Section: Business Insider (USA)
Russia claims Syria embassy shelled as Putin meets Netanyahu
Moscow (AFP) – Russia on Monday demanded “concrete action” after a shell landed in its embassy compound in Damascus, as President Vladimir Putin tried to reassure Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu over an alleged military buildup in the war-torn country. Moscow said a mortar fell on the embassy compound in the Syrian capital on...
Photos of 19 abandoned places give us an eerie look at a world without humans
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like without humans? Abandoned cities like Pripyat, Ukraine, and forgotten amusement parks like Dreamland in Beijing, China, give us an idea of what that world might look like if we weren’t around anymore. Thanks to Instagram, it’s easy to take a virtual tour of these abandoned places...
Wave of crises puts European dream at risk
Brussels (AFP) – The EU’s founding father Jean Monnet wrote in his memoirs that “Europe will be forged in crises” — but a recent storm of troubles risks tearing the continent apart instead of bringing it together. From a flood of refugees, to the near-collapse of the euro and the war in Ukraine, the continent’s...
Putin moves to establish Russian military base in Belarus
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled his intentions to establish a Russian military air base in neighboring Belarus.Belarus has made clear it would not welcome a Russian base but the former Soviet republic remains dependent on Moscow for credit and energy.Putin on Saturday ordered the Russian Defense Ministry, with...
Putin and Berlusconi under fire for Crimea wine tasting
Kiev (AFP) – Ukraine has launched a criminal probe into wine-tasting by Russian President Vladimir Putin and ex-Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi after they allegedly quaffed a $100,000 bottle of centuries-old wine in Crimea, prosecutors said Saturday.The Kremlin strongman and the disgraced billionaire reportedly cracked open a bottle of...
Russians with Western ties increasingly branded ‘traitors’
MOSCOW (AP) — When Gennady Kravtsov sent a cover letter to a Swedish company, he reasoned that, even if a job didn’t come of it, he at least would know whether his engineering skills were valued outside Russia.Instead, he found himself charged with treason and facing a possible 15 years in prison.Kravtsov worked for Russia’s GRU...
Painting by Kazimir Malevich could bring up to $45M at sale
NEW YORK (AP) — An auction will feature a painting by Kazimir Malevich (MAL’-ih-vihch) that was returned to the artist’s heirs after a half-century in an Amsterdam museum.Sotheby’s says “Mystic Suprematism (Black Cross on Red Oval)” could sell for as much as $45 million on Nov.5.The 1920-22 work is the last of a...
Derelict hospital becomes metaphor in NYC art installation
NEW YORK (AP) — A derelict Naval hospital that treated soldiers from the Civil War through World War II is the site of an art installation that deals with the wounds of war and the human power of healing.Conceptual artist Bettina WitteVeen said it took five years to secure the Brooklyn Navy Yard site for her “When We Were Soldiers . once...
US and Russian militaries launch talks on Syria
Washington (AFP) – The United States and Russian militaries renewed high-level contacts on Friday to discuss their roles in the conflict in Syria.US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke by telephone, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.”The secretary and the minister talked about areas...
Putin, Berlusconi in Ukraine probe for drinking Crimea wine
MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian prosecutors are reportedly preparing charges against the director of a winery in Russian-occupied Crimea for uncorking a 240-year-old bottle for Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi.Putin and his old friend Berlusconi spent last weekend in Crimea, touring ancient ruins and visiting...
