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Ukrainian rivals to hold meeting | Opposing sides in the disputed presidential elections are due to meet, outgoing president Leonid Kuchma says. | The Israelis and Palestinians return once more to the negotiating table - and stumble over the same old problems | eng_Latn | 13,700 |
U.S. Punishes Serbia for War Crimes Defiance | The United States is cutting aid to Serbia and Montenegro and may take further punitive measures if Belgrade persists in defying the United Nations war crimes tribunal, the U.S. ambassador to Serbia warned on Friday. | Fra severe misure di sicurezza e' cominciato in Germania il processo a quattro soldati americani - Charles Graner, Ivan Frederick, Javal Davis e Megan Ambuhl - accusati di maltrattamenti, abusi, atti indecenti e violenze ripetute sui detenuti iracheni | eng_Latn | 13,701 |
Russia calls for conference on CFE arms treaty | Russia on Monday requested an emergency conference to discuss an arms control pact after accusing NATO nations of ignoring the deal negotiated in the months after the Cold War ended. | KIEV -- Talks between Ukraine's two rival presidential candidates broke down yesterday, but the arrival of a key European Union envoy offered fresh prospects that a peaceful solution to the crisis over the nation's disputed election could be found. | eng_Latn | 13,702 |
An Alliance in Russian Energy | The agreement mends a rift between the two Russian state energy companies that had been slowing investment in the development of new fields. | L'agenzia internazionale dell'energia punta su un aumento | eng_Latn | 13,703 |
Russia not planning to quit CFE for now: Lavrov | Russia will not quit a key arms control pact next week at a conference in Vienna, local news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Wednesday. | European Union states debated how far they are willing to go to fight climate change on Tuesday as the 27-nation bloc forms what could become the world's most ambitious strategy to curb global warming. | eng_Latn | 13,704 |
Canada to Send Up to 500 Observers to Ukraine | Canada will send up to 500 observers to oversee the Dec. 26 presidential election run-off in Ukraine, the largest number of monitors Ottawa has ever sent abroad, Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said on Monday. | VICTORIA, British Columbia - A University of Victoria English professor has stick-handled his way through academe to create what may be Canada's - or even the world's - only college course on hockey literature. | eng_Latn | 13,705 |
U.S., Russian lawmakers to meet, discuss tensions | U.S. and Russian lawmakers will hold a joint session of their foreign affairs committees in Washington later this month to discuss growing tensions between the two countries, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives panel announced on Tuesday. | Incontro tra D'Alema e ambasciatore Usa, 'molto cordiale' | eng_Latn | 13,706 |
NATO warns U.S. missile defense could divide allies | NATO's secretary-general has warned that a proposed U.S. missile defense system risks splitting the alliance between those the program would protect and those it would not, the Financial Times reported on Monday. | The Kremlin attacks the UK's decision to expel four Russian diplomats as "groundless, inappropriate, unjustified". | eng_Latn | 13,707 |
Poland should withdraw troops from Iraq by end of next year ... | Poland should withdraw its troops from Iraq by the end of next year, Polish leaders said Monday, the first time the key US ally has indicated | British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that he will leave office within 12 months, in a statement aimed at quelling an increasingly damaging row within his Labour government. | eng_Latn | 13,708 |
France Urges Gradual Approach Ukraine's EU Plans | France urged Ukraine's new authorities under reformist president Viktor Yushchenko to take a gradual approach in preparing for eventually joining the European Union and urged Kiev to uphold good ties with Russia. | La Francia ha battuto l'Ucraina 2-0 in un incontro valido per il gruppo B delle qualificazioni europ... | kor_Hang | 13,709 |
British Council to rebuff Russia | Two British Council offices will defy a Russian order for them to close, the UK embassy in Moscow says. | Docile Brits too ready to accept Big Brother surveillance | eng_Latn | 13,710 |
Cuts won't sever ties to Ukraine | A Northcentral Technical College program designed to spur democracy in Ukraine is coming to an end. | One of the UDA's most notorious units says it wants to disband, but it wants the government to give it £8.5m to help the process. | eng_Latn | 13,711 |
Kosovo tells U.S. it will not declare independence | Kosovo told Washington on Monday that it did not plan to unilaterally declare independence from Serbia in November, senior officials from the United States and Kosovo said. | An independent assessment on the status of Iraq drew fierce pushback from the White House on Thursday and provided fresh ammunition for Democrats who want to bring troops home | eng_Latn | 13,712 |
Poland will listen to Moscow on missile shield | Poland will listen to Russia's arguments but will make its own decision on whether to install a U.S. anti-missile base on its territory, Polish media reported on Sunday. | BERLIN, Nov 28 German Defence Minister Peter Struck criticised NATO partners today for not meeting pledges made in June at the Istanbul summit to train Iraqi soldiers -- adding Germany was fulfilling ... | eng_Latn | 13,713 |
Serbia outraged over Bush remarks | U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Bulgaria on Sunday for the final leg of his European tour, after earlier being warmly greeted as the first U.S. president to visit Albania.The American president is expected to discuss with Bulgarian leaders his controversial missile defense shield plan, and independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo. | Russia's foreign minister warns Moscow will stand firm on "red line" issues like missile defence and Kosovo. | eng_Latn | 13,714 |
No new arms race despite U.S. missile plan: Russia | SEVILLE, Spain - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Friday rejected U.S. arguments for deploying an anti-missile defense system in eastern Europe and insisted Russia would not be drawn into a Cold War-style arms race. | Cuba accuses the US of issuing fewer entry visas to Cubans than allowed for by a deal between the two countries. | eng_Latn | 13,715 |
Georgian troops pull out from conflict zone after intense fighting | MOSCOW, Aug. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- All Georgian troops have withdrawn from the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone following a week-long battle between the two sides, Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze said on Friday. | Voters in Ukraine are choosing a new president in a run-off of a bitterly-fought knife-edge election. | eng_Latn | 13,716 |
Serbia warns U.S. and NATO not to "snatch" Kosovo | Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica warned the United States, NATO and Kosovo Albanians on Saturday they would be responsible for devastating consequences if they "snatch" Kosovo and declare it independent. | Politics: 20 October 2004, Wednesday. Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolay Svinarov is to sign later on Wednesday the order for the relocation of the Bulgarian peacekeeping unit from Karbala to Diwaniya in Iraq. | eng_Latn | 13,717 |
EU to begin peacekeeping mission in Bosnia | The European Union is beginning its biggest ever military operation when it takes over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia from NATO. Some 7,000 soldiers from more than 30 countries, including non-EU states Canada | Italy resumes the forced expulsions of migrants to Libya, brushing aside criticism from the UN. | eng_Latn | 13,718 |
Belarus blasts U.S. shield, vows to work with Russia | President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday Belarus would disregard its economic rows with Russia and work closer with Moscow to counter U.S. plans to erect an anti-missile system in eastern Europe. | Should Blighty piss off the Saudis, or Uncle Sam? The US government has asked for full cooperation with its investigation into Saudi-BAE arms deals from the British Home Office, and Whitehall is considering its response. The US Department of Justice has asked officials to hand over all documents related to BAE's payments to Saudi royals.⦠| eng_Latn | 13,719 |
Kosovo talks must be flexible, finite, says West | Talks on the future of Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo must not drag on indefinitely or get sidetracked in an arid dispute over labels such as "independence", senior European officials said on Tuesday. | Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva said Wednesday that the information about the killing of two Macedonians in Iraq didn't jeopardize the presence of the Macedonian soldiers there, the MIA news agency ... | eng_Latn | 13,720 |
Putin threatens to aim missiles at Ukraine | The Russian president warns of a new arms race over Ukraine's NATO membership and possible hosting of US missile defense shield. | President Bush wants the U.N. to uphold its pledge to fight for freedom in lands of poverty and terror and plans to punctuate his challenge by promising new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar. | eng_Latn | 13,721 |
Bosnian envoy rejects Serb claim of right to secede | Bosnia's international peace envoy on Wednesday dismissed a demand by Bosnian Serbs for the right to secede, on the grounds that if Kosovo can have independence so should they. | French police discover two big arms caches thought to belong to the Basque separatists Eta. | eng_Latn | 13,722 |
Russia expels 4 British diplomats as row escalates | Russia expelled four British diplomats on Thursday and suspended cooperation with London on fighting terrorism, as a bitter row over Moscow's refusal to extradite a murder suspect escalated. | Euro MPs reject a bid by MEPs from Nordic and Baltic states to tighten the legal definition of vodka. | eng_Latn | 13,723 |
Ukraine Defense Chief: NATO Not Priority | Joining NATO should not be Ukraine's top military goal, given the state of the country's cash-strapped armed forces, the new defense minister said Saturday. | Paris - European governments, airlines and travel companies expressed concern Tuesday at the military coup in Thailand, with the European Union demanding an immediate return to "democratic order." Finnish Prime ... | eng_Latn | 13,724 |
Russia vows "appropriate" response to UK expulsions | Russia promised on Tuesday an "adequate and appropriate" response very soon to Britain's expulsion of four of its diplomats but said it did not want ordinary citizens or businessmen to suffer. | AV boss has bone to pick with The Guardian The Guardian has apologised to Eugene Kaspersky after mistakingly naming the anti-virus guru as a former KGB officer.⦠| eng_Latn | 13,725 |
Security dispute in Ukraine led to compromise | Ukraine's rival leaders scared themselves into agreeing a compromise after a risky war of nerves for control of the security forces in this ex-Soviet republic, analysts said. | Militants holding three U.N. workers hostage in Afghanistan have extended a deadline for their demands to be met because of the time taken for negotiators to arrive for talks, a spokesman for the kidnappers said on Saturday. | eng_Latn | 13,726 |
Putin backs India's UN seat bid | The Russian president says India should become a veto-wielding member in the enlarged UN Security Council. | Ex-Prime-Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych calls not to force entering of Ukraine to NATO, "5 Channel" discloses. | eng_Latn | 13,727 |
Russia cuts links to Georgia despite "spy" release | Russia threw up a blockade against Georgia on Monday after Tbilisi's release of four arrested Russian soldiers failed to defuse the worst crisis in years between the ex-Soviet neighbors. | Greece's top two sprinters pulled out of the Olympics Wednesday after inflicting six days of embarrassment on their country over a hide-and-seek contest with anti-doping enforcers. | eng_Latn | 13,728 |
U.S.-Russia tensions, climate in focus as G8 meets | HEILIGENDAMM, Germany - Leaders of the world's major powers gather on Germany's Baltic coast on Wednesday for a G8 summit likely to be dominated by U.S.-Russia tensions and wrangling over global warming. | By land and sea — and even stark naked — protesters mounted a concerted effort to break through the police cordon around the Group of Eight summit Thursday, with officers on horseback chasing some away from a security fence and police boats ramming others on the Baltic Sea. | eng_Latn | 13,729 |
Kosovo case unique says Miliband | David Miliband says Kosovo's declaration of independence does not set a precedent for other separatist movements. | Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva said Wednesday that the information about the killing of two Macedonians in Iraq didn't jeopardize the presence of the Macedonian soldiers there, the MIA news agency ... | eng_Latn | 13,730 |
Russia to accomplish major breakthroughs in nuclear sector - Putin | MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will accomplish achievements in the nuclear sector which no other nuclear powers have. | Ukraine's new PM says Kiev is not ready to join Nato because of public opposition to such a move. | eng_Latn | 13,731 |
Chechens fear Russia's reach | Chechen refugees in Georgia's once-notorious Pankisi Gorge say fear keeps them away from Russia, Neil Arun reports. | The Bush administration expects a cleaner election on Sunday in Ukraine and while it professes to be above the contest for president, it is hoping for a pro-Western outcome. | eng_Latn | 13,732 |
Poland considers withdrawal from Iraq by end of next year | Warsaw, Poland - Poland envisions a withdrawal of its troops from Iraq by the end of next year, Polish leaders said Monday. It was the first time the key US ally has indicated a timeframe for pulling its soldiers out of the war-torn nation. | Pentagon space shield plan raises stakes with Russia - and local Czechs. | eng_Latn | 13,733 |
Troops deployed to Kiev amid crisis | Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko ordered extra troops to the capital on Saturday as he haggled with his main rival over a date for parliamentary elections amid a protracted political crisis. | Police in Copenhagen are braced for more clashes after squatters were evicted from a youth centre. | eng_Latn | 13,734 |
Poland wants US pact in exchange for missile silos | Poland wants a bilateral pact and improved air defenses as part of any deal to become the first ballistic missile-defense hub outside of the United States, its defense minister said on Wednesday. | The normally hushed corridors of diplomacy are about to get a jolt. | eng_Latn | 13,735 |
Georgia President to Travel to Ukraine | Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, a staunch supporter of Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution, said Friday that he will travel to Kiev for the New Year holiday to show his support for backers of ... | South Africa has canceled a meeting with prosecutors from Equatorial Guinea who had hoped to interview Mark Thatcher on his suspected links to a coup plot in the oil-rich country, officials said on Sunday. | eng_Latn | 13,736 |
Belarus' President Announces Referendum | Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced a referendum asking voters to remove term limits so he can seek five more years in office, a change that will almost certainly isolate him even more from foreign governments that have condemned his authoritarian rule. | Prime Minister Bertie Ahern urged Irish Republican Army commanders on Sunday to meet what he acknowledged was "a heavy burden": disarming and disbanding their organization in support of Northern Ireland's 1998 ... | eng_Latn | 13,737 |
Germany criticises NATO members on Iraq training | BERLIN, Nov 28 German Defence Minister Peter Struck criticised NATO partners today for not meeting pledges made in June at the Istanbul summit to train Iraqi soldiers -- adding Germany was fulfilling ... | Iraq's PM hits back at US senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin, who have called for him to be removed. | eng_Latn | 13,738 |
U.S., Europe offer four more months for Kosovo talks | The United States and European nations hope to circulate a U.N. Security Council resolution on Wednesday that seeks a four-month delay on a independence plan for Kosovo in an effort to get Russia's approval. | BAGHDAD - The 48-hour deadline set by a group of Islamic militants for Japan to agree to withdraw its troops from Iraq expired Thursday night, with the group threatening to behead a 24-year-old Japanese hostage if Tokyo ignores its demand. | eng_Latn | 13,739 |
U.S. pushes Russia to endorse latest Kosovo plan | The United States threatened on Friday to move forward on Kosovo, which is clamoring for independence from Serbia, whether Russia agreed or not to the latest U.N. Security Council draft resolution. | The Bush administration expects a cleaner election on Sunday in Ukraine and while it professes to be above the contest for president, it is hoping for a pro-Western outcome. | eng_Latn | 13,740 |
EU approves 2,000-strong Kosovo police mission | The European Union approved the launch of a 2,000-strong police and justice mission for Kosovo on Saturday, a day before the breakaway province is expected to make a Western-backed declaration of independence from Serbia. | Police hunting the killers of a Tyneside father-of-three, question more than 500 people in a series of checks. | eng_Latn | 13,741 |
Us Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Visits Macedonia | Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Monday signed the Agreement on Cooperation between the two governments on Prevention of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass ... | As officials meet in Ukraine to hammer out a solution to what opposition leaders say was a fraudulent election, the "world is "watching very carefully," President Bush said Friday. | eng_Latn | 13,742 |
Russian president talks trade, terrorism in former foe Turkey | Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Turkey on Monday on a rare visit meant to boost trade and counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries, which have been rivals since the time of the czars and sultans. | KIEV -- Ukraine's two rivals for power failed in nearly three hours of talks yesterday to resolve the political stalemate over who will lead the bitterly divided nation, and opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko said at a huge rally that he was insisting on a new election. | eng_Latn | 13,743 |
NATO, EU troops raid home of Karadzic ally | NATO launched a dawn raid on a house of a Bosnian Serb suspected of helping top war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic, the alliance's spokesman in Bosnia said on Saturday. | Police in Copenhagen are braced for more clashes after squatters were evicted from a youth centre. | eng_Latn | 13,744 |
NATO Postpones Meeting with Ukraine Minister | NATO has postponed a meeting due on Thursday between its foreign ministers and their Ukrainian counterpart but will seek early talks with a foreign minister of a "new and legitimate" Ukraine government, NATO sources said. | Euro MPs reject a bid by MEPs from Nordic and Baltic states to tighten the legal definition of vodka. | eng_Latn | 13,745 |
Russia 'won't bargain on Kosovo' | Russia's foreign minister warns Moscow will stand firm on "red line" issues like missile defence and Kosovo. | Euro MPs reject a bid by MEPs from Nordic and Baltic states to tighten the legal definition of vodka. | eng_Latn | 13,746 |
WTO Takes in Ukraine As New Partner | "I think we will soon begin consultations with the goal of optimizing our relations in the context of the rules, traditions and position of the WTO" The World Trade Organization agreed Friday to accept Ukraine as a member, giving President Viktor Yushchenko a new sales pitch as he sought out more foreign investment while at the World Economic Forum.Membership will open new market opportunities for Ukraine's industrial exports, and comes amid growing worries about the world that the current economic uncertainty could lead to increased protectionism.WTO membership will require the former Soviet republic to continue economic reforms aimed at bringing Ukraine closer to the European Union, which it has aims of ultimately joining. Yushchenko also has hopes of steering the country into the European Union and NATO. Read more | Russia's lower house of Parliament voted overwhelmingly yesterday to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, setting the stage for enactment early next year of the pioneering | kor_Hang | 13,747 |
Ukraine Joins the W.T.O. | Ukraine joined the World Trade Organization on Tuesday after 14 years of negotiations, a milestone for the former Soviet republic. | OSCOW, Sept. 2- World oil prices rose on Thursday after Russia's largest oil producer, Yukos, said a court ruling "paralyzes'' the company's operations. | eng_Latn | 13,748 |
Bush says Russia not a threat to Europe | HEILIGENDAMM, Germany - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that Russia did not pose a threat to Europe despite a vow to target the continent if the U.S. deploys a missile shield in central Europe. | French President Jacques Chirac says Tony Blair has got little in return for supporting the US over Iraq. | eng_Latn | 13,749 |
NATO vows to keep Kosovo force at full strength | NOORDWIJK, Netherlands - NATO will keep its 16,000-strong force in the breakaway Serb province Kosovo at full strength for "all eventualities", Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Wednesday. | A Northcentral Technical College program designed to spur democracy in Ukraine is coming to an end. | eng_Latn | 13,750 |
Russia wants to negotiate new arms pact in autumn | Russia wants to start negotiating a new Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty in the autumn, a foreign ministry department head told Interfax on Friday, adding a timeframe to a previous offer. | Foreign donors urge the government not to allow its main Marxist coalition partner to undermine peace efforts. | eng_Latn | 13,751 |
Russia warns of Kosovo repercussions: report | Russia will change its policy towards the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia if Kosovo is recognized as independent, Interfax news agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying on Friday. | Fifty-five Kazakh children have contracted HIV because of hospital negligence, the health minister says. | eng_Latn | 13,752 |
European Parliament delegation to arrive on official visit in Kyiv tomorrow on invitation of VR | The delegation is coming to Ukraine to observe preparation for the Presidential elections and to establish bipartite cooperation between EU and Ukraine. | NEW DELHI - President Vladimir Putin has been given a thumbs-down from India's media after failing to back veto rights for any new permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. | eng_Latn | 13,753 |
The inner product between a tensor of order n and a tensor of order m is a tensor of order n + m − 2 , see tensor contraction for details . | The double dot product between two 2nd order tensors is a scalar . | The Internal Troops are under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan ( the police authority of the country ) The Internal Troops are the descendent of the Soviet Union 's Internal Troops , and are used to deal with internal emergencies such as natural disasters , restoring public order , internal armed conflicts and to protect important facilities . | eng_Latn | 13,754 |
The AI characters travel around the entire Zone as they see fit . | The AI characters travel around the entire zone as they want . | During wartime , the Internal Troops fall under the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani Land Forces , and can be involved in local defense and security of the country , along with the army . | eng_Latn | 13,755 |
Polar moment of area should not be confused with moment of inertia , which characterizes an object 's angular acceleration due to a torque . | The `` polar moment of inertia '' must not be confused with the `` moment of inertia '' , which characterizes an object 's angular acceleration due to a torque . | The Internal Troops are under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan ( the police authority of the country ) The Internal Troops are the descendent of the Soviet Union 's Internal Troops , and are used to deal with internal emergencies such as natural disasters , restoring public order , internal armed conflicts and to protect important facilities . | eng_Latn | 13,756 |
Duty-free shopping is hit-or-miss for Americans .
The best deals are on items labeled "tax free" and otherwise taxed heavily .
For countries in the EU, duty-free shops at airports and ports are also tax-free . | (Budget Travel) -- For many travelers, duty-free is a luxurious enigma wrapped up in discounted Swiss chocolate and soaked in tax-free vodka. Duty-free goods are mostly sold inside international airport terminals, ferry stations, cruise ports, and border stops. Duty-free shops sell products without local import tax. As the name implies, duty-free shops sell products without duty (a.k.a. local import tax). For example, by buying goods in a duty-free shop at Paris's Charles de Gaulle, you avoid paying the duty that France slaps on imported goods (like Swedish vodka) and that French stores ordinarily include as part of a product's list price. In Europe, there's a bonus perk: Duty-free shops in airports and ports are "tax-free shops," too, which means you are spared the value added tax (or V.A.T., a type of sales tax) that would otherwise be included in the price of goods sold elsewhere in the European Union. That means a savings of between 5 and 25 percent, depending on the country. But there's a catch for duty-free products bought in Europe and elsewhere. If you bring into the U.S. more than $800 worth of items purchased abroad -- duty-free or not -- you'll have to pay the U.S. duty. As a rule of thumb, Americans returning from overseas trips must pay 3 percent on the first $1,000 worth of merchandise over the $800 allowance. Import products worth even more than that and you may be taxed at a higher percentage. In short, duty-free is hit-or-miss for Americans. The best deals are on items labeled "tax free" and otherwise taxed heavily -- such as alcohol and cigarettes. You may also find it worthwhile to shop in duty-free stores if you have some local currency left and would rather put it to use than redeem it for dollars (and get hit with the high conversion fee of a bank or currency exchange bureau). Not every duty-free item is a true bargain. Yngve Bia, president of the duty-free research company Generation Research, says price differences depend on two things: geography and currency exchange rates. "Right now, Heathrow and Gatwick in London offer good deals, especially for liquor, because of the weak British pound," he says. For example, a one-liter bottle of Absolut vodka has a typical non-duty-free price of about $30 at retail U.S. shops. But travelers can buy it for just $15 (£10) at duty free shops at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. That's a significant savings. We found impressive discounts on booze elsewhere, too. One liter of Absolut sells for $17.50 (€13.50) at duty-free shops at Rome's and Brussels's main international airports, and for a bit more elsewhere, such as in Prague ($18.50, or 399 Czech koruna) and Munich ($21, or €16). Those prices offer substantial savings off the $30 benchmark price at a typical U.S. retail store. But be aware that American states may restrict how much alcohol you may import duty-free. There's a typical one-liter limit for all types of alcohol per person, though the rule depends on your state of residence and the country you've visited. (One exception: You can return from a visit to a Caribbean country with up to two liters of alcohol duty-free.) Cigarettes offer similar savings. Gatwick's duty-free shop sells a carton of Marlboro Reds for $36 (£24). The same carton goes for $27 (€20) at the airport in Rome. In New York -- the state with the highest cigarette tax in the nation -- a carton of Marlboro Reds goes for about $80. In a state with more-typical cigarette taxes, Minnesota, the price of a carton is $44 -- still higher than in duty-free shops. (Note: U.S. customs law allows you to import only up to 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars, whether you bought them at a duty-free shop or not.) But not everything in the duty-free shop is a steal. Duty-free stories once specialized in heavily taxed items, such as alcohol and tobacco products, but now they hawk other products that aren't as deeply discounted. When shopping for cosmetics and fragrances -- which account for almost one third of all duty-free sales -- you need to shop with savvy and persistence. A 1.7-liter bottle of Ralph Lauren Notorious EDP, for example, costs $46 (£31) at duty free shops at Gatwick while the Ralph Lauren store in Miami retails it for $59. That's a savings of almost 25 percent. Luxury goods -- defined in duty-free stores as high-end watches, designer-name handbags, and the like -- account for 36 percent of duty-free sales. But you need to comparison shop for these products to make sure that an item is truly on sale. A case in point: Hong Kong International's DFS Galleria, a duty-free shopping area, sells the Armani Obo Bag for $450 (HK$3,500). But shoppers can buy the same bag off Armani's website for about the same price (or, when we checked, on sale for $285). In the end, if an item isn't liquor or cigarettes, be wary, and come prepared. Says Kathy Borrus, author of "The Fearless Shopper: How to Get the Best Deals on the Planet," "If you know the price of something back home and you go to a duty-free store, you can compare and know what the bargain might be." Consider that United Airlines sells duty-free products on board many of its planes, and a few items are truly discounted. A Waterford Kilbarry Guilloche Pen sells for $72, which is a savings of $18 off the price at a Waterford store. Get the best travel deals and tips emailed to you FREE - CLICK HERE! Copyright © 2009 Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc., all rights reserved. | Lviv, Ukraine (CNN) -- Ukraine and the European Union ratified a political and economic agreement Tuesday in a step leaders hailed as a "historic moment." The EU Association Agreement includes free-trade provisions, although they will not come into force until January 1, 2016. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to drop the agreement last year in favor of closer ties with Moscow triggered the popular unrest that led to his ouster, Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and months of fighting in eastern Ukraine. European lawmakers backed ratification in a vote in Strasbourg, France, while Ukraine's parliament voted at the same time in Kiev to approve the deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted afterward, "355 votes for. EU Association Agreement has been ratified. Glory to Ukraine!" Addressing his parliament before the vote, he said the Ukrainian people had "reversed the express train going East" toward Russia and thanked the EU for its support. "This is an historic moment," European Parliament President Martin Schulz told EU lawmakers. 'Special status' Ukraine's parliament also voted Tuesday in favor of legislation that would give "special status" to rebel-held parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions and grant amnesty to the separatists. A shaky ceasefire is in place between the pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces who have been battling for control of the region. The "special status" legislation applies only to the area of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions currently under the control of the separatists, according to the Ukrainian parliament's official website. The granting of amnesty will apply only after the separatists have given up their weapons, handed over all those being held hostage and ended their occupation of public buildings, according to the legislation. This, in effect, means disarmament must take place before criminal cases are dropped. The amnesty will not apply to those suspected of carrying out the July shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board the plane died. Rebels reject disarmament . However, Andrey Purgin, the first deputy Prime Minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, told CNN that the Ukrainian government in Kiev can forget about disarmament in exchange for amnesty. "It will never happen," he said in a phone conversation. Purgin said the Donetsk rebel leadership considered the special status legislation as no more than a basis for future negotiations with Kiev, and felt under no obligation to accept its initiatives because it does not consider itself part of Ukraine. "This was a decision of the Ukrainian parliament, not of our parliament," he said, adding, "This law will not stop the fighting." Purgin also said the legislation marked a step forward in one sense because it represented a partial acceptance by Kiev of the existence of the Donetsk People's Republic, whereas previously the rebels had been simply dismissed as terrorists. Under the new legislation, a vote for local deputies will take place on December 7, and a new "people's police force" will be created in that area. Also among the powers being granted are the right to use the Russian language rather than Ukrainian in all areas of public life, including public institutions, courts and education. Local authorities will take part in the appointment of prosecutors and judges, rather than the decision being solely in the hands of government in Kiev. There are many Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, which historically has had close ties to Russia. U.S. envoy: Road map to democracy . Moscow has made clear that it is opposed to Ukraine's pivot toward the West. But Western leaders -- who accuse Moscow of sending troops and military equipment over the border into Ukraine to help the pro-Russia rebels -- have welcomed the move. The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, said via Twitter that the ratification of the Association Agreement would provide a road map "for building a prosperous, European democracy, grounded in rule of law/anti-corruption." The decision to delay implementation of the free trade part of the agreement for more than a year followed talks Friday between representatives of the EU, Ukraine and Russia, the Kremlin said. The EU and United States have imposed economic sanctions against Russian interests over Moscow's intervention in Ukraine. Military exercises . Meanwhile, more than 1,000 European and American forces are engaged in training exercises this week in western Ukraine, far from the Russian border. The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Sergey Naryshkin, opened a new autumn session Tuesday in which he warned that "the updated version of the Cold War is becoming a reality nowadays." He was critical of NATO, which has voiced its clear support for Ukraine, although the country is not a member of the defense bloc. "By supplying Kiev authorities with weapons, NATO countries would be meddling with Ukraine's internal affairs and aiding in war crimes," he said. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Tuesday the deployment of "a full-scale, self-sufficient" military force in Crimea was a priority in light of current events in Ukraine, state news agency Itar-Tass reported. NATO issued a statement Tuesday condemning elections reportedly held in Crimea on Sunday. "We continue to condemn Russia's illegal and illegitimate 'annexation' of Crimea and its continued and deliberate destabilization of eastern Ukraine in violation of international law," NATO said. "We stand united in our support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders." Pro-Russian Rebels release captive Ukranian troops . CNN's Andrew Carey reported from Lviv, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Carol Jordan and Alla Eshchenko contributed to this report, as did journalist Azad Safarov. | eng_Latn | 13,757 |
Visit by Indian PM reflects India's growing political, economic importance to the U.S.
Visit will build on deals for unity on security, nuclear, science, technology, education issues .
U.S. wants good relations with India as it seeks stability, influence in Asia .
Nations' frictions include relations with Pakistan, climate change legislation . | Washington (CNN) -- State visits to the White House are full of show and symbolism, and Tuesday's visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is no exception. But Singh's visit, the first state visit hosted by the Obama administration, reflects India's growing political and economic importance to the United States and the deepening partnership between Washington and New Delhi. The 2005 civil nuclear cooperation deal between the two countries symbolized a new status in U.S.-India relations. But that deal, yet to be ratified by the Indian parliament, was not in a vacuum. The Bush administration followed that up with agreements for increased cooperation on security, science and technology and education. Singh's visit this week will build on that, with announcements expected on a range of areas from the economy and defense to climate change and energy. India is a fellow democracy, and there is a strong Indian-American community in the U.S. So as it rises to power, India is a natural U.S. ally. On every big global issue today -- from the economy to climate change to fighting terrorism and curbing nuclear proliferation -- Washington needs New Delhi's cooperation. India is one of the biggest donors in Afghanistan, with $1.2 billion in aid. Although this has been met with suspicion in Pakistan, it has helped the United States, sharing some of the burden of stabilizing Afghanistan and providing civilian support. India is also considered a critical U.S. partner in dealing with other instability in the region, in places like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Even as the U.S. deepens its cooperation with China on global issues, both Singh's government and the Obama administration want to manage China's meteoric rise. Strong U.S.-India ties help both countries ensure that the "Asian century" is not merely the "Chinese century." India has also become a major trading partner with the U.S., with $61 billion in trade in 2007. The U.S. is India's second-largest trading partner. And India is a major exporter of technology software and services to the U.S., and that's expected to increase as India strengthens its role as a global leader in technology. The relationship is not without its irritants, however, the biggest one being India's nuclear neighbor, Pakistan. India believes the U.S. has failed to curb Islamabad's backing of anti-India extremists based in Pakistan, and tensions between India and Pakistan remain high, especially with Pakistan's slow progress on the investigation into last year's Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. Before coming to Washington, Singh said that Pakistani objectives in Afghanistan aren't necessarily those of the U.S. Pakistan has long seen instability in Afghanistan as critical to its war strategy against India. India is also nervous about a possible integration of some Taliban into power in Afghanistan. Climate change is another point of friction. The U.S. wants India, one of world's the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, to accept limits on its carbon emissions. India maintains it is still a developing country and wants developed nations, like the U.S., to assume the lion's share of burden in dealing with climate change. Another potential difference looms over Iran. India has been careful not to support Iran's government, but if U.S. diplomacy with Iran fails, it remains to be seen if New Delhi will support tougher sanctions if the U.S. decides to go that route. As India's economy grows, so will its capability to be one of the U.S.' great partners. But as its international position strengthens, New Delhi's interests may not always be aligned with Washington's. Obama must work to convince India that the U.S. sees it as an important ally and that its rise to power is in the U.S.' strategic interest. The symbolism of giving Singh the administration's first state visit will be a good start. | (CNN) -- Russia lashed out Friday against the latest round of sanctions over its involvement in Ukraine, accusing the United States of once again escalating the crisis -- undermining the chances for peace there as well as the greater quest for "global stability." This followed U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement Thursday that, in coordination with the European Union, "we will intensify our coordinated sanctions on Russia in response to its illegal actions in Ukraine." The United States and its allies, chief among them Ukraine's Kiev-based government, accuse Russia of implicitly and explicitly supporting separatists claiming territory and battling the Ukrainian military in the European nation's east and south. Moscow has voiced moral support for the rebels but denied any direct involvement, including countering NATO and others' claims that its forces have entered Ukraine and fired on Ukraine's military. Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement Friday responding to the latest sanctions, which it called "the latest hostile step on the confrontational course of the American administration." The ministry claimed Washington "is focusing on an escalation of the Ukrainian conflict" rather than a peaceful resolution. Levying sanctions against Moscow is counterproductive, the Russian government added, claiming they hurt American businesses and compromise international goodwill to address common issues like terrorism and drug trafficking. And sanctions won't spur Russia to change its policy, according to the foreign ministry. "We are not going to act in order to please the United States' geopolitical ambitions and the calculations of those overseas politicians who are trying to use a 'manageable Ukraine' to restrain Russia," the ministry said. The foreign ministry didn't respond back with counter-sanctions against Washington, which it characterized as "a last-ditch measure." Instead, it said it is "leaving the door open to constructive and honest bilateral cooperation, including working together to tackle the Ukrainian crisis if the U.S. administration is willing." "Washington needs to recognize: only respect for each other's interest can help us find a solution to the Ukrainian crisis that suits everyone," the Russian ministry said. New sanctions despite ceasefire . For months, Russia and the West have been at odds over Ukraine -- which continues to simmer with tension, despite a fragile, recently agreed-upon ceasefire. U.S. officials and their allies have not dispatched troops into Ukraine to help their allies there; in fact, Obama has ruled out such direct intervention. Instead, they have tried to press the issue diplomatically and through sanctions targeting Russian citizens, officials and industries. Their rationale is to compel the Kremlin to stop fueling, in their view, the crisis in Ukraine. That's even after Russian President Vladimir Putin played a role in brokering a ceasefire signed Friday after talks in Minsk, Belarus, between representatives of Ukraine, the rebels and Russia. Speaking about the new sanctions, Obama said Thursday, "We are implementing these new measures in light of Russia's actions to further destabilize Ukraine over the last month, including through the presence of heavily armed Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. "We are watching closely developments since the announcement of the ceasefire and agreement in Minsk, but we have yet to see conclusive evidence that Russia has ceased its efforts to destabilize Ukraine." A NATO military officer said Thursday that Russia has about 1,000 troops inside eastern Ukraine, down from a significantly higher number in recent weeks. NATO also sees 20,000 more Russian troops aligned along the border, according to the NATO office, who was not named according to standard practice in the organization. CNN's Laura Smith-Spark, Carol Jordan and Andrew Carey contributed to this report. | eng_Latn | 13,758 |
Vice President landed in Warsaw on Tuesday as part of a two-day 'listening tour' to help show support for allies near Russia .
Has met with Polish leaders and is scheduled to meet with heads of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia .
They are worried about Russia after Putin called the vote for the Crimean portion of Ukraine to be reunited with Russia .
Biden says the world rejects the succession vote and warned that more sanctions will be added on top of the 11 issued Monday . | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:13 EST, 18 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 10:54 EST, 18 March 2014 . Vice President Joe Biden has landed in Warsaw on a mission to reassure allies in eastern Europe that Washington understands their anxieties about Russia's actions in Ukraine and will protect them if needed. The countries have become increasingly nervous that they could be next in line to face aggression from Russia after President Vladimir Putin's interventions to annex Ukraine's Crimea region. Biden has said that the world has seen through Russia's actions in Crimea and will impose more sanctions on Russia. Scroll down for video . Serious show of support: Vice President Joe Biden met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday in an effort to figure out how the U.S. can help support Russia's neighbors in case they continue their expansion . Laughing off concerns: Biden's trip comes after President Obama issued sanctions against top Putin aides for their role in actively pursuing a Crimean succession from the Ukraine . He says the U.S. joins Poland and the . international community in condemning the continuing assault on . Ukraine's sovereignty. He says it's a blatant violation of international . law. Biden says . virtually the entire world rejects the referendum in Crimea that cleared . the way for Russia to annex the peninsula in Ukraine. On . the two-day mission launched today, Biden plans to discuss ways to help . the region become less dependent on Russian oil and gas and limit . Moscow's ability to use its energy supplies for political leverage, a . senior administration official said. He will also talk about new ways NATO and the United States could support their allies. These talks build upon U.S. participation last week in war games in Poland and increased fighter jet patrols in the Baltics. 'He will be talking about further steps that the United States can take and that NATO can take as an alliance to further ensure the security of Poland and the Baltics and other NATO alliances,' the official told reporters travelling with Biden. 'They'll discuss energy security, and including in that, long-term diversification of energy supply, so that energy can't be used as a political tool,' the official said, citing shale gas and nuclear power as two areas for discussion. Helping hand: Biden, seen here with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, is on a two-day trip in Eastern Europe . The United States is poised to become a major exporter of liquefied natural gas in coming years, making inroads into a market that Russia currently dominates. Natural gas importers from around the world have urged the Obama administration to speed up approvals of additional export facilities so they can become less reliant on Russia. On Tuesday, Biden is scheduled to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Bronislaw Komorowski. He will also hold talks with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who is in Warsaw on an official visit. Addressing the issue: Biden, sitting at right, meets with Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, left and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, third left begin talks in Warsaw about ways the U.S. can help them stand strong against Russia . On Wednesday in Vilnius, Biden will meet with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Latvian President Andris Berzins. NATO's top military commander Air Force General Philip Breedlove is also slated to meet with chiefs of defense in central and eastern Europe to discuss security issues this week, the official said. Biden's trip will serve to underscore to the leaders, as well as to countries like the Czech Republic and Hungary, that 'we've got their back', said Julianne Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to Biden, in an interview before the trip. The message is also aimed partly at Russia, warning Putin to think twice before messing with NATO allies, said Smith, now with the Center for a New American Security think-tank in Washington. Warm welcome: Biden gestures as he arrives at the Okecie military airport in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday March 18, 2014 as part of a 'listening tour' Biden also wants to get an assessment from leaders about the impact of sanctions imposed this week by the United States and European Union, the senior administration official told Reuters. As neighbors of Russia, with close economic ties, retaliation for sanctions could be an issue. 'He's going to hear an earful,' said Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. For Poland and the Baltics, which like Ukraine, were formerly part of the Soviet Union, watching the Crimean crisis unfold is a 'nightmare scenario', Conley said in an interview. Early in his presidency, Obama scaled back plans for missile defense systems based in eastern Europe, adding to anxieties for neighbors of Russia. But there is no consideration being given to changing those plans, the senior administration official told reporters. | (CNN Student News) -- March 5, 2014 . Eastern Europe, South America, North America, Africa: These are the places discussed on today's international edition of CNN Student News. You'll hear about subjects ranging from protests to poaching, and we'll even provide a lighthearted lesson about good grammar before we go. On this page you will find today's show Transcript, the Daily Curriculum, and a place for you to leave feedback. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. DAILY CURRICULUM . Click here for a printable version of the Daily Curriculum (PDF). Media Literacy Question of the Day: . Why might a news reporter take risks to cover a violent protest? In your view, are the benefits worth the risks? Explain. Key Concepts: Identify or explain these subjects you heard about in today's show: . 1. clashes . 2. budget proposal . 3. poaching . Fast Facts: How well were you listening to today's program? 1. How has the crisis in Ukraine impacted Russian markets? What is the international community considering with regard to the crisis in Ukraine? What economic ties does Russia have to other parts of Europe? 2. Why are some Venezuelans protesting their government? According to the report: How does the Venezuelan government characterize them? How do they characterize themselves? What differing views do Venezuelans have on former President Hugo Chavez? 3. How much would President Obama's 2015 federal budget spend? What would see increased government funding under this proposal? How would this be paid for? What does the president say about his proposal? What do Republicans say about it? Discussion Questions: . 1. What might be some reasons why developments in Ukraine are important to the U.S. and Russia? What might the U.S. and other countries hope to accomplish by threatening economic sanctions against Russia? What might they risk in threatening these sanctions? Why might Russian President Vladimir Putin be willing to take economic risks to remain involved in Ukraine? 2. What do you know about socialism? What makes this form of government controversial? What are some of the reasons behind violent protests in Venezuela? Can you see any potential diplomatic solutions to the unrest in Venezuela? What do you think will happen there in the days ahead? 3. How would you characterize today's report about poaching in the Republic of Congo? Why do you think that some people poach, despite the risks to themselves and to endangered species? Why might the experience of a former poacher be important to a government that wants to eradicate the practice? Do you think poaching can be stopped completely? If so, how? If not, why not? CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists and educators who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show and curriculum. We hope you use our free daily materials along with the program, and we welcome your feedback on them. FEEDBACK . We're looking for your feedback about CNN Student News. Please use this page to leave us comments about today's program, including what you think about our stories and our resources. Also, feel free to tell us how you use them in your classroom. The educators on our staff will monitor this page and may respond to your comments as well. Thank you for using CNN Student News! Click here to submit your Roll Call request. | eng_Latn | 13,759 |
U.S.-Europe relations no longer "strained," President Obama says .
NATO renewed commitment to defend member nations against attack .
NATO and Afghanistan forge long-term partnership .
In 2012, NATO heads of state will meet in the United States . | Lisbon, Portugal (CNN) -- The NATO meeting in Lisbon ended on a high note Saturday, with U.S. President Barack Obama calling the summit "extremely productive." Obama said that after a period in which U.S.-Europe relations were "severely strained, that strain no longer exists." "We came to Lisbon with a clear task, to revitalize our alliance," he said, explaining that the alliance has resulted in a unified Europe, a strong ally of the United States, and prosperity for the United States, Europe and the world. NATO, which held a two-day summit, adopted a new strategic concept that will serve as the alliance's road map for the next ten years and reconfirmed "its commitment to defend one another against attack as the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security." "NATO leaders reiterated their commitment to ensure that the Euro-Atlantic Alliance has the full range of capabilities necessary to deter and defend against any threat to the safety and security of the populations of member countries," the alliance said in a press release rounding up highlights of its meeting. "To this end, they decided to develop the capability to defend European territory and populations against missile attack as a core element of collective defence and to extend an offer to Russia to cooperate with NATO in this regard," the release said. The alliance also focused on Afghan security, missile defense, modernizing, a "fresh start in relations with Russia" and streamlining its military command structure. NATO's leaders agreed to forge a "capability to protect NATO's populations and territories in Europe against ballistic missile attacks," according to the release. Alliance leaders said "they see this as a core element of NATO's collective defence task in view of the growing threat of the proliferation of ballistic missile technology and weapons of mass destruction." The 28 NATO countries were joined by others, including the 20 partners who are contributing forces to the mission in Afghanistan, representatives of the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "Together, they launched the process by which Afghan security forces will increasingly take the lead for security operations across the country, starting early 2011," NATO said. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen signed a long-term partnership agreement with Karzai under which "NATO will stay as long as necessary to support Afghanistan until it can no longer become a safe haven for terrorism." As for Russia, NATO allies agreed with Russia "to jointly expand support for Afghanistan, including by broadening transit arrangements, extending training of counter narcotics officials and providing equipment to Afghan security forces." Obama and Rasmussen announced that NATO heads of state will gather again in 2012, in the United States. | (CNN) -- A man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform shot at coalition service members in eastern Afghanistan Friday, killing one, officials said. NATO's International Security Assistance Force did not say which country the deceased soldier was from. But a local police chief in Kunar province said the deceased soldier was an American. It is unclear whether the attacker is an Afghan soldier or an infiltrator wearing the uniform. Police said the attacker was an Afghan soldier. But the Taliban said the attacker was part of the Taliban and had infiltrated in order to attack foreign soldiers, said Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group. The problem of Afghan troops who have turned their weapons on allied forces -- so-called green on blue attacks -- has intensified this year. In March, Gen. John Allen, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said "an erosion of trust that has emerged from this," but said that the systems the Afghans and ISAF have in place to help stop these attacks before they happen is having an effect. Allen said ISAF officials are working on a new procedure to check the backgrounds of Afghans who sign up for the army or police force, and the Afghans "have taken a lot of steps themselves." The attacker was able to escape after the shootings, police said. | eng_Latn | 13,760 |
The poor Eastern European nations are next in line to join union, and Turkey and Bosnia could be next .
PM said curbs were needed to .
avoid ‘huge mistake’ of unrestricted opening of borders to .
Poland and other countries nine years ago . | The Prime Minister said he would block Serbia and Albania from joining the EU unless there were stringent restrictions on how citizens could move across the continent . David Cameron threatened last night to veto any new members of the EU unless he won sweeping curbs on freedom of movement. The Prime Minister said he would block Serbia and Albania from joining unless there were stringent restrictions on how citizens could move across the continent. The poor Eastern European nations are next in line to join the union, and Turkey and Bosnia could be next. Mr Cameron said curbs were needed to avoid the ‘huge mistake’ of the unrestricted opening of borders to Poland and other countries nine years ago, with hundreds of thousands coming to the UK for work. The threat, made after yesterday’s EU summit in Brussels, will put pressure on European leaders to increase restrictions on movement. It could see Serbian and Albanian people denied free movement in Europe until their countries’ average earnings or GDP reached a certain level, for example. Mr Cameron hopes it will also pave the way for a more general revision of EU treaties. Days before restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian migrants are lifted at the end of this month, he said: ‘The EU’s founding fathers simply did not envisage that the accession of new countries would trigger mass population movements across Europe.’ He added that free movement should not mean freedom to get ‘the best benefit deal’. Both Serbia and Albania want to join the EU, but any negotiations will take at least ten years. The threat, made after yesterday's EU summit in Brussels (above), will put pressure on European leaders to increase restrictions on movement. Pictured, the PM talks to Romania's president in Brussels . Unemployment in Albania is 13 per cent, and wages are low – meaning workers might find the UK job market attractive. No new EU member can be admitted without the support of all existing members. Mr Cameron said: ‘On new accessions, they are by unanimity so they don’t happen unless everybody agrees. So you do have a real opportunity . . . to insist on a different approach.’ | (CNN)NATO jets scrambled to intercept Russian military aircraft as they neared Latvian airspace, officials said on Wednesday. Estonian radar detected the aircraft over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday night, NATO said. Other than the lead aircraft, NATO said, none of the other Russian military aircraft was on a flight plan. NATO sent jets to identify the planes and later reported that the military aircraft flew on into Russian airspace. NATO didn't say how many Russian aircraft were involved. The flights come as Russia's Northern Fleet has been placed on full combat alert for military exercises involving nearly 40,000 troops and 50 warships. The exercises have rattled nerves in nearby NATO states, including Latvia, where U.S. troops and equipment recently arrived for NATO training, and where fears are growing about Russian President Vladimir Putin's next move. At the same time on Wednesday, Putin joined a celebration in Moscow's Red Square, where Russians celebrated the one-year anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. NATO has condemned the annexation as an illegal territory grab and is boosting its troop presence in the region in what officials say is an effort to discourage Putin from encroaching into other countries. Putin describes the annexation as a "reunification," saying that Crimea's residents overwhelmingly voted to be part of Russia. CNN's Don Melvin and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report. | eng_Latn | 13,761 |
NEW: Suspect gone after missing Wednesday check-in with police .
NEW: Suspect faces deportation to United States .
NEW: State Department has no plans to expel Russian diplomats . | (CNN) -- A suspected Russian spy is missing after being arrested in Cyprus and released on bail, a police spokesman told CNN Wednesday. Authorities arrested Robert Christopher Metsos, 55, in Larnaca after an Interpol "red notice" was served on him, Cypriot police said Tuesday. Police said he was released on bail pending further proceedings but was told not to leave the country and was ordered to check in nightly with police. He did not check in Wednesday and police are searching for him, a spokesman said. Metsos is among 11 suspects in an alleged Russian spy ring in the United States. At the time of his arrest, he was traveling on a Canadian passport and was about to board a flight to Budapest, Hungary. Metsos faces extradition to the United States. His disappearance came two days after the U.S. Justice Department announced the arrest of 10 people on charges of being Russian agents involved in a long-term mission in the United States. Five of the suspects appeared in a New York courtroom on Monday. Four of the five, including a longtime U.S.-based columnist for the Spanish-language El Diario newspaper, were advised of their rights and ordered held due to flight risk, with their next hearing scheduled for Thursday. The other defendant, identified in a court document as Anna Chapman, was denied bail. No additional hearings have been scheduled. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the suspects committed no actions directed against American intereststhe and the arrests are "unfounded and have unseemly goals." "We do not understand the reasons why the U.S. Department of Justice has made a public statement in the spirit of the Cold War," said a statement on the ministry's website. "Such incidents have occurred in the past, when our relations were on the rise. In any case it is regrettable that all these things are happening on the background of the 'reset' in Russian-U.S. relations announced by the U.S. administration." Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, said American police were "out of hand" but expressed the hope that relations would not be harmed. "I hope the positive developments that have been accumulated recently will not be damaged," Putin said. On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley said the State Department had no plans to expel any Russian diplomats over the matter. "I'm not projecting any diplomatic consequences other than the good will that we hope will be there going forward to continue to focus on the issues where we agree and work constructively on the areas on which we disagree," Crowley said, adding that officials throughout the State Department had been in touch with various levels of the Russian government to discuss the issue. "As we've made clear -- and as I think officials in Moscow have made clear -- we are going to work as hard as we can to move beyond this and continue to focus on the many issues with which we have common interest," Crowley said. "Our focus is on the process going forward." The Justice Department said the suspects were supposed to have recruited intelligence agents, but were not directly involved in obtaining U.S. secrets themselves. They were charged with acting as agents of a foreign government, and nine also were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges include conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. attorney general, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the Justice Department said. Conspiracy to commit money laundering has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The case resulted from a multiyear investigation conducted by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department's National Security Division, according to a Justice Department statement. The 11 suspects were charged in two separate criminal complaints. CNN's Terry Frieden, Jill Dougherty, Michael Schwartz, Arkady Irshenko, Elise Labott and Carol Jordan contributed to this report. | Vladimir Putin is planning to exploit the threat of nuclear war to force Nato out of countries bordering Russia, it has been claimed. A secret meeting between intelligence figures in Moscow and Washington reportedly revealed Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region. Notes from the meeting are also said to have revealed that Putin is planning imminent 'destabilising actions' in pro-Western Baltic states in a direct challenge to Nato's promise to defend the countries from Soviet-style Russian expansionism. These disturbances are thought to likely involve cyber attacks or ramping up local ethnic tensions in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania intended to unsettle the region. Threat: Vladimir Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region . Notes from the top secret meeting between American and Russian officials in Germany last month have reportedly been seen by The Times. They suggest Russia is prepared to respond with force to the build up of Nato defence forces in the Baltic and by carrying out a wave of cyber attacks that can not be traced back to Moscow. The Kremlin officials - who were briefed by Russian Foreign Minister Segei Lavrov before the meeting and spoke of behalf of Putin - are said to have issued 'a spectrum of responses from nuclear to non-military' in response to the growing Nato army in the region. As well as the situation in the Baltics, two other potential flashpoints were reportedly identified that could lead to nuclear war between Russia and the West: the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, and any future attempt to return the annexed Crimean peninsula to Ukraine. Firepower: Moscow described Nato's supply of weapons to Ukrainian military (pictured) - who hope to defeat pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country - as a 'further encroachment' on the Russian border . In Crimea, Russia is understood to have said that any attempt remove the region from Russian control would be met 'forcefully including through the use of nuclear force'. Meanwhile, Moscow described Nato's supply of weapons to Ukraine in the hope of defeating pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country as a 'further encroachment' on the Russian border. 'The Russian people would demand a forceful response [to such advances]', the Kremlin intelligence chiefs reportedly added. It is the threat posed by Russia to the Baltic states that is thought to be imminent, however, after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all raised concerns that Moscow has ambitions in the former Soviet territories, prompting Nato to establish a 'rapid reaction force' in the region. The threat of a Russian invasion of the countries is currently considered so great that Lithuania has gone as far as to reintroduce conscription in order to ensure it is prepared for all out conflict. Ready for conflict: Soldiers take part on in action training near the eastern city of Mariupol in Ukraine . News of the growing tensions emerged as a new men's clothing label launched in Russia in the hope of cashing in on the wave of patriotism currently sweeping the country. The move comes ahead of a giant military parade planned in Red Square on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of end of the Second World War underscoring the decisive contribution of the Red Army to defeating Hitler and the Nazis. Unveiled at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Moscow, the brand is called The Army of Russia. The design bureau of the Russian Defence Ministry, headed by Leonid Alexeev, showcased balaclavas, shiny 'military boots', sweat pants and tops emblazoned with the slogans 'Army', 'Polite', and 'Politeness conquests the cities'. 'Polite' is a phrase used by Russians to justify their takeover of Crimea last year. It refers to pro-Moscow forces' apparently 'polite' requests for the dramatically outnumbered Ukrainian security personal to leave the region. | eng_Latn | 13,762 |
Russian intelligence chiefs took part in secret meeting with U.S. officials .
Outlined three potential flashpoints that could lead to all-out nuclear war .
Said attempts to return Crimea to Ukraine will be dealt with as an invasion .
Also demanded Nato breaks up so called 'rapid response force' in the Baltic and stops arming those fighting pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine . | Vladimir Putin is planning to exploit the threat of nuclear war to force Nato out of countries bordering Russia, it has been claimed. A secret meeting between intelligence figures in Moscow and Washington reportedly revealed Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region. Notes from the meeting are also said to have revealed that Putin is planning imminent 'destabilising actions' in pro-Western Baltic states in a direct challenge to Nato's promise to defend the countries from Soviet-style Russian expansionism. These disturbances are thought to likely involve cyber attacks or ramping up local ethnic tensions in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania intended to unsettle the region. Threat: Vladimir Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region . Notes from the top secret meeting between American and Russian officials in Germany last month have reportedly been seen by The Times. They suggest Russia is prepared to respond with force to the build up of Nato defence forces in the Baltic and by carrying out a wave of cyber attacks that can not be traced back to Moscow. The Kremlin officials - who were briefed by Russian Foreign Minister Segei Lavrov before the meeting and spoke of behalf of Putin - are said to have issued 'a spectrum of responses from nuclear to non-military' in response to the growing Nato army in the region. As well as the situation in the Baltics, two other potential flashpoints were reportedly identified that could lead to nuclear war between Russia and the West: the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, and any future attempt to return the annexed Crimean peninsula to Ukraine. Firepower: Moscow described Nato's supply of weapons to Ukrainian military (pictured) - who hope to defeat pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country - as a 'further encroachment' on the Russian border . In Crimea, Russia is understood to have said that any attempt remove the region from Russian control would be met 'forcefully including through the use of nuclear force'. Meanwhile, Moscow described Nato's supply of weapons to Ukraine in the hope of defeating pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country as a 'further encroachment' on the Russian border. 'The Russian people would demand a forceful response [to such advances]', the Kremlin intelligence chiefs reportedly added. It is the threat posed by Russia to the Baltic states that is thought to be imminent, however, after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all raised concerns that Moscow has ambitions in the former Soviet territories, prompting Nato to establish a 'rapid reaction force' in the region. The threat of a Russian invasion of the countries is currently considered so great that Lithuania has gone as far as to reintroduce conscription in order to ensure it is prepared for all out conflict. Ready for conflict: Soldiers take part on in action training near the eastern city of Mariupol in Ukraine . News of the growing tensions emerged as a new men's clothing label launched in Russia in the hope of cashing in on the wave of patriotism currently sweeping the country. The move comes ahead of a giant military parade planned in Red Square on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of end of the Second World War underscoring the decisive contribution of the Red Army to defeating Hitler and the Nazis. Unveiled at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Moscow, the brand is called The Army of Russia. The design bureau of the Russian Defence Ministry, headed by Leonid Alexeev, showcased balaclavas, shiny 'military boots', sweat pants and tops emblazoned with the slogans 'Army', 'Polite', and 'Politeness conquests the cities'. 'Polite' is a phrase used by Russians to justify their takeover of Crimea last year. It refers to pro-Moscow forces' apparently 'polite' requests for the dramatically outnumbered Ukrainian security personal to leave the region. | Pro-Russian rebels released dozens of captive Ukrainian troops Sunday as part of a ceasefire deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a Twitter post that 73 troops were released in Donetsk. But despite the ceasefire, violence continued to flare in the volatile region. As shelling rocked the city throughout the day Sunday, local officials described the situation as "critical." Six civilians died and 15 were injured as the result of shelling, Donetsk's city office said on Monday. Poroshenko spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over concerns that the ceasefire deal -- brokered earlier this month -- is being violated. They "agreed to make further efforts to settle the situation peacefully," Poroshenko's office said in a statement. In an interview with TV Tsentr pm Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the truce agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, appeared to be holding generally and that Moscow, at least, is ready to work toward a long-term peace. "Sporadic exchanges of fire occur on both sides, but the process of establishing (a) durable peace is still in progress," he said, according to parts of that interview published by the state-run Itar-Tass news agency. Which Russian companies have been hit? | eng_Latn | 13,763 |
Embargo defence, banking, energy and air deals, Prime Minister said .
Called to freeze assets of Putin's 'crony' allies, blamed Russian PM for crash .
Vows to agree tough sanctions on Moscow at emergency Brussels talks . | By . James Chapman . David Cameron yesterday urged France to abandon a contract to sell warships to Vladimir Putin. Calling for an economic cold war, the Prime Minister urged other EU leaders to agree tough sanctions against Moscow. He insisted there should be an embargo on commercial dealings with Russian defence, banking, energy and aviation firms. Scroll down for video . Anger: David Cameron vows to bring tough sanctions on Moscow after emergency talks in Brussels . Sanctions: Putin, pictured examining aviation equipment yesterday, was at the receiving end of a stern 30-minute rant from David Cameron on Sunday. He now faces tough embargoes levied by the EU . Ahead of emergency talks in Brussels today, he insisted the EU should also freeze the assets of the Russian president’s allies, whom he referred to as cronies and oligarchs. Mr Cameron told MPs it had been shown beyond doubt that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by an SA11 missile fired by separatists trained and armed by Moscow in a conflict ‘fomented’ by Russia. Evoking the spectre of Nazi aggression in the 1930s and 40s, he added: ‘Those of us in Europe should not need to be reminded of the consequences of turning a blind eye when big countries bully smaller countries. 'We will lose diplomatic and economic security if we do not confront the fact that one country in Europe is now being destabilised by Russia, and if we let this happen, others will follow.' Earlier this year, Prince Charles prompted controversy by likening Mr Putin to Adolf Hitler. Mr Cameron questioned France’s plan to sell Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, suggesting it was ‘unthinkable’ after the downing of the Malaysian jet. From France with love: This is part of the Sevastopol ship under construction in Saint-Nazaire, western France, for the Russian navy. It was pictued arriving from the Baltic on July 15 . Close: Putin and billionaire Arkady Rotenberg who has been been blacklisted by US sanctions . Asked about France’s plan to press ahead with a £1billion contract, the Prime Minister said: ‘Frankly in this country it would be unthinkable to fulfil an order like the one outstanding that the French have. ‘We cannot go on doing business as usual with a country when it is behaving in this way. 'Russia cannot expect to continue enjoying access to European markets, European capital, European knowledge and technical expertise while she fuels conflict in one of Europe’s neighbours.’ His remarks will embarrass France’s socialist president Francois Hollande, who has refused to intervene to cancel the delivery of the vessels to Moscow, despite pressure to do so from the US even before the downing of MH17. Former Cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke said: ‘If this outrageous [Russian] behaviour is not met with truly effective sanctions, the West faces very grave problems in the next few years from Russian behaviour across the rest of central and eastern Europe, including the Balkan states and the Baltic states inside the [European] Union itself.’ Conservative MP Colonel Bob Stewart, ex-commander of UN forces in Bosnia, said Nato should now position troops in the Balkan republics and Poland. Anne Marie Morris, another Tory MP, suggested Russia should be stripped of the right to hold the 2018 World Cup. Grim cargo: Ukrainian rescue workers remove bagged bodies of the 298 MH17 victims from the village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine where the plane came down. The area is controlled by pro-Russian separatists . Safety: Emergency workers put on protective gear to handle the victims, many of whom were badly burned . Ed Miliband, in Washington for a brief meeting with US president Barack Obama, said Europe faced a moment of reckoning. ‘We know enough about this disaster to know that this is a moment when Europe needs to show its strength as well as its sorrow,’ he added. ‘EU foreign ministers meeting this week must take the first decisive steps to tighten and extend sanctions, not just against specific individuals, but against Russian commercial organisations, unless and until President Putin ceases all support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine and halts the supply of arms across the Russian border.’ Despite Mr Cameron’s rhetoric, diplomatic sources played down the prospect of a major escalation of sanctions at today’s meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. It was not immediately known what the Malaysian team would do with the black boxes, but there was speculation they would pass the boxes on to experts with experience of reading the data . A Malaysian investigator, left, takes a black box as it is handed over by a Donetsk People's Republic official in the city of Donetsk . Other member states are said to be nervous about the economic impact of cutting Russia off. Stefan Hedlund, an expert on Russia based at Uppsala University in Sweden, said a full-scale economic confrontation between the West and Russia could be devastating. ‘The Russian economy would be thrown into severe recession, the Ukrainian economy would collapse, and all hopes for a recovery in the eurozone would be put off for several years,’ he said. Last night the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a full and independent investigation into the MH17 disaster. | Pro-Russian rebels released dozens of captive Ukrainian troops Sunday as part of a ceasefire deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a Twitter post that 73 troops were released in Donetsk. But despite the ceasefire, violence continued to flare in the volatile region. As shelling rocked the city throughout the day Sunday, local officials described the situation as "critical." Six civilians died and 15 were injured as the result of shelling, Donetsk's city office said on Monday. Poroshenko spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over concerns that the ceasefire deal -- brokered earlier this month -- is being violated. They "agreed to make further efforts to settle the situation peacefully," Poroshenko's office said in a statement. In an interview with TV Tsentr pm Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the truce agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, appeared to be holding generally and that Moscow, at least, is ready to work toward a long-term peace. "Sporadic exchanges of fire occur on both sides, but the process of establishing (a) durable peace is still in progress," he said, according to parts of that interview published by the state-run Itar-Tass news agency. Which Russian companies have been hit? | eng_Latn | 13,764 |
Worth up to around $280 billion, the agreement will cement an alliance between the two blocs .
Both partners are betting it will add generously to the 13 million or so jobs that depend on transatlantic trade .
But stronger U.S.-EU ties risk alienating large emerging economies that have been deliberately excluded . | (CNN) -- G8 summits are often fertile ground for the most grandiose of political promises. True to form, this year's one didn't disappoint: The leaders of the U.S. and the EU fired the starting gun in the race to create the biggest bilateral trade agreement the world has ever seen. Despite tensions surrounding revelations of alleged U.S. spying on key EU figures, the talks officially kicked off this week. But what are the chances of such a deal coming to fruition? Read more: EU envoys meet over claims of U.S. spying on European allies . And by the time each side has had its say, will the new pact really bring the benefits touted today? At a recent event I chaired in Brussels, former World Bank president and one-time U.S. trade negotiator Bob Zoellick was skeptical. Talk is cheap, he said, what matters is what's achieved. Obama visit: Why U.S. now needs Germany more than ever . One thing Zoellick was adamant about is that it will take years to get any definite deal up and running, and by the time concessions have been made the agreement is likely to look rather different to the original blueprint. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership -- or TTIP for short -- is an ambitious project, designed to boost what is already the world's most important inter-regional trading relationship. Both partners are betting it will add generously to the 13 million or so jobs that depend on transatlantic trade, whilst boosting investment in key sectors starved of cash during the global financial crisis. Outgoing World Bank chief: Fix eurozone . Make no mistake, each side needs this deal badly: To speed up the painfully slow recovery and provide an effective counterweight to China, whose cheap exports have put scores of American and European firms out of business. But there are limits to what each side will accept. The logic is by removing all tariffs on goods and harmonizing regulatory standards for the production of cars to crops, the regions will be able to create one gargantuan market for their goods and services. France has so far successfully lobbied to protect Europe's film and music industry while the U.S. could retaliate with its own conditions, meaning the chances of a fully comprehensive framework look slim. Worth up to around $280 billion, the TTIP will cement an alliance between two blocs which already account for almost half of the world's gross domestic product. Richard Quest: US-EU trade deal not in 'our lifetime' All this may sound great in principle but the reality is stronger U.S.-EU ties risk alienating large emerging economies that have been deliberately excluded. China has watched the transatlantic nations' dubious stewardship of the world economy with increasing alarm. It will not take kindly to their stranglehold over world trade. Back in Europe, some are already questioning whether the TTIP's economic benefits will be evenly shared. A survey commissioned by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation expected U.S. incomes would rise 13.4% per head thanks to the TTIP, whereas those in Europe would only increase 5%. Even among EU member states the trickle down effect is likely to be uneven with the UK's economy likely to grow 9.7% while that of France would expand just 2.6%, the study found. What also remains unclear is the effect increased trade with the U.S. would have on intra-EU commerce upon which many member states are heavily reliant. Still, on balance, even if there are fewer crumbs to be had on its side of the table, Europe has the most to lose if the TTIP doesn't go through. Why? because it has fewer options than America. Dogged by uncomfortably high unemployment and repeated recessions, one gets the sense the European Commission views the TTIP rather like a "get out of jail" card. Faced with no effective policy to tackle its issues, a crisis of leadership and a dearth of funds, Brussels appears to believe the TTIP will prove to be some sort of panacea. Another unknown is whether the business community will buy into the TTIP. Large firms often talk up the merits of free trade but shy away from the cumbersome aspects that new trading environments often offer. The nascent U.S.-EU trade negotiations aim to achieve much but it will take years to work out the details and by the time the TTIP is up and running the economy will probably be back on its feet again. Hopefully by then they will have dreamed up a new name though. After all "TIP" is hardly a promising acronym for the biggest deal on the planet. | (CNN)Eastern Europe, here comes the cavalry. The U.S. Army says it will soon be sending armored Stryker vehicles on a 1,100-mile convoy through six European countries to show solidarity to allies in the wake of recent Russian actions in the Ukraine and Crimea that have Eastern Europe on edge. The move was first reported Thursday in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. U.S. Army Europe posted the Stripes story on its website on Friday. The convoy is "a highly visible demonstration of U.S, commitment to its NATO allies and demonstrating NATO's ability to move military forces freely across allied borders in close cooperation," U.S. Army Europe spokesman Lt. Col. Craig Childs, said in a statement, according to the Stripes report. The troops and vehicles involved will be moving from training exercises conducted as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, the report said. They'll move through Latvia and the Czech Republic as they make their way to Vilseck, Germany, about a 40 miles drive from the Czech border. The troops involved are from the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which are based at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, and they will be accompanied by the Army's 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, which will provide aerial reconnaissance, the Stripes report said. The move is unusual because long-distance movement of heavy military vehicles such as the 18-ton Strykers is usually done by rail. The trek is being called a "Dragoon Ride," after the unit's nickname, the Dragoons. Troops will camp out along the route. "For those participating in it, Dragoon Ride is a unique opportunity," Stripes quoted Childs as saying. "Soldiers and their leaders will have numerous opportunities to engage with local communities along the route, deepen their appreciation for the cultural diversity within the alliance and enhance the relationships that are essential to building and maintaining mutual admiration, respect and trust among allied militaries." The convoy will be the latest in a series of displays the U.S. and its NATO allies have taken under Operation Atlantic Resolve, during which the U.S. "is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region, in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine," according to the Defense Department's website. The displays have come as close to 300 yards from the Russian border as U.S. Army Strykers participated in an independence day celebration in Nava, Estonia, last month. Other recent actions include the Air Force's movement of 12 A-10 Thunderbolt "tankbuster" attack jets to an air base in Germany and this month the placing of hundreds of tanks and military vehicles in Latvia, where they'll soon be matched up with 3,000 troops from Fort Stewart, Georgia. Tension with Russia extends to the air too. Adm. William Gortney, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that "this past year has marked a notable increase in Russian military assertiveness." Russian heavy bomber aircraft flew more patrols outside Russian airspace "than in any year since the Cold War," though he did not offer a specific number. There have also been increased Russian air patrols across the coastlines of Europe. | eng_Latn | 13,765 |
Canada-EU trade deal at a glance | OTTAWA—The European Union parliament approved a trade deal with Canada on Wednesday after three hours of debate and years of negotiations.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union, also known as CETA, was adopted by a vote of 408-254 with 33 abstentions.
Here are some facts about the deal:
Canada is the EU’s 12th most important trading partner. The EU is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S. and accounts for nearly 10 per cent of its external trade. | A Canadian military instructor looks on during Ukrainian military exercises at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, near Lviv, on July 12, 2016. Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP. | YURIY DYACHYSHYN via Getty Images
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OTTAWA — The military has quietly expanded its footprint in Ukraine, with commanders being given free rein to send their troops anywhere — except where they might run into Russian forces or separatist rebels.
Canada first deployed about 200 troops to Ukraine in the summer of 2015 to help train government forces in their fight against Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
But the Canadians were required to stay in the western half of Ukraine, far from the conflict that has continued to rage over the intervening two years, leaving more than 10,000 people dead.
Mission set to expire in 2019
Those restrictions were eased when the government extended the mission for another two years in March, the mission's commander, Lt.-Col. Mark Lubiniecki, tells The Canadian Press.
While Canadian troops are still required to stay away from the border with Russia and the fighting in eastern Ukraine, Lubiniecki says the rest of the country is fair game.
Lubiniecki says that change has added flexibility to the Canadian mission, which has so far trained more than 4,000 Ukrainian troops, many of whom have since been deployed into the conflict zone.
The training mission is set to expire in 2019.
Earlier On HuffPost: | eng_Latn | 13,766 |
Obama hits gas and oil companies and banks under new measures .
Economic ties with Moscow have made it harder for EU to act .
Deadline imposed by West has passed with no penalties for Putin .
EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss further measures . | By . David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor . and Associated Press . President Obama told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that he 'must halt the flow of weapons and fighters' into Ukraine as the U.S. imposed tough new sanctions on Moscow. The tough action, in the form of new sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy and defense companies as well as a handful of Russian banks, was announced by Obama in a half-empty White House press briefing room on Wednesday. It came as his administration struggled for a way to quell a Moscow-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The penalties, which Obama said were a response to Russia's 'provocations in Ukraine,' significantly expand on previous U.S. sanctions, which were limited to Russian individuals and companies. 'Russia must halt the flow of weapons and fighters across the border in Ukraine' and pursue international talks, Obama said. 'I've made this clear directly to Mr. Putin,' his counterpart in Moscow. President Barack Obama escalated U.S. sanctions against Russia on Wednesday in response to the crisis in Ukraine . Unrest: Smoke from a mortar attack rises above Luhansk during clashes between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian fighters . The president said his administration . was 'designating selected sectors of the Russian economy as eligible for . sanctions,' and then applying 'significant but ... also targeted' sanctions to companies in those sectors. 'We . have to see concrete actions and not just words that Russia is in fact . committed to end this conflict along the Russia-Ukraine border,' he told . reporters. 'There are some clear steps that we've asked Russia to take that they haven't taken,' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday. 'And that is what has elevated the risk that Russia faces right now as it relates to additional economic costs that could be imposed by the international community,' U.S. officials . said earlier in the day that they were continuing to hold in reserve a . strategy that would cripple entire market sectors in Russia, in case . Moscow launches a . full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Obama warned that with a new round of financial penalties, 'what we are expecting is that the Russian leaders will see once again that their actions in Ukraine have consequences.' The U.S. will continue to help Ukraine 'defend its territorial integrity,' he vowed. Hours earlier, the . U.S. Treasury Department listed the Bank for Development and Foreign . Economic Affairs, Gazprombank Gas Industry, Rosneft Oil Co. and the . Joint Stock Company Military-Industrial Corp among the sanctioned . entities. They are among Russia's largest business entities, but will no longer be permitted to borrow funds on the American market for medium- and long-term periods of over 90 days, The New York Times reported shortly after a closed White House conference call with journalists. The companies will still be able to conduct overnight loans and other short-term banking business. During the same brief press conference, Obama announced that Afghanistan had agreed to abide by the results of an international audit of its recent presidential election. He added the U.S. continues 'to support diplomatic efforts to end the violence between Israel and Hamas.' 'Israel has a right to defend itself from rocket attacks that terrorize the Israeli people,' Obama declared. 'There is no country on earth that can be expected to live under a daily barrage of rockets, and I'm proud that the Iron Dome system that Americans helped Israel develop and fund has saved many Israeli lives.' But he condemned 'the death and injury of so many innocent civilians in Gaza – men, women and children caught in the crossfire,' and said he would continue to pursue a diplomatic peace. Obama also added that he was considering an extension of Friday's deadline for Iran to make good on its commitments to halt its nuclear weapons program. 'Based on consultations with secretary [John] Kerry and my national security team, it's clear we've made real progress,' Obama said, while acknowledging that gaps remain between America's expectations and what Iran has delivered to date. The president took no questions after he finished reading his statement, and said nothing as a reporter shouted a question about whether he would hit Iran with sanctions similar to those he was leveling on Russia. Campaign: Protesters rally against Ukrainian military action in Donestsk on July 6 after the country tried to seize back more territory from rebels . Conflict: Ukrainian troops move armored vehicles closer to Slaviansk as the government searches for pro-Russian activists blamed for the deaths of 23 servicemen earlier this month . The U.S. announcement came as European leaders met into the night in Brussels to . discuss taking their own measures aimed at helping ease tensions along . Russia's border with Ukraine. EU . diplomats were also looking at penalties that would go beyond the . current travel bans and asset freezes against individuals, though it was . unclear whether their sanctions would go as far the U.S. Until . now, the U.S. has insisted on hitting Russia with penalties in concert . with Europe in order to maximize the impact and present a united Western . front. The European Union has a far stronger . economic relationship with Russia, making the 28-nation bloc's . participation key to ensuring sanctions packages have enough teeth to . deter Russia. But those same economic ties have made Europe fearful that tougher penalties could boomerang and hurt their own economies. The . White House's willingness to punish Russia without European backing . comes as the Obama administration faces criticism that its repeated . warnings about tougher sanctions are little more than empty threats. 'Sometimes . I'm embarrassed for you, as you constantly talk about sanctions and . yet, candidly, we never see them put in place,' Republican senator Bob . Corker said during a Senate hearing on Ukraine with administration . officials last week. Obama said he was considering an extension of Friday's deadline for Iran to show it had halted its nuclear weapons program, but ignored a reporter's shouted question about whether he might impose new economic sanctions on the Islamic republic . The U.S. and Europe have levied coordinated sanctions on Russian individuals and companies connected to Moscow's alleged destabilization in Ukraine. Obama administration officials argue that those penalties have had an impact on Russia's economy, citing International Monetary Fund statistics showing a downgrade in Russia's growth this year. However, officials have acknowledged . that the sanctions have not had an impact on Putin's decision-making in Ukraine. State . Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that if Putin 'cares deeply . about his people, about the economy, his own country' the sanctions . would shift his calculus. But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov blasted . the U.S. in the wee hours of Thursday morning in Moscow, warning that a . Russian retaliation could be 'quite painful and serious.' 'The . new decision by the U.S. administration to lodge sanctions under false . pretenses against a number of Russian businesses and individuals can’t . be called anything other than outrageous and totally unacceptable,' Ryabkov told the Interfax news service. Obama . and European counterparts have vowed to take even broader sanctions . targeting Russia's lucrative energy and defense sectors, as well as . access to financial markets, if Moscow failed to quell tensions with . Ukraine. But it is unclear what the new package of U.S. sanctions would . include. During a Group of . Seven meeting in Brussels in early June, Western leaders warned Russian . President Vladimir Putin those penalties could be levied within a month . if Russia did not meet specific conditions. Unmoved: President Putin has so far failed to react to threats of sanctions from Europe and the U.S. The conditions included recognizing the results of Ukraine's May 25 election and starting a dialogue with President Petro Poroshenko, ending support for the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine and stopping the flow of arms across the Russian border. The end-of-June deadline the West outlined for Putin came and went with little follow-through from Russia, yet no penalties were levied by the U.S. and Europe. Heather Conley, director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the West's failure to follow through on its threat of sector sanctions has raised a 'credibility question' for the Obama administration. 'I think the bluff has now been fully called,' Conley said. If Obama moves forward with unilateral sanctions, he will face opposition from the private sector. U.S. businesses have been pressing the administration to hold off on sanctions that could put them at a disadvantage in the global economy. 'It's not clear to us that breaking commercial ties with the Russia partners, consumers gets anyone to where they want to be,' said Gary Litman, vice president for international strategic initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. | (CNN) -- French fishermen suspended their blockade at three English Channel ports Thursday, allowing ferry traffic and freight to move through after two days of disruption, union leaders said. French fishing boats blockade the port of Boulogne. The French ports of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne were open again after French unions met Thursday and agreed to stop the blockade. Union leaders have yet to agree on how the rest of their protest will develop, and whether the suspension will become permanent. The fishermen began their blockade of the three ports Tuesday to protest European Union fishing quotas, which they say threaten their livelihoods. The flotillas forced a halt to all cross-Channel traffic, including passenger ferries and freighters, stranding tourists on both sides of the waterway and causing a backlog of freight trucks. P&O, the largest ferry operator on the Channel, said it had resumed running normal services to Calais. "It is our hope that we'll be able to continue doing that throughout the day," spokeswoman Michelle Ulyatt said. LD Ferries, which operates services to Boulogne, said it had canceled four sailings Thursday as a result of the dispute. "We do not yet have any information on whether any of our services will be affected beyond 16th April," the company said in a statement. French fishermen held four hours of talks with Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Michel Barnier in Paris on Wednesday, the French news agency Agence France-Press reported. Barnier offered the local industry €4 million ($5.3 million) in aid, but refused to budge on the fishermen's key demand that the European Union increase fishing quotas, AFP reported. Both France and the European Union have ruled out any renegotiation, pointing out that French cod quotas have already been raised 30 percent since 2008, AFP said. | eng_Latn | 13,767 |
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, yesterday to make the demands .
Today, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed concern over the Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders .
He said NATO has all plans in place to defend members of the alliance . | By . William Turvill . Russia's foreign minister has demanded more autonomy for Ukraine’s regions as his country's military builds up on its neighbour's territory. Sergei Lavrov met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, yesterday, making the demands while an under pressure Ukraine ordered its troops out from Crimea after the Russian seizure of military bases there. The demand came before NATO today expressed concern over the Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO has all plans in place to defend members of the alliance. Scroll down for video . Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister (pictured, right, with President Vladimir Putin), has demanded more autonomy for Ukraine's regions as his country's military build up on its neighbour's territory . This photograph shows Russian navy ships preparing to make their way into the bay of Sevastopol, Crimea . Mr Lavrov unexpectedly agreed to the . highest level meeting yet between the Russian government and a . representative of the new Ukrainian government that Moscow has opposed . vociferously over the past month. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in the Hague, Netherlands. Mr . Lavrov told Mr Deshchytsia that Russia continues to want constitutional . changes in Ukraine that would give more autonomy to all regions of . Ukraine. Meanwhile, . NATO’s Mr Rasmussen said: ‘We are very much concerned about the Russian . military build-up along the borders of Ukraine. ‘All NATO allies can be assured of our determination to provide effective defence... We have all plans in place to provide effective defence of our allies,’ he said, adding that the Western military alliance was discussing with Kiev how it could enhance its support for non-NATO member Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen today expressed concern over the Russian military build-up on Ukraine's borders . Russia is eager to retain its influence in Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern regions and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. It has pushed for the new Ukraine to become a loose federation - demands the new Ukrainian government has rejected. Before the meeting, Mr Deshchytsia said his government fears a Russian military build-up near Ukraine's border. ‘The possibility of a military invasion is very high. We are very much worried about this concentration of troops on our eastern border,’ he said. The concerns have deepened under the intense military pressure Russia has applied in Crimea since Russian President Vladimir Putin formally annexed the peninsula last week. Russian forces have commandeered ships and broken into walled military installations with armored personnel carriers. In the bay of Donuzlav in western Crimea, dozens of Ukrainian sailors marooned on the Konstantin Olshanskiy navy landing vessel abandoned ship Monday after weeks of tension and uncertainty. The Olshanskiy and two other warships have been trapped in the bay since Russian forces scuttled mothballed ships at the bay's inlet. The sailors, using a small rubber boat that needed several trips to ferry them to land, were greeted by hecklers on the shore. One man shouted they were deserting ‘rats', while another man blasted the Russian national anthem from his car. ‘We aren't rats, we aren't running,’ said one sailor, who only gave his first name of Yevgeny to discuss a sensitive subject. ‘Why should we have stayed, what would we have accomplished?’ Russian navy sailors stand still during a ceremony on their ship, which is moored in the bay of Sevastopol . NATO's Mr Rasmussen said: 'We are very much concerned about the Russian military build-up along the borders of Ukraine' Twenty of the estimated 60 sailors originally on board remained on the ship, which was later in the day stormed by armed men, presumed to be Russian forces. Defence Ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the crew, which barricaded itself in the bulkhead, heard stun grenades and rifle fire. At a naval base near the eastern Crimean . port of Feodosia, two injured servicemen were taken captive earlier in . the day and as many as 80 were detained at the site, Ukrainian officials . said. With the storming of at least three . military facilities in Crimea over the past three days - and the . decision by some Ukrainian troops to stay employed by switching to the . Russian side - it wasn't clear how many Ukrainian troops remained on the . peninsula. The former . chief of Ukraine's navy, who was charged with treason after he swore . allegiance to Crimea's pro-Russian authorities and urged others to . defect, was named a deputy chief of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine's . acting president, Oleksandr Turchnynov, whose new government in Kiev . has struggled to maintain control and cohesion, signed a decree Monday . ordering the withdrawal of all servicemen in Crimea to Ukraine's mainland. Meanwhile, in Kiev, Mikhail Koval was today named defence minister of Ukraine following a parliamentary session. He replaces Ihor Tenyukh, who was sacked by parliament on Tuesday over his handling of the crisis, after it emerged that less than a quarter of soldiers in Crimea plan to stay in the military. Mr Tenyukh, appointed a month ago under an interim government that took power after the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich, offered his resignation in a speech to parliament following criticism of the way Ukraine pulled its military out of Crimea. Lawmakers initially rejected the offer but, after consultations between party faction leaders and parliament speaker and acting Ukrainian president Oleksander Turchinov, voted to remove him. Vitali Klitschko is pictured here shaking hands with Mikhail Koval, who was today named defence minister of Ukraine during a parliamentary session in Kiev . Mr Rasmussen said the Western military alliance was discussing with Kiev how it could enhance its support for non-NATO member Ukraine . Elsewhere, ultra-nationalist leader Oleksandr Muzychko has been shot dead by police. In an apparent effort to consolidate control from Kiev, Ukrainian police forces trying to detain the key in recent anti-government demonstrations killed him after he opened fire, the Interior Ministry said. Right Sector's Oleksandr Muzychko, balso known as Sashko Bily, had become a recurring figure in Russian attempts to portray Ukraine's interim government as dominated by radical nationalists. Moscow has cited the purported influence of groups like Right Sector to justify the absorption of Crimea. Many in Ukraine downplay Right Sector's importance. Police say Mr Muzychko was sought for organised crime links, hooliganism and for threatening public officials. Ultra-nationalist leader Oleksandr Muzychko has been shot dead by police after officials said he opened fire . | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commander for NATO forces in Afghanistan said Wednesday that more military presence is "needed as quickly as possible." U.S. troops are seeing an increased threat in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan says. Gen. David McKiernan said the additional military capability is needed because of "an increased number of fighters" coming into Afghanistan from Pakistan's lawless tribal regions. "It's a significant increase from what we saw this time last year," he said at the Pentagon. "We're facing a tougher threat right now, especially in the east where we have the U.S. division," he said. "And so the additional military capability [is] needed as quickly as possible." He said what's necessary includes "boots on the ground" as well as support such as "helicopters, increased intelligence assets, logistics, transportation and so on." Just over a week ago, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that a Marine battalion will head to Afghanistan in November and an Army brigade in January, but no more forces will be available for deployment to Afghanistan until spring or summer of 2009. The week before Gates' announcement, McKiernan had asked for four more brigades -- three more than the one approved to go in January. Three brigades add up to as many as 12,000 troops. The defense secretary, speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee last month, expressed caution about adding too many troops in Afghanistan. "I think we need to think about how heavy a military footprint the U.S. ought to have in Afghanistan," he told the committee. Instead, Gates said, there should be a focus on increasing the size of the Afghan army. McKiernan, who took command of NATO's International Security Assistance Force earlier this year, said his request of an additional 3,500 people to train the Afghan army and police is still under review. McKiernan noted that he is "cautiously optimistic" regarding Pakistan's military operations against Taliban and al Qaeda fighters inside its borders. "What we're seeing is Pakistani leadership taking on a deteriorated militant sanctuary in the tribal areas that has deteriorated over last several years," he said. McKiernan said it is "probably too early" to see if Pakistan's military clampdown in its tribal areas has had any effect on stemming militant activity in Afghanistan. "We're watching those very closely to see if there's a cause and effect with the strength of the insurgency on the Afghan side of the border," he said. "But we think that's a positive step that they are taking on those militant sanctuaries." | eng_Latn | 13,768 |
Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Norway and Netherlands will join bid against Putin .
Aims to deter him from what West sees as move to redraw Europe's borders .
Lithuanian president warned 'Russia is practically at war against Europe'
Concerns that he intends to impose a New Russia 'statelet' within Ukraine . | Sanctions have so far failed abysmally to halt the Russian president's determination - in Western eyes - to bully Ukraine into remaining in his orbit . Britain is to spearhead a new Nato rapid-reaction force amid warnings that Vladimir Putin is virtually ‘at war against Europe’ and planning ‘Tsarist expansionism’. EU leaders were scrambling last night to bolster sanctions which have so far failed abysmally to halt the Russian president’s determination – in Western eyes – to bully Ukraine into remaining in his orbit. Leaders of countries sharing borders with Russia led the way in demanding tougher action against what they see as blatant aggression on their doorstep. Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite bluntly called for the West to wake up, and appeared to urge Nato to give significant military aid to Kiev. ‘Russia is at war against Ukraine and that is a country which wants to be part of Europe. Russia is practically at war against Europe,’ she said. She lambasted previous sanctions as ‘a big mistake’ because they were ‘too general’. Lithuania is one of at least six states believed to have signed up to a new British-led Nato rapid-reaction force, the formation of which is expected to be announced this week by David Cameron as Wales hosts the most important Alliance gathering since the end of the Cold War. Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Norway and the Netherlands will also join the 10,000-troop bid to deter Putin from what the West sees as an attempt to redraw the frontiers of Europe. A key concern is that he intends to use his military might to impose a new ‘statelet’ within Ukraine called Novorossiya – or New Russia. What remains of Ukraine could be left with no coastline if the plan goes through. A diplomat said: ‘Putin is obsessed with Novorossiya, territory won for the Romanovs by Catherine the Great. He wants it back. Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite, pictured left with David Cameron and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, bluntly called for the West to wake up, saying 'Russia was practically at war with Europe' Ukrainian President Porochenko, pictured today with President of European Council Herman Van Rompuy, warned: 'Today we are talking about the fate of Ukraine, tomorrow it could be for all Europe' 'But the so-called rebels in this region of eastern Ukraine, who he praised for keeping Kiev’s army at bay, are his own soldiers, using his latest military equipment. Let’s not fool ourselves about the acute dangers.’ Putin’s use of the Tsarist name of Novorossiya is sending shudders through Europe. While it includes the Donetsk and Lugansk regions – at the epicentre of the current unrest – it also includes such major cities as Kharkiv, Kherson and Odessa. Ukrainian . president Petro Poroshenko – who will meet David Cameron today – told . EU leaders yesterday that his country ‘is now the subject of foreign . military aggression and terror’. He warned: ‘Today we are talking about the fate of Ukraine, tomorrow it could be for all Europe.’ Tensions . were further fuelled yesterday by the EU leaders’ appointment of . Poland’s Donald Tusk – an outspoken hawk on the Ukrainian crisis – as . European Council president. Britain will lead a Nato force designed to deter Putin from what the West sees as a move to redraw Europe's borders. Above, Ukrainian troops are evacuated from the rebel-held town of Starobesheve today . Key concern is that Putin intends to impose a new 'statelet' within Ukraine called Novorossiya - or New Russia. Above, Ukrainian army personnel carry an Ukrainian soldier to an ambulance in Starobesheve today . | Pro-Russian rebels released dozens of captive Ukrainian troops Sunday as part of a ceasefire deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a Twitter post that 73 troops were released in Donetsk. But despite the ceasefire, violence continued to flare in the volatile region. As shelling rocked the city throughout the day Sunday, local officials described the situation as "critical." Six civilians died and 15 were injured as the result of shelling, Donetsk's city office said on Monday. Poroshenko spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over concerns that the ceasefire deal -- brokered earlier this month -- is being violated. They "agreed to make further efforts to settle the situation peacefully," Poroshenko's office said in a statement. In an interview with TV Tsentr pm Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the truce agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, appeared to be holding generally and that Moscow, at least, is ready to work toward a long-term peace. "Sporadic exchanges of fire occur on both sides, but the process of establishing (a) durable peace is still in progress," he said, according to parts of that interview published by the state-run Itar-Tass news agency. Which Russian companies have been hit? | eng_Latn | 13,769 |
NEW: King Bhumibol approves Parliament dissolution .
NEW: Prime minister: "It is again a new start for people to move Thailand forward"
Voters go to the polls July 3, the acting government spokesman says .
Supporters of a former prime minister clashed with government backers last year . | Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej approved the prime minister's request to dissolve the lower chamber of that country's Parliament on Monday, setting the stage for new elections, a government spokesman said. "It is again a new start for people to move Thailand forward and to solve various problems of people and their families efficiently under democratic means," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a national address Monday. Parliamentary elections will be held July 3, acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said. The prime minister sent a request to King Bhumibol on Friday requesting the move. Abhisit resisted street demonstrations a year ago demanding that he step down, with clashes between his supporters and those of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sometimes turning violent. The prime minister sent in government troops to quell long-running protests in the Thai capital last May. Ninety-one people died and hundreds were injured in the street battles that followed. "The problem rooted from political conflict is another problem which is still severe," Abhisit said in his recorded address Monday. "Absolutely, asked if there is reconciliation, I have to say 'not yet.'" | (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the Minsk II ceasefire agreement from February 12 is the road to "a final settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine -- and although the truce is shaky, Ukraine and the West have a strong interest in seeing it hold. The West is not going to enter into a proxy war with Russia -- and Ukraine's best hope is to wind down the war and to use the breathing space for much-needed reform. Minsk II confirms the military gains Russia has made in Ukraine and gives Moscow plenty of leverage over Kiev. But compared to war, it is the lesser evil. In fact, the agreement could be turned to Ukraine's advantage, providing the country with the breathing space it urgently needs to enact political and economic changes. A stronger Ukrainian state -- more functional, less corrupt, and better able to deliver to its citizens -- would be much more capable to resist Russian aggression. It is Ukraine's weakness that has allowed Russia to invade the country in the east. A weak sense of national solidarity and togetherness there, as well as insufficient supervision of the border, allowed unofficial and official Russian troops to enter into the Donbass region. And a badly-trained, badly-equipped and badly-organized army wasn't able to push back. As long as the conflict in the east continues, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's new government will only reluctantly pursue reform. In times of war, national unity is needed to mobilize potential support --this is not the time to fight the abuse of power in the country by mighty oligarchs, as their support is urgently needed for the war effort. But if Minsk II holds, Ukraine can refocus its energy on tackling its biggest internal challenge, which has been neglected for more than two decades: to build proper state institutions. A new Ukraine could emerge democratic, liberal, and much better governed, a country that would become attractive not only to its own citizens -- millions have emigrated in the last few years -- but also to Western investors. The momentum is there. Poroshenko's government has made some small but promising steps in the right direction. And the Maidan generation, a much more politicized civil society, continues to exert pressure on leaders. Unlike its predecessors, the government knows that it needs to deliver. If not, sovereignty again might fall back to the citizens in a new Maidan that could push the current leadership away. The terms of Minsk II are however favorable to Russia. It represents the current correlation of forces. Russia is much stronger militarily than Ukraine, even under the self-imposed condition of keeping Russian engagement on the level of deniability. And the West is not ready to seriously tip the military balance in Ukraine's favor. Not surprisingly, Minsk II is not aimed at directly restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity. While the first Minsk agreement, reached in September, stipulated that international observers would monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border, Minsk II makes the return of the border to Ukraine conditional on constitutional reform -- a new constitution to which representatives of the rebel-held territory must agree. In practice, this means that Ukraine has to negotiate its new constitution with the Kremlin. The choice for Ukraine is -- according to the current truce -- to accept either that the rebel-held territory is going to be built up as a heavily-armed Russian proxy state, or to accept a new constitution that will give Russia substantial influence over the future course of the country. Either Russia can switch on and switch off the war at will, or Ukraine accepts giving up the substance of its sovereignty. Either way, Russia will have achieved its goal of bringing Ukraine back into its sphere of influence. Ukraine and its Western supporters must develop a counter-strategy. Russia is weaker than it may seem. Its economy is heavily damaged by plunging oil prices and Western sanctions. The costs of the conflict have been high. Over the last year, the Kremlin had to learn some hard lessons: that the West is relatively united against Russia's attack on Ukraine, enough to impose tough sanctions; that Ukrainians in the east don't welcome Russians as liberators, and that many are ready to fight for their independence; and that the appetite for war with Ukraine is pretty low in Russia. Putin's regime is not suicidal. Winding down the war and rebuilding ties with the West is therefore a political and economic necessity, at least over the mid-term. Ultimately, the contract between Putin and Russian voters remains focused on economic well-being, on sharing at least part of the income from natural resources. This contract can only temporarily be switched to aggressive patriotism -- over the longer term, the regime needs to deliver some degree of prosperity. The challenge for Ukraine and its Western supporters is to turn Minsk II into an opportunity. The government must demonstrate its fierce dedication to reform and start a serious fight against corruption. If the war loses prominence at some point, there will be no excuse for inaction. The task is huge, but the Maidan movement and the tensions Russia have created a new sense of citizenship for some in Ukraine -- one that the government must seize upon. The trick will be to remain under the threshold of what Russia may see as a provocation that could trigger fresh rounds of warfare. But if Ukraine can quickly move forward with its reform agenda, and if Russia becomes weaker as the economic crisis hits the country hard, the advantage may soon be on the Ukrainian side. The stronger Ukraine becomes -- politically, economically and also militarily -- the more difficult it will be for Russia to control the interpretation of Minsk II. And if that succeeds, and Ukraine one day becomes a shining example of freedom and prosperity -- like Poland -- people in Donbas may one day push for reunification, just as East Germans pushed for reunification in 1989. The zone of liberal-democratic stability will move further east, ultimately challenging the autocratic petro-state that Putin has built in Russia. Whether this can work or not depends primarily on Ukraine: on the readiness of civil society to stay engaged and push for reform, the readiness of the bureaucracy to embrace a new order, and the readiness of oligarchs to give up their social and political power in order to maintain positions of economic leadership. It also depends on the West: Firstly, the EU and U.S. must make it as costly as possible for Russia to switch on war as a means to prevent Ukraine's reform. Unfortunately, the temptation for Russia to use this tool will remain, as military power is its only remaining strength. Moscow must be told in clear terms that the West is going to react to a full return to the battlefield with harsh measures. The West must also make up for two decades of disinterest in and neglect of Ukraine and start with serious engagement with Kiev to help it to build a decent state, to give Ukrainians a perspective. A "Compact for Ukraine," announced by Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and other Western leaders in Kiev in April that puts all kind of support into a package would be a good start. The West doesn't want to fight Russia in Ukraine militarily. But in response to the military invasion in the east, the West must now swarm the country with help and support. It is in the interest of Ukraine, and in the interest of a European order that has brought the continent the freest, most peaceful and most prosperous epoch of its history. | eng_Latn | 13,770 |
The scale of Russian President Putin's imperial ambitions revealed, David Clark says .
But events in Ukraine have left the West uncertain about how to respond, he writes .
There are an arc of countries with good reason to be concerned about Russian policy .
Policy of containment must be used to block the illegitimate exercise of power . | London (CNN) -- The full scale of Russian President Vladimir Putin's new imperial ambition was revealed recently when he referred to the southern and eastern territories of Ukraine as Novorossiya (New Russia). This was the name given to the region by Catherine the Great after she captured it from the Ottomans in the late 18th century and began colonizing it with Russian, Ukrainian and German settlers. Along with his assertion that Crimea belongs to Russia because of the blood-price Russian troops paid to conquer it more than two centuries ago, Putin's appropriation of Tsarist terminology establishes a new and troubling benchmark for his irredentist project. It suggests that all the territories that were once part of the Russian Empire are now fair game. This concerns far more than the fate of Ukraine. Pushed to its logical conclusion, it poses a direct challenge to the legitimacy and independence of all post-Soviet states. The practice of manipulating "frozen conflicts" and deploying Russian troops as "peacekeepers" in order to exert leverage is already well established in Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan, and there is an extensive toolbox of other coercive measures Moscow is willing to apply, from trade embargoes to cyber attacks. While the scope of Russian territorial expansion is likely to be limited and the threat of military force mostly held in reserve, the ambition to subordinate the wider region under the aegis of the emerging Eurasian Union is absolutely clear. Welcome to the new Russian Empire. Events in Ukraine have left the West uncertain about how to respond. For all the talk of a new Cold War, there is one important difference with the past that helps to explain why. Whereas Soviet communism defined its ideological purpose in terms of universal goals that posed a threat to the West, Putin emphasizes the exceptional character of Russian civilization and limits his vision to the domination of Eurasia. His challenge is not of the existential variety that once forced Western governments to set aside their differences in the face of a common enemy. It belongs instead to the realm of values where the post-Cold War ideal of a "Europe whole and free" clashes with Putin's determination to build an exclusive sphere of influence in the east. It's much harder to mobilize countries in defense of abstract principles rather than their own physical security, but that is what the West must do if it wants to prevent the unraveling of a European order based on democratic values. While some lessons of the Cold War will be relevant, others will not. One idea that deserves qualified approval is containment, once more being talked about as the basis for U.S. policy towards Russia. This was the strategy adopted by the Truman administration at the onset of the Cold War, designed to block Soviet expansionism through a variety of military, economic and diplomatic countermeasures. The pledge Harry Truman gave to "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures" is certainly relevant at a time when Russian troops are assembling on Ukraine's borders and their proxies are orchestrating violence inside the country. There is now an arc of countries stretching from the Gulf of Finland to the borders of China with good reason to be concerned about the direction of Russian policy. Many of them have large Russian minorities of their own. The West needs a comprehensive strategy for engaging with all of them. The states at risk fall into three distinct categories. The first is comprised of countries like Poland and the Baltic States that already enjoy the institutional security of belonging to NATO and the EU. The task here is to reinforce deterrence capabilities in order to prevent miscalculations on the part of Russia. The second group, and probably the most significant, consists of vulnerable pro-Western countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine itself, all of which now have Russian troops directly or indirectly involved in conflicts on their territory. Azerbaijan is particularly important as a strategic partner in helping to diversify Europe's energy supplies. The opening of the southern gas corridor with the addition of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline will provide substantial quantities of Azeri gas by 2019, thus weakening Russia's grip on the European market. All of these states are linked to Western institutions through the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. These need to be upgraded as a matter of priority, especially since full membership is not an immediate prospect. Objectives should include deeper trade ties, structured political consultations and help in modernizing and strengthening their defensive capabilities. Ultimately, Western countries must be willing to extend explicit security guarantees, preferably within the NATO framework, but outside it if necessary. Engagement with the third group of countries -- authoritarian post-Soviet states including Belarus, Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian republics -- may seem like a waste of time given the support some of them gave Moscow after the seizure of Crimea. But much of this support will have been offered out of fear rather than genuine approval. Just as Cold War containment involved engagement with communist countries, such as China and Yugoslavia, willing to depart from the Moscow line, its modern counterpart should aim to disrupt Putin's coercive alliance building strategy at every opportunity. There is, however, one important sense in which neo-containment should differ from its Cold War predecessor. Although its architect, George Kennan, always hoped that it would be used to modify Soviet behavior, containment in practice became part of a zero-sum struggle in which there could only be one survivor. The aim of containment today should not be to engineer Russia's collapse, but to block the illegitimate exercise of power and encourage Russian leaders to pursue their interests by respecting the sovereign equality of their neighbors. In the long-term, Russia would be stronger not weaker as a result. READ MORE: Who is on Russia's sanctions list? READ MORE: Ukrainian mayor shot in the back . READ MORE: Who will blink first -- Putin or the West? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Clark. | (CNN)Turkey would be willing to put its troops on the ground in Syria "if others dos their part," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview that aired Monday. "We are ready to do everything if there is a clear strategy that after ISIS, we can be sure that our border will be protected. We don't want the regime anymore on our border pushing people against -- towards Turkey. We don't want other terrorist organizations to be active there." "We want this humanitarian policy on the other side of the border. Second: military strategy, security. If there is there any threat against our national security, we will take all the measures -- all the measures." Turkey, Syria's northern neighbor, has been central to the civil war there since it began over three years ago. Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan broke with his longtime ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to support Syria's opposition. Ever since, the government has been trying to convince the international community to do more to stop al-Assad. U.S. President Barack Obama, long wary of becoming involved, has become convinced that he must intervene in the Syrian war, but only to stop ISIS, not to go after the leader he nonetheless says long ago lost the legitimacy to govern. 'Our approach should be comprehensive' "We shouldn't be separating pre-ISIS and post-ISIS Syria," Davutoglu told Amanpour. "From the first early days of the crisis until now, no other country did more than Turkey; what Turkey did against the attacks, brutal attacks of the regime, as well as against ISIS." He said that American airstrikes in Syria were necessary but not enough for a victory. "If ISIS goes, another radical organization may come in," he said. "So our approach should be comprehensive, inclusive, strategic and combined ... not just to punish -- to satisfy our public opinion -- to punish one terrorist organization, but to eliminate all terrorist threats in the future, and also to eliminate all brutal crimes against humanity committed by the regime." "We want to have a no-fly zone. We want to have a safe haven on our border. Otherwise, all these burdens will continue to go on the shoulder of Turkey and other neighboring countries." Right now on Turkey's border, ISIS has been vying for control of the Syrian town of Kobani; CNN crews on the border witnessed what appeared to be an ISIS black flag flying on the eastern side of town. "We will do everything possible to help people of Kobani because they are our brothers and sisters. We don't see them as Kurds or Turkmen or Arabs. If there is a need of intervention to Kobani, we are telling that there is a need of intervention to all Syria, all of our border." The rise of ISIS, and the international military strikes against it, have forced hundreds of thousands of refugees across Turkey's border in recent weeks, to join the nearly 1 million refugees that the United Nations refugee agency says are already there. "People are asking us to receive refugees, and they are praising us, OK. But at the same time, they are saying please control your border. How can you control a border if, in three days, 180,000 people are coming? In three days!" On the front lines of Syria's war, Turkey is trying to dispel the idea that the United States can become involved in Syria by going after ISIS but not al-Assad. "We said chemical weapons are the red line. He used chemical weapons. What happened to him?" "We didn't do anything." "He killed people by punishing through hunger. He surrounded cities, neighborhoods, and kept them hungry. And we have seen -- you showed in your program -- 50,000 photographs who were killed by these methods, by Syrian regime. And everybody was silent." "And now, because of these crimes, there was no reaction, these radical organizations -- I mean ISIS -- misused this atmosphere and told these people the international community doesn't defend you. Nobody defends you. Only I can defend you by my own means. This was the source of ISIS." Davutoglu said Turkey warned the West "several times" about the rise of radicalism in Syria. "We talked to our European and American colleagues that if there is no solution against these crimes against humanity by the Syrian regime, there will be a rise of radicalism. At that time, there was no name of ISIS, but we were telling them." A porous border, a diplomatic spat . Disagreements over how much America should involve itself in the Syria civil war are not the only source of tension between Turkey and the United States. Last week, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden blamed Turkey in part for the rise of groups like ISIS. "They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad," he said. "Except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra and al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world." The vice president apologized to Erdogan in a phone conversation this weekend. "This is really a very unfair accusation," Davutoglu said. "What we expect, Christiane, are two things: fairness and empathy." "America, the United States of America, has a border with Mexico, and there are two states on both sides. Is it easy to control all the border?" "One point six million people came (to Turkey). This is the combined total, combined population of Washington, D.C., Boston and Atlanta." "You can imagine which type of risks and challenges we are facing. Either we will close the borders, which means nobody can come in, which would be against our culture." Turkey has nonetheless openly supported the moderate opposition. "We didn't hide that we are supporting the moderate opposition, Syrian National Coalition, by all means. If others listened to our advice -- our allies and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- if they had protected and supported the moderate opposition, today we wouldn't be facing such a big crisis of ISIS." Turkey in transition . Davutoglu has been Prime Minister for a little over a month, having previously been foreign minister. The change comes as Erdogan has transitioned to the office of president, having won a landmark election -- the first time Turks directly elected their president. Though the role of president is officially ceremonial, Erdogan has talked openly about changing the constitution, and many critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian in his governing style. "I made some important changes" in the Cabinet, Davutoglu said. "That was my own choice. I don't want to make big changes because there will be a new -- another election in 2015." "I also told and I promised my people that there is a need for a new constitution because this constitution is a product of a military coup d'etat. But the main change of constitution is -- will be directed to human rights and not state-centric constitution." On the eve of Davutoglu's ascension to prime minister, a prominent Turkish writer said in The New York Times that he could have a calming effect on the country's politics. "Although Mr. Erdogan chose him because they seem to agree on all major issues, Mr. Davutoglu could still help Turkey by bringing his gentle, polite and smiling persona to the country's bitter and hate-filled political scene," Mustafa Akyol wrote. "First of all, the assumption is wrong," Davutoglu said. "In many aspects, in fact, there have been many reforms in last three, four years." "About my style, everybody has his personality, and this does not mean these are alternatives to each other. These could be complementary and inclusive in that sense. And I will, from academic life until now, I had the same personality, my personality didn't change and will not change." | eng_Latn | 13,771 |
Convoy of 280 lorries have left Moscow bound for Ukraine's eastern border .
Russian media claims they are carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian supplies .
But Kiev and Western leaders are concerned lorries may be hiding weapons .
Ukraine government will demand lorries are checked by Red Cross at border .
French president Francois Hollande admitted 'strong fears' about the cargo .
Told Vladimir Putin aid missions must be agreed with Ukraine and Red Cross . | By . John Hall . A convoy of 280 Russian lorries apparently packed with aid parcels are to be blocked from entering eastern Ukraine amid fears they could be carrying military supplies for pro-Kremlin rebels. Ukraine said it would prevent the vehicles passing through a 60-mile stretch of rebel-held border because they had not been certified by the Red Cross and had provided no information on exactly what they are carrying or where they are heading. According to Russian media reports, the white lorries left Moscow this morning carrying up to 2,000 tons of aid - ranging from baby food to sleeping bags - and are now heading for eastern Ukraine. Scroll down for video . Suspicions: A convoy of Russian lorries, including this van, apparently packed with aid parcels are to be blocked from entering eastern Ukraine amid fears they could be carrying military supplies for pro-Kremlin rebels . Journey: An ambulance was part of a convoy of white trucks carrying humanitarian aid along the M4 in Russia's Voronezh region . Transport: Both Kiev and Western governments have warned Moscow not to turn the aid operation into a military operation . Both Kiev . and Western governments have warned Moscow not to turn the aid operation . into a military operation in a region facing a humanitarian crisis . following four months of warfare. The . plan now is for the cargo to be taken to a government border in the . north of Ukraine - rather than through a rebel-held crossing - where the . parcels will be checked by the Red Cross and reloaded on to new . vehicles, which will then travel to crisis-hit areas in the east of the . country. 'We will not allow any escort by the emergencies ministry of Russia or . by the military [onto Ukrainian territory]. Everything will be under the . control of the Ukrainian side,' Kiev's presidential aide Valery . Chaly told journalists. Concerns: Ukraine said it would prevent the vehicles passing through a 60-mile stretch of rebel-held border because they had not been certified by the Red Cross . Aid: A Russian Orthodox clergyman blesses the convoy of white trucks as they park up in Alabino, outside Moscow . Plan: The plan now is for the cargo to be taken to a government border in the north of Ukraine - rather than through a rebel-held crossing . On the road: The parcels will be checked by the Red Cross and reloaded on to new vehicles, which will then travel to crisis-hit areas in the east of the country . Long road ahead: Russian media said the 280 trucks had left Moscow and it would take a couple of days for them to make the 620 mile journey to Ukraine's eastern regions . Standing out: The Russian convoy, complete with a police escort, stands out against the other traffic as it passes through Voronezh . Load: The convoy of lorries is reportedly carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid - including 400 tons of cereal, 100 tons of sugar, 62 tons of baby food, 54 tons of medical equipment and medicine, 12,000 sleeping bags, and 69 power generators of various sizes . Russian media said the 280 trucks had left Moscow and it would take a couple of days for them to make the 620 mile journey to Ukraine's eastern regions, where rebel fighters seek union with Russia. Western countries believe Russian President Vladimir Putin - who has whipped up nationalist fervour in Russia through the state-controlled media since annexing Crimea in March - might be spurred to fresh action since separatists in their main redoubt of Donetsk are encircled by Kiev forces. Rossiya 24 TV showed a 1.8 mile long . line of containers and trucks loaded with crates of water stretched . along a road with workers in a light summer wear of shorts and shirts . loading sacks of aid. A Russian orthodox priest marched across the line, spraying them with holy water before they left. 'It . has all been agreed with Ukraine,' Business FM radio quoted Putin's . spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, as saying of an operation publicised with . fanfare on Russian TV channels. Journey: According to Russian media reports, the 280 white lorries left Alabino, near Moscow, this morning carrying up to 2,000 tons of aid - ranging from baby food to sleeping bags - and are now heading for eastern Ukraine . Taking a break: The convoy stops behind a police escort along a road near the city of Yelets . In need of help: Refugees occupy the National University of Donetsk to shelter from the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. An estimated of 1200 refugees from the Donestk region have fled the fighting . At risk: Thousands of people are believed to be short of water, electricity and medicine in Donetsk and Luhansk due to bitter fighting, which has so far involved government air strikes and missile attacks . Defence force: Ukrainian government soldiers from the 'Donbass' battalion pose for a photo in the village of Mariinka, near Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine this afternoon . The U.S., French and Australian governments voiced concern that Russia - the sole international supporter of pro-Kremlin rebels in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east - could use the humanitarian deliveries to carry out a covert operation to help fighters who appear to be on the verge of defeat. Today French President Francois Hollande took up the issue directly with Putin, saying 'he emphasised the strong fears evoked by a unilateral Russian mission in Ukrainian territory.' Hollande told Putin that any mission must be multilateral and have the agreement of the Red Cross and Ukraine, according to a statement in Paris. Discussions: Russian President Vladimir Putin (front right) and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi (front left), are seen during a meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi this morning . Discussions: French president Francois Hollande said he spoke to Vladimir Putin (pictured left, alongside Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi) to raise his 'strong fears' about the content of the aid convoy . The pair attended a welcoming ceremony on board a guided missile cruiser at the Black Sea port of Sochi . Conflict: Both Kiev and Western governments have warned Moscow not to turn the aid operation into a military operation in a region facing a humanitarian crisis following four months of warfare . Hunt: Government soldiers from battalion 'Donbass' search from house to house for pro-Russian rebels in village the village of Mariinka, near Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine yesterday . With Ukraine reporting Russia has massed . 45,000 troops on its border, NATO yesterday said there was a 'high . probability' Moscow might now intervene militarily in Ukraine. Itar-Tass news agency said the convoy of lorries is carrying 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid - including 400 tons of cereal, 100 tons of sugar, 62 tons of baby food, 54 tons of medical equipment and medicine, 12,000 sleeping bags, and 69 power generators of various sizes. Thousands of people are believed to be short of water, electricity and medicine in Donetsk and Luhansk due to bitter fighting, which has so far involved government air strikes and missile attacks. The U.N. says well over 1,000 people have been killed in the conflict - including government forces, rebels and civilians. A Malaysian airliner was downed on July 17 with the deaths of all 298 people on board, after apparently being shot down by rebel forces. Kiev and its Western allies say Russia, which opposes Ukraine's new leadership, has been funnelling tanks, missiles and other heavy weapons to the rebels for months. Moscow denies these claims. | (CNN) -- The Sri Lankan army overran two Tamil Tiger rebel positions in the country's north on Tuesday, the military reported on its Web site. Recently captured rebel weapons stacked up in the former Tamil stronghold of Kilinochchi. The rebels "suffered double blows, losing two heavily fortified defense positions as ... troops made predawn incursions at identified terror strong points located south of Valayanmadam today," the Ministry of Defense said. The claims of military victories came a day after Sri Lanka ordered an end to combat operations against the rebels by curtailing "the use of heavy-caliber guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons which could cause civilian causalities," a statement from the Presidential Secretariat said. A rebel Web site, Tamilnet.com, reported an "intense barrage of heavy weapons" through Monday evening. The rebel site accused the military of staging a ground offensive, "firing artillery shells fitted with cluster munitions, multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) fire and heavy mortar fire from many directions on the northern side of Mu'l'li-vaaykkaal." The Tiger leadership has asked the international community to "pressure the Sri Lankan government to reciprocate" on a cease-fire offer proposed last week. The United States, the United Nations, the European Union and India have called for a cease-fire. Last week, India's foreign secretary and national security adviser met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to express their concerns about the situation in the north, including casualties among civilians. India has a large Tamil population that sympathizes with the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The foreign ministers of two nations are due in Sri Lanka on Wednesday -- David Miliband of the United Kingdom and Bernard Kouchner of France. Carl Bildt of Sweden was originally scheduled to make the trip with his counterparts, but was not granted a visa, so he was forced to cancel, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. In what amounts to a diplomatic protest, Sweden will recall its ambassador to Sri Lanka for consultations. A government-imposed deadline for the Tigers to surrender passed a week ago. Tens of thousands of displaced civilians currently remain wedged in a dwindling swath of territory controlled by the Tigers along the country's northeastern coast. Government troops say they have rescued some 40,000 civilians trapped in the area, but a U.N. refugee agency said Friday that a wave of "fresh displacement" now exceeds 100,000 people. The Sri Lankan military says up to 20,000 civilians continue to be held hostage by Tamil "terrorists," adding that its forces will continue humanitarian operations to rescue them. Fifty metric tons of relief supplies -- which landed in Colombo on Monday -- will be sent by UNICEF to the north to help displaced residents. UNICEF, which called the situation in the north a "catastrophe for children," said the displaced lack food, water and basic medical supplies. The rebels estimate the number of civilians still in the territory at more than 160,000. The Tigers have been fighting for an independent state in Sri Lanka's northeast since 1983. As many as 70,000 people have been killed since the civil war began, and the group has been declared a terrorist organization by 32 countries, including the United States and the European Union. -- CNN's Sara Sidner contributed to this story. | eng_Latn | 13,772 |
Jason Marczak: Obama will see a Mexico on the rise economically when he visits .
Marczak: Immigration law needs to address the Mexico of today and tomorrow .
Immigration reform will open up one of Latin America's fastest-growing economies, he says .
Also critical for increasing cross-border trade is improving efficiency at the border, he says . | (CNN) -- President Barack Obama will find that much has changed in Mexico when he arrives on May 2. Our neighbor to the South -- and second-largest export market -- has moved far ahead with reforms. As Congress crafts comprehensive immigration legislation, Democrats and Republicans must keep in mind that Mexico is changing rapidly, and policies crafted to reflect yesterday's Mexico will not help the U.S. make the most of the potential of today's and tomorrow's Mexico. Mexico's future is bright, and tapping into this growth and economic prosperity is vital to U.S. competitiveness. But the U.S. needs immigration reform to build on its huge bilateral trade with Mexico -- more than $1 billion in goods and services each day, or $45 million an hour. Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto has achieved in less than five months in office what eluded previous administrations for six years. In the second half of 2013, he hopes to add energy to the improvements in education and telecommunications that are sailing through under the umbrella of the Pact for Mexico political agreement. Demographic and economic transformations in Mexico mean that the U.S. can expect the number of Mexicans coming into the U.S. to slow to a trickle. Mexicans make up about 58% of the 11 million in the U.S. without authorization. The Pew Hispanic Center reports zero net migration from 2005 to 2010, with about 1.4 million Mexicans both entering and leaving the United States. Pew demographers even raise the possibility that the return flow may be exceeding the number of Mexicans coming north. The reasons for the drop in Mexican migration are a combination of changes in the "push" and "pull" factors that determine migratory patterns. The decline in the "pull" factor is all too well-known -- it's no longer so desirable to migrate to the U.S. for jobs. But Mexico's rise also means that going north is a less attractive option for getting ahead in life. Its economy grew at more than double the rate of the U.S. last year, with a projected 3.5% growth in 2013. Between 2005 and 2008, as noted in Americas Society and Council of the Americas "Get the Facts" series, the number of new Mexican businesses created each year increased by 27%, which is 2.5 times the G20 average. Over the same period, the number of students in Mexico graduating from advanced university level programs increased by 11%. If the February education reform, aimed at improving standards to boost the overall quality of education, is successful, more young Mexicans will have the training to compete in the 21st century workforce. In the past decade, the Mexican middle class grew by 17%, and in just two generations, the fertility rate dropped nearly 70% -- signaling the end of the youth bulge that contributed to the "push" to the United States. Mexico is a hub of business activity. Despite the insecurity in certain parts of the country, Mexican entrepreneurs and foreign companies are setting up shop. Guadalajara is fast-becoming Mexico's Silicon Valley with tech entrepreneurs from across Mexico flocking to the capital of Jalisco state. At the same time, as wages rise in China, firms are relocating their manufacturing options to Mexico, where wages remain competitive and where products have easier access to the U.S. and Canadian markets through the North American Free Trade Agreement. Comprehensive immigration reform will open a gateway to one of Latin America's fastest-growing economies. By providing a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants of Mexican origin, reform will make it easier for laborers to cross borders, which will harness the competitiveness of both countries. It would also show that the U.S. is a true economic partner with Mexico and the rest of the Americas. Legal status would open the door for these immigrants and their children to further increase their contributions to the U.S. economy and to start small businesses that would capitalize on their cross-border networks. This is a highly likely scenario as immigrants are more likely to start a business than those born in the U.S., and Mexicans represent the greatest number of foreign-born small-business owners. At the same time, greater emphasis on a demand-driven visa system would create new ways for workers to enter the U.S. who will be increasingly needed as baby boomers retire. Also critical for increasing cross-border trade is improving efficiency at the border. Any new border security plan should improve infrastructure and technology to reduce the congestion that delays trade. Improved trade means more U.S. jobs, with 6 million, or 1 in 24 jobs, across 22 states attributed to bilateral commerce. Undocumented immigration will keep declining as more Mexicans find new opportunities at home. That means the big question for Congress to consider should be how to ensure that our immigration system helps North American competitiveness and prosperity, and how the U.S. can attract the workers -- including Mexicans-- it will need. | (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the Minsk II ceasefire agreement from February 12 is the road to "a final settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine -- and although the truce is shaky, Ukraine and the West have a strong interest in seeing it hold. The West is not going to enter into a proxy war with Russia -- and Ukraine's best hope is to wind down the war and to use the breathing space for much-needed reform. Minsk II confirms the military gains Russia has made in Ukraine and gives Moscow plenty of leverage over Kiev. But compared to war, it is the lesser evil. In fact, the agreement could be turned to Ukraine's advantage, providing the country with the breathing space it urgently needs to enact political and economic changes. A stronger Ukrainian state -- more functional, less corrupt, and better able to deliver to its citizens -- would be much more capable to resist Russian aggression. It is Ukraine's weakness that has allowed Russia to invade the country in the east. A weak sense of national solidarity and togetherness there, as well as insufficient supervision of the border, allowed unofficial and official Russian troops to enter into the Donbass region. And a badly-trained, badly-equipped and badly-organized army wasn't able to push back. As long as the conflict in the east continues, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's new government will only reluctantly pursue reform. In times of war, national unity is needed to mobilize potential support --this is not the time to fight the abuse of power in the country by mighty oligarchs, as their support is urgently needed for the war effort. But if Minsk II holds, Ukraine can refocus its energy on tackling its biggest internal challenge, which has been neglected for more than two decades: to build proper state institutions. A new Ukraine could emerge democratic, liberal, and much better governed, a country that would become attractive not only to its own citizens -- millions have emigrated in the last few years -- but also to Western investors. The momentum is there. Poroshenko's government has made some small but promising steps in the right direction. And the Maidan generation, a much more politicized civil society, continues to exert pressure on leaders. Unlike its predecessors, the government knows that it needs to deliver. If not, sovereignty again might fall back to the citizens in a new Maidan that could push the current leadership away. The terms of Minsk II are however favorable to Russia. It represents the current correlation of forces. Russia is much stronger militarily than Ukraine, even under the self-imposed condition of keeping Russian engagement on the level of deniability. And the West is not ready to seriously tip the military balance in Ukraine's favor. Not surprisingly, Minsk II is not aimed at directly restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity. While the first Minsk agreement, reached in September, stipulated that international observers would monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border, Minsk II makes the return of the border to Ukraine conditional on constitutional reform -- a new constitution to which representatives of the rebel-held territory must agree. In practice, this means that Ukraine has to negotiate its new constitution with the Kremlin. The choice for Ukraine is -- according to the current truce -- to accept either that the rebel-held territory is going to be built up as a heavily-armed Russian proxy state, or to accept a new constitution that will give Russia substantial influence over the future course of the country. Either Russia can switch on and switch off the war at will, or Ukraine accepts giving up the substance of its sovereignty. Either way, Russia will have achieved its goal of bringing Ukraine back into its sphere of influence. Ukraine and its Western supporters must develop a counter-strategy. Russia is weaker than it may seem. Its economy is heavily damaged by plunging oil prices and Western sanctions. The costs of the conflict have been high. Over the last year, the Kremlin had to learn some hard lessons: that the West is relatively united against Russia's attack on Ukraine, enough to impose tough sanctions; that Ukrainians in the east don't welcome Russians as liberators, and that many are ready to fight for their independence; and that the appetite for war with Ukraine is pretty low in Russia. Putin's regime is not suicidal. Winding down the war and rebuilding ties with the West is therefore a political and economic necessity, at least over the mid-term. Ultimately, the contract between Putin and Russian voters remains focused on economic well-being, on sharing at least part of the income from natural resources. This contract can only temporarily be switched to aggressive patriotism -- over the longer term, the regime needs to deliver some degree of prosperity. The challenge for Ukraine and its Western supporters is to turn Minsk II into an opportunity. The government must demonstrate its fierce dedication to reform and start a serious fight against corruption. If the war loses prominence at some point, there will be no excuse for inaction. The task is huge, but the Maidan movement and the tensions Russia have created a new sense of citizenship for some in Ukraine -- one that the government must seize upon. The trick will be to remain under the threshold of what Russia may see as a provocation that could trigger fresh rounds of warfare. But if Ukraine can quickly move forward with its reform agenda, and if Russia becomes weaker as the economic crisis hits the country hard, the advantage may soon be on the Ukrainian side. The stronger Ukraine becomes -- politically, economically and also militarily -- the more difficult it will be for Russia to control the interpretation of Minsk II. And if that succeeds, and Ukraine one day becomes a shining example of freedom and prosperity -- like Poland -- people in Donbas may one day push for reunification, just as East Germans pushed for reunification in 1989. The zone of liberal-democratic stability will move further east, ultimately challenging the autocratic petro-state that Putin has built in Russia. Whether this can work or not depends primarily on Ukraine: on the readiness of civil society to stay engaged and push for reform, the readiness of the bureaucracy to embrace a new order, and the readiness of oligarchs to give up their social and political power in order to maintain positions of economic leadership. It also depends on the West: Firstly, the EU and U.S. must make it as costly as possible for Russia to switch on war as a means to prevent Ukraine's reform. Unfortunately, the temptation for Russia to use this tool will remain, as military power is its only remaining strength. Moscow must be told in clear terms that the West is going to react to a full return to the battlefield with harsh measures. The West must also make up for two decades of disinterest in and neglect of Ukraine and start with serious engagement with Kiev to help it to build a decent state, to give Ukrainians a perspective. A "Compact for Ukraine," announced by Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and other Western leaders in Kiev in April that puts all kind of support into a package would be a good start. The West doesn't want to fight Russia in Ukraine militarily. But in response to the military invasion in the east, the West must now swarm the country with help and support. It is in the interest of Ukraine, and in the interest of a European order that has brought the continent the freest, most peaceful and most prosperous epoch of its history. | eng_Latn | 13,773 |
NEW: U.S. State Department: Pullback "would be a welcome preliminary step" if accurate .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin talk by phone .
Ukrainian officials say Russia is repositioning some troops massed on its border .
Russian Prime Minister goes to Crimea in the highest-level visit since Moscow annexed region . | (CNN) -- Potentially easing a diplomatic standoff with the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday that he'd ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from his country's border area with Ukraine, Merkel's office said. Putin made the comment to Merkel in a phone call about Ukraine, her office said. The Kremlin made no mention of a withdrawal in its description of the call but said the two leaders discussed Ukraine, including "possibilities for international assistance to restore stability." Further details about Putin's reported order weren't immediately available. But a withdrawal may ease tensions simmering since Russia annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea this month -- a move that has led to the worst East-West relations since the Cold War. Earlier Monday, Russian media reported that one Russian infantry battalion was being moved from the border area to its base deeper into Russia. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that if reports about Russia removing troops from the border were accurate, "it would be a welcome preliminary step." "We would urge Russia to accelerate this process," Psaki said. "We also continue to urge Russia to engage in a dialogue with the government in Kiev to de-escalate the situation, while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." The news about Russian troops came on the day that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev traveled to Crimea -- the highest-level visit from Moscow since Russia annexed the region -- in part to unveil measures aimed at integrating the peninsula into the Russian economy. Ukrainian and Western officials for weeks have voiced alarm about Russia's reported military buildup on Ukraine's eastern border, which has raised fears that Russian troops would enter the Ukrainian mainland. Russia may have 40,000 troops near its border with eastern Ukraine and another 25,000 inland on alert and prepared to go in, two U.S. officials have told CNN. Moscow has said it had no intention of ordering armed forces to cross over into its neighbor, insisting its troops have been conducting exercises. But Putin has said Russia reserves the right to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine from what he calls threats from Ukrainian nationals -- a reasoning he also used in this month's annexation of Crimea . Putin's conversation with Merkel came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Paris about ways to defuse the crisis over Ukraine. Kerry told Lavrov that progress depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine's borders but no breakthrough was announced. The West imposed sanctions against some Russian officials because of the Crimea crisis and threatened more if tensions weren't eased. Is Crimea gone? Ukraine: Russian troops 'conducting unclear maneuvers' Amid reports that Russia may have started withdrawing from the border, but before the Merkel announcement, government sources in Kiev told CNN that Russian troops were not backing away but were repositioning their forces farther north. One Ukrainian official said intelligence indicated that Russian troops are "conducting unclear maneuvers at the Ukrainian border." Meanwhile, Russian state news agency ITAR-Tass reported Monday that one Russian infantry battalion was being withdrawn from a region bordering Ukraine. That battalion, having finished military exercises, is returning to its base in Russia's Samara region, hundreds of miles away from the border, the outlet reported, citing Russia's Defense Ministry. Details about how many troops are in that battalion weren't immediately available. During a daily briefing Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Evhen Perebyinis said Russia had not told Kiev about the intentions of any military forces in the area. "At some border districts the troops are withdrawn, in others they approach the border," he said. "We are concerned about this movement of the army." U.S. official: 'Too soon' to discern Russian intentions . Before Merkel's announcement, a U.S. official said Monday it was too soon to conclude whether Russia was moving its troops away from the Ukraine border. The official was reacting to statements from Ukraine about Russian troop maneuvers. "We have nothing to back that up one way or the other so far," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Barring any significant withdrawal from the border, the Russians are positioned "in a way (that) they could conduct a swift movement into Ukraine," the official said. Russian Prime Minister in Crimea . Medvedev arrived in Crimea's capital, Simferopol, for talks Monday on social and economic development. "As a result of entering Russia, not a single citizen of Crimea should lose anything -- they need only to benefit from it," Medvedev said in a news conference carried by Russian state television. "Citizens need to understand that they're citizens of a powerful country." The Premier met with Crimean officials, including its Prime Minister, the speaker of the regional parliament and mayor of Sevastopol, among others. He said Crimean state salaries and pensions should be raised to Russian levels, as should the pay for military personnel, while compulsory social insurance would be introduced to the region next year. In tense, defiant Ukraine border region, prayers for peace . Economic measures . Unveiling a list of measures for the region, Medvedev also said Moscow would make Crimea a special economic zone. Tax breaks may also be offered to companies, he added, calling for mortgage programs to be introduced to the region and for a review of water supply projects. After visiting a school and children's hospital, Medvedev added that Crimea needed modern medical equipment and reforms in education. He offered to establish a new federal university. Editors' Note: This article has been edited to remove plagiarized content after CNN discovered multiple instances of plagiarism by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, a former CNN news editor. CNN's Gena Somra, Barbara Starr, Nick Paton Walsh, Alexander Felton, Stefan Simons and Victoria Butenko contributed to this report. | Pro-Russian rebels released dozens of captive Ukrainian troops Sunday as part of a ceasefire deal. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a Twitter post that 73 troops were released in Donetsk. But despite the ceasefire, violence continued to flare in the volatile region. As shelling rocked the city throughout the day Sunday, local officials described the situation as "critical." Six civilians died and 15 were injured as the result of shelling, Donetsk's city office said on Monday. Poroshenko spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over concerns that the ceasefire deal -- brokered earlier this month -- is being violated. They "agreed to make further efforts to settle the situation peacefully," Poroshenko's office said in a statement. In an interview with TV Tsentr pm Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the truce agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, appeared to be holding generally and that Moscow, at least, is ready to work toward a long-term peace. "Sporadic exchanges of fire occur on both sides, but the process of establishing (a) durable peace is still in progress," he said, according to parts of that interview published by the state-run Itar-Tass news agency. Which Russian companies have been hit? | eng_Latn | 13,774 |
Ukraine and the West have a strong interest in seeing the Minsk II ceasefire agreement hold .
Ukraine's best hope is to use the breathing space for much-needed reform . | (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the Minsk II ceasefire agreement from February 12 is the road to "a final settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine -- and although the truce is shaky, Ukraine and the West have a strong interest in seeing it hold. The West is not going to enter into a proxy war with Russia -- and Ukraine's best hope is to wind down the war and to use the breathing space for much-needed reform. Minsk II confirms the military gains Russia has made in Ukraine and gives Moscow plenty of leverage over Kiev. But compared to war, it is the lesser evil. In fact, the agreement could be turned to Ukraine's advantage, providing the country with the breathing space it urgently needs to enact political and economic changes. A stronger Ukrainian state -- more functional, less corrupt, and better able to deliver to its citizens -- would be much more capable to resist Russian aggression. It is Ukraine's weakness that has allowed Russia to invade the country in the east. A weak sense of national solidarity and togetherness there, as well as insufficient supervision of the border, allowed unofficial and official Russian troops to enter into the Donbass region. And a badly-trained, badly-equipped and badly-organized army wasn't able to push back. As long as the conflict in the east continues, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's new government will only reluctantly pursue reform. In times of war, national unity is needed to mobilize potential support --this is not the time to fight the abuse of power in the country by mighty oligarchs, as their support is urgently needed for the war effort. But if Minsk II holds, Ukraine can refocus its energy on tackling its biggest internal challenge, which has been neglected for more than two decades: to build proper state institutions. A new Ukraine could emerge democratic, liberal, and much better governed, a country that would become attractive not only to its own citizens -- millions have emigrated in the last few years -- but also to Western investors. The momentum is there. Poroshenko's government has made some small but promising steps in the right direction. And the Maidan generation, a much more politicized civil society, continues to exert pressure on leaders. Unlike its predecessors, the government knows that it needs to deliver. If not, sovereignty again might fall back to the citizens in a new Maidan that could push the current leadership away. The terms of Minsk II are however favorable to Russia. It represents the current correlation of forces. Russia is much stronger militarily than Ukraine, even under the self-imposed condition of keeping Russian engagement on the level of deniability. And the West is not ready to seriously tip the military balance in Ukraine's favor. Not surprisingly, Minsk II is not aimed at directly restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity. While the first Minsk agreement, reached in September, stipulated that international observers would monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border, Minsk II makes the return of the border to Ukraine conditional on constitutional reform -- a new constitution to which representatives of the rebel-held territory must agree. In practice, this means that Ukraine has to negotiate its new constitution with the Kremlin. The choice for Ukraine is -- according to the current truce -- to accept either that the rebel-held territory is going to be built up as a heavily-armed Russian proxy state, or to accept a new constitution that will give Russia substantial influence over the future course of the country. Either Russia can switch on and switch off the war at will, or Ukraine accepts giving up the substance of its sovereignty. Either way, Russia will have achieved its goal of bringing Ukraine back into its sphere of influence. Ukraine and its Western supporters must develop a counter-strategy. Russia is weaker than it may seem. Its economy is heavily damaged by plunging oil prices and Western sanctions. The costs of the conflict have been high. Over the last year, the Kremlin had to learn some hard lessons: that the West is relatively united against Russia's attack on Ukraine, enough to impose tough sanctions; that Ukrainians in the east don't welcome Russians as liberators, and that many are ready to fight for their independence; and that the appetite for war with Ukraine is pretty low in Russia. Putin's regime is not suicidal. Winding down the war and rebuilding ties with the West is therefore a political and economic necessity, at least over the mid-term. Ultimately, the contract between Putin and Russian voters remains focused on economic well-being, on sharing at least part of the income from natural resources. This contract can only temporarily be switched to aggressive patriotism -- over the longer term, the regime needs to deliver some degree of prosperity. The challenge for Ukraine and its Western supporters is to turn Minsk II into an opportunity. The government must demonstrate its fierce dedication to reform and start a serious fight against corruption. If the war loses prominence at some point, there will be no excuse for inaction. The task is huge, but the Maidan movement and the tensions Russia have created a new sense of citizenship for some in Ukraine -- one that the government must seize upon. The trick will be to remain under the threshold of what Russia may see as a provocation that could trigger fresh rounds of warfare. But if Ukraine can quickly move forward with its reform agenda, and if Russia becomes weaker as the economic crisis hits the country hard, the advantage may soon be on the Ukrainian side. The stronger Ukraine becomes -- politically, economically and also militarily -- the more difficult it will be for Russia to control the interpretation of Minsk II. And if that succeeds, and Ukraine one day becomes a shining example of freedom and prosperity -- like Poland -- people in Donbas may one day push for reunification, just as East Germans pushed for reunification in 1989. The zone of liberal-democratic stability will move further east, ultimately challenging the autocratic petro-state that Putin has built in Russia. Whether this can work or not depends primarily on Ukraine: on the readiness of civil society to stay engaged and push for reform, the readiness of the bureaucracy to embrace a new order, and the readiness of oligarchs to give up their social and political power in order to maintain positions of economic leadership. It also depends on the West: Firstly, the EU and U.S. must make it as costly as possible for Russia to switch on war as a means to prevent Ukraine's reform. Unfortunately, the temptation for Russia to use this tool will remain, as military power is its only remaining strength. Moscow must be told in clear terms that the West is going to react to a full return to the battlefield with harsh measures. The West must also make up for two decades of disinterest in and neglect of Ukraine and start with serious engagement with Kiev to help it to build a decent state, to give Ukrainians a perspective. A "Compact for Ukraine," announced by Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and other Western leaders in Kiev in April that puts all kind of support into a package would be a good start. The West doesn't want to fight Russia in Ukraine militarily. But in response to the military invasion in the east, the West must now swarm the country with help and support. It is in the interest of Ukraine, and in the interest of a European order that has brought the continent the freest, most peaceful and most prosperous epoch of its history. | By . Tim Shipman . PUBLISHED: . 20:14 EST, 22 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:41 EST, 23 July 2013 . A study that says membership of the European Union is beneficial for Britain was last night branded a ‘Whitehall whitewash’. Despite uncovering a catalogue of problems, the Foreign Office review found that the balance of power between Brussels and Westminster was ‘broadly appropriate’. The report sparked anger among Tory . backbenchers, who questioned why it was commissioned in the first place . since the conclusions appear to contradict David Cameron’s policy of . renegotiating Britain’s relationship with Brussels. Foreign Secretary William Hague: mandarins at the Foreign Office has concluded little needs to change in Britain's relationship with Europe . The review warned that: . But despite these issues, mandarins at the traditionally europhile Foreign Office concluded that little needed to change in Britain’s relationship with Brussels. Six reports published by Foreign Secretary William Hague yesterday are the first tranche of 36 studies on different aspects of Britain’s interactions with the EU. A report on the European single market showcased the views of big business and concluded: ‘Integration has brought to the EU, and hence to the UK, in most if not all observers’ opinions, appreciable economic benefits. Peter Bone: 'This sounds like a Whitehall whitewash. This is a government review, not a Conservative Party review.' ‘But it has brought with it a regulatory framework which some find difficult to operate within or find burdensome. ‘Is . that trade-off, between cost and benefit, between economics and . politics, of overall benefit to the UK? Most observers, and indeed most . of the evidence received for this report, answer positively.’ The . report on health detailed concerns about the way the 48-hour working . week restricts training for junior doctors and encourages foreigners to . come to the UK for treatment on the NHS. But . it concludes: ‘The current balance of competence between the EU and the . UK was considered by stakeholders to be broadly appropriate.’ A report on animal health and food safety detailed concerns that harmonisation of rules on pets travelling has ‘significantly heightened the risk of rabies returning to the UK’. A report on international aid found that the ‘EU development programme management and delivery are overly complex and inefficient, and the EU does not systematically measure the results that EU aid achieves’. Yet it concluded that ‘the advantages of working through the EU outweigh the disadvantages’. Tory MP Peter Bone said the report should prompt the Tories to abandon the Coalition and seek to repatriate powers alone. He said: ‘This sounds like a Whitehall whitewash. This is a government review, not a Conservative Party review. This exercise was an irrelevance.’ Fellow Tory Douglas Carswell said: ‘It is the same tired old actors regurgitating the same tired old script. ‘It is Sir Humphrey assisted by big corporate interests looking out to the world from their desks in Whitehall. ‘We need a referendum so 60 million people, not just Sir Humphrey, can have the final say.’ A total of 44,000 out of Britain¿s 144,000 doctors were trained in other European countries . One in three doctors working in Britain qualified abroad, prompting top medical groups to express concerns about how this could harm patient safety, the review found. The report, which focused on the balance of power between Britain and the EU on health issues, revealed 44,000 out of Britain’s 144,000 doctors were trained in other European countries. It also said out of 104,000 UK medical staff who are not doctors, around 34,000 hailed from other EU nations. More than 9,000 GPs trained in Europe compared with 30,000 who qualified in Britain – meaning one in four learnt to practice medicine abroad. And evidence given to the report by Health Education England showed that more than half of Britain’s nurses came from other countries within the EU. Despite the alarming figures, the report concluded that continuing to ‘import’ doctors and other medical staff from countries around the EU would only improve the quality of the health service. The report claims: ‘None of the responses suggested that the current balance of competence was wrong. Respondents recognised the benefit to the UK as a net importer of health professionals.’ But they admitted some of Britain’s leading medical groups have come forward to deliver warnings about possible safety issues. In evidence submitted to the review, several groups stressed that more needs to be done to ensure foreign doctors have the qualifications and language skills to work in the UK. The report said that ‘concerns were raised’ by the British Medical Association, the General Medical Council, the Royal College of Nursing, the Alliance of UK Health Regulators on Europe and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, among others, on ‘matters that impact on patient safety – namely medical training and language testing’. | eng_Latn | 13,775 |
A new report says North Korea has completed a major upgrade of its launch center .
It says the upgrade will allow for larger rockets to be launched .
It says Pyongyang is continuing testing on a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile .
Analysts expect Pyongyang to continue with its rockets program despite international opposition . | Seoul (CNN) -- New images of North Korea's main satellite launch site show that an upgrade allowing for larger rockets has been completed, raising the possibility of a fresh launch within the year, a new report says. Based on satellite images of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located on North Korea's west coast close to the Chinese border, the report was posted on the 38 North website, run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University. "North Korea is now ready to move forward with another rocket launch," concluded the report by retired imagery technology expert Nick Hansen, adding that if the political decision were made to proceed, "a rocket could be launched by the end of 2014." The satellite pictures appeared to show that a yearlong construction project at the Sohae facility had been completed, including the upgrade of the launch pad and gantry tower to enable the launch of rockets larger than the existing Unha-3 space launch vehicle, said the report. A South Korean Defense Ministry official, who would not be named in accordance with protocol, said Seoul was monitoring developments. "Our military is observing closely all activities regarding the situation of construction and possibility of a missile launch at the North Korean Sohae Launching Site," the official said. Larger rockets? The U.S.-Korea Institute said the development would allow the Sohae facility to launch rockets up to 50 meters in length -- considerably larger than the Unha-3, which is about 30 meters long. North Korea last fired an Unha-3 in December 2012, in a controversial launch that successfully put a satellite in orbit. While Pyongyang insisted the test was for scientific purposes, many nations, including the United States and South Korea, considered it a cover for testing ballistic missile technology. The launch resulted in increased U.N. sanctions on the diplomatically isolated state. The 38 North report stated that the "most likely candidate" for any potential launch remained the existing Unha-3, since the "much larger rocket, reportedly under development, is at least several years from becoming operational." The satellite images also indicated Pyongyang had conducted engine-tests for a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the KN-08, it said, which had been ongoing at the site for at least two years. "It remains unclear how successful these tests have been. However, rocket motor tests are typically conducted prior to full-scale test launches of a missile that precede a weapon becoming operational," said the report. Any decision to launch a rocket would ultimately hinge on political considerations, it said. Is North Korea still digging tunnels to the South? 'Long-term commitment' Daniel A. Pinkston, North East Asia deputy project director at the International Crisis Group, said the reported activity at Sohae was consistent with Pyongyang's statements regarding space launches. "The Kim family regime has demonstrated the long-term commitment -- over 30 years -- to develop long-range missiles," he said. "It is important to recognize the relative scale of the investment for an economy the size of the DPRK's. State media and other institutions extol the space program and asserts it is absolutely necessary for the country's economic development." While any decision by Pyongyang to proceed with a launch would take into account domestic and international factors, he said, "In my view, the DPRK government is fully committed to conducting additional satellite launches, and cannot be dissuaded by the international community." The Unha-3 did not have military applications, but North Korean scientists and engineers were able to "apply the know-how they've acquired from the Unha-3 to other missiles," he said. "The DPRK has continued to develop missiles with the intention of acquiring an ICBM," he said. | (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the Minsk II ceasefire agreement from February 12 is the road to "a final settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine -- and although the truce is shaky, Ukraine and the West have a strong interest in seeing it hold. The West is not going to enter into a proxy war with Russia -- and Ukraine's best hope is to wind down the war and to use the breathing space for much-needed reform. Minsk II confirms the military gains Russia has made in Ukraine and gives Moscow plenty of leverage over Kiev. But compared to war, it is the lesser evil. In fact, the agreement could be turned to Ukraine's advantage, providing the country with the breathing space it urgently needs to enact political and economic changes. A stronger Ukrainian state -- more functional, less corrupt, and better able to deliver to its citizens -- would be much more capable to resist Russian aggression. It is Ukraine's weakness that has allowed Russia to invade the country in the east. A weak sense of national solidarity and togetherness there, as well as insufficient supervision of the border, allowed unofficial and official Russian troops to enter into the Donbass region. And a badly-trained, badly-equipped and badly-organized army wasn't able to push back. As long as the conflict in the east continues, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's new government will only reluctantly pursue reform. In times of war, national unity is needed to mobilize potential support --this is not the time to fight the abuse of power in the country by mighty oligarchs, as their support is urgently needed for the war effort. But if Minsk II holds, Ukraine can refocus its energy on tackling its biggest internal challenge, which has been neglected for more than two decades: to build proper state institutions. A new Ukraine could emerge democratic, liberal, and much better governed, a country that would become attractive not only to its own citizens -- millions have emigrated in the last few years -- but also to Western investors. The momentum is there. Poroshenko's government has made some small but promising steps in the right direction. And the Maidan generation, a much more politicized civil society, continues to exert pressure on leaders. Unlike its predecessors, the government knows that it needs to deliver. If not, sovereignty again might fall back to the citizens in a new Maidan that could push the current leadership away. The terms of Minsk II are however favorable to Russia. It represents the current correlation of forces. Russia is much stronger militarily than Ukraine, even under the self-imposed condition of keeping Russian engagement on the level of deniability. And the West is not ready to seriously tip the military balance in Ukraine's favor. Not surprisingly, Minsk II is not aimed at directly restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity. While the first Minsk agreement, reached in September, stipulated that international observers would monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border, Minsk II makes the return of the border to Ukraine conditional on constitutional reform -- a new constitution to which representatives of the rebel-held territory must agree. In practice, this means that Ukraine has to negotiate its new constitution with the Kremlin. The choice for Ukraine is -- according to the current truce -- to accept either that the rebel-held territory is going to be built up as a heavily-armed Russian proxy state, or to accept a new constitution that will give Russia substantial influence over the future course of the country. Either Russia can switch on and switch off the war at will, or Ukraine accepts giving up the substance of its sovereignty. Either way, Russia will have achieved its goal of bringing Ukraine back into its sphere of influence. Ukraine and its Western supporters must develop a counter-strategy. Russia is weaker than it may seem. Its economy is heavily damaged by plunging oil prices and Western sanctions. The costs of the conflict have been high. Over the last year, the Kremlin had to learn some hard lessons: that the West is relatively united against Russia's attack on Ukraine, enough to impose tough sanctions; that Ukrainians in the east don't welcome Russians as liberators, and that many are ready to fight for their independence; and that the appetite for war with Ukraine is pretty low in Russia. Putin's regime is not suicidal. Winding down the war and rebuilding ties with the West is therefore a political and economic necessity, at least over the mid-term. Ultimately, the contract between Putin and Russian voters remains focused on economic well-being, on sharing at least part of the income from natural resources. This contract can only temporarily be switched to aggressive patriotism -- over the longer term, the regime needs to deliver some degree of prosperity. The challenge for Ukraine and its Western supporters is to turn Minsk II into an opportunity. The government must demonstrate its fierce dedication to reform and start a serious fight against corruption. If the war loses prominence at some point, there will be no excuse for inaction. The task is huge, but the Maidan movement and the tensions Russia have created a new sense of citizenship for some in Ukraine -- one that the government must seize upon. The trick will be to remain under the threshold of what Russia may see as a provocation that could trigger fresh rounds of warfare. But if Ukraine can quickly move forward with its reform agenda, and if Russia becomes weaker as the economic crisis hits the country hard, the advantage may soon be on the Ukrainian side. The stronger Ukraine becomes -- politically, economically and also militarily -- the more difficult it will be for Russia to control the interpretation of Minsk II. And if that succeeds, and Ukraine one day becomes a shining example of freedom and prosperity -- like Poland -- people in Donbas may one day push for reunification, just as East Germans pushed for reunification in 1989. The zone of liberal-democratic stability will move further east, ultimately challenging the autocratic petro-state that Putin has built in Russia. Whether this can work or not depends primarily on Ukraine: on the readiness of civil society to stay engaged and push for reform, the readiness of the bureaucracy to embrace a new order, and the readiness of oligarchs to give up their social and political power in order to maintain positions of economic leadership. It also depends on the West: Firstly, the EU and U.S. must make it as costly as possible for Russia to switch on war as a means to prevent Ukraine's reform. Unfortunately, the temptation for Russia to use this tool will remain, as military power is its only remaining strength. Moscow must be told in clear terms that the West is going to react to a full return to the battlefield with harsh measures. The West must also make up for two decades of disinterest in and neglect of Ukraine and start with serious engagement with Kiev to help it to build a decent state, to give Ukrainians a perspective. A "Compact for Ukraine," announced by Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and other Western leaders in Kiev in April that puts all kind of support into a package would be a good start. The West doesn't want to fight Russia in Ukraine militarily. But in response to the military invasion in the east, the West must now swarm the country with help and support. It is in the interest of Ukraine, and in the interest of a European order that has brought the continent the freest, most peaceful and most prosperous epoch of its history. | eng_Latn | 13,776 |
Bulgaria asks Russia to overhaul MiG fighter jets | SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria has asked Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG to overhaul and maintain its 15 aged MiG-29 fighter jets in a four-year deal worth up to 81.3 million levs ($49 million), the country’s defense ministry said on Monday.
NATO and EU member Bulgaria needs to keep its Soviet-era aircraft operational after plans to buy eight new fighter jets hit another snag.
The defense ministry will have to virtually restart the process and is yet to send requests for proposals to aircraft makers.
Main contenders remain Swedish manufacturer Saab’s Gripen jets, Portugal and the United States with secondhand F-16s and Italy with secondhand Eurofighter Typhoons. Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov has said Bulgaria may also send a request to Boeing for F-18 aircraft.
($1 = 1.6586 leva) | In their recommendation on Libya, passed by 45 votes to 0, with 4 abstentions, Foreign Affairs MEPs call on the EU Council, Commission and External Action Service to:
ensure the strongest support for the UN Action Plan for Libya – currently the only possible framework for a solution to the crisis;
back elections being held in Libya by the end of 2018;
make sure a transitional arrangement is agreed before the elections to strengthen new government’s legitimacy;
support a National Conference being held inside Libya aimed at achieving an agreement between the different Libyan parties on the next steps to complete the transition;
ensure that Libyans drive the stabilisation process and decide about the future form of their state;
grant that the EU funds are effectively deployed in projects that help the Libyan population and civil society.
Smugglers’ business model should be disrupted
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The protection of migrants and refugees in Libya and their conditions in detention centres should be improved and the capacity on search and rescue of people in distress increased, MEPs recommend. They also ask the EU Council, Commission and External Action Service to step up international efforts to dismantle migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks and disrupt the business model of traffickers and smugglers.
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Parliament’s rapporteur Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D, IT) said: “With this report, we did not confine ourselves to providing a realistic picture of the situation in Libya; we wanted to set out the path that we should be following to try to get out of the current crisis. The process of reconstruction in Libya should be framed as part of a broader regional strategy to tackle many problems, such as the disarmament of the militia, immigration and violations of human rights”.
Next steps
The full house is expected to vote on the final text at its May plenary session in Strasbourg. | eng_Latn | 13,777 |
What Does Kazakhstan’s New Military Doctrine Reveal About Relations With Russia? | Kazakhstani forces practice tactical drills on December 7, 2017. The country recently unveiled a new military doctrine that some experts say responds to Moscow's hybrid warfare tactics.
Without much ado, Kazakhstan adopted a new military doctrine in September, replacing a 2011 document that had become dated. The new document states that Kazakhstan does not have enemies. Yet, Astana seems alarmed enough by Russia’s aggressive actions toward Ukraine since 2014 to have produced a doctrine that is an obvious reaction to Moscow’s hybrid warfare tactics, which include cyber-disruption and propaganda.
Kazakhstan is not alone in sensing that it now lives in a rapidly changing security environment that demands new policies. Belarus, another neighbor of Russia, introduced a new military doctrine in July 2016. But while Belarus made explicit that it is reacting to Ukraine’s fight against Russian-backed separatists and Moscow’s use of hybrid warfare, Kazakhstani authorities have not commented publicly on changes to their military doctrine.
Still, similarities between the new Kazakhstani and Belarussian doctrines abound, and it is not difficult to see the origin of Astana’s threat assessment. Kazakhstan shares a 7,500-kilometer land border with Russia and northern Kazakhstan is home to a significant Russian minority with deep roots in the region. Though their numbers are dwindling, Russians still account for roughly 20 percent of Kazakhstan’s population. Much to Astana’s irritation, the area is romanticized by some Russian politicians as still being Russian territory. In January 2017, a State Duma deputy, Pavel Shperov, suggested the Kazakhstani-Russian border was not a permanent fixture and that Kazakhstani territory was merely on loan to Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan pursues a multi-vector foreign policy with Russia, China and the European Union as its main partners. Balancing these relationships allow it to demonstrate that it has the political clout to act more independently of Russia than other Central Asian states.
Still, Astana and Moscow remain very close allies, bound by economic ties through the Eurasian Economic Union and militarily through the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, which also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The CSTO functions as much as a vehicle for Russia’s bilateral security agendas with fellow member states as it does as collective entity. As an organization, it has also redefined what it sees as security threats -- a process that began after the pro-democracy “color” revolutions in Georgia, 2003, Ukraine, 2004, and Kyrgyzstan, 2005. Analysis and recommendations from the CSTO played a pivotal role in shaping Russia’s own military doctrine of 2014, after the annexation of Crimea.
The alleged basis of Russia’s actions in Ukraine is a self-proclaimed doctrine under which Moscow can act as the protector of the rights of Russians experiencing alleged discrimination wherever they may be. The circumstances that prevailed in Ukraine prior to the start of Russian meddling in 2014 are not evident in present-day Kazakhstan. Russia’s concern that Ukraine was drifting toward the EU’s orbit was an underlying motivation for its actions in 2014. There is no reason for Moscow to worry that Astana is tilting toward the EU these days. Meanwhile, the Russian minority in Kazakhstan experiences little or no discrimination.
Just because the circumstances are different, doesn’t mean Kazakhstan isn’t vulnerable. Astana should recognize that national and ethnic unity since independence in 1991 is a thin construction, far too dependent on fealty to President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kazakhstan’s new military doctrine is explicit about the risks to its borders and also the potential for an outside party to manipulate ethnic populations inside Kazakhstan.
Alongside the outward-looking nature of Kazakhstan’s 2017 military doctrine, there is sharp focus on internal threats. Nazarbayev in the past three years has undertaken measures to strengthen the government, bolster the economy and to resist firmly any speculation that a Ukrainian scenario could happen in Kazakhstan. When citizens protested against plans to lease farm land to Chinese investors in May 2016, Nazarbayev issued a stark rebuke, using Ukraine as an example of what can go wrong if protests get out of hand.
Nationalism is growing nonetheless. It not only showed itself during the May 2016 land protests, but also in long-term trends such as renaming previously Russian-language place names to Kazakh. Some Russian politicians see Kazakhstan’s move to Latinize the Kazakh alphabet, which is currently written in Cyrillic, as an anti-Russian move. It is indeed a highly symbolic gesture, one that a Western diplomat described as an act of defiance and post-Soviet national identity-building.
The Russian language has equal status in Kazakhstan, but Kazakh is ascendant, and knowledge of it is required for government jobs. It’s also worth noting that not one of Kazakhstan's ministers has an ethnic Russian background.
Astana has sought to manage its relationship with Moscow as an equal partnership. Its success in doing so is largely attributable to Nazarbayev, who has led Kazakhstan since independence. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Putin was a KGB functionarynt, while Nazarbayev was the already powerful and ambitious First Secretary of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. With Nazarbayev turning 78 years old next year, a transition in the vast but sparsely populated Central Asian state is inevitable. The crisis in Ukraine has brought into focus the risks of any sort of transition or internal instability in Russia’s neighborhood.
As Nazarbayev ages, political transition is inevitable and unless handled smoothly that transition could be destabilizing. The Kremlin’s military doctrine and its foreign policies are premised on Russia exerting itself as a great power with historical privileges. Kazakhstan understands that in the long-term it could be vulnerable to Moscow’s expansionist tendencies. Its new military doctrine addresses that external risk in a clear-headed and robust manner. But when it comes to the domestic challenges that could provide the very opening required for an assertive foreign power to gain a foothold, Kazakhstan still appears to be sleepwalking. | Two Georgia inmates are armed and on the run after one of them shot and killed two Georgia State Correctional Officers, officials said.Two state prisoners overpow... -- The American college student who had been imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year has now been released, but his family revealed Tuesday that the 22-yea... MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership Board of Directors will make changes to its strategy to further the vision, mission, and direction of the... The subject of conference affiliation was brought up at Monday's Lexington school board meeting.
Start the conversation, or Read more at KRVN-AM Lexington. | kor_Hang | 13,778 |
Ex-Polish president demanded eroding borders between European states .
Claimed the old borders no longer mattered and globalisation is 'on horizon'
Said Poland and Germany could unite as latter had admitted its war crimes . | Former Polish President Lech Walesa has demanded an eroding of borders between major nation states on the continent . An extraordinary call for Germany and Poland to unite as a single country at the new heart of Europe came yesterday from Lech Walesa, one of the key figures in the demise of the Cold War. The former Solidarity trade union leader shocked his follow Poles by demanding an eroding of borders between major nation states on the continent. We need to expand economic and defence cooperation and other structures to make from the states of Poland and Germany one state of Europe,' said the mustachioed Walesa, 70 this month, who was a staunch opponent of Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe whose historic industrial action in the Gdansk shipyards ushered in a new era freedom and democracy. 'We have gone so far in our technical advancements that we are no longer located in our own countries,' he told Russian news agency Itar-Tass. 'There is a broadening of geographical structures, while the economy and democracy should also be altered.' He insisted that the uniting of his Polish homeland which its bitter wartime enemy Germany was not only possible but the logical conclusion of his own historic role in dismantling the Iron Curtain. 'The Germans have done us a lot more evil, and the relationship we have now is much better than that with Russia. Why?,' he asked. 'Because after the war, Germany fully confessed to all its dirty tricks. It’s necessary to say once and for all who did something evil, full stop. Until we do, the wound won’t heal.' The ex-Polish president who won the Nobel Peace Prize said: 'My struggle led to the reunification of Germany and the creation of the state of Europe. 'We destroyed the borders, globalisation is on the horizon.' The outspoken former politician said Germany 'fully confessed to all its dirty tricks' after the war - including its concentration camps in Auschwitz - so the pair could be united . Claiming the old borders no longer mattered, he said: 'This is the broadening of geographical structures, while the economy and democracy should also be altered.' Of building new structures, he said: 'It’s Lego bricks.' Having faced down the might of one old empire - the USSR - he appeared ready in his rambling remarks to trust a new Euroland and, further still, embraced an almost utopian vision of a world without frontiers. 'Tomorrow there will be no division to Europe and Asia,' he said. 'These are old concepts that would remain only on maps. Everything will be united. Companies will be united. IT is a process of structures growing due to the technological progress. 'Right now we are stopped by obstacles of different kinds, like various kinds of disparities, different systems, but gradually we’ll be smoothing it down and the states will become like Lego bricks. 'If a state will have a good shape, it will be possible to build various kinds of structures. He insisted that the bitter wartime enemies should unite, despite the atrocities inflicted in World War II as 'globalisation is on the horizon' 'The frontiers will not be visible. Those who have bad parameters would not be able to unite with anyone. The shapes are freedom, democracy, free market, pluralism.' However, he seemed to question Russia’s ability to join this new club despite recently urging closer relations with this former enemy. 'We need to have similar shapes of those Lego bricks,' he said. 'If Russia gets the right shapes, it will be possible to work with it. 'Since Russia is a huge country, a rich country, it has the whole Mendeleev table. Everyone would want to work with it, but it has to have the right shapes so that it will be possible to build something with it.' Walesa - who called himself 'a leader by nature' - appeared to rule out a return to frontline politics. 'I am too old already,' he said. 'I’m tired.' 'This is one of Lech Walesa’s exotic ideas,' said ex-premier Jozef Oleksy. 'He has the role of someone who stimulates ideas, sometimes annoying ideas, but I don’t attach much importance to this one.' | A Dutch airline boss found himself threatened with a one-way ticket to Siberia after relieving himself on a fence outside Vladimir Putin’s Sochi home. Atilay Uslu, who runs Corendon Dutch Airlines, a sponsor of the Dutch Olympic speed skating team, was returning from a night out when he found himself in need of the bathroom. Mr Uslu decided to use a fence for aim, but was soon surrounded by Russian soldiers. Atilay Uslu, chief of an airline sponsoring the Dutch speed skating team, had been out celebrating when he used Putin's fence as a bathroom . The incident took place around 2am on Sunday morning after Uslyu and a friend had been out in Sochi celebrating the success of the Dutch skaters. It emerged that the fence he was using as a ‘bathroom’ protected the villa of the Russian President in the Winter Olympics resort. ‘[They] talked of a one-way ticket to Siberia and asked me if I had not seen the security cameras or knew that it was Putin’s house,’ Mr Uslu told UPI.com. Fortunately, Mr Uslu was released after one hour in custody, having paid a £830 fine for his ‘crime’. Not impressed: The soldiers who captured Mr Uslu outside Vladimir Putin's villa 'threatened him with a one-way ticket to Siberia' Scene of the crime: Vladimir Putin's well protected luxury villa in Sochi . ‘I don’t really feel like trying to get it back,’ he said. The Dutch speedskating team is having a good Olympics so far, in particular Ireen Wust, who took home a gold medal in the women's 3,000-meter speedskating race on Sunday. She is also the first openly gay athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Many were positively surprised when the notoriously anti-gay Putin turned up at Wust's after-party to give her a hug and congratulate her on her win. | eng_Latn | 13,779 |
Ukraine's interim president ordered increased security at nuclear plants .
Prime Minister David Cameron expressed 'growing concern' over the crisis .
Two Russian anti-submarine warships appeared off the Crimea coast.
Armoured personnel carriers were seen in Crimea, amid reports of Russian helicopters in Ukrainian airspace and other aircraft flying in troops to add to an estimated 14,000 soldiers already based in the region.
700 paratroopers were delivered to Russia’s Sevastopol naval base overnight, as Ukraine’s border guards said about 300 armed men were attempting to seize its HQ. Busloads more have been seen in Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv.
Troops were reported to have taken over a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile base, a TV station, police stations and the ferry point at the Strait of Kerch.
Scores were injured in clashes between pro-Russian protesters and supporters of the new Ukrainian government in the east of the country.
Ukraine’s prime minister demanded that Russian soldiers return to their bases, while boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko called for ‘general mobilisation’ to protect their country.
Ukrainians were fleeing across the border into Russia amid fears of a full-scale war.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said he planned to travel to Ukraine tomorrow as the Russian ambassador to the UK was summoned to the Foreign Office. | By . Ian Birrell In Crimea . PUBLISHED: . 04:01 EST, 2 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 04:10 EST, 2 March 2014 . Ukraine put its armed forces on full alert and braced for an invasion on Saturday night after accusing Russia of ‘naked aggression’ for sending 6,000 troops into its Crimean territory. Tensions rose alarmingly as Russian soldiers, armed with machine guns, surrounded key strategic sites on the peninsula, including the parliament and Council of Ministers. Russian President Vladimir Putin won parliamentary backing to deploy his forces anywhere in Ukraine under the pretext of protecting Russian interests. Occupation: Armed men patrol around the regional parliament building in the Crimean city of Simferopol on Saturday . But Ukraine’s new interim president Oleksandr Turchynov warned his country was threatened with a ‘military invasion and occupation’ and ordered increased security at nuclear power plants and airports. Prime Minister David Cameron said last night there was ‘growing concern’ over the crisis. He added: ‘There can be no excuse for outside military intervention in Ukraine, a point I made to President Putin when we spoke yesterday.’ US President Barack Obama also spoke to Putin in a 90-minute call and warned of the consequences of continued ‘violation of international law’. But Russia’s actions seem to be calling his bluff as a hitherto covert invasion turned into a chillingly obvious new wargame. The news came as: . The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting, and Ukraine has asked the four permanent members other than Russia – the US, Britain France and China – for help as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was ‘gravely concerned’ about the situation. President Barack Obama has warned Russia against any military intervention in Ukraine after the country's new leaders accused Moscow of deploying forces in the Crimea region . Flashpoints: Russia moves in . Yesterday began with troops surrounding key positions. Soldiers patrolling in the Crimean capital Simferopol wore no insignia but spoke with Russian accents. Then Russia claimed gunmen from Kiev tried to seize the Crimean Interior Ministry, and although the claims were heavily contested the pro-Russian Crimean premier asked for Putin’s help to ensure peace in his region, which was granted. After President Obama’s warning, European leaders urged all sides to refrain from anything that might increase tensions. It is hard to envisage a more volatile situation – and Britain, along with the US, is a guarantor of Ukrainian territorial integrity under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Nato ambassadors will meet today to assess the situation. Yet the reality on the ground is that Russia is already controlling Crimea with support from many residents. Crowds flocked yesterday to the centre of Simferopol to show support for the Russian soldiers. ‘I am very happy to see them here,’ said Galina Filippenko, a pensioner in Lenin Square. Others waved military flags, sang patriotic songs and chanted: ‘Russia, Russia, Russia.’ 'Invasion': These troops, amassed outside the Crimean town of Balaclava, have been decried by the Ukrainian government as an occupying force . There is growing antagonism towards the West over its support for the new government in Kiev. There were also chants of ‘Berkut, Berkut’, a reference to the special forces disbanded after being accused of killing 88 protesters in Kiev. At Simferopol’s Berkut base I found barricades erected, drivers honking horns in support and people taking food to the paramilitaries. One man warned of bloodshed if Ukrainian forces moved on them. According to one witness, the latest Russian troops went into Simferopol city centre shortly after 5am. Within hours, troop trucks were on the streets and cordons were erected around government buildings. The soldiers were supported by locals organised into what they called civil defence groups, who blocked streets, supported by traffic police. ‘We are here to ensure stability and return power to our legally elected president,’ said the leader of one unit. ‘The revolution in Kiev was illegal. We think it was carried out by the Western powers. Their goal is to cause civil war.’ Russia’s foreign ministry claimed ‘unknown armed men from Kiev’ had tried to seize the Crimean Interior Ministry on Friday night, leaving several people injured. It said the assault was defeated by ‘the decisive action of self-defence squads’. But guards at the ministry yesterday said they were unaware of any overnight attacks. Crimean police also rejected the claims. Among the crowds protesting in front of parliament I found Anatoly Madzhar, 72, who spent 15 years in a Soviet jail and five years exiled in Siberia after joining a 1961 uprising. ‘Even if there are sacrifices now they will be for the benefit of our children,’ he told me. Madzhar seemed happy to believe Russian propaganda, which focused heavily on far-Right involvement in the Kiev protests. ‘The people have decided to join Russia where there is no oppression and people are free – and there are no Nazis,’ he said. But support for deposed president Viktor Yanukovych seems to have withered after his flight to Russia, despite his insistence he remains Ukraine’s rightful president. ‘He betrayed his country,’ said activist Marina Fyodorova, 47. ‘He should have stood his ground and taken responsibility for his deeds, even if he was lynched.’ Ukraine’s new president signed a decree yesterday declaring that Thursday’s appointment of Sergiy Aksyonov, the pro-Russian premier of Crimea, was illegal. Aksyonov insisted he had taken control of local troops, customs and tax administration. He also brought forward a referendum on the region’s status to the end of this month. If it goes ahead despite the opposition of the Kiev government, it will almost certainly endorse some form of independence under the wing of Moscow. There are also signs of tensions between the majority Russians and the Muslim Tatars, who comprise 250,000 of the two million Crimeans. Additional reporting: Will Stewart in Moscow . | The U.S. plans to deploy tanks in eastern Europe to reassure Nato allies fearful of Russian aggression, a top American general has said . About 150 tanks and armoured vehicles will be sent as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve in the Baltic states and Poland, with U.S. troops spending months at a time doing joint exercises. Nearly 50 armored vehicles are already in place and another 100 M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles will be 'pre-positioned' in Germany and possibly elsewhere, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges told AFP. Show of force: U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division 1st Brigade Combat team soldiers deployed in Latvia attend a military parade during Latvia's Independence Day celebrations in Riga last week . 'The troops will come over and train, and they'll go back. The equipment will stay behind,' Lt Gen Hodges said in a phone interview from Estonia. The general said arrangement was 'a lot cheaper' than transporting tanks across the Atlantic and more efficient for the training mission. 'I'm going to look at options that would include distributing this equipment in smaller sets, company-size or battalion-size, perhaps in the Baltics, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, places like that,' he said. The plan was revealed as Nato's top commander in Europe said regular Russian forces were providing the 'backbone' to separatist rebels in east Ukraine. The U.S. has about 29,000 soldiers permanently stationed in Germany, Italy and Belgium but has stepped up temporary deployments of troops for training and exercises designed to send a signal to Russia and NATO partners. Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula and its backing of rebels in east Ukraine has sparked grave concern in a region still carred by decades of Soviet occupation and Communist dictatorship. Reassurance: Soldiers of the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division attend a military exercise 'Iron Sword 2014', at the Gaiziunu Training Range in Pabrade, 38 miles north of the Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania . Today U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, visiting Kiev as head of U.S. forces in Europe, said Russia's 'militarisation' of Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in March, meant Moscow could influence the entire Black Sea region. He met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and others in the pro-Western leadership to discuss ways the United States could assist Kiev in the conflict with separatist rebels in the country's east. Asked for an assessment of the situation, Gen Breedlove said Russian troops in the east were 'training, equipping, giving backbone ...helping (separatist) forces in the field.' Russia denies sending troops or equipment to the rebels but accuses Kiev of using indiscriminate force against civilians in the two eastern territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ready to fight: U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division 1st Brigade Combat team soldiers deployed in Latvia attend a military parade during Latvia's Independence Day . Lt Gen Hodges, explaining the decision to send heavy military equipment close to the battle zone, said joint exercises are meant 'to provide assurance to those allies that are closest to the threat'. About 600 U.S. Army troops from the 1st Cavalry Division are to depart in mid-December after a three month stint in the Baltic countries and Poland. They will be replaced by soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based in Vilseck, Germany, who then will hand over in the spring to members of the 3rd Infantry Division, he said. Gen Hodges, who took over as head of the U.S. Army in Europe three weeks ago, said the troop rotations will continue through 2015 and into 2016, saying: 'This is going to go on.' He said American troops had received an overwhelming welcome in eastern Europe. 'I was in Lithuania yesterday, Estonia today, Poland a few weeks back. All I get is "thank you, thank you, thank you" from those host nations for what these soldiers represent,' he said. | eng_Latn | 13,780 |
Arsenal to push Alexis Sanchez towards Paris Saint-Germain? | Arsenal will reportedly look to sell Alexis Sanchez to Paris Saint-Germain - rather than another Premier League club - should he not sign a new deal.
Arsenal have reportedly decided that they would prefer Alexis Sanchez to move to Paris Saint-Germain should he leave the Gunners in the summer.
The club's star player has just 14 months remaining on his existing deal at the Emirates Stadium, and there are no signs that he wants to commit his future to Arsene Wenger's side.
Many of European football's biggest clubs have been credited with an interest in the Chilean, but Wenger and the North London outfit would naturally like to keep him away from their Premier League rivals.
According to The Sun, PSG have the funds to offer the most lucrative deal to Arsenal, and they will allegedly be tempted to allow Sanchez to leave for the Ligue 1 giants should they offer £50m.
Both Chelsea and Manchester City could potentially match that bid, but it appears that Arsenal will do everything they can to prevent the 28-year-old remaining in England, should he not wish to stay with them.
Sanchez has scored 23 goals in 42 appearances for Arsenal during the current campaign. | Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has visited Heroes’ Square in Tbilisi and placed flowers at the memorial in the scope of his official visit to Georgia. Afterwards Pashinyan headed for the government building, where he had a private conversation with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The two Prime Ministers talked about the agenda and further development of Armenia-Georgia relations.
Their conversation was followed by an extended meeting between the official delegations of the two countries, during which Mr Kvirikashvili stressed that his government was ready to work on growing Armenia-Georgia relations and expanding the ties in various sectors.
“We carefully followed recent events in Armenia. The friendly Armenian people demonstrated unity in the face of a crisis, which resulted in peaceful transition of power through democratic means. I want to assure Armenia we will do everything to give new impetus to our relations and realize their full potential. We have a great chance to open a new phase in relations between two friendly nations today,” said Kvirikashvili.
Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the deeply-rooted historical ties between Armenia and Georgia.
“It is no coincidence that I chose Georgia as a destination for my first official trip to another state. Close ties, friendship and mutual respect have brought us together for thousands of years. I believe the friendship between our countries and peoples will create a firm foundation for further strengthening of political dialogue,” said Pashinyan, stressing that he and Kvirikashvili share the same views on bilateral relations.
Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized that development of relations with Georgia remains a priority in Armenia’s foreign policy. Pashinyan assured his Georgian colleagues that the new Armenian government is interested in giving fresh quality to a rich partnership with the friendly neighbor. The Armenian Prime Minister was certain that during this visit, the parties would outline new opportunities and vectors for cooperation for the benefit of both states and nations.
“I would like to emphasize that we are ready to discuss the agenda of our bilateral relations in a frank and open atmosphere, which is becoming of two brotherly, neighboring states. I am sure our relations will remain grounded on the principle that any issue can be solved between us,” said Pashinyan.
In conclusion, Pashinyan invited Giorgi Kvirikashvili to visit Armenia. | eng_Latn | 13,781 |
‘Enough is enough’: G7 ministers agree to call Russia out | Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale reaches across a table to shake hands with Kirstjen Nielsen, United States Secretary of Homeland Security during a G7 Foreign and Security Ministers meeting in Toronto on Monday, April 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Canada and its G7 partners are saying “enough is enough” to attacks by Russia and other authoritarian countries in their democratic institutions, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday.
Freeland concluded talks with her G7 counterparts by affirming an organized effort to respond to foreign meddling and the spreading of false information — mainly by Russia. Exactly what that means is a work in progress, but Freeland said the ministers will give their leaders recommendations on how to respond in a forceful, co-ordinated manner when they meet in Charlevoix, Que. in June.
There is a concern in the G7 countries that “authoritarian states are actively working to undermine the democratic systems in our countries and elsewhere,” she said.
“Today we said, ‘Enough is enough.’”
Freeland said there was unanimity among G7 ministers for a concerted effort to tackle Russian disinformation and meddling in the world’s democracies.
Related: G7 warned of Russian threats to western democracy
While she and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson displayed enthusiasm for the G7 effort to take Russia to task for what they are calling a broad range of “malign” behaviour, their American counterpart sounded a less effusive note.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan didn’t bother mentioning the initiative in his closing public remarks.
Sullivan was pinch-hitting for U.S. President Donald Trump’s new pick for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who faces strong opposition to his confirmation, and could not represent his country during the overlapping meeting of G7 foreign and interior ministers, which continues Tuesday.
Sullivan opted instead to highlight the North Korea nuclear crisis in his closing summit remarks, following Pompeo’s secret mission to the Hermit Kingdom two weeks ago to pave the way for a Trump meeting with its leader, Kim Jong Un.
Freeland pushed Russia to the top of a packed agenda that included North Korea, Iran, the ongoing Syrian crisis, and the Venezuela and Rohingya Muslim unrest.
Russia is, of course, a politically charged issue for Trump, with special counsel Robert Mueller investigating allegations of possible collusion between Russia and the campaign that brought the president to power in 2016.
The G7 ministers agreed in their Sunday discussion about the need to address the disruptive influence of Russia, including its interference in foreign elections and its dissemination of fake news.
“What we decided … was that we were going to set up a G7 group that would look at Russian malign behaviour in all its manifestations, whether it’s cyberwar, whether it’s disinformation, assassination attempts, whatever it happens to be and collectively try and call it out,” Johnson said.
“Russia is so unbelievably clever at kind of sowing doubt and confusion and spreading all this fake news and trying to muddy the waters. We think there’s a role for the G7 in just trying to provide some clarity.”
Freeland said she and her fellow ministers talked about “democracy being under attack, and in particular about Russian efforts to destabilize some democracies.”
Sullivan didn’t mention the Russia initiative in his summary of the talks or single out the Kremlin’s use disinformation, but he said the U.S. remains committed to the G7’s endeavour.
He called on Russia to be a “constructive partner” in Syria, where it continues to back the regime of Bashar Assad. He blasted it for the chemical weapon attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the British town of Salisbury. And he called on the Kremlin to give Crimea back to Ukraine and get out of its eastern region.
Sullivan also said co-operation with Russia on a variety of topics is necessary, including fighting terrorism “but that will not prevent us from standing up and confronting and taking action against Russian behaviour that’s contrary to international norms and all that we stand for in the G7.”
Afterwards, a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added additional comment: “The U.S. will support its allies to combat state sponsored disinformation from Russia and other countries. This remains a priority.”
Freeland has framed the clash between democracy and authoritarianism as a defining theme of our time, with Russia as the West’s main foe on that front.
She said all citizens in democratic countries, as well as their governments have a duty to be vigilant against the disruption. She said one of her fellow ministers “pointed out that making the case for democracy can be hard sometimes … because facts can be very boring” and don’t always lead to an interesting narrative.
“Lurid conspiracy theories, on the other hand, are lurid, and exciting. Part of our job, I think, is a collective one of being aware of that fact.”
Related: Trudeau ends 3-country tour with global reputation, alliances intact
Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. | Polish MP Dominik Tarczyński voiced concerns over effects a huge European Union reform drive could have on EU member states. Mr Tarczyński said that while he welcomed dialogue with Brussels, he feared the influence of major states could curtail Poland's independence. Talking on France 24 about the speech given by French President Emmanuel Macron in Strasbourg last week, he said: "We need and we want to have a dialogue. "As Poland, we want to have to integrity, we want to have sovereignty – which is very important.
FRANCE 24•EUROPARL TV EU news: Dominik Tarczyński urged the EU to stop ruling member states "like babies"
"That is what we are trying to say, that national parliaments should have more to say but we can’t have two or three countries ruling the rest like small babies." Poland has long had a fractious relationship with Brussels due to a series of controversial judicial reforms which enraged Commission bosses. The country's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) came under fire for introducing policies some critics say undermine democracy in the former Soviet state and are in direct violation of EU rules. In March the European Parliament voted to trigger Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union – a procedure which could soon lead Poland to lose certain rights within EU institutions.
We can’t have two or three countries ruling the rest like small babies Dominik Tarczyński | eng_Latn | 13,782 |
5 things that shocked us about Vladimir Putin | From unlikely Hollywood admirers to topless horseback riding in Siberia, we take a look at the things that shocked us most about Vladimir Putin. | Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has handed over to the foreign ministers of the European Union a list of more than 140 persons involved in organizing and conducting an illegal election in the annexed Crimea, political director of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleksiy Makeyev has said.
"We handed over the list. There are more than 140 people there," he told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Betsa, in turn, told Interfax-Ukraine that the list did not include ordinary citizens who participated in the voting.
"Today we handed over this list in Brussels, during the minister's visit, with a view to further introduction of sanctions against these people... These are, for example, members of electoral commissions and those who are involved in organizing the election. Of course, ordinary citizens were not included," Betsa said.
As reported, Ukraine has decided to draw up a list of persons on whom sanctions may be extended after the Russian presidential election in the annexed Crimea.
"We are talking about personal sanctions for those who take part in the organization of this election or contributed to this election. We are now working on the appropriate list, but we need to go through another verification procedure, but in the near future we will give it to our partners," Klimkin told reporters in Kyiv on March 16. | eng_Latn | 13,783 |
Montenegro's NATO-Russia Chess Match | Montenegro and Serbia are Russian President Vladimir Putin's "red line" in Europe, judging by year-end headlines in Belgrade's tabloid press.
Drawing on unnamed diplomatic sources, those stories in the Serbian capital claim that Putin has a plan for a new "world order" in which Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina -- designated "militarily neutral states" -- would serve as buffers between NATO and Russia and its allies. The same sources are quoted as saying, in line with this vision, that Putin had advised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump not to "force through" Montenegro's membership in NATO.
The details of Putin's grand strategic plan may or may not be entirely accurate, but the extent of Moscow's hostility to Montenegrin NATO ambitions has been clear for some time. Podgorica has been under intense pressure from Moscow to drop its EU and NATO membership bids.
Given questions about the future direction of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Russia, there have been expressions of growing concern in Montenegro that its steadfastly pro-Western stance might go unrewarded.
In that context, a prospective visit from a "troika" of U.S. senators was seen as a welcome show of support. John McCain (Republican-Arizona), Lindsay Graham (Republican-South Carolina), and Amy Klobuchar (Democrat-Minnesota) were expected to stop over in Montenegro on January 3 on their way back from a tour of the Baltics, Georgia, and Ukraine. As it turned out, the visit was postponed at the last minute, although McCain thanked Montenegro for its assistance in the global fight against terrorism and reiterated his support for Montenegro's NATO hopes.
For some in Montenegro, NATO membership increasingly looks like a question of political life and death, as that small Balkan state finds itself on the front lines of what could become a new Cold War. Recent reports suggest Russia has applied pressure to derail Montenegro's NATO accession or EU integration.
For years, Russia's "new rich" have been investing in and acquiring property in Montenegro. In popular coastal resort towns like Budva, Russian is a second language, enjoying parity with Montenegrin.
But relations have begun to sour. A case in point is Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, once seen as a potential savior of Montenegro with his investment in local aluminum production, who is now suing the Montenegrin state over purported losses. Many Russians seemingly believed that their investment in Montenegro would be repaid in political influence.
Yet Podgorica remains stubbornly committed to forging ties with the West. This year Montenegro could become the 29th member of NATO, a process that could conclude with a ratifying vote in the Montenegrin parliament in the spring. (So far 19 of 28 NATO members have approved Montenegrin membership, which was endorsed in Warsaw in July, and the U.S. Senate could vote later this month on ratification.)
Moscow has responded by ratcheting up the pressure.
Sergei Zheleznyak, a senior official within Russia's ruling United Russia party, issued a warning to the Montenegrin government on December 26, during his most recent visit to Belgrade. "The Montenegrin authorities are making a mistake in trying to speed up the country's entry into NATO, knowing that the majority of their people are opposed to this. An attempt to force through NATO membership is not in Montenegro's or NATO's best interests, and it can easily lead to instability in the country, in the Balkans, and inside NATO," Zheleznyak said after talks with officials from the Serbian ruling party.
His statement echoed Moscow's official line. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed recently that "frantic attempts are being made to drag Montenegro into NATO" before the handover to the Trump administration in the United States in January. At a recent OSCE meeting in Hamburg, Lavrov said, "We are not interfering in this process, but I think that the unattractiveness of these frantic efforts is clear to everyone."
But reports of a botched coup in Montenegro in October could put a real dent in Lavrov's charge.
Montenegrin authorities last month issued international arrest warrants for Russians and Serbs accused of involvement in that purported plot, which allegedly sought to assassinate the Montenegrin prime minister and take over parliament on election day.
Podgorica has said it has no evidence of high-level Russian official involvement in the abortive coup, and the Kremlin has denied involvement. But it could not have been reassuring for Montenegrin officials to see one of the suspects in the coup plot practically rubbing elbows with Russia's Lavrov last month.
Russia's line about a lack of support for NATO membership in Montenegro also might not reflect reality.
"The official invitation to join NATO and signing of the Accession Protocol were the best things that happened to Montenegro in 2016," Darko Sukovic, a prominent Montenegrin journalist, has said.
Former Foreign Minister Miodrag Vlahovic, meanwhile, said he was anxious for the country to find a way to secure NATO membership while preventing the deterioration of relations with Russia. "We're entering a dramatic finale. To use a chess analogy, Montenegro only needs a draw in this historic chess match with Russia," he said. "The main thing is not to lose momentum and to finally seal the deal [NATO membership] while avoiding direct conflict with the Kremlin -- with a little help from our [Western] allies, of course."
Edward P. Joseph of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, in an article co-authored with Sinisa Vukovic, argued recently that Montenegro represents a litmus test for Trump's Russia policy. "Western security is best served by supporting democratic governments of any size facing pressure from regional bullies. The alternative is to deliver another country into Moscow's grip, and whet its appetite to take another."
The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL | Image copyright Police Scotland Image caption Nicholas Rogers is on trial accused of murdering Alexandra Stuart
Jurors have been urged to convict a man of murdering a postwoman in the Scottish Borders last year.
Prosecutor Keith Stewart QC said Nicholas Rogers, 27, had been drinking and "behaved as he wanted with no heed for the consequences".
He has denied murdering Alexandra Stuart in Peebles but admits killing her, claiming he was suffering from an "abnormality of the mind" at the time.
The trial at the High Court in Glasgow continues.
Mr Stewart suggested that Mr Rogers had "openly relished" his "position of power" while armed with a blade.
He was said to have "turned down pleas for mercy" before "plunging" the weapon into Ms Stuart's chest as she sat crying on a couch.
The advocate depute said before Mr Rogers struck the young woman he had had "chances to step back from the terrible abyss".
'No winner'
Mr Rogers claims he was acting with "diminished responsibility" that morning.
His QC, Brian McConnachie, said the "question of mental health" was "an incredibly difficult one" for those "lucky enough not to suffer from it".
He went on: "There is no winner here irrespective of the verdict.
"A young woman lost her life at the hands of the man in the dock.
"If it's murder or culpable homicide due to diminished responsibility, either way, Alex Stuart cannot be brought back.
"Nicholas Rogers has to live with the fact he took a life."
However, the advocate concluded by suggesting "the balance clearly tipped in favour" of the reduced charge. | eng_Latn | 13,784 |
'Serious flaw' in national accounts will leave Government short of funds .
Official figures also show state pension bill will quadruple in next 60 years .
Expert warns current level of state pension is 'unsustainable'
And claims those under 35 can expect payment to be scrapped altogether . | ‘Serious flaw’: According to experts at the Centre for Policy Studies the national accounts will leave the Government short of funds to pay pensioners (picture posed by model) State pensions handed out to future generations will be ‘derisory’, with cash reserves set to run out as soon as next year, a report has warned. A ‘serious flaw’ in the national accounts will leave the Government short of funds to pay pensioners within the next year, according to the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank. As a result, the Treasury will soon be forced to raid income tax receipts in order to keep up the payments, it said. An academic at the CPS warned that the research shows the current level of state pension is ‘unsustainable’. Michael Johnson called for urgent government action to prevent pensions being ‘watered down to a basic subsistence’. He said the research suggested that the millions of taxpayers who are currently aged under 45 would face sharp tax increases and would have to wait longer to receive their state retirement income. Those aged under 35 should prepare for state pensions to be scrapped altogether by the time they retire, he claimed. An ageing population will see the state pension bill quadruple to £420billion over the next 60 years, official figures released this week show. Mr Johnson told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It doesn’t matter which government is elected next year, the state pension age will have to go up much faster and sooner than anyone expects to cover the funding deficit. For Generation Y, aged between 25 and 34, the message from the Government ought to be that the state pension is not viable full stop. But of course, no politician can say this publicly.’ Last night, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: ‘Older people have worked hard and paid into the system all their lives. That is why our reforms are securing the long-term future of the state pension – so it remains strong and keeps pace with increasing life expectancy.’ Mr Johnson said he had shown the figures to senior Westminster sources, who had admitted privately that pension funding was in a perilous state. Funds for the old-age payments – worth a basic £113.10 a week to each pensioner – come from national insurance contributions paid by people working today. But the report warns that the money in the National Insurance Fund is quickly running out because not enough is coming in – with the surplus falling from £53billion in 2009 to only £29.1billion last year. If that figure fell to zero, the Treasury would have to resort to taking money from general income tax, Mr Johnson claimed. The UK’s ageing population is likely to have a dramatic effect on public services, with 65 per cent of the DWP’s spending on benefit currently going to elderly people. There are ten million people in the UK aged over 65. The latest estimates suggest this will rise by 5.5million in 20 years and will nearly double to around 19million by 2050. Bleak Future: Michael Johnson, an academic at the CPS, said those aged under 35 should prepare for state pensions to be scrapped altogether by the time they retire (picture posed by model) Although the retirement age is set to rise, easing the burden on the state pension fund, the number of older people is outpacing the changes. There are three million people aged over 80 – and this is set to almost double by 2030 and reach eight million by 2050. The taxman faces fresh embarrassment after it emerged thousands more workers had been sent incorrect tax statements. The blunder comes as HM Revenue and Customs is requesting new powers to take unpaid taxes directly from bank accounts. Every year, five million workers pay too much or too little via the Pay As You Earn system and receive a new statement telling them how to pay or reclaim their cash. Now HMRC has admitted ‘thousands’ of these were miscalculated in 2013-14. HMRC advised employees to tell anyone who questioned their bills ‘not to repay any underpayment’ – and not to cash any cheques until the error was fixed. The miscalculations are said to have been caused by incomplete information from employers – something the Government had hoped to limit through its £270million ‘Real Time Information’ programme, in which employers must report amounts paid to staff on a weekly or monthly basis. While HMRC did not yet know how many people had been affected, it would be fewer than 100,000, a spokesman said. If you are worried about how you are going to manage your cashflow once you retire, it's best to start investigating your options as earl as possible. As . with most things, personal recommendation counts for a lot when . choosing a financial adviser, so if friends or family feel they have had . good advice it may be worth following their tip. Even if someone comes recommended, you should still grill them on their suitability to help you. If . you haven't had a recommendation, it's worth bearing in mind that fees . may vary from adviser to adviser, depending on their qualifications and . location, so it is worth shopping around. You don't have to accept the amount quoted - don't be afraid to negotiate a price that reflects your financial needs. Remember, . financial advice has dramatically changed over the last year. Where . once many customers found themselves treated to 'free' sessions, . ultimately paid for through commission kick backs on their investments . and products, now they must pay an explicit fee. Mail . Online's award-winning money section This is Money has partnered with . Vouched For because it helps individuals get in touch for independent . professionals, and is not tied to a specific product provider. Use the . tool above to find an adviser near you and get a one-off free financial . health check. Amy Andrew . | (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the Minsk II ceasefire agreement from February 12 is the road to "a final settlement" of the conflict in Ukraine -- and although the truce is shaky, Ukraine and the West have a strong interest in seeing it hold. The West is not going to enter into a proxy war with Russia -- and Ukraine's best hope is to wind down the war and to use the breathing space for much-needed reform. Minsk II confirms the military gains Russia has made in Ukraine and gives Moscow plenty of leverage over Kiev. But compared to war, it is the lesser evil. In fact, the agreement could be turned to Ukraine's advantage, providing the country with the breathing space it urgently needs to enact political and economic changes. A stronger Ukrainian state -- more functional, less corrupt, and better able to deliver to its citizens -- would be much more capable to resist Russian aggression. It is Ukraine's weakness that has allowed Russia to invade the country in the east. A weak sense of national solidarity and togetherness there, as well as insufficient supervision of the border, allowed unofficial and official Russian troops to enter into the Donbass region. And a badly-trained, badly-equipped and badly-organized army wasn't able to push back. As long as the conflict in the east continues, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's new government will only reluctantly pursue reform. In times of war, national unity is needed to mobilize potential support --this is not the time to fight the abuse of power in the country by mighty oligarchs, as their support is urgently needed for the war effort. But if Minsk II holds, Ukraine can refocus its energy on tackling its biggest internal challenge, which has been neglected for more than two decades: to build proper state institutions. A new Ukraine could emerge democratic, liberal, and much better governed, a country that would become attractive not only to its own citizens -- millions have emigrated in the last few years -- but also to Western investors. The momentum is there. Poroshenko's government has made some small but promising steps in the right direction. And the Maidan generation, a much more politicized civil society, continues to exert pressure on leaders. Unlike its predecessors, the government knows that it needs to deliver. If not, sovereignty again might fall back to the citizens in a new Maidan that could push the current leadership away. The terms of Minsk II are however favorable to Russia. It represents the current correlation of forces. Russia is much stronger militarily than Ukraine, even under the self-imposed condition of keeping Russian engagement on the level of deniability. And the West is not ready to seriously tip the military balance in Ukraine's favor. Not surprisingly, Minsk II is not aimed at directly restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity. While the first Minsk agreement, reached in September, stipulated that international observers would monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border, Minsk II makes the return of the border to Ukraine conditional on constitutional reform -- a new constitution to which representatives of the rebel-held territory must agree. In practice, this means that Ukraine has to negotiate its new constitution with the Kremlin. The choice for Ukraine is -- according to the current truce -- to accept either that the rebel-held territory is going to be built up as a heavily-armed Russian proxy state, or to accept a new constitution that will give Russia substantial influence over the future course of the country. Either Russia can switch on and switch off the war at will, or Ukraine accepts giving up the substance of its sovereignty. Either way, Russia will have achieved its goal of bringing Ukraine back into its sphere of influence. Ukraine and its Western supporters must develop a counter-strategy. Russia is weaker than it may seem. Its economy is heavily damaged by plunging oil prices and Western sanctions. The costs of the conflict have been high. Over the last year, the Kremlin had to learn some hard lessons: that the West is relatively united against Russia's attack on Ukraine, enough to impose tough sanctions; that Ukrainians in the east don't welcome Russians as liberators, and that many are ready to fight for their independence; and that the appetite for war with Ukraine is pretty low in Russia. Putin's regime is not suicidal. Winding down the war and rebuilding ties with the West is therefore a political and economic necessity, at least over the mid-term. Ultimately, the contract between Putin and Russian voters remains focused on economic well-being, on sharing at least part of the income from natural resources. This contract can only temporarily be switched to aggressive patriotism -- over the longer term, the regime needs to deliver some degree of prosperity. The challenge for Ukraine and its Western supporters is to turn Minsk II into an opportunity. The government must demonstrate its fierce dedication to reform and start a serious fight against corruption. If the war loses prominence at some point, there will be no excuse for inaction. The task is huge, but the Maidan movement and the tensions Russia have created a new sense of citizenship for some in Ukraine -- one that the government must seize upon. The trick will be to remain under the threshold of what Russia may see as a provocation that could trigger fresh rounds of warfare. But if Ukraine can quickly move forward with its reform agenda, and if Russia becomes weaker as the economic crisis hits the country hard, the advantage may soon be on the Ukrainian side. The stronger Ukraine becomes -- politically, economically and also militarily -- the more difficult it will be for Russia to control the interpretation of Minsk II. And if that succeeds, and Ukraine one day becomes a shining example of freedom and prosperity -- like Poland -- people in Donbas may one day push for reunification, just as East Germans pushed for reunification in 1989. The zone of liberal-democratic stability will move further east, ultimately challenging the autocratic petro-state that Putin has built in Russia. Whether this can work or not depends primarily on Ukraine: on the readiness of civil society to stay engaged and push for reform, the readiness of the bureaucracy to embrace a new order, and the readiness of oligarchs to give up their social and political power in order to maintain positions of economic leadership. It also depends on the West: Firstly, the EU and U.S. must make it as costly as possible for Russia to switch on war as a means to prevent Ukraine's reform. Unfortunately, the temptation for Russia to use this tool will remain, as military power is its only remaining strength. Moscow must be told in clear terms that the West is going to react to a full return to the battlefield with harsh measures. The West must also make up for two decades of disinterest in and neglect of Ukraine and start with serious engagement with Kiev to help it to build a decent state, to give Ukrainians a perspective. A "Compact for Ukraine," announced by Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and other Western leaders in Kiev in April that puts all kind of support into a package would be a good start. The West doesn't want to fight Russia in Ukraine militarily. But in response to the military invasion in the east, the West must now swarm the country with help and support. It is in the interest of Ukraine, and in the interest of a European order that has brought the continent the freest, most peaceful and most prosperous epoch of its history. | eng_Latn | 13,785 |
Powers Debate Independence for Kosovo | Eight years after NATO intervened to halt ethnic cleansing of Albanians in the province of Kosovo, Kosovars are pressing for independence and this weekend, envoys of the U.S., European Union and Russia are discussing the issue. But Russia objects to what has been described as a "supervised independence" for the province. Matthew Kaminsky, editorial page editor for the Wall Street Journal Europe, details the politics of the situation in a conversation with Scott Simon. SCOTT SIMON, host: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Meetings are being held in Pristina this weekend between envoys of the United States, European Union and Russia over the province of Kosovo. It's been eight years since NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days to halt ethnic cleansing of Albanians in the province. Since then, Albanians have led Kosovo and a U.N. force has mostly kept the peace. But Kosovars are now pressing for independence, and Russia has moved to block a plan to make Kosovo independent, overseen by the European Union. We're joined now from Paris by Matthew Kaminski. He's editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe. Thanks very much for being with us, Mr. Kaminski. Mr. MATTHEW KAMINSKI (Editorial Page Editor, Wall Street Journal Europe): Thank you. SIMON: Talks have been extended for 120 days to try and save the Kosovo independence plan that had been brokered. What's involved here if they can't do that? Mr. KAMINSKI: Well, I mean, the talks have been extended for no apparent reason besides trying to buy some more time. This was a French idea from the new president, President Sarkozy, who saw that he couldn't get a consensus in Europe to try and recognize Kosovo independence unilaterally, perhaps along with the U.S. So after spending more than a year, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari came up with a proposal in spring to give the Kosovars sort of supervised independence. And Russia very breezily said, no, we're not going to sign off on it. So it is really a fairly desperate move, it seems to me, that just delays the inevitable. SIMON: You wrote a piece this week in the Journal on Kosovo. How likely is it, do you think, at the end of 120 days or maybe in 200 days a provisional government in Pristina just decides to declare independence unilaterally, and what are the implications of that? Mr. KAMINSKI: Well, I think that's the really the way things are going right now. The question is whether the Kosovars do this on their own, and then they will probably eventually get American acceptance of this, and American recognition, or whether the NATO powers, who first intervened in Kosovo in '99, are going to be on board with this program. The Americans are telling them, please, sit tight. Let's go through the 120-day period, but before the end of the year, we promise you, we will help guide you to independence. The problem is that there is about a hundred thousand Serbs who live in Kosovo now. A very small sliver of the province in the north is majority Serb. What happens to those Serbs? I don't think we'll see the prospect of an imminent Serbian attack. Obviously, there are NATO troops there but there's definitely a great potential for internecine violence in Kosovo. There's surely much great potential that a lot of Serbs will flee again. And the last thing we want to see now, after all the awful images we had of the Balkans in the '90s, is any more ethnic cleansing there. SIMON: Is there a possibility, if Kosovo declares its independence - and let's say, that is endorsed by the U.S., U.K. and France and, obviously, not by Russia - that Serbian Kosovars will declare their own independent republic? Mr. KAMINSKI: It's almost a dead certainty. I'm sure these plan are being discussed right now, how it's going to happen. One of the scenarios is that northern Kosovo would then be handed over to Serbia. The reason you want to avoid that, the reason why it's so dangerous where everybody talks about it, is because in Macedonia you have a large Albanian community that lives in the north of that country. Why shouldn't they now join Kosovo or join Albania? You have almost half of Bosnia inhabited mostly by Serbs. Why shouldn't they be allowed to go to join Serbia? You're opening up a can of worms talking about partition. If we are moving in Europe toward a different meaning of what it means to be a state that is no longer an ethno-national construct but it's more Kosovo or Macedonia or Bosnia or whatever, as part of a larger Europe with open borders, with free trade, with peaceful relations, then it becomes less important where the borders are. This is part of sort of larger project of rebuilding Europe after the end of the Cold War. And Kosovo is the last piece of that puzzle. SIMON: Mr. Kaminski, why is this issue important to Russia, still, today's Russia? Mr. KAMINSKI: I don't think it's important to Russia. I think Russia sees an opportunity here that with little cost to itself, it can play s | <Br>Guests: <Br><br /> <STRONG>Scott Ritter </STRONG><Br> * Former Chief United Nations Weapons Inspector for UNSCOM (1991-1998) <Br><Br> <STRONG>Charles Deulfer </STRONG><Br> * Former Deputy Chairman, United Nations Weapons Inspection Team in Iraq <Br> * Guest Scholar, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC <Br><Br> <STRONG>Walter Russell Mead </STRONG><Br> * Senior Fellow of U.S. Foreign Policy, The Council on Foreign Relations <Br> * Author, <EM>Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World</EM> (Knopf, 2001) <Br><Br> Earlier this week, Vice President Dick Cheney said that an attack against Iraq is justified by concerns about chemical weapons and questions about Saddam Hussein's nuclear capability. What are Iraq's weapons capabilities? | eng_Latn | 13,786 |
Albanians Attack Serb Convoy | Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Sylvia Poggioli about the latest development in Kosovo. Yesterday ethnic Albanians attacked a convoy of Serbs trying to leave Kosovo under NATO escort. According to witnesses, they set several cars on fire injuring at least 15 people. | While European leaders hold a summit to discuss the tens of thousands of migrants and refugees streaming into the continent, many migrants remain stranded on the border between Slovenia and Austria. | kor_Hang | 13,787 |
European Leaders Urge NATO Solidarity; Trump Sets Conditions, Should He Be Elected | European leaders hailed what they called the wisdom of mutual defense on Thursday after Donald Trump raised doubts about his commitment to America's NATO obligations if he's elected president. The Republican nominee told the New York Times that before he'd intervene to help Baltic members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a potential crisis with Russia, he'd review whether those nations "have fulfilled their obligations to us ... If they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes." Mutual defense is the bedrock principle of the 28-member Atlantic alliance, created to enable European militaries to fight together during the Cold War in case of an attack by the Soviet Union. NATO's Article V dictates that an attack on one member is considered an attack on them all. Trump, however, has faulted many NATO members as what he calls freeloaders, falling short of their obligations to contribute at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product in defense spending. His criticism on that issue is a familiar note of complaint for American secretaries of defense, but his declaration that he'd have to review "obligations" before aiding a NATO member appeared to be a new position. According to a transcript released by the newspaper, Times Washington correspondent David Sanger asked Trump about the danger Russia poses to the Baltic States following its military seizure of parts of Ukraine. As president, would he come to their aid? "TRUMP: I don't want to tell you what I'd do because I don't want Putin to know what I'd do. I have a serious chance of becoming president and I'm not like Obama, that every time they send some troops into Iraq or anyplace else, he has a news conference to announce it. "SANGER: They are NATO members, and we are treaty-obligated —— "TRUMP: We have many NATO members that aren't paying their bills. "SANGER: That's true, but we are treaty-obligated under NATO, forget the bills part. "TRUMP: You can't forget the bills. They have an obligation to make payments. Many NATO nations are not making payments, are not making what they're supposed to make. That's a big thing. You can't say forget that. "SANGER: My point here is, Can the members of NATO, including the new members in the Baltics, count on the United States to come to their military aid if they were attacked by Russia? And count on us fulfilling our obligations —— "TRUMP: Have they fulfilled their obligations to us? If they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg responded carefully on Thursday, not faulting Trump, telling BuzzFeed News that NATO was as good for the U.S. as it is for Europe. "Solidarity among allies is a key value for NATO," Stoltenberg said. "This is good for European security and good for US security. We defend one another." Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves also didn't allude to Trump by name, but declared on Twitter that his nation met his defense spending obligations and supports all member nations. "We are equally committed to all our NATO allies, regardless of who they may be," he wrote. "That's what makes them allies." Ilves pointed out that Estonia responded to the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. — the only time NATO's Article V has ever been invoked — by joining the international deployments of troops to Afghanistan. International commentators are sounding alarm bells about what they call Trump's concessions to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. The two men have praised each other generally in public comments, but Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic contends there's much more going on in the positions Trump and the GOP are taking. "I am arguing that Trump's understanding of America's role in the world aligns with Russia's geostrategic interests; that his critique of American democracy is in accord with the Kremlin's critique of American democracy; and that he shares numerous ideological and dispositional proclivities with Putin — for one thing, an obsession with the sort of "strength" often associated with dictators," he wrote. Russian chess master Garry Kasparov, an outspoken critic of Putin and Trump, observed that Trump and allies inside the Republican Party changed language in the platform ahead of this week's convention in Cleveland that weakened the official support for arming Ukraine: "The Trump staff got the language changed to 'appropriate assistance,' a meaningfully meaningless phrase that no doubt pleased Putin very much." Before his comments on Thursday about NATO's Article V, however, Trump's criticism of NATO was a mainstream position within national security circles in Washington. Pentagon officials have griped for years that only a handful of the 28 members in the alliance meet their spending commitments and that Europe's wealthiest powers, including France and Germany, do not. Secretaries of Defense Robert Gates and Leon Panetta also complained about NATO's bureaucracy and what they call its inability to put its theoretical | Former NATO commander Wesley Clark argues the case for sending NATO troops into Darfur to protect civilians and humanitarian operations. Clark is currently a board member of the International Crisis Group. | eng_Latn | 13,788 |
Nato - Refugee Bombing | NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Brussels that NATO has acknowledged accidentally bombing a vehicle carrying civilians that was part of a convoy in Kosovo. NATO expressed its regrets at the loss of life and reiterated that NATO pilots have orders to strike at only military targets. Serbian media reported 64 dead in the incident. But there is confusion about exactly how the event occurred, and wide discrepancies between the Serb and NATO versions of the story. | NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Norbert Rottgen, chairman of the German Parliament's foreign relations committee, about Europe's role in trying to avoid additional conflicts between the U.S. and Iran. | eng_Latn | 13,789 |
NATO Thwarts Appeal for Ukraine, Georgia | NATO members are pushing back on admitting Ukraine and and Georgia to the alliance. But President Bush appears close to winning approval for a European missile shield and additional troops for Afghanistan, from France. | NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to British MP Tom Tugendhat about the rising tensions between the U.K. and Russia, including the latest news that Russia is expelling 23 British diplomats. | dan_Latn | 13,790 |
Split Decisions: Ukraine Signs Up With EU, Russia Wraps Up Crimea | There will be few days that better symbolize the crisis in Ukraine. On Friday: As Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was signing an agreement on closer relations with the European Union ... ... Russian President Vladimir Putin was signing the laws his country has put in place to take Crimea from Ukraine and make it part of the Russian Federation. Ukraine's pact with the EU, as CNN notes, has "symbolic force because it was the decision of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in November to ditch it in favor of closer ties with Russia that triggered the protests that spiraled into the current crisis." The BBC says that "the EU Association Agreement is designed to give Ukraine's interim leadership under PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk economic and political support. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement that the accord 'recognises the aspirations of the people of Ukraine to live in a country governed by values, by democracy and the rule of law.' " But, as CNN adds, "Russia's moves to annex Crimea, following a contested weekend referendum in the Black Sea peninsula, have turned a confrontation with Europe and the United States into the biggest crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War." The U.S. and EU nations say the annexation violates both international and Ukrainian law. Meanwhile, NPR's Ari Shapiro reports from London that the EU has added 12 names to its list of Russian and Ukrainian officials who it says were involved in interfering in Ukraine's affairs. Those officials are now subject to "visa restrictions and asset freezes," Ari says. Twenty-one officials were put on the EU's list earlier this week. On Thursday, President Obama announced that the U.S. had increased the number of Russians and Ukrainians on its sanctions list to 31. The Russian government responded by barring nine Americans — including six members of Congress — from traveling to Russia. Putin has spoken about taking more steps. Ukraine has said it will withdraw its troops and sailors from Crimea. Russian forces, along with local "self-defense" units, have taken control of many bases there and other strategic locations. On Friday, the BBC reports, families of Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea were seen departing from bases. Also Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Kiev. Ban, who is trying to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis, was in Moscow on Thursday. "I have emphasized that all parties (should) refrain from any hasty or provocative actions that could further exacerbate the already very tense and very volatile situation," he said after meeting with Putin. Background As the crisis in Ukraine has developed over recent weeks, we've tracked developments. Here's a recap: Crimea has been the focus of attention as the ripple effects of the protests that led to last month's ouster of Yanukovych have spread. Summing up the history and importance of Crimea to Russia and Ukraine isn't possible in just a few sentences, of course. The Parallels blog, though, has published several posts that contain considerable context: -- Crimea: 3 Things To Know About Ukraine's Latest Hot Spot -- Crimea: A Gift To Ukraine Becomes A Political Flash Point -- Why Ukraine Is Such A Big Deal For Russia Shortly after Yanukovych was deposed and fled Ukraine, Russia moved to take control of Crimea by sending thousands of troops there to secure strategic locations. Along with "local defense forces," those soldiers surrounded Ukrainian military facilities. This week, after Crimeans voted to join the Russian Federation, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex the region. The U.S. and European Union have objected, calling that action a violation of international law. Putin says he is supporting Crimeans' right to "self-determination." We've recapped what set off months of protest in Kiev and ultimately led to Yanukovych's dismissal by his nation's parliament last month this way: "The protests were sparked in part by the president's rejection of a pending trade treaty with the European Union and his embrace of more aid from Russia. Protesters were also drawn into the streets to demonstrate against government corruption." It was after Yanukovych left Kiev and headed for the Russian border that troops moved to take control of strategic locations in Crimea. | When the euro was rolled out nearly a decade ago, it was touted as a unifying force across European cultures. Uwe Boek, a 48-year-old Berliner, has seen and embraced these changes: "It's us being Europeans <em>in</em> the European Union. Because the euro is money but the European Union is about identity." | kor_Hang | 13,791 |
Cold War Rivalries Rekindled? | As the United States and Russia argue over missile shields and develop new weapons to overcome them, some wonder if all this tough talk could rekindle old rivalries. Robert Gates, the U.S. secretary of defense says no. Experts discuss the declining relationship between the United States and Russia and the prospect of a new Cold War. Lilia Shevtsova, Senior Associate, Moscow Carnegie Center; author, Yeltsin's Russia and Putin's Russia Daryl Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association NEAL CONAN, host: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. It's beginning to seem like old times, and not in a good way. Relations between Moscow and Washington have become so chilly of late that some talk of a new Cold War. There's been angry language from both sides over a range of issues: nuclear missiles, strategic missile defense, arms control, human rights, the independence of Kosovo, and Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Kremlin has been accused of starting a cyber war against NATO ally Estonia, and Britain charges one former KGB officer with a murder of another former Soviet spy in London. In an effort to warm up relations, President Bush invited Russian president Vladimir Putin to visit his father's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Today we'll look at the declining relationship between Russia and the United States. Later in the hour, sleep and why so many of us don't get enough of it. What's your excuse? Send us an email: [email protected]. But first, why relations with Russia seem to be as bad as they've been since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Our number here in Washington is 800-989-8255. That's 800-989-TALK. Email is [email protected]. You can also join the conversation on our blog at npr.org/blogofthenation. And we begin with Lilia Shevtsova. She is senior associate at the Moscow Carnegie Center. She's with us here in studio 3A. Thanks… Dr. LILIA SHEVTSOVA (Senior Associate, Moscow Carnegie Center): Hi. CONAN: Nice to have you back on the program. Dr. SHEVTSOVA: Thank you. CONAN: Earlier this week, we heard the Russian foreign minister and the secretary of state trading barbs. President Putin was talking today about a new arms race. Is this just rhetoric, or are things as bad as they sound? Dr. SHEVTSOVA: Well, things are really bad, and I haven't remembered the relationship being so cold during the last 15 years. But still it's not the Cold War, and due to several reasons. During the Cold War, there were two powers, superpowers, that were fighting each other desperately for their preponderance and for hegemony. And they were fighting each other to get their philosophy and ideology, to get it dominant. It was the fight between Marxism, communism, on the one side, and liberal democracy. So far, Russia rejected any claims to be a communist power. And now, so far, at least on the verbal level, Russia has endorsed liberal democracy in its constitution as the major standard and system of values. And there are some other reasons why Russia and United States cannot go for war: asymmetry, asymmetry of resources. Russian military budget is $20 billion. And the Soviet Union spent on military needs one-third of its GDP. Russia now is spending only two - a little bit more than 2.7 percent. And besides, there is one very important and maybe ironic thing - Neal, you'll smile now - Russian political elite and Russian business are very much pro-Western, despite of the fact that our relations are so chilly. And that's the irony and that's the paradox. Because on the one hand, Russian political leaders, people in the Kremlin and the around the Kremlin, they would like to be a kind of Roman Abramovich on the personal and corporative level. They want to be integrated into the West - to have their families in the West, to have their banking accounts in American and Western banks. And at the same time, they would like to close Russia for the Western impact. So they want to have it both ways - to be pro-Western and to be anti-American in Russia. CONAN: Now, this range of issues that we mentioned earlier, and we'll get into them in more detail a bit later, but given this range of issues - Iran, Kosovo, weapons of various types - is this an accumulation of individual issues, or is there some factor underlying all of this that speaks to the hostility that we've seen of late? Dr. SHEVTSOVA: I would say underlying factor is very powerful, and the underlying factor is we organize ourselves - I mean Russia and America - on a different basis. Still, we have this, you know, systemic, structural, existential difference. We built in Russia our system, first of all, on the premise of the state and monopoly of power. You, America, built your system on a different principle, on a different standard. So incompatibilities between us are structural. And at the same time these incompatibilities, of course, influence all other values and common interests. And having these, you know, incompatible principles that we follow - o | Families from South and North Korea met in North Korea this week for family reunions after a three year hiatus. | eng_Latn | 13,792 |
Sanctions Against Austria Lifted | NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports on the decision by the European Union to lift diplomatic sanction against Austria. Austria's 14 EU partners imposed the sanctions seven months ago, after conservative Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel formed a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party then led by Joerg Haider. | NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Philip Gordon, a former assistant secretary of state, about President Trump's treatment of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. | eng_Latn | 13,793 |
Russia Steps In To End War Between 2 Former Soviet Republics | Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached a pact to end the fighting in the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It's within the borders of Azerbaijan, but the population is predominantly Armenian. | The government of the Republic of Georgia, resettled those displaced by war in crumbling apartments. Now that they're getting new homes, what happens to the sense of community that survivors forged? | eng_Latn | 13,794 |
U.S. And NATO Seek New Ways To Help Secure Ukraine's Border | The U.S. and its allies are holding talks today in a new push to ensure Ukraine's borders amid heightened fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian troops. But a key question that's being debated is whether to supply weapons to Ukraine to counter the aggression. "Clearly what we see is that conditions in eastern Ukraine have to change," NATO Commander Gen. Philip Breedlove tells NPR's Renee Montagne. Breedlove says "hundreds and hundreds" of members of Russia's military are in separatist areas of Ukraine, supplying air defense and other crucial help. Update at 8:25 a.m. ET: Russia Warns Of 'Colossal Damage' A decision to send weapons to Ukraine would " cause colossal damage to U.S.-Russian relations, especially if the residents of Donbass (Donetsk and Lugansk regions) start to be killed by American weapons," says Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, according to Agence France-Presse. Our original post continues: Today, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko used an interview with German newspaper Die Welt to urge NATO to give more support to his country, support that he said (in a translation by Reuters) "includes, among other things, delivering modern weapons for protection and for resisting the aggressor." In the past, Breedlove has also advised giving defensive weapons to Ukraine. But he tells Renee that any lasting solution will include political or diplomatic, and perhaps economic, elements. And he noted the alliance's "great tradition of the military answering to the direction of our political masters." There is new movement on the diplomatic front. Today, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev for talks and to announce a new aid package. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande also plan to visit Kiev, before heading to Moscow Friday. "Kerry came with a $16 million aid package, but not with the defensive weapons that the Ukrainian government has been seeking," NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Kiev. "The administration has not yet decided, we're told, whether it will give Ukraine things like anti-tank missiles to deter Russia, which the U.S. says has been pouring tanks and armored vehicles to separatists in the east." Ukraine is also being discussed in Brussels, where defense ministers of NATO's 28 member nations are meeting this week. | Commentator Ruben Navarrette urges Mexico and the United States to solve their immigration problem. With the current restrictions, Mexican immigrants are literally dying to enter the U.S. | kor_Hang | 13,795 |
Russia Will Install Fuel Into Iranian Nuclear Plant | Rosatom, Russia's nuclear agency, will load uranium into Iran's Bushehr reactor on Aug. 21. Russia says the reactor isn't part of the latest round of UN sanctions, intended to force Iran to disclose the scope of its nuclear projects. Iran insists it only wants to generate electricity for its citizens. Rosastom will consider Bushehr a 'nuclear installation' and Iranian officials say it will start working in mid-September. The BBC reports it could take longer than that. Start-up has been delayed for years; Iran blames the U.S for pressuring other countries to delay the reactor's completion. | "This is unacceptable." That's what NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had to say about Russian military aircraft violating Turkey's airspace twice this weekend. Stoltenberg also has said he doubts Russia's explanation that it was an accident. At issue most recently is the Turkish military's allegation that on Sunday, "a MiG-29 plane of unidentified nationality for five minutes and 40 seconds kept two Turkish F-16 planes on its radar as potential targets," reports the Russian news agency Tass. Turkey's foreign minister says his country has now twice summoned Russia's ambassador to protest the incursions — one on Saturday and another on Sunday. Stoltenberg said he has convened a special meeting over the airspace violations, and that NATO is in "strong solidarity with Turkey." "I'm also concerned that Russia is not targeting ISIL," Stoltenberg said, "but instead attacking the Syrian opposition and civilians." When Russia began its airstrikes and patrols to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week, the country was quickly criticized for targeting positions held by U.S.-supported rebels rather than those of the so-called Islamic State. "A Turkish official says Russia's air campaign in Syria could cause up to a million more refugees to flee to Turkey," NPR's Peter Kenyon reports, citing a statement from Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, who said Russia's entry into the conflict could shift the balance of power in Syrian cities. | eng_Latn | 13,796 |
The View From A Russian Frigate In Crimea | Amid rising tensions between NATO and Russia, the two sides are building up forces in several key places, including the Black Sea. Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine two years ago, is on the Black Sea, and that's also where Russia recently stationed a new frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, inviting journalists on board at the Russian base in Sevastopol. The Russians insist this is not part of a buildup directed at NATO, yet both sides have been making moves that make the other wary. In Sevastopol, we took a launch down the channel to where the warship was tied up. The Admiral Grigorovich is a sleek, 400-foot vessel that cruises at around 35 miles per hour. Many of its armaments are hidden behind the ship's streamlined exterior. Capt. Anatoly Velichko says the ship's main warfare mission is to fight other ships at sea, and to destroy any coastal installations an enemy might have. Since the vessel is highly automated and has all the latest weaponry, it requires a relatively small crew of about 200. Velichko showed off the vessel's torpedo tubes and the launcher for its guided missiles. In terms of weapons, he says, it's the equal to any ship of its size in the world. But not everyone agrees that the new Russian ship is state-of-the-art. Eric Wertheim, an expert on combat ships at the U.S. Naval Institute, says the Admiral Grigorovich represents a significant improvement for the Black Sea Fleet. But, he adds, "the change is not necessarily that they are incredibly capable warships now, although they are modern and better than what was there before, but just the simple fact that compared to what was there before was really in bad condition and decades old." Wertheim says all the countries in the region, including the NATO members, need to be aware that Russia has new capabilities that will play an important role in the Black Sea. Russia-NATO tensions It's part of a larger strategic game playing out between NATO and Russia. One side of the Black Sea is lined with NATO countries — Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Those countries and the United States are taking part in a Black Sea naval exercise this month, along with vessels from Ukraine and Georgia. And during a recent summit meeting in Warsaw, Poland, NATO announced plans to deploy a battalion of troops in each of four countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The total will be about 4,000 troops, a token number against the tens of thousands of troops that Russia can muster on its borders, but Russia bristled at the plan. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of increasing "its aggressive rhetoric and aggressive actions near our borders. In this environment, we must pay special attention to strengthening our country's defense capabilities." Naval ties to Sevastopol The Russian Black Sea Fleet has been based in Sevastopol since 1783, when the naval force was created under Empress Catherine the Great. The governor of the city, Sergei Menyailo, is a former commander of the fleet, and he's deeply suspicious of any NATO presence in the region. Menyailo acknowledges that Russia has been adding to its Black Sea naval force, but he says the buildup is not part of an arms race. "Aren't they getting new ships in neighboring countries, in the U.S. and in Turkey?" he asks. "Why don't you call that an arms race? Wait, so you can do this but we cannot?" Meanwhile, back on the frigate, the Russian sailors say they're ready for whatever comes their way. I asked 25-year-old Anton Kruglov if he had any message for his American counterparts. "Seven feet under the keel to all sailors," he said, meaning "may you always have deep water and safe sailing." I asked if he expected to meet American sailors in the Black Sea. "No," he said, "I think we'll meet somewhere farther out in the ocean." | A mysterious orange goo that appeared on the shore of a small village in Alaska has been identified as "millions of microscopic eggs filled with fatty droplets," the AP reports. But researchers say they still don't know what the eggs might hatch, or if they are toxic. The mass of eggs began appearing last week, surprising even longtime residents of the village of Kivalina. Discovery News, which spoke with a town official, describes the goo: Found several miles inland in the fresh water Wulik River, the orange material turned gooey and gave off a gaseous odor. But scooped out of the ocean, the substance had no odor and "was light to the touch, with the feel of baby oil," relayed Janet Mitchell, City Administrator for Kivalina. The AP reports that the village of Kivalina is "an Inupiat Eskimo community located at the tip of an 8-mile barrier reef on Alaska's northwest coast. Residents live largely off the land, and many are worried about the effect on the local wildlife and plants from a substance never seen there before." Orange-tinted water was reported in areas around Kivalina, as well. And reports that the cloud of eggs might have killed minnows brought new questions over whether the eggs might be toxic, or if the sheer volume of the eggs may have deprived the minnows of oxygen. In Juneau, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Jeep Rice said Monday, "It was easy to see cellular structure surrounding the lipid droplet, and to identify this as 'animal.' We have determined these are small invertebrate eggs, although we cannot tell which species." | eng_Latn | 13,797 |
Climate Change Adds New Urgency To U.S. Navy's Arctic Strategy | As the polar ice cap recedes because of warmer weather, more countries are interested in developing the region. That's forced the U.S. Navy to shift its attention north. | As NATO defense ministers gather for a meeting in Brussels tomorrow, they face a central question: Just how serious is the threat from Russia? Some say they have much bigger problems than Vladimir Putin, but others fear the Kremlin is growing dangerously hostile. Russia’s aggression in Crimea and Ukraine and its recent saber rattling in the Baltics have many concerned that the U.S. could get dragged back into a Cold War. Here & Now’s Robin Young talks with NPR’s Pentagon reporter Tom Bowman about weighing threats from Russia. Guest
Tom Bowman,NPR National Desk reporter covering the Pentagon. He tweets @TBowmanNPR. | kor_Hang | 13,798 |
Ground Troops / Open Phones | The Clinton Administration has continued to rule out the use of ground troops in the Kosovo conflict, but an increasing number of analysts say that NATO's goals will ultimately require the use of forces on the ground. Talk of the Nation wants to know what you think. Join Ray Suarez at 1-800-989-TALK (1-800-989-8255) to express your opinion about the use of ground troops in the Balkans. | Utah has retrained about 150 state employees as contact tracers. We peek over the shoulder of two people working from home, making calls in English and Spanish, and hear about the state's strategy. | eng_Latn | 13,799 |
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