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美众议院授权奥巴马向乌军提供10亿美元的致命性武器 US House Proposes $1Bln in Lethal Aid, Military Assistance to Ukraine 美国众议院周二提案授权奥巴马向乌克兰军队提供价值10亿美元的致命性武器The US House of Representatives introduced new legislation Tuesday, authorizing military and lethal aid to Ukraine through 2017. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US House of Representatives introduced new legislation authorizing military and lethal aid to Ukraine through 2017, according to a US Congress announcement. “The Secretary of Defense is authorized, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to provide assistance, including training equipment, lethal weapons of a defensive nature, logistics support, supplies and services, and sustainment to the military and national security forces of Ukraine, through September 30, 2017," Tuesday’s legislation read. “To carry out the provisions of this act there are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000. Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this subsection are authorized to remain available until September 30, 2017." The bill, introduced by Representatives Adam Smith and Mac Thornberry, both members of the House Armed Services Committee, aims to secure Ukraine’s “sovereign territory against foreign aggressors,” and defend Ukrainians from attacks by “Russian-backed separatists,” according to the legislation. Additionally, the bill calls for having a negotiated settlement to “end the conflict” in Ukraine. The West has repeatedly accused Russia of backing militias in the breakaway Ukrainian regions close to its borders, and supplying them with weapons, claims Moscow has denied. The legislation states that no more than 10 percent of the funds can be “obligated or expended until not later than 15 days after” the secretaries of Defense and State submit a report detailing the description of the plan for providing assistance to Ukraine. The plan that the secretaries are to submit would detail the types of training and equipment and the number of US Armed Forces will be involved and training locations. Meanwhile Adam Smith commented on the new legislation, saying that it is much more concrete than the 2014 Ukraine Freedom Support Act and directs US President Barack Obama to provide such aid to Ukraine: “It calls on the administration to specifically give lethal aid, basically use offensive weapons, where the other language was much narrower, and we see the administration used it in a much narrower fashion, giving non-lethal aid [to Ukraine].” Smith noted that while the funds still need to be appropriated by the Congress, the new piece of legislation “definitely pushes it [provision of lethal weapons] further than previous pieces of legislation.” House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry said at a Tuesday press conference that the legislation will likely be met with bipartisan support on the Senate side. “I detect no disagreement at all that we should do this,” Thornberry said of his colleagues in the Senate giving their support to providing lethal defensive aid to Ukraine. The $1 billion figure the United States would provide to Ukraine if the bill is passed was derived from a recent think tank report drafted by former Obama administration officials and two former Supreme Allied Commanders of NATO, Thornberry noted. The sentiment to provide defensive weaponry to Ukraine is “a consensus of opinion on the Hill and off the Hill,” he added. Previous legislation passed by the US Congress and signed into law by US President Barack Obama in December 2014 authorizing $350 million to arm the Ukrainian military. However, the authorization has not been enacted by President Obama who has so far only provided Ukraine with economic and non-lethal military support. During a press conference on Monday, President Obama stressed that his administration would continue to assess the option of providing military aid to Ukraine.
外国人大举撤离俄罗斯 外国人大举撤离俄罗斯 英国《金融时报》 席佳琳 莫斯科报道 空前数量的外国人正在逃离俄罗斯,表明俄罗斯与西方的政治对峙以及该国日益恶化的经济危机正在加深它的孤立。 根据俄罗斯政府的数据,除去从乌克兰东部逃到俄罗斯躲避战火的难民,上月俄罗斯境内的外国人比去年同期减少41.7万人,降幅达4.7%。 来自几个西方国家的外国人数量急剧减少三分之一,反映出乌克兰冲突导致俄罗斯与欧美失和。 长期对俄罗斯投资最多的几个国家的人员外流最为显著。俄罗斯联邦移民局(Federal Migration Service)表示,截至1月20日,在俄罗斯的德国人已减少至240113人。根据联邦移民局向新闻网站RosBusinessConsulting提供的额外数据,这代表着自2014年1月以来俄罗斯境内的德国人减少了31%。 同期在俄美国人减少了36%,英国人减少了38%,西班牙人减少了41%。 外国人的大批离开反映出俄罗斯日益恶化的经济前景。俄罗斯插手乌克兰东部的武装冲突,还吞并克里米亚,导致西方对俄罗斯施加制裁,加上俄罗斯主要出口产品之一石油价格暴跌,俄罗斯经济前景遭到严重打击。 过去12个月卢布对美元汇率已下跌约40%,预计俄罗斯经济今年萎缩将高达4.5%,这除了打击俄罗斯本土企业外,还将损害在俄西方企业。 由于俄罗斯的统计数据不够透明,因此无从得知外流人群的身份和原因。联邦移民局的数据除了商务访问人士、劳务移民和外籍员工之外,还包括游客以及因私到访的外国人。 但商界代表表示,这些数据证实了有关西方企业高管从俄罗斯大批撤出的日常印象。 俄罗斯德国商会(German Chamber of Commerce in Russia)副会长延斯•伯尔曼(Jens Boehlmann)说:“企业正尽量缩减外籍员工,以降低成本。” 根据该商会的资料,在俄罗斯的德国企业数量已从2013年末的6167家,减少至去年底的6000家。
努斯拉阵线周日在伊德利卜省击落一架叙利亚政府军运输机 Al Qaeda says downs Syrian cargo plane, army says fog causes crash 努斯拉阵线周日在伊德利卜省击落一架叙利亚政府军运输机,机上装有食品和弹药BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian wing of al Qaeda, the Nusra Front, said on Sunday it had shot down an army cargo plane carrying food and ammunition overnight, but Syrian state television blamed the loss of the aircraft and its crew on bad weather. Reuters could not verify either account due to security and reporting restrictions in Syria. State television quoted a military source as saying the cargo plane crashed due to "weather conditions and heavy fog" on Saturday evening while attempting to land Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib province, in the northwest of the country. It said the crew were killed. However, the al Qaeda wing said on Twitter: "Nusra Front downed a military cargo plane overnight above the Abu al-Duhur military airport."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group monitoring the civil war, said 35 people on board had died when the plane hit an electricity pylon. Several Syrian air force jets and helicopters have been shot down in Syria's civil war, which erupted after the government cracked down on pro-democracy protests in 2011. A U.S.-led coalition is flying sorties in Syria to strike the hardline Islamic State group, an offshoot of al Qaeda that is also fighting the Syrian army. Last month, a Jordanian air force pilot was captured by Islamic State fighters after his plane was downed near the militant group's stronghold of Raqqa in northeastern Syria.
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