NEWS IN BRIEF

Date: 25 February 2015 - 21:06

News ID: ۱۱۴۱۲

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eddie Ray Routh was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a Texas jury found him guilty of murdering Chris Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL whose autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper."
Routh, 27, a former U.S. Marine, was found guilty of fatally shooting Kyle and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield, multiple times at a gun range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth in February 2013. Prosecutors said he ambushed the two from the rear, waiting for Kyle to completely unload his weapon at the range before he attacked with a barrage of gunshots.
Kyle, a former ranch had turned SEAL credited with the most confirmed kills of any U.S. military sniper, has been lionized in his home state of Texas. He became entrenched in U.S. popular culture in large part due to his best-selling book and the Academy Award nominated movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper.
After leaving military service, Kyle, who battled his own mental demons, helped counsel troubled veterans with trips for shooting and talks. He had driven Routh to the range with Kyle's neighbor, Littlefield.

ABU DHABI (PRESS TV) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has reportedly reached an agreement for the purchase of weapons from the Persian Gulf country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is itself one of the largest purchasers of US arms in the Middle East.
Speaking at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, Poroshenko did not, however, specify the volume or the type of weaponry Ukraine would purchase from the UAE but said they would help Kiev protect its territory from the pro-Russia forces.
The arms deal, according to press reports, was struck with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. However, UAE officials have not yet commented on the deal.
The Ukrainian president said following a meeting with top UAE officials that military technical-cooperation agreements were signed to bolster Ukraine’s arms industry, which he said would secure several export orders.
He further described the deals as "extremely important so we have the money to modernize our armed forces.”

ATHENS (AP) — Greece's prime minister was briefing his party's lawmakers Wednesday on pledges made to European creditors to win a four-month extension of the country's bailout, amid simmering discontent with what some see as a capitulation.
Greece cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday after the finance ministers of the other eurozone countries approved a list of Greek policy goals, including pledges to fight corruption, and granted the four-month extension.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was elected last month on campaign pledges to repeal some of the budget cuts and tax hikes made in return for 240 billion euros (currently $272 billion) in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
Without the extension, Greece faced the possibility of bankruptcy, limits on bank transactions and even a potential exit from euro, the joint currency used by 19 European nations.
While the government has sought to present the negotiated deal as a victory, it has faced criticism from party hardliners as well as opposition parties.
Energy and Environment Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, a party hardliner, has insisted he will stick to election promises not to go ahead with privatizations.
Wednesday's edition of the daily Ethnos newspaper quoted him as saying that the privatization of the power grid nor that of the country's power utility would be halted, as final binding bids had not yet been submitted.