BEIRUT (AP) — It was a bruising week for Syria’s Bashar Assad. The rapid collapse of his forces on two fronts in the north and south brought the opposition its biggest victories in two years, raising serious questions about the president’s ability to fend off increasingly sophisticated rebel campaigns. After losing the capital of Idlib … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia vowed Thursday to continue searching a vast area of the frigid Sea of Okhotsk for 13 people missing after a fishing trawler sank, killing at least 56 of the 132 people onboard. Another 63 were found alive in the icy waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East, but the … Continue reading
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the announced deal between Iran and world powers, demanding that it “significantly” roll back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and vowing to fight the agreement before it is finalized in the coming months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a leading critic of the nuclear … Continue reading
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Police, soldiers and masked special forces wielding new assault rifles man checkpoints along the main roads of Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which has been freshly polished for an international conference opening Friday seeking billions of dollars in investment. Roads were lined with foreign flags as well as … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian emergency officials say five people are confirmed dead and 25 more are missing and presumed dead after a shopping center in the city of Kazan collapsed in a fire. Officials said Thursday that the toll of missing is based on reports from relatives and workers in the shopping center, 720 kilometers … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia accused Ukraine Thursday of dragging its feet on implementing last month’s peace deal, citing a wide range of areas in which Kiev is allegedly failing to meet its obligations. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told The Associated Press that Ukraine was failing in its pledge to declare an amnesty for … Continue reading
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The International Monetary Fund agreed Wednesday to extend $17.5 billion in loans to Ukraine as part of a program designed to pull the country back from the verge of economic collapse. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement that the new four-year extended arrangement will support economic stabilization and … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and an American landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday, ending the astronauts’ nearly six months aboard the International Space Station. The capsule carried Russians Alexander Samokutayev and Elena Serova and NASA’s Barry Wilmore. They blasted off for the space station on Sept. 26. The capsule landed upright … Continue reading
TORONTO (AP) — Police said Monday that two men built a mysterious tunnel discovered in Toronto and there was no criminal intent. Police said in a statement that two men told investigators they built the tunnel for “personal reasons.” Police investigators verified their account and are satisfied there was neither criminal intent nor any threat … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 