OSCE media freedom representative deplores sanctions in Ukraine banning entry of journalists
VIENNA, 17 September 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said the sanctions introduced in Ukraine, banning several dozen foreign journalists from entering the country, is a severe threat to the rights of journalists to freely collect information. “I fully respect governments’ legitimate right to fight...
OSCE Representative calls on authorities in Hungary to ensure the safety of journalists covering the refugee crisis
VIENNA, 17 September 2015 – Hungarian law enforcement authorities must stop threatening and obstructing the work of journalists reporting on the refugee crisis, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today. “I call upon Prime Minister Orban to instruct law enforcement to respect the rights of journalists to report on...
ODIHR and HCNM report identifies widespread human rights violations, discrimination and legal irregularities in Crimea
KYIV, 17 September 2015 – Since the occupation and annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in early 2014, the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms has deteriorated radically for a large number of residents and displaced persons – particularly for pro-Ukrainian activists, journalists and the Crimean Tatar community, the OSCE...
The Four Original Options on Ukraine and NATO
In the conditions of a strongly anti-NATO popular leaning, from 1991 to 2013, Ukraine could not join NATO, nor could it join a Russian-dominated union without coercion, and the attempts, of its respective westernizers and easternizers to do so, backfired. The pressures to simplify and choose sides came from both ends, East and West. Their...
Skolkovo Tech School’s American Founder Steps Down
Institute plans to continue close cooperation with MIT, Russian media say. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Ukraine Bans Foreign Journalists Who Threaten ‘National Interests’
BBC’s Moscow correspondent among 388 people banned in Poroshenko’s latest sanctions. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
ENI’s Gas Discovery in Egypt Puts Pressure on Italian-Russian Energy Ties
The discovery of a world-class supergiant gas field in the waters off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast by Italian state-owned energy producer ENI is another step forward in Italy’s attempt to become an energy hub in southern Europe. Despite the silence of both the Russian government and the Kremlin-controlled oil and gas companies,...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 15 September 2015
This report is for the media and general Public The SMM monitored the implementation of the “Package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements”. Its monitoring was restricted by the parties and security considerations*. The SMM observed no ceasefire violations at and around the Donetsk airport. Several ceasefire violations were...
Murder of Gongadze must be fully investigated, Mijatović says, calls on authorities in Ukraine to end climate of impunity
VIENNA, 16 September 2015 – On the 15th anniversary of the disappearance of prominent Ukrainian journalist Georgyi Gongadze, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, reiterated her call on the authorities to fully investigate the crime. Gongadze went missing on 16 September 2001 and was later found dead outside Kyiv....
High utility rates will limit the purchasing power of Ukrainians
Director of Economic Programmes of the Razumkov Centre Vasyl Yurchyshyn believes that further increase of the utility rates will reduce the purchasing power of Ukrainians, informs the news agency RIA. “Currently the inflation is limited by the low standard of living of the citizens of Ukraine. However, increasing utility rates (from 1 September,...