Ukraine lawmakers OK deal with Europe
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine moved to resolve months of crisis Tuesday by strengthening ties to Europe and loosening some controls over the country’s rebellious eastern regions where it has been fighting Russian-backed separatists.
The actions by lawmakers began to flesh out the emerging picture of a new Ukraine, where a determined pivot toward Europe has come at great cost: concessions to Russia and a war with rebels that killed more than 3,000 people and pushed the West’s relations with Moscow to Cold War-era lows.
The measure deepening the economic and political ties with Europe was the issue that sparked the crisis last fall, when then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to shelve the deal in favor of closer ties with Russia sparked protests by hundreds of thousands. Those demonstrations eventually drove him from power in February and led to the annexation of Crimea by Moscow and the rebellion in the east, where a shaky cease-fire began Sept. 5.
The deal lowers trade tariffs between Europe and Ukraine, requires Ukrainian goods to meet European regulatory standards and forces the Kiev government to undertake major political and economic reforms.
NASA picks Boeing, SpaceX to carry astronauts to station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is a giant step closer to launching Americans again from U.S. soil.
On Tuesday, the space agency picked Boeing and SpaceX to transport astronauts to the International Space Station in the next few years.
The deal will end NASA’s expensive reliance on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. NASA has set a goal of 2017 for the first launch from Cape Canaveral, but stressed it will not sacrifice safety to meet that date.
New Jersey loses 4th casino as Trump Plaza closes
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Beset by crushing debt, fleeing customers and run-down facilities, Trump Plaza on Tuesday became the fourth casino in Atlantic City to shut down this year.
The 30-year-old casino at the heart of the Boardwalk had been the town’s worst performing for years. It won about the same amount from gamblers this year as the market-leading Borgata takes in every two weeks. And at pennies on the dollar, no one wanted to buy it.
Trump Plaza is the latest victim of casino contraction brought on by competition in neighboring states in the saturated northeastern U.S. gambling market.
Atlantic City began the year with 12 casinos; it now has eight. The Atlantic Club, Showboat and Revel also closed, and the Taj Mahal could be next on Nov. 13.
Iraqi lawmakers reject prime minister’s picks
BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s nominees Tuesday to lead the defense and interior ministries, leaving the crucial Cabinet posts unfilled as an emerging U.S.-led coalition intensifies its air campaign against Islamic State extremists who have seized a third of the country.
Control over the two powerful security portfolios has long been a source of tension among Iraq’s feuding political factions, and the failure to agree on the candidates marked the latest in a series of delays in forming a unified government that can confront the Islamic State extremist group.
Al-Abadi, Iraq’s new prime minister, put forward Sunni lawmaker Jaber al-Jabberi as his candidate for defense minister and Shiite lawmaker Riyad Ghareeb as his pick for interior minister.
By wire sources