Presbyterians approve gay marriage in church constitution
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NEW YORK (AP) -- The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved redefining marriage in the church constitution Tuesday to include a "commitment between two people," becoming the largest Protestant group to formally recognize gay marriage as Christian and allow same-sex weddings in every congregation....
Brigade Takes on ISIS Allies in Libya by DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Fighters aligned with the Islamic State who control the Libyan city of Surt have begun clashing with a brigade from the neighboring city of Misurata that is trying to drive them out, according to news reports on Tuesday.
World Briefing: Poland: Rioting Over Youth’s Deathby THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rioting in Poland set off by the death of a youth during a police raid has left eight people injured and 21 detained, the authorities said Tuesday.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Iraqi Shi'ite militias unleashed a campaign of "deliberate and wanton destruction" as they rampaged through dozens of villages last year after driving Islamic State fighters out of the northern town of Amerli, rights activists said on Wednesday.
The village that fell asleep: mystery illness perplexes Kazakh scientistsby Joanna Lillis in Kalachi for EurasiaNet.org, part of the New East network
For the last two years the residents of Kalachi have been falling into unexplained bouts of sleep - sometimes for weeks at a time. With no cause yet identified, Joanna Lillis meets the victims resisting relocation by the authorities
One day last summer, Viktor Kazachenko set off across the steppe from his village in northern Kazakhstan. He was driving to the nearest town on some errands, but he never arrived.
“My brain switched off,” he says. “That’s it. I don’t remember.” Kazachenko had been hit by the so-called “sleeping sickness” that is plaguing Kalachi, a remote village about 300 miles west of the country’s capital Astana.
“My brain switched off,” he says. “That’s it. I don’t remember.” Kazachenko had been hit by the so-called “sleeping sickness” that is plaguing Kalachi, a remote village about 300 miles west of the country’s capital Astana.
The mysterious illness has sent residents into comas, sometimes lasting days on end. “I was going to town on 28 August ,” Kazachenko told EurasiaNet.org, still disoriented by the experience. “I came round on 2 September. I understood [on waking up] in the hospital that I’d fallen asleep.”
We are all in fear of falling asleep
‘Voluntary resettlements’
Why should I go? I’ve been here for 40 years. I’m going to die here.
Continue reading...Amnesty International Slams Annexed Crimea's Pro-Russia Regime by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
Amnesty International says the de facto authorities in Crimea have failed to investigate a series of abductions and torture of their critics since the violence that led to Russia's mostly unrecognized annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine a year ago.
Instead, Amnesty said, Crimea's Russian-backed leaders have cracked down on dissent, creating a climate of fear on the annexed Ukrainian region, with many of the regime's more vocal critics opting to leave.
It cites "violations of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association in Crimea [and] highlights human rights abuses by the de facto authorities, including the failure to investigate a series of abductions and torture of their critics, and their unrelenting campaign of intimidation against pro-Ukrainian media, campaigning organizations, Crimean Tatars and other individuals critical of the regime."
Amnesty's fresh report on March 18 comes exactly one year after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty on Crimea joining Russia, a moved widely rejected and condemned by the international community.
"One year on from Crimea’s annexation, the attitude of its de facto authorities and their Russian masters can be summed up simply -- like it or leave or shut up," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s director for Europe and Central Asia.
Amnesty said since the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula, at least seven people have been abducted, with their fates unknown. At least one other abducted individual has been found dead, with signs of torture.
"Unless the ongoing clampdown on human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly and association in Crimea is reversed, and past violations are effectively addressed, the outlook for the people living on the peninsula is bleak," the group warns in its introduction.
The global human rights watchdog said it has documented the disappearances of three Crimean Tatars.
Islyam Dzhepparov, 19, and Dzhevdet Islyamov, 23, were pushed into a van by four men in black uniform on September 29, 2014, and have not been seen since.
Reshat Ametov, 39, was seized while attending a demonstration in March last year. His body was found later with signs of torture.
Andriy Schekun, the leader of Ukrainian House, an organization promoting Ukrainian language and culture, was abducted by pro-Russian paramilitaries and held for 11 days in a secret location where he was electrocuted in March 2014. He was eventually handed over to the Ukrainian military.
Amnesty said in none of these cases was anyone held accountable.
Amnesty said the de facto authorities are also using intimidation and restrictive laws to silence the media and NGOs.
On January 26, some 30 armed, masked men from a special police unit, accompanied by security officials, raided the offices of the Crimean Tatar TV Channel, ATR, disrupted broadcasting and took away documents dating back to February 2014.
Several journalists and bloggers have fled Crimea, fearing persecution, including the vocally pro-Ukrainian blogger, Elizaveta Bogutskaya.
READ: Self-exiled blogger says 'Crimea is a big prison'
A number of prominent independent organizations, particularly those working on human rights issues, have ceased to exist.
The Mejlis, which represents the Crimean Tatar community, has been denied recognition and its prominent members subjected to a campaign of harassment and persecution.
The recognized leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement, Mustafa Dzhemilev, told a think tank in Brussels on March 17 that Crimeans “live and survive in fear” and spoke of constant intimidation and searches of schools and mosques for alleged arms and so-called forbidden literature.
He also added that there was “almost zero democratic freedom” and that Russia, through intimidation and blackmailing, is attempting to create “Putin Tatars” responsive to Moscow.
Dzhemilev called for tougher sanctions against Russia.
ALSO READ Stop the presses: Moscow cracks down on journalists in annexed Crimea
According to the state-run Russian news agency TASS, Putin will "check the social and economic development of Crimea at a special meeting" with the region's pro-Russian leadership in Moscow on March 18.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin's "short-term plans did not include a visit to Crimea," although he said the Russian leader may attend a Moscow rally and concert on March 18 to mark the Crimean anniversary.
In a documentary to be aired on Russian TV, Putin said he told senior security officials of his decision to take Crimea just hours after embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned power.
Putin described an emergency Kremlin meeting he said ended about 7 a.m. on February 23, 2014.
Putin said he ordered the military and security agencies to "to save the Ukrainian president's life."
"As we were parting, I told all my colleagues: We will have to start work to return Crimea to Russia," Putin said in the trailer shown on March 8.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 after deploying troops to the region, engineering the takeover of the regional parliament, and staging a referendum denounced by Kyiv and the West as illegitimate.
The Kremlin originally denied that it had sent troops into Crimea, but Putin later said on television that Russian troops had been sent in.
With additional reporting by TASS and Rikard Jozwiak in Belgium
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(TEL AVIV) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party scored a resounding victory in the country’s election, final results showed Wednesday, a stunning turnaround after a tight race that had put his lengthy rule in jeopardy.
With nearly all the votes counted, Likud appeared to have earned 30 out of parliament’s 120
seats and was in a position to build with relative ease a coalition government with its nationalist, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies. Such a government would likely put Israel at odds with the international community over Palestinian statehood and continue to clash with the White House over hard-line policies.The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed the country for the past six years. Recent opinion polls indicated he was in trouble, giving chief rival Isaac Herzog of
the opposition Zionist Union a slight lead. Exit polls Tuesday showed the two sides deadlocked but once the actual results came pouring in early Wednesday, Likud soared forward. Zionist Unionwound up with just 24 seats.
Even before the final results were known, Netanyahu declared victory and pledged to form a new government quickly.
“Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud,” Netanyahu told supporters at his election night headquarters. “I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important.”
Netanyahu focused his campaign primarily on security issues, while his opponents instead pledged to address the country’s high cost of living and accused the leader of being out of touch with everyday people. Netanyahu will likely look to battle that image by adding to his government Moshe Kahlon, whose upstart Kulanu party captured 10 seats with a campaign focused almost entirely on bread-and-butter economic issues. Kahlon is expected to become the country’s next finance minister.
A union of four largely Arab-backed factions became Israel’s third largest party — with 14 seats — and gave Israel’s Arab minority significant leverage in parliament for the first time.
Herzog, who appeared poised only days ago to stage a coup, conceded defeat, saying that he called Netanyahu and offered him congratulations. He signaled that he would not join forces with Netanyahu and would rather head to the opposition.
“I think that at this moment what Israel needs most of all is another voice, a voice that offers an alternative and a voice that tells it the truth,” he said outside his Tel Aviv home.
Netanyahu’s return to power for a fourth term likely spells trouble for Mideast peace efforts and could further escalate tensions with the United States.
Netanyahu, who already has a testy relationship with President Barack Obama, took a sharp turn to the right in the final days of the campaign, staking out a series of hard-line positions that will put him on a collision course with much of the international community.
In a dramatic policy reversal, he said he now opposes the creation of a Palestinian state — a key policy goal of the White House and the international community. He also promised to expand construction in Jewish areas of east Jerusalem, the section of the city claimed by the Palestinians as their capital.
The Palestinians, fed up after years of deadlock with Netanyahu, are now likely to press ahead with their attempts to bring war crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court. Renewed violence could also loom.
Netanyahu infuriated the White House early this month when he delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress criticizing an emerging nuclear deal with Iran. The speech was arranged with Republican leaders and not coordinated with the White House ahead of time.
In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama was confident strong U.S.-Israeli ties would endure far beyond the election, regardless of the victor.
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A poll in 13 countries by Amnesty International reveals how most people oppose surveillance of citizens but are less concerned about the targeting of foreign nationals. Knowing we are being watched may also be restricting our use of the Internet to obtain health advice
Amnesty International has today reported the outcome of a Yougov survey in 15,000 people across 13 countries, studying for the first time international views of mass surveillance and whether the public believe it is changing their own behaviour.
I worked with Amnesty International on part of this poll, helping to design questions exploring psychological attitudes and influences. We were especially keen to discover whether the public would be more tolerant of government surveillance when it was applied to a social outgroup (foreigners) compared with their own ingroup (citizens), and what kinds of behaviour might be affected by the knowledge that we are continually under watch. The results reveal one or two surprises and highlight some intriguing differences between countries.
Continue reading...Love is ... five gay films going global in the name of human rights by Mark Brown Arts correspondent
London LGBT film festival launches free worldwide viewing campaign in 70 countries, as part of British Council initiative
Five gay-themed films are to be made available free of charge to a worldwide audience and actively promoted in more than 70 countries, the British Council and the British Film Institute will announce on Wednesday.
The bold initiative is about showing support for freedom and equality and getting the message over that “love is a basic human right,” said Alan Gemmell, the British Council director who hit upon the idea about six months ago.
Continue reading...Largest US Presbyterian Group Approves Same-Sex Marriageby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
The U.S. Presbyterian Church has approved an amendment in the church's constitution that includes same-sex marriage. A majority of the church's 171 regional districts, or presbyteries, approved the amendment Tuesday, after the presbytery in New Jersey cast the 86th and deciding vote. Forty-one other presbyteries have rejected the amendment, while one is tied. The amendment, which was endorsed last year by the church's ruling body, the General Assembly, changes the...
Further testing is required on the envelope, which contained a milky substance and was in a container wrapped in a plastic bag.
Ashraf Ghani, center, greeted his nominee for first vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, left, in April 2014. That pairing is now showing signs of strain as Mr. Dostum complains of being marginalized.
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 OregonLive.com |
Letter Sent to White House Tests Positive for Cyanide
CBS Local WASHINGTON — The Secret Service says an envelope addressed to the White House has tentatively tested positive for cyanide. The letter was received at an off-site mail screening facility Monday. Initial biological testing was negative. The agency says ... Envelope Laced with Poison Mailed to White HouseLauderdale Daily News Letter sent to White House to be tested again for cyanideWGME all 848 news articles » |
Police in Napa, in California's wine-growing region, are investigating the death of a man whose naked body was found in a freezer.
CNN's Ben Wedeman explains why the terror group is ruining Iraq's cultural history.
Hundreds of bodies are being buried in eastern Ukraine without being identified. On the separatist side, officials say they don't have the resources to cope with the sheer volume of bodies – which we found lining the corridors at the central morgue in Donetsk. A special report by Shahida Yakub for RFE/RL's Current Time (www.currenttime.tv)
 Tribune |
Man convicted in Joe Biden defense gun case
Politico Most Read; Videos. Schock resigns · Aaron Schock: Model or Congressman? Mickey Kaus quits Daily Caller after Tucker Carlson pulls critical Fox News column · Bibi wins big · Aaron Schock's final hours · Hillary's email defense is laughable · White House ... Aaron Schock in Congress until March 31Tribune Our Opinion: Full investigation of Schock's books in order The State Journal-Register Rand Paul emerges as the harshest GOP critic of Clinton emailsWashington Times Business Insider all 91 news articles » |
Binyamin Netanyahu victory causes international concernby Ian Black Middle East editor
Two-state solution to Israel-Palestine conflict slips further from becoming a reality after Likud remains largest party in Knesset in 17 March election
Binyamin Netanyahu’s sweeping victory in Israel’s general election is causing dismay internationally because it appears to be another nail in the coffin of fading hopes for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Netanyahu’s eve-of-poll pledge that he would not agree to the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel and scaremongering about Arab citizens voting “in droves” showed him at his most manipulative and implacable.
A new @netanyahu government in Israel risks profound crisis on Palestinian issue. Difficult to see any credible political path forward.
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American scientists have coined the term ‘senolytics’ to describe a new class of drugs designed to delay the ageing process by clearing out doddery cells
It is generally accepted as one of life’s unfortunate, but inevitable facts: we might be able to disguise the wrinkles for a time, but ageing will get us all in the end. Except scientists are now questioning whether it has to be thus, or whether age is simply another disease that might one day be conquered. American researchers have suggested that the elixir of eternal youth – or at least extended middle age – may be on the horizon.
After discovering two drugs that appeared to invigorate elderly mice, the scientists, from the Scripps Institute in Florida, have coined the term “senolytics” for a new class of drugs designed to delay the ageing process.
Continue reading...Boston Bombing Trial to Focus on Investigators' Findingsby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
The jury in the Boston Marathon bombing trial is expected on Wednesday to hear more technical evidence on the investigation that followed the deadly blasts and the chaotic days afterward. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, is charged with killing three people and injuring 264 with a pair of homemade bombs at the race's crowded finish line on April 15, 2013, and with fatally shooting a university police officer three days later. His lawyers opened the trial early this month by saying they...
Mysterious flash lightens night sky in south Russiaby The European Union Times
An inexplicable white-and-blue flash was spotted lighting up the sky over the southern Russian city of Stavropol. A dashcam video has since triggered a heated debate over the origins of the mysterious sight.
Stavropol’s horizon offered a jaw-dropping view to those who weren’t asleep at around 00:39 local time (21.39 GMT on Monday). The soundless flash of light scared several people, as it made some streetlights in the city go out, while being accompanied by the flickering of lights inside apartments and houses.
Local residents have come up with various theories to interpret the incident, military exercises that are currently taking place not far from the scene, faults in the electricity net, Northern Lights, an asteroid and even UFOs.
“I was very frightened by what I saw, I was already in bed. It looked as if something very bright lit up my ceiling,” a woman shared her experience on social media, Russian daily Argumenty i Fakty reported.
According to the Hydrometeorological Center of the city, the phenomenon “can’t be attributed to nature”– rather, it could be anthropogenic. The source of the light is thought to have been located somewhere on the ground.
However power engineers have rejected a version suggesting a fault in the power supply line leaving the public clueless about the nature of the mysterious flash.
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War is a nasty business. Soldiers and civilians die. It has been ever thus.
That’s what makes Tuesday’s hearing before the House Armed Services Committee distressing. Unless the Pentagon gets more money next year, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Army’s top general agreed, more U.S. soldiers will die.
Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, pressed Army General Ray Odierno on the declining readiness rates of his 32 brigade combat teams. Only one in three of the 5,000-troop units is ready to go to war today, short of the Army’s two-in-three target.
“Doesn’t this mean that more people will get injured or killed?” Turner asked the Army chief of staff. “It’s not just an issue of readiness, risk, capability or mission. It’s that more people will get injured or killed. Is that correct?”
“That’s absolutely right, Congressman,” Odierno responded. “It means it’ll take us longer to do our mission. It’ll cost us in lives. It’ll cost us in injuries. And it potentially could cost us in achieving the goals that we’re attempting to achieve, as well.”
“So, the translation we need is, we can lose, people will die, and people will be injured?” Turner asked again.
“That is correct, sir,” Odierno confirmed.
It became something of a refrain. “Let me now do my plain speaking,” Air Force Secretary Deborah James added. The capped, congressionally-mandated military budget “is going to place American lives at greater risk, both at home and abroad, if we are forced to live with it.”
It’s a craven way to beg. If the nation doesn’t want soldiers to die, it should shelve its military. The question isn’t will soldiers die, but how many deaths is the nation willing to pay for its national defense?
Every pound of armor not added to a tank, every ounce of ceramic plate not added to body armor, means troops could die. So does every compromise baked into the design of aircraft ejection seats, landing craft used by the Marines, and the hull thickness of Navy warships. Decisions like this are made every day inside the Pentagon bureaucracy.
The job of the military and Congress isn’t to reduce the risk of military deaths to zero. It’s to calibrate the threats and set the death rate at what the nation concludes is an acceptable level.
Some lawmakers at the hearing made clear tradeoffs are required. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., a former Air Force A-10 pilot, warned that the Air Force’s plan to retire its A-10 ground-attack plane seems shortsighted when, sometimes, “only the A-10 can save lives.” General Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, conceded that there “are circumstances where you would prefer to have an A-10.” But the cost of a warplane like the A-10 that can only do a single mission is unaffordable. “We have priced ourselves out of that game,” he said.
“So it’s a budget issue,” McSally declared—and an added cost that, in her eyes, troops on the ground might have to pay in blood, yet one the Air Force is willing to pay.
Lawmakers’ efforts to save pet programs and bases can have a similar impact, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a former Marine, added. “Sometimes when we’re protecting jobs back here at home, we’re putting lives at risk overseas,” he said. Then the four-tour Iraq vet stated the obvious to the military brass arrayed before the panel: “It’s really your decision to make those tradeoffs.”
The military always says one death is one too many. But the troops know that sending young men and women to train, never mind fight, among heavy, fast-moving equipment, often punctuated by explosions and heat, makes death inevitable. There have been many examples of military hardware found to be unduly dangerous, and fixes were made. Not to eliminate death, but to reduce it.
Tough training makes better troops. “The more you sweat in peace,” Army General George S. Patton said, “the less you bleed in war.”
Military training is dangerous. Just ask the families of the 14 soldiers and Marines who died when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed Mar. 10 in Florida amid dense fog. They died not because they weren’t ready, but because the U.S. military had the money to pay for their training.
Training also costs money. If budget cuts reduce training, it’s likely that fewer troops will die in training accidents. But that’s no reason to cut training; the nation wants its fighting forces honed to a sharp edge.
So the Pentagon funds drills, exercises and war games designed to prime the nation for war. Just because some troops will be killed in such training is no reason to curtail it.
The same holds for fitting the nation’s military strategy to what the nation has decided to allocate for defense. Hawks argue that you shouldn’t fit strategy to budgets, but that has always been the reality. The public will fund the Pentagon to the degree it thinks is necessary, but no more.
Of course, if money were no object, ready is always better. But the smarter question isn’t about the prospect of additional deaths if only one of every three brigade combat teams is ready for war. The smarter question is why is the target two out of every three?
And that leads to another question, even for the math-challenged among us: the nation, through its messy political process, has decided the Army need to get smaller. That will drive up the readiness rate of the surviving brigade combat teams. If the military had faced reality and adjusted its spending to accommodate the cuts contained in 2011’s Budget Control Act—instead of spending the last four years pretending they were never going to happen—it would be well down that road already.
Neither generals nor lawmakers should use the threat of dead soldiers to bolster their budget arguments. The nation can afford whatever military its leaders decide it requires. Blaming prospective future deaths on budget cuts demeans those now wearing the uniform, as well as those who are dying in peacetime, readying for war.
Those troops are doing their jobs. It’s long past time for Congress and senior military officers to do theirs.
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American Presbyterian church to recognize same-sex marriageby Amanda Holpuch in New York
Majority of church’s 171 governing bodies ruled in favor of amending constitution to extend marriage rights to ‘two people, traditionally a man and a woman’
The largest presbyterian group in the US has voted to recognize same-sex marriage, the latest sweeping move by the church to acknowledge it as Christian.
Presbyterian Church USA voted on Tuesday to amend its constitution to extend marriage rights from “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman”.
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Readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific concepts
For a translator, which is more difficult: a politician’s speech or a literary work? CK Scott Moncrieff’s translation of Proust has been praised for NOT being strictly faithful to the original text.
Mark Lloyd, London WC1
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VILNIUS (Reuters) - A NATO patrol intercepted Russian fighter jets over the Baltic Sea, Lithuanian authorities said on Wednesday, as Moscow marks the anniversary of its takeover of Crimea with one of its largest military drills in years.
As Binyamin Netanyahu sweeps to victory in Israel's general election, Middle East editor Ian Blackreflects on how he re-election as prime minister is likely to affect the rest of the world. How will Netanyahu's victory be received in Washington, where relations with the Obama administration are already frosty? And does it mean the end of hopes for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict? Continue reading...
TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party won a clear and decisive victory in Israel’s parliamentary elections, paving the way for him to serve a record-breaking fourth term as prime minister, according to an almost complete vote count Wednesday.Read full article >>
Big Question: There are millions of Russians who harbour hopes of a different future, one of progress and prosperity
Never fear, Putin's here by Telegraph View
Telegraph View: The Russian president's decision to finally Putin an appearance laid rest to days of speculation about his mysterious absence
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Ukraine Rebels Say Fighting Rages Near Donetsk Despite Cease-Fire by Reuters <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Heavy machine-gun and light artillery fire pounded a district of Donetsk, the biggest city of eastern Ukraine, on Monday and pro-Russian rebels said there has been no lull in the fighting since a February cease-fire.
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 Postimees |
Охрана президента Польши заклеила рот попытавшемуся задать вопрос
РИА Новости Представители службы безопасности Бронислава Коморовского жестко остановили мужчину, который хотел задать вопрос президенту Польши во время его визита в Жешув, пишут польские СМИ. МОСКВА, 17 мар — РИА Новости. Инцидент произошел во время посещения ... Президент Польши не приедет в Москву на празднование 70-летия ПобедыАргументы и факты Президент Польши отказался праздновать 70-летие Победы в МосквеTorontovka.com Президент Польши не поедет в Москву на торжества по случаю 70-летия ПобедыДВ-РОСС Все похожие статьи: 40 » |
Russian Ruble Opens Stronger as Oil Prices Stabilizeby Reuters <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Russia's ruble traded stronger early on Tuesday, helped by a slight recovery in oil prices and forex sales that analysts attributed to exporters gearing up for the end-of-month tax period.
 CBC.ca |
Putin says Russia was willing to increase nuclear readiness over Crimea
CBC.ca Russia was ready to bring its nuclear weapons into a state of alert during last year's tensions over the Crimean Peninsula and the overthrow of Ukraine's president, President Vladimir Putin said in remarks aired on Sunday. Putin also expanded on a ... Russia was ready to put nuclear forces on alert over Crimea, Putin saysCNN Putin says he was ready to put Russian nuclear forces on alert over Crimea crisisFox News CORRECTED-UPDATE 3-Russia's Putin reappears after 10 day absence ...Reuters Voice of America- The Atlantic-Washington Post all 3,689 news articles » |
 Reuters |
Putin Puts Russia's Northern Fleet on 'Full Alert' in Response to NATO Drills
TIME Russian President Vladimir Putin put the nation's northern fleet on full alert in the Arctic Ocean this week, as animosity between the Kremlin and NATO continues to simmer. The order, which was handed down early Monday, allows for the mobilization of ... Amid NATO exercises, Russia puts Northern Fleet on 'full alert'CNN Russia starts nationwide show of forceReuters Russia Launches Massive Arctic Military DrillsABC News all 319 news articles » |
 Российская Газета |
В Киеве украинские военные начали массовую акцию протеста
Российская Газета Несколько сотен силовиков, участвовавших в боевых действиях на востоке Украины, вышли во вторник на пикет в центре Киева. Военные, собравшиеся возле здания министерства аграрной политики Украины, требуют выдать им земли, обещанные правительством. читайте также. Крещатик поднял украинских силовиков против властиПравда.Ру Сотни украинских военных перекрыли Крещатик в КиевеАргументы и факты В Киеве сотни обманутых силовиков перекрыли КрещатикНТВ.ru Утро.Ru-Mail.Ru-Взгляд Все похожие статьи: 57 » |
 CBC.ca |
Russia's Vladimir Putin waves the nuclear option
CBC.ca Yet it is Vladimir Putin's Kremlin — first in Crimea (which the Russian leader now openly acknowledges going after), and now in eastern Ukraine (which he so far refuses to acknowledge) — that has been supporting, indeed has largely directed, the ... UPDATE 1-Russia Russia Won't Return Crimea To Ukraine Despite Threat Of Continued Sanctions ...International Business Times Kremlin rules out handing back Crimea, expands war gamesReuters Euphoria fades in Crimea after a year of Russian ruleYahoo News One Year Later - Russia's Occupation of Crimea US Department of State (press release) International Business Times-Reuters UK all 174 news articles » |
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Russia Rules Out Returning Crimea to Ukraineby Reuters <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Russia said Tuesday that it would not hand back Crimea to Ukraine, despite warnings by the U.S. and European Union that they will not drop sanctions over the Black Sea peninsula's annexation a year ago.
Kremlin: Crimea Will Not Return to Ukraineby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Russia said on Tuesday it would not hand back Crimea to Ukraine, despite warnings by the United States and European Union that they will not drop sanctions over the Black Sea peninsula's annexation a year ago. “There is no occupation of Crimea. Crimea is a region of the Russian Federation and of course the subject of our regions is not up for discussion,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call. Russia's parliament approved the annexation of Crimea on March 21 last year after residents of the peninsula supported the move in a referendum. Moscow has said repeatedly it will not return it to Ukraine. Russian forces had already seized control of Crimea after the overthrow of a Ukrainian president backed by Moscow, a move described by Russian officials as a coup which threatened the safety of Crimea's mainly Russian-speaking population. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday Washington would keep economic sanctions in place on Russia over the annexation as long as Crimea remains under Russian rule. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the 28-nation bloc would stick to its policy of not recognizing the annexation, including through sanctions. President Vladimir Putin's popularity has soared since the annexation of Crimea, which was given to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 when it was part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine reacts Ukraine, for its part, used the anniversary to once again harshly condemn Russia’s annexation of Crimea, calling it an “illegal occupation” that has created an unprecedented crisis. “In committing this international crime, Russia violated the basic principles of international law and European order, destroyed the existing balance of power in the region, and provoked [what has become] the most serious security crisis in post-World War II Europe,” says a statement issued Tuesday by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry. Accusing Russia of having created on the peninsula an “atmosphere of fear, lawlessness and repressions,” Kyiv insists that Crimea “was, is and will remain an inalienable part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine.” The statement adds that Russia, as “aggressor and occupier,” will be “held accountable for all crimes committed.” Some material for this report came from Reuters.
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В Госдуме отказались почтить память Немцова минутой молчания
Грани.Ру Спикер Госдумы Сергей Нарышкин отказался ставить на голосование предложение депутата Дмитрия Гудкова почтить минутой молчания память сопредседателя партии РПР-ПАРНАС Бориса Немцова. Об этом сообщает Интерфакс. "Я в день трагедии от себя лично и от всех ... Об отказе депутатов Госдумы почтить память Бориса Немцова Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ "У нас каждую неделю кто-то умирает": в Госдуме отказались почтить память Немцова минутой молчанияNEWSru.com Думцы отказались вставать в память о НемцовеОбщественный контроль Интернет-газета Гарри Каспарова-Свежие новости сегодня. Последние новости интернет издания "Fresh-News" Все похожие статьи: 140 » |
 Christian Science Monitor |
Russia rules out return of Crimea, defying sanctions on its ailing economy
Christian Science Monitor Mr. Pesokov's statement came a day after President Vladmir Putin ordered nearly 40,000 troops to go on full alert in snap military exercises in the Arctic as part of his effort to expand Russia'spresence in the region. In response to Moscow's saber ... Russia rules out handing back Crimea, expands war gamesReuters Russia's Vladimir Putin brandishes the nuclear optionCBC.ca Russia Rules Out Handing Back Crimea To UkraineHuffington Post Yahoo News -International Business Times -US Department of State (press release) all 312 news articles » |
Russian Elites but Not Russian People, Ready to Capitulate to the West, Kagarlitsky Says by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, March 17 – The West does not understand Russia, but it does understand very well indeed Russia’s elites; and as a result, it has seriously miscalculated in its dealings with Moscow about Ukraine, according to Boris Kagarlitsky, who argues the elites are ready to capitulate in the face of sanctions but the Russian people never will be.
In fact, the Moscow analyst says, while increasing sanctions may increase the willingness of Russian elites to find compromises, they “not only will not frighten the population of Russia but on the contrary will push” all other Russians in the opposite direction and make them more anti-Western and anti-elite as well (stoletie.ru/vzglyad/elity_gotovy_kapitulirovat_627.htm).
Although the West and the elites assume the population will always be passive, in fact, that is not the case, and popular anger at anything that ordinary Russians view as a capitulation will be something the Kremlin will have to take into account. Indeed, Kagarlitsky says, this divide between elites and masses will form the core of Russian politics in the months ahead.
The Presidential Administration understands this, he says, but the government and even more the Russian liberal elites on whose views the West relies do not. And consequently, the West’s own actions instead of pushing Moscow in the direction it hopes for are in fact pushing the regime in very different ones.
And he argues that in this conflict, Moscow’s liberal intelligentsia will find itself in an ever weaker position because its support of the West on Ukraine means that it “has isolated itself from society and even from those of its strata which a year or two ago were ready to listen to its arguments.”
The West’s sanctions have been “ineffective” and counter-productive in several ways. They have allowed the government to shift the blame from itself to the West for the crisis that was coming in any event. And they have convinced both those in the government and many in the population that everything would have been well if they had just continued on as before.
But while the sanctions could have Moscow with the excuse it needed to get out from under certain harmful WTO restrictions, to seek to boost food production at home as part of its import substitution drive, and to revise its general economic course, that has not happened because of the way in which sanctions have become “an alibi” for the regime.
According to Kagarlitsky, “practice measures for import substitution and the modernization of the economy are not being taken, the development of infrastructure as before is limited to talk about several super-roads and super-ambitious projects which will not give anything to provincial Russia which is suffering from elementary roadlessness.”
There is a reason Russian elites aren’t prepared to do anything to help correct the situation except talk about making concessions to the West: their “way of life, ideology, culture, and private interests” are all in that direction. Their money is abroad and so too are their interlocutors.
They aren’t listening to the Russian people who are unhappy that they are not being given more help but who are insistent that Moscow make no concessions on Crimea as some in the elites are quite prepared to do, assuming as the West does that the Russian people will go along with anything the elites tell the masses to do.
“But,” Kagarlitsky says, “the population of the country is in no way as passive as it seems to bureaucrats in the capital. It is just that so far, the majority of the citizens of Russia prefer not to rock the boat for the completely understandable reason that the people have something to lose” and do not want to take risks.
The people rocking the board, he suggests, are the government bureaucrats “not only when they try to reach agreement with the EU on the lifting of sanctions but also when they conduct all kinds of ‘optimizations,’ which are killing education, health care, science and transportation.”
“Sooner or later,” the Moscow analyst says, “they will have to pay for all of this, and the political price will be extremely high.” For the moment, it is clear that “Russian elites are seeking a compromise with the US and the EU without reflecting about whether they will retain the trust of their own people.”
And he predicts that “very soon they will disscover that the price of such a compromise could turn out to be their own political death.”
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In Crimea, Euphoria Fades After a Year of Russian Ruleby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
A year after Russia's takeover of Crimea sparked a wave of euphoria across the Black Sea peninsula, residents are suffering growing hardship as prices rise and many fear for the future. Russia's flag is flying across Crimea on the anniversary of what President Vladimir Putin calls the region's historic “return home” after Russian troops seized control of it from Ukraine and the people backed annexation in a referendum. Since then Putin's popularity has soared - his face looks down from banners and is emblazoned on T-shirts - and some Crimeans, such as pensioners, say they have benefited. But foreign investors have fled, the banking sector is paralyzed and many other residents are struggling to make ends meet. “Crimea will be a backwater of Russia. What's good here? The prices are crazy and salaries are laughable,” grumbled 35-year-old taxi driver Nikolai, deftly negotiating potholes and rutted roads in the center of the capital, Simferopol. Life was hard when Crimea was part of Ukraine but it is proving no easier as part of Russia, which has been hit by Western economic sanctions over the annexation of Crimea and Moscow's support for separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine. “Ordinary Russians lost out with the annexation of Crimea,” said Sergei, a construction goods retailer from Kyiv who moved to Simferopol last year with his wife and children after protests that turned violent in the Ukrainian capital. “Across the whole of Russia, prices are going up, there are sanctions, the rouble has devalued,” he said, closing the kitchen window to stop his neighbors from overhearing. Such discontent has not prevented the celebrations which began on Monday in Crimea, the anniversary of the referendum which showed 97 percent support for joining Russia. The days-long party will also include a concert in Moscow on Wednesday. Although the European Union and the United States swiftly imposed sanctions on Moscow following its move on Crimea, Putin made clear he had no regrets in a television documentary aired on Sunday. “The ultimate goal was to give people a chance to express their opinion on how they want to live in the future,” he said of the referendum, describing the dispatch of Russian forces to Crimea as intended to prevent bloodshed and save lives. Despite the problems they face, most Crimeans are still glad to be part of Russia, its leaders say. “The president's ratings in Crimea are almost 100 percent,” Crimean prime minister Sergei Aksyonov told Reuters in a modest office with the Russian and Crimean flags. “Nine out of 10 people say they support (the annexation), and would vote the same way again,” he said. Kremlin rules out giving Crimea back The Kremlin is standing firm over the annexation, though the United States and the EU on Monday again condemned the takeover of Crimea, portrayed the referendum as a sham and said sanctions would remain in place. Even some Western diplomats, however, say there is little chance Russia will hand Crimea back to Ukraine. “Crimea is a region of the Russian Federation and of course the subject of our regions is not up for discussion,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Many Russians say Crimea's annexation rights a historical wrong by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev who gave the territory to Ukraine in 1954, long before the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia has underlined its commitment to Crimea by announcing a military build-up on the peninsula, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet and to more than 2 million people, of whom around 60 percent are ethnic Russians. It has also promised to pour in money to boost the local economy and help residents. Some pensioners say they now receive much bigger pensions and are happy with the support from Russia. “Life has changed for the better. Pensions and salaries got bigger, roads are being repaired, and in general the government started working,” said one who gave his name only as Alexander. Businessmen, however, complain of growing obstacles. “In Ukraine, everything was simple,” said 41-year-old Emil Mustafaev, a real estate developer from Sevastopol. “Now everything is closed to us.” He said he could no longer buy building materials he needs from Ukraine, which has severed all rail connections to the peninsula, while only Russian airlines now fly to Crimea. Many supplies from Ukraine have been disrupted: Farmers lack water to irrigate crops, residents face frequent power outages and it is proving hard to attract tourists to Crimea's beaches. The Crimean government said tourist numbers more than halved in 2014, down from 6 million visitors the year before. Moscow has promised to establish alternative routes and has awarded a $3 billion contract to Arkady Rotenberg, a Putin ally, to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait that would connect Crimea to the Russian mainland. Referring to the bridge, a tour operator who gave his name only as Ivan said: “Without the bridge there will be no boom.” Security concerns In the last year, Crimean authorities have nationalized scores of Ukrainian enterprises, said Simferopol lawyer Zhan Zapruta, who works to protect shareholders' rights. “Aksyonov (the prime minister) has this desire to return Crimea to the conditions of the Soviet Union... to take all structures that make any real money,” he said. Aksyonov himself rejected the lawyer's accusation, saying: “We have no personal aims for nationalization.” But residents say foreign businesses are also put off by a deterioration of law and security. “Self-defense” volunteers can be seen patrolling streets, clad in camouflage and wielding batons. Some describe an atmosphere of harassment and fear, saying there have been numerous abductions and security forces have detained people on false accusations. Crimea's Tatar Muslims, who number about 240,000, complain of intimidation and violence. “Since Russia annexed Crimea, the de facto authorities are using a vast array of bully boy tactics to crack down on dissent,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Director for Europe and Central Asia. He said the abductions had prompted many critics to leave Crimea, adding: “Those remaining face a range of harassment from authorities determined to silence their opponents.”
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Key Issues in Iran Nuclear Talksby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Iran and six major powers are intensifying negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne ahead of an end-of-March deadline for a historic framework agreement that would curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Officials said a deal is unlikely this week, because of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 21. Iran denies allegations by Western powers and their allies that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Following are details about key issues under negotiation based on information from sources close to the negotiations. Most of the issues are agreed, but sticking points remain. Break-out time The goal of the negotiations is an arrangement whereby Iran would need at least one year to produce enough fissile material -- high enriched uranium or plutonium -- for a single atomic weapon, should Tehran choose to produce one. That is known as the “break-out” time. Officials say the six powers, which have been negotiating with Iran since October 2013, do not share their individual methods of calculating break-out time for Tehran. But they have all reached the same conclusions. Duration of deal U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview on March 2 with Reuters that Iran will need to accept limits on its nuclear program for at least 10 years. Recently Iran had wanted eight years and the United States 20 years. They have compromised at 10 years. Uranium enrichment Originally Iran wanted to maintain all of its uranium enrichment centrifuges, machines that purify uranium for use as fuel in power plants or, if very highly enriched, in weapons. That was around 10,000 operational out of nearly 20,000 total. The United States and other Western powers originally wanted Iran to reduce that number to several hundred. Numbers are still being discussed. Iran wants to keep around 9,000 while Western powers have preferred less and might be open to around 6,500. The issue has not been resolved. Research and development Officials close to the talks said that Iran's desire to pursue research and development into advanced centrifuges is one of the biggest sticking points in the talks. Iran insists that it should be allowed to continue R&D into advanced centrifuges, but Western powers are extremely uncomfortable with allowing Tehran to continue developing more efficient centrifuges that would shorten the break-out time. Plutonium Western powers had originally wanted Iran to dismantle a heavy-water reactor at Arak that could yield significant quantities of plutonium. Tehran refused to do so but has agreed to the idea of converting or operating it in a way that ensures the amount of plutonium it could yield would be insignificant. Fordow An underground enrichment plant that Iranian officials said they have agreed to convert into an R&D plant. Western officials would like this site converted into something that has nothing to do with enrichment. Stockpiles There are also discussions about the size of Iran's uranium stockpiles and how much would be relocated to Russia or another country, Western officials said. Stockpiles are an important issue, officials said, because the less uranium Tehran has on hand, the more centrifuges it can maintain. Originally, Iran wanted to enrich 2.5 tons of uranium per year, but could settle at half a ton, a senior Iranian official said. The remainder would be turned into fuel rods or sent to Russia, he added. Sanctions The speed of lifting sanctions is another major sticking point in the talks. Iran wants all U.S, European Union and United Nations sanctions lifted immediately. The United States said sanctions should be lifted gradually. Officials close to the talks said Washington and France are willing to consider an immediate suspension of U.N. nuclear sanctions if there is an agreement, though many U.N. restrictions would remain in place. Tehran is most interested in seeing crippling energy and financial sanctions lifted. The U.S. government said sanctions would first be suspended and later terminated. This has become a sensitive issue in the United States, as Republicans controlling both houses of Congress have threatened to impose new U.S. sanctions on Tehran against the advice of Obama. Obama has said he would veto any new sanctions steps for fear they would torpedo the delicate negotiations. Obama can use executive authority to suspend sanctions, but many U.S. measures can only be terminated by Congress. Possible military dimensions The United States and its Western allies said it is vital that Iran fully cooperate with a U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation into past nuclear activities that could be related to making weapons. The IAEA issued a report in 2011 with intelligence information indicating concerted activities until about a decade ago that could be relevant for developing nuclear bombs. It said some of these might be continuing. Iran for its part has said these “possible military dimensions” (PMD) are an issue it will not budge on. “PMD is out of the question. It cannot be discussed,” an Iranian official said. This issue has not been resolved. Monitoring Any deal would require a vigorous monitoring framework to ensure Iranian compliance. Officials said they are working out a monitoring mechanism that would involve the IAEA. This is not considered a sticking point in the talks.
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One Year After Annexation, Remembering The Crimea That Fought Back by noreply@rferl.org (Ivan Putilov, Daisy Sindelar)
As Russia celebrates one year since its militarized annexation of Crimea, some residents on the peninsula are eager to remind the Kremlin that many people resisted the scheme -- and remain opposed to it today. The Crimean Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.
 Reuters |
Russia rules out handing back Crimea, expands war games
Reuters Russia's parliament approved the annexation on March 21 last year after Russian forces took control of the peninsula, which is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, and residents backed joining the Russian Federation in a referendum. Dismissing a U.S ... Russia rules out return of Crimea, defying sanctions on its ailing economyChristian Science Monitor Russia's Vladimir Putin brandishes the nuclear optionCBC.ca Russia Rules Out Handing Back Crimea To UkraineHuffington Post Yahoo News- International Business Times- US Department of State (press release) all 340 International Business Times all 260 news articles » |
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