Section: The Guardian (The United Kingdom)
Ukraine demands the return of its combat dolphins: a short story by Ned Beauman
In July, Ukraine demanded Russia return its combat dolphins, trained to detect underwater mines. They were being held near Sevastopol, watched by Russian guards. Novelist Ned Beauman imagines what might have happenedOnline from Saturday, five more stories in our Stranger Than Fiction series, in which writers reimagine the weirdest events of...
Putin scraps New Year holidays for Russian cabinet ministers
Russian economic crisis makes traditional time off between 1 and 12 January unaffordable, Putin tells cabinet ministersRussia’s president Vladimir Putin has scrapped New Year holidays for government ministers because of the unfolding economic crisis.Russian private sector employees throughout the country are entitled to time off from 1...
MH17: Russia claims to have airfield witness who blames Ukrainian pilot
Russian investigators announce anonymous testimony of Ukrainian warplane taking off with air-to-air missiles and returning without them on 17 JulyRussian investigators announced on Wednesday that they had new proof from a witness that a Ukrainian pilot fired a missile on the day of the Malaysia Airlines crash which killed 298 people.The witness,...
Ukraine angers Russia with landmark step towards Nato
Moscow-Kiev relations plummet to all-time low as Ukraine votes to drop neutral status in bold move towards membershipThe Ukrainian parliament has renounced the country’s “non-aligned” status with the aim of eventually joining Nato, angering Moscow, which views Nato’s eastward expansion as a security threat.Any accession to the western...
Why Ukraine’s internal refugees have given up hope of returning home
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by war in the east, with those who venture back saying ‘bandits have taken over’With armed men roaming the streets and war closing in, Lena Nagiba decided to escape from rebel-held Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. She took her six children with her. That was in June. “How could I raise my kids there?”...
Angela Merkel has faced down the Russian bear in the battle for Europe | Timothy Garton Ash
In dealing with Putin, the German chancellor has united Europe. She is the stateswoman of the yearIn 2014, the battle for Europe’s future has been fought between two leaders: Russian president Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The contrast between them could not be sharper. There the Russian man: macho, militarist,...
Ukraine forms ‘ministry of truth’ to regulate the media
Journalists fear freedom of speech will be curtailed as Kiev follows Moscow in stepping up the propaganda war Зачем Украине “министерство правды» Ukraine has a new government ministry. This month, the parliament voted to create a ministry of information policy that will be led by Yuriy Stets, the head of the information security department...
MH17: hundreds of human remains still unidentified
Agony continues for families as authorities reveal that identification process could take another five monthsThe family of a British student who was travelling to Australia when he died on MH17 has revealed there are still 700 fragments of human remains to be identified in the Netherlands.Ben Pocock, 20, was en route to Perth to study at the...
Everything’s fine, says Putin in press conference – including my love life
A classic example of the Russian leader’s annual conference: just don’t mention the rouble or military involvement in UkraineWith flirtatious questions about his love life, noir wisecracks, earthy animal metaphors and forceful anti-western rhetoric, on the surface this was a classic Vladimir Putin press conference. The Russian...
Shortlisted entries for the Terry O’Neill Photography awards 2014 – in pictures
Death in Gaza, violence in Ukraine and an imaginative pitch for an advertising campaign for fruit are just some of the varied entries shortlisted for the Terry O’Neill Photography awards. This respected award, in partnership with the Guardian, attracted a huge range of talented and courageous photographers. The winner will be announced at...
