“To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country,” Biden said
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At the House Democratic Retreat in Philadelphia on Friday, Vice President Joe Biden made a stunning admission about the last six years for the country under President Barack Obama.
“To state the obvious, the past six years have been really, really hard for this country,” Biden said. “And they’ve been really tough for our party. Just ask Steve [Israel]. They’ve been really tough for our party. And together we made some really, really tough decisions — decisions that weren’t at all popular, hard to explain.”
(h/t RNC Research)
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In an interview with CNN that aired during Friday’s “The Situation Room,” former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel admitted there was some disagreement between he and the Obama White House over the pace of the release of Guantanamo Bay detainees during his tenure.
In her line of questioning to Hagel involving the prisoner swap of five Taliban Guantanamo detainees for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr got Hagel to admit there had been some pressure from within the White House.
Partial transcript as follows:
HAGEL: [I] think I’ve got a pretty clear record on this. In fact, not everyone at the White House agreed with how I handled some of this. I have made it clear that I will not certify, sign anything to release a detainee as long as I’m secretary of defense unless I am convinced it’s in the best interest of the country and the substantial mitigation of risk can be verified as closely as we can verify.STARR: You just brought up — you said it, not everyone at White House agrees with you. Tell us what you mean.HAGEL: Well, I think the press has been pretty clear on that.STARR: Let’s hear it in your own words, let’s have you…HAGEL: What I have said is what I just said. Not everyone at the White House has agreed with me.STARR: On what part of this?HAGEL: Probably on the pace of releases.STARR: Because you have been cautious?HAGEL: Because I have the responsibility and I play my own game here. And that is because by law I am the one — the one official in government charged with certification of release of detainees. I take that responsibility very seriously.STARR: Have you had pressure?HAGEL: We have had a lot of conversations.STARR: With the White House?HAGEL: Yes, and Congress and the press.STARR: You don’t seem too fussed by the notion that maybe there has been pressure from the White House.HAGEL: Barbara, I have been in this town a long time. And there is pressure all the time in every job that come from a lot of different directions. And if you are not prepared to deal with pressure every day in the job you are in coming from a lot of different directions, then you shouldn’t be in the job.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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First Posted: Jan 31, 2015 12:00 AM EST
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Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla and his administration's policies have been labeled as a "failure" by a non-partisan advocacy organization.
The Hispanic Leadership Fund (HLF), which claims to promote public policy solutions based on "free enterprise, limited government and individual freedom" for working families, released a fact sheet on the "reckless leadership" of the Puerto Rican governor. The HLF stated Puerto Rico's GDP declined by almost 2 percent during 2014 with a 14 percent unemployment rate and lowest labor force participation rate in the Western Hemisphere at 41 percent.
According to the HLF, the cost of living rate is 13 percent more expensive compared to mainland U.S., and 100,000 Puerto Ricans have left the island since Garcia Padilla's inauguration in 2013.
Garcia Padilla is reportedly meeting with members of Congress, but the HLF said Congress "should not be fooled" by the governor and his administration's facts and figures. HLF President Mario H. Lopez added, "Puerto Rico is an economic and fiscal mess under García Padilla. We urge Congress to institute a financial control board over Puerto Rico."
The HLF's fact sheet further claimed the island's rule of law has been eroded as Garcia Padilla's administration "refuses to honor the rulings of the island's judicial system, thus jeopardizing the livelihood of more than 1,000 employees of Doral Bank that live and work [in Puerto Rico]" and "Law 66-the Fiscal and Operational Sustainability Act-enables the Puerto Rican Government to cancel contracts unilaterally with private businesses."
The HLF has called for a Financial Control Board for Puerto Rico to analyze the island's financial and legal practices. The organization previously launched an advertisement campaign about Puerto Rico's economic issues, claiming Garcia Padilla's leadership resulted in high debt, tax increases, job loss and plant closures.
"Puerto Rico can no longer afford the policies of Governor García Padilla," said Lopez in a statement about the ad campaign. "With 14 percent unemployment, a jobless rate of 39 percent among younger Puerto Ricans, 80 new taxes implemented and 47,000 jobs lost under his watch, the Puerto Rican people have suffered enough."
"The erosion of the rule of law and the disregard for court judgments under Governor García Padilla have led many investors to question whether Puerto Rico is a safe place to invest and do business," added López, "This is unquestionably harmful for individuals and families trying to make a better life for themselves."
Latin Post contacted the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) for comment, but the organization did not respond as of press time.
The PRFAA represents Puerto Rico before local, state and federal governments. The PRFAA also promotes the Puerto Rican government's economic and public policy initiatives to "achieve a better quality of life" for approximately four million U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico.
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
© 2015 Latin Post. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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CIA and Mossad killed senior Hezbollah figure in car bombingby Adam Goldman, Ellen Nakashima
On Feb. 12, 2008, Imad Mughniyah, Hezbollah’s international operations chief, walked on a quiet nighttime street in Damascus after dinner at a nearby restaurant. Not far away, a team of CIA spotters in the Syrian capital was tracking his movements. Read full article >>
Civilians were killed on both sides in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine on Friday, while an attempt to reopen peace talks in neighboring Belarus was aborted before it began.
 Daily Mail |
Russia boasts it will maintain military superiority over the West until 2020
Daily Mail Russian war planes have increasingly been spotted over Europe in recent months. Britain summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday to complain about two Russian long-range bombers that flew over the English Channel, forcing British authorities to ... Heading for War with Russia? Ukraine is the Epicenter of a Possible European ...Center for Research on Globalization Russia says nuclear arms to keep military edge over NATO, United StatesYahoo News Russia to get more missiles, NATO urges increase in spendingDeutsche Welle Reuters-The Inquisitr all 299 news articles » |
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Andrei Zvyagintsev’s film has been subject to fierce official criticism for its portrayal of modern Russia and cold-shouldered by state TV – but the controversy has stoked local interest
Even as Russia’s Academy-award nominee Leviathan was winning prizes at half a dozen illustrious film festivals and garnering glowing reviews at arthouse cinemas in New York and London, doubts remained as to whether it would even be shown in its home country. Besides a week-long showing in one St Petersburg theatre in September to meet Oscar entry requirements, the film’s release date was postponed, as officials criticised its grim take on modern Russia and many called for it to be banned.
That’s about to change on 5 February, when director Andrei Zvyagintsev’s dark morality tale will begin showing on at least 638 screens around the country, producer Alexander Rodnyansky has told the Guardian in an interview. He said the film has online piracy to thank for that: where state television has mostly ignored the many accolades Leviathan has won, including a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film, an estimated 1.5 million Russians have taken interest and downloaded the film illegally.
Continue reading...Pro-Moscow Groups Launch Websites for ‘Peoples Republics’ in Latvia and Lithuania by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, January 30 – Pro-Moscow groups have launched websites for a so-called Latgale Peoples Republic in southeastern Latvia and a so-called Vilnius Peoples Republic around the capital of Lithuania, steps that represent no real movements in either case but that create serious problems for the governments of the two countries.
On the one hand, if Riga and Vilnius dismiss these actions as inventions, that will likely trigger a nationalist backlash among some members of the titular nationalities, thus creating or exacerbating relations among the ethnic groups of those countries and under mining social cohesion.
And on the other, if the Latvian and Lithuanian governments come down hard on these Internet developments, many in Moscow will present such overreactions as evidence that these regimes are not the stable democracies their EU and NATO allies know them to be and thus call into question the support these regimes enjoy in the West now.
Because Moscow or at least the Putin regime wins if either of these things happen, it is almost certain that these pages were launched not by homegrown minorities who may see the Donetsk and Luhansk “peoples democracies” as a model but by the Russian backers of those ideas whose paymasters view them as a means of destabilizing Russia’s neighbors.
To date, as the Delfi news agency reports, Latvia and Lithuania are carefully watching these sites but not overreacting in the way many in Moscow may hope for (rus.delfi.lv/news/daily/latvia/pb-proveryaet-rasprostranenie-v-socsetyah-idei-latgalskoj-narodnoj-respubliki.d?id=45513230 andru.delfi.lt/archive/print.php?id=67035662).
The Latvian security police point out that the Latgale site is promoting secession and thus benefits Russia rather than Latvia, and Edgar Trusevic, a leader of the Polish community of Lithuania in the name of which the “Wileńska Republika Ludowa” site has been launched, views this site as a Russian provocation with which no one in Lithuania would have anything to do.
Yet another indication that Moscow is behind both these measures is the media campaign about these two sites and the response of the two Baltic governments that has begun in the Russian capital. For an example of this, which also includes citations to other articles, see
Also suggestive of Russia’s direct involvement with these sites is an article by Anton Grishanov, a Moscow analyst, who argues that the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics constitute a new model of secession as a form of integration that can and should be extended elsewhere (actualcomment.ru/embrion-donbasskoy-diplomatii.html).
Although no analogous page has yet been launched for some entity in Estonia, those behind such ideas have not forgotten the northernmost Baltic country: This week, the Donetsk Peoples Republic appealed to predominantly Russian-speaking city of Narva in northeastern Estonia for assistance against what it said were Kyiv’s “crimes.”
Despite Narva’s status as a sister city of Donetsk, the city government turned them down flat saying that “there is no mandate to open communications with the new powers,” although one city official, Vyacheslav Konovalov, indicated that Narva might be ready to help the population in Ukraine (news.err.ee/v/politics/39e38599-4bc1-4c80-aa97-f870b56dc120).
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 Forbes Ukraine |
Представители ДНР и ЛНР ждут украинскую делегацию в аэропорту
Газета.Ru Представители самопровозглашенных Донецкой и Луганской народных республик Денис Пушилин и Владислав Дейнего ждут украинскую делегацию в аэропорту Минска. Об этом сообщили «Газете.Ru» в пресс-центре «Новороссия». Ранее сообщалось, что делегации от ЛНР и ДНР ... Украина и другие члены Контактной группы не собираются вести переговоры с Пушилиным и Дейнего – МИДСЕГОДНЯ Киев сообщил о подготовке к переговорам в Минске документа по прекращению огня и отводу техникиВзгляд Встреча по Украине в Минске может пройти завтраУтро.Ru Mail.Ru -НОВОСТИ.dn.ua -новостной портал iPress.ua Все похожие статьи: 978 » |
 RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |
Defiant Lukashenka Warns Russia, West Against Pressuring Belarus
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has displayed defiance toward Russiaand the West, warning them in a marathon news conference that he would bow to no one's will. Speaking for more than seven hours in an annual news conference on ... After decades of Russian dominance, Belarus begins to reclaim its languageThe Guardian all 277 news articles » |
Russia Detains Illegal Migrants From Central Asiaby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL's Russian Service)
Russian officials say 34 illegal labor migrants from Central Asia were detained in the city of St. Petersburg.
Journalist Says Concealing Identity Of Putin 'Daughter' Became Untenable by noreply@rferl.org (Glenn Kates)
The Kremlin has long treated the lives of Vladimir Putin's family like a state secret. That may be about to change.
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The disgraced former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, will go on trial in France on Monday accused of being a “pimp”.
Italy’s Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, is betting his reputation – and the guardianship of Italy’s constitution – on a senior judge with a proven record of fighting the Mob and an open dislike of the former premier Silvio Berlusconi.
One of Vladimir Putin’s main opponents may have broken a taboo by publishing what he claims is the pseudonym used by one of the Russian President’s daughters.
Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip will highlight the United States’ support for Ukraine, the State Department said.
 The Economist |
Contemporary Russia
The Economist He bought underpriced shares in badly run Russian companies and chivvied the management into behaving better so the share price would go up. It worked. Between the depth of Russia'sfinancial crash in 1998 and the end of 2003, his investment fund had ... |
Britain must hold Russia's kleptocratic elite to account
Financial Times But contrary to our normal assumptions about what terrorism looks like, the origins of this attack were not in Iran or Pakistan, but in Russia. On November 23 2006, in the civilised surroundings of a Mayfair hotel, three former KGB officers met for tea ... Spy's lethal tea strains Britain's ties with RussiaThe Nation all 61 news articles » |
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Dissident Venezuelan General Resurfaces in New Yorkby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Prominent Venezuelan opposition figure and retired general Antonio Rivero has resurfaced after nearly a year in hiding, appearing at the United Nations in New York. “I have come to ask for protection,” Rivero told reporter Celia Mendoza of VOA’s Spanish branch in a one-on-one interview Thursday. Rivero said he called on the U.N. to stop what he described as “harassment” by the Venezuelan government, not just against him but against political prisoners and the entire Venezuelan population. Rivero has been on the run since early last year, when Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered his arrest for allegedly inciting anti-government protests last February that resulted in more than 40 deaths. The government accused the opposition of trying to stage a coup. Rivero had previously been accused of helping trigger the violence that followed Mr. Maduro's disputed April 2013 election. Rivero told VOA the Venezuelan government's accusations and reasons for detaining him were not "justified" and represented a violation of his rights. He said his family has also been subject to constant harassment. Rivero was once a close ally of the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, serving as the government's emergency management director until 2008. But in 2010, he retired from the military over concerns about a growing Cuban influence in the armed forces.
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 The Economist |
Ukraine General Says Russia Knew Rebel Offensive Was Coming
Wall Street Journal SOLEDAR, Ukraine—Gen. Oleksandr Rozmaznin says he raised his eyebrows when hisRussian counterpart, assigned to help with the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, said that he would no longer show up at their joint workplace. “I said, 'Well, I'm there. Russia and UkraineThe Economist Greece's leftist government sparks fears of a Russian beachhead in EuropeWashington Post Russia sanctions fail to stop Ukraine fightingWashington Times New York Times -RT-Reuters all 2,038 news articles » |
Kerry, Lavrov to Hold Talks on Ukraineby webdesk@voanews.com (Pamela Dockins)
Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Ukraine and Germany next week for talks on issues including the heightened tensions over what the U.S. and its Western allies say is Russian aggression in Ukraine. Kerry is expected to raise the issue when he meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany. VOA State Department Correspondent Pam Dockins has the story.
Mr. Bergling, sentenced to life in prison in 1979 for selling military secrets to the Soviet Union, fled from custody during a conjugal visit with his wife.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ukraine next week to show U.S. support for the government as fighting spikes with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
U.S. military officials say a mid-level Islamic State militant who specialized in chemical weapons was killed in an U.S. airstrike near Mosul in Iraq last week.
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«Мы не растения!»: как правительство отчитывалось перед Думой за кризис
РБК Первый вице-премьер Игорь Шувалов без проблем защитил в Госдуме антикризисный план правительства. Хотя многие парламентарии критиковали правительство, ни один не проголосовал против постановления палаты. Шувалов обещал палате то, чего она хотела, – тесного ... и другие » |
 УНИАН |
Боевики готовят новое наступление на Углегорск и Дебальцево
УНИАН Дебальцево под обстрелами российских войск и боевиков стремительно пустеет. В городе исчезает вода, свет, закрывают аптеки и магазины, а люди стараются уехать подальше от линии огня. Фото: Григорий Жигалов / ТСН.ua. Боевики готовят новое наступление на Углегорск и ... Донецкие города Углегорск и Дебальцево остались без водыРИА Новости Жители Углегорска и Дебальцево остались без водыПолит.ру Углегорск - Дебальцево: бои продолжаютсяBBC Russian ГЛАВКОМ -ЛІГА.net -Час Пик Все похожие статьи: 170 » |
 Business Insider |
Morgan Stanley thinks Russia's doomed
Business Insider Now here's the scariest part of the latest Morgan Stanley report: Although initially analysts andRussian politicians alike were likening the current economic crisis in Russia to that of 2009, the latest Morgan Stanley note suggests this one is could ... and more » |
 РИА Новости |
Пентагон: для победы над ИГ потребуется до пяти лет
РИА Новости Представитель оборонного ведомства США также подчеркнул, что первостепенным элементом в борьбе с боевиками по-прежнему остается идеологическая составляющая. Флаг террористической группировки Исламское государство. © AP Photo. ВАШИНГТОН, 31 янв — РИА Новости. Пентагон заявил, что одними военными действиями ИГ не победить, нужно стабильное правительствоNEWSru.com Пентагон пообещал одолеть «Исламское государство» за пять летГазета.Ru В Пентагоне считают, что для победы над «Исламским государством» понадобится от трёх до пяти летРИА Пронедра -1news.az -ТАСС Все похожие статьи: 29 » |
The new finance minister said his country would no longer cooperate with international auditors sent to negotiate its bailout.
 Зеркало недели |
Генсек НАТО назвал 2014 год "черным" для европейской безопасности
Зеркало недели Расходы НАТО на оборону в 2014 году продолжали снижаться. Как сообщается в годовом отчете альянса, в прошлом году 26 стран альянса инвестировали в оборону 250 миллиардов долларов, что примерно на семь миллиардов меньше, чем в 2013 году. При этом в 1990 году ... и другие » |
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Fate of Ebola Treatment Units is Unclearby webdesk@voanews.com (Jennifer Lazuta)
At the height of the Ebola epidemic, aid groups couldn’t build Ebola treatment units, or ETUs, fast enough to isolate patients. Now, with the epidemic showing signs of ebbing, some ETUs in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are sitting empty, their futures uncertain. Can they be maintained or repurposed? “I think the short answer is there is no plan,” said Damien Queally, deputy regional director of programs for Plan International, a child-centered global development group. “There’s a lot of discussion going on at the government level around what should be done with these centers," he said. "From [our] perspective, we see it as an opportunity to reinforce the whole primary health care services in the country … especially the community care centers, where there are structures available that can support midwifery or other potential epidemic illnesses, like Lassa fever, TB, leprosy or anything contagious." But Queally said many units are quite large and would be expensive to maintain. Some people may also be afraid to go to a former Ebola treatment unit, no matter how many times it has been cleaned. Some are mere tents Other ETUs weren’t built to last. They are tented structures made of plastic sheeting. The chlorine solution used to disinfect them is quite corrosive. The Liberian government has started decommissioning its once-brimming ETUs in the capital, Monrovia, and surrounding Montserrado county. Doctors Without Borders downsized its ETU in Monrovia from 250 beds to 60. It was the largest ETU ever built. But this outbreak isn’t over, said Sean Casey, regional director for Ebola response at the International Medical Corps. "The reality now in West Africa is that Ebola exists in the animal population and there’s still active transmission happening … so it’s important that we still have Ebola treatment units as long as there are active cases, and then beyond that," Casey said. The epidemic began in Guinea in late 2013. Ebola began to surge in Liberia and Sierra Leone in June. Global response didn’t really ramp up until September, as images of sick Liberians dying in the streets hit the international media. But it took time to construct ETUs, and some were only recently completed, even as the need was dropping off sharply. Some have criticized this as wasteful. Aid workers disagree. Tariq Riebl, Oxfam’s humanitarian program manager for Ebola response in Liberia, said that "no one has ever seen an epidemic of this proportion. … No one was fully expecting the surge of cases ... but also no one predicted the descent, which has been far more rapid than any of us would have hoped for. So of course there was an excess capacity now because of the lag time it takes to put things in place." Value seen in training Over the course of the outbreak, thousands of people in the affected countries have been trained in Ebola patient care, safe burials and sanitation. Experts said those human resources are the most important to preserve. "It’s important that they maintain that level of training and refresher training on an annual or biannual basis to ensure the health staff remember the safety protocol," Plan International’s Queally said. The hope is that these countries will never again need ETUs with hundreds of beds each and that reaction to future outbreaks will be swift and effective.
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 Newsweek |
Russia: It's Time for Regime Change
Newsweek Although “regime change” has become a dirty phrase, the best thing that could happen toRussia, its neighbors and the world would be a change from Vladimir Putin's brand of strongman authoritarianism to some form of democracy. Putin's regime is ... Defense chief says Russia to maintain military superiority: InterfaxReuters Russian power struggle: Could Putin lose his leverage over Moscow elite?CBC.ca How Russia props up Putin in the pollsWashington Post Business Insider-Voice of America -ABC News all 218 news articles » |
Ukrainian Neighborhood Divided Over Conflictby webdesk@voanews.com (Al Pessin)
People in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk districts find themselves right in the path of advancing Russian-backed rebels, who want to take back the territory they held at the beginning of the conflict last year. Many local residents are worried and afraid, but others say they would welcome the change, even when a rebel shell lands in their neighborhood. VOA’s Al Pessin reports from the town of Papasna, in the Luhansk district, nearby to where the Ukrainian government marks the front line.
President is so secretive about his family that most Russians have no idea what his daughters look like
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 СЕГОДНЯ |
В Донбасс отправляется 12-я колонна МЧС России
NEWSru.com "Планируется, что колонна выйдет сегодня рано утром из Донского спасательного центра МЧС. В ее составе более 170 автомобилей, которые доставят в Донецкую и Луганскую области в общей сложности свыше 1,5 тысяч тонн гуманитарной помощи", - сообщили агентству в ... Колонна МЧС России доставит в Донбасс гуманитарную помощьТАСС В Донбасс сегодня отправляется очередной гуманитарный конвой из РоссииРадиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ Автоколонна РФ с гуманитарной помощью отправляется на Донбасс - МЧСПрессОРГ24 - Новости Украины ГЛАВКОМ -Диалог.UA - Всегда два мнения Все похожие статьи: 74 » |
 РИА Новости |
США разрешили проводить ряд финансовых операций с Крымом
Полит.ру Власти США разрешили своим юридическим и физическим лицам осуществлять ряд финансовых операций с Крымом, сообщается на официальном сайте американского минфина. Согласно сообщению, разрешены личные и некоммерческие транзакции в Крым и из Крыма с участием ... Власти США разрешили американским банкам открывать счета жителям КрымаКомсомольская правда Власти США разрешили своим гражданам переводить деньги в КрымРоссийская Газета США разрешили своим гражданам и банкам частные транзакции с Крымом.Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ NEWSru.com -Lenta.ru -Взгляд Все похожие статьи: 27 » |
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 Газета Труд |
Дебальцевский котел: глава ДНР пообещал силовикам свободу в обмен на оружие
Газета Труд Очередное интервью Александр Захарченко дал прямо на передовой в Углегорске. Кадр видеозаписи с www.youtube.com. Виктория Фоменко. Статья. 15:38 30 Января 2015г. Опубликовано 15:38 30 Января 2015г. Версия для печати · Отправить по почте. «Вы воюете не с теми. У вас есть ... ДНР заявила о возможности создания еще одного «котла»Взгляд Глава ДНР Александр Захарченко призвал украинских военных, окруженных под Дебальцево, сдатьсяПервый канал Киев опроверг информацию об образовании «дебальцевского котла»РБК МВ Все похожие статьи: 493 » |
Russia Awards Crimean Bridge Contract to Putin Ally's Company by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
A company whose main owner is a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been awarded a contract to build a bridge linking mainland Russia with the Crimean Peninsula. A government order published Friday said Stroygazmontazh Corporation, whose majority owner is billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, was awarded the contract. Reports out of Russia said the project's estimated cost was $3 billion and that it must be completed by 2018. Rotenberg has known the Russian leader since childhood, and the two have been judo partners in the past. The Associated Press said Rotenberg, 63, received the contract without the public tenders that are typically mandatory for government-commissioned projects in Russia. Rotenberg is under Western sanctions because of Russia's annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine following a controversial referendum on March 16 of last year. The U.S. Treasury Department, in announcing sanctions against Russian officials and the leadership's inner circle, said the businessman and his brother, Boris, have provided support to Putin's pet projects by receiving and executing high-price contracts for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games and state-controlled energy giant Gazprom. The statement said the brothers have made billions in contracts for the Games and Gazprom and have amassed enormous wealth during Putin's rule. The European Union also has sanctioned Rotenberg. Forbes Magazine described Arkady Rotenberg as one of Russia's most influential businessmen whose source of wealth was construction, pipes and banking. Forbes said he was worth $1.8 billion.
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Published on Jan 30, 2015
In Massachusetts, everyone has to shovel.. even if you happen to be the Secretary of State. John Kerry was slapped with a $50 fine for failing to have a side street adjoining his Boston home shoveled following the blizzard that dropped more than 2 feet of snow on Massachusetts this week. A spokesman said the fine was issued on after a snow-removal company hired by Kerry and his neighbors in the city's historic Beacon Hill neighborhood saw yellow tape blocking the sidewalk alongside the home and thought it was related to security for Kerry. A spokesman for Kerry said once they understood that they were allowed to enter the area, the contractors finished the sidewalk.
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Published on Jan 30, 2015
Kerry Slapped With Fine for Not Shoveling Sidewalk, Avoids Reporter Questions (January 30, 2015)
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Published on Jan 30, 2015
Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Ukraine and Germany next week for talks on issues including the heightened tensions over what the U.S. and its Western allies say is Russian aggression in Ukraine. Kerry is expected to raise the issue when he meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany. VOA State Department Correspondent Pam Dockins has the story.
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/ke...
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/ke...
Analysts See Possibility of US-Houthi Cooperationby webdesk@voanews.com (William Gallo)
The Houthi motto sounds ominous to Western ears: "Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews, long live Islam." But according to Middle East Institute scholar Charles Schmitz, that's a bit deceptive. "That chant is not meant to be anti-American," he said. Instead of merely reflecting antipathy toward the U.S., Schmitz said, the chant was more aimed at Yemen's former U.S.-backed authoritarian leaders. "It was meant to stick a thorn in the side of the president, who at the time after the U.S. invasion of Iraq was defending the U.S. Embassy, was defending his relationship on the war on terror with the Bush administration," he said. "So the thorn was to say, 'We are authentically Yemeni. We don't serve foreign interests.' " Longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh was a major ally in the U.S. war on Islamist extremists, who have taken refuge in Yemen in increasing numbers in recent years. Saleh was forced out of office in 2012 by Arab Spring protests. He was replaced by a close ally, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. But after Houthi rebels this month surrounded the seats of power in Sanaa, the president, the prime minister and his Cabinet tendered their resignations, leaving the Houthis as de facto leaders. U.S. officials told various news outlets this week that they had begun reaching out to the Houthis on security issues. A top priority is to continue U.S. drone strikes on militants affiliated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP, as it is known, is gaining in strength and claimed responsibility for the January attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France. The Shiite Houthis, despite their anti-U.S. slogans, are also battling AQAP, leaving some possible room for cooperation with the U.S. Still, Washington officials are leery of becoming involved in another conflict in an Arab country. Yemen Embassy spokesman Mohammad Albasha played down that threat Friday. "This is not a Sunni-Shia war in Yemen," he said. "It has nothing to do with Shias and Sunnis. This is a political crisis, with political resolutions, hopefully." Albasha told a forum at the Wilson Center in Washington that he had been in close contact with different factions involved in negotiations about Yemen's future government. "They all said that there were problems, but they all reassured me that they're moving towards the political resolution," he said. "No one wants to pick up the guns and fight." As those negotiations move forward, it is not clear who, if anyone, is in control of the country. But as Albasha told #VOA this week, if there is no quick solution to the problem, the country is "definitely going to be heading toward chaos."
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NATO: Georgia Training Facility Could Open in 2015by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
NATO said Friday that it hoped to open a training center in Georgia by the end of the year, signaling a strengthening of its relationship with the former Soviet republic that is likely to antagonize Russia. Georgia's government has long hoped to join the military alliance. But Russia, which fought a 2008 war with Georgia over two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, has said such a move would threaten its security. The Kremlin last month accused NATO of turning another former Soviet state, Ukraine, into a "front line of confrontation" amid the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow said the new training center would be set up as part of a package of measures to boost Georgia's defense capabilities agreed upon at a summit in September. "We are hoping that it can be operational by the end of this year," Vershbow told reporters in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. NATO has already agreed in principle that Georgia should one day become a member. But analysts say the process has been delayed by member countries' reluctance to further provoke Russia. Vershbow said Georgia was moving forward on its path toward membership but declined to set out a timetable. NATO boosted its military presence in Eastern Europe last year, saying it had evidence that Russia orchestrated and armed a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine, which followed Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and the overthrow of a Kremlin-backed president in Kyiv. Moscow denies supporting the rebellion. Georgia, a South Caucasus country crossed by pipelines that carry Caspian oil and gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, has sent its troops to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
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Эксперт ИГ по химическому оружию был уничтожен в ходе авианалета в Ираке
Комсомольская правда Центральное командование ВС США заявило о ликвидации в ходе авиаударов коалиции в Ираке специалиста по химическому оружию Абу Малика, который являлся членом группировки "Исламское государство" (ИГ). "Как ожидается, его смерть временно ослабит террористическую сеть ... В Ираке в результате авиаударов коалиции ликвидирован специалист по химическому оружию Абу Малик.Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ США заявили о ликвидации в Ираке эксперта "ИГ" по химоружиюРоссийская Газета Эксперт ИГ по химическому оружию уничтожен в ходе авиаудараРБК РИА Новости -Свежие новости сегодня. Последние новости интернет издания "Fresh-News" Все похожие статьи: 30 » |
With Mitt Out, Jeb Bush Gets a Boost
With 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s announcement that he will not pursue the 2016 presidential nomination, the conservative grassroots may be celebrating. They thought of Romney as a political squish, a flip-flopper, the creator of Romneycare and the blunderer of “the 47 percent.”
…Daily Beast Humiliation: ‘Exclusive’ Claims Romney Running…
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Forget Climategate: This ‘global warming’ scandal is much bigger
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POLL: Netanyahu Surges in Israel
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Published on Jan 30, 2015
Firefighters in the Russian capital Moscow battled a large fire in the library of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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