By Steve Holland and Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama escalated U.S. economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday for its aggression against Ukraine but dismissed suggestions the growing chill in U.S.-Russian relations marked the start of a new Cold War. The United States and the European Union, in a carefully coordinated action, announced targeted new sanctions against Russian banks, energy and defense firms. It was the West's most serious response yet to what it calls Russian instigation of and continuing support for the separatist uprising in the east and the shootdown of a Malaysian passenger jet on July 17 over eastern Ukraine. Obama, speaking at the White House, said the sanctions would have a "greater impact on the Russian economy than we've seen so far" in a drive to force Moscow to stop backing the separatists. Read More http://ift.tt/UJJ8Pa
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Colombia's Santos says FARC attacks could end peace process
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said continuing attacks perpetrated by leftist FARC guerrillas, many of which target infrastructure, could bring an end to peace negotiations with the government. Santos was re-elected in June with a mandate to complete a peace process with the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. There have been negotiations in Havana since late 2012 even though the FARC refused to declare a lasting ceasefire. "What we are saying to them is, keep this up and you are playing with fire and this (peace) process can end," Santos said at an industrial event.
Read More http://ift.tt/1lbzmfY
Colombia's Santos says FARC attacks could end peace process
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said continuing attacks perpetrated by leftist FARC guerrillas, many of which target infrastructure, could bring an end to peace negotiations with the government. Santos was re-elected in June with a mandate to complete a peace process with the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. There have been negotiations in Havana since late 2012 even though the FARC refused to declare a lasting ceasefire. "What we are saying to them is, keep this up and you are playing with fire and this (peace) process can end," Santos said at an industrial event.
Read More http://ift.tt/1xwGNE1
Federal appeals court overrules gay marriage bans in Virginia, Carolinas
An appeals courts' decision to strike down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban adds to the growing list of decrees on a hot-button issue that will likely end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, is the second federal appellate court to overturn gay marriage bans, after the Denver circuit, and is the first to affect the South, a region where the rising tide of rulings favouring marriage equality is testing concepts of states' rights and traditional, conservative moral values that have long held sway. "I am proud that the Commonwealth of Virginia is leading on one of the most important civil rights issues of our day," said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who had refused to defend the state ban when he took office in January. Virginians voted 57 per cent to 43 per cent in 2006 to amend their constitution to ban gay marriage and state law prohibits recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states, which the court said infringes on its citizens' fundamental right to marry.
Read More http://ift.tt/1pAtbDi
Stopping Deadly Ebola Outbreak Will Be a 'Marathon,' CDC Says
The deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa is not showing any signs of slowing down, prompting U.S. health officials to issue more warnings for their staff in the region, encourage U.S. doctors to collect information about sick patients' travel histories and take more actions in the affected countries to bring the virus under control before it spreads to other regions. Read More http://ift.tt/1tq83GD
Israel intensifies Gaza assault, Egyptians revise truce plan
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel knocked out Gaza's only power plant, flattened the home of its Islamist Hamas political leader and pounded dozens of other high-profile targets in the enclave on Tuesday, with no end in sight to more than three weeks of conflict. Health officials said at least 30 Palestinians were killed in some of heaviest bombardments from air, sea and land since the Israeli offensive began in response to Hamas rocket fire. The Israeli assault intensified following the deaths of 10 Israeli soldiers in cross-border attacks on Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning of a long conflict ahead. Thick black smoke rose from blazing fuel tanks at the power station that supplies up to two-thirds of Gaza's energy needs.
Read More http://ift.tt/1lRjSxy
China says investigating powerful former security chief for graft
By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Communist Party said on Tuesday it had launched a corruption investigation into former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, one of the country's most influential politicians of the last decade, in a case that has its origins in a party power struggle. Zhou, 71, is by far the highest-profile figure caught up in President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee - China's apex of power - and held the post of security tsar until he retired in 2012. A brief statement released to coincide with a regular party meeting said Zhou was being investigated for suspected "serious disciplinary violations", the usual euphemism for corruption, although it could also imply additional wrongdoing.
Read More http://ift.tt/1oFsegS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)