Amtrak train crashes in Philadelphia, wreckage 'pretty bad'
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- An Amtrak train has crashed in Philadelphia, and several people appear to be injured....
Philadelphia train crash: multiple injuries in Amtrak derailmentby Associated Press in Philadelphia
Emergency services at scene after train wreck on busy 188 line between Washington DC and New York
An Amtrak passenger train has crashed in Philadelphia with a number of injuries reported.
The busy 188 line service was traveling from Washington DC to New York City on Tuesday night when it went off the rails. The front of the train was going into a turn when it shook, according to passengers.
Continue reading...The latest on Amtrak crash: A mix of injuries sufferedby By The Associated Press
There's been a mix of injuries suffered when an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia....
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Dozens of people have been injured after a train derailed near Philadelphia leaving 10 carriages overturned.
At least 15 injured after train bound from Washington, D.C. to New York City jumped tracks
PHILADELPHIA An Amtrak passenger train with more than 200 passengers on board derailed in north Philadelphia on Tuesday night, causing multiple injuries, a city fire department supervisor said.
The official, who did not give his name, said there were "lots of injuries" at the scene of the wreck in the city's Port Richmond neighborhood along the Delaware River, but he did not elaborate.
An NBC affiliate in the city reported at least 50 people were injured when eight to 10 cars from the train derailed, citing officials.
Ten patients were taken to Temple University Hospital in the city, spokeswoman Giselle Zayon said, but she was unable to describe the extent of their injuries.
Television footage broadcast on MSNBC showed dozens of emergency workers scrambling over and around the wreckage with flashlights in the dark. Photos from the scene showed emergency personnel loading injured people onto stretchers and backboards.
Former Pennsylvania Congressman Patrick Murphy, who was a passenger on the train, told MSNBC that his rail car flipped over, but he escaped with minor cuts and bruises.
MSNBC reported about 240 passengers were aboard the train, citing Amtrak officials. Amtrak said the derailed locomotive was train No. 188, headed from Washington, D.C., to New York, but provided no other details about the accident.
The weather was fair at the time of the crash. Port Richmond is a working-class neighborhood that has recently become a popular place to live among younger adults in the city.
In a video posted on social media, passengers could be heard crying and others were telling victims to crawl forward.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on its Twitter account that it was “currently gathering information” regarding the derailment.
CNN said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter would hold a news conference shortly.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco, Peter Cooney in Washington and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Eric Walsh and Ken Wills)
Dozens of people were injured on Tuesday night when an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, according to the authorities and passengers aboard the train.
The train was headed from Washington to New York when it derailed around 9:45 p.m., according to passengers, including former Representative Patrick Murphy, who posted a series of messages and photographs on Twitter shortly after the crash.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. It occurred at Frankford Avenue and Wheatsheaf Lane, not far from the Amtrak terminal in City Center, according to Jim Gardner, a local news anchor. There were about 240 passengers aboard.
Officials from the Philadelphia Fire Department said more than 50 people were injured, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia. That toll was growing as firefighters and rescue workers carrying flashlights and ladders went from car to car, helping passengers off the train. Many of the train cars appeared to have flipped over in the crash. It was not immediately clear if anyone was seriously injured.
Amtrak officials said on Twitter that they were aware of the derailment of Train 188 and would provide updates.
Mr. Murphy, an Iraq war veteran and the son of a police officer, served in Congress from 2007 to 2011 as a Democrat from Bucks County, Pa. He said on Twitter that he was helping fellow passengers, adding, “Pray for those injured.”
- Train traveling from Washington DC to New York City on Tuesday night
- Report says that Train 188 went off the tracks in Philadelphia
- At least 50 people have been reported injured at this time
- Eight to 10 cars derailed around 9:20pm carrying approximately 240 people
- Philadelphia Fire Commissioner is calling this a mass casualty incident
Published: 21:05 EST, 12 May 2015 | Updated: 22:15 EST, 12 May 2015
An Amtrak train has crashed in Philadelphia in what the fire commissioner is calling a 'mass casualty incident.'
Train 188 was traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York City on Tuesday night when it crashed around 9:20pm.
The front of the train was going into a turn when it shook according to individuals who were on the train.
An Associated Press employee on the train says it appears the train went off the tracks.
It had been carrying 240 people, approximately 230 passengers and five crew members.
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A train traveling from Washington DC to New York City on Tuesday night crashed outside Philadelphia
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There were 240 people on the train, approximately 230 passengers and five crew members
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Photos taken inside the train showed the extent of some of the injuries suffered by passengers
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At least 50 people have been reported injured at this time and taken to nearby hospitals
Rescue workers were seen with flashlights searching next to multiple train cars that had been tipped on their sides.
Police swarming the Port Richmond area where the crash occurred are telling people to get back.
Workers on the scene are reporting fractures, loss of consciousness, and lacerations and severe cuts on passengers.
Former Congressman Patrick Murphy was on the train and says he has been helping people.
He has been tweeting photos of firefighters helping people in the wreckage.
'It wobbled at first and then went off the tracks,' Murphy told NBC Philadelphia.
'There were some pretty banged-up people. One guy next to me was passed out. We kicked out the window in the top of the train car and helped get everyone out.'
He said that some of the victims were injured to the point where they couldn't move.
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Rescue workers were seen with flashlights searching next to multiple train cars that had been tipped on their sides (Photo by Beth Davidz for Billy Penn)
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The front of the train was going into a turn when it shook according to individuals who were on the train
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Police swarming the Port Richmond area where the crash occurred are telling people to get back
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A map of where the train derailment occurred just outside of Philadelphia
Amtrak hasn't returned a call seeking comment, but wrote on Twitter; 'We are aware of the derailment of Northeast Regional train 188 north of Philadelphia and will provide updates as they become available.'
Another Amtrak train crashed on Sunday. That train, bound for New Orleans, struck a flatbed truck at a railway crossing in Amite, killing the truck's driver and injuring two people on the train.
Janelle Richards, an NBC Nightly News producer, was on the train and said she 'heard a loud crash and people flew up in the air, there was a lot of jerking back and forth, a lot of smoke, then everything just stopped and people starting asking how to get off the train.'
One passenger, Don Kelleher, said; 'We were rolling along nice and smooth and then all of a sudden we were on our side.'
Michael Black, who was also on the train, said; 'All of a sudden it felt like the brakes were hit hard and then our car. We were third from the last, just slowly started going over to the side. I tried to just brace my arm against it and then just got off.'
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Workers on the scene are reporting fractures, loss of consciousness, and lacerations and severe cuts on passengers
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Workers on the scene are reporting fractures, loss of consciousness, and lacerations and severe cuts on passengers
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Amtrak hasn't returned a call seeking comment, but wrote on Twitter; 'We are aware of the derailment of Northeast Regional train 188 north of Philadelphia and will provide updates as they become available'
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Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania said after the incident; 'My thoughts and prayers are with all involved in the Amtrak train accident in Philadelphia tonight. Thank you to the first responders'
'The Federal Railroad Administration was dispatching a team of investigators to the Amtrak derailment site in Philadelphia,' FRA spokesman Kevin Thompson said.
'We are unable to confirm any details about the accident at this time.'
Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has been suspended in the wake of the accident.
Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania said after the incident; 'My thoughts and prayers are with all involved in the Amtrak train accident in Philadelphia tonight. Thank you to the first responders.'
He then added; 'In contact with state and local authorities regarding train derailment in Philadelphia & closely monitoring the situation to assist.'
AMTRAK WRECK COMES AFTER SERIES OF DEADLY CRASHES ON AMERICA'S BUSIEST RAILROAD
Tuesday night's Amtrak crash in Philadelphia came on tracks that has long been part of the busiest railroad in America, the Northeast Corridor line.
The line, which also includes the high-speed Acela trains, carried 11.6million passengers in the fiscal year 2014, according to statistics released in October.
However, the trains that serve major East Coast cities such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, have seen a number of fatal crashes in recent years.
The Northeast Regional service includes a section of trains owned by Metro North in New York and Connecticut that have seen deadly incidents in the past two years.
In February a suburban mother who stopped on Metro North tracks in Valhalla, New York, caused a train crash that killed six and injured more than a dozen others.
The wreck followed a previous incident on Metro North in 2013, when four people died after a derailment in the Bronx.
America's train system has also seen recent tragedies outside of the Northeast, with an Amtrak train in Amite, Louisiana, killing a truck driver when it ran into his vehicle on Sunday.
In 2012 more than 40 people were injured on an Amtrak train in California that partly derailed after it was hit by a cotton truck.
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Secretary of State John F. Kerry, left, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. (Joshua Roberts/AFP via Getty Images)
MOSCOW — Secretary of State John F. Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than four hours on Tuesday, marking a high-profile attempt to ease tensions between Russia and the West as relations have deteriorated to their worst level since the Cold War.
The talks in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi yielded no major breakthroughs on a variety of shared concerns, including Ukraine, a nuclear deal with Iran and the Islamic State’s gains in Syria. But in strikingly warm comments after the meeting, Kerry praised Putin for having agreed to meet in the first place.
Kerry was the most senior U.S. official to visit Russia since the crisis in Ukraine started last year, rekindling antagonism reminiscent of Soviet times. But both sides appeared pleased with Tuesday’s talks, which included four additional hours of discussion between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“We rarely get to speak as honestly as we did today,” Kerry said. “This was an important visit at an important time. We didn’t come here with an expectation that we would be able to define a specific path forward with respect to one crisis or another.”
Kerry had not visited Russia since May 2013, as Moscow’s decision to grant asylum to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden effectively put an end to high-level contacts. Russia’s subsequent annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine put relations in a deep freeze.
Kerry, Putin sit down for talks(1:10)
Secretary of State John Kerry shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday. (Reuters)
The quick trip on Tuesday appeared to be a new effort to rekindle cooperation in areas where the United States and Russia might be able to work together, even if ongoing fighting in Ukraine remains an open sore. Talks with Iran on a nuclear deal are in their final, crucial weeks. Both the United States and Russia fear the rise of the Islamic State in Syria, while Russia is also a major supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is battling a four-year-old uprising.
And on Ukraine, U.S. officials have said they want to press Russia to ensure that the pro-Kremlin rebels observe the terms of a shaky peace plan forged earlier this year.
“We did not come to common ground on all issues, but today’s meeting helped us get a better understanding of each other,” Lavrov said. “President Putin today called upon us to ensure close cooperation, taking into consideration our mutual opinions and interests.”
Both sides said that only political efforts, not armed conflict, will resolve the Ukraine crisis, a position they have held publicly for months. The United States and its European allies have tied any rollback of international sanctions against Russia to the full implementation of the peace deal. That agreement foresees autonomy for rebel-held eastern Ukraine but also the territory’s eventual reintegration under Kiev’s control.
Kerry made no mention Tuesday of Crimea, saying instead that “it is clear the U.S. and E.U. sanctions will begin to be rolled back” if the Ukrainian peace deal is fully implemented.
Ahead of the meetings, administration officials had been cautious about raising expectations. Kerry had canceled a trip to Russia earlier this year because of violence in eastern Ukraine, where the government says more than 8,000 people have been killed.
The Obama administration’s chief negotiator on the Iran deal, Undersecretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, sat to Kerry’s left during the discussions with Putin, signaling the key focus of the meetings.
Sherman planned to travel onward to Vienna, where further negotiations with Iran were set to begin Wednesday. The deadline for a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear program is six weeks away.
Kerry’s visit was the second trip to Russia by a senior Western official this week — a boost to Putin, who puts a premium on signs of respect from the West. German Chancellor Angela Merkel traveled to Moscow on Sunday to join World War II commemorations after snubbing Putin a day earlier by skipping the Kremlin’s vast military parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.
“For Putin, this is a mark of respect,” said Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank. In the Kremlin’s view, he said, “this basically shows that Russia is anything but isolated, that Western leaders are reaching out.”
But Putin’s meeting with Merkel ended in barbs between the two leaders, suggesting that the Russian leader is in no mood to back down on Ukraine despite more than a year of Western economic sanctions.
Putin made no public statement on Tuesday. But at the military parade on Saturday, he condemned attempts to build a “unipolar” world — a byword for U.S. domination.
Before Tuesday’s meetings, Kerry and Lavrov laid wreaths at a World War II memorial to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe.
Despite the lack of any major breakthroughs, the meetings still could mark the beginning of a gradual warming of relations, said Angela Stent, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies.
“Because of the lack of trust that has been so patent since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, it was adversely affecting other issues,” she said. “The White House, the State Department, the administration have all realized that U.S.-Russian relations are worse than they have been at any time since [Mikhail] Gorbachev came to power. We’re not getting anywhere in Ukraine, but there are other issues, like Syria and Iran, where we need to work together.”
Morello reported from Washington.
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Michael Birnbaum is The Post’s Moscow bureau chief. He previously served as the Berlin correspondent and an education reporter.
Carol Morello is the diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post, covering the State Department.
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SOCHI, Russia — Secretary of State John Kerry held more than four hours of talks on Tuesday with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in what both sides depicted as a frank and cordial meeting aimed at reaching a common strategy to end the Syria war and defuse the Ukraine crisis.
Mr. Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov — who met separately for more than four hours beforehand — described the entire day of discussions as the beginning of a fresh dialogue that might lead to broader cooperation on regional crises.
Talk of isolating Russia because of its intervention in Ukraine appeared to have been relegated to a past chapter of relations. Instead, the emphasis was finding new ways to collaborate, particularly on Syria. Mr. Kerry expressed hope on that front that American and Russian officials would deliberate “with increased focus and purpose.”
Despite the change in atmosphere, no concrete accomplishments were made public. Neither side announced initiatives to quell the fighting in Syria. Nor did they present a plan to stop the chlorine attacks that the United States and other Western nations believe the government of President Bashar al-Assad has carried out in recent months. But the tone of the meetings was different, largely devoid of the rancor and Cold War rhetoric that had increasingly framed relations between Russia and the United States over the past few years.
Still, it was far from clear that the American and Russia officials would reach agreement on the thorny issues on which Mr. Kerry now hopes to collaborate. On allegations of chemical weapons use, Mr. Kerry said the two sides would begin by exchanging information on the suspected attacks in Syria, while Mr. Lavrov stressed the importance of carrying out an international investigation.
On Ukraine, both sides insisted they supported the cease-fire agreement reached in February in Minsk, Belarus. And Mr. Kerry made clear that his warning about taking military action applied to the Ukrainian government as well as Moscow. But the Russians provided no hint that they were yet prepared to stop training separatists in eastern Ukraine or whether they would remove their troops.
On Iran, Mr. Lavrov said Mr. Kerry had not insisted that Russia refrain from selling the Iranians an advance air defense system, the S-300. Mr. Kerry said American concerns over the potential sale were well known, but acknowledged that Russia would not be violating any legal restriction.
Mr. Kerry was the highest-ranking American official to visit Russia since the start of the crisis in Ukraine. His trip began with a visit to a war memorial in Sochi, the site of the last Winter Olympics. He met with Mr. Putin at an ornate presidential residence after his talks with Mr. Lavrov at a luxury hotel.
The spokeswoman for the Russia Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, provided a glimpse of what was happening inside the talks, including Mr. Kerry’s desire to improve relations.
Ms. Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page that at the start of a working lunch Mr. Lavrov had given Mr. Kerry several baskets of plump tomatoes and fresh potatoes grown in Russia’s Krasnodar region. In return, she wrote, Mr. Kerry provided a list of critical reports in the Russian news media that “in his view did not reflect the real potential of broad Russian-American relations.”
The State Department’s own social media messaging appeared to get ahead of events. It posted aTwitter message in Mr. Kerry’s name that hailed the “frank discussions” the secretary had with Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov on Iran, Syria and Ukraine while the closed-door meeting with the Russian president was still underway. Mr. Kerry, however, later sought to reinforce the cordiality of that message, thanking Mr. Putin for giving him so much time.
The Syria conflict was a main topic, all the more urgent given the gains made by the Islamic State extremist group and the battlefield reversals suffered recently by Mr. Assad’s forces.
Further compounding the crisis were credible reports of attacks in Syria involving chlorine and possibly other chemical agents.
The United States and Russia drafted the 2013 agreement that required Syria to eliminate its chemical weapons arsenal and join the treaty that bans such weapons, which was later codified in aresolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
Chlorine was excluded from chemicals to be eliminated. But its use as a weapon of war is still a violation of the treaty. The Assad government is the only Syrian party to the conflict that has the aircraft that witnesses say has dropped chlorine-filled barrel bombs. But the Security Council, where Russian wields a veto, has yet to assign blame.
Mr. Kerry’s visit also came amid deepening divisions between the sides over Ukraine. The Russia military has deployed about 10 battalions on Ukraine’s border, has moved SA-22 and SA-15 air defense systems into eastern Ukraine and continues to train separatists there.
It is not clear if the Russian military and the separatists it is backing are planning an offensive to seize more territory or if their moves are a tactic to force Ukraine to make political concessions. But the State Department asserted last month that Russia’s behavior violated the cease-fire agreement that European powers negotiated in February.
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(SOCHI, Russia) — Despite a cordial atmosphere, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister produced little evidence of progress in easing tensions on Ukraine, Syria and other issues dividing the two powers.
On his first trip to Russia since the Ukraine crisis began, Kerry held more than four hours of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a hotel in the Black Sea resort of Sochi before seeing Putin at his presidential residence in the city. Putin is in Sochi meeting with Russian defense officials for a week.
Three hours into the Kerry-Putin meeting, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Kerry and Lavrov had a “long and sincere conversation on a broad range of issues.”
But the statement echoed the defiant tone of earlier ministry comments that blamed Washington for strains in relations and said Moscow would not back down on matters critical to its national interests.
“Sergey Lavrov noted that we aren’t to blame for the current crisis in relations with Washington,” the statement said. “Russia is ready for constructive cooperation with Washington both on bilateral issues and on global arena, where our countries bear special responsibility for the global security and stability. However, cooperation is only possible on an honest and equal basis, without attempts at diktat and enforcement.”
The statement added that additional sanctions pressure on Russia would result only in continued deadlock because “Russia will not be forced to compromise on its national interests and its principled stance on the issues it considers as key for itself.”
Both Washington and Moscow insist that all sides to the Ukraine crisis comply with an increasingly fragile ceasefire agreement but differ widely as to who violated it.
Kerry had planned to test Putin’s willingness to press pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine to comply with the ceasefire.
Kerry was also seeking to gauge the status of Russia’s support for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose forces have been losing ground to rebels, and urge Moscow to support a political transition that could end that war. On that issue, the Russian statement said only that it is “necessary to continue efforts to launch a full-fledged political dialogue between official Damascus and the opposition.”
In addition, Kerry was to make the case to Putin that Russia should not proceed with its planned transfer of an advanced air defense system to Iran. The Russian statement was silent on that.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted to post-Cold War lows amid the disagreements over Ukraine and Syria.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Sochi on Tuesday that Russia welcomed Kerry’s visit but stressed that “Russia never initiated the freeze in relations and we are always open for displays of political will for a broader dialogue.”
The rhetoric signaled there would be few breakthroughs if any. Nevertheless, both sides stressed the importance of trying to work through some of the rancor that buried President Barack Obama’s first-term effort to “reset” ties with Moscow.
Kerry began his short visit to Sochi by laying a wreath at a World War II memorial with Lavrov, with whom Kerry has had a warm personal relationship.
Lavrov presented Kerry at a working lunch with tomatoes and potatoes that were “distant” descendants of two Idaho potatoes that Kerry gave him last year, a spokeswoman for Lavrov said. For his part, Kerry “presented the Russian side with a list of quotations from the Russian media that in his view don’t reflect the real potential of broad Russian-American relations, which he is convinced need to be improved,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page. U.S. officials said Kerry had given a leather writing portfolio.
Improving ties, however, hinges largely on violence decreasing in Ukraine.
The Western-backed government in Kiev continues to be embroiled in a sporadic conflict with separatist forces despite a ceasefire agreement sealed in mid-February. Russia was a party to that deal.
Western nations say Russia supports the separatists with arms and manpower, and even directs some battlefield operations — all claims Moscow denies. In return, the Russians bristle at Washington’s provision to Ukraine of military assistance in the form of hardware and training.
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Kerry holds talks with Putin during first visit to Russia in two years by Shaun Walker in Moscow
Meeting between US secretary of state and Russian president signals mutual intent to engage in dialogue after strained relations
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has met Vladimir Putin during a visit to the Russian president’s Black Sea residence in Sochi.
Kerry’s plane landed in Sochi on Tuesday morning for the one-day visit, his first to Russia for two years and he was due to leave for Turkey in the evening. He spent several hours in talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, before the pair met Putin.
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Secretary of State John Kerry had a rare direct meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Tuesday, with everything from Iran and Yemen to Ukraine and ISIS on the agenda.
The secretary of state landed in Sochi, and later in the day met with Putin for a conversation that lasted for more than three hours. Earlier, Kerry met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for over four hours.
"Putin and I talk regularly, but we rarely have the chance for as long as we did today, as uninterrupted as we did today," Kerry told reporters adding that there were obviously issues President Barack Obama wanted him to share with Lavrov and Putin.
Kerry and Putin also discussed that a ceasefire agreement signed earlier this year in Minsk, Belarus by several parties, including Russia and Ukraine, is the "absolutely the best path forward," Kerry said.
The Russian leaders and Kerry continue to disagree on certain components, the secretary of state said. Russia has consistently denied sending soldiers and weapons to the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine and, in response, western nations have issued sanctions against Russia over its role in Ukraine.
Those sanctions, Kerry reiterated during the meetings with Russian leaders, will be "rolled back" once Russia fulfills ceasefire terms.
Kerry called the meeting an "important visit at an important time," and added that he "didn't come here with the expectation that we would define — or have a specific breakthrough, but have an open dialogue with Russia's leaders."
It is Kerry's first visit to the country since the Ukraine crisis, which sent relations between Washington and Moscow plummeting to post-Cold War lows.
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The brief stop comes ahead of a summit of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey on Wednesday.
"It's important to try to talk to the senior decision maker," a senior State Department official explained to reporters ahead of the visit. "We have an opportunity to do that."
The official added: "Key subjects that we anticipate discussing … include next steps in … negotiations on Iran — we're coming into the final six weeks, it's important to stay tightly aligned; the regional issues that are hot, including Yemen, Libya. We'll also anticipate talking about the threat from [ISIS] and particularly events in Syria. And then, of course, we'll discuss Ukraine and the vital importance of full and fast and complete implementation of the Minsk agreements."
The official also hinted at future Western action in chaos-stricken Libya.
"There may be UN Security Council action required in near days and weeks. It'll be important to have Russia aligned with us and on side supporting the UN talks," the official said, adding that situation in Yemen "is at a critical moment."
The relationship between the United States and Russia has been badly damaged over Ukraine.
Western nations accuse Russia of supporting separatists in Ukraine by providing weaponry and manpower — a charge Moscow denies. Russia, meanwhile, has bristled at Washington's pledge to provide Ukraine with military assistance in the form of hardware and training.
Diplomats in Moscow and Washington are also at odds over a range of other issues.
NBC News
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Russia last month announced it would lift a five-year ban on delivery of the S-300 air defense missile system to Iran, drawing a hasty rebuke from the United States. The White House said the missile system would give the Islamic republic's military a strong deterrent against any air attack. The Kremlin argues that the S-300 is a purely defensive system that will not jeopardize the security of Israel or any other countries in the Middle East.
Kerry said he and Russian leaders previously spoke about "the perception of violations".
"What is important is that now both sides are making the choices to move forward," Kerry said.
On Syria, Russia has defied a chorus of international condemnation to remain fast to the embattled government of President Bashar Assad.
Kerry said both the U.S. and Russia "understand and fully accept the degree in which the situation in Syria is increasingly dangerous."
— Katie Wall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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В Сочи сегодня прошли переговоры глав внешнеполитических ведомств России и Соединённых Штатов. После встречи Сергея Лаврова и Джона Керри, американского госсекретаря принял Владимир Путин.
В Сочи сегодня прошли переговоры глав внешнеполитических ведомств России и Соединённых Штатов. После встречи Сергея Лаврова и Джона Керри, американского госсекретаря принял Владимир Путин.
Сегодня в Сочи встретились главы дипведомств России и США. Некоторые детали этих переговоров стали известны из последних сообщений российского МИД. Отмечается, во время обсуждения Лавров заявил Керри, что ответственность за нынешний кризис в отношениях с Вашингтоном лежит не на Москве, а сотрудничество России и США возможно только на честной и равноправной основе, без попыток диктата.
Главы внешнеполитических ведомств констатировали, что непременным условием достижения мира на Украине остается проведение там полноценной конституционной реформы. Что касается сирийской проблемы, Лавров и Керри заявили о необходимости запуска диалога между правительством и оппозицией Сирии. Российский министр акцентировал важность отказа от двойных стандартов отношения к террористической группировке "Исламское государство".
В своем "Твиттере" Джон Керри в свою очередь написал о том, что провел откровенные переговоры по ключевым вопросам, в том числе по Ирану, Сирии, Украине.
И сегодня же главу американского внешнеполитического ведомства принял Владимир Путин. Керри прибыл на несколько минут раньше российского лидера. Спустя пару минут Путин встретил главу американской дипломатии в зале Совбеза. К этой минуте переговоры уже завершились.
На встречу с американским госсекретарем министр иностранных дел России Сергей Лавров приехал за рулем белоснежного ретроавтомобиля "Победа" с нарисованной георгиевской ленточкой. Эта машина создавалась во время Великой Отечественной. Сюда же, к мемориалу жителям Сочи, которые погибли во время Великой Отечественной, прямо из аэропорта приехал госсекретарь США. В память о двух тысячах воинах Красной армии, которые отдали свои жизни в борьбе с фашизмом, главы внешнеполитических ведомств возложили венки.
Пока Керри шел к машине, журналисты спросили, как ему Сочи, госсекретарь США ответил: ему здесь нравится, "солнце, деревья, море". Чуть позже главы российской и американской дипломатии провели двустороннюю встречу. Она прошла в сочинской гостинице "Родина" за закрытыми дверями - журналистов пустили в зал буквально на несколько минут, на так называемую протокольную съемку. Дипломаты пожали друг другу руки - и никаких комментариев для прессы.
Зато на своей страничке в "Фейсбуке" представитель российского МИД Мария Захарова опубликовала фотографии со встречи - главы внешнеполитических ведомств обменялись подарками. Лавров подарил Кэрри краснодарские помидоры и картошку - она того же сорта, что и две картофелины из Айдахо, которые в 2014 году американский госсекретарь на встрече в Париже презентовал российскому министру. Тогда Лавров пообещал, что наши агрономы поработают с этим видом. Также глава американской дипломатии получил футболку с символикой Победы в Великой Отечественной войне.
Со своей стороны Кэрри преподнес российскому министру копию своего портфеля - на одной из встреч Лавров обратил на него внимание, а также список цитат российских СМИ, на его взгляд, не отражающих реальный потенциал масштабных российско-американских отношений и которые, по его убеждению, нуждаются в улучшении.
После Сочи Джон Керри отправится в Турцию на заседание министров иностранных дел НАТО.
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Глава МИД РФ Сергей Лавров и госсекретарь США Джон Керри провели переговоры
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 Bloomberg View |
Why Putin Treats Fantasy as History
Bloomberg View Putin was simply rehashing here what Soviet historians said throughout the post-war years. Their version of events was that in April 1939, after Munich, Stalin offered an anti-Hitler union to France and the U.K. that would have guaranteed protection to ... A day after marking Nazi defeat, Putin praises a Soviet-era pact with HitlerWashington Post (blog) Russian President Putin works to rehabilitate Soviet historyMinneapolis Star Tribune Putin defends notorious Nazi-Soviet pactYahoo News The Moscow Times all 78 news articles » |
 Bloomberg |
Putin's Next Takeover Target Is a $34 Billion Siberian Oil Giant
Bloomberg In Russia, even private companies serve at the pleasure of the president, particularly if they pump oil. A decade ago, Vladimir Putin's allies had Mikhail Khodorkovsky jailed and seized his Yukos Oil Co. Last year, they forced billionaire Vladimir ... |
 Telegraph.co.uk |
Vladimir Putin - by numbers
Telegraph.co.uk Vladimir Putin was born in 1952 and was first inaugurated as the President of Russia in 2000. Prior to his time in government he was an officer in the KGB and served with them for 16 years.Putin speaks at a meeting with representatives of top military ... Putin Is Reaching Out to the Russian PeopleThe Moscow Times all 8 news articles » |
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 РИА Новости |
Путин досрочно прекратил полномочия губернатора Ленинградской области
РИА Новости СОЧИ, 12 мая — РИА Новости. Президент РФ Владимир Путин подписал документы о досрочном прекращении полномочий губернатора Ленинградской области Александра Дрозденко, глава государства попросил чиновника исполнять свои обязанности до губернаторских выборов. Путин принял отставку губернатора Ленинградской областиВести.Ru Путин принял отставку губернатора Ленобласти Дрозденко и назначил его врио главы регионаВзгляд Путин принял досрочную отставку губернатора Ленинградской областиИА REGNUM Русская планета -Петербургский дневник Все похожие статьи: 25 » |
 НТВ.ru |
Перед встречей с Керри Путин напомнил о высоких темпах перевооружения российской армии
НТВ.ru Когда самолет госсекретаря США только приземлился в Сочи, Владимир Путин еще решал вопросы укрепления оборонного комплекса. Российский президент, чья встреча с Керри была намечена на вечер, на утреннем совещании подчеркнул: пока не стоит рассчитывать на скорое ... Кремль подтвердил встречу Путина и КерриРБК Путин начинает серию военных совещанийВести.Ru Путин встретился с госсекретарем США в СочиNEWSru.com РИА Новости -BBC Russian -ГОЛОС АМЕРИКИ Все похожие статьи: 2 026 » |
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The Kremlin Has No Plans for the Future
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Is Putin's elite security service feuding with his own puppet regime in Chechnya?
Vox But on a recent reporting trip there, one rumor came up over and over again: could tension between the ruler of Russia's semi-autonomous Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the FSB, the Russian federal security service that is the successor to the KGB ... Kadyrov calls on world leaders to think about world's futurevestnik kavkaza all 2 news articles » |
Putin May Have 10000 Troops in Ukraine, Russian Opposition Says
Bloomberg ... in which critics are vilified on state television to fan patriotic fervor over the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine a year ago. Putin condemned Nemtsov's slaying, for which the former deputy head of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov's elite police ... and more » |
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 Hindustan Times |
Ukraine Report Linked to Slaying of Putin Critic Boris Nemtsov Published
ABC News The issue of the motives behind the murder remains open.” While possible motives remain highly speculative, the investigation into the killing has increasingly pointed toward Chechnya and senior officials related to its strongman president, Ramzan Kadyrov. Putin May Have 10000 Troops in E. Ukraine, Opposition SaysBloomberg Boris Nemtsov report details Russian involvement in east UkraineInternational Business Times UK Boris Nemtsov allies release report on Russian troops in UkraineThe Guardian Sydney Morning Herald -Institute of Modern Russia all 1,811 news articles » |
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Рамзан Кадыров написал Бараку Обаме письмо
Islam Today Глава Чечни опубликовал в популярной сети Instagram свое обращение к президенту США, который, к слову, не присутствовал на мероприятиях в честь 70-летия Победы в Москве, на которые был официально приглашен. Пост Рамзана Кадырова был озаглавлен «Обращение Бараку ... Рамзан Кадыров опубликовал обращение к Бараку Обаме РИА Новости Рамзан Кадыров опубликовал обращение к Бараку Обаме в InstagramКоммерсантъ Рамзан Кадыров призвал президента США забыть былые обидыРадиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ Lenta.ru- http://glavpost.com/ (Блог)-Комсомольская правда all 170 news articles » |
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Russia
Kerry Holds 'Frank' Talks With Putin About Ukraine, Syria, Iran
Last updated (GMT/UTC): 12.05.2015 17:14
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he has had "frank discussions" about Ukraine, Syria, and Iran with the Russian president and foreign minister.
Kerry made the comment on Twitter after meeting with Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on May 12.
The Russian Foreign Ministry quoted Lavrov as telling Kerry that Moscow was ready for constructive cooperation with the United States on the basis of equal partnership, and that Russia would not bow to pressure to abandon its national interests.
It is Kerry's first visit to Russia in two years.
Kerry is expected to discuss with the Russian leaders the implementation of the shaky cease-fire deal that took effect in eastern Ukraine in February, as well as the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and a nuclear deal with Iran.
The talks came as Ukrainian military officials said that three of its servicemen were killed and one was wounded in eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours.
Ahead of the talks with Kerry, Putin told a meeting with defense industry officials that one of Russia's top priorities is to keep up the pace of its armed forces' modernization.
Based on reporting by TASS, AFP, Reuters, AP, and dpa
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Bugs Found in Food, But for This Oregon Business It's OKby webdesk@voanews.com (Tom Banse)
An American businessman is hoping to add pulverized crickets to the American diet. Americans are generally squeamish about eating bugs even though insects are a normal part of the diet for at least 2 billion people worldwide, with delicacies like fried caterpillars in Tanzania, chili-toasted grasshoppers in Mexico or crunchy giant water bugs in Thailand. Charles Wilson, the founder and CEO of Cricket Flours - that's flour as in the white, powdery foodstuff - became interested in crickets as a protein supplement after learning he had food sensitivities to dairy, gluten and a variety of other ingredients, including a protein powder he was using to build muscle. "I had always used it, but found I wasn't supposed to have it anymore,” he said. “So I started looking for alternative proteins and alternative food ingredients and I stumbled across cricket flour." Selling crickets Wilson saw the potential for crickets to be more than just a replacement for his protein shakes, he also sensed a business opportunity. At the time, Wilson was attending the University of Oregon's law school where he approached Omar Ellis, a friend studying at the business school. Ellis distinctly remembers the conversation last year. "I was like, 'What's the idea?' He said, 'I want to sell protein powder made from crickets.' You could literally hear crickets at that point, because I am like, 'What? Really?’” But Wilson was persuasive and Ellis became a co-founder and executive of Cricket Flours. These days he's out and about chirping about reasons to eat food made from insects and was recently offering product samples at a sustainability conference in Portland, Oregon. "It's got more iron than spinach, more calcium than milk," Ellis said. "They're very sustainable. They take one-tenth the feed and one-sixth the water to get the same amount of protein that you would get from beef. It's quite amazing." Versatile insects Reviews from conference attendees were mixed. One admitted with a laugh, "In any other form, I would never do this. It definitely might be something for the future. You never know." Another pointed out that cricket flour would not be acceptable for a vegetarian, "but ultimately there is a problem finding good protein powders that are not flavored and this isn't." Crunching on the spiced granola with cricket flour, another adventurous diner offered, "I'm getting mostly the granola taste here. There's really nothing off or unusual about it." Wilson describes the pure ground-up crickets as having a neutral taste, maybe in the "slightly nutty" direction. Ellis suggests consumers don't think of it as "eating crickets. You have to think of it as, 'I'm just going to take in a lot more protein now.'" Ellis and Wilson's business buys dried, milled crickets in bulk from several U.S. wholesalers. The entrepreneurs resell the pure cricket flour online, as well as chocolate-flavored and baking mixes. The insect origins of the foods are unrecognizable without a label after processing. Cricket Flours is one of more than a dozen North American startups in the edible insects niche. Others are focused on cricket farming or selling energy bars or snacks made with cricket powder. Ellis said it takes about 5,000 crickets to make a pound of flour. That makes the end product - regardless of the form it takes - relatively expensive.
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Ревизия преступлений сталинизма by SvobodaRadio
Почему президент России высоко оценил значение пакта Молотова - Риббентропа в 70-ю годовщину Победы - обсуждают правозащитник Никита Петров, бывшие народные депутаты СССР Александр Гельман, Витаутас Ландсбергис, Вильнюс.
Ведущий - Владимир Кара-Мурза - старший.
Obama Trade Agenda Faces Key Senate Hurdleby webdesk@voanews.com (Michael Bowman)
U.S. President Barack Obama’s trade agenda faces a critical test in the coming hours when the Senate holds a test vote on so-called “fast-track” authority that would make negotiated trade pacts immune to congressional meddling, subject only to up or down votes. “Let’s vote to open debate on a 21st century American trade agenda,” said Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the Senate gaveled in for business Tuesday. “Let’s not slam the door on even the opportunity of having that debate.” At stake is the ability to conclude an ambitious free trade accord among 12 Pacific Rim nations that account for 40 percent of global economic output. In an unusual turn of partisan forces, President Obama is drawing strong support from most Republicans in pushing for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), and fierce opposition from many lawmakers in his Democratic Party. Unless a handful of Democrats join Republicans, the Senate will fall short of the three-fifths vote required to begin debate on TPA. Most Democrats are insisting TPA be packaged with measures to assist American workers displaced by trade pacts, crack down on currency manipulation by China and other competitors and strengthen trade enforcement provisions. “If the Senate is going to talk about trade, we must consider its impact on American workers and the middle class,” said Democratic Leader Harry Reid. “It is essential that, if we move to ‘fast-track,’ we consider these other bills as part of the process.” McConnell insists nothing is being ruled out once floor debate begins. “The measure before us will be open for amendment,” he said. Still, many Democrats want more iron-clad assurances. “There are a number of us who are waiting to see what the package is before we declare (support to begin debate),” said Senator Tim Kaine. TPA is viewed as essential for finalizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that has been negotiated for years, and would be President Obama’s crowning trade achievement, if approved. The proposed 12-nation pact has the ardent backing of America’s business community and the equally fierce opposition of labor groups and environmentalists. Negotiated in secret, U.S. lawmakers may only view current drafts of the TPP accord in a well-guarded room in the Capitol, and are barred from taking notes or discussing its provisions in public. “It is the most secretive effort I have seen when it comes to a trade agreement, and I think that rubs members the wrong way,” said Democratic Senator Richard Durbin. “What it does is raise suspicions,” said Republican Senator John McCain, who backs TPP. “It is a very foolish way of going about this.” Friction over TPA has provoked a public spat between the White House and a leading voice among progressive Democrats, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has also decried the secrecy surrounding the Pacific Rim pact and argued it could undermine U.S. banking reforms enacted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. White House spokesman Josh Earnest has pointedly dismissed Warren’s contentions.
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Key Allegations Of Nemtsov War Reportby noreply@rferl.org (Tom Balmforth)
Before he was killed in February, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was working on an investigative report to expose what he described as President Vladimir Putin's "war" in Ukraine.
Radical nationalism has long been one of the leading threats to Russia’s national security. However, in recent years, and especially during the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin has tried to co-opt the nationalists to use them to mobilize the population. At the moment, according to Donald Jensen, resident fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, there are increasing signs that the political situation may be gradually drifting out of the president’s control.
Vladimir Putin - by numbers by Leon Siciliano
Key numbers behind Vladimir Putin, including his alleged $200 billion wealth, his 16 years service in the KGB and the 8,000 nuclear warheads at his disposal
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US Lawmakers Assess China Nuclear Cooperation Dealby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
U.S. lawmakers are holding a hearing Tuesday to assess "potential risks and rewards" of renewing a nuclear power cooperation deal with China. Two top nuclear security officials are testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman and retired Air Force Lieutenant General Frank Klotz, the Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration (or NNSA). The hearing comes one day after the Senate committee's closed-door meeting with five Obama administration officials on the proposed 30-year extension of the pact. President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to authorize the new deal with Beijing, saying the extended agreement would provide "a comprehensive framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation with China based on mutual commitment to nuclear nonproliferation." A new agreement would permit China, the biggest nuclear power market in the world, to buy more U.S.-designed reactors and other nuclear technology to reprocess plutonium from spent fuel. The current 30-year U.S.-China deal expires at the end of this year. Congressional review Congress has 90 days to review the agreement. If it does not act before the review period expires, the deal automatically goes into effect. Key members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have promised a close look at the terms, especially since the U.S. and China are the world's two biggest economic powers. The West has been warily watching as Beijing moves to expand its interests in the South China Sea. At the same time, some in Congress question whether Beijing is living up to its commitments under international nuclear nonproliferation treaties, particularly any technology transfers to neighboring North Korea. The review of the Beijing deal comes at the same time as Congress is considering contentious legislation calling for a 30-day congressional review period over a potential agreement the United States and five other world powers, including China, are negotiating with Iran to restrain Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon. The Senate has approved the measure and now the House is considering it, with Obama saying he would sign it if Congress gives its final approval. The Congressional Research Service said U.S. nuclear commerce has increased with China over the past decade. A major U.S. company, Westinghouse, is building the first four reactors it is selling to China, with six more planned and as many as 30 more proposed. Including the pact with China, the U.S. has a total of 22 nuclear power cooperation agreements with individual countries or groups of countries, plus Taiwan.
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 Forbes Ukraine |
«Только не в Крым!»: Киев «наехал» на Нидерланды из-за скифского золота
ИА REGNUM Верховная рада Украины сегодня, 12 мая, обратилась к правительству Нидерландов с просьбой вернуть выставку скифского золота «Крым: золото и секреты Черного моря» не в Крым, а на Украину. За соответствующее обращение проголосовали 249 народных депутатов, сообщает ... Верховная рада попросила Нидерланды вернуть Украине скифское золотоРБК Верховная Рада потребовала от Нидерландов вернуть скифское золотоLenta.ru Рада потребует от Нидерландов передать скифское золото на УкраинуРИА Новости Утро.Ru -УНИАН Все похожие статьи: 70 » |
The perception that some citizens are more equal than others has eroded trust in Greek society, writes Yannis Palaiologos
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French President Makes Rare Visit to Haitiby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
Francois Hollande on Tuesday became only the second sitting president of France to ever visit the once prized possession of Haiti, where bountiful resources and brutal plantation slavery made it the European nation's most profitable colony some 250 years ago. For Haiti's government and business community, the visit is a welcome opportunity to encourage more investment and highlight progress made since a devastating 2010 earthquake obliterated much of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Over the last week, the French leader has been touring the region, stopping in French Caribbean islands and Cuba, where he said his country would be a "faithful ally'' as Havana reforms its centrally planned economy. But for some citizens of impoverished Haiti, Hollande's visit is reminding them of the debilitating costs of the country's successful slave revolt for independence. In 1825, crippled by an international embargo enforced by French warships, Haiti agreed to pay France an "independence debt'' of 150 million gold francs to compensate colonists for their losses of land and slaves. It later was reduced to 90 million gold coins. "We Haitians know that a big reason why we are suffering today is because we were forced to pay France for our freedom. If we were not punished for our independence long ago, we would have had a better time,'' Jean-Marc Bouchet said on a dusty, unpaved street in Port-au-Prince. About 200 protesters and a heavy police presence awaited Hollande at the Champ de Mars plaza in downtown Port-au-Prince where the president is expected to lay wreaths at the statues of heroes of Haiti's revolution. Gymps Lucien, a 25-year-old law school student, said Hollande was not welcome unless he brought money. "We believe French reparations should go to schools, hospitals, roads,'' he said. "Our kids should have a better life.'' The protesters were gathered near a crowd that awaited Hollande, including 51-year-old Giles Jean Sava, an unemployed father of seven. He said he disagreed with the protest and said Haitians should welcome Hollande to their country. "Perhaps the French president can bring jobs,'' he said. The slave uprising when it was territory known as St. Domingue secured Haiti's independence from France in 1804 and transformed it into the world's first black republic. But the debt to France crippled the Caribbean nation, which did not finish paying off the indemnity to French and American banks until 1947. Over the years, French administrations have acknowledged the historic wrong of slavery in Haiti and other former colonies. In 2001, the French government recognized the slave trade as a crime against humanity. And during the first visit to Haiti by a sitting French president, Nicolas Sarkozy spoke soon after the 2010 quake about the "wounds of colonization.'' But French leaders, like those of other former colonial powers, consistently have dismissed assertions that they needed to pay any kind of financial debt. With an eye on the old grievance, France canceled all of Haiti's $77 million debt during Sarkozy's administration. On Sunday, Hollande acknowledged his country's historic role in the Atlantic slave trade as he helped inaugurate a $93 million slavery memorial in Guadeloupe. "France is able to look at its own history because France is a great nation that is afraid of nothing, especially not afraid of itself,'' he said in the French island. During that visit, Hollande also made mention of France's "debt'' to Haiti, but French officials stressed that he was referring to a "moral debt,'' not a financial one. They say it echoes comments he made in 2013 when Hollande said France's "debt'' to Africa "cannot be the subject of a transaction.'' The campaign to win reparations from France was a cornerstone of the second administration of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. France dismissed Aristide's demands. Two years ago, leaders of more than a dozen Caribbean countries launched an effort to seek compensation from France, Britain and the Netherlands for what they say is the lingering legacy of the Atlantic slave trade.
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