Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Obama takes foreign policy risk, but on his own terms
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has been criticized as cautious on foreign policy, but the secret negotiations on Cuba suggest a willingness for bold and risky action, if he can keep tight control and rely on a few close aides. […] diplomatic breakthroughs have buoyed Obama and may help counter charges that his responses to other...
Russia dismisses new US sanctions as useless
The Russian foreign ministry said Saturday that the new sanctions won’t push Russia to give up Crimea since it is a “historic and integral part of Russia.” Obama’s Saturday order prohibited U.S. companies and individuals from exporting or importing any goods, services or technology to or from Crimea. …read more...
Russia to seek 10 years in prison for opposition activist
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian prosecutors on Friday demanded that the nation’s most prominent opposition leader be sentenced to 10 years in prison on allegations of fraud, which he rejected as a punishment for his political activities. The request for such a lengthy prison sentence this time — unusual for financial crimes in Russia — sends a signal...
EU leaders agree to fund for jumpstarting growth
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders agreed Thursday to create a strategic investment fund that could generate up to 315 billion euros ($386 billion) in private- and public-sector money to upgrade infrastructure, jumpstart the EU’s sluggish economies and ignite job growth. The plan approved by leaders of the 28-nation EU at their one-day...
Putin: West wants to defang, declaw Russian bear
While he issued a litany of sharp rebukes against the West, Putin struck a conciliatory note on Ukraine, saying that the rebellious east should remain part of the country, backing a quick exchange of war prisoners and praising his Ukrainian counterpart. The mixture of blistering anti-Western rhetoric and constructive signals appeared to indicate...
Russian sailors leaving France without warship
PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of Russian sailors pulled out of a French port Thursday, bearing perfumes for their loved ones but lacking the controversial bounty they came for: a 1-billion-euro, French-built warship that has become a hostage to the biggest East-West conflict since the Cold War. Russia’s president at the time, Dmitry Medvedev,...
FACT CHECK: Putin on the ruble collapse, Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — A fact-checking look at some of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements on the ruble collapse and the Ukrainian crisis from his annual news conference Thursday: With the ruble losing about half its value since January, a staggering capital outflow and flagging investment, experts are predicting the Russian economy will...
Putin accuses West of trying to sideline Russia
While using a litany of accusations against the West, Putin acknowledged that Western economic sanctions over Russia’s course on Ukraine was just one factor behind the Russian economic crisis, saying a key reason was the nation’s failure to ease its overwhelming dependence on oil and gas exports. Speaking with strong emotion, Putin...
Russians flock to stores to beat price rises due to ruble’s fall
MOSCOW — Russian consumers flocked to the stores Wednesday, frantically buying a range of big-ticket items before prices soar due to the staggering fall in the value of the ruble in recent days. Alyona Korsuntseva, a shopper at IKEA in her 30s, said the current jitters surrounding the Russian economy reminded her of the 1998 Russian crisis when...
Ruble volatile as Russians rush to stores
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian government looked at ways of easing the selling pressure on the ruble Wednesday amid fears the country may face a full-blown bank run and as consumers look to buy big-ticket items before prices rise. Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the government is going to...
