Section: KXAN (USA)
‘We waited for decades’: Polish govt welcomes US troops
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish leaders welcomed U.S. troops to their country Saturday, with the defense minister expressing gratitude for their arrival and calling it the fulfillment of a dream Poles have had for decades. The ceremony in the western Polish town of Zagan comes some 23 years after the last Soviet troops left Poland. It marks a new...
Rights group: Civilians abused by rivals in Ukraine conflict
MOSCOW (AP) — A human rights group says civilians are being abducted and tortured by fighters on both sides of the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. An annual report released by Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists of holding dozens of civilians in arbitrary detention in...
US troops enter Poland, 1st deployment to Russia’s doorstep
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — American soldiers are rolling into Poland, fulfilling a dream Poles have had since the fall of communism in 1989 to have U.S. troops on their soil as a deterrent against Russia. U.S. Army vehicles and soldiers in camouflage crossed into southwestern Poland on Thursday morning from Germany and were heading for Zagan, where...
China plays down tough talk by Trump choice for top diplomat
BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday stressed mutual respect and cooperation with the U.S. in response to tough talk from Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, who said the administration would block Chinese access to its fortified man-made islands in the South China Sea. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said tensions in the...
Ukraine says it captured new positions in eastern Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — A Ukrainian government official says the nation’s forces have captured new positions in the rebel-held east. Olexander Motuzyanyk, presidential spokesman for the operation in the east, said on Wednesday that one soldier was killed and three injured in fighting in the conflict zone in the past 24 hours. In a briefing published...
US lashes out at Russia at UN _ and Russia goes after Obama
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power has lashed out at Russia in the U.N. Security Council for invading and annexing parts of Ukraine and carrying out “a merciless military assault” in Syria. Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin shot back, accusing the Obama administration of “desperately” looking for scapegoats for its...
Trudeau shuffles cabinet, Freeland named top Canada diplomat
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shaken up his cabinet less than two weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president. Trudeau on Tuesday named Chrystia Freeland as Canada’s new foreign minister amid worries Trump will renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Freeland was trade minister...
Monument to WWII massacre of Poles ransacked in Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — A monument to the victims of a World War II massacre in a western Ukrainian village has been destroyed by vandals, local police said on Tuesday. National Police in the Lviv region said in a statement that vandals destroyed a stone cross in Huta Penyatska that commemorated Polish villagers who were massacred in 1944 by a Nazi unit...
Recalling Syria ‘red line,’ Kerry says US didn’t back down
WASHINGTON (AP) — Touting his four years as secretary of state, John Kerry on Thursday attempted to explain one of the most contentious moments in American diplomacy during his tenure: President Barack Obama’s failure to enforce his “red line” warning to Syria about using chemical weapons. In a news conference meant to promote his...
China confirms its carrier held drills in South China Sea
BEIJING (AP) — China confirmed that its aircraft carrier has for the first time conducted drills in the South China Sea with a formation of other warships and fighter jets, a move that could raise concerns among its neighbors. The Defense Ministry said several J-15 fighter jets took off and landed from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier...
