Section: The Epoch Times (USA)
NATO, Russia Exchange Barbs Reminiscent of Cold War Days
RIGA, Latvia—NATO and Russia exchanged heated language reminiscent of Cold War days on Thursday with accusations of sinister geopolitical plotting and human rights abuses flying across an increasingly deep divide. NATO’s top U.S. civilian official, Alexander Vershbow, said Thursday that “an angry, revisionist Russia” was stopping at little...
Death Toll in East Ukraine Mine Blast Reaches 33
DONETSK, Ukraine—Officials in a separatist rebel-held city in east Ukraine say the death toll from an accidental explosion at a coal mine has risen to 33. Alexei Kostrubitsky, head of the emergencies ministry for the rebel government, said late Thursday the last missing miner had been found dead. The blast occurred before dawn Wednesday more than...
Russia Starts War Games on Ukraine, Crimea Borders
MOSCOW—Russia’s military is holding maneuvers of air defense forces in the southwest of the country, the latest in a series of frequent drills amid tensions with the West. The Southern Military District, where the exercises will take place, includes the regions bordering Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed last year. But...
Russian NGO Ousted From Gulag Prison Camp Museum
MOSCOW— An independent Russian organization says it has been ousted from the Gulag prison camp museum that it has run from 1992. Viktor Shmyrov, director for the Perm-36 museum in central Russia, told The Associated Press Thursday that his organization had lost the property after losing a lawsuit against the regional Ministry of Culture, which...
Italian PM in Moscow to Discuss Russia-Eu Ties
MOSCOW— Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited Moscow Thursday for talks focusing on Russia-EU ties, which have been badly strained by the Ukrainian crisis. With Russia-West ties at their lowest point since the Cold War times, most European Union leaders have shunned Moscow. Renzi’s trip reflects his desire to improve bilateral...
Death Toll Mounts in Ukraine Coal Mine Blast; 17 Dead
DONETSK, Ukraine—A methane explosion ripped through a coal mine before dawn Wednesday in war-torn eastern Ukraine, killing at least 17 workers, officials said. Miners arriving for work were enlisted to assist with what started as a rescue mission, but gradually became an operation to retrieve a mounting number of dead. That effort was hampered by...
Russian Court Keeps Ukrainian Pilot Behind Bars
MOSCOW—A Russian court has rejected an appeal to release a Ukrainian pilot who has been on hunger strike since mid-December. The case of Nadezhda Savchenko has attracted high attention in recent weeks as concerns rise about her health. Savchenko has been in Russian custody since June on charges that she provided information for a mortar attack...
US, Iran Resume Nuclear Talks After Netanyahu Speech
MONTREUX, Switzerland—Undeterred by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scathing speech against an Iran nuclear deal, U.S. and Iranian negotiators resumed work Wednesday on an agreement meant to crimp Iran’s atomic program in exchange for sanctions relief. With an end-of-month deadline looming to complete a framework accord,...
Kremlin Critic Wants International Probe Into Nemtsov Death
PARIS—A British investor who made millions in Russia before his lawyer was imprisoned and died is calling for an international investigation into the killing of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov. U.S.-born William Browder is suggesting a probe led by the United Nations, the Council of Europe or the Organization for Security and Cooperation...
MH17 next of kin finally view wreckage of downed flight
GILZE-RIJEN AIR BASE, Netherlands—The relatives of those killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed over eastern Ukraine visited a Dutch air base Tuesday to view the wreckage of the plane. For almost all of them, it was the first chance to see the twisted and charred wreckage that lay for months in the fields of war-torn eastern Ukraine...
