The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

U.S. House Speaker, Republican John Boehner, traveling in the Middle East this week, warned that, should Iran nuclear program negotiations fail, new sanctions would be imposed, and quickly. Iran and the P5+1 world powers worked toward a self-imposed midnight Tuesday deadline to reach a framework for a deal aimed at ensuring that Tehran cannot develop a nuclear bomb, and removing U.N. sanctions that are crippling the country’s economy. With hours to go until Tuesday’s deadline, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN from Lausanne, Switzerland, "There still remain some difficult issues. We are working into the night and obviously into tomorrow.... Everyone knows the meaning of tomorrow." Boehner, speaking Sunday on CNN’s news show State of the Union, said if the talks collapse, “The sanctions are going to come, and they’re going to come quick. "I just don't understand why we would sign an agreement with a group of people who in my opinion have no intention of keeping their word," he added. Boehner told State of the Union he has had ”serious doubts” about the current negotiations. On Monday, he accused the White House of playing a “dangerous game of false choices,” in a statement published on his website. “The White House has attempted to construct this false choice again and again. It would have Americans believe that anyone who questions the president wants war with Iran and hundreds of thousands of American troops on the ground in places like Iraq and Yemen,” Boehner’s statement said. Focus on Iran, Islamist threat Boehner and a delegation of senior Republican lawmakers are in the Middle East this week, with discussions focused on Iranian-backed violence and the growing Islamist terrorist threat in the region. His office did not reveal specific details about his itinerary, citing security concerns. Boehner met Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman. On Monday, the delegation met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Plans also include meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this week. Tensions between Boehner and the Obama administration have been heightened since he invited Netanyahu to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress earlier this month. He did not consult with the White House, which called the invitation a breach of protocol. Netanyahu used his address to criticize nuclear negotiations between the P5+1 group, which includes the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany, and Iran. He said the negotiations were a “bad deal” and virtually ensured Iran would obtain a nuclear weapon. Obama rejected Netanyahu’s claim, saying he would “rather have no deal than a bad deal. But if we’re successful in negotiating, then in fact this will be the best deal possible to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” Netanyahu further infuriated the White House and other Western allies by saying he would not support a two-state solution to resolve the Palestinian conflict on the eve of Israeli elections. He has since backtracked on the rhetoric. Speaking on State of the Union, Boehner discussed what he called Obama’s attacks on Netanyahu and growing bipartisan concerns with the administration’s approach in the Middle East. “I have one goal. That goal is to make sure that the American people heard and the Congress heard about the serious threat that Iran poses not only to the Middle East but for the rest of the world including the United States,” Boehner said. “The president doesn't want to talk about it. Doesn't want to talk about the threat of radical Islam and the fact that he has no strategy to deal with it.” In responding to Boehner’s criticism of Obama’s foreign policy, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on ABC’s This Week, "I will simply say that if John Boehner thinks that U.S. troops should be on the ground in Yemen fighting the Houthis, or that we should re-occupy Iraq, or that the United States should bomb Iran to prevent them from obtaining a nuclear weapon, then he should have the courage of his convictions to actually say so.” U.S. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell also traveled to the Middle East, meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv Sunday.

Russia Launches Next Deadly Phase of Hybrid War on Ukraine - Newsweek
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:12 PM

Newsweek

Russia Launches Next Deadly Phase of Hybrid War on Ukraine
Newsweek
Ukraine's state security service, the SBU, says Russia has entered into a new phase of its campaign to destabilise Ukraine, with the 22 February attack in Kharkiv just one of a series of bombings orchestrated by Russian spy services, the FSB and the GRU.

and more »

Former FBI Agent Sentenced To 10 Years In Afghan Corruption Case
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:25 PM

More news for Robert Lustyik Jr

A former FBI agent accused of trying to derail an investigation into alleged corruption by a U.S. defense contractor in Afghanistan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Ex-FBI Agent Sentenced to 10 Years in Afghan Kickback Scheme
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:28 PM

ABC News: U.S.

A former FBI agent accused of trying to derail a Utah investigation into an alleged defense contractor kickback scheme was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday.

Prosecutors say that in exchange for promised riches, now-retired New York counterintelligence agent [!!! - M.N.] Robert Lustyik Jr. created a dossier of fabricated interviews with former federal agents to make it look like the defense contractor's chief was a key source.

At his sentencing hearing in Salt Lake City, Lustyik, 52, said he had been transferred to a smaller office shortly before he got involved with the scheme in 2011 and was determined to make one last big case.

"No man is above the law, and for nine months I forgot that," he said. "I took a boyhood dream of wanting to become an FBI agent and I destroyed it."

Prosecutor Maria Lerner said the public expects more of law enforcement.

"He sold his badge and he violated his oath," Lerner said. "He was desperately trying to get rich off of destroying a criminal case."

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell sentenced Lustyik to several years less than what prosecutors asked for. She acknowledged that he has a wife and two children, one of them undergoing multiple surgeries for a medical condition. The time he serves will be particularly difficult because he's a former agent, she said.

Also sentenced Monday was the contractor, 54-year-old former special forces soldier Michael L. Taylor, who got two years in prison.

A friend of Lustyik's accused of acting as a messenger between the two men, Johannes Thaler, was sentenced to 13 months.

Lustyik and Thaler, 51, were also ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution.

Federal prosecutors say the onetime FBI agent agreed to derail a Utah investigation into a company started by former soldiers and suspected of paying kickbacks to win $54 million in bloated government contracts in Afghanistan.

In exchange for a cut of the multimillion-dollar business, Lustyik promised to "blow the doors off" the investigation, prosecutors said.

Utah authorities began investigating the company after one of Taylor's associates made several cash withdrawals from a St. George credit union that were just shy of a $10,000 federal reporting limit.

Lustyik moved to block that investigation, telling a Utah-based FBI agent that Taylor helped officials capture a significant terrorist. He believed his career in law enforcement was poised to provide a big payoff in 2012 when he offered $1 million as a gift to a friend, the charges state.

"I've made us all stinking rich!!!" Lustyik wrote the friend, according to an email included in charging documents. "For 30 years I've sacrificed to get to this point."

Lustyik, who retired in 2012 from his post in White Plains, New York, is also facing sentencing in New York after pleading guilty to charges alleging that he and Thaler sold confidential information to someone who wanted to harm a prominent citizen of Bangladesh.

Robert Lustyik Jr - Google Search
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:38 PM

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Utah judge sentences former FBI agent to 10 years in federal fraud ...

Salt Lake Tribune-22 hours ago

Prosecutors say Lustyik, a counterintelligence officer based in White ... Robert G. Lustyik Jr. was sentenced in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court ...

Ex-FBI agent sentenced to 10 years in Afghan kickback scheme
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Lawyers: No jail for former FBI 'spy hunter'

The Journal News | <a href="http://LoHud.com" rel="nofollow">LoHud.com</a>-Mar 25, 2015

Robert Lustyik Jr. was a decorated federal agent "with a long and ... Lustyik and Thaler, 51, were indicted in a second case in White Plains on ...
Salt Lake Tribune

Ex-FBI agent sentenced to 10 years in Afghan scheme

Daily Herald-Mar 30, 2015

Retired New York agent Robert Lustyik Jr. was sentenced Monday in Salt Lake City. Federal Judge Tena Campbell said she hopes the ...
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The Journal News | <a href="http://LoHud.com" rel="nofollow">LoHud.com</a>-Sep 30, 2014

Robert Lustyik will go back before U.S. District Judge Justin Pead on Thursday to determine whether he will have to prepare for his next case ...

Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty in Utah federal court to conspiracy
Salt Lake Tribune-Sep 29, 2014

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Washington Times

Ex-FBI Agent Admits Taking Cash To Derail Kickbacks Probe

Law360 (subscription)-Oct 2, 2014

A 24-year veteran of the FBI, Robert Lustyik Jr. pled guilty on Sept. 29 to an 11-count indictment alleging he obstructed justice by using his ...

Target of FBI bribery probe successfully bribes FBI agent
Washington Times-Oct 2, 2014

Explore in depth (9 more articles)
Judge orders ex-FBI agent held in custody

Salt Lake Tribune-Mar 19, 2013

Robert G. Lustyik Jr., 50, of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., was immediately ... Raymond Mansolillo, Lustyik'sattorney, said he will appeal the decision.
Lustyik Arrest Takes Sleepy Hollow by Surprise

<a href="http://Patch.com" rel="nofollow">Patch.com</a>-Oct 7, 2012

Robert Lustyik, Jr., a member of a family with deep ties to Tarrytown, was arrested by federal investigators from his Philipse Manor home last ...
Appeals Court Denies Ex-FBI Agent Robert Lustyik Jr. Freedom ...

<a href="http://ticklethewire.com" rel="nofollow">ticklethewire.com</a>-Jul 5, 2013

Ex-FBI agent Robert Lustyik Jr. won't be getting out federal prison in Utah any time soon. The website <a href="http://Lohud.com" rel="nofollow">Lohud.com</a> reports that afederal appeals ...
Deseret News

Ex-FBI agent headed to trial in Afghan scheme involving former ...

<a href="http://ArmyTimes.com" rel="nofollow">ArmyTimes.com</a>-Sep 28, 2014

Retired FBI agent Robert G. Lustyik Jr., leaves federal court in Salt Lake City on Oct. 30, 2012, after pleading not guilty to charges of trying to ...

Ex-FBI agent goes on trial for interference in Utah-based investigation
Deseret News-Sep 28, 2014

Explore in depth (34 more articles)
The Daily Star

Conspiracy Gives Way to Pleas on Bribery Charges

Courthouse News Service-Oct 20, 2014

Robert Lustyik Jr., a 24-year veteran of the FBI, allegedly sold confidential, internal law enforcement information to Rizve Ahmed, with the help ...

robert lustyik jr - Google Search
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:28 PM

Search Results

In the news

Ex-FBI Agent Sentenced to 10 Years in Afghan Kickback Scheme

ABC News‎ - 20 hours ago

Prosecutors say that in exchange for promised riches, now-retired New York counterintelligence agent Robert Lustyik Jr. created a dossier of ...

Utah judge sentences former FBI agent to 10 years in federal fraud case
Salt Lake Tribune‎ - 23 hours ago
Ex-FBI agent sentenced to 10 years in Afghan scheme
Reading Eagle‎ - 22 hours ago

_____________________________________

Freedom House Demands Campaign Against Baku Over Jailed Journalist
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:25 PM

Democracy advocates at Freedom House, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, have called for an international campaign aimed at pressuring Azerbaijan to free jailed investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.

Вместе с Costa Concordia ушел на дно кокаин итальянских мафиози - НТВ.ru
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:25 PM

НТВ.ru

Вместе с Costa Concordia ушел на дно кокаин итальянских мафиози
НТВ.ru
На борту круизного лайнера Costa Concordia, затонувшего в 2012 году, находилась крупная партия кокаина, принадлежавшая мафии. Об этом сообщает итальянская пресса. 1004. Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное. Twitter · Facebook · Вконтакте · Google+. Прямая ссылка:.
На борту затонувшего Costa Concordia находилась крупная партия кокаина итальянских мафиозиАМИ Тренд
На борту затонувшего лайнера Costa Concordia, по некоторым данным, была крупная партия кокаинаРадиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ
На борту круизного лайнера Costa Concordia находилась крупная партия кокаинаPanorama.am
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Путин готовится выступить на юбилейной сессии Генассамблеи ООН - Независимая газета
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:24 PM

BBC Russian

Путин готовится выступить на юбилейной сессии Генассамблеи ООН
Независимая газета
Как стало известно "Ъ", президент РФ Владимир Путин может выступить на открытии 70-й юбилейной сессии Генеральной ассамблеи ООН в сентябре этого года в Нью-Йорке. По словам информированных источников "Ъ", "поездка готовится", но окончательная ясность появится в ...
Путин может выступить в Нью-Йорке на 70-й сессии Генассамблеи ООННТВ.ru
"Коммерсант": Путин намерен выступить на юбилейной сессии Генассамблеи ООНГрани.Ру
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ТВ Центр - Официальный сайт телеканала -BBC Russian -Lenta.ru
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Бывшего начальника киевской милиции заподозрили в штурме Майдана - Lenta.ru
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:24 PM

Forbes Ukraine

Бывшего начальника киевской милиции заподозрили в штурме Майдана
Lenta.ru
Генеральная прокуратура Украины заподозрила бывшего начальника киевской милиции Валерия Мазана и его заместителя Петра Федчука в организации штурма Майдана в ночь с 18 на 19 февраля 2014 года. Как сообщает РИА Новости, надзорный орган страны собрал ...
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«Боец спецназа ДНР» рассказал о роли российских военных в боях в Донбассе - РБК
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:23 PM

Gazeta.ua

«Боец спецназа ДНР» рассказал о роли российских военных в боях в Донбассе
РБК
Россиянин Дмитрий Сапожников, который, как он сам говорит, в октябре 2014 года поехал в зону конфликта в Донбассе в качестве добровольца и возглавляет «отделение спецназа» самопровозглашенной Донецкой народной республики, рассказал о роли российских военных во ...
Ополченец рассказал СМИ о русских генералах на ДонбассеSibnet.ru
Наемник из России рассказал, как буряты на танках штурмовали ДебальцевоГлавред
Боец "спецназа ДНР" признался, что помощь российских танковых подразделений во время боев за Дебальцево была решающейСвежие новости сегодня. Последние новости интернет издания "Fresh-News"
Центр журналистских расследований -Young Urkaine
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Iran Denies Sending Arms to Yemen Rebelsby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:23 PM

Iran's foreign ministry said Tuesday the government had sent aid to Yemen but denied shipping weapons to the country where a Saudi-led coalition is conducting airstrikes to try to stop Iranian-backed rebels. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham as saying allegations of arms shipments to the Houthis were "complete fabrications." Afkham said non-military flights had carried in the aid and medicine.
Airstrikes continue Coalition warplanes continued bombing the capital, Sana'a, including hitting a weapons storage area Monday and setting off huge explosions at the site. Another airstrike earlier Monday killed at least 45 people and wounded another 65 near a refugee camp in northern Yemen. Humanitarian workers said the bombing had targeted a nearby military installation in the northern district of Haradh, but the circumstances involved in the attack were not clear.
UN expresses concern The U.N. human rights office and the international Red Cross say they are alarmed by the high civilian causalities in the violence in Yemen. Tuesday's statement from Geneva said U.N. human rights staffers in Yemen have verified that at least 19 civilians died when airstrikes hit a refugee camp in northern Yemen, with at least 35 wounded, including 11 children. The International Committee of the Red Cross is appealing to the parties in the conflict to allow delivery of medical supplies to the wounded. Houthis blamed for refugee camp attack Since last Thursday, a Saudi-led coalition has conducted an aerial bombardment throughout the country against Yemen's Houthi Shi'ite rebels, but Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen blamed a Houthi artillery strike for the refugee camp casualties. A spokesman for the International Organization for Migration said it was not immediately clear how many of those killed were civilians or armed personnel. After seizing the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, last year, the Houthis have advanced toward the southern port city of Aden, the economic center of the impoverished nation. The insurgents shelled Aden with artillery Monday as they pushed into the northeastern outskirts of the city, while Saudi fighter jets continued to pound rebel positions. Officials said the Houthis and supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh battled local militias. The country's current president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, had declared Aden the provisional capital before he fled the country for Riyadh last week. About 100 people have been killed in the fighting in Aden in the last several days and Hadi's aides said he has no immediate plans to return there.
Some material for this report came from AP

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На железнодорожной станции в Харькове прогремел взрыв - Российская Газета
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:23 PM

Российская Газета

На железнодорожной станции в Харькове прогремел взрыв
Российская Газета
На железнодорожной станции в Харькове сработало взрывное устройство. Эту информацию подтвердил пресс-секретарь прокурора Харьковской области Вита Дубовик. читайте также. Фото: Игорь Маслов/РИА Новости www.ria.ru ДНР: Силовики открыли огонь по аэропорту Донецка и ...
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Why Russia suddenly wants to supply cheap gas to Ukraine - Business Insider
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:23 PM

Business Insider

Why Russia suddenly wants to supply cheap gas to Ukraine
Business Insider
The Russian government is requesting that its state-owned gas giant Gazprom provide discounted gas to the struggling government in Ukraine. The deal seems weird because Russiais also supporting an armed insurgency inside Ukraine, made up of ...
Russia's Gazprom: Profits plunge 70%CNNMoney
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Will Russia Approve Gazprom OAO (ADR) Request To Extend Natural Gas ...Bidness ETC
FuelFix (blog)-Kyiv Post
all 69 news articles »

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Page 3

Moscow’s Nervousness about Buryatia Highlights Transbaikal Republic’s Importance by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:22 PM

Paul Goble

Staunton, March 31 – Foreign intelligence services are seeking to drive a wedge between the various peoples of Buryatia, a Kremlin official told a Novosibirsk meeting on ethnic relations and national security yesterday, a latest indication of Moscow’s increasing nervousness about that strategically important republic and a signal to Buryats of just how important they are.

Magomedsalam Magomedov, the deputy head of the Russian Presidential Administration, said that inter-ethnic relations in the Siberian Federal District were improving but that in Buryatia things were going in the opposite direction as a result of the work of foreign intelligence services and diplomats (asiarussia.ru/news/6695/).

The Kremlin aid added that there were problems as well in Tuva (another Buddhist republic), the Transbaikal kray (where there are numerous Buryats), and Omsk. But Magomedov was clearly focused on Buryatia, and his words have already sparked an active discussion in that Transbaikal republic.

Arkady Zarubin, a journalist in Buryatia, suggested that what Magomedov had said reflects the fact that “Buryatia is a strategically important territory for the country,” one through which “all land routes to the East pass through” and in which, thanks to Lake Baikal, there is an enormous reserve of potable water.

Thus, he said, “stability” in Buryatia must be maintained “at any price.”

That Moscow doesn’t think that there is such stability now reflects the enormous corruption in the region, the incompetence of the republic’s leadership in appointing a Russian outsider to head the local university, and the work of the Buryat opposition. But the role of foreign intelligence services is obscure, he suggested.

Whenever he has been involved in preparing protest meetings, Zarubin said, “no special services besides the local ones have disturbed [him]. Since when did these become foreigners? Or don’t I know something?” he asked. What is clearly going on is that somebody feels he or she has to blame outsiders in order to shift blame.

Buryatia, an enormous republic which sits astride the Transbaikal region, numbers just under a million people, who are roughly divided between the Buryats who form a third of the population and ethnic Russians who form almost two-thirds. Maintaining tight central control over it has always been a focus of Moscow’s security thinking.

But talking about this reality may have just the opposite effect that Moscow intends. That is because comments like those of Magomedov remind Buryats like Zarubin of just how important they are in the mental maps of Muscovites, a reminder that may lead them to make more rather than fewer demands on the center.

And in comparison to many other non-Russian republics within the Russian Federation, the Buryats have two serious advantages: On the one hand, as a Buddhist people, they are linked to Tuva and Kalmykia, the two other Buddhist nations in Russia. And on the other, as Mongols, they have increasingly close ties to neighboring Mongolia.

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· · · ·

Western Scholars Alarmed By Russian Deportations, Finesby noreply@rferl.org (Carl Schreck)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:21 PM

At least four Western scholars in Russia have been deported, fined, or threatened with these penalties over the past year due to alleged visa violations, unnerving many U.S. and European academics whose career advancement often depends on access to Russian archives.

Belarusian Spy Agencies’ Cooperation with Russian Ones in Lithuania Highlights Larger Problemby paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:21 PM

The Moscow Times Top Stories

Paul Goble

Staunton, March 31 – The security services of Belarus are closely cooperating with their Russian counterparts against Lithuania as far as their targets are concerned, according to the annual report of the Lithuanian State Security Department, an arrangement that underscores the real relationship of Mensk and Moscow and that calls attention to a much larger problem.

That larger problem is this: After the disintegration of the USSR, Moscow maintained its covert presence in the other post-Soviet capitals and especially in their security agencies and often has deployed them against third countries where residents may be less suspicious of their actions than they would be of those of Russian officials.

Thus, to take a hypothetical example, a Lithuanian official almost certainly would be less cautious if approached by a Belarusian than he or she would be if approached by a Russian, something KGB and FSB doctrine fully recognizes and has long sought to exploit through an especially nefarious kind of “false flag” operation.

According to the Lithuanian report on “Threats from the Belarusian Security Services” (available in Lithuanian at vsd.lt/Files/Documents/635633000992101250.pdf and analyzed in Russian at charter97.org/ru/news/2015/3/30/145501/), Belarusian agents in Lithuania continue to focus primarily on “the activity of the Belarusian opposition … and its ties in Lithuania.”

If that is something one would naturally expect, another focus of the Belarusian special services in Lithuania might not be: They are currently working in exactly the same directions and against the same targets as the Russian intelligence services, the Lithuanian security service report says.

Not only are the Belarusian services seeking to recruit Lithuanian border guards, but the Belarusian defense ministry’s intelligence administration is “aggressively acting” to recruit agents and “collect information about military and strategic civilian infrastructure sites” in the country.

Some of these Belarusian adjuncts to the Russian intelligence services are at the Belarusian embassy in Vilnius, the Lithuanian service says, but others are operating under cover of business groups, including in particular tourist offices. Tourist firms are useful because they can plausibly arrange visits by Lithuanians to Belarus.

The Lithuanian security service concludes that it is quite probable that “the Belarusian GRU has shared the information it has obtained with the Russian GRU” and thus constitutes a greater threat to Lithuania’s security than many, who consider what is going on only about Belarus, may currently think.

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· · ·

NASA Denies It Will Build New Space Station With Russiaby The Moscow Times <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:20 PM

The U.S. has not agreed to build a new space station with Russia, despite claims from the Russian space agency's chief that the two sides had agreed to such a project, NASA's top official in Russia said Tuesday.

Russia's Gazprom: Profits plunge 70% - CNNMoney
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:20 PM

CNNMoney

Russia's Gazprom: Profits plunge 70%
CNNMoney
The state-run energy giant has been hit by Russia's conflict with Ukraine. Its gas supplies to Ukraine have been at the center of the conflict. Moscow has repeatedly threatened to cut off Ukraine's supply. Europe has in turn accused Gazprom of using ...
Why Russia suddenly wants to supply cheap gas to UkraineBusiness Insider Australia
Russia's Gazprom Says Net Profit Plummeted 70% in 2014The Moscow Times
Will Russia Approve Gazprom OAO (ADR) Request To Extend Natural Gas ...Bidness ETC

International Business Times-Kyiv Post
all 86 news articles »

Georgian Government Snubs President's Addressby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL's Georgian Service)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:19 PM

Senior Georgian government officials have snubbed President Giorgi Margvelashvili's state of the nation address for the second straight year, underscoring persistent rifts in nation's leadership.

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Page 4

В Кремле опровергли присутствие российских войск на Украине - РБК
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:19 PM

РБК

В Кремле опровергли присутствие российских войск на Украине
РБК
Пресс-секретарь президента России Дмитрий Песков заявил об отсутствии российских военных на юго-востоке Украины. Такой вопрос во время круглого стола ему задал украинский журналист, передает Интерфакс. «А главное, что это опровергают еще и международные наблюдатели ...
Дмитрий Песков: Российских войск на Украине нетРоссийская Газета
Песков: Киев и ОБСЕ опровергают информацию о российских войсках в ДонбассеИА REGNUM
Песков: и Киев, и наблюдатели согласны, что на Украине нет войск РФРИА Новости
Вести.Ru -Аргументы и факты -Интерфакс - Украина
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EU organised crime worth €110bn a year
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:18 PM

Europe News

Illicit markets, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, are equivalent to 1% of EU GDP

Песков назвал причину демонизации Путина на Западе - Полит.ру
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:18 PM

Песков назвал причину демонизации Путина на Западе
Полит.ру
Чем больше президент России Владимир Путин отстаивает интересы страны в мире, тем больше подвергается нападкам со стороны Запада, заявил пресс-секретарь президента РФ Дмитрий Песков. Об этом сообщает «Интерфакс». «Напомню слова самого Путина, который говорил, ...

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Путинизм - уже не light-сталинизм? by Радио Свобода
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:17 PM

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	Путинизм - уже не light-сталинизм? По данным Левада-центра 45% опрошенных россиян считают оправданными жертвы, которые понес народ в эпоху...	From: Радио Свобода Views: 0 17 ratings
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Harvey Weinstein questioned over alleged groping of 22-year-old model
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:17 PM

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Harvey Weinstein has been questioned over an alleged sexual assault claimed to have taken place in his New York City office.

'Dear Mom, Don't Cry,' Chechen IS Militant Writes, 'I'm Waging Jihad'
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:17 PM

The Moscow Times Top Stories

A Chechen militant who says he is fighting alongside the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria has posted a heartfelt open letter to his mother, confessing that he misses her when he is alone at night but hoping that he will make her proud when he becomes a "martyr" and dies in battle.

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Nemtsov Allies Plan to Publish Report on Russian Soldiers in Ukraineby By Anna Dolgov <moscowtimes@themoscowtimes.com>
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:17 PM

A report being prepared by
Nemtsov supporters claims Moscow has started discharging soldiers from the army before sending them to Ukraine and then denying compensation in order to cover up Russia's involvement.

Iran Demands Halt To Saudi-Led Strikes, Calls For Dialogue In Yemen
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:16 PM

Iran has called for an “immediate halt” to the Saudi-led military operation against Shi’ite Huthi rebels in Yemen, warning that the "attack" endangered the whole region.

За Крым и Донбасс: Порошенко пригрозил россиянам арестом счетов - НТВ.ru
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:16 PM

Gazeta.ua

За Крым и Донбасс: Порошенко пригрозил россиянам арестом счетов
НТВ.ru
Украинский президент пообещал ввести новые санкции против России. Речь идет об аресте активов и банковских счетов. 0. Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное. Twitter · Facebook · Вконтакте · Google+. Прямая ссылка: http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/1386577/ Нажмите правой клавишей мыши и ...
СНБО Украины расширит санкции против россиян за Крым и ДонбассИнтерфакс
В ближайшее время Украина введет новые санкции против россиян – ПорошенкоСЕГОДНЯ
Порошенко пообещал России новые санкции: арест счетов и активов в УкраинеГлавред
Полит.ру -Интерфакс - Украина
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Psychological Profiling, Doors Focus of French Germanwings Probe by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:16 PM

French air accident authority BEA said its probe into the Germanwings crash would study “systemic weaknesses” that might have led to the disaster, such as psychological profiling and cockpit door locks. Also on Tuesday, lawyers representing some of the families of those killed called for a review of the rules on psychiatric assessment of pilots. French prosecutors believe 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and set the plane on a course to slam into a remote mountainside, killing all 150 onboard. German state prosecutors have found evidence that Lubitz suffered from suicidal tendencies before getting his pilot's license and that he had recently been signed off sick from work, though he did not inform his employers. “The Safety Investigation will be oriented towards the cockpit door locking system logic and cockpit access and exit procedures, as well as the criteria and procedures applied to detect specific psychological profiles,” BEA said in a short statement on Tuesday. France's BEA carries out civil crash investigations focusing solely identifying safety measures that would prevent future accidents. It does not try to attribute blame. The statement indicates the two areas where the BEA is most likely to make safety recommendations that could affect the whole aviation industry. The BEA said it would conduct a detailed analysis of the cockpit voice recorder, plus any other flight data available.The second black box with the flight data recorder has not yet been found. London-based law firm Irwin Mitchell said it had been contacted for help by the families of those killed in the crash. “An incident of this nature calls into question whether airlines should implement additional testing by a psychiatric specialist, and whether this should be made compulsory by aviation authorities across the world,” Jim Morris, a partner at Irwin Mitchell's aviation team, said in a statement on Tuesday. “The large scale catastrophic consequences of what can go wrong when a pilot is not mentally fit enough have been starkly demonstrated this week,” said Morris, a former pilot with Britain's Royal Air Force. Lufthansa, parent company of Germanwings, has said Lubitz had passed suitability tests and the annual medical check. Lufthansa's insurers have set aside $300 million to deal with the claims arising from the crash, the airline said on Tuesday, confirming a Reuters report. European airlines have swiftly moved to change cockpit rules to require two crew members to be in the cockpit at all times.

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Azerbaijanis Accused Of Militancy Shouldn't Be Placed In Iron Cages, Lawyers Say
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:16 PM

Lawyers for five Azerbaijani citizens accused of fighting alongside militants in Syria say the court is violating the rights of their clients by putting them in iron cages in the courtroom.

Major Power Outage Leaves Turkey in Darknessby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:15 PM

A major power outage hit cities and provinces across Turkey on Tuesday, including the capital of Ankara and the biggest city, Istanbul, where parts of the subway and tram system shut down and shopping malls plunged into darkness. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said all possible causes of the outage were being investigated and did not rule out sabotage, but said that trouble with transmission lines was the most likely reason for the problem. People carrying jerry cans queued at petrol stations to buy fuel for generators as the power cut dragged on for more than four hours. Road junctions were clogged as traffic lights went out. "Our main target right now is to restore the network. This is not an incident that we see frequently,'' Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said during a trip to Bratislava, in comments broadcast on Turkish television. "Whether or not terrorism is a high possibility or a low one I can't say at this stage. I can't say either whether it is a cyber attack,'' he said in response to questions from reporters. Yildiz later said around 80 percent of Istanbul's power supply had been restored and that the rest of the country would follow soon. Turkey's sole oil refiner, Tupras, said its production was not affected. Airports operator TAV said operations were normal at major airports, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Broadcaster NTV said power cuts were reported in more than 40 of Turkey's 81 provinces. The power transmission company TEIAS could not immediately be reached. Yildiz said power was cut to many regions at 10:36 am (0736 GMT), apparently due to a problem with transmission lines. He said a government crisis center had been set up. Turkey's electricity consumption has risen strongly in recent years, thanks to robust economic growth and a rising population. It has been forced to ramp up energy investments and imports of natural gas, its biggest source for power generation. Such widespread power outages are rare. Energy officials quoted by the newspaper Hurriyet said it was Turkey's biggest blackout in 15 years.

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Criticizes Sanctions Against Russia - Wall Street Journal
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:14 PM

Wall Street Journal

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Criticizes Sanctions Against Russia
Wall Street Journal
MOSCOW—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he didn't agree with Western sanctions against Russia, calling them a “road to nowhere” in an interview with Russian state news agency TASS ahead of his visit to Moscow next week. “We don't agree with ...

Is Russia Greece's last hope of survival?CNBC
Tsipras Praises 'Brotherly Relations' Between Russia and GreeceNewsweek
Alexis Tsipras calls western sanctions against Russia 'road to nowhere'The Guardian
ABC News

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Russia Launches Next Deadly Phase of Hybrid War on Ukraine - Newsweek
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:12 PM

Newsweek

Nearly Half of Russians Say Stalin’s Harsh Rule Justified by Results, Up from a Quarter in 2012by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:11 PM

Paul Goble

Staunton, March 31 – Forty-five percent of Russians now say that Stalin’s harsh repression was justified by the results he achieved as a result, a figure that is almost twice as high as in 2012, according to a new Levada Center poll. The same survey found that the share of Russians who believe that nothing justifies what Stalin did has fallen significantly.

As a result, only one Russian in four (25 percent) is either fully or partially opposed to the erection of statues and memorials to the Soviet-era dictator on the occasion of what Moscow will mark in May as the 70th anniversary of victory in World War II (vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2015/03/31/vse-bolshe-rossiyan-polozhitelno-otnosyatsya-k-stalinu-levada-tsentr).

Aleksey Grazhdankin, the Levada Center’s deputy director, says that “for the majority of respondents, the name of Stalin as before is connected with terror, but since the last decade there has been a growth in the share of those Russians who give a positive assessment to what Stalin did. It reached its highest level ever last year, he adds.

Part of the explanation for the increase in approval for Stalin, Grazhdankin suggests, is to be found in Russians’ assessment of the events in Ukraine. Seeing what instability can lead to, he says, many Russians are now “prepared to sacrifice the interests of a minority in order to preserve the current status quo and stability.”

Five years ago, 32 percent of the Russian sample said that Stalin was a criminal; now, only 25 percent do, and 57 percent say they oppose designating him as one. It isn’t that Russians love him, the Levada Center sociologist says. Rather, they see virtues in a strong leader when as they now think is the case their country is surrounded by enemies.

Not surprisingly, Stalin is most positively viewed by the least educated, those living in villages and small cities and the elderly. Young people are largely indifferent to him, while the most antagonistic to Stalin are the middle-aged and the relatively well-off populations of the large cities, such as Muscovites.

Stalin remains a divisive force for many, Ivan Nikitchuk, a KPRF Duma deputy who wants to rename Volgograd Stalingrad, an idea that the Levada Center poll found is supported by 31 percent of its sample, says that when Russians compare their situation now with what it was under Stalin, they draw the “correct” conclusion that it was better then than now.

Nikolay Svanidze, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, in contrast, says that “the moral rehabilitation of Stalin which will intensify in advance of Victory Day would be a personal insult for millions of people.”

And Yabloko Party leader Sergey Mitrokhin says that the revival of support for Stalin reflects the failure of the country to undergo any “de-Stalinization” during the first two post-Soviet decades and consequently the Soviet dictator remains “an instrument” for some to resolve political tasks such as promoting a cult of a new leader, in the present case, Vladimir Putin.

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Iraq Premier: Troops in Center of Islamic State-Held Tikritby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:11 PM

Iraqi forces battled Islamic State militants Tuesday holed up in downtown Tikrit as the country's prime minister announced security forces reached the city's center. In a statement Tuesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said security forces already have retaken neighborhoods on the southern and western edges of the city and are moving to control the entire city. But Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, the commander of the Salahuddin operation, said his forces fighting in from the west were still 300 meters (325 yards) from the center of Tikrit. An Associated Press reporter embedded with Iraqi security forces saw soldiers surround the iconic presidential palace in Tikrit on Tuesday, as well as surround the provincial government headquarters there. Ammar Hikmat, deputy governor of Salahuddin province, said more than 40 percent of Tikrit was under the control of Iraqi forces by Tuesday afternoon. “Our security forces are now pushing forward toward the presidential complex and have already entered parts of it,'' Hikmat said. “I think the whole city will be retaken within the coming 24 hours.'' The large-scale operation to recapture Saddam Hussein's hometown began on March 2. It stalled until U.S. forces joined the offensive by launching airstrikes on March 25. The leader of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, a collaborative force made up mostly of Shiite militias, also said Tuesday his fighters had rejoined the Tikrit operation, less than a week after announcing a boycott over U.S. involvement. Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis told the AP that his fighters participated in the southern offensive Tuesday and would be joining the offensive on the northern and western fronts shortly.

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Порошенко заявил о готовности провести референдум о федерализации - Росбалт.RU
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:10 PM

РБК Украина

Порошенко заявил о готовности провести референдум о федерализации
Росбалт.RU
ЧЕРНИГОВ, 31 марта. Президент Украины Петр Порошенко заявил о готовности вынести на референдум вопрос о втором государственном языке и федерализации страны. Об этом глава государства заявил в ходе встречи со студентами Черниговского национального педагогического ...
Петр Порошенко готов вынести вопрос о федерализации Украины на референдумКоммерсантъ
Порошенко верит в лингвосвидомых украинцевДни.Ру
Порошенко выразил уверенность в готовности украинцев отказаться от русского языкаПолит.ру
ИА REGNUM -Lenta.ru -ФОКУС
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Russian State Now Acts as Enforcer for Russian Orthodox Church, Alekseyeva Says by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:10 PM

Paul Goble

Staunton, March 31 – Recent events show that the Russian state has agreed to act as an enforcer for the Moscow Patriarchate, an accord that points to the further clericalization of Russian society and that does not bode well for the many opponents of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to Lyudmila Alekseyeva.

The Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church has long supported the Russian state, but now, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group says, the state is returning the favor, acting as its enforcer in clear violation of the 1993 Russian Constitution by making the Moscow Patriarchate “a state religion” (portal-credo.ru/site/?act=authority&id=2137).

Alekseyeva’s comments to Portal-Credo.ru came after Russian government magistrates intervened and seized the remains of Suzdal saints that had been kept in a church of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church, a group that is often at odds with the Moscow Patriarchate but that the latter has not been able to impose its will.

Now, the state has intervened, a reflection she suggests of the fact that “the state has agreed that the Church can use the state apparatus” for its own denominational goals. In this situation, the Autonomous Church has few good options left except perhaps to turn to the European Human Rights Court.

When the Russian police came to act on behalf of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Feodor of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church lay down in front of the shrine, but the police simply stepped over him and went about their business. “I can imagine the attitudes of belivers,” Alekseyeva said.

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Ex-KGB Agent Kalugin: Putin Was 'Only A Major'by noreply@rferl.org (Anastasia Kirilenko, Claire Bigg)
Tuesday March 31st, 2015 at 3:10 PM