LE BOURGET, France (AP) — The largest group of world leaders ever to stand together kicked off two weeks of high-stakes climate talks outside Paris on Monday, saying that striking an ambitious deal to curb global warming can show terrorists what countries can achieve when they are united. “What greater rejection of those who would … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia will restrict imports of Turkish fruit and vegetables as part of a package of new sanctions following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey last week. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Monday that the produce ban could be deferred for “several weeks” to allow Russian firms to find new … Continue reading →
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he and President Barack Obama have a shared understanding on how to move toward a political settlement in Syria, but added that incidents like the recent downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish fighter jet stymie broader cooperation against extremism. Putin and Obama had a half-hour meeting … Continue reading →
BRUSSELS (AP) — Foreign ministers from NATO countries were expected to invite Montenegro to join the military alliance despite Russia’s objection to the move, diplomats said, the latest sign of discord between the West and Moscow even as they both battle the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Montenegro’s accession was one of several … Continue reading →
PROSTEJOV, Czech Republic (AP) — There was no mistaking what the stone slab was, only the spot where it lay was somehow not fitting. Instead of marking a place of the departed, the tombstone served as a doormat to a henhouse in a small Czech village. Confronting the dark legacy of the Holocaust, a small … Continue reading →
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Steven Seagal used to overwhelm Russian and Serbian bad guys in Hollywood movies with his martial arts techniques. Now Serbia wants him to share his secrets. Serbian officials offered the veteran American actor and producer a job Tuesday training Serbian special police forces in Aikido, a Japanese martial art that Seagal … Continue reading →
VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Passport free travel in Europe is under threat as countries reintroduce border controls, toughen security and build fences in response to the biggest refugee emergency the continent has seen in decades. The Schengen open-borders zone uniting 30 countries is a pinnacle of European achievement. It underpins the EU economy, allowing goods, … Continue reading →
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia has circulated a document on ending the nearly five-year-old Syrian conflict that calls for drafting a new constitution in up to 18 months that would be put to a popular referendum and be followed by an early presidential election. The document, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, makes no mention … Continue reading →
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thousands of flag-waving Polish nationalists marched through Warsaw on Wednesday with an anti-migrant message as they marked Independence Day. The event took place peacefully in contrast to violence that has marked the holiday in past years. The march was organized by several radical far-right organizations under the slogan “Poland for Poles. … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — Facing allegations that Russia engages in extensive, state-sponsored doping, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on sports officials to carry out an internal investigation – but said that clean athletes shouldn’t be punished for the actions of those who take banned drugs. Putin’s comments at a late-night meeting in Sochi, the city … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — With an Olympic boycott ruled out, Russia is planning to at least partially admit it has a doping problem. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told The Associated Press on Thursday that there will “not in any case” be a boycott of next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A short time later … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — Details of a new Russian submarine-launched nuclear torpedo have been shown on state-controlled TV, a secret the Kremlin said should never have been aired. Some observers, however, saw it as a deliberate leak. The airing of the video on television channels under tight Kremlin control raised suspicions that it was done intentionally … Continue reading →
BEIRUT (AP) — When Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country was ready to aid Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group, rebel commanders scoffed, pointing out that Russian aircraft were pounding their bases in central and northern Syria on a daily basis. Moreover, Lavrov not long ago had ridiculed the main Western-backed rebels … Continue reading →
OPATOVAC, Croatia (AP) — She is 105 years old but still dreams of a better life without wars and bombs. Bibihal Uzbeki, from Kunduz, Afghanistan, is among tens of thousands of migrants who have traveled for thousands of miles fleeing war and poverty to search for a happier, safer future in Europe. Wrapped in a … Continue reading →
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The right-wing and anti-migrant Law and Justice party has won a majority of seats in Poland’s parliament and can govern alone, the state election authority announced on Tuesday. The party got 235 seats in the 460-seat lower house of Poland’s parliament and also won a majority in the Senate — the … Continue reading →
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — With the election of a right-wing and Euroskeptic party, Poland is expected to become a more inward-looking country, and one less willing to work with European partners to forge common policies on pressing issues like climate change and migrants. “Poland will be a different Poland in Europe starting from today,” Agnieszka … Continue reading →
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s use of razor wire, tear gas and arrests in response to migrants seeking refuge in Europe has shocked many across the world. But the crackdown comes as little surprise to those who have been watching the country’s political transformation since Prime Minister Viktor Orban won power in 2010 and began … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — Ukraine on Thursday gave Russia two weeks to accept to write off part of its loans to the country, as other international creditors have agreed to do, opening a new front in the show-down between the countries. Relations soured after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and threw its backing behind separatist rebels … Continue reading →
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops and their allies launched an offensive in the central province of Homs on Thursday and Russia’s government said its warplanes carried out a rare airstrike near Damascus targeting an Islamic State group position southeast of the capital. The offensive came as a senior Iranian official told reporters in Damascus … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday chided officials for a four-month delay in building a sprawling space center in the remote Far East, which has been dogged by corruption scandals. Vostochny Cosmodrome, situated about 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles) east of Moscow and close to the Chinese border, will give Russia its own … Continue reading →
GILZE-RIJEN AIR BASE, Netherlands (AP) — The missile shot skyward from war-ravaged eastern Ukraine. With deadly accuracy more than six miles up, it detonated just in front of the Malaysia Airlines jetliner, sending hundreds of jagged steel shards ripping through its aluminum skin at up to 5,600 mph and shearing the cockpit from the rest … Continue reading →
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Former Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has shocked some in Poland by claiming that the Muslim migrants now arriving in Europe are carrying diseases that could hurt local people. The comments sparked a sharp rebuke from some of his political opponents, with one left-wing politician, Janusz Palikot, slamming Kaczynski’s statement as … Continue reading →
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Russian Embassy in Damascus was shelled Tuesday as pro-government demonstrators gathered outside, and Syria’s largest insurgent coalition announced an offensive to counter Moscow’s airstrikes that have injected new fury in the conflict. Al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, meanwhile, released an audio message purportedly from its leader urging Muslims in the former … Continue reading →
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian military jets carried out airstrikes in Syria for the first time on Wednesday, targeting what Moscow said were Islamic State positions. A U.S. official and others cast doubt on that claim, saying the Russians appeared to be attacking opposition groups fighting Syrian government forces. President Vladimir Putin sought to portray the … Continue reading →
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad welcomed Wednesday’s decision by Russia to send troops to his war-torn country, saying the military support from Moscow is the result of a Damascus request. The development came as Russian military jets carried out airstrikes in Syria on Wednesday for the first time. A U.S. defense official … Continue reading →
Spartan Echo 