Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
17 stolen masterpieces returned to Italy with only scratches
VERONA, Italy (AP) — Seventeen masterpieces valued at 17 million euros ($17.7 million) were returned to Italy from Ukraine on Wednesday after being stolen by masked, armed robbers from a Verona art museum last year. A guard at the museum, Pasquale Silvestri Riccardi, was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 10 years and eight months in...
Stolen paintings recovered in Ukraine return to Verona
Culture ministry video shows the works displayed in plain wooden frames, after their original frames went missing in the audacious heist by a guard with the help of his Moldovan girlfriend and at least four others. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Report: Russians regularly shelled eastern Ukraine in 2014
The 43-page report adds to the pile of evidence suggesting the still-smoldering conflict pitting the Ukrainian government against separatist forces in eastern Ukraine was stage-managed from Moscow — a charge the Kremlin has denied. Traditionally used in the field by soldiers seeking to determine the direction of incoming fire, crater morphology...
2 Ukrainian troops killed in fighting in country’s east
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Ukraine’s defense ministry says at least two troops have been killed in the past 24 hours in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine. Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops has killed more than 9,600 people since the conflict began in April 2014. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Vandals put pig head, fake blood on Ukraine rabbi’s grave
Vandals put pig head, fake blood on Ukraine rabbi’s grave The office of Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko says in a statement that Lutsenko has taken the case under his personal control and instructed local prosecutors to make it a priority. …read more Source: San Francisco...
US sanctions more Russian companies, people linked to Crimea
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government says it has extended the economic sanctions on Russia to include eight more entities and seven individuals linked to the annexation of Crimea. …read more Source: San Francisco...
NATO, Russia remain at loggerheads over Ukraine
Russia has annoyed NATO with snap war games or by buzzing the alliance’s ships and aircraft with fighter jets, as well as what NATO sees as aggressive use of propaganda. […] Lute said “I worry about attempts by Russia … to influence political campaigns, flooding allied capitals, the news media with misinformation or...
EU extend Russia sanctions by another 6 months
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has extended its sanctions against Russia for six more months to keep pressure on Moscow to respect the fragile peace agreement in Ukraine. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Ukraine nationalizes largest bank after stability concerns
The Cabinet agreed late Sunday to move PrivatBank into full state ownership, saying the move was carried out “in close coordination with international financial organizations” and with the consent of PrivatBank’s owners. There was no obvious sign of panic after the nationalization in the capital, Kiev, or of lengthy queues...
5 Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine
The rebels said two people were killed and two others were missing on their side and claimed that 10 Ukrainian soldiers died in the battle, according to Russian news agencies. A 2015 peace deal helped end large-scale fighting, but clashes have continued while progress towards a political settlement has stalled. …read more Source: San...
