The International Dimension of the Fight for Aleppo in Syria
The offensive by Bashar al-Assad’s military, supported by Russian troops, on Aleppo—Syria’s largest city—might be successful. This large-scale operation was facilitated by the improved relations between Russia and Turkey and because the United States has only limited military options at its disposal. If Aleppo falls, Assad will have...
October 20th, 2016
CHINA Rodrigo Duterte and Xi Jinping Agree to Reopen South China Sea Talks Jane Perlez, THE NEW YORK TIMES President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday, as part of a state visit that the United States is watching closely for further signs of a warming relationship. No major agreements were...
Romania the Leanest, Central Europe and Baltics Among Heaviest In the EU
Eurostat survey shows positive correlation between age and obesity, and a drop in obesity as education levels increase. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Netherland’s Rutte still mired in Ukraine referendum aftermath
At the EU summit overnight (20-21 October) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte obtained little support for his proposals for a way forward following the referendum in which his compatriots rejected the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. …read more Source:...
Samuel Charap – Russias use of military force as a foreign policy tool
Russia has used its military beyond its borders with unprecedented frequency in the period since the invasion of Crimea in February 2014. In this PONARS Policy Memo Samuel Charap explains this behaviour, arguing that we should see Moscow’s use of force as one element of a broader coercive bargaining process. …read more Source:...
Head of Beleaguered Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Crimea detained after informing PACE of rights abuses
Archbishop Kliment, the Head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Kyiv Patriarchate in Crimea, was detained on Oct 19. He was released this time but fears that Russia may be planning to ban him from occupied Crimea as it has Mustafa Dzhemliev and others …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Europe Funds Russian Aggression in Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond
On October 20, the Council of the European Union will consider its strategy toward the Russian Federation. Following the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Europe faces a genuine challenge: to recognize Russian aggression against Ukraine for what it is, and to provide truly effective measures to stop Moscow...
Russian Soldiers Sent to Ukraine Tracked by Hypermarkets and Unmarked Graves
Moscow’s continued denial of direct military aggression in Ukraine convinces nobody, it seems, with the latest confirmation coming from an unexpected, if sadly typical, source …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Russia is systematically driving tortured Ukrainian political prisoner insane
Russia’s Ukrainian political prisoner Stanislav Klykh’s rejection of his lawyer on Oct 17 and request for a singer to replace her is almost certainly linked with his psychologically disturbed state after 10 months of torture and psychotropic drugs, yet Russia is continuing to deny him a proper psychiatric assessment …read more...
Sentsov’s lawyer to defend Russia’s new tortured ‘Ukrainian Crimea saboteur’ hostage
2 and a half years after Russia’s FSB first seized Crimean filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 3 other opponents of Russia’s annexation, and charged them with a non-existent ‘terrorist plot’, the same scenario is being followed with (at least) two other Ukrainians. Yevhen Panov and Andriy Zakhtei have been illegally taken to Moscow with...
