Section: KXAN (USA)
For some Russians, mortgage costs soaring due to ruble slide
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — When they took out a mortgage on a small two-room apartment seven years ago, Oksana Li and her husband hoped to make a new home for themselves and their young son. Now, like thousands of other Russians, they are seeing that dream unravel as they are unable to make payments — even by working longer hours and a second...
Davos forum of power brokers, business leaders to draw 2,500
GENEVA (AP) — Most European countries are sending their heads of state or government to this month’s gathering of world leaders and power brokers in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, while high-level delegations are expected from China, the United States, Japan and Russia. Organizers of the World Economic Forum said Tuesday that the...
Crimean soccer fans loyal to their teams despite tensions
KRASNOGVARDEISKOYE, Crimea (AP) — Crimea’s soccer fans, especially the tough and boisterous young men who frequent the games, are as devoted as ever, even as political tensions cloud the region’s teams. In the wake of Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine, the European soccer federation UEFA in...
NATO’s priority in 2015: Setting up reaction force in Europe
BRUSSELS (AP) — Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid-reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia. The priority for the 28-member alliance will be to get the new agile expeditionary force into operation, but also settling the question of who will...
Ukraine rebel ‘Batman’ battalion commander killed
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian security official says a prominent rebel commander in the separatist eastern region of Luhansk has been killed. A website of the separatist Luhansk People’s Republic said that Alexander Bednov, head of a battalion called “Batman,” was killed Thursday when separatist security forces tried to arrest him. An...
Moscow-led trade bloc begins in troubled times
MOSCOW (AP) — The Eurasian Economic Union, a trade bloc of former Soviet states, expanded to four nations Friday when Armenia formally joined, a day after the union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan began. The Russian-dominated bloc has been politically controversial and its early days are being overshadowed by the sharp deterioration of...
Russians optimistic for 2015 despite it all
MOSCOW (AP) — At the vast skating rink in Moscow’s Gorky Park, Russians say they’re looking forward to a 2015 that will be as smooth as the ice, despite the country’s economic and political difficulties. The ruble has sunk, tensions with the West are up, but the troubles seem to have produced a surge in national pride. “Russians...
Wide power outage in rebel-held Ukrainian city
MOSCOW (AP) — News reports say a widespread electricity outage has hit Luhansk, the second-largest city in Ukraine’s separatist east, and the leader of the rebels who control it is claiming that’s due to Ukrainian sabotage. The outage began Wednesday evening in many neighborhoods of the city that had a population of about 425,000...
Putin calls annexation of Crimea a historic landmark
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin is using his New Year’s speech to hail Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula. He said Crimea’s “return home” will “forever remain a landmark in the national history.” His comment in his prepared annual address already has been broadcast in Russia’s far eastern...
Putin sends New Year’s message to Obama
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in a New Year’s message to U.S. President Barack Obama that Moscow is looking for equality in bilateral relations next year. The Kremlin on Wednesday published several dozen New Year’s messages addressed to heads of states and international organizations such as the Olympic...
