Citing Russia's stalled growth rate and a flow of foreign capital out of Moscow, U.S. and European officials hope a new round of sanctions targeting energy and defense entities, as well as major banks, will deepen Russia's economic pain even further and force President Vladimir Putin to end provocations in Ukraine. Roughly 30 percent of Russia's banking sector assets are now constrained by U.S. sanctions, Obama administration officials said, shortly after announcing new penalties.
A new study released this week that examines nearly 500 pieces of legislation in 66 countries finds Canada lags behind many countries, including China, when it comes to advancing a plan to reduce climate change pollution and fossil fuel usage. According to Globe International, the organization behind the study, Canada currently "has no comprehensive federal climate change legislation."
The Obama administration is pushing for ratification of a U.N. accord on the rights of the disabled less than a year after Senate Republicans rejected pleas for its passage from two former GOP presidential nominees and delivered a stinging rebuke to a global treaty modeled largely on American law.
Inspectors entrusted with the enormous task of overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles began their mission Monday, flying to Lebanon en route to Syria, where their first priority will be to help the country scrap its ability to manufacture such arms by a Nov. 1 deadline. Syria's Foreign Minister said the government refuses to sit down for talks with members of the main Western-backed opposition groups, putting a damper on U.S.-Russian efforts to hold a peace conference with the two sides by mid-November.
President Obama calls for UN action to back up the agreement reached to remove chemical weapons from Syria. Full video and transcript of the speech is available on the jump.
The UN General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine to the status of non-member observer state. As a result of the 138-9 vote (with 41 abstentions), "Palestine" now has the same status as the Vatican at the UN.
