Section: US & Canada
In Death, Boris Nemtsov Embodies the Hope of a Better Russia
Boris Efimovich Nemtsov was killed just before midnight on February 27 2015. Nemtsov’s death was both the culmination and the continuation of his extraordinary political life. I first encountered Nemtsov in 1992 at a meeting with a World Bank delegation in his office in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, a few months after he had been appointed...
Putin’s Next Prize in Eastern Ukraine
During the four-month-long “ceasefire” that followed the Sept. 5, 2014, Minsk agreement between Ukraine’s government and the Russia-backed separatist rebels, the shells never stopped falling on four key targets: Two of them — the Donetsk airport and the city of Debaltseve — have now been captured. Indeed, Russia’s second major...
Nemtsov murder witness says blocked from leaving Moscow
Moscow (AFP) – The Ukrainian model girlfriend of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov complained Monday she was being blocked from leaving Moscow, as authorities vowed to solve the most shocking political assassination of Vladimir Putin’s rule.The funeral for Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, longtime Putin...
Nemtsov murder witness says blocked from leaving Moscow
Moscow (AFP) – The Ukrainian model girlfriend of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov complained Monday she was being blocked from leaving Moscow, as authorities vowed to solve the most shocking political assassination of Vladimir Putin’s rule.The funeral for Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, longtime Putin...
The Future of Wombs for Rent
When Thailand’s parliament passed a law banning most forms of surrogacy late last month, its main motivations were clear. Last year, two major scandals brought to a head longstanding concerns that Thailand wasn’t doing to enough to protect the women hired to bear children for other people and the children born through surrogacy. Last...
A New Front In The Ukrainian Conflict: Russian Gas Imports
Russia has cut off Ukraine’s gas supplies in the past and is threatening to do it again. The latest payment dispute comes at a sensitive moment in the crisis in eastern Ukraine.» E-Mail This …read more Source:...
Kremlin-Friendly Media Offers Explanations for Nemtsov’s Murder
Speculation surrounding the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has raged after he was shot in central Moscow in the early hours of Saturday morning. Many observers have already added Nemtsov to the mounting list of names of Kremlin opponents who have been killed in highly suspicious circumstances such as journalist Anna...
Kerry, Lavrov in ‘Hopeful’ Talks as Ukraine Toll Tops 6,000
The U.S. and Russian foreign ministers expressed cautious optimism after holding talks in Geneva Monday to end fighting in Ukraine, where the U.N. says more than 6,000 people have died in less than a year. …read more Source:...
EU Mediates Gas Talks Between Russia, Ukraine
Russia and Ukrainian energy ministers got together for key gas talks in Brussels, amid threats by Russia’s Gazprom to cut off deliveries to Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have sparred over gas deliveries and payments before. With the conflict in eastern Ukraine further deepening divisions between the two countries, their energy ministers...
Netherlands Boosts Defence Spending in Light of MH17
The Netherlands might be better known for its tulip fields and liberal ideals than bombs and bullets. However, a report commissioned by the European Leadership Network (ELN) has found that the Dutch are bucking the trend in western Europe in terms of military spending. The Dutch government boosted its defence budget to €8 billion for the fiscal...
