Cold War

Stories 81 - 99 | << Prev 

NATO Bars Former Soviet States in Blow to US

Ukraine, Georgia, Macedonia blocked

(Newser) - In a blow to the US, a divided NATO has refused to permit membership bids by former Soviet states Georgia and the Ukraine. The decision is an indication that Europe is wary of antagonizing an increasingly belligerant Russia, Bloomberg reports. Germany and France led the opposition to membership. In another...

Navratilova 'Defects' Again From 'Worse' Bush Regime

Tennis champ regains her Czech citizenship

(Newser) - Thirty years after defecting to the US, at the height of the Cold War, tennis ace Martina Navratilova has regained her Czech citizenship, the Independent reports. The racket star became a US citizen in 1981. She plans to retain her US citizenship as well but she had some harsh criticism...

Elections Put US-Russia Ties in Limbo

US relations will stay chilly after Sunday's vote, analysts say

(Newser) - As Russians vote today, the Washington Post looks at factors that have chilled Russia-US relations in recent months—from a stalled nuclear pact to Kosovo to a proposed missile defense system in Eastern Europe. President Bush is trying to smooth relations by downplaying President Vladimir Putin's power grabs, but analysts...

Indonesia's Suharto Dies at Age 86
Indonesia's Suharto
Dies at Age 86
Jan 27, 2008 2:45 AM CST

Indonesia's Suharto Dies at Age 86

Ruled for 32 years; resigned amid corruption, human rights charges

(Newser) - Former Indonesian president Suharto, a US Cold War ally whose legacy of economic development was marred by charges of human rights abuses and corruption, died today of organ failure at 86, Reuters reports. Suharto ruled for 32 years until being forced out in 1998; his deteriorating health prevented him from...

Chess King Bobby Fischer Dies
Chess King Bobby Fischer Dies
Jan 18, 2008 7:24 AM CST

Chess King Bobby Fischer Dies

Troubled genius dies in Iceland at age 64

(Newser) - Chess master Bobby Fischer, who became a Cold War icon when he dethroned Russian Boris Spassky in 1972, has died at age 64 in Iceland, the AP reports. Fischer is considered by many to be the greatest chess player ever, but his genius for the game was often overshadowed by...

Gorbachev Goes Easy on Putin, for Now

Ex-leader defends prez, even as Kremlin rolls back democracy

(Newser) - Gorbachev remains pals with Putin, even as the Russian prez pares back reforms that Gorbachev holds dear, the Wall Street Journal reports. The former leader reserves his blame for the Kremlin, and spares Putin, calling him "a very normal person"—even after Moscow shut down Gorbachev's political party...

Rice to Russia: You're No USSR
Rice to Russia: You're No USSR
Oct 22, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

Rice to Russia: You're No USSR

Secretary talks tough, warning Moscow about using energy supplies for political leverage

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice said today Russia shouldn’t use its oil and gas reserves as a “political weapon,” and that the country should move away from authoritarianism and toward democracy. The secretary of state confirmed a “certain distance” between Russia and the US, Reuters reports, but the Soviet...

Radiation Weapon Plot Comes to Light

Cold War scheme included assassination, broad contamination

(Newser) - Newly declassified Army documents reveal the US mulled the use of a radioactive weapon to assassinate “important individuals” and contaminate “critical areas for long periods of time.” The heavily censored records date to 1948 and show the weapon was approved for development at the highest levels, reports...

Russia's New Weight Tips Global Scales

Putin's policies on Kosovo, Iran, nukes ruffle US, Euro feathers

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin's Russia is charging back into the international spotlight, the Christian Science Monitor reports, challenging European and US policies on a variety of issues. Putin has thrown a wrench into Kosovo’s all-but-assured independence from Serbia, backing Belgrade’s efforts to keep the province. Russian planes recently violated Norwegian...

Sputnik Ignited Era of Discovery
Sputnik Ignited Era of Discovery
Oct 4, 2007 9:00 AM CDT

Sputnik Ignited Era of Discovery

(Newser) - In an era when billionaire tourists book rides in spaceships, launching a basketball-sized satellite into outer space might seem mundane. But when the Russians put Sputnik into orbit 50 years ago today, it kicked off much more than a Cold War competition. It signalled the start of an electrifying era...

Russia and China Spying at Cold War Levels, Top Spy Warns

Patriot Act not enough, he tells lawmakers

(Newser) - China and Russia are spying on the US at nearly cold war levels, the nation's top spy told lawmakers today. Vice Admiral McConnell defended the Patriot Act as necessary for US defense and asked Congress to give intelligence agencies even greater eavesdropping powers. His  testimony comes weeks after an alleged...

British Jets Intercept 8 Russian 'Bears'

Kremlin's renewed long-range recon flights buzz Britain, Norway

(Newser) - British fighter jets intercepted eight Russian recon bombers today as they approached British airspace in the latest long-distance forays to display Vladimir Putin's renewed virility in air power. Authorities said the aircraft did not enter British airspace, the Guardian writes. Norwegian planes monitored the same eight bombers in international airspace...

Extremists Mark New ‘Cold Peace’

Russian videos signal paranoia, wounded pride

(Newser) - The “sleeping bear” of Mother Russia is either waking to attack its enemies or rolling over a few victims as it dozes, dreaming of a lost empire, Maclean’s reports. Military flights above Guam and flag-posting on the North Pole have been well-reported; but an explosion of violent nationalism,...

Russia Relaunches Cold War Patrols
Russia Relaunches
Cold War
Patrols
Aug 18, 2007 8:06 AM CDT

Russia Relaunches Cold War Patrols

Pointed message to US from Putin

(Newser) - In a resumption of some of the tension reminiscent of the Cold War and a message to the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin has relaunched long-range Russian bomber patrols after a 15-year hiatus. Fourteen bombers took off yesterday just days after Russian jets buzzed the skies off Guam and began...

Stasi Ordered to Shoot First
Stasi Ordered to Shoot First
Aug 12, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

Stasi Ordered to Shoot First

Defectors stood little chance at Berlin Wall

(Newser) - During the Cold War, East German border police were ordered to shoot all attempted defectors, a newly discovered Stasi document confirms. “Do not hesitate with the use of a firearm, including when the border breakouts involve women and children, which the traitors have already frequently taken advantage of,”...

Russians Hot for Cold War Habit
Russians Hot for Cold War Habit
Aug 9, 2007 5:19 PM CDT

Russians Hot for Cold War Habit

Nuclear-capable bombers again tweaking US, NATO forces

(Newser) - Russia's air force has revived the Soviet-era practice of flying to areas policed by NATO and the US, Reuters reports. A Tu-95 bomber "exchanged smiles" today with American pilots who raced to track it as it flew over Guam. As during the Cold War, Russian officials called the incident...

Putin Puts in at Kennebunkport
Putin Puts in at Kennebunkport
Jul 1, 2007 7:23 PM CDT

Putin Puts in at Kennebunkport

Russian president insists visit is social, though tensions remain high

(Newser) - Russian president Vladimir Putin touched down in New Hampshire this afternoon for what the US and Russia are both calling a social visit to President Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. But the BBC reports both sides hope to use the meeting as an opportunity to warm their countries' recently...

Putin Rattles Nuclear Sabre
Putin Rattles Nuclear Sabre
Jun 4, 2007 5:32 AM CDT

Putin Rattles Nuclear Sabre

Threatens to aim nukes at European cities

(Newser) - Russia is threatening to aim nuclear missiles at major European cities for the first time since the Cold War, the Daily Telegraph reports. Vladimir Putin's provocation, on the eve of the G-8 summit, was the latest in an increasingly strident string of anti-western pronouncements in response to US plans to...

Russia Sues Bank of New York for $22 Billion

Reopening old case another sign of new tensions

(Newser) - The Russian government hit the Bank of New York with as $22 Billion lawsuit in a Moscow court Wednesday—the latest in a wave of hostile moves some see as portending a new Cold War. With Russians irate over U.S. missile bases planned for Eastern Europe, East-West relations are...

Stories 81 - 99 | << Prev