Bloomberg Two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin swiped Crimea, the fallout from his Ukrainian land grab continues to reverberate through nearby budgets. It’s most visible in Lithuania, whose split from the Soviet Union was among the bloodiest of the communist collapse. The government there raised defense spending by more than 30 percent in 2015, outdoing NATO’s 27 other members. …

Bloomberg The European Union’s eastern members agreed that should a deal with Turkey to stem the flow of refugees into Europe fail, the bloc should have a “plan B” that would seal Greece’s northern borders. Leaders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, meeting in Prague three days before an EU summit, offered troops, police and other aid to …

RAS AL KHAIMAH / WAM Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has extended his deep condolences to the family of martyr Abdullah Juma Al Shamsi, who fell in the line of duty while participating in the Arab Coalition “Operation Restoring Hope”, led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Sheikh Mohammed …