Section: KXAN (USA)
Senior US Navy officers visit Chinese aircraft carrier
BEIJING (AP) — China this week hosted a visit to its sole aircraft carrier by senior U.S. Navy officers amid tensions over reported plans by Washington to challenge Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The delegation of 27 commanders and captains boarded the Liaoning on Monday and held discussions on “exercise management,...
Poles eager to oust pro-market party in vote despite growth
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The ruins of an abandoned factory were chosen for effect. For this press conference, other spots in the Polish town of Nowa Sol would not do: not the modern industrial park, or the revitalized port, or the renovated old town. Beata Szydlo, a conservative campaigning to become Poland’s next prime minster, stood before...
NATO launches biggest military exercise in 13 years
TRAPANI, Sicily (AP) — NATO is launching its biggest military exercise in 13 years, mobilizing 36,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen from more than 30 countries to test the alliance’s ability to respond to new security threats. NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow told the opening ceremony Monday that the Trident Juncture exercise...
Ousted president Yanukovych sues Ukraine in European court
MOSCOW (AP) — A law firm representing former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych says he is suing Ukraine for violating his human rights. Yanukovych fled to Russia in February 2014 following months of anti-government protests. He later insisted he was threatened and forced to leave the country. London-based Joseph Hage Aaronson said in a...
12 dead in Ukraine excursion boat capsizing off Odessa
MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian officials say 12 people are dead and another person is missing after an excursion boat overturned in the Black Sea near the major port city of Odessa. The other 23 people who were aboard the boat were rescued, according to the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry. The ministry said in a statement that the boat was en route to...
Russia’s parliament allows arrest of opposition lawmaker
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian parliament has voted to sanction an arrest in absentia of the sole lawmaker who voted against the annexation of Crimea last year. The State Duma voted Friday to let law enforcement officials arrest Ilya Ponomarev, who is suspected of embezzlement related to his work for a state-funded technological foundation. Ponomarev,...
Minister: US to place army equipment in Poland before July
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s defense minister says he expects that heavy U.S. army equipment will be placed in the Central European nation before July, when Poland is to host a NATO summit. Poland and other nations in the region that were once under Moscow’s domination feel threatened by Russia’s hostile actions in eastern...
Syria air campaign on, Putin may already seek exit strategy
MOSCOW (AP) — With Russia’s air campaign in Syria now in its third week, Vladimir Putin has raised his nation’s global profile and proven its capability to project military power far from its borders. Now the Russian president could already be on the lookout for an exit strategy to prevent his gains from turning into a liability....
Ukraine gives Russia 2 weeks to agree to debt restructuring
MOSCOW (AP) — Ukraine’s prime minister has given Russia two weeks to agree to a restructuring deal for a $3 billion loan or face a lawsuit. Arseny Yatsenyuk was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Thursday that all Ukrainian bondholders on Wednesday agreed on the previously announced restructuring deal while a Russian representative...
Ukraine expected to win UN Council seat _ and face Russia
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — There will be no surprises in Thursday’s elections for new members of the Security Council but there will almost certainly be some fireworks when Ukraine joins the U.N.’s most powerful body — where arch opponent Russia has a permanent seat. This year’s election is uncontested — five candidates for five...
