Section: The Epoch Times (USA)
Brides for Sale: European Women Lured for Sham Marriages
LONDON—Klara Balogova was 18, penniless and heavily pregnant when she rode thousands of miles from Slovakia to England to marry a man she had never met. She knew he did not want her, or her child. He wanted her European identity card. The marriage was arranged so the 23-year-old Pakistani groom could gain the right to live and work in Europe....
Amnesty Says Torture Of Ukraine War Prisoners Is Rife
KIEV, Ukraine— Both warring sides in eastern Ukraine are perpetrating war crimes almost daily, including torturing prisoners and summarily killing them, the Amnesty International rights group said in a report Friday. Amnesty said in a statement that it has heard from former captives of both Ukrainian government and separatist forces who say they...
A Look at Eu-Russia Tug-of-War Over 6 East European Nations
RIGA, Latvia—A quarter century after the Iron Curtain that once divided Europe opened, the European Union nations and Russia are again involved in a tug-of-war, this time over six former Soviet Republics. EU leaders are courting the six at a special summit in Riga that opened Thursday, offering better economic cooperation and promising financial...
Kyrgyzstan Joins Russia-Led Trade Bloc
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstanv— The Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan has joined the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russia-led trade bloc. President Almazbek Atambayev on Thursday signed the law ratifying Kyrgyzstan’s entry, joining Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus. The union aims to create a single market for the free movement of goods and...
Ukraine Lawmakers Suspend Military Cooperation With Russia
KIEV, Ukraine—Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday voted to suspend military cooperation with Russia in a long-anticipated move signaling a further break in relations between the once-close partners. The five cooperation agreements scrapped by the Verkhovna Rada include one giving the Russian military transit rights to reach Moldova, whose...
Ukraine Open to Hosting Missile-Defense System
KIEV, Ukraine—Ukraine is open to considering proposals to place a ballistic missile-defense system on its territory to ward off the risk of attacks from Russia, a senior Ukrainian defense official said Wednesday. So far no one has offered. Oleksandr Turchynov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security Council, told Ukrinform news agency in an...
Russian Captured in Eastern Ukraine Says He Is Fine
KIEV, Ukraine—Representatives of Amnesty International and the OSCE have visited the two captured fighters whom Ukraine claims are Russian soldiers in a Kiev hospital. Russia denies that the men, who were wounded and captured Saturday in rebellious eastern Ukraine, are members of its armed forces. But Ukraine’s security service on Tuesday...
Economic Toll of Conflict Builds up for Ukraine
There seems to be no bottom for Ukraine’s economy. The extent of the damage caused by the conflict in the country’s east was highlighted in a report showing the economy had shrunk by almost a fifth since the violence began last year. Other indicators likewise show a country on the edge, with inflation rampant and the state out of...
Russian Troops Captured in Ukraine Treated in Kiev Hospital
KIEV, Ukraine—Two wounded Russian soldiers captured while fighting in war-torn eastern Ukraine have been transferred to a hospital in Kiev, Ukrainian officials said Monday as Moscow once again firmly denied any involvement in the fighting. The Russians were wounded and taken prisoner Saturday near the front line town of Shchastia in the...
3 Baltic Nations Request Permanent NATO Troop Presence
VILNIUS, Lithuania— The three Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — are asking NATO to permanently deploy ground troops to their nations as a deterrent against an increasingly assertive Russia. The countries’ defense chiefs requested a brigade-size unit of NATO troops — one battalion of 700-800 troops in each country — in a...
