When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Russia

Putin Sacks Defense Minister Over Corruption Charges

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.

Agents of the Investigative Committee raided the offices of a state-controlled military contractor and opened an investigation into the company on suspicion that it had sold military and real estate assets to commercial firms at a loss of three billion rubles ($95 million), according to Reuters.

[rebelmouse-image 27085979 alt="""" original_size="320x400" expand=1]

Anatoly Serdyukov (Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby)

BBC News reports that in the six years that Anatoly Serdyukov had been defense minister, he had tried to crack down on widespread corruption and attempted to reform Russia's outdated armed forces – not without making enemies along the way.

Putin announced his decision at a meeting with the governor of the Moscow region Sergei Shoigu, whom he appointed as the new defense minister, BFM.ru reports. Shoigu, a former Minister of Emergency Situations is also a former general -- a background likely to win him the respect of the military.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

Mapping The Patriarchy: Where Nine Out Of 10 Streets Are Named After Men

The Mapping Diversity platform examined maps of 30 cities across 17 European countries, finding that women are severely underrepresented in the group of those who name streets and squares. The one (unsurprising) exception: The Virgin Mary.

Photo of Via della Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Italy.

Via della Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Italy.

Eugenia Nicolosi

ROME — The culture at the root of violence and discrimination against women is not taught in school, but is perpetuated day after day in the world around us: from commercial to cultural products, from advertising to toys. Even the public spaces we pass through every day, for example, are almost exclusively dedicated to men: war heroes, composers, scientists and poets are everywhere, a constant reminder of the value society gives them.

For the past few years, the study of urban planning has been intertwined with that of feminist toponymy — the study of the importance of names, and how and why we name things.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest