Catholic News 2
HANNOVER, Germany (AP) -- President Barack Obama mounted a strong defense of international trade deals Sunday in the face of domestic and foreign opposition, saying it's "indisputable" that such agreements strengthen the economy and make U.S. businesses more competitive worldwide. But he acknowledged that the clock is ticking on his faltering trade agenda....
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The slayings of eight family members in rural southern Ohio "was a pre-planned execution" and the investigation will be lengthy, the state's attorney general told reporters Sunday....
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump surged Sunday toward another round of pivotal presidential primaries as their party leaders faced new questions about internal divisions that could complicate their nominees' general election chances....
(Vatican Radio) Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic, is expected to win early elections held Sunday, despite a major challenge from far-right groups seeking an alliance only with Russia. Vucic hopes a victory will make it easier for him to introduce reforms demanded by the European Union. Listen to Stefan Bos' report Serbia's conservative Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic called Sunday's vote two years early to in his words receive anew mandate to steer Serbia further towards European Union membership. Yet critics say Vucic wants to consolidate powerwhile his popularity is still high.Ahead of the ballot, opinion polls showed Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party on course for a landslide winin the next parliament.Analysts say the 46-year-old veteran politician who has transformed from a radical anti-Western nationalist into a pro-EU reformer,has positioned himself as a dominant player both in Serbia and elsewhere in the postwar Balkans.PRAIS...
(Vatican Radio) Serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic, is expected to win early elections held Sunday, despite a major challenge from far-right groups seeking an alliance only with Russia. Vucic hopes a victory will make it easier for him to introduce reforms demanded by the European Union.
Listen to Stefan Bos' report
Serbia's conservative Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic called Sunday's vote two years early to in his words receive a
new mandate to steer Serbia further towards European Union membership. Yet critics say Vucic wants to consolidate power
while his popularity is still high.
Ahead of the ballot, opinion polls showed Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party on course for a landslide win
in the next parliament.
Analysts say the 46-year-old veteran politician who has transformed from a radical anti-Western nationalist into a pro-EU reformer,
has positioned himself as a dominant player both in Serbia and elsewhere in the postwar Balkans.
PRAISING EU EFFORTS
He has won praise from the EU for efforts to reconnect broken Balkan ties, promote reconciliation and push through some tough economic
reforms. However at home he faces accusations of creating a one-man rule in the style of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Vucic's government has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over its role in the conflict in Ukraine that has killed
more than 9,000 people.
The prime minister has made clear that would be disastrous for the country's stagnating economy — especially since most of its energy
sector is controlled by Gazprom, the Russian energy giant. He says he wants to maintain good relations with both Brussels and Moscow.
"Our obligation and mine as prime minister is to do everything possible for Serbia and its citizens. So I must act
accordingly," he said in a recent interview.
"Our path is the European path. We are going towards Europe, but we also want good relations with Russia. As long
as we are able to we will maintain those good relations."
Traditional ties with Russia also explained why Belgrade proclaimed military neutrality to avoid Russian fury.
DIFFICULT TIMES AHEAD
But commentators say that remaining politically and militarily neutral could prove difficult as Serbia advances on its EU path.
Prime Minister Vucic already faces mounting opposition from far-right groups wanting ties exclusively with Russia.
Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj, who was recently acquitted of war crimes by a United Nations tribunal and whose popularity in Serbia has been rise
recently burned EU and NATO flags outside the Higher Court in Belgrade.
He has pledged to turn the upcoming vote into a referendum on EU and Russia ties. "We are facing elections and the Serbian
nation will know to assess who are the patriots and who are not. Who is fighting for an upright and free Serbia, and who
wants Serbia in the EU and NATO slavery?"
Realizing those pro-Russian sentiments Vucis's government send its foreign minister to Serbia's only wax museum
where last month a larger-than-life figure of Russian President Vladimir Putin was unveiled.
Asked why Putin's figure appears to be taller than the Russian president himself, the museum manager reportedly explained:
"We could not allow some high-school student to stand beside the figure and find himself taller than Putin."
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- There was no stuffed animal to hug. Constant hunger pains. Hope a mom would show up and rescue her....
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Investigators have finished collecting evidence at the four homes in rural southern Ohio where eight family members were fatally shot, but the crime scenes remain under law enforcement custody, a spokeswoman with the attorney general's office said Sunday....
Prince accepted a standing ovation as he strolled out carrying a cane and rocking an Afro to present the 2015 Grammy for album of the year. Then he stole the show with a line that reminded everyone he was more than just a pop superstar; he was a black activist....
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- There is strong evidence that Mexican police tortured some of the key suspects arrested in the disappearance of 43 students, according to a report released Sunday by an outside group of experts....
NEW YORK (AP) -- A day after North Korea's foreign minister told The Associated Press that his country is ready to halt its nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea, President Barack Obama said Sunday that Washington isn't taking the proposal seriously and Pyongyang would "have to do better than that."...
HANNOVER, Germany (AP) -- President Barack Obama delivered a strong defense of international trade deals Sunday in the face of domestic and foreign opposition, saying it's "indisputable" that such agreements strengthen the economy and make U.S. businesses more competitive worldwide....
