POLITICS
Poroshenko allows contract military to serve for six months
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty and Military Service" for clarification of the period of military service under the contract, the presidential press service told an UNIAN correspondent. The law is aimed at ensuring the establishment of...
Civilian deaths from Russia air strikes rising, activists claim
More than 40 people have been killed and eight injured after a bus and truck collided in Gironde province in southwestern France, say local authorities. The incident took place at about 7:30am local time in the town of Puisseguin. Both vehicles caught fire after the collision. About 60 firefighters have been deployed to the...
Australia to allow Facebook photos to be used in national surveillance database — report
Photos from social media websites like Facebook could be used in an Australian counter-terrorism database. Critics are concerned about the system’s lack of “transparency,” but the new legislation can come into effect without being passed by parliament. Senior officials from the attorney general’s office...
Lenin pulled to the Dark Side: Revolutionary’s statue turns into Darth Vader
The respect Ukrainians hold for the Dark Lord from the Star Wars films has taken a new turn, as an artist from Odessa has transformed a statue of Lenin into a Darth Vader monument, with a Wi-Fi router hidden under the helmet included as a nice bonus. The monument, which is located on the premises of an Odessa factory, was...
American killed as hostages rescued in Iraq, sources say: CNN
An American was killed in an operation involving the U.S. military to rescue dozens of Kurdish hostages in Iraq overnight, two U.S. officials told CNN on condition of anonymity Thursday. Seventy hostages were liberated in the operation, which involved U.S. special operations troops as well as Kurdishand Iraqi forces, U.S....
Ukraine completes withdrawal of tanks on all fronts
The forces of Anti-Terrorist Operations have completed removal tanks from the demarcation line in Donbas, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation. "Today the Ukrainian military completed the pullback of tanks on all fronts. Combat vehicles are moving at a 15-km distance from the contact line....
U.S., Russia sign memorandum of understanding on Syria: media
The Pentagon said Tuesday that the U.S. and Russia had signed a memorandum of understanding over safety procedures for aircraft flying over Syria, according to CBS News. The memo includes specific protocols for air crews to follow over Syria, and establishes of ground communications link, CBS News reports. Late last week, as...
Justin Trudeau: Canada ‘back on world stage’
Canadian Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau says the country has reclaimed its Liberal identity, after a decisive election victory that ended nearly a decade of Conservative rule, according to the BBC. "I want to say to this country's friends all around the world," he told a rally in Ottawa, "on behalf...
USS Ross successfully intercepts ballistic missile target during coalition test
USS Ross (DDG 71) successfully intercepted a ballistic missile in the North Atlantic Ocean during the Maritime Theater Missile Defense (MTMD) Forum's At Sea Demonstration (ASD) on October 20, 2015, according to the official website of U.S. Naval-Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet. This is first time a Standard Missile-3...
Brussels draws up plan to resettle 200,000 refugees across Europe: FT
The European Commission will propose a "structural EU-wide resettlement scheme" in March, 2016, in order to distribute 200,000 migrants across Europe directly from countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, according to The Financial TImes. "Massive resettlement is seen as part of a quid pro quo of any deal...
Ukraine may return to issue of UN peacekeepers in Donbas: Poroshenko
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko does not exclude returning the next year to the proposal for deployment of the UN peacekeeping force, if the Minsk Agreement are not implemented according to the agreed schedule, that’s according to President’s Sunday night interview with major Ukrainian TV channels....
Parliamentary elections underway in Egypt
Egyptians were to vote Sunday for a parliament expected to firmly back President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has crushed all opposition since ousting his Islamist predecessor in 2013, according to Agence France-Presse. "It's really a parliament that is not expected to be revolutionary or reformist," political...