Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Belarus says election will be ‘active, democratic’
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Banners along the fastidiously clean streets of Belarus’ cities tell the country’s people to be sure to vote in Sunday’s national parliament election. Logvinets tried to boost his chances by organizing a concert with a noted rock star to attract young people. Belarus’ Soviet-style command economy is...
No end in sight for Ukraine’s deadly, ‘pointless war’
[…] that relative calm is clearly fragile; Ukraine also claimed rebels fired some 90 mortar rounds at troops outside the city of Mariupol, one of the war’s tensest areas. According to United Nations figures, more than 9,500 people have been killed in the fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that began in April 2014, after...
Putin’s popularity: the envy of other politicians
MOSCOW (AP) — Donald Trump’s statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin enjoys an 82 percent approval rating among his people wasn’t hyperbole. Russia’s two main polling agencies consistently give the man in the Kremlin ratings that would be the envy of Trump or his rival in the U.S. presidential election, Hillary Clinton....
2 years after cease-fire weary Ukraine still at war
The area that Gaiduk calls “over there” is territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists, where a rebel using the nom de guerre of Chester agrees: “Everybody is tired of this pointless war.” […] that relative calm is clearly fragile; Ukraine also claimed rebels fired some 90 mortar rounds at troops outside the...
Kremlin laments new US sanctions after Putin-Obama meeting
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday added 11 companies linked to the Russian arms sector to the sanctions list the government compiled immediately after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, restricting their exports to the United States. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Ash Carter: ‘Clear ambition’ by Russia to erode world order
OXFORD, England (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is strongly criticizing Russia for what he says is Moscow’s “clear ambition to erode the principled international order” through coercion and aggression. Carter used a speech Wednesday to students at Oxford University to blast what he calls Russia’s...
The Latest: US, France, Germany discuss Ukraine at G-20
The White House says President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit to review the status of the conflict. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his South Korean counterpart that China is opposed to the deployment of a powerful U.S. anti-missile system...
Fire at Ukrainian TV headquarters amid protest; no injuries
A conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops has killed more than 9,500 people. Kiev police official Andrei Krishenko said witnesses indicated a smoke bomb was thrown into the building, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported. …read more Source: San Francisco...
The Latest: May wants ‘frank and open’ ties with Putin
In their first meeting together, British Prime Minister Theresa May has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that she wants a “frank and open relationship” with Moscow despite their differences. Bilateral relations have been strained in recent years by the fighting in Ukraine, Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad...
The Latest: Merkel hopes to discuss Ukraine, Syria at G-20
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she hopes to discuss Ukraine, Syria and refugee issues in bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. Merkel said in her weekly video message Saturday that she expects “a very lively discussion” at the summit in China, but that the meeting can’t, for example, resolve Syria’s...
