Worldcrunch
UKRAINE READY TO NEGOTIATE WITH RUSSIAUkrainian Interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk told investors at a conference this morning that the government “would like to hold negotiations on Ukrainian-Russian relations and we think that our foreign ministers should meet as soon as possible,” Voice of Russia reports. He named bilateral trade and energy as topics that […]
KOMMERSANT (Russia) Worldcrunch MOSCOW – It’s a thorny question that has plagued governments for years: What exactly constitutes a bribe? It is particularly relevant in Russia, where corruption is so rampant that even well-meaning business people must grease the wheels in such a way that their counterparts in the West would scoff at. Russia’s Supreme […]
Vladimir Putin is genuinely convinced that protests against his rule are fomented abroad
KIEV CRACKDOWN ON FAR RIGHT Ukrainian police launched a wave of arrests against the far-right nationalist group Right Sector, after members threatened to avenge the death of their leader yesterday, The Moscow Timesreports. According to The Washington Post, a senior member of the group described it as a “counterrevolutionary activity” that they cannot accept. An […]
The two world powers and BRICS nations enjoy friendly relations, and both have an interest in expanding economic and political links. Still, there is another big player always looming.
UKRAINE AND RUSSIA OFFICIALS MEET Ukraine’s Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Deshchytsia met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a nuclear meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Itar-Tass reports. This is the first bilateral meeting between Ukrainian and Russian officials in recent weeks, and a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said this was […]
CRIMEA OFFICIALLY PART OF RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin officially asked the Russian Parliament for Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to become new members of the Russian Federation and introduced a bill that he urged them to sign following his address. CHINA BEGINS LAND SEARCHES FOR PLANE China has begun land searches for Malaysian […]
MOSCOW – Berel Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, was born in Milan and went to college in the United States. A U.S. citizen, Lazar is a controversial figure, but not because of his unusual pedigree. He arrived in Russia in 1990, and quickly attracted several Jewish oligarchs to his congregation. Their money lent his […]
UK-GERMANY THREATEN RUSSIA WITH MORE SANCTIONSBritish Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have reached common ground on the issue of the Crimean referendum, scheduled for next Sunday, by saying that Russia faced further consequences if it attempted to legitimize the vote, The Guardian reports. CALIFORNIA HIT BY EARTHQUAKEA magnitude 6.9 earthquake off […]
BBC (UK), EFE, EL TIEMPO, EL NACIONAL, INFOBAE, INTORNO INTELIGENTE (Venezuela), LA VANGUARDIA (Spain) Worldcrunch CARACAS– Though not unexpected, the death of Hugo Chavez after 14 years in power and a nearly two-year battle with cancer, has left Venezeula without a leader. The government announced Wednesday that the funeral for the 58-year-old President was set […]
Would-be parents in the US are more likely than any other nationality to adopt children with disabilities. The issue is heating up again after the death of a Russian boy in Texas.
And why it’s not as bad as you think.
Once mercenaries for Ivan the Terrible, the Cossacks were known as great fighters before being wiped out by the Bolsheviks. Now, they are on the frontline of a nationalistic revival.
BERLIN – People who were there said he cried for several minutes at the executive committee meeting on the morning after his defeat. As party members analyzed what had gone wrong in the state election campaign, the governor of the German state of Lower Saxony, David McAllister, burst into tears. Angela Merkel comforted him, and […]
LE POINT, LE PROGRÈS (France) Worldcrunch PARIS – It’s been an eventful couple of days for French actor Gérard Depardieu. Or is it Belgian actor Gérard Depardieu? Wait, you said Russian? In case you’re having trouble keeping up with Gégé’s moves, here’s a quick overview of what’s happened the past three days in the life […]
LE MONDE, EUROPE 1 (France) Worldcrunch MOSCOW- The Kremlin has issued a press release stating that Vladimir Putin had signed a decree on Thursday granting French movie legend Gerard Depardieu Russian citizenship if he ever needed it. The actor confirmed it to his friends in a Parisian restaurant Tuesday: “Putin has already sent me a […]
GDP v. Happy Planet Index? Some New Year’s number crunching from Moscow, comparing life in cold and warm climates, rich and poor countries, free and less free societies.
PUTIN TO PARDON KHODORKOVSKY After his annual press conference, Vladimir Putin stunned reporters by saying he will sign a pardon for jailed ex-Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky “in the nearest time,” RT reports. MARKETS ON THE RISE AFTER FED’S STIMULUS REDUCTION European and Asian stocks were on the rise this morning after the Federal Reserve’s announcement […]
MOSCOW – Barack Obama’s re-election has allowed many people in Moscow to sigh with relief: The Cold War really is over. And that is the most important take-away from the Russian capital after the 2012 presidential election in the United States. The Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, had surprised everyone during the campaign by citing Russia […]
BBC NEWS (UK), BFM.RU (Russia), REUTERS Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and replaced him with a loyal political ally after his ministry was involved in a corruption scandal. Putin’s decision appears to be connected to a probe announced by the Russia’s top investigative agency two weeks ago. […]
THE TIMES, THE TELEGRAPH, THE MIRROR (U.K.), ABC (U.S.), Worldcrunch In his new book Running My Life, Sebastian Coe, the former track star who led Britain’s move to secure the 2012 Olympics for London, recounts the final sprint to see who would host the Summer Games. Coe says Paris was the favorite of the Olympic […]
Worldcrunch Wait a minute. Ok, so Sandy is on its way and the race for the White House is up for grabs, but the rest of us are fretting about our Halloween costumes. We global news types naturally look for inspiration from other events that have been happening around the world over the past few […]
-Op-Ed- MOSCOW – The reality of our lives in Russia is that the beginning of the 21st century is being dominated by the political leadership of Vladimir Putin. But it is perfectly obvious that the next couple of years will be the most difficult, and for Russian society these years will be the most important. […]
MOSCOW – The question of whether or not citizens in Russia have the right to defend themselves if they are being beaten by police was taken up by the Supreme Court in June. The case came just after a large protest on May 6 that was marred by several police beatings. In regulations released soon […]
ALMATY – The sharp rise in tensions between the European Commission and Russian oil giant Gazprom is worrying the central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which are highly dependent on their gas and oil exports to the EU. “The relationship between Europe and Russia, in regards to energy, is similar to that of […]
KOMMERSANT, RT (Russia) Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Mitt Romney turned heads in both Moscow and Washington diplomatic circles last month when he called Russia the “No. 1 geopolitical foe” of the United States. Despite ongoing tensions between the two countries, the assertion surprised many in light of other, more hostile standoffs around the world. But now, […]
MOSCOW – U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland has announced that Washington would close the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) offices in Russia. Nuland said that it was the Russian government forcing the closure, a charge the Kremlin denies. “Like all foreign agencies that provide financing to Russian NGOs, USAID needs to follow […]
MOSCOW – It has been another rough few weeks for religious understanding in Russia. Last week in the North Caucasian region of Dagestan, an influential Islamic cleric was killed in a suicide bomb attack at his home. In addition to Said Afandi Al-Chirkavi, 74, the bomb killed seven others, including the suicide bomber, and the […]
KOMMERSANT (Russia) LIFE NEWS (Russia) KAZAN – Investigators found the bodies of a 76-year-old retired woman and her 38-year-old daughter in an apartment in Kazan. Both women appeared to have been stabbed to death. Heinous as the crime was, it wouldn’t have bound to generate national press coverage, except for what police found on one […]
THE GUARDIAN (UK), THE MOSCOW TIMES (Russia) Worldcrunch On Friday, the three members of Russian punk-band Pussy Riot were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and sentenced to two years in prison. Judge Marina Syrova said the defendants had “crudely undermined social order” when they staged an impromptu performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin, the newly re-elected president of Russia, presents himself as a humble, down to earth man of average means. But rumors about his wealth, and the secrecy surrounding it, have been circulating for years, as far back as his time as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the […]
MOSCOW – The three members of Pussy Riot, the Russian punk band accused of hooliganism for anunauthorized performance in a Moscow cathedral, had their last words in court on Wednesday after a weeklong trial. The verdict will be announced on August 17. For those outside Russia, this whole affair has been a litmus test for […]
MOSCOW – Proposed legislation in the Russian Duma (Lower House of Parliament) would forbid all public employees, including government ministers, the President and the Duma MPs themselves, from owning any real estate, stocks or bank accounts outside of Russia. In its current form, public employees found to have property or accounts abroad would be removed […]