Section: News & Summaries

      Russian Defense Ministry`s Tu-154 aircraft crash: possible causes named
      Dec25

      Russian Defense Ministry`s Tu-154 aircraft crash: possible causes named

      Viktor Ozerov, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, said the plane crash could be caused by technical failure or pilot error, Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported. ”I rule out a terrorist attack as cause of the crash. The aircraft [operated by] the Defense Ministry, [flying in] the Russian airspace, there...

      10,000 social media users currently under investigation on suspicion of terrorist propaganda in Turkey
      Dec25

      10,000 social media users currently under investigation on suspicion of terrorist propaganda in Turkey

      The Ministry of Interior Affairs has announced that 10,000 people are currently under investigation on suspicion of terrorist propaganda and insulting senior state officials on social media, according to Turkish Minute. In a press release the ministry also stated that in the last six months 3,710 social media users were investigated, of whom...

      Russian defence plane Tu-154 flying to Syria crashed into Black Sea. 92 people died including chief of Russia’s military police
      Dec25

      Russian defence plane Tu-154 flying to Syria crashed into Black Sea. 92 people died including chief of Russia’s military police

      The Tu-154 plane of Russia`s Defense Ministry has fallen in the Black Sea, near Sochi. ”According to preliminary data, it fell in the Black Sea,” the source said, according to TASS. The source also said that debris and chassis of the Tu-154 plane of Russia`s Defense Ministry were found some 6 kilometers from the Black Sea coast. The Defense...

      Trump aide partnered with firm run by man with alleged KGB ties – Bloomberg
      Dec25

      Trump aide partnered with firm run by man with alleged KGB ties – Bloomberg

      Donald Trump`s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, partnered this year with a controversial technology company co-run by a man once convicted of trying to sell stolen biotech material to the Russian KGB espionage agency, according to Bloomberg. Subu Kota, who pleaded guilty in 1996 to selling the material to an FBI agent posing as a Russian...

      Igor Dodon was sworn in as Moldova`s president promising unity and neutrality
      Dec24

      Igor Dodon was sworn in as Moldova`s president promising unity and neutrality

      Igor Dodon was sworn in as Moldova`s new president on December 23, calling for unity in the divided country and pledging to maintain Moldova`s neutrality, according to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The inaugural ceremony at the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau was attended by dignitaries from Russia, Belarus, Hungary and other European...

      Russian militants attacked Ukraine 50 times in last 24 hours, used artillery, mortars and Grads
      Dec24

      Russian militants attacked Ukraine 50 times in last 24 hours, used artillery, mortars and Grads

      Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 50 times in the past 24 hours, including twice on the settlement, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters. In the Mariupol sector, the enemy repeatedly fired 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82-mm mortars, grenade...

      Boris Johnson calls on all parties to implement agreed ceasefire in Donbas
      Dec24

      Boris Johnson calls on all parties to implement agreed ceasefire in Donbas

      British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire in Donbas and called on all parties to implement it. ”I welcome the announcement of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, which follows particularly high levels of violence over recent days,” he said in a statement. According to Johnson, this conflict continues to...

      Obama signs Defense Act authorizing up to USD350 mln for Ukraine security
      Dec24

      Obama signs Defense Act authorizing up to USD350 mln for Ukraine security

      U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law the National Defense Authorizations Act (NDAA), 2017 authorizing up to US$350 million to be made available for security assistance to Ukraine, according to Ukraine`s Embassy to the United States. This amount includes lethal defensive assistance, for the fiscal year 2017, the Embassy wrote on...

      U.S. abstains as UN Security Council demands end to Israeli settlements
      Dec24

      U.S. abstains as UN Security Council demands end to Israeli settlements

      The United States on Friday allowed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction to be adopted, defying extraordinary pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s government in alliance with President-elect Donald Trump, according to CNN. The Security Council approved the resolution with 14 votes, with the US...

      Air strikes resume around Aleppo Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
      Dec24

      Air strikes resume around Aleppo Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

      The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said air strikes resumed in rebel-held areas of the countryside near Aleppo on Friday for the first time since the end of an operation this week to evacuate rebels and civilians from the city, according to Reuters. Strikes hit to the west, south-west and south of the city, which the Syrian government...