Russia Apportions Blame for Boating Disaster
Storm that caused deaths of 14 youngsters had been predicted; instructors ignored pleas to cancel trip. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30, 19 June 2016
This report is for media and the general public. In Donetsk region, the SMM observed more ceasefire violations on 18 June compared to the previous day, but fewer on 19 June compared to each 17 and 18 June. In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations on each day compared to 17 June. The Mission assessed damage to houses in...
On World Refugee Day, OSCE parliamentarians and human trafficking representative call for more humane response to crisis
LAMPEDUSA, 20 June 2016 – On the occasion of World Refugee Day, OSCE parliamentarians called on countries across the OSCE region to more equitably share responsibilities towards refugees and migrants, as well as to improve integration measures to ensure that they can contribute to society. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s human rights and...
Ukrainian Gas Fraud Lands 10 in Jail
$120 million allegedly stolen by gas company officials and a member of parliament. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Choosing Sides in Serbia: Neutral or NATO?
Russia’s media are currently in a lather about their nation’s old friend Serbia becoming too chummy with the old adversary NATO. The mystery is: why? For all sorts of reasons, both domestic and diplomatic, Serbia is showing absolutely no hint of wanting to join NATO. It does want to join the European Union. Oddly, in a purely UK...
NATO Threatens Russia With Stern Letter-Writing Campaign to Save Ukraine
Vladimir Putin is doubtless unable to sleep at night: NATO has promised even-greater levels of engagement with Kyiv, as well as some cooperation and communication at the highest levels. Late last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg demanded that Russia remove its men and equipment from Eastern Ukraine, a demand that was slightly late...
White House Endorses Return of Azerbaijani Provinces to Baku
The United States has called for Armenia to end its illegal occupation of Azerbaijani provinces surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, something it has tried not to do for years. This is a significant event, even though Washington — one of the chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the international body pretending to mediate the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh —...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30, 16 June 2016
This report is for media and the general public. In Donetsk region, the SMM observed fewer ceasefire violations during the night of 15 June, as compared to the previous night, while it recorded more ceasefire violations during the daytime of 16 June compared to the previous day. In particular, it noted a sharp increase in the number of ceasefire...
Escalation in Donbas is favourable neither to Ukraine nor Russia
The situation in the conflict area in Eastern Ukraine has escalated; Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Herashchenko announced the highest number of dead and wounded in the last month. Military experts attribute this to the pressure on Ukraine to hold an election in the occupied area of Donbas and the situation around sanctions...
Exodus of Churches from Orthodox Summit
A once-in-a-millennium meeting is on shaky ground, and some wonder about Russia’s role. Plus the Ukrainian Orthodox Church seeks independence from its Moscow leadership. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
