Section: The Epoch Times (USA)
Brazilian Police Question Ex-President in Corruption Probe
RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazilian police on Friday were questioning former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and searching his home and other buildings linked to him as part of the sprawling corruption case at the oil giant Petrobras. Silva’s spokesman, Jose Crispiniano, confirmed that police were at addresses belonging to Silva, including his...
Russia Achieves Tactical Success in the Middle East, but No Strategic Victory
NEW HAVEN—Russia is on the march in Syria and Ukraine, defying predictions that it is walking into a quagmire in Syria while economic turmoil at home—exacerbated by Western sanctions—threatens President Putin’s rule. Meanwhile, a divided West objects, but has yet to come up with a coherent response. Perhaps Russian literary classic author...
Russian Warplanes Sit Idle on Syria Base During Cease-Fire
HEMEIMEEM AIR BASE, Syria—Dozens of Russian warplanes sat idle Tuesday on the tarmac at this Russian air base in Syria on the fourth day of a cease-fire brokered by Moscow and Washington. The apparent lull in action witnessed by the AP on a trip to the base, which was organized by the Russian defense and foreign ministries, contrasts with the...
‘I Can’t Believe I’m Free’: A Ukrainian POW Returns Home
KYIV, Ukraine—Vadym Krypychenko was sure he was going to die. His vehicle had broken down along the front lines in eastern Ukraine near the village of Verkhniotroitske. It was Aug. 10, 2015, only four days before the end of his military service commitment and his scheduled return home. Krypychenko, a private in the Ukrainian army’s 53rd...
EU Chief: Brexit Would Change Europe Forever for the Worse
BRUSSELS—Highlighting the European Union’s love-hate relationship with Britain, major groups in the EU legislature on Wednesday urged Britons to vote to remain in the EU but chided their prime minister for hijacking the bloc with a local “glorified cockfight” that could fundamentally undermine its unity. EU President Donald Tusk insisted...
Cyberwar Is Here to Stay
Last week, The New York Times revealed that the Obama administration had prepared a cyberattack plan to be carried out against Iran in the event diplomatic negotiations failed to limit that country’s nuclear weapons development. The plan, code-named Nitro Zeus, was said to be capable of disabling Iran’s air defenses, communications...
How One Ukrainian Teenager Declared War on Post-Traumatic Stress
KYIV, Ukraine—Ivona Kostyna couldn’t leave the war even if she wanted to. It was December 2014 and, at age 18, the civilian volunteer was delivering supplies to Ukrainian troops stationed in the front-line town of Debaltseve. Her car broke down, and in the six days it took to make repairs she lived among the soldiers. They were hunkered...
Russia’s Internet Censorship Grew Nine-Fold in 2015 Says Rights Group
Internet censorship in Russia soared last year as the government stepped up efforts to filter content online, a report by a rights group has said. Titled “The Triumph of Censorship”, the report by Agora, a respected group of human rights lawyers, counted media reports and government statements about blocked web pages as well as prosecutions of...
However Annoying, Failure to Engage Russia Is Not an Option
CANBERRA—U.N. negotiations to end the five-year civil war in Syria and form a transitional government will resume at the end of this month. With 250,000 people dead and more than half of the 22 million pre-war population either internally displaced or refugees, the talks are a litmus test for the key external stakeholders, especially the United...
Ukraine’s Government Survives No-confidence Vote
MOSCOW—The government of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday though a majority of lawmakers harshly criticized its work. The vote reflected simmering political tensions amid Ukraine’s economic troubles that have eroded public support for Yatsenyuk’s Cabinet. The failure to pass the...
