Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Ukraine: Intensified fighting kills 9 troops, wounds 29
Armed forces spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said Tuesday that some of the fiercest fighting was around the town of Debaltseve, where separatists were attacking from two sides in an attempt to surround the Ukrainian forces. A lull in the fighting in December had raised hopes for a peaceful settlement, but hostilities have escalated again in recent...
EU leaders threaten more anti-Russian sanctions over Ukraine
In Tuesday’s rare joint declaration outside their regular summit meetings, the 28 leaders asked an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on Thursday “to consider any appropriate action, in particular on further restrictive measures” if the situation in eastern Ukraine does not improve fast. …read more Source: San...
Leaders mark Auschwitz liberation 70 years on without Putin
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) — Holocaust survivors and world leaders are preparing to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Red Army, but Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be among those present. Poland apparently snubbed Putin, failing to send him an invitation. Poland’s government is extremely critical of...
Russia defiant after more threats from West over Ukraine
MOSCOW — A defiant President Vladimir Putin on Monday called the Ukrainian army a “NATO foreign legion,” reflecting his readiness to stand up to the West regardless of rising economic costs, as Standard & Poor’s rating agency downgraded Russia’s credit rating to junk. Speaking to students in St. Petersburg, Putin said the...
Colombians celebrate Miss Universe title
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Carnival has come a few weeks early to the Caribbean city of Barranquilla where residents took to the streets on Monday to show their hometown pride after local beauty queen Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe. Even President Juan Manuel Santos took time out during an official visit to France to congratulate Vega for...
Russian ruble tumbles after violent weekend in east Ukraine
The Russian currency, buffeted by Western sanctions and plummeting oil prices, has already lost about half its value in the past year. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Rebels accused of rocket attack in Ukraine; at least 30 dead
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s president said Sunday that intercepted radio and telephone conversations prove that Russia-backed separatists were responsible for firing the rockets that pounded the southeastern city of Mariupol and killed at least 30 people. European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini later announced that EU foreign...
Ukraine: Phone calls prove rebels attacked city, killed 30
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s leader says intercepted radio and telephone conversations prove that Russian-backed separatists were responsible for firing the rockets that pounded the southeastern city of Mariupol and killed at least 30 people. President Petro Poroshenko, who held an emergency meeting Sunday of his Security Council, said...
Obama ‘deeply concerned’ about latest violence in Ukraine
Obama says he’ll keep trying to isolate Russia and he will examine options short of military conflict with Russia. Authorities say indiscriminate rocket fire on Saturday killed at least 30 people in Mariupol (mah-ROO’-pahl), in the southeast. …read more Source: San Francisco...
At least 30 killed as rebels launch rocket offensive in Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine — Indiscriminate rocket fire slammed into a market, schools, homes and shops Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, killing at least 30 people, authorities said. The attacks came a day after rebels rejected a peace deal and announced they were going on an offensive against the government in Kiev to vastly increase their...
