insert_link World Ukraine war: ten years after Putin annexed Crimea, Russia’s grip on the peninsula looks shaky By Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham It is ten years since Russia illegally annexed Crimea on March 18 2014. Subsequent efforts to firmly integrate the peninsula into the Russian Federation, however, have been far from the success story that the Kremlin often likes to portray. In fact, comparing the increasingly shaky grip that Moscow has on the peninsula today with the situation before the annexation would suggest […] today18 March, 2024
insert_link Videos Six more years: Putin claims landslide election victory in Russia Vladimir Putin has won a fifth term as president in a landslide election victory that had an all but certain outcome. Russia's number one faced no credible opposition candidates, amid a ruthless crackdown on dissent and critical voices. Russian election officials said Putin - who will now serve another six-year term on top of his nearly quarter-century rule - won more than 87% of the vote. Putin claimed Russia's democratic […] today18 March, 2024
insert_link World How conspiracy theories help to maintain Vladimir Putin’s grip on power in Russia By Gemma Ware, The Conversation As Russians head to the polls on March 15 for the presidential election, conspiracy theories are swirling everywhere. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to a disinformation expert about the central role these theories play in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. As soon as the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony was announced in February, […] today15 March, 2024
insert_link World Russian elections: despite fixing the opposition, Vladimir Putin wants lots of people to vote for him By Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex Russians head to the polls this week in a presidential election that will almost certainly result in Vladimir Putin decisively winning yet another six-year term. When he does, it will make him the longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. Advance polling indicates he will earn 75% of the vote and face little or no meaningful opposition. His three main opponents are each […] today14 March, 2024
World The UN Security Council Is Struggling ‘Day by Day,’ Japan Says Secretary-General António Guterres, left, and Kazuyuki Yamazaki, permanent representative of Japan and president of the Security Council for March, before a recent meeting on Sudan and South Sudan. Only three months in the UN post, Yamakazi leads the Council on a range of crises this month, from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to conflicts in parts of Africa, as Japan also highlights its own two signature debates: building peace […] today13 March, 2024
insert_link Business / Economics IMF Ukraine / Commercial Real Estate Risks / Zambia The IMF praised the Ukrainian authorities for implementing anti-corruption measures in a new law, spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters Thursday (March 7) in Washington, DC. “On the corporate governance law, the approval of what we would consider a landmark corporate governance law is a very important step towards strengthening state owned enterprises (SOEs) in Ukraine,” said Kozack. “The law enhances the role of supervisory boards and brings Ukrainian […] today11 March, 2024
insert_link Videos Hackers expose how Russia skirts sanctions for its weapons Despite tight sanctions, Western parts are being used in Russia’s battlefield weapons. CBC’s Ben Makuch meets with Ukrainian hackers who reveal that one arms maker is after Canadian technology and how a complex web of intermediaries make it possible. today7 March, 2024
insert_link Videos Ukraine’s accession could cost €136 billion to the EU budget, new report estimates This would represent 0.10% and 0.13% of the EU's gross domestic product (GDP). The projection uses the existing rules and design of the 2021-2027 budget to extract a projection of how much money the war-torn nation would be entitled to after obtaining the coveted membership. Ukraine was first declared a candidate in June 2022 and was given the go-ahead for accession negotiations in December 2023. The findings exclude the enormous […] today7 March, 2024
insert_link World UN condemns death sentences in Ukraine The UN human rights office has expressed concern at the sentencing to death of a Moroccan man and two Britons by a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine, saying such trials against prisoners of war amounted to a war crime. The UN says the three were part of Ukraine's armed forces, and therefore could not be described as mercenaries. The AFP news agency reports that Brahim Saadoun was a student […] today5 March, 2024
