Section: Newsweek (USA)
‘Putin Involved in Drug Smuggling Ring’, Says Ex-KGB Officer
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his long-time ally Victor Ivanov, who is currently head of Russia’s narcotics agency, have been implicated in helping run a drug smuggling and money laundering ring in St Petersburg in the 1990s. The allegations were made by ex-KGB officer Yuri Shvets who spoke at the inquiry into the death Alexander...
Crimea Could Serve as Location to Deploy Nuclear Weapons, Russia Says
While Western powers refuse to accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula, Russian officials have decided they not only control the territory but could deploy nuclear weapons from Crimea at will. “I don’t know if there are nuclear weapons there now. I don’t know about any plans, but in principle Russia can...
The Serbian Women Who Want Danish Sperm Donors
Antonia Adzic will never meet her father. But when she’s older, her mother will explain that he is a computer programmer and that his favourite colour is blue, his favourite animal is a lion. She will add that he likes football, travels frequently, has fine hand-writing – and is Danish. His nationality will intrigue Antonia, who currently...
Talks Under Way on Ending U.N. Sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Major world powers have quietly begun talks on a U.N. Security Council resolution to lift U.N. sanctions on Iran if a nuclear agreement is struck, a step that could make it harder for the U.S. Congress to undo a deal, Western officials said. The talks between Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States —...
1,400 Strong Taskforce to Hunt Down Draft Dodgers In Moscow
A 1,400-strong taskforce, made up of a quasi-militant group of Cossacks with strong ties to the establishment, has been implemented to crack down on draft dodgers in Moscow, according to Russian media. According to the Russian news website Moscow24, the head of the Southeast District Cossack Organisation, Sergey Shishkin, has announced that...
Blacklist Chelsea Football Club Owner Abramovich, says Putin Critic
Kremlin-critic Alexei Navalny has called on the EU and U.S. to impose sanctions against more Russian businessmen close to president Vladimir Putin, including blacklisting Chelsea FC-owner Roman Abramovich and Arsenal FC shareholder Alisher Usmanov. “You can draw up a blacklist of about 1,000 people who will no longer be allowed entry into western...
Poland to Hold Countrywide Defense Drills Says President’s Advisor
Poland will stress-test its defense capabilities with a series of countrywide drills involving the government, local authorities and the military in response to the Ukraine crisis, Polish president’s chief security adviser said. A former eastern bloc country which became a NATO member in 1999, Poland is concerned that Russia’s...
Crimean Tatars Fear Increasing Persecution
Human rights groups are warning that the persecution of Crimean Tatars, who make up around 13% of the population, is worsening, with an alarming increase in police raids, interrogations and arrests, sparking fear and unrest amongst the community. According to Amnesty International, since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in February 2014,...
Russia May Ease Ukraine’s Gas Terms, But Kiev Must Settle its Bills
Russia may ease the terms of its gas supplies to Ukraine but Kiev will have to pay for the gas Moscow is supplying to rebel-held areas of east Ukraine, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said. A supply deal for the winter expires on March 31, along with a discount of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas and a suspension of a take-or-pay...
Nemstov’s Friends Fear Kremlin’s Brutal Crackdown
Ilya Yashin, a long-time Russian political activist, always knew there would be a price to pay for the 2011–12 mass protests against “national leader” Vladimir Putin’s long rule. But what he hadn’t counted on was the ferocity of the Kremlin’s payback for those memorable afternoons, when the squares and boulevards of central...
