Not surprisingly, some Ukraine-related stories feature prominently here:
France 24's Gulliver Cragg has an interesting take on the Moreira film controversy, arguing that some good might come out of it:
From our news desk:
Pentagon Seeking $3.4 Billion To Counter 'Russian Aggression'
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the Pentagon is requesting $3.4 billion for 2017 to counter "Russia's aggression," a fourfold increase from the fiscal year of 2016.
"We're reinforcing our posture in Europe to support our NATO allies in the face of Russia's aggression," Carter said in Washington on February 2.
He added that the funding would help boost the U.S. presence in eastern European nations as well.
"That'll fund a lot of things. More rotational U.S. forces in Europe, more training and exercises with our allies, more prepositioned warfighting gear, and infrastructure improvements to support it," Carter said.
Washington and its allies in Europe and elsewhere have targeted Russian with several rounds of sanctions in response to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea territory in 2014 and its support for pro-Russian separatists that are fighting Kyiv’s forces in eastern Ukraine.
The increased funding to counter Russia is part of a $582.7 billion defense budget that Carter said the Pentagon would seek for 2017 to deal with five major challenges faced by the U.S. military.
Carter said those challenges are Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and the Islamic State militant group.