Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Lithuania marks 25th anniversary of Soviet exit
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania marked the 25th anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union amid warnings that its freedom could once again come under threat. In celebrations overshadowed by Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine — another former Soviet republic — Lithuania’s first post-independence president...
IMF approves $17.5Bn credit program for Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The International Monetary Fund agreed Wednesday to extend $17.5 billion in loans to Ukraine as part of a program designed to pull the country back from the verge of economic collapse. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement that the new four-year extended arrangement will support economic stabilization...
Embattled Ukrainian town struggles to come back to life
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine (AP) — When the wind picks up, the rattle of the corrugated iron roof of a destroyed gas station can sound like artillery. Four charred tanks sit stranded nearby, machine oil splattered on the ground, while a pick-up truck lies on its side surrounded by shrapnel. Debaltseve, the center of one of the fiercest battles of...
AP Interview: Syrian magnate denies buying Islamic State oil
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A Syrian businessman facing European Union sanctions denied on Tuesday allegations that he bought oil from the Islamic State group for President Bashar Assad’s government. Speaking to The Associated Press in his Damascus office, Haswani said the EU sanctions and accusations are politically motivated and said he is...
Ukraine president says arms withdrawal almost complete
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president says government and Russian-backed separatist forces have pulled back the bulk of their artillery and rocket launchers from the front line in the east, in compliance with a cease-fire deal. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Putin describes secret meeting to take Crimea
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has described a secret meeting with officials last year when Russia decided it would take Crimea — the Black Sea region that Moscow annexed from Ukraine last March. In a trailer for an upcoming documentary, shown on state-owned television late Sunday, Putin said that he met with security officials in...
2 charged, 3 held in killing of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov
MOSCOW — Five men were behind bars Sunday either charged or suspected in the killing of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, but details remained unclear in the case that has shaken Russia’s marginalized and struggling opposition movement. Russian news reports meanwhile cited unnamed sources as saying another suspect had killed himself with a...
Russian court charges 2, detains 3 others in Nemtsov killing
MOSCOW (AP) — Five men were behind bars Sunday either charged or suspected in the killing of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, but details remained unclear in the case that has shaken Russia’s marginalized and struggling opposition movement. The three others include Gubashev’s younger brother Shagid, along with Khamzad Bakhaev and...
Ukraine industry seeks ties with West, but buckles in crisis
Despite Ukraine’s desperation to integrate with Europe, a desire so strong it sparked the protests that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych last year, much of Ukrainian business remains wedded to Soviet-era practices even as it is buffeted by a very modern economic crisis. The machine-building plant called Bolshevik, located in...
Rebel pageant: Ukrainian fighters trade in boots for heels
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Trading in their combat boots and fatigues for high heels and ball gowns, female rebel fighters who normally fight Ukrainian soldiers have taken the day off to take part in a beauty pageant. Women from three main rebel battalions showed off their dinner dresses before they changed back to fatigues to receive prizes and...
