RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Greece’s European creditors sought to douse talk that they are making plans for a potential Greek exit from the euro and expressed hope Saturday that recent criticism may prompt the country to push ahead with an economic reform plan needed to unlock rescue loans. In the Latvian capital of Riga, … Continue reading
TERESPOL, Poland (AP) — Polish border guards on Monday blocked 10 nationalistic Russian bikers loyal to President Vladimir Putin from entering Poland as part of a ride to commemorate the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany 70 years ago. The bikers — who have stirred controversy with their support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea … Continue reading
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A former Romanian president has acknowledged approving the CIA’s request for a site in Romania, but said he would have refused had he known how it would be used. Ion Iliescu, president from 2000 to 2004, suggested he believed Romania had hosted CIA “black sites” — prisons outside the U.S. … Continue reading
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The presidents of Russia and France joined other leaders Friday at ceremonies commemorating the massacre of Armenians a century ago by Ottoman Turks, an event which still stirs bitter feelings as both sides argue over whether to call it genocide. The annual April 24 commemorations mark the day when some … Continue reading
VELES, Macedonia (AP) — Fourteen suspected migrants from Afghanistan and Somalia, walking in the dark along train tracks toward the European Union, were killed by a nighttime express train in a remote river gorge in Macedonia, police said Friday. The migrants, part of a larger group, had been walking north of the central Macedonian … Continue reading
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Greece remains at loggerheads with its European creditors on an economic reform program required to unlock money the country will need to avoid a possible default and even an exit from the euro. At a meeting Friday in the Latvian capital of Riga, Greece’s finance minister came under fire from … Continue reading
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting has picked up in eastern Ukraine after more than a month of relative calm, as diplomats gathered in Berlin on Monday to discuss the country’s crisis. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Sunday that its mission observed an intense clash with the use of … Continue reading
BERLIN (AP) — Guenter Grass, the Nobel-winning German writer who gave voice to the generation that came of age during the horrors of the Nazi era but later ran into controversy over his own World War II past and stance toward Israel, has died. He was 87. Matthias Wegener, spokesman for the Steidl publishing … Continue reading
PARIS (AP) — French air traffic controllers went on strike Wednesday to demand better working and retirement conditions, prompting the cancellation of nearly half of flights across France. The powerful SNCTA union called the two-day strike, saying the government has refused to open negotiations about matters such as how to better organize their work … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin offered Wednesday to increase cooperation with Greece on energy and industry — but stopped short of extending direct financial aid that might complicate Greece’s talks with its European creditors. After a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Putin dismissed allegations that Moscow is trying to woo … Continue reading
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday publicly lifted his objections to a referendum that could give more powers to the restive regions engulfed in more than a year of warfare, reversing his government’s previous position. Russia-backed separatists, however, dismissed Poroshenko’s gesture as meaningless. The conflict between Russia-backed rebels and government … Continue reading
PRAGUE (AP) — Czech President Milos Zeman and the U.S. ambassador are in a rare public dispute over Zeman’s decision to attend a Russian military parade, and the country’s prime minister and Czech lawmakers are siding with the American. In an interview with online publication Parlamentni Listy on Sunday, Zeman bristled at the envoy’s … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — As Russian President Vladimir Putin marks 15 years since he was first elected, his former long-term allies are questioning his political course and warning of the economic consequences of his aggressive foreign policy. Putin’s approval ratings peaked last year as the Kremlin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and have stayed at record high … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Kansas-born farmer Justus Walker is prospering in Russia — one year after the U.S. and European Union began imposing sanctions against his adopted country over its aggression in Ukraine. Walker, sporting a bushy beard reminiscent of a Russian peasant from past centuries, uses his Siberian dairy smallholding to support his missionary work. … Continue reading
ZAVIDOVICI, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Salem Hajdarovac says he didn’t sleep for a week when he heard his workshop had been granted the honor of carving a special chair that Pope Francis will sit on during his visit to Bosnia. Hajdarovac, 61, and his 33-year-old son Edin, both devout Muslims, started working on the chair on … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 