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Russia said today that the European Union's decision to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova was a politicised decision that could destabilise the bloc. 'Negotiations to join the EU can last for years or decades. The EU has always had strict criteria for accession and it is obvious that at the moment neither Ukraine nor Moldova meets these criteria,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 'It is clear that this is an absolutely politicised decision, the EU's desire to demonstrate support for these countries. But such new members could destabilise the EU.'

The idea was that China's regime, given a stake in the existing system, would then defend it... By now, however, that bet looks like a mistake history will remember. For as the Communist Party grew stronger, it did not align itself with its Western supporters. On the contrary, it came to believe it could avenge centuries-old grievances and remake the world in its own image. The West's generous approach created the one thing it had hoped to avoid: an aggressive state redrawing its borders by force, attacking liberal values around the world, and undermining institutions at the heart of the...

... The misunderstanding has historical, cultural and political roots but fundamentally it can be attributed to the universalist, Manichean (good vs evil) worldview of what Brown refers to as the Enlightenment West – and the projection of that attitude onto a civilization that doesn’t share the same history. “The distinctiveness of the intellectual and cultural history of inhabitants of the space now occupied by the People’s Republic of China is undeniable,” Brown writes. “In terms of language, modes of governance, economic behavior, and fundamental view about how the world operates and how society should be shaped, the Chinese tradition is...

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin claimed on Monday that American high-altitude balloons have flown through Chinese airspace more than ten times since the beginning of 2022. Wang contrasted China’s supposedly “reasonable and professional” response to these incursions with the United States shooting down the Chinese spy balloon that flew over North America two weeks ago and the destruction of several other unidentified flying objects over the weekend. Wang claimed to know nothing about the other UFOs. “We have made it clear time and again that the entry of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace was a purely...

"Can't we finally strike at London? What is the problem?" Solovyov asked his audience during a segment of his show posted to Twitter on Sunday with English subtitles by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine. "No, no, no—only at military targets. Well, at the parliament, too," the Russian propagandist added...Previously on Thursday, Solovyov targeted EU diplomats as he suggested that they should be expelled from Russia in a "sealed container" or "packed in a sealed wagon."

In 2021, a whopping 83 percent of Russian gas was exported to Europe. Russia’s global exports of 7 million barrels of oil a day and 200 billion cubic meters (bcm) of piped gas a year accounted for about half of its federal revenue... Far from freezing to death, Europe quickly secured alternative gas supplies by pivoting to global liquefied natural gas (LNG) ... these alternative supplies have reduced Europe’s dependence on Russian gas to 9 percent of its total gas imports... Furthermore, Europe’s unseasonably warm winter means that not only have the worst-case scenarios been avoided, but Europe’s full storage...

Boris Bondarev urged a strong response from the West to Putin's threats, he told Sky News. Putin is using the nuclear button to "compel other countries to do whatever he wants," he said. If a fireball were to hit the city's Mission District, the Golden Gate Bridge would remain standing. In the event of a 15-kiloton blast, 63,000 people in San Francisco could die — but that's the smallest number of any city on this list. That blast would also miss two of the city's iconic waterside landmarks: the Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf. Golden Gate Bridge would remain standing....

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Attorney General Merrick Garland must step down or be impeached following the raid on former President Donald Trump’s home. “At a minimum, Garland must resign or be impeached. The search warrant must be published. Christopher Wray must be removed. And the FBI reformed top to bottom,” he wrote in a social media post Tuesday:

Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) railed against him chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci for warning about a return of restrictions due to a new strain of COVID-19. Paul said Fauci was “flat-out wrong” to push for more restrictions. He called Fauci a “menace” who “hasn’t been right really about anything since the start” of the coronavirus pandemic. “[I]f you believe in Dr. Fauci, what you should do immediately is go get stickers and make sure they are on the floor, everywhere you go, and a yardstick so you know you are...

Nancy Pelosi announces she is running for re-election

Dr. Rand Paul Joins Sean Hannity to Discuss Dr. Fauci's Ever-Changing Covid Guidance Rumble...

Chunks of the massive Chinese rocket that recently took an uncontrolled plunge back into the Earth’s atmosphere narrowly missed hitting New York City, according to a report. Had the Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere about 15 to 20 minutes earlier on Monday, it would have rained debris on the nation’s largest metro area, according to Ars Technica, a technology-focused publication. The about 100-foot-long rocket was launched on May 5, carrying an unnamed prototype of a newly designed Chinese crew capsule. After about a week in orbit, the 20-ton core stage of the rocket fell back into the atmosphere...

His stubborn refusal to take the coronavirus seriously may have caused thousands of deaths. America’s COVID-19 devastation is disproportionately a story of New York State’s devastation, and New York State’s devastation is overwhelmingly a story of New York City’s devastation. There’s a case to be made that New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is the single individual in the United States who is most to blame for the catastrophic loss of human life. I refer you to a grueling investigation by Charles Duhigg in the New Yorker that painstakingly compares the responses to the outbreak in Seattle and New...

Fresh off a legislative victory for the billboard industry at Nationals Park, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans’ attempt to preserve a loophole for digital sign companies doing business in the District seemed inevitable—especially given his close ties with the vendor that stands to benefit the most. Evans recently introduced an emergency bill that would provide a permit exemption in certain cases—a boon for Digi Media Communications LLC, which already has installed numerous signs in violation of city rules and is looking to install dozens more throughout the District.

The complexity of the latest 'Flame' virus bears the hallmarks of a program engineered by a state, a number of Israeli computer experts believe. As details of Flame - the third major virus discovered to have an affinity to Iranian computer systems in recent years - filtered through the media, network security experts in Israel, requesting anonymity, studied the initial reports, and indicated that they believed small groups of hackers could not be behind the virus.

Picture the Homeless, a Bronx nonprofit that has received at least $240,000 in taxpayer money in the last five years, is giving a crash course on squatting — and city-owned buildings are a prime target. Two weeks ago, board member Andres Perez held a teach-in on how to wrest “control” of vacant apartments. He called it “homesteading.” “The best time to enter a building is in the late hours,” he advised a group of about 20, who gathered in front of the half-empty East New York housing complex Arlington Village. “You make sure you have your proper tools. You remove...

If you’re planning on getting in or out of the lovely city of Vancouver this morning, especially near Pearson Air Museum or Portland International Airport, you should pack some extra patience and, maybe, a book on tape. Vice President Joe Biden is in town for a 1 p.m. get-out-the-vote rally for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, which means police and the Secret Service have already started blocking off potentially safe and secure routes. “We’ve never had a president or vice president come to the Portland area without it seriously disrupting traffic,” said Portland police Capt. Todd Wyatt. Which brings us to...

Neighbors and the city were left to clean up the mess left behind when the man used a chainsaw to cut down several trees on his street.Meet 'Displaced Foreign Traveler', Valentine GOMEZ-ROMERO, now residing at the Jackson County, Oregon jail. http://inmate.jacksoncounty.org/Inmate.aspx?SheriffOfficeNumber=00122289&BookingNumber=1005772

This Christmas season, parents will introduce their children to a legendary sage from northern climes renowned for his unsettling facial hair and unmistakable voice. This man is, of course, Bob Dylan. His first-ever holiday album, "Christmas in the Heart," arrives today, with the 68-year-old ripping through a gaggle of jaunty Christmas carols as if they were so much gift wrap...it's a bizarre and bewildering collection that embodies the rough-hewn traditionalism and forehead-slapping surrealism that's defined Dylan's career. The man's serrated croon isn't just jarring -- it actually gives these chirpy old chestnuts a sense of menace. And it is awesome....

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell (R) stands alongside US Vice President Joe Biden (C), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd L) and National Security Advisor James Jones (L), as US President Barack Obama speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) during meetings