevoda ICBM in the Russian Strategic Missile Force, known to NATO as SS-18 Satan. Union of Geopolitics Chairman...
The battle over eastern Ukraine is coming to a head
Just one sentence, inserted into a complex piece of legislation, caused some to wonder whether Kiev has been sold out by its Western allies. One sentence that was too much for many Ukrainians. One sentence that was not enough for the Kremlin. One sentence that the United States reportedly lobbied heavily for to assure that Kiev was holding up its...
Senator: The US is committing a ‘strategic blunder’ by removing troops from the Arctic as Russia digs in
The US is committing a “strategic blunder” by removing nearly 3,000 Army personnel from the Arctic as Russia continues its push to militarize the region, Senator Dan Sullivan (R—Alaska) told Anchorage-based KTVA on Sunday. “This is a strategic mistake, a strategic blunder in my view by the Department of Defense,” Sullivan...
