Section: News & Summaries

      OSCE: Heavy arms in Luhansk and Donetsk for 9 May Day parades violate Minsk accords
      May10

      OSCE: Heavy arms in Luhansk and Donetsk for 9 May Day parades violate Minsk accords

      The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has said that it did not attend the military parades, but the presence of heavy weapons in the occupied cities of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine`s east for 9 May Day parades were in violation of the Minsk agreements.”The SMM did not attend the military parades but monitored the general security situation...

      Reuters: Saudi Arabia`s oil policy could become more transparent
      May10

      Reuters: Saudi Arabia`s oil policy could become more transparent

      The appointment of Khalid al-Falih as Saudi Arabia`s new energy minister to replace veteran oil minister Ali al-Naimi is likely to bring a big shift in style even if the substance of policy remains largely unchanged, according to Reuters. Naimi has served as the minister of petroleum and natural resources since 1995 and has long indicated a wish...

      The Washington Post: A fight to protect `the most valuable real estate in space`
      May10

      The Washington Post: A fight to protect `the most valuable real estate in space`

      While the United States has been bogged down in counter­terrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon officials say that Russia and China have been developing the capability to attack the United States in space, according to The Washington Post.Now, as Russia, China and others develop technology that could take out the national security...

      ICIJ releases Panama Papers database revealing thousands of secret offshore companies
      May10

      ICIJ releases Panama Papers database revealing thousands of secret offshore companies

      Searchable database displays more than 300,000 entities from the Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks investigations, according to International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published on May 9 a searchable database that strips away the secrecy of nearly 214,000 offshore entities...

      Why EU Sanctions on Russia Are Overrated but Still Needed
      May09

      Why EU Sanctions on Russia Are Overrated but Still Needed

      Calls for canceling the EU’s sanctions on Russia after they expire in July 2016 have recently been gathering momentum across Western Europe. On April 28, the French parliament passed a non-binding resolution recommending that the EU’s trade limits and other restrictions on Russia be lifted. Framing the sanctions as both ineffective...

      Seven bikers from Russian extremist gang refused entry by Ukraine`s border guards
      May09

      Seven bikers from Russian extremist gang refused entry by Ukraine`s border guards

      Ukraine`s State Border Guard Service refused to allow entry to Ukraine of six citizens of Belarus and another citizen of Moldova, who are all members of the Russian biker movement Night Wolves, according to the agency`s website.”During the period of the Easter and May holidays, no organized groups of bikers or even bikers-provocateurs who...

      Why Ukraine Needs the IMF
      May09

      Why Ukraine Needs the IMF

      Just after the May holidays, a mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to visit Ukraine from May 10-18. The Ukrainian government and the informed public pay great attention to this event, and rightly so. Ukraine is likely to obtain a much delayed credit of $1.7 billion by mid-June. The beauty of the IMF is speed, competence,...

      Michel Platini resigns as UEFA president
      May09

      Michel Platini resigns as UEFA president

      Michel Platini will resign as Uefa president after failing to overturn his ban at the court of arbitration for sport, which cut his sanction from six to four years, according to The Guardian.”I take note of today`s decision from CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] but I see it as a profound injustice,” Platini said in a statement, The Guardian...

      Ukraine’s Unique Totalitarian Trauma Offers Key to Historic Healing
      May09

      Ukraine’s Unique Totalitarian Trauma Offers Key to Historic Healing

      Across the former Soviet Union, May 9 is traditionally the date for Victory Day celebrations to mark the end of World War II. In Ukraine, it can often feel as if the war never actually ended. Ever since Ukraine gained independence in 1991, World War II has served as a proxy battleground for Ukrainians as they fight over the past in order to...

      Casualties reported as tripwire mine goes off in Luhansk region
      May09

      Casualties reported as tripwire mine goes off in Luhansk region

      A patrol of the Ukrainian troops in the early hours of Monday, May 9 accidentally set off a tripwire landmine planted by the Russian proxies near the village of Krymske in Luhansk region, the press service of the Luhansk military and civil administration reported.One Ukrainian soldier was killed in a blast while another two troops were wounded,...