Section: KXAN (USA)
Vatican arrests activist who bared chest in square
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says it has arrested the Femen activist who on Christmas Day bared her chest and snatched the statue of Baby Jesus in the life-size Nativity scene in the center of St. Peter’s Square. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Lombardi said Friday that Ukrainian activist Yana Zhdanova was being held for questioning, and...
Conflicting reports about prisoner exchange in Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — There are conflicting reports about a major exchange of war prisoners that was supposed to be taking place today in Ukraine. One Russian news agency says it’s been completed, while another says it’s been pushed back by a day. The pro-Russia rebels had been set to release 150 Ukrainian prisoners in exchange for...
New Russian military doctrine says NATO top threat
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has signed a new military doctrine that describes NATO’s military buildup near the Russian borders as the top military threat amid Russia-West tensions over Ukraine. The document released by the Kremlin on Friday maintains the provisions of the previous, 2010 edition of the military doctrine regarding...
Ukraine cuts train and bus services to Crimea
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has suspended train and bus services to the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, citing security concerns. The state railways company said that trains bound for Crimea’s regional capital of Simferopol and the port of Sevastopol will run only to stations on the mainland near Crimea starting Saturday. The company...
Eastern Ukraine prisoner exchange underway
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — A major exchange of war prisoners is getting underway in eastern Ukraine, with around 370 expected to be released. The pro-Russia rebels are set to release 150 Ukrainian prisoners in exchange for the Ukrainian government releasing 222 captives. Russia’s Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies are reporting that the...
Russia’s ruble ends 5-day rally, drops 4 percent
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian currency has ended its five-day rally and declined 4 percent as the markets remain jittery over the outlook of the Russian economy. The ruble has been the worst performing currency this year along with the Ukrainian hryvnia, having lost nearly half of its value against the dollar. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov...
Syrian peace talks set to take place in Moscow next month
MOSCOW (AP) — Peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition could be held in Moscow next month, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The talks are set to take place sometime after Jan. 20, ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a briefing. The first stage of the talks will bring together representatives of...
Text of pope’s Christmas Day message
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Here is the official Vatican English-language translation of Pope Francis’ “Urbi et Orbi’ Christmas Day message, which he delivered in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas! Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, is born for...
Pope wishes Christmas hope and peace for Mideast
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is focusing his attention on all those weeping in the world this Christmas, singling out the refugees, hostages and all those suffering in conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine. On a day that brings joy to little ones in much of the world, Francis expressed anguish for children who are victims of...
Top news of 2014 left public grasping for answers
Twenty-thousand feet down the answers may be waiting, hidden in some underwater canyon far off Australia’s coast. But more than nine months after searchers began scouring the seas for a Malaysia Airlines jetliner that vanished with 239 people aboard, the catastrophe defies resolution. In that way, the long, fruitless hunt for clues to...
