» Iranians celebrate, Obama hails 'historic' nuclear framework 03/04/15 11:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks

April 03, 2015

A Nuclear Accord With Iran: Everyone declares victory.

Iranians celebrate, Obama hails 'historic' nuclear framework
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:34 AM

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Iranians celebrated in the streets after negotiators reached a framework for a nuclear accord and U.S. President Barack Obama hailed an "historic understanding", but senior global diplomats cautioned that hard work lies ahead to strike a final deal.

The tentative agreement, struck on Thursday after eight days of talks in Switzerland, clears the way for a settlement to allay Western fears that Iran could build an atomic bomb, with economic sanctions on Tehran being lifted in return.

It marks the most significant step toward rapprochement between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Iranian revolution and could bring an end to decades of Iran's international isolation.

But the deal still requires experts to work out difficult details before a self-imposed June deadline and diplomats said it could collapse at any time before then.

"We are not completely at the end of the road and the end of the road should be in June,” said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. "Nothing is signed until everything is signed, but things are going in the right direction."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has the ear of U.S. Republicans who control both houses of Congress, said the powers negotiating with Iran must add a new demand that Tehran recognize Israel's right to exist.

Under Thursday's terms, Iran would cut back its stockpiles of enriched uranium that could be used to make a bomb and dismantle most of the centrifuges it could use to make more. Intensive international inspections would prevent it from violating the terms in secret. Washington said the settlement would extend the "breakout time" needed for Iran to make a bomb to a full year, from 2-3 months now.

For Iran, it would eventually lead to the end of sanctions that have cut the oil exports that underpin its economy by more than half over the past three years.

Still, decades of hostility remain between countries that have referred to each other as "the Great Satan" and part of the "axis of evil". Obama and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, who both took risks to open the dialogue, will each have to sell the deal to skeptical conservatives at home.

U.S. Republicans have demanded that the Congress they control be given the right to review the deal.

"AMERICA BENEATH OUR FEET"

Celebrations erupted in the Iranian capital after the deal was reached. Cars in Tehran honked horns as passengers clapped.

On Friday, conservative clerics signaled their support, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, whose authority exceeds that of the elected president, Rouhani.

In the weekly sermon at Tehran University, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani, a 78-year-old hardline cleric, said Khamenei backed the negotiating team. Emami-Kashani praised the negotiators as "firm, wise and calm" and congratulated Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Still, he spoke from behind a podium with a saying from the leader of Iran's revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which read: "We will put America beneath our feet".

Iran would uphold its commitments only if the West did, he said: "If you break a promise, then Iran will break its promise."

Obama described the agreement as an "historic understanding with Iran". He compared it with nuclear arms control deals struck by his predecessors - including Republicans - with the Soviet Union that "made our world safer" during the Cold War. He also cautioned, however, that "success is not guaranteed".

With Russia and China joining the United States, Britain, France and Germany as signatories to the deal, and even Iran's Sunni Arab enemies cautiously welcoming it, the only country that was publicly opposed was Israel.

Netanyahu fumed against an arrangement he said could lead to nuclear proliferation and war.

"Israel demands that any final agreement with Iran will include a clear and unambiguous Iranian commitment of Israel's right to exist," he said in a statement on Friday.

Earlier Netanyahu expressed his vehement opposition in a phone call to Obama. In a statement released after the conversation, he said a deal based on the framework announced in Lausanne "would threaten the survival of Israel".

"This deal would legitimize Iran's nuclear program, bolster Iran's economy and increase Iran's aggression and terror throughout the Middle East and beyond," he said. "It would increase the risks of nuclear proliferation in the region and the risks of a horrific war."

Iran's other main foe in the region, Saudi Arabia, was more cautious, supporting the agreement in public, although its mistrust remains deep. It launched a bombing campaign a week ago against Iranian allies in Yemen.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was too early to celebrate. But he also said Israel should study the deal more closely before opposing it.

Global oil prices, which have already fallen sharply in the past year, tumbled on Thursday on the prospect that Iran will eventually be able to restore its exports. Brent crude was off as much as 5 percent at one point before recovering.

France's Fabius said Iran's economy stood to gain $150 billion in relief from the sanctions.

"You will have seen that there was a lot of positive reaction in the streets in Iran, and I think it’s real, not fabricated. The Iranians, the people, the youth are expecting something and that should be noted,” he said.

Saudi Arabia's new ruler, King Salman, told Obama by phone on Thursday that he hoped a final settlement of the nuclear dispute would "strengthen the stability and security of the region and the world".

However, the Saudis and other Sunni Arab states are concerned about the wider implications of a deal that benefits Iran, the leading Shi'ite Muslim power, which they see as a rival trying to expand its influence.

A Gulf source close to official Saudi thinking said the deal seemed to include valuable safeguards: "It's about verification. If they don't comply, the boycott will be reimposed. This is a reassuring result."

But he added a skeptical note: "Iran may think that as a result of this accord it is on the road to respectability."

(Additional reporting by John Irish, Parisa Hafezi, Leigh Thomas, Ori Lewis, Babak Deghanpisheh and Sam Wilkin; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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· · · · ·

How new is Putin’s ‘atmosphere of hate’?
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:30 AM

By J. Paul Goode April 3 at 9:04 AM

The following is a guest post by political scientist J. Paul Goode of the University of Oklahoma.

*****

In the wake of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s murder, many blamed an “atmosphere of hate” cultivated by the Kremlin. This idea suggests that the Krelim has encouraged the demonization of opposition leaders, which not only undermined their support from ordinary citizens but also dehumanized them and made them targets of violence. Examples of such vilification are legion, ranging from threatening posts made by the Kremlin’s army of paid Internet trolls to displaying an art installation with the impaled heads of opposition leaders wearing Nazi hats at the pro-government Seliger youth camp. Those opposing the government’s policies are freely characterized as “traitors” and a “fifth column.” These putative enemies of Russia occupy a curious place in pro-government propaganda as a threatening foil for Western (American) plots to stage a popular uprising at the same time that they are portrayed as insignificant, deluded, mentally ill, corrupt, incompetent or otherwise unworthy of recognition as human beings.

It is easy to see how this “atmosphere of hate” unleashed by the Kremlin could be seen to authorize violence toward political opposition. It is rather more difficult, however, to determine the extent to which this wave of “hateful politics” is really meaningful or even distinctive of Putin’s regime, or is it just politics as usual in Russia?

Out of curiosity, I examined 11 central periodicals in Russia to see how often three terms associated with the “atmosphere of hate” were mentioned on a monthly basis: “treason,” “fifth column” and “patriotism.” Looking first at press coverage for recent years (2011-2014), it is striking that “patriotism” is invoked far more frequently than the other terms, though, the overall volume of references is not significantly greater from the start of the period:

“Treason,” “Fifth Column” and “Patriotism in the Russian Press, 2011-2014 DATA: Integrum “Artefact”; FIGURE: J. Paul Goode

“Treason,” “Fifth Column” and “Patriotism” in the Russian Press, 2011-2014: Number of articles per month mentioning terms across 11 Russian newspapers.
Data: Integrum “Artefact”; Figure: J. Paul Goode

One might even say that the increase in references to patriotism in 2014 are rather modest given Russia’s war with Ukraine and the accompanying crackdown on domestic dissent. Aside from a couple of peaks in 2012 and 2014 (following the Bolotnaya Square arrests and the annexation of Crimea, respectively), “treason” does not appear to have been mentioned with any greater frequency over time and, in fact, tapers off towards the end of 2014. There is a noticeable increase in references to the “fifth column” following Putin’s invocation of the term after Crimea’s annexation in March 2014, and it continues to be used at a higher level throughout the press. This is perhaps the clearest sign of a distinct signal given by the Kremlin that advances through the media. It is worth noting that the changes in the frequency with which each term is mentioned in the press appear to move almost in lockstep — an indication of the extent to which the use of these terms represents a coordinated effort.

In sum, there is a clear increase in references to “patriotism” and “fifth column” in the Russian press since early 2014, but “fifth column” was insignificant prior to that time and “treason” remained roughly constant. The modest increases in reference to “fifth column” and lack of significant increases in “treason” should give one pause in considering the notion that an “atmosphere of hate” was recently unleashed by the Kremlin. Perhaps it was cultivated over the last decade of Putinism and not just the last year? If so, looking at the Yeltsin era provides a more useful comparison.

Turning to the mid-1990s examining the same terms in the same newspapers delivers a surprising result: the middle years of the Yeltsin era saw a rapid and sustained increase in the mentions of both “treason” and “patriotism.”

“Treason,” “Fifth Column” and “Patriotism in the Russian Press, 1994-1997 DATA: Integrum “Artefact”; FIGURE: J. Paul Goode

“Treason,” “Fifth Column” and “Patriotism” in the Russian Press, 1994-1997: Number of articles per month mentioning terms across 11 Russian newspapers.
Data: Integrum “Artefact”; Figure: J. Paul Goode

Between 1995 and 1996, the average number of references to treason each month increases from 13.9 to 33.1 and holds at that level. Similarly, patriotic appeals increased from a monthly average of 15.3 references in 1995 to 36.2 in 1996 and 45.4 in 1997. By contrast, “fifth column” averages less than five references per month for the entire period (this was also the case recently until 2014). In fact, one finds very little difference between 1996-97 and 2011-12 when comparing averages for both periods:

“Treason,” “Fifth Column” and “Patriotism in the Russian Press: Monthly Averages DATA: Integrum “Artefact”; FIGURE: J. Paul Goode

“Treason,” “Fifth Column” and “Patriotism” in the Russian Press: Monthly averages per year mentioning terms across 11 Russian newspapers.
Data: Integrum “Artefact”; Figure: J. Paul Goode

Bearing in mind that the press in 1994-97 was not under state control, what is one to make of this apparent continuity in the politicized media environment from the mid-1990s to the present day? Did Yeltsin lay the groundwork for Putin’s “atmosphere of hate”? It is difficult to ignore the possibility that the decisive turn away from democratization, the vilification of opposition and the rudiments of an “atmosphere of hate” in Russia began not with Putin but with his predecessor. This would be consistent with those who have argued that Yeltsin’s Russia was an electoral authoritarian regime that simply lacked the capacity to repress. One thing seems clear: The central press in the mid-1990s was already elaborating the media repertoires of today’s Russia. What is happening in Russia today is very much public politics as usual, albeit with far greater scrutiny from abroad. The degree to which the central state plays a coordinating role today may be an important difference from the 1990s, though the effect is more evident in the timing of content rather than substance.

Does this mean that Russian public politics is especially “hateful”? Clearly, it is a brand that sells. If newspapers that genuinely competed for market space in the mid-1990s found it profitable to promote themes of treason and patriotism, one should not be surprised if Russia’s government follows the same logic. Much of Russian politics today is neither public nor covered in the central press, accounting (in part) for the yawning gap between Russian and Western media narratives. Indeed, Westerners exposed to Russian media narratives experience the sensation of entering an alternative reality. Now consider the ordinary Russian citizen who perceives continuity in politics while the West accuses Putin of cultivating hatred — all the while that Russia’s media purports to expose the duplicity and double-standards of Western media (and Western media does the same for Russia). On reflection, one hesitates to say that Russians or Russian politics are innately hateful so much as they have never been democratic. However, such a conclusion must await a comparative study of “hateful politics” in other countries’ media.

*****

TECHNICAL DETAILS

One must make some important caveats about these observations of press mentions. First, they are blunt instruments that do not reflect ideological tendencies of the outlets, differences in circulation and readership, or varieties of ownership. Second, they do not take into account social media (which did not exist in the 1990s), which clearly plays important roles as both sources for stories and as echo chamber. Third, these are aggregate counts that do not reflect differences in frequency of mention by publication. In processing the data, it was clear that only a few publications in the 1990s accounted for most mentions (and not the same publications each month) while they were more evenly distributed through the more recent period, although I did not document these differences. Finally, television consistently is much more influential than traditional press but also less diverse. The central press potentially provides greater diversity of editorial views (at least during the 1990s) than television.

The central newspapers examined in this study were: AIF-Moskva, Vecherniaia Moskva, Izvestiia, Krasnaia zvezda, Literaturnaia gazeta, Moskovskie novosti, Obozrevatel’, Sovetskaia Rossii, Trud and Uchitel’skaia gazeta. These were selected since they are well-known periodicals with full-text databases (accessed through Integrum). I excluded other well-known central newspapers (like Kommersant or Gazeta) that were not available for both time periods.

Regarding the choice of terms, “treason” is an obvious term for identifying enemies of the state. Thegovernment’s move to ease accusations of treason in 2012 was clearly aimed at those who work with foreign partners and might come under the “foreign agents” law for nongovernmental organizations. More recently, a spate of high-profile treason cases appeared to give substance to the suspicion that the treason law was being used to silence dissent of Russia’s policy toward Ukraine. Mentions of treason in the central press indicate media attention to actual cases of treason, editorial calls for treason cases, or quotes by political actors invoking the accusation of treason. “Fifth column” is a common term for suspected traitors, spies or saboteurs, though it was not commonly found in the press until specifically invoked by Putin in his speech honoring Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Finally, references to “patriotism” can include laudatory as well as critical assessments. Insofar as patriotism relates to the obligation to support one’s government, it may also be related to the suppression of open opposition or dissent.

I chose two time periods covering four years for scrutiny: 1994-1997 and 2011-2014. The 1994-1997 period reflects the period after Yeltsin consolidated power but well before Russia’s media came under the Kremlin’s thumb. This momentous period also saw the “Black Tuesday” crash of the ruble, the onset of war in Chechnya, the infamous “loans for shares” scheme, and the contentious 1995-1996 election cycle. The 2011-2014 period captures the tail end of the Medvedev “spring,” the 2011-2012 elections and protests, the onset of regime crisis in Ukraine, the Sochi Olympics, and the undeclared war in Ukraine beginning with the annexation of Crimea. In other words, these were both turbulent periods with plenty of opportunities for political actors to throw around terms like “traitor,” “fifth column” or “patriot.”

*****

For more recent Russia coverage at The Monkey Cage, see:

Russia – perhaps more restrained and less powerful than you think?

How Russia Today is using YouTube

Think of Russia as an ordinary petrostate, not an extraordinary superpower

Will there be a ‘full, rapid, and transparent investigation’ of Boris Nemtsov’s murder? Don’t bet on it.

Five fatal flaws in realist analysis of Russia and Ukraine

The question to ask about Boris Nemtsov’s murder is not who but why?

What does Boris Nemtsov’s murder mean for Russia?

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Weekend - Календарь литературных преследований
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:28 AM

Тюремное и лагерное заключение, каторжные работы, гражданская казнь, ссылка, лишение гражданства, многолетний отказ в публикации, изъятие рукописей, ликвидация тиража, изъятие книг из библиотек и запрет на упоминание писательских имен, уголовное и административное преследование за публикацию работ за границей, партийные и правительственные постановления по поводу авторов и изданий, закрытие изданий, расформирование редколлегий, шельмование в прессе, исключение из Союза писателей и, разумеется, цензура, от высочайшей до наиничтожнейшей,— это далеко не полный список мер, к которым за 200 с лишним лет прибегало российское государство в попытке образумить своих писателей. Все оказалось тщетно: они все равно составили главную славу России.
В год, объявленный годом литературы, Weekend открывает новый проект: календарь литературных преследований. В каждом номере — один из случаев репрессий в истории русской литературы, пришедшийся на соответствующие даты и рассказанный словами участников и свидетелей.

Арест романа Василия Гроссмана «Жизнь и судьба»

14 февраля 1961 года

При обыске в квартире знаменитого советского писателя, автора нескольких романов, ветерана войны Василия Гроссмана были изъяты машинопись романа "Жизнь и судьба", черновики и наброски к нему, а также рукопись повести "Все течет".

Смотреть документы

Отлучение Льва Толстого
от церкви

24 февраля 1901 года

Суть документа сводилась к тому, что граф Толстой более не является членом православной церкви, так как его публично высказываемые убеждения с этим несовместимы. На практике это означало, что Толстой не может принимать никаких таинств — ни исповеди, ни причастия, ни соборования — и, главное, что он не может быть похоронен по православному обряду.

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Суд над Николаем Клюевым

5 марта 1934 года

В марте 1934 года поэт Николай Клюев был осужден по обвинению в "составлении и распространении контрреволюционных литературных произведений" и выслан в Нарымский край.

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Борьба с «чуковщиной»

1928 — 1930 годы

7 марта 1929 года собрание родителей Кремлевского детского сада приняло резолюцию «Мы призываем к борьбе с "Чуковщиной"».

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Арест Николая Заболоцкого

19 марта 1938 года

19 марта 1938 года поэт Николай Заболоцкий был арестован по обвинению в "принадлежности к троцкистско-бухаринской группе среди ленинградских писателей" и помещен в ленинградский Дом предварительного заключения.

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Травля Леонида Добычина

25 марта 1936 года

25 марта 1936 года в Ленинграде началась знаменитая дискуссия в Союзе советских писателей, посвященная борьбе с формализмом в литературе. Главным объектом обличений на ней довольно неожиданно стал не очень заметный прозаик Леонид Добычин. Через три дня он пропал.

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Арест Юрия Домбровского

30 марта 1949 года

В ночь на 30 марта 1949 года писатель и поэт Юрий Домбровский был арестован в Алма-Ате по обвинению в антисоветской агитации. Главным в его деле стал вопрос о литературе — но не собственно писательская деятельность, а отношение к русской литературе, за «охаивание» которой, в частности, его и приговорили к десяти годам.

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Процесс Даниэля и Синявского

В следующем номере

Николай Алексеевич Полевой

В следующем номере

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· · · ·

Ъ - Российский рынок перестал привлекать
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:27 AM

За последнюю неделю из фондов, инвестиционная политика которых ориентирована на Россию, западные инвесторы вывели $39,2 млн. Это произошло на фоне общего восстановления интереса к развивающимся странам, которые привлекли за неделю $256,6 млн. Тем не менее российские фондовые индексы оказались в числе лидеров роста среди рынков развивающихся и развитых стран.

Последние данные Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) за неделю, закончившуюся 1 апреля, свидетельствуют о снижении интереса у международных инвесторов к российскому рынку акций. В целом за неделю отток средств из инвестфондов, инвестирующих в Россию, составил $39,2 млн, что в пять раз больше объема средств, поступившего неделей ранее. Тем не менее с начала года результат остается положительным — приток средств в размере $276 млн. "Данные EPFR подтвердили, что в последние недели отсутствуют значимые факторы, которые «перетянули» бы денежные потоки в ту или иную сторону", — отмечает управляющий директор ИГ Тринфико Егор Кротков.

Отток средств из российских фондов происходит на фоне возобновившегося притока инвестиций на развивающиеся страны. По данным EPFR, все фонды emerging markets за отчетную неделю привлекли $256,6 млн, что более чем втрое больше оттока, зафиксированного неделей ранее.

Аномальное поведение инвесторов на российском рынке связано в первую очередь с возросшей волатильностью на рынке нефти. «Котировки нефти за этот период были весьма волатильными: сначала на рынке отмечался существенный рост под влиянием новостей из Йемена, затем снижение, в основном под влиянием новостей о достижении договоренностей в Иране и возможной отмены санкций ЕС и США в отношении Ирана»,— отмечает начальник аналитического управления УК «Ингосстрах — Инвестиции» Евгений Воробьев. По его словам снятие нефтяного эмбарго с Тегерана может привести к увеличению предложения на мировом рынке нефти, и указанные факторы оказывают негативное влияние на котировки нефти.

Несмотря на возобновившийся отток иностранных инвестиций из России, отечественный фондовый рынок оказался в числе лидеров роста среди развитых и развивающихся рынков. С начала недели индекс РТС вырос на 8,4%, поднявшись до отметки 934 пункта. Индекс ММВБ вырос на 6,4%, до отметки 1680 пунктов. Ведущие азиатские индексы выросли на 1–1,3%, европейские — на 0,8–1,2%, американские — на 0,4–1%. Никакого противоречия между данными об оттоке капитала с российского рынка и ростом российских фондовых индексов нет, поскольку инвесторы могли забирать деньги, которые фонды еще не успели инвестировать, отмечает директор Simargl Capital Дмитрий Садовый.

Виталий Гайдаев

Почему иностранные инвесторы сократили вложения в Россию

После двухмесячного перерыва в середине марта международные инвесторы начали выводить средства с российского рынка акций. Снижение цен на нефть и ужесточение риторики представителей западных стран, приуроченное к годовщине присоединения Крыма к России, заставили инвесторов сократить присутствие на российском рынке. Читайте подробнее

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· ·

New low in Russia-NATO relations: Analysts
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:25 AM

Channel NewsAsia

MOSCOW: Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, relations between Moscow and NATO have dramatically worsened. The Kremlin has threatened a range of responses if NATO moves more forces into Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia.

Mr Evgengy Volk, a political analyst, said: "I believe that at present, the relations between Russian and NATO are at the worst point since the end of the Cold War. I believe that during the Cold War, the relationship was actually sometimes better."

Since early March, NATO warships have participated in naval drills in the Black Sea. The US has also delivered over 120 armoured units, including tanks, to Latvia in March.

But according to the NATO's Secretary-General, Russian military flights close to alliance members' airspace in Europe were intercepted more than 400 times last year.

In mid-December last year, a Russian military jet with its location determining transponders switched off nearly collided with a passenger plane over Sweden.

"I think that the reality is that when you’re flying military aircraft around Europe with the transponders turned off, there’s always a danger of another black swan event," said political analyst Chris Weafer. "So long as these exercises are continuing, there’s always the potential for another accident that can also negatively impact the situation.”

Earlier in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Northern Fleet onto full combat alert in a 'snap readiness exercise' in the Arctic as the US and several Eastern European NATO countries conducted a series of military exercises near Russia's border.

Russia has been spending more money on its military and has been boosting military capabilities which were weakened during the 1990s. When Vladimir Putin became president in 2000, Russia spent more than US$9 billion on its military. This has since risen 10 times and is likely to increase again this year despite a sluggish economy.

BRICS leadership passes to Russia, $100bn development bank ‘main priority’ — RT Business
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:21 AM

RT - Business

Published time: April 01, 2015 13:21
Edited time: April 02, 2015 09:42

Reuters/Nacho Doce

Challenging US-dominated institutions

Analysts predict the introduction of the NDB could have an effect of lessening the dominance of the US dollar in global markets, as well as inside dollar-backed institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

While Katyrin was optimistic that the pool of reserve currencies will “strengthen the position of the ruble,” he was realistic about the chances of any other foreign currency supplanting the US dollar as the global reserve currency anytime soon.

"It is not enough to declare that, for example, the yuan tomorrow will be a certain currency,” he said.“It will be a purely promotional, populist measure. We must make sure that any entrepreneur wanted to have the yuan in its turnover.”

“Until that happens, talk about convertibility of the yuan, or ruble would be inappropriate, the world will not treat (other currencies) like the dollar.”

Tool to foster security

Russian President Vladimir Putin reminded on Wednesday the importance of BRICS in helping to resolve global security issues.

Speaking about the “tragic lessons of the past,” Putin said BRICS “consistently advocated” on behalf of peaceful settlements in international conflicts and “condemned any attempts on the use of force and interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.”

The most effective use of the five-nation economic bloc would be to “improve security and stability in the world.”

“That will be the focus during Russia’s presidency in BRICS,” the Russian leader emphasized.

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Russia’s Economic Outlook Worse Than Thought, World Bank Says
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:19 AM

MOSCOW—Russia’s economic contraction will be worse than previously thought, the World Bank said Wednesday, the day the government reported to President Vladimir Putin that the struggling economy will recover soon.

Under its new baseline scenario, the World Bank forecasts the Russian economy will contract by 3.8% in 2015—based on an average oil price of $53 a barrel—compared with its earlier forecast of a 0.7% contraction made in December.

The new forecast reflects the assumption that the impact of Western sanctions, which were imposed gradually throughout the previous year in response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its support of rebels in eastern Ukraine, will linger for a long time.

Apart from the sanctions, the impact of a recent rapid drop in prices for oil, Russia’s key export, will be more profound this year and in 2016, the World Bank said in a report titled “The Dawn of a New Economic Era?”

“The main point of this year’s forecast is that shocks of the last year, especially the oil prices shock of the last quarter of 2014, are really impacting the economy. So there is not much you can do anymore for this year,” said Birgit Hansl, the World’s Bank Lead Economist for Russia, who presented the new forecast.

Russia’s government admits that the economy will contract for the first time since 2009 but prefers to stick to a more optimistic view. After shrinking by 3% in 2015, Russia’s economy will start growing again already next year and will expand by 2.5% on average between 2016 and 2018, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Wednesday.

Betting on an already announced expectation that oil prices will rebound in the near future, Mr. Ulyukayev said Russia’s economic growth will outpace the global growth starting from 2017. Mr. Putin, who was presented with the fresh government outlook on Wednesday, had previously said that Russia’s economy should grow by at least 5% a year.

The World Bank, however, forecasts that Russia’s economy will remain under pressure next year and will contract by 0.3% under the bank’s baseline scenario.

“The isolation from international economic activities, such as trade and bank transactions, which are pivotal to a country’s growth, have proven to be very damaging for the targeted economies even if the sender also suffers to some extent from missed trading opportunities with the sanctioned country,” the bank said.

Russia, which has been subject to sanctions by Europe, the U.S., Australia and Canada, has been effectively cut off from the global capital market and is banned from importing some crucial technologies in defense and oil and gas sectors.

Sanctions will hit Russia in three ways, the World Bank said. The penalties will give Russia no opportunity to borrow abroad, will boost volatility of the already battered ruble and will have a negative impact on investors’ confidence in Russia.

The World Bank praised how the Russian central bank and government had responded to the economic and political shocks of 2014 and said their actions were swift and adequate, which has helped Russia to avoid recession so far. According to the official data published on Wednesday, Russia’s economy grew by 0.4% on year in the fourth quarter.

The World Bank has also presented two alternative scenarios for this year. Under the “lower-bound” scenario, when oil prices average $45 a barrel, Russia’s economy is forecast to contract by 4.6% this year. If an average oil price stays at $65 a barrel, the economy could contract by 2.9%.

The World Bank’s most optimistic scenario is close to the government’s official prediction that the economy will shrink by around 3%. But the World Bank says gross domestic product figures aren't the only issue that the oil-dependent economy will face this year.

“With average inflation for 2015 assumed to be 16.5%, credit costs are likely to stay high, causing consumer credit activity to stagnate,” the World Bank said.

Consumer demand has been for years Russia’s key economic growth driver but it is now eroded by a rapid devaluation in the ruble and falling real disposable income. Apart from weaker demand, contracting investment activity is likely to continue having an adverse impact on the economy.

“Systematically lower investment rates will ultimately lower Russia’s prospects for higher growth in the next few years and limit the already modest potential for growth,” the World Bank said.

Write to Andrey Ostroukh at <a href="mailto:andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com">andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com</a>

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Russia Frees Itself From Oil's Curse
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:17 AM

Bloomberg View

Signs are multiplying that the Russian economy will not die a painful death, but is just taking some long-overdue strong medicine. The country posted unexpected growth in the fourth quarter of 2014, and it can now look beyond oil for drivers of recovery.

Today, the Federal Statistics Service said the Russian economy expanded 0.4 percent in the final three months of last year, while economists expected zero growth. This could be what traders call a dead cat bounce: At the end of last year, as the ruble took a plunge in line with the sinking oil price, Russians were hoarding imported electronics and buying expensive cars they didn't need, expecting a price hike.

Another reason growth continued in that dark, panicky quarter was that "the Russian government and Central Bank were able to respond swiftly with policy responses that successfully stabilized the economy," says Birgit Hansl, the World Bank's lead economist for Russia.

In her latest Russia Economic Report, presented in Moscow today, Hansl is bearish on further growth prospects. The baseline scenario is a 3.8 percent contraction this year and a further 0.3 percent drop in 2016. Hansl and her team believe that Russia hasn't yet fully absorbed the impact from lower oil prices, and they expect drops in incomes and consumption because of high inflation (16.5 percent on average this year) and decreased availability of consumer credit.

Investment demand will also fall off sharply, according to the World Bank, though Hansl and her colleagues concede that "the weaker ruble could create incentives for small-scale expansions in some tradable industries, financed by profits."

Skeptics, however, are likely to be wrong about the scale of the non-oil-based expansion. In a research note circulated today, Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist at the Moscow branch of Citigroup, said it might herald a recovery "similar in nature, but not in magnitude, to the one after 1998."

That year, Russia defaulted on its domestic debt, sharply devalued the ruble and introduced capital controls -- to disastrous effect. Imports became even less accessible than they are now. Gross domestic product dropped 5.3 percent. The following year, it rebounded by 6.4 percent -- mainly because local producers and foreign investors saw the opportunity of filling the lacunas left by ebbing imports in the domestic Russian market.

Tchakarov describes this in more technical terms. In 1999, he explains, the ruble's real effective exchange rate aligned itself with the difference in labor productivity between Russia and its trading partners, making Russian-produced goods more competitive. That growth was not hydrocarbon-driven, and it fueled the emergence of successful Russian companies, especially in the food industry and agriculture.

In the years that followed, rising oil prices made the ruble appreciate faster than the productivity differential improved:

Citi Research

That was Russia's "Dutch disease." It became more profitable to import than to produce locally again. "Russia should have been about 30 percent more productive relative to its trading partners to keep its external competitiveness at the same level as that in 1999," Tchakarov wrote.

Russia's current account surplus shrank from 20 percent of GDP in 2000 to 3 percent now. The country approached the new oil slump relatively unprepared. It does, however, still have the built-in spring that uncoiled in 1999. The chart above shows that the ruble's real effective rate is again in line with Russia's relative productivity. Tchakarov argues Russia will probably also have enough free capacity, in terms of both industrial equipment and labor, to start filling the consumption gap left by imports -- in part because of the beginning slump, which has been driving capacity utilization down:

Rosstat, Citi Research

The only reason Tchakarov doesn't think growth will be as fast as after the 1998 crisis is that he expects low oil prices, which will take the edge off the recovery and put the upper boundary of expansion at about 3.5 percent next year.

Both the relative pessimists, such as Hansl, and the relative optimists, such as Tchakarov, see the same data and expect the same phenomena. They differ only on how much weight to give to various factors. That's a matter of economic modeling, but I side with the optimists for empirical reasons. Russia is a country with a large domestic market that has just seen a sharp decline in imports. Last time that happened, in the late 1990s, corporate Russia, still young and inexperienced, rose to the challenge. Today, economic conditions inside Russia are just as oppressive as they were then, but entrepreneurs are more experienced and have more resources: The hundreds of billions of dollars that capital flight has taken out of Russia can be reinvested, and given current interest rates in Europe, Asia and the U.S., Russia may well be the best place for it (bond investors appear to be already aware of that).

The last time I wrote about Russia escaping its nightmare economic scenario, my post was selectively translated by Russian propaganda outlets. They left out all the parts critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and made the rest sound more optimistic than I could have been. Just to give an idea, in this pick-up and in this one, the headline, "Putin's Economic Team Plays Houdini," was translated as "Putin's Economic Team Works Miracles." Different propaganda outlets must have received the same orders, down to the wording. So I'm compelled to make it clear this time that my optimism about Russia's economic resilience doesn't come with admiration for Putin, or even for his highly competent economic team, which has been forced to deal reactively with the consequences of the dictator's military adventures and increasingly hawkish statements.

These people did little for the Russian economy while the country enjoyed high oil prices. They accumulated enough foreign reserves to carry the country through a second economic crisis, but they didn't improve the investment climate, stifle corruption or deregulate the economy. These difficult tasks will be left to tackle after Putin is gone. I strongly believe that the current potential for a Russian rebound exists despite the president's actions and leanings. It's the normal resilience of a rather open economy in a highly sophisticated country. It's the power of capitalism, not the Putin regime.

(Corrects 13th paragraph of article published April 1 to refer to a sharp decline in imports, instead of exports.)

To contact the author on this story:
Leonid Bershidsky at lbershidsky@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor on this story:
Mary Duenwald at mduenwald@bloomberg.net

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Russia's role in Ukraine seen shifting to training rebels
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:15 AM

YENAKIEYEVE, Ukraine (AP) — On a recent spring morning, an important visitor watched Russian-backed rebels conduct infantry maneuvers in eastern Ukraine.

"The general is very pleased," rebel commander Ostap Cherny told his troops, referring to the figure in camouflage encircled by guards.

The man — almost certainly a Russian military officer — became alarmed when he saw two journalists approach. His entourage shielded him — forbidding photos — and the group sped off in a motorcade, the "general" safely inside a black Toyota SUV with no license plates.

Nearly a year into the Ukraine conflict, the extent of Moscow's direct involvement has become clear: They may wear camouflage, but the Russians' presence in eastern Ukraine is hardly invisible.

At the same time, there has been a tactical shift apparently aimed at minimizing Russia's military presence, part of an effort to persuade the West to lift economic sanctions.

Visits by The Associated Press to training grounds like those near Yenakieyeve and interviews with dozens of rebels reveal that Russian armed forces spearheaded some of the major separatist offensives, then swiftly withdrew.

View gallery

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, file photo, a Russia-backed rebel guards a bus of Ukrainian …

More recently, as a shaky cease-fire has taken hold, Russia has kept fewer troops in Ukraine but increased rebel training. NATO and an independent London-based Russian scholar estimate that Russia has several hundred military trainers in eastern Ukraine.

Since hostilities began around mid-April last year, the Ukrainian government and the West have accused Moscow of waging an undeclared war in Ukraine by sending thousands of troops to fight with the separatists and providing weaponry. At least 6,000 people have been killed on both sides.

While the Kremlin acknowledges that many Russians have fought as volunteers, it firmly denies sending troops or arming rebels.

Throughout the conflict and often days before a new flashpoint, AP reporters would see as many as 80 armored vehicles a day, mostly coming from the direction of the Russian border. Their ultimate origin was impossible to establish.

Separatist fighters confirm that clothing and ammunition are among supplies they receive from Russia.

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In this Wednesday, March 11, 2015 photo, pro-Russian rebels participate in a military training exerc …

"Yes, our brothers are supplying us — you know who," one fighter who uses the nom de guerre Taicha said at a checkpoint in the town of Krasny Luch. Most rebels won't reveal their full names for fear of retaliation against their families.

When the town of Debaltseve finally fell to the separatists on Feb. 19 after weeks of fighting over the railroad hub, the true victors were long gone.

"Our friends helped us," said Andrei, a fighter who fought in Debaltseve. Unlike his platoon, which had nothing newer than a T-72 tank, he said the Russians had modern T-90s. Like other rebels, Andrei would not give his last name because his family lives in a Ukraine-controlled area.

Alexei, another fighter, became animated when asked about Russians in the battle for Debaltseve: "I'm not going to hide it: Russians were here. They went in and left quickly."

Igor Sutyagin, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, has spent months collecting evidence of the Russian presence in Ukraine, coming up with an exhaustive list of combat formations.

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In this Wednesday, March 11, 2015 photo, pro-Russian rebels participate in a military training exerc …

The presence of large numbers of Russian troops has been a "permanent feature of the conflict" since August, Sutyagin said, with the number peaking at about 9,000 troops in late February. His estimate stems from calculations based on sightings of weaponry as well as information that soldiers post on social media.

Sutyagin corroborated rebel descriptions of Russian troops entering Ukraine and leaving promptly after a battle is won. By his calculations, several hundred Russian servicemen are still in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to numerous calls and faxes seeking comment for this story. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russia "firmly denies" reports of a Russian military presence in Ukraine.

NATO insists Russian troops continue to operate in eastern Ukraine despite the cease-fire. In recent months, according to Lt.-Col. Jay Janzen at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Russia has transferred more than 1,000 heavy weapons to the separatists.

Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of NATO forces in Europe, said the alliance's intelligence indicates that trainers from Russia's special forces have been instructing fighters in eastern Ukraine about sophisticated Russian-supplied weaponry. Breedlove estimated 250-300 advisers are supervising the training.

View gallery

In this Wednesday, March 11, 2015 photo, pro-Russian rebels participate in a military training exerc …

Outside Yenakiyeve, where the man referred to as the "general" observed maneuvers, the lack of formal military training among rebels was obvious.

As armored vehicles opened fire, Cherny, their commander, shouted into a walkie-talkie: "Why did you open fire? I didn't give you an order to open fire!"

Cherny later told the rebels that the "general" was happy: "He said you did fine. But I actually think it was not fine. There's still a lot of work to do."

___

Associated Press writer John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels contributed to this report.

eastern Ukraine
Ukraine
Russia

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Putin spokesman slams Times 'demonizing' Russia over perceived nuclear threat — RT News
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:13 AM

RT - News

Published time: April 02, 2015 13:12
Edited time: April 02, 2015 14:13

Black Sea Fleet sailors during the Navy Day parade rehearsal in Sevastopol. (RIA Novosti/Konstantin Chalabov)

Russia outguns US in information war
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:10 AM

A scene from Russian propaganda video <i>I - Russian Invader</i>.

A scene from Russian propaganda video I - Russian Invader.

Washington: The troubled US agency responsible for delivering news around the world is being outgunned in Eastern Europe by Russian outlets unrestrained by notions of fact-based journalism.

The unequal competition raises fears among US officials that Moscow is winning the information war about events in Ukraine, even as the Russian economy staggers under economic sanctions imposed after the takeover of Crimea.

"Russia has engaged in a rather remarkable period of the most overt and extensive propaganda exercise that I've seen since the very height of the Cold War," US Secretary of State John Kerry told a Senate subcommittee in late February. It's "spending hugely on this vast propaganda machine", he told another panel the same day, and it's succeeding "because there's nothing countering it".

Not literally nothing. Up against Russia 24, Rossiya 1, Russia K, First Channel, Sputnik and other around-the-clock operations, are new US-sponsored Russian-language offerings including, Current Time, a newscast of just 30 minutes beamed into Eastern Europe on weekdays. The Voice of America show, co-hosted from Washington by Natasha Mozgovaya, is part of $US23.2 million ($30.6 million) in programming aimed at Russian speakers. That comparatively small sum is up 49 per cent from last year, according to Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.

How much Russia spends on its information programs is difficult to pin down, but in the face of sanctions forcing cuts elsewhere, President Vladimir Putin pledged to increase budgets for state-run outlets and cultural outreach. He said outlays for Rossotrudnichestvo, an organisation devoted to spreading knowledge of Russia and its values abroad will rise from $60 million to $300 million by 2020.

The differences in approach between what Mr Kerry describes as Russian propaganda and US-supported outlets were on display last month, on the first anniversary of the Crimean annexation.

State-owned RT quoted Mr Putin recalling that Crimeans had voted to return to the Motherland in the face of Ukrainian nationalism. The headline: "Coming Home." VOA reported details RT omitted from the same interview: Mr Putin's acknowledgment that Moscow had planned the annexation and sent in troops weeks before the referendum. That headline: "Putin's Latest Crimea Spin Attempts New Narrative."

Given the David-and-Goliath challenge Current Time faces, preparation and fact-checking are among the program's best assets, says Mozgovaya, 35, a Russian-born, Israeli-raised former war correspondent. "We need to double and triple-check everything because the only thing basically that we have here is credibility," she said. "It's a very big responsibility because broadcasting one fake from our side will cost us the reputation."

Budgeted at about $2 million a year, the program airs in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Lithuania and Latvia. It's available free to networks and on Google's YouTube. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, the parent agency of VOA and other government-backed outlets, doesn't know yet how many people watch Current Time, which began in October, but social media feedback shows it's striking a chord, said Arkady Cherepansky, assistant managing editor of VOA's Russian Service.

Beyond the Russian-speaking region, RT, with an annual budget of at least $241 million, sends Moscow's version of events to the world in English, French, German, Spanish and Arabic.

The network is seen by more than 600 million people worldwide, said Peter Pomerantsev, who described Russia's "weaponisation of information" in his book, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible. US and European officials and analysts say one of its aims is to undermine Western unity over economic sanctions.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius has called RT "no less destructive than military marching in Crimea". Its editorial stance is that there is no objective truth, Pomerantsev said. The point isn't persuasion, says Stephen Blank, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, but to muddy the waters. "You have your truth, I have mine, there is no truth."

The network's slogan is "Question More".

That editorial approach means RT gives air time to people who blame the US Central Intelligence Agency for the September 11 terrorist attacks and entertains multiple theories about who shot Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 out of the skies over eastern Ukraine.

RT is amplified by social media disguised to look like ordinary people's accounts, said Angela Stent, director of Russian studies at Georgetown University in Washington. Its social media use is "very sophisticated", she said, and includes "people who troll and immediately bite back" at critics.

Requests for comment from the Russian embassy and RT weren't answered.

Facing off against the Russian juggernaut is a US agency that lawmakers have called "broken" and "dysfunctional". Last year, the State Department's inspector general found that the BBG, with a budget of more than $720 million for its worldwide activities, had wasted almost $5 million on unapproved purchases, couldn't properly record budget transactions, had inadequate IT security, and wasn't able to keep track of physical property.

In another blow, Andrew Lack, the former chairman of the Bloomberg Media Group who was sworn in as the BBG's chief executive officer and director on January 20, left just six weeks later to run NBC News.

Still, the US is boosting the BBG's budget, saying that the Russian narrative in Eastern Europe must be countered. Baltic states are so "flooded with propaganda", Mr Kerry told lawmakers, that people there aren't aware Russian soldiers have crossed the border into Ukraine or died there. Many think "we're the problem", he said.

For fiscal year 2016, the Obama administration is requesting $38.6 million for Russian-language programming, a 66 per cent increase, plus more than $20 million to train Russian- speaking journalists, support independent media and other programs.

Much of the effort to counter Russia's narrative unfolds in a ground floor studio at VOA headquarters on Washington's National Mall. In a darkened control room nearby, a producer scans dozens of wall-mounted screens as his team prepares to tape Current Time.

The name, a pun in Russian, carries the connotation of "the real deal".

Some screens feature the show's Uzbek co-anchor preparing in Prague, others have camera angles at the United Nations. Several screens show Mozgovaya, blond head lowered over a laptop as she prepares for the show.

The BBG has hired more part-time correspondents who speak Ukrainian, Tatar and Russian. It set up news websites such as "Donbass Realities" focused on places under siege. There are plans for a central Asian version of the show and another focused on the Caucasus and for new mobile platforms, said Jeffrey Trimble, deputy director of the BBG's International Broadcasting Bureau. A 24-hour global Russian-language TV station, perhaps with European partners, is a longer-term possibility.

The target audience -- Russian speakers inside and outside the country - is 260 million people worldwide. Ms Stent said Western democracy is one complicating factor in trying to reach them. "The problem is in the West we don't have one message and we're up against a very co-ordinated information war," she said.

Cameron Johnston, an analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris, said the Kremlin's media strategy "rests on three key propositions: there is no such thing as objectivity; journalists are not critics but servants of the state and, in wartime, they are 'soldiers of the ideological front'".

Reaching those inside Russia, where Mr Putin has steadily tightened controls on media, is increasingly difficult. In 2005, VOA was carried on almost 100 Russian outlets. Now it's on just one, and that may be eliminated by proposed Russian legislation that would ban "undesirable foreign organisations".

Alexander Tarnavsky, a supporter of the measure, said in the lower house of Russia's parliament on January 20 that he hopes the law will "put the brakes on some of the foreign companies that joined the fight against Russia"."

At the "Current Time" studios, staffers like Cherepansky say Russia's closed media market gives their job added urgency, particularly in spreading US views on events. "Unless we go out, talk about it, it's as if it never happened," he said.

Bloomberg

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Iran nuclear talks: Hardliners criticise nuclear deal
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:07 AM

Hardliners in Iran have criticised the preliminary agreement with world powers on their country's nuclear programme.

The framework deal, the full details of which have still to be agreed, will see Iran curb sensitive nuclear activities in return for relief from sanctions.

Hossein Shariatmadari, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran had exchanged its "saddled horse" for one with a "broken bridle".

But many people have been celebrating the deal on the streets of Tehran.

Israel meanwhile called it "a step in a very, very dangerous direction".

Government spokesman Mark Regev said Iran would be left with an expansive nuclear infrastructure and able to pursue what he alleged was its "single goal" of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iranian officials have insisted that they have no such ambitions.

'Disaster'

Iran's foreign minister was given a hero's welcome upon his return to Tehran on Friday morning, a day after signing the framework deal with the so-called P5+1 - the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany - in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dozens of people surrounded Mohammad Javad Zarif's car as it left Mehrabad airport, chanting slogans in support of him and President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected in 2013 after promising to end years of crippling sanctions imposed on Iran because of concerns about its nuclear programme.

Before leaving the airport, Mr Zarif warned that much work remained to be done if a comprehensive accord was to be finalised before the deadline of 30 June.

Analysis: Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Lausanne

There's been celebration through the night across Iran and a hero's welcome for Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. But the deal he's brought home has been dismissed by hardliners who say Iran surrendered too much in exchange for too little.

John Kerry also faces a mix of support and scepticism in the US Congress. The loudest condemnation has come from Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, who insists this deal doesn't block but helps Iran build a nuclear bomb.

As hard as it was to reach this preliminary agreement, it will be even harder to draft a final deal by the end of June. But, if negotiators do it, it will be a victory for diplomacy which, they believe will make the world a much safer place.

Jonathan Marcus: This is a deal that buys time

Iranians celebrate nuclear deal in Tehran and online

Mixed media reaction to nuclear deal

But he added: "We have serious goals in the negotiations and eventually, based on what we have achieved so far, we believe we can reach them."

Mr Zarif also praised Ayatollah Khamenei for "his remarkable support for the negotiating team and his guidance" over the past 18 months.

The Supreme Leader, who has the final say on all state matters, has so far not commented.

But Hossein Shariatmadari, one of his advisers and editor of the influential hardline newspaper Kayhan, expressed his disappointment.

"To sum up the deal framework in one sentence - we handed over a saddled horse and received a broken bridle in return," he told the semi-official Fars news agency.

Another conservative analyst, Mehdi Mohammadi, called the deal "in no way balanced". He told Fars that it represented a "disaster for Fordo", the underground nuclear facility that will remain open but not used for enriching uranium.

'Safer place'

US President Barack Obama said the framework agreement would make the world a safer place, as it would "cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon".

In addition to halting enrichment at Fordo, Iran will cut by more than two-thirds to 5,060 the number of centrifuges it currently operates to enrich uranium. While enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, it can also be used to make nuclear bombs.

Iran will also cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium from around 10 tonnes to 300kg for 15 years, and the design of the heavy-water reactor under construction at Arak will be modified so it produces no weapons-grade plutonium.

In return, UN sanctions and separate measures imposed unilaterally by the US and EU will be gradually suspended as the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirms Iranian compliance.

The US says Iran has agreed to allow IAEA inspectors travel "anywhere in the country" to investigate "suspicious sites or allegations of covert enrichment".

Iran's key nuclear sites

Are you Iranian? What do you think about the deal? Email <a href="mailto:haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk">haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk</a> with your stories.

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Russian trawler sinks off Kamchatka with 56 dead
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:03 AM

A Russian trawler has sunk off the Kamchatka peninsula, with 56 people so far confirmed dead.

Sixty-three people have been rescued, many suffering from hypothermia, according to officials in Russia's Far East, but 13 are reported missing.

The Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler had 132 people on board when it sank.

Seventy-eight of those on board were Russian and 42 were from Myanmar. The remainder were from Vanuatu, Latvia and Ukraine.

The Dalniy Vostok went down in the Sea of Okhotsk, 330 km (205 miles) west of Krutogorovsky settlement, at around 06:30 local time (20:30 GMT Wednesday).

The captain was reported to be among the dead.

A captain of one of the 26 rescue ships taking part in the search said weather conditions were poor when the trawler went down, with snow, wind and waves of up to three metres (10ft) high. The water temperature was around freezing (32F).

A spokesman said survival in such waters was possible for up to 20 minutes.

"At this time we do not know what might have caused the tragedy."

Water flooded the engine compartment and the trawler then sank within 15 minutes, a local branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

The most likely theory, according to Russian investigators, is that the trawler may have hit some sort of obstacle because of damage near its engine room.

Emergency services suggested that drifting ice may have holed the vessel.

But a senior official in Kamchatka was quoted by Tass news agency as saying the boat foundered while trawling a 100-tonne dragnet.

Sergei Khabarov said that safety rules might have been flouted with cargo limits being exceeded.

The ship did not send out a distress call before sinking, according to local media.

The 13 people who are still missing are thought to have been in the ship's hold as the trawler sank, reported Tass.

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Russia’s politics of memory: Nemtsov Bridge
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 10:01 AM

Remembered with love

MEMORY has long been the subject of fierce and often deadly ideological battles in Russia. Those who control the past also control the present. Following the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a liberal opposition leader, on a bridge by the Kremlin, a fight for his memory, and for the Russian flag, is taking place. In Soviet times, purged Communist Party members were excised from photographs as though they never existed. Now it seems the Kremlin is trying similarly to airbrush Mr Nemtsov.

First Kremlin spin-doctors tried to divert attention from Mr Nemtsov’s murder to the “sudden” disappearance of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president. Ten days later, Mr Putin re-emerged triumphantly and celebrated the anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea at the spot where Mr Nemtsov died. A frenzied crowd yelled “Ross-i-ya”, as if that could quash memories of Mr Nemtsov and his opposition to war in Ukraine.

In the middle of the night on March 27th, a month after Mr Nemtsov’s murder, the authorities cleared the bridge of flowers and photographs. Thanks to Mr Nemtsov’s friends and followers, the memorial was restored. People across the country ordered flowers online, and supporters took them to the bridge. Mr Nemtsov’s photographs under Russian tricolours have been remounted on the balustrade. Volunteers guard the memorial day and night in snow and rain, sustained with tea and food by ordinary folk. They will not go away; they are being true to Mr Nemtsov’s spirit.

He managed to stay in politics despite state propaganda labelling him a “foreign agent” and “fifth column”. But fighting Mr Nemtsov after his death may prove even harder than it was during his life. Groomed to be Russia’s liberal president by Boris Yeltsin, the charismatic, honest Mr Nemtsov could turn into a symbol of Russia’s unfulfilled promise. The display of Russia’s national flag next to his name should be particularly troubling for the Kremlin.

The bridge has already been dubbed Nemtsov Bridge. It could now become a focal point of liberal opposition to a brutal regime, a role that after 1991 was played by the White House, then the seat of the Russian parliament. The Kremlin will try to clear the bridge of traces of Mr Nemtsov’s murder. But the harder it tries, the more resonant the spot will become.

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A Good Deal With Iran
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 9:39 AM

WASHINGTON — IN a perfect world, there would be no nuclear enrichment in Iran, and its existing enrichment facilities would be dismantled. But we don’t live in a perfect world. We can’t wish or bomb away the basic know-how and enrichment capability that Iran has developed. What we can do is sharply constrain it over a long duration, monitor it with unprecedented intrusiveness, and prevent the Iranian leadership from enriching material to weapons grade and building a bomb.

Those are the goals that have animated recent American diplomacy on the Iranian nuclear issue, including during the back-channel talks with Iran that I led in Oman and other quiet venues in 2013. Against a backdrop of 35 years without sustained diplomatic contact, filled with mutual suspicion and grievance, it was hardly surprising that our discussions were difficult, and our Iranian counterparts as tough-minded and skeptical as they were professionally skilled. But our efforts helped set the stage for the interim agreement, or Joint Plan of Action, concluded in November 2013.

Much maligned at the time, the J.P.O.A. has proved its value, freezing and rolling back Iran’s nuclear program for the first time in a decade, applying innovative inspections measures, allowing only modest sanctions relief and keeping substantial pressure on Iran.

The understanding announced in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday is an important step forward. Many crucial details still have to be resolved. But the understanding outlines a solid comprehensive agreement that would increase, for at least a decade, the time it would take Iran to enrich enough weapons-grade material for a single bomb from the current two-to-three-month timeline to at least one year. It would significantly reduce Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium, substantially limit the country’s enrichment capacity and constrain Iranian research and development on more advanced centrifuges. And it would cut off Iran’s other possible pathways to a bomb, including by effectively eliminating Iran’s potential capacity to produce weapons-grade plutonium at its planned Arak reactor and banning enrichment at the underground Fordow facility for at least 15 years.

In addition to these significant limitations, we would create an inspection regime unparalleled in intensity, going well beyond current international standards and ensuring that any breakout effort would be quickly detected. Only a negotiated deal gets us the verification and monitoring we need to close off any covert path to a weapon.

Through carefully phased sanctions relief with built-in procedures to reimpose sanctions immediately in case of Iranian noncompliance, we would also preserve ample enforcement leverage. With more eyes on less material in fewer places, and clarity about the harsh costs of cheating, we would be well positioned to deter and prevent Iranian breakout.

As consequential as this understanding is, much more remains to be done. Three challenges loom largest.

The first is the most obvious and immediate: the difficult, painstaking work of negotiating the details of a comprehensive agreement. Rigorous execution of such an agreement will be a critical priority for this administration and its successor, and that will depend on the quality of its verification and enforcement provisions. There is no reason to rush this effort, especially given the continued freeze on Iran’s program under the J.P.O.A. What’s crucial is to get it right.

The second and third challenges are more long-term, but equally important. Completing this comprehensive nuclear accord with Iran must be one part of a cleareyed strategy for a Middle East in deep disarray. I do not assume that progress on the nuclear issue will lead anytime soon to relaxation of tensions with Tehran on other regional problems, or to normalization of United States-Iranian relations. Nor do I assume that the Iranian leadership will make an overnight transformation from a revolutionary, regionally disruptive force to a more “normal” role as another ambitious regional power.

That means we must work to reassure our partners in the region, whose concerns about both Iranian threats and the impact of a nuclear deal are palpable. We should urgently pursue new forms of security assurances and cooperation. Taking a firm stance against threatening Iranian actions in the region, from Syria to Yemen, not only shores up anxious longtime friends. It also is the best way to produce Iranian restraint, much as a firm stance on sanctions helped persuade Iran to reassess its nuclear strategy.

Similarly, it’s important to embed a comprehensive Iranian nuclear agreement in a wider effort to strengthen the global nuclear order. New inspection and monitoring measures applied through an Iran agreement may create useful future benchmarks. The Iranian problem has exposed significant vulnerabilities under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, especially the absence of a clear divide between civilian and military programs. The Iran case makes clear that the gray zone in the treaty between the right to use nuclear energy and the prohibition against manufacturing nuclear weapons is too wide. As nuclear technology and know-how become more diffuse and states turn to nuclear power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, building a sturdy firewall between military and peaceful activities will be an increasingly important task.

None of this will be easy. But the prospect of a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran in the next few months, if executed rigorously and embedded in wider strategies for regional order and global nuclear order, can be a significant turning point. It can also be a much-needed demonstration of the enduring value of diplomacy.

The history of the Iranian nuclear issue is littered with missed opportunities. It is a history in which fixation on the perfect crowded out the good, and in whose rearview mirror we can see deals that look a lot better now than they seemed then. With all its inevitable imperfections, we can’t afford to miss this one.

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Step Down, Senator Robert Menendez
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 9:23 AM

For high-profile politicians who are indicted by federal prosecutors, there’s something akin to stages of grief. First comes shock, then anger, defiance and, sometimes, after juries convict and judges are ready to impose a sentence, a bit of contrition.

Having been on notice for months that his mutually beneficial friendship with a wealthy Florida doctorwas the subject of a corruption probe, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey blew past the state of shock on Wednesday after authorities unveiled a 68-page indictment.

“For nearly three years I’ve lived under a Justice Department cloud, and today I am outraged that this cloud has not been lifted,” an indignant Mr. Menendez told a crowd of supporters in Newark.

Outrage is fitting in this case — for anyone who reads the indictment. It meticulously documents abrazen pattern of gifts and favors exchanged by Mr. Menendez, one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington, and Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Dominican-born eye surgeon who invested heavily in Mr. Menendez’s political career and was never shy about calling in favors.

Mr. Menendez argues that the back-scratching was not criminal, but rather what good friends are supposed to do for each other. He’s certainly entitled to make that case to a jury. Considering the breadth and nature of the allegations, though, it’s hard to imagine that he will have enough time to adequately represent his constituents while he braces for a legal fight that could drag on for years.

The most damning portion of the indictment chronicles Mr. Menendez’s advocacy on behalf of Dr. Melgen when federal officials, in 2009, found that he had overbilled Medicare by nearly $9 million. “We have a bit of a situation with Senator Menendez, who is advocating on behalf of a physician friend of his in Florida,” an official at the Department of Health and Human Services warned a colleague who was designated to take the senator’s call.

Senate staff members routinely work on behalf of constituents, but there appears to be no reasonable explanation for the hours of work they put into a billing dispute on behalf of a doctor from another state. Mr. Menendez took the matter up directly with the secretary of health and human services during a meeting in August 2012. Two months later, Dr. Melgen donated $300,000 to a political action committee that was working to get Mr. Menendez re-elected. During that period, Mr. Menendez traveled to the Dominican Republic aboard Dr. Melgen’s private jet, one of a series of such trips he failed to disclose.

Also in 2012, Mr. Menendez’s staff contacted the State Department to protect Dr. Melgen’s interest in a Dominican cargo screening company, asking them to pressure the Dominican government into honoring a contract for port security. At that time, Dr. Melgen, who was also indicted, was making donations to a New Jersey Democratic committee and to Mr. Menendez’s legal defense fund.

One of the more salacious parts of the complaint summarizes Mr. Menendez’s efforts on behalf of Dr. Melgen’s young foreign girlfriends who needed visas to spend time with him in the United States. In one case, the senator wrote a letter to the State Department to vouch for his friend’s “good friend.”

In Mr. Menendez’s rule book, friends also let friends use their credit card rewards program points. In 2010, he asked Dr. Melgen to book him a suite in a Paris hotel with a “king bed, work area with Internet, limestone bath with soaking tub and enclosed rain shower.” He wrote helpfully in an email: “You call American Express Rewards and they will book it for you. It would need to be in my name.”

Mr. Menendez is evidently not in a hurry to get to the stage of contrition, having warned on Wednesday that he’s “not going anywhere.” He would be doing a disservice to New Jersey by clinging to power as a disgraced politician. His colleagues in the Senate should demand that he step aside.

Gov. Chris Christie would have a range of options to fill the seat temporarily until a new election could be held. If that happens, Mr. Christie should find the speediest way possible to let voters choose a successor who, ideally, would come into office without questionable friends.

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· · ·

Russia: Death Toll Rises in Ship Disaster
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 9:20 AM

Russian emergency workers frantically plucked bodies from the freezing Sea of Okhotsk on Thursday after a refrigerated trawling ship sank off Russia’s Far East, killing at least 56 of a crew of 132. Helicopters and dozens of ships were mustered for a rescue operation that continued into Friday morning off the Kamchatka Peninsula, where 13 members of the crew were still missing. Sixty-three sailors were rescued from the icy waters, and the bodies of 56 crew members were recovered. The reason for the sinking of the trawler, the Dalny Vostok, was not immediately clear, and Vladimir A. Puchkov, the Russian emergencies minister, said that investigators were still considering theories. Officials quoted by the Russian news media said the vessel might have been overloaded. No public statements by any officials suggested an attack or an act of terrorism.

Russian History Receives a Makeover That Starts With Ivan the Terrible
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 9:14 AM

MOSCOW — Ivan the Terrible, the Russian czar, should really be considered Ivan the Not So Bad, according to a wildly popular historical exhibition held recently near the Kremlin.

The exhibition accused the Western news media of miscasting Czar Ivan IV as “the Terrible.” A display of contemporaneous German etchings that showed the 16th-century czar’s troops committing atrocities was offered as proof that labeling him a murderous tyrant was simply defamation by foreigners.

He was also the first Russian leader hit by Western sanctions, the display asserted, with a supposed ban on metal sales to Russia prompting the initial domestic production of cannons.

Sound familiar? The show was one of several recent blockbuster exhibitions that historians and others say distort Russia’s past to create false parallels that justify current Kremlin policy.

“History is being used as an ideological tool,” said Nikita P. Sokolov, a historian and editor. The message of some of the biggest shows, he said, was that “Russia is a besieged fortress that needs a strong commander, and anyone trying to democratize Russia and shake the power of the commander is trying to undermine this country.”

Museum officials who created some of the shows denied that they were following Kremlin orders. Rather, they said, the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union unleashed a torrent of excessively negative historical research that needed rebalancing.

“Not once has any government representative told me how history should be written,” said Yuri A. Nikiforov, a World War II historian. “It’s just not true that Russian historians dance to the president’s tune.”

Mr. Nikiforov works as a volunteer curator for the Russian Military-Historical Society, which government critics blame for leading the charge of ideological exhibitions. Founded in 2012 by Vladimir R. Medinsky, the minister of culture, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the society is a quasi-public organization with an unpublished budget.

Emphasizing the glory of Russia became a cherished goal of President Vladimir V. Putin when hestarted his third term in 2012. At the founding of the Military-Historical Society — modeled on the imperial version disbanded after the 1917 revolution — Mr. Putin pledged government support and exhorted the organization to defend the values of “patriotism and the sacred duty of defending our homeland, national dignity and loyalty to our roots.”

In contrast to Mr. Nikiforov, Mr. Medinsky eagerly acknowledged the Kremlin’s advice. “We very much need these kinds of orders from the Kremlin,” he said. “They are very correct.”

Mr. Medinsky’s father, Rostislav, an adviser on veterans’ affairs, summed up the historical society’s goals this month at an exhibition of paintings celebrating Russia’s annexation of Crimea last spring.

The Military-Historical Society “is solving one of the main ideological tasks of educating citizens in the spirit of the highest patriotism,” he said. “Because there where the land is not sown, grow weeds. There where there is no ideological motive, a vacuum forms and fascism raises its head.”

The society’s blockbuster show with Ivan the Terrible and others was held last fall at the Manège, a 19th-century exhibition hall just outside the Kremlin, and drew 250,000 people.

Called “My History. The Ruriks,” it celebrated the dynasty that ruled for about 700 years, starting around A.D. 900, over the areas that became the heartland of Russia. Critics say that Mr. Medinsky used the show to promote his own interpretation of a period of Russian history that is notoriously difficult to document.

The central themes were that Russia has long been under attack, that only in unity had it been able to expel invaders and that numerous legends had grown up about its past.

Criticism was rife about its treatment of many subjects, including Ivan the Terrible and sanctions. (Not to mention the thumping techno soundtrack.)

Ivan founded the original version of the secret police in 1564, said Mr. Sokolov, the historian, and his executions were cruel, not some Western fiction. The assertion that Western sanctions prompted the first local production of cannons was also misguided, he said, because that started before Ivan’s time.

The neighboring state then called Livonia — in what is now the Baltics — did block technically skilled people from Russia, Mr. Sokolov said, but there was no metal embargo because Russia had plenty.

“It was a purely political exhibition, not an historical one,” he said.

Mr. Medinsky, the culture minister, is ready to dispute history at length. Ivan the Terrible is actually a mistranslation of Ivan Grozny, he said, a “positive” term in Russian that would better be rendered as “Ivan the Strict.” As for the czar’s human rights record on executions, he said, that of Queen Elizabeth I of England was far worse.

“This is P.R.; this is the difference between a rat and a hamster,” he said. “It is simply image-making.”

Historians have voiced concerns that Russia is switching to a sanitized version of history, discontinuing the relatively open inquiries of the 1990s to return to narrower, Soviet-style interpretations that emphasize ideology. Mr. Putin rejected that criticism last year.

Yet museums that have highlighted darker aspects of Russian history have come under pressure or even been shut down. For example, Perm-36, a museum focused on political repression that was established on the grounds of a restored Soviet labor camp announced its closing in early March after government support was cut.

There are, of course, plenty of museum exhibitions without an ideological bent. Yet in numerous shows, the parallels drawn between past and present are not subtle. The practice is expected to swell with scores of new exhibits to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany.

Mr. Nikiforov of the Military-Historical Society curated an exhibition called “Remember,” held in a former power plant near Parliament.

Using mostly old photographs, the exhibition concentrated on the rise of Nazism, especially in places like Ukraine and the Baltics; Hitler’s atrocities; and the more than one million Soviet soldiers killed in the drive across Eastern Europe to capture Berlin.

The show also gave a distinct nod toward present policy: One soaring lobby wall depicted current right-wing groups in Ukraine.

Russia maintains that the reason it absorbed Crimea a year ago and then endorsed the separatists battling in eastern Ukraine was that the overthrow of the government in Kiev in February 2014 amounted to a Nazi revival.

“That screen forces people to think, but nowhere, not in the tours, do we draw such a primitive parallel,” Mr. Nikiforov said.

“Remember” gives short shrift to the unsavory aspects of the Soviet Union’s World War II history, like the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact that allied Moscow with Nazi Germany until Hitler invaded in 1941. “Such simplification is unavoidable when there is not much room,” the curator said.

The Museum of Contemporary History, one of the largest in Russia, is featuring a show called “On the Path to Victory,” about the 1943 fight for Ukraine.

A tour guide made the link to current events. “As we see today in the territory of Ukraine, these events did not disappear into history,” he said. “The ember continued to smolder and unfortunately this fascist fire began to burn again a year ago.”

Irina Y. Velikanova, a former Moscow City Council member appointed to run the museum last year, said the mission of any historical museum should be rooted in patriotism.

“We don’t hide the fact that we are interested in forming the patriotic and civic position of Russian youth,” she said. “Our goal is that when leaving our museum, all Russians would feel proud of their country.”

Valentin Diaconov, who covers the art world for the daily newspaper Kommersant, said he tried to ignore the historical exhibits, hoping they would go away.

“They are basically showbiz,” he said “We are not talking about history; it is too complicated. We are talking about superheroes.”

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Page 4

US reportedly backed down on initial goals in Iran talks
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 9:06 AM

Now Playing

McFarland: Obama, Kerry 'got played' by Iran

U.S. negotiators reportedly lowered the bar for their own goals during talks over Iran's nuclear program in response to resistance from the Tehran team. And, on the heels of a framework deal being announced in Switzerland, France's top diplomat on Friday admitted his country had initially held out for firmer terms.

The emerging reports indicate the U.S. team, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, gradually backed down over the course of the talks as Iran's delegation dug in. The Wall Street Journal, citing current and former U.S. representatives at the discussions, claimed the White House had initially hoped to persuade Iran to dismantle much of the country's nuclear infrastructure when talks started in late 2013, only to be told categorically that Iran would not do so.

The Journal reported that one Iranian diplomat called the nuclear program "our moon shot," comparing it to the U.S. space program in the 1960s as a symbol of national pride and advancement. From that point, the Journal reports, the U.S. accepted that any possible deal would likely enable Iran to continue to enrich some uranium to produce nuclear fuel and turned their focus to extending Iran's so-called "breakout time" or the minimum period that Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon.

The framework of an agreement was announced Thursday after marathon talks in Switzerland that stretched two days past their original deadline.

The plan, containing dozens of provisions, would effectively require Iran to wind down or suspend parts of its nuclear program that could be used for nuclear weapon development in exchange for sweeping sanctions relief. The preliminary agreement allows all sides -- the U.S., Iran and five other world powers -- to continue working toward a final deal by a June 30 deadline.

However, not all of the Western powers appeared completely pleased with the agreement. On Friday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe 1 radio that France had rejected an original of the deal outline as "not solid enough", and had held out for firmer conditions. However, Fabius told the radio station that the Iranian delegation had responded by threatening to walk out of the talks.

The French delegation was considered by observers to be one of the hardest bargainers of the P5+1 countries, a group which also included the U.S., Britain, Germany, Russia and China. Fabius told Europe 1 that France wants a firm deal "to prevent other countries in the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia from embarking on nuclear proliferation."

As for the framework itself, Fabius called it a "very important" step, but noted that "the end of the road is the end of June."

According to the Journal, U.S. scientists concluded that a year was enough time for the West to detect any move by Iran to build a nuclear bomb and execute a response. As part of keeping Iran at the table, the paper reports the U.S. made more concessions to Tehran. Some of which reportedly angered their negotiating partners, most notably the French.

What resulted, according to a fact sheet released by negotiators Thursday, was an agreement that called for Iran to reduce the number of its centrifuges from 19,000 to around 6,100, with most enriching uranium for 10 years.

Iran also agreed not to enrich uranium at its contentious Fordo facility for at least 15 years, and would not build any new facilities for enrichment for the same time period. The framework would allow international inspectors to have "regular access" to nuclear sites. In exchange, U.S. and European Union sanctions would be suspended after inspectors verify Iran "has taken all of its key nuclear-related steps." Sanctions, the document said, would "snap back" if Iran breaches the commitments.

"Our work is not yet done," Obama said in a Rose Garden speech Thursday, after promising, "If Iran cheats, the world will know it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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· · · ·

Is There a Feud Over a New Tsar in the Kremlin?
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

Home - Institute Of Modern Russia

Vladimir Putin’s ten-day absence from the public eye has become the most discussed event in Russia this past month, and also highlights the country’s crisis of governance. According to Donald Jensen, resident fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, keeping the increasingly polarized political forces under control is becoming a much harder challenge for Putin.

FBI: A 'Most Wanted Terrorist' Killed in Philippinesby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

Voice Of America

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday confirmed that one of its "most wanted terrorists" was killed during a police raid in the Philippines in January. Zulkifli bin Hir was a leading member of the Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is responsible for numerous bombing attacks in the Philippines. The group Jemaah Islamiyah is believed to be linked to al-Qaida and has a long track record of attacks in Indonesia, including the deadly 2002 bombing of a nightclub in Bali. The FBI said DNA taken from the scene of the raid matched that of bin Hir's relatives. The raid that killed the terrorist also killed 44 police commandos. The U.S. State Department had offered $5 million for the arrest of bin Hir. Three years ago, the Philippine military reported that he had died in an airstrike, but he surfaced again last year in Mindanao under protection of a Moro Islamic Liberation Front splinter group. In a statement, David Bowdich, assistant director in charge at the FBI Los Angeles field office, said the agency had taken bin Hir off its most-wanted-terrorists list and thanked the Philippine police. "Once again, the men and women of the FBI express sincere condolences to the brave officers of the Special Action Force who lost their lives while attempting to apprehend this dangerous fugitive," Bowdich said. Some information for this report came from Reuters.

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· ·

Doubts Intensify About Reports of a Video Made During Germanwings Flight’s Final Moments by RICK GLADSTONE
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

NYT > Europe

The French police asserted that the reports about it were false and the French prosecutor leading the crash investigation said no videos had been recovered.

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· ·

Russia Bans Prominent Foreign Investor Entry on Suspicions of Spying - Wall Street Journal
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

Russia - Google News

Deutsche Welle

Russia Bans Prominent Foreign Investor Entry on Suspicions of Spying
Wall Street Journal
MOSCOW—A Finnish businessman who is one of Russia's most prominent foreign investors has been banned from entry to the country for five years after authorities warned him that his work raised suspicions of espionage. Seppo Remes, founder and ...
Finnish investor banned from Russia after FSB warningDeutsche Welle
Finnish Businessman Denied Entry Into Russia After 20 YearsThe Moscow Times
UPDATE 1-Finnish businessman says banned from Russia for security threatReuters

all 18 news articles »

Violence against Women a Major Problem in the South Caucasus by Paul Goble
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 AM

The InterpreterThe Interpreter

Staunton, March 7 — One of the most positive aspects of the enormous number of holidays post-Soviet states have is that in advance of them journalists often focus on important issues that they otherwise neglect. March 8 is international women’s day, and in the region, many are writing about the status of women.

Two articles this past week, very much part of this pattern, deserve attention. One notes that discrimination against women remains very high in Uzbekistan as it does in many other countries. And another, still more disturbing, new studies show that violence against women along with such violence accepted as legitimate is a major problem in the South Caucasus.

The article on Fergananews.com points out that March 8, International Women’s Day, has been transformed in Uzbekistan from its original purpose of promoting women’s rights into an occasion for the state to pay attention to women at least one day a year and celebrate what it has supposedly done for them.

Tashkent’s record is not good. Although the Uzbekistan constitution asserts that men and women have equal rights, that is not the case, it points out. Since 1991, there has been only one woman minister, and there is not a single woman heading an oblast, city or district at the present time.

As a result, and despite the existence of female deputy heads at many levels who are supposedly responsible for promoting women’s equality, the Uzbekistan government now does little to challenge and often actively helps the prevailing patriarchal male-dominated culture of that Central Asian country.

For example, women under 35 who wish to travel abroad must get the notarized approval of a husband or other relatives before they are allowed to do so. Tashkent says this is to prevent human trafficking, but the implication of this is that all young women are viewed as potential prostitutes and their male relatives are viewed as the only ones who can stop them.

Much of the government’s discriminatory treatment of women is superficially gender neutral, Fergananews.com reports. That is, categories of jobs traditionally held largely or even exclusively by men are given special benefits, while those traditionally held largely or even exclusively by women are not.

But there are quite obvious ways in which the Uzbekistan authorities mistreat women: Most of those forced to harvest cotton are women, given the pictures of the happy workers Tashkent television always shows. And more disturbingly, only women are subject to forced sterilization, sometimes without even being told they are “being subjected to this procedure.”

The situation in the three countries of the South Caucasus is also discouraging, according to the Social Science in the South Caucasus website. Domestic violence is widespread: with one in 11 married women in Georgia now a victim of physical domestic violence, something 78 percent of Georgian women say should be handed privately, and at least 25 killed by their husbands or partners last year.

In Armenia, the situation is also bad. That country still does not have any laws against domestic violence – Azerbaijan and Georgia both do — and Amnesty International reported in 2008 that as many as 25 percent of Armenian women have been victims of physical violence from their husbands, partners, or other family members.

Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan, as the Council of Europe reported a year ago, 83 women were killed as a result of domestic violence and another 98 committed suicide after being subjected to it. As a result, CRRC-Azerbaijan, in a project funded by Sweden, conducted a survey on attitudes of various groups there about violence toward women.

Those surveyed were asked whether and to what extent they agreed with two statements: “’There are times when women deserve to be beaten’” and “’Women should tolerate violence in order to keep their families together.’” The results have now been tabulated, and they are frightening.

Twenty-two percent of Azerbaijanis say that they agree with the notion that there are times when women should be beaten, with a total of 40 percent indicating that they believe women should tolerate violence to keep their families together. Not surprisingly, men are more inclined than women to make such declarations, by 13 percent regarding the first and by nine percent in the second.

But what should be of particular concern because of the larger problems it reflects, the CRRC-Azerbaijan report says 16 percent of Azerbaijani women believe there are times when women should be beaten and –more worrisome still– 36 percent of women believe they should tolerate such abuse in order to keep families together.

Again, as one might expect, the study found that such attitudes were more common in rural areas than in urban ones, more widespread among the poor than among those better off, and more often found among those with relatively little education than among those with university degrees.

Read the whole story

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Page 5

43 Die as Russian Trawler Sinks, TASS Reportsby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 AM

Voice Of America

At least 43 people have died and 26 are missing after a Russian trawler sank late Wednesday in the western Pacific Ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula, the TASS news agency reported, citing an officer at a maritime rescue coordination center in the area. There were 132 people on board the Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler and 63 people have been rescued from icy waters, TASS said. The ship was carrying 78 Russian nationals, as well as 54 foreign nationals from Myanmar, Ukraine, Lithuania and Vanuatu, the news agency said. The trawler wrecked in the Sea of Okhotsk, 330 kilometers west of the Krutogorovsky settlement in the Kamchatka region and 250 kilometers south of the city of Magadan, TASS said. The home port of the trawler, which was owned by Magellan LLC, was Nevelsk in Russia's Sakhalin region, TASS said.

С затонувшего траулера «Дальний Восток» забрали всех выживших - Газета.Ru
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 AM

В Мире – Новости Google

Комсомольская правда

С затонувшего траулера «Дальний Восток» забрали всех выживших
Газета.Ru
На месте, где затонул траулер «Дальний Восток», больше не осталось спасательных плотов, сообщает РИА «Новости». По мнению спасателей, если кто-то из членов команды еще находится в воде, шансов выжить у него нет. Всего удалось спасти 63 человек. Из воды также достали ...
Число спасенных после крушения траулера «Дальний Восток» увеличилось до 63Коммерсантъ
Камчатка готова принять пострадавших с затонувшего траулераInterfax Russia
Спасательных плотов на месте крушения судна в Охотском море больше нетРИА Новости
Радио Свобода -НТВ.ru -Комсомольская правда
Все похожие статьи: 283 »

World Briefing: Russia: A Suspect Protests in Putin Foe Murder Case by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 AM

NYT > Europe

A man charged with the killing of the opposition politician Boris Y. Nemtsov told a court on Wednesday that he had been beaten and pressured to confess.

Read the whole story

· ·

Dozens dead after Russian trawler sinks in ocean by Agencies
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 AM

Russian News, All The Latest And Breaking Russia News

More than 54 dead and 60 suffering from hypothermia after Russian freezer trawler Dalniy Vostok
sank in the Sea of Okhotsk

54 dead after trawler sinks off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula - CNN
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:46 AM

Russia - Google News

CNN

54 dead after trawler sinks off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula
CNN
The Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler -- a commercial fishing vessel -- was carrying 132 people, the ministry said. Of the people on board, 78 were Russians. The 54 others were foreign nationals from Myanmar, Ukraine, Lithuania and Vanuatu, according to ...
Russian trawler sinks off Kamchatka with 54 deadBBC News
Death toll rises to 54 after Russian trawler sinks in Western Pacific: rescue ...Reuters
Russia: Scores Die as Trawler Sinks in the Western PacificNew York Times
Washington Post (blog)
all 143 news articles »

World Briefing: Russia: Scores Die as Trawler Sinks in the Western Pacific by REUTERS
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:46 AM

NYT > Europe

At least 50 people died and
several remained missing after a Russian trawler sank late Wednesday near the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review

» Iranians celebrate, Obama hails 'historic' nuclear framework
03/04/15 11:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Iranians celebrated in the streets after negotiators reached a framework for a nuclear accord and U.S. President Barack Obama hailed an "historic understanding", but senior g...

» How new is Putin’s ‘atmosphere of hate’?
03/04/15 11:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . By J. Paul Goode April 3 at 9:04 AM The following is a guest post by political scientist J. Paul Goode of the University of Oklahoma. ***** In the wake of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov&#...

» Weekend - Календарь литературных преследований
03/04/15 11:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Тюремное и лагерное заключение, ка...

» Ъ - Российский рынок перестал привлекать
03/04/15 11:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . За последнюю неделю из фондов, инве...

» New low in Russia-NATO relations: Analysts
03/04/15 11:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Channel NewsAsia. MOSCOW: Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, relations between Moscow and NATO have dramatically worsened. The Kremlin has threatened a range of responses if NATO moves more forces i...

» BRICS leadership passes to Russia, $100bn development bank ‘main priority’ — RT Business
03/04/15 11:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from RT - Business. Published time: April 01, 2015 13:21 Edited time: April 02, 2015 09:42 Reuters/Nacho Doce Tags BRICS , Banking , Brazil , China , Currencies , Economy , Finance , India , Markets , Putin , R...

» Russia’s Economic Outlook Worse Than Thought, World Bank Says
03/04/15 11:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW—Russia’s economic contraction will be worse than previously thought, the World Bank said Wednesday, the day the government reported to President Vladimir Putin that the struggling economy w...

» Russia Frees Itself From Oil's Curse
03/04/15 11:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Bloomberg View. Signs are multiplying that the Russian economy will not die a painful death, but is just taking some long-overdue strong medicine. The country posted unexpected growth in the fou...

» Russia's role in Ukraine seen shifting to training rebels
03/04/15 11:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . YENAKIEYEVE, Ukraine (AP) — On a recent spring morning, an important visitor watched Russian-backed rebels conduct infantry maneuvers in eastern Ukraine. "The general is very pleased," rebel commander O...

» Putin spokesman slams Times 'demonizing' Russia over perceived nuclear threat — RT News
03/04/15 11:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from RT - News. Published time: April 02, 2015 13:12 Edited time: April 02, 2015 14:13 Black Sea Fleet sailors during the Navy Day parade rehearsal in Sevastopol. (RIA Novosti/Konstantin Chalabov) Tags Arms , A...

» Russia outguns US in information war
03/04/15 11:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A scene from Russian propaganda video I - Russian Invader . Washington: The troubled US agency responsible for delivering news around the world is being outgunned in Eastern Europe by Russian outlets unrestra...

» Iran nuclear talks: Hardliners criticise nuclear deal
03/04/15 11:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Hardliners in Iran have criticised the preliminary agreement with world powers on their country's nuclear programme. The framework deal, the full details of which have still to be agreed, will see Iran curb s...

» Russian trawler sinks off Kamchatka with 56 dead
03/04/15 11:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A Russian trawler has sunk off the Kamchatka peninsula, with 56 people so far confirmed dead. Sixty-three people have been rescued, many suffering from hypothermia, according to officials in Russia's Far East...

» Russia’s politics of memory: Nemtsov Bridge
03/04/15 11:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Remembered with love MEMORY has long been the subject of fierce and often deadly ideological battles in Russia. Those who control the past also control the present. Following the murder of Boris Nemtsov, a li...

» A Good Deal With Iran
03/04/15 10:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON — IN a perfect world, there would be no nuclear enrichment in Iran, and its existing enrichment facilities would be dismantled. But we don’t live in a perfect world. We can’t wish...

» Step Down, Senator Robert Menendez
03/04/15 10:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . For high-profile politicians who are indicted by federal prosecutors, there’s something akin to stages of grief. First comes shock, then anger, defiance and, sometimes, after juries convict and judges a...

» Russia: Death Toll Rises in Ship Disaster
03/04/15 10:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Russian emergency workers frantically plucked bodies from the freezing Sea of Okhotsk on Thursday after a refrigerated trawling ship sank off Russia ’s Far East, killing at least 56 of a crew of 132. He...

» Russian History Receives a Makeover That Starts With Ivan the Terrible
03/04/15 10:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW — Ivan the Terrible, the Russian czar, should really be considered Ivan the Not So Bad, according to a wildly popular historical exhibition held recently near the Kremlin. The exhibition accused ...

» US reportedly backed down on initial goals in Iran talks
03/04/15 10:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Now Playing McFarland: Obama, Kerry 'got played' by Iran U.S. negotiators reportedly lowered the bar for their own goals during talks over Iran's nuclear program in response to resistance from the Tehran team...

» Is There a Feud Over a New Tsar in the Kremlin?
03/04/15 01:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - Institute of Modern Russia. Vladimir Putin’s ten-day absence from the public eye has become the most discussed event in Russia this past month, and also highlights the country’s crisis of governance...

» FBI: A 'Most Wanted Terrorist' Killed in Philippines
03/04/15 01:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday confirmed that one of its "most wanted terrorists" was killed during a police raid in the Philippines in January. Zulkifli bin Hir wa...

» Doubts Intensify About Reports of a Video Made During Germanwings Flight’s Final Moments
03/04/15 01:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. The Doubts about the video’s authenticity intensified after the French police asserted that the reports about it were false and the French prosecutor leading the crash investigation said n...

» Russia Bans Prominent Foreign Investor Entry on Suspicions of Spying - Wall Street Journal
03/04/15 01:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Deutsche Welle Russia Bans Prominent Foreign Investor Entry on Suspicions of Spying Wall Street Journal MOSCOW—A Finnish businessman who is one of Russia's most prominent foreign inve...

» Violence against Women a Major Problem in the South Caucasus
03/04/15 01:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The InterpreterThe Interpreter. Staunton, March 7 — One of the most positive aspects of the enormous number of holidays post-Soviet states have is that in advance of them journalists often focus on i...

» 43 Die as Russian Trawler Sinks, TASS Reports
03/04/15 01:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. At least 43 people have died and 26 are missing after a Russian trawler sank late Wednesday in the western Pacific Ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula, the TASS news agency reported, citin...

» С затонувшего траулера «Дальний Восток» забрали всех выживших - Газета.Ru
03/04/15 01:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Комсомольская правда С затонувшего траулера «Дальний Восток» забрали всех выживших Газета.Ru На месте, где затонул траулер «Дальний Восток», больше не осталось спасательных плотов,...

» World Briefing: Russia: A Suspect Protests in Putin Foe Murder Case
03/04/15 01:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. A man charged with the killing of the opposition politician Boris Y. Nemtsov told a court on Wednesday that he had been beaten and pressured to confess.

» Dozens dead after Russian trawler sinks in ocean
03/04/15 01:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news. More than 54 More than 40 dead and 60 suffering from hypothermia after Russian freezer trawler Dalniy Vostok sank sunk in the Sea of Okhotsk

» 54 dead after trawler sinks off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula - CNN
03/04/15 01:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CNN 54 dead after trawler sinks off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula CNN The Dalniy Vostok freezer trawler -- a commercial fishing vessel -- was carrying 132 people, the ministry said. Of...

» World Briefing: Russia: Scores Die as Trawler Sinks in the Western Pacific
03/04/15 01:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. At least 50 At least 43 people died and several remained another 26 were missing after a Russian trawler sank late Wednesday near the Kamchatka Peninsula.

» Russian Artists Face a Choice: Censor Themselves, or Else - New York Times
03/04/15 01:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. New York Times Russian Artists Face a Choice: Censor Themselves, or Else New York Times MOSCOW — After a law went into effect last summer banning obscenities in public performances, t...

» Генконсульство России в Адене атаковано и разграблено шиитскими мятежниками - Независимая газета
03/04/15 01:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Российская Газета Генконсульство России в Адене атаковано и разграблено шиитскими мятежниками Независимая газета Генеральное консульство РФ в Адене атаковано и разграблено шиитским...

» At least 54 dead, 15 missing after Russian trawler sinks off Kamchatka - Reuters
03/04/15 01:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CNN At least 54 dead, 15 missing after Russian trawler sinks off Kamchatka Reuters MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 54 crew on a Russian fishing trawler died and 15 were missing after it s...

» Russians blockade Berlin: from the archive, 2 April 1948
03/04/15 01:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. The Allied officers refused to allow Russian guards to search the trains or to check travellers’ documents, and for that reason the Russian authorities would not let the trains proce...

» Theories about Possible Perpetrators of the Murder of Boris Nemtsov
03/04/15 01:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The InterpreterThe Interpreter. The body of Boris Nemtsov, assassinated on February 27, 2015. Photo by Meduza. As can be expected, there is a wide range of theories now being published and discussed about ...

» Китай предложил построить китайско-монголо-российский экономический коридор - Ведомости
03/04/15 01:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Российская Газета Китай предложил построить китайско-монголо-российский экономический коридор Ведомости Глава МИД КНР Ван И предложил построить китайско-монголо-российский экономич...

» At Least 54 Dead After Russian Fishing Trawler Sinks in Pacific
03/04/15 01:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. At least 54 crew on a Russian fishing trawler died and 15 were missing after it sank in freezing waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Western Pacific Ocean late on Wednes...

» Russian trawler sinking: At least 54 dead as ship sinks in Sea of Okhotsk
03/04/15 01:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from - Europe RSS Feed. At least 54 people have died and 15 are missing after a Russian freezer trawler carrying an international crew of 132 sank in far-eastern Russia.

» Ukraine Signs New Russian Gas Deal
03/04/15 01:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Kyiv has signed a new agreement to buy Russian gas over the next three months at a price of $248 per thousand cubic meters.

» Хуситы разграбили генконсульство России в Адене - РИА Новости
03/04/15 01:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Коммерсантъ Хуситы разграбили генконсульство России в Адене РИА Новости Ранее сообщалось, что генеральное консульство РФ в Адене пострадало во время бомбежки международной коалиции...

» Луганская область на Пасху откроет границу с Россией - Lenta.ru
03/04/15 01:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Lenta.ru Луганская область на Пасху откроет границу с Россией Lenta.ru Луганская область откроет границу с Россией в пасхальные дни, сообщает в четверг, 2 апреля, агентство УНН. «Я...

» Порошенко рассказал, кто остановит агрессора на Донбассе - Время новостей TimeUA.com
03/04/15 01:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Время новостей TimeUA.com Порошенко рассказал, кто остановит агрессора на Донбассе Время новостей TimeUA.com Президент Украины Петр Порошенко заявил о том, что выйти из ситуации, к...

» Russia reportedly issues new threat to NATO over forces in Baltics - Fox News
03/04/15 01:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Fox News Russia reportedly issues new threat to NATO over forces in Baltics Fox News Russia reportedly has made a new threat to begin "destabilizing actions" in the Baltic republics o...

» Salutin' Putin: inside a Russian troll house
03/04/15 01:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Former workers tell how hundreds of bloggers are paid to flood forums and social networks at home and abroad with anti-western and pro-Kremlin comments Just after 9pm each day, a lon...

» Russia Detains Two Alleged Members Of Banned Group In St. Petersburg
03/04/15 01:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Security officials in Russia's second largest city say they have detained two alleged members of a banned Islamic organization.

» Germanwings crash: Girlfriend of Andreas Lubitz 'too sacred to return to Montabaur' over fears 'hatred of world will come down on her'
03/04/15 01:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from - Europe RSS Feed. The girlfriend of the Germanwings co-pilot suspected of downing a plane is reportedly too scared to return to her German home town for fear of an angry backlash from residents.

» 'Unrepentant' Nazi, Soren Kam, dies aged 93 and escapes punishment over murder of editor
03/04/15 00:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from - Europe RSS Feed. One of the most wanted Nazis in the world has died aged 93 without having been punished for a murder conviction.

» Former Kyrgyz Grand Mufti Detained In Kazakhstan
03/04/15 00:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Kazakh police have detained a former grand mufti of neighboring Kyrgyzstan, Rakhmatulla-Hajji Egemberdiev, who is wanted in Bishkek on suspicion of tax evasion.

» Russia Proposes Superhighway to Alaska - Wall Street Daily
03/04/15 00:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Wall Street Daily Russia Proposes Superhighway to Alaska Wall Street Daily At a recent meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, put ...

» Лукашенко: Без американцев на Украине невозможна никакая стабильность - Ведомости
03/04/15 00:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Ведомости Лукашенко: Без американцев на Украине невозможна никакая стабильность Ведомости Президента Белоруссии Александра Лукашенко настораживает, что США "открыто не были по...

» Salutin' Putin: inside a Russian troll house - The Guardian
03/04/15 00:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Guardian Salutin' Putin: inside a Russian troll house The Guardian The nondescript building has been identified as the headquarters of Russia's “troll army”, where hundreds of pai...

» Sagallo, Russia's Short-Lived Cossack Colony In Africa
03/04/15 00:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. In 1888, the "Scramble For Africa" was nearly over. European powers had carved out their colonies, and Imperial Russia still lacked a "place in the sun." But adventurer N...

» Ukraine to buy cheaper Russian gas for next three months - Reuters
03/04/15 00:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Ukraine to buy cheaper Russian gas for next three months Reuters Ukrainian officials also saw signs of goodwill in relations between Ukraine's state gas concern Naftogaz and R...

» A Dozen New Words and Phrases that are Redefining Russian Life
03/04/15 00:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, April 2 – Political developments come so thick and fast that they are often f...

» Gunmen Target Military Checkpoints Egypt's Sinai
03/04/15 00:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked several military checkpoints in Egypt's Sinai on Thursday, killing 15 soldiers and two civilians, security sources said, defying one o...

» Верховный суд не стал реабилитировать "кровавого наркома" Ягоду - Правда.Ру
02/04/15 23:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Правда.Ру Верховный суд не стал реабилитировать "кровавого наркома" Ягоду Правда.Ру Реабилитация основателя системы ГУЛАГ Генриха Ягоды не состоялась - Верховный суд Росс...

» Georgian, Turkish, Azerbaijani Defense Ministers Convene In Tbilisi
02/04/15 23:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The defense ministers of Georgia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan converged in Tbilisi on April 2 to discuss military cooperation.

» European Commission Asks Companies to Go Public With Google Complaints
02/04/15 23:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. The move is part of an antitrust inquiry into whether the search giant has used its dominant position to give preferential treatment to its own services.

» Russian ‘Federalism’ Now Means as Little as It Did in Soviet Times, Shtepa Says
02/04/15 23:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, April 2 – Moscow now runs the federal subjects in much the same hyper-...

» Russian Artists Face a Choice: Censor Themselves, or Else
02/04/15 23:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. Cultural figures in Russia describe a climate of anxiety as laws banning obscenities have made them compromise their work or face harsh penalties.

» British woman thrown out of Russia for being a 'spy': Nottingham University ... - Daily Mail
02/04/15 23:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Daily Mail British woman thrown out of Russia for being a 'spy': Nottingham University ... Daily Mail A British woman has been ordered to leave Russia after being branded a 'spy' by t...

» Россия угрожает ядерным ударом в ответ на передачу Украине оружия - Сводка Украинских и Мировых Новостей
02/04/15 23:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РБК Россия угрожает ядерным ударом в ответ на передачу Украине оружия Сводка Украинских и Мировых Новостей Президент России Владимир Путин использует угрозы ядерным оружием для тог...

» Putin spokesman slams Times 'demonizing' Russia over perceived nuclear threat - RT
02/04/15 23:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT Putin spokesman slams Times 'demonizing' Russia over perceived nuclear threat RT Russia never threatened to use nuclear weapons over Crimea and the Baltic States, according to Vlad...

» Northern fires caused almost a quarter of global forest loss, study shows
02/04/15 23:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Forest fires destroyed vast areas of woodland in Canada and Russia between 2011 and 2013, greatly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, satellite data r...

» Who’s Afraid of the Fact-Checker?
02/04/15 23:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Latest From the Wilson Center. The practice of fact-checking politicians’ claims has grown from its initial use by a small group of American journalists to an international movement in journalism with new ...

» Boreal forest suffering 'significant' losses in Russia, Canada - CBC.ca
02/04/15 23:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CBC.ca Boreal forest suffering 'significant' losses in Russia , Canada CBC.ca Some 43,000 square kilometres of northern boreal forest were ravaged in Russia , due mainly to fires, in ...

» British PhD student expelled from Russia accused of being a 'spy'
02/04/15 23:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news. Nottingham University student was researching early 20th century history in Nizhny Novgorod

» Литва возобновила расследование дела о секретной тюрьме ЦРУ - Росбалт.RU
02/04/15 23:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. РИА Новости Литва возобновила расследование дела о секретной тюрьме ЦРУ Росбалт.RU ВИЛЬНЮС, 2 апреля. Литовская прокуратура возобновила расследование информации, согласно которой г...

» Battle Over Pension Reform Flares as Russia Hunts for New Sources of Investment
02/04/15 23:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. Top economic officials made an impassioned plea Thursday to preserve the payments employees make to privately managed pension funds as a government battle rages over pension r...

» Two US Women Held in Alleged Bomb Plot
02/04/15 23:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Two New York City women have been charged with trying to build a homemade bomb to launch a terrorist attack in the United States. A federal criminal complaint made public Thursday says No...

» 'Unprecedented & dangerous step': Russia slams NATO troop build-up - RT
02/04/15 22:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT 'Unprecedented & dangerous step': Russia slams NATO troop build-up RT The Russian Foreign Ministry has declared NATO's encroachment as an unprecedented violation of the Russia ...

» Russia reportedly pays online trolls to write nice things about the country's ... - The Verge
02/04/15 22:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Russia reportedly pays online trolls to write nice things about the country's ... The Verge We've known for some time now that Russia employs a small legion of online writers — trolls...

» UN Watchdog Accuses Russia of Violating Civil, Political Rights
02/04/15 22:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The United Nations Human Rights Committee is accusing Russia of violating the civil and political rights of people within its territory, as well as in Crimea and the Donbas region of east...

» US senators want Russia out of World Cup - ESPN FC
02/04/15 22:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. ESPN FC US senators want Russia out of World Cup ESPN FC WASHINGTON -- Thirteen U.S. senators asked FIFA to consider taking the 2018 World Cup out of Russia because of what they call ...

» Суд арестовал экс-главу ФСИН Александра Реймера :: Политика :: РосБизнесКонсалтинг
02/04/15 22:42 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from РБК - Все материалы. Суд арестовал экс-главу ФСИН А ...

» Russia Update: 56 Fishermen Drown in Russian Sea Trawler Disaster
02/04/15 22:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Interpreter. Russia Update: 56 Fishermen Drown in Russian Sea Trawler Disaster; 13 Missing Russia Update: 56 Fishermen Drown in Russian Sea Trawler Disaster; 13 Missing “What can we advise our American...

» Russian trawler sinks quickly in icy water, at least 56 dead
02/04/15 22:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. A Russian fishing trawler sank in just 15 minutes early Thursday in the icy waters off Russia's Far East coast, killing at least 56 of its 132 crew members, rescue workers said.

» Bergdahl faces little-known, rarely used misbehavior charge
02/04/15 22:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. If Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl were convicted of “misbehavior before the enemy” a century ago, he might also have been subject to a humiliating send-off. His sword might be broken or his insignia...

» Prosecutors: Lubitz probed suicide methods, cockpit security
02/04/15 22:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 appears to have researched suicide methods and cockpit door security in the days before he flew the plane into the French Alps, killing 150 people...

» US, Iran reach accord on nuke deal, but not on disclosure of details
02/04/15 22:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Western officials say that Iran and the United States have agreed on the outlines of an understanding that would open the path to a final phase of nuclear negotiations but are in a dispu...

» 2 women arrested in NYC, accused of trying to build bomb
02/04/15 22:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. The head of the New York Police Department's counterterrorism operation says two women have been arrested after an undercover investigation determined they were trying to build a homemad...

» US citizen brought from Pakistan to NYC faces terror charges
02/04/15 22:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. A U.S. citizen has been brought from Pakistan to New York City to face charges he supported a conspiracy to kill Americans.

» Bergdahl hearing scheduled for July at Fort Sam Houston
02/04/15 22:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will face a preliminary hearing in July into charges that he deserted his unit and engaged in “misbehavior before the enemy” in Afghanistan, the Army announced Th...

» Israeli leaders react to Iran nuclear deal with demands, warnings
02/04/15 22:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. Israeli leaders lashed out at Thursday’s announcement of a framework agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear development with demands that the foreign powers negotiating the deal further roll b...

» С 9 апреля начнут принимать вопросы Владимиру Путину
02/04/15 22:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russkie.org. Началась подготовка к «Прямой линии» с Президентом России

» Немецкая писательница: Русская Германия - это целый космос
02/04/15 22:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russkie.org. Русская Германия везде, уверена немецкая писательница Мерле Хильбк

» Апрель - месяц русско-американской истории в штате Нью-Йорк
02/04/15 22:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russkie.org. В штате Нью-Йорк начался месяц русско-американской истории

» Россия стала председателем БРИКС
02/04/15 22:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russkie.org. Россия на год возглавит группу БРИКС

» Российские соотечественники в США напишут сочинения о князе Владимире
02/04/15 22:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russkie.org. Начался прием работ на конкурс сочинений «Великий князь Владимир – Креститель Руси»

» Назначен руководитель Агентства по делам национальностей
02/04/15 22:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russkie.org. Новое Агенство по делам национальностей возглавил ветеран «Альфы»

» The Cyber Sanctions Executive Order: What Will It Do and Will It Work?
02/04/15 22:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Just Security. Kristen Eichensehr In an Executive Order issued yesterday, the White House established a new sanctions regime for “significant malicious cyber-enabled activities,” including harming or imped...

» RUSSIA : SVR targets ex-Yukos owners
02/04/15 22:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Intelligence Online : Latest Issue.

» NYPD Claims It Can’t Find ‘Widely-Circulated’ Memo That Cut Off Press Access To Precinct Crime Blotters
02/04/15 22:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Infowars. Document "mysteriously" disappears when FOIA request filed.

» Is America Spiraling Toward Another Border Crisis?
02/04/15 22:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Infowars. Mexican immigration-enforcement might keep many migrants from U.S. border this summer, but kids are still fleeing Central America.

» The Long Winter Ahead for EU-Russia Relations
02/04/15 22:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Institute of Modern Russia. The Long Winter Ahead for EU-Russia Relations 30 March 2015 Ezekiel Pfeifer Over the past year, following the annexation of Crimea, relations between Russia and the European Uni...

» Is There a Feud Over a New Tsar in the Kremlin?
02/04/15 22:20 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Institute of Modern Russia. Is There a Feud Over a New Tsar in the Kremlin? 01 April 2015 Donald N. Jensen Vladimir Putin’s ten-day absence from the public eye has become the most discussed event in Russia...

» Putin, Hardliners, and Political Violence
02/04/15 22:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Even though suspects in the murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov have been arrested, speculations on who is the mastermind behind the crime continue to swirl. According to Dona...

» Civilian deaths mount as Yemen falls apart
02/04/15 22:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. Saudi-led, U.S.-backed Sunni Muslim coalition ramps up offensive against Shiite rebels as Iran casts a dire warning

» Eye Opener: New revelations in Germanwings crash investigation
02/04/15 22:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. Lufthansa is facing tough questions about why it hired a pilot it knew had severe depression. Also, NYPD investigates a detective for a road rage rant. All that and all that matters in ...

» New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez indicted on federal corruption charges
02/04/15 22:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. DOJ The Department of Justice is alleging Menendez used his Senate office to promote the interests of a friend and donor; he says he's "angry and ready to fight" donor

» New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez "outraged" over corruption charges
02/04/15 22:18 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. Indictment handed down by Justice Dept. alleges he used his office to promote interests of friend and donor The Justice Department handed down a formal indictment of the senator Wednesday

» The four women in the indictment against Sen. Menendez
02/04/15 22:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - CBSNews.com. The Menendez indictment describes the New Jersey senator's attempts to procure visas on behalf of his friend's romantic partners

» Operation Dragoon Ride to End Wednesday
02/04/15 22:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. The unprecedented event called Dragoon Ride will end Wednesday as soldiers and their Strykers roll into Vilseck, Germany, after a 1,900-kilometer road march and nearly two weeks maneuv...

» Israel Declares Successful Stunner Tests
02/04/15 22:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Israel's Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) on Wednesday declared its successful completion of a third series of intercept tests for the Stunner missile.

» Analysts: Stable Outlook for Defense Sector
02/04/15 22:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Modest improvements to the defense spending climate, buoyed by strong commercial sales, creates a stable environment in the defense sector, the credit rating agency Moody's said in its...

» Odierno: Readiness at historically low levels
02/04/15 22:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. The Army is "only generating enough readiness for immediate consumption" while grappling with cuts that have left only a third of the service's brigades ready, the chief of staff said ...

» Estonia, Raytheon Sign Cyber Defense Deal
02/04/15 22:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Estonia's Ministry of Defense has signed an agreement with Raytheon to advance defense industry partnerships and pursue collaborative initiatives to further enhance Estonia's cyber def...

» Commentary: Build Third Missile Defense Site
02/04/15 22:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system located in California and Alaska protects the American homeland from a limited long-range ballistic missile attack. However, there is no compa...

» Commentary: On Target With Missile Defense
02/04/15 22:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. As Congress begins its review of the president's fiscal 2016 budget, I recently witnessed a welcome sign of interest from congressional staffers who attended a standing room-only, roun...

» Inside the US Mission in Iraq
02/04/15 22:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. US and coalition forces have trained two brigades' worth of Iraqi troops, with three more underway, a top US general in country told Army Times. &nbs...

» elba group meeting - Google Search
02/04/15 21:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The Elbe Group - Belfer Center for Science and International ... belfercenter.hks.harvard.edu/.../... Cached Similar John F. Kennedy School of Government Loading... For Information on the Elbe Group's most re...

» secret meeting between intelligence figures from moscow and washington - Google Search
02/04/15 21:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results In the news Putin threat of nuclear showdown over Baltics The Times ‎ - 22 hours ago ... to notes of a secret meeting between intelligence figures from Moscow and Washington . Kremlin: Ru...

» elbe group - Google Search
02/04/15 21:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The Elbe Group - Belfer Center for Science and International ... belfercenter.hks.harvard.edu/.../... Cached Similar John F. Kennedy School of Government Loading... For Information on the Elbe Group's most re...

» Russia in Review
02/04/15 20:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. March 6, 2015 Russia in Review: a digest of useful news from U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent N...

» Knowing when it's war and how to avoid it
02/04/15 20:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. To hear Vladimir Putin say it, Russia is not at war with Ukraine. “I think that this apocalyptic...

» U.S.-Russia Conference Aims to Reduce Tensions
02/04/15 20:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. For two days in October, Russian and American experts met at the Belfer Center to discuss the st...

» Restoring the Spirit of the Elbe Meeting | Opinion
02/04/15 20:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . On the eve of the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21, it seems that the rhetoric from both the United States and Russia has returned to a more combative past. Dee...

» Putin: try to take Crimea away and I will give you a nuclear war
02/04/15 19:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in the Kremlin last week. Source: AP The Ukraine crisis has brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point for a generation, according to an account of a secr...

» Russian nuclear threat: Could Vladimir Putin really push the red button?
02/04/15 18:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Notes from a recent meeting in Germany held under the auspices of the Elbe group, bringing together retired American and Russian intelligence officials, presented a stark warning from Russia over Ukraine and ...

» Russia issues nuclear threat over Crimea and Baltic States
02/04/15 18:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from IBTimes.co.uk : Top News. Russia has threatened to use nuclear force against the United States and its Nato allies over Crimea and the Baltic States, in a stark warning reportedly issued by Moscow's envoys...

» Elbe Group Meeting March 2015 - Google Search
02/04/15 18:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results Russia issues nuclear threat over Crimea and Baltic States International Business Times UK - 12 hours ago April 2, 2015 08:52 BST ... At a closed-door bilateral meeting held in Germany in mid- ...

» The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism - Morocco Meeting, 19-22 March 2014 - Harvard
02/04/15 17:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. As US and Soviet forces converged in Germany in the final days of WWII, soldiers from both armie...

» The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism - The Elbe Group - Harvard
02/04/15 17:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - The US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. For Information on the Elbe Group's most recent meeting in Morocco and the group's Joint Stateme...

» InoPressa: путинская угроза ядерного поединка за страны Балтии - За рубежом
02/04/15 17:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Postimees.ru. Пусковая установка оперативно...

» Former intelligence residents never happens./Group “Elba”.
02/04/15 17:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: Former intelligence residents never happens./Group “Elba”.. US-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism. Group “Elba” Were the last days of World War II, when soldiers of the...

» Putin threat of nuclear showdown over Baltics
02/04/15 17:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . President Putin is using the threat of a nuclear showdown over the Baltic states to force Nato to back away from Russia’s border, according to notes of a secret meeting between intelligence figures from...

» Putin threat of nuclear showdown over Baltics | The Times
02/04/15 17:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Putin threat of nuclear showdown over Baltics Article Graphic: battle ground of new cold war 1 of 6 Security figures have warned that President Putin is ready to respond with force Smirnov Vladimir/Corbis Pos...

» West Can Stop Putin Only by Focusing on the Dirty Money Moscow Keeps and Uses Abroad, Shevtsova Says
02/04/15 17:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, April 2 – Sanctions against Putin’s Russia and other authoritarian regimes ar...

» InoPressa: путинская угроза ядерного поединка за страны Балтии4 - Postimees
02/04/15 17:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Postimees InoPressa: путинская угроза ядерного поединка за страны Балтии4 Postimees «Если верить заметкам о тайной встрече людей из разведывательных сообществ Москвы и Вашингтона, ...

» Kremlin Denies Russia Gearing Up for Nuclear Showdown With West
02/04/15 17:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said reports that Russia would provoke a nuclear showdown with the West over Crimea or NATO's presence in the Baltics should "not be taken ...

» Russian Lawmaker Wants Visa Ban For Critical Foreigners
02/04/15 17:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. What to do about foreigners who criticize Russia? Ban them from entry, says one nationalist lawmaker.

» Co-pilot in Germanwings crash said to have researched online about suicide
02/04/15 17:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Europe News: News and Headlines from Europe - The Washington Post. BERLIN — The co-pilot thought to have deliberately crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 had been trawling trolling the Internet for ways to com...

» Обама предпочитает деловые отношения с мировыми лидерами – дружеским
02/04/15 17:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by Голос Америки. Обама предпочитает деловые отношения с мировыми лидерами – дружеским Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/obama-leaders-relations/2704143.html. From: ...

» Seven Moscow Perspectives that Should Not to Be Ignored
02/04/15 17:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, April 2 – Despite or perhaps because of the April Fools holiday, the last 48 hours h...

» Prosecutor On Co-Pilot’s Search History
02/04/15 17:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. Christoph Kumpa, a German prosecutor, said investigators found a tablet computer in the home of Andreas Lubitz, on which the Germanwings co-pilot had researched the safety features of cock...

» Лукашенко подписал закон о тунеядцах - Газета.Ru
02/04/15 17:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Вести.Ru Лукашенко подписал закон о тунеядцах Газета.Ru Президент Белоруссии Александр Лукашенко подписал декрет «О предупреждении социального иждивенчества», сообщает «БелТА» со с...

» Аутизм – не болезнь
02/04/15 17:02 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by Радио Свобода. Аутизм – не болезнь Почему ежегодно становится все больше людей с таким расстройством? Возможна ли их социальная адаптация?... From: Радио Свобода Views: 72 1 1 0 ratings Time: 54...

» «Пресса без наручников»
02/04/15 17:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by Голос Америки. «Пресса без наручников» Амер&...

» American Televangelist Robert Schuller Dies
02/04/15 17:01 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. American televangelist Robert Schuller, who beamed his upbeat Christian messages on faith and personal success around the world to millions of people, died Thursday at 88. Schuller died a...

» Dozens die as Russian trawler sinks in the Sea of Okhotsk
02/04/15 17:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Suspicions raised after sinking of the Dalny Vostok that corners had been cut in pursuit of a big catch At least 56 sailors have been killed after a Russian fishing trawler sank in t...

» Russia Shouldn't Put All Its Middle East Eggs in Iran's Basket, Warn Experts
02/04/15 16:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. As Russia's role in the Middle East was thrown into the spotlight this week by Wednesday's attack on the Russian Consulate in Yemen and by the ongoing Iran nuclear talks, anal...

» Marc Plattner: “If Russia Had Become Democratic, the World Would Look Very Different Now”
02/04/15 16:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Home - Institute of Modern Russia. Over the last year, the debate on how to describe Russia’s political regime has intensified. Levada Center sociologist Denis Volkov discusses this issue with Marc Plattne...

» Death Toll in Sinking of Russian Ship Rises to at Least 56
02/04/15 16:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. Helicopters and dozens of ships were mustered for a rescue operation in the icy Sea of Okhotsk in Russia’s Far East. Sixty-three sailors have been rescued.

» British PhD student on research trip accused of 'spying' by Russia and given 10 days to leave the country - Europe - World
02/04/15 16:57 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . But a British PhD student has found herself the subject of bizarre claims of “spying” in the Russian media after she was questioned for a visa irregularity while researching working conditions and...

» Лукашенко: Путин не желает видеть Белоруссию в составе России - Политика, выборы, власть - Новости
02/04/15 16:54 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ИА REGNUM: Политика. 02.04.2015 21:44 Facebook 12 Вконтакте 3 Класс Google+ В Белор&#...

» Meet The Kremlin's Young Army Of Cybersnitches
02/04/15 16:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. M OSCOW -- A long-haired bearded man clutching a rainbow flag is splattered like an insect by a giant hand as a little boy in green overalls looks on. This violent image ...

» At Least 56 Dead After Russian Trawler Sinks
02/04/15 16:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. A t least 56 people have died after a Russian trawler sank in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka Peninsula. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on April 2 that ...

» Five Things To Know About U.S. Senator Robert Menendez's Corruption Charges
02/04/15 16:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. U .S. Senator Robert Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey), a prominent voice on American foreign policy issues concerning Iran, Ukraine, Russia, and Armenia, has become the fir...

» One Dead, Others Escape Wilmington Motel Fire By Jumping From Windows
02/04/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A man was killed and 12 injured in a motel fire in Wilmington early Thursday. Toni Guinyard reports for Today in LA on Thursday, Apr. 2, 2015. By Jeff Scharping (Published Thursday, Apr 2, 2015) A man was kil...

» People fleeing Los Angeles hotel fire leap from 2nd story
02/04/15 15:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . US News April 2, 2015 Updated: April 2, 2015 9:12am LOS ANGELES (AP) — Several people jumped from the second story of a burning Los Angeles hotel to escape fast-moving flames early Thursday that killed ...

» Los Angeles Hotel Fire Kills 1, Injures 15
02/04/15 15:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . LOS ANGELES—A fire that broke out in a Los Angeles hotel early Thursday morning has been labeled as suspicious in nature and is being investigated by authorities as a possible arson, officials said. The...

» LOS ANGELES: People fleeing Los Angeles hotel fire leap from 2nd story | State News
02/04/15 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from FresnoBee.com -- Local News. LOS ANGELES — Several people jumped from the second story of a burning Los Angeles hotel to escape fast-moving flames early Thursday that killed one person and left 15 ot...

» Fatal blaze at budget LA hotel appears suspicious: officials
02/04/15 15:05 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . (Reuters) - A "suspicious" fire tore through a small hotel in an industrial district of Los Angeles on Thursday, killing one man and injuring 15 other people including a child, local fire officials said. More...

» L.A. hotel fire kills 1, injures 15; some jump from windows to escape
02/04/15 15:04 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from L.A. hotel fire kills 1, injures 15; some jump from windows to escape - Los Angeles Times. A man was killed and 15 were injured when flames overtook a hotel early Thursday in Wilmington, forcing some peopl...

» los angeles hotel fire - Google Search
02/04/15 15:03 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results In the news People Fleeing Los Angeles Hotel Fire Leap From 2nd Story ABC News ‎ - 3 hours ago Several people jumped from the second story of a burning Los Angeles hotel to escape fast-mo...

» A*Star scholar accused of trying to poison classmates in Stanford Uni, AsiaOne Singapore News
02/04/15 14:58 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from AsiaOne - Singapore. An A*Star scholar has been arrested and charged in California after she allegedly poisoned herself and her classmates. Miss Xiangyu Ouyang, 26, a graduate student at Stanford's School ...

» A Stanford Medical School Student Was Arrested for Poisoning Her Classmates' Water Bottles | VICE
02/04/15 14:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from VICE RSS Feed. One day in October 2014, a graduate student researcher at Stanford University's Nusse Lab took a drink from her water bottle. According to testimony she later gave to police, the student "im...

» Stanford graduate student accused of poisoning lab mates | News
02/04/15 14:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from PaloAltoOnline.com. A Stanford University graduate medical student faces charges of poisoning her fellow lab mates in a series of incidents that occurred in September 2014, according to court documents fil...

» Stanford Freshman Arrested For Raping Woman In Public: SFist
02/04/15 14:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from SFist. Photo: via KRON 4 A 19-year-old Stanford University student has been arrested and charged with sexual assault connected to a disturbing incident that happened in the early morning hours of January 1...

» Former Stanford PhD Student Arrested For Poisoning Peers: SFist
02/04/15 14:49 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from SFist. A former Stanford University med student PhD student working within the School of Medicine has been charged with four felony counts for allegedly poisoning fellow students last fall. Vice reported t...

» Singaporean student accused of poisoning Stanford University classmates
02/04/15 14:47 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A Singaporean student on a scholarship at Stanford University has been accused of poisoning her classmates. Ouyang Xiangyu, 27, a biochemistry graduate student on a prestigious Singapore scholarship, fac...

» Former Stanford grad student accused of poisoning classmates - SFGate
02/04/15 14:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A former graduate student at Stanford University is facing four felony charges of attempting to poison her classmates by secretly dumping a chemical into their water bottles, according to court documents. Sta...

» stanford student - Google Search
02/04/15 14:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results Former Stanford grad student accused of poisoning classmates SFGate - 16 hours ago A former graduate student at Stanford University is facing four felony charges of attempting to poison her cla...

» Wife of Donovan Hotel murder victim releases statement
02/04/15 13:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . 10:10 a.m. EDT April 2, 2015 David Messerschmitt (Photo: Facebook) WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- A woman has been arrested for the murder of a D.C. lawyer at the Donovan Hotel in D.C., the Metropolitan Police Departm...

» Who is Jamyra Gallmon? Former coach speaks about woman charged i
02/04/15 13:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON - D.C. Police have made an arrest in the stabbing death of 30-year-old lawyer David Messerschmidtt. 21-year-old Jamyra Gallmon was arrested Wednesday and faces murder charges in the case. FOX 5 spo...

» Prince George's County, Maryland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
02/04/15 13:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Prince George's County , Maryland Motto : "Semper Eadem" (English: "Ever the Same") Location in the state of Maryland Maryland's location in the U.S. Founded October 3, 169...

» Forestville High School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
02/04/15 13:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]. Forestville High School is a public magnet high school located in Forestville , a section of unincorporated Prince George's County , Maryland , United States . The school h...

» forestville military academy in maryland - Google Search
02/04/15 13:22 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results Forestville Military Academy - Prince George's County ... www1.pgcps.org/ forestville / Cached Similar Prince George's County Public Schools Loading... Forestville High school's learning enviro...

» Woman charged with murder in stabbing of D.C. lawyer at hotel
02/04/15 12:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Kim Vuong, the wife of David Messerschmitt, fights back tears during a news conference in Washington on March 25 as she pleads for assistance from the public. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) D.C. police said...

» Military academy graduate, 21, charged with murder of married DC lawyer in his hotel room
02/04/15 12:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Jamyra Gallmon, 21, was arrested on Wednesday on first-degree murder charges related to the February 9 death of David Messerschmitt The 30-year-old lawyer told his wife he would b...

» jamyra gallmon - Google Search
02/04/15 12:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results In the news Who is Jamyra Gallmon? Former coach speaks about woman charged in David Messerschmitt's stabbing death MyFox Washington DC ‎ - 2 hours ago Photo of Jamyra Gallmon . Gallmon fa...

» FIRST ON FOX: Woman arrested in murder of DC lawyer at Donovan H
02/04/15 12:28 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . FIRST ON FOX: Woman arrested in murder of DC lawyer at Donovan Hotel FIRST ON FOX: Woman arrested in murder of DC lawyer at Donovan Hotel Thursday, April 2 2015 8:56 AM EDT 2015-04-02 12:56:56 GMT over 2 hour...

» Washington, DC Police Arrest Suspect in Lawyer's Murder
02/04/15 12:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from ABC News: U.S.. Copy Police in Washington, D.C., arrested a woman Wednesday in connection with the killing of a lawyer who was found stabbed to death inside a district hotel room. Police charged Jamyra Gal...

» david messerschmitt - Google Search
02/04/15 12:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results In the news Washington, DC Police Arrest Suspect in Lawyer's Murder ABC News ‎ - 16 hours ago Body of David Messerschmitt found in a hotel room in February. Military academy graduate, 21,...

» At least 43 dead after Russian trawler sinks in ocean: TASS
01/04/15 22:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . &amp;amp;amp;lt;iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-W9SLGS" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/iframe&amp...

» Atlanta Educators Convicted in School Cheating Scandal
01/04/15 22:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . ATLANTA — In a dramatic conclusion to what has been described as the largest cheating scandal in the nation’s history, a jury here on Wednesday convicted 11 educators for their roles in a sta...

» Obama Administration Indicts Sen. Bob Menendez
01/04/15 21:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Comments on: Obama Administration Indicts Sen. Bob Menendez. The New Jersey Democrat, an influential voice on foreign policy, was accused of using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and ...

» Cruz: Menendez probe politically motivated
01/04/15 21:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Des Moines, Iowa -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested Saturday that the Justice Department’s criminal corruption charges against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are political retribution against the New Jers...

» Obama’s Surrender to Iran Postponed
01/04/15 21:25 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from FrontPage Magazine » FrontPage. Wednesday, April 01, 2015

» menendez obama - Google Search
01/04/15 21:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . Search Results In the news Obama Administration Indicts Sen. Bob Menendez Breitbart News ‎ - 4 hours ago Bob Menendez has been charged with using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye ... ...

» Study Finds No Link Between Military Suicide Rate and Deployments
01/04/15 19:48 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . The largest study to date of a rising suicide rate among military personnel, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, found no connection between suicide and deployment overseas in support of the wars in Iraq ...

» Obama Expands Options for Retaliating Against Foreign Hackers
01/04/15 19:46 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at retaliating against foreign-based online attacks on the United States as the government scrambles to catch up to national sec...

» Sen. Menendez facing federal charges of bribery, conspiracy and fraud
01/04/15 19:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, charging the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with trading political help for assorted benefits from an ...

» Nemtsov Murder Suspect 'Forced To Confess'
01/04/15 16:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. Zaur Dadaev was one of five Chechen men who appeared in court via video link from prison after being detained over the murder.

» Merkel Says Ukraine Cease-Fire Not Fully Implemented
01/04/15 16:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says fighting in eastern Ukraine has been reduced in recent weeks but that the Minsk cease-fire plan has not yet been fully implemented.

» Почему молчит «Нью-Йорк Таймс»?
01/04/15 16:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by Голос Америки. Почему молчит «Нью-Йорк Таймс...

» Oil Heir Andrew Getty Found Dead in L.A. Home
01/04/15 16:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Newsweek. U.S. U.S. The Los Angeles County Coroner van arrives at the house of Andrew Getty, 47, in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, California March 31, 2015. The grandson of billionaire Getty ...

» Death of Andrew Getty appears natural or accident
01/04/15 16:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . LOS ANGELES (AP) — The death at a Hollywood Hills home Tuesday of Andrew Getty, one of the heirs to the fortune of one of the wealthiest and best-known families in American history, was most likely from...

» Rosneft says it settled dispute with dismantled oil firm - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4
01/04/15 16:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story . MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's largest oil company Rosneft said on Wednesday that it has settled a long-standing dispute with now-defunct oil company Yukos, whose owner spent 10 years in a Russian prison. Yukos was d...

» Germanwings plane crash: Magazine insists video 'showing screaming passengers in last moments before impact' is real
01/04/15 15:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from - Europe RSS Feed. A French magazine has insisted a video apparently taken by one of the victims of the Germanwings disaster during the plane’s final moments is not fake.

» В Мексиканском заливе загорелась нефтяная платформа - Утро.Ru
01/04/15 15:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Утро.Ru В Мексиканском заливе загорелась нефтяная платформа Утро.Ru На нефтяной платформе в Мексиканском заливе, принадлежащей госкорпорации Petroleous Mexicanos (Pemex), в среду в...

» Top 5 Songs for Week Ending April 4
01/04/15 15:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Here are the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending April 4, 2015. There's no clever way to say it: nothing changes this week! We begin ...

» See Egypt’s Pyramids From Space
01/04/15 15:36 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from TIME. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took a photo of the famous pyramids of Giza in Egypt from her current home on the International Space Station. Follow her on Twitter @AstroSamantha .

» Arab League Fast Facts
01/04/15 15:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World. Here's a look at the Arab League, an organization of 22 Middle Eastern and African countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

» European Union Fast Facts
01/04/15 15:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World. Here is some background information about the European Union.

» NATO Fast Facts
01/04/15 15:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World. Here's a look at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

» 'Silver porn' shows fifty shades of greying Japan
01/04/15 15:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by AFP news agency. 'Silver porn' shows fifty shades of greying Japan Keep up-to-date with the latest news, subscribe here: http://bit.ly/AFP-subscribe Proving that neither love nor lust are dimmed...

» Iran's nuclear negotiations: how did we get here? – video explainer
01/04/15 15:35 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World news + Video | The Guardian. International negotiations over the future of Iran's nuclear programme have reached "a broad framework of understanding", according to Britain's foreign secretary Philip ...

» US to impose sanctions on cyber attackers
01/04/15 15:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World News. Obama calls foreign threats to infrastructure and trade secrets a ‘national emergency’

» Isis edges closer to Syrian capital
01/04/15 15:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World News. Palestinian district of Yarmouk comes under attack from jihadi group’s fighters

» Merkel says Ukraine ceasefire hasn't been fully implemented
01/04/15 15:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the situation in Ukraine had become calmer in the weeks following the Minsk agreement but added that the cease...

» Ex-policeman who leaked Milly Dowler information to the Sun is jailed
01/04/15 15:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Simon Quinn made £7,000 from tips over a decade while he worked as a detective constable at Surrey police A former police officer who leaked details of the Milly Dowler invest...

» A Newly Assertive Russia Jolts Norway’s Air Defenses Into Action
01/04/15 15:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The pilot of a Norwegian Air Force F-16 fighter from the 331st Air Squadron exited his aircraft upon returning to the air base in Bodo from a mission to observe Russian military aircraft fl...

» Rosneft Settles Legal Dispute With Yukos Shareholders
01/04/15 15:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft says it has reached a settlement in a long-running dispute with shareholders of the now-defunct Yukos oil firm.

» Disorderly Iran nuclear talks falter
01/04/15 15:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World News. Diplomats say US deadline for firm agreements by end of March tactically disadvantaged them

» Boko Haram uses children as human bombs, commits 'heinous crimes': U.N.
01/04/15 15:32 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Boko Haram Islamist militants in northern Nigeria are using children as human bombs and targeting women and girls for particularly horrific abuse,...

» Senators Urge FIFA To Take World Cup Away From Russia
01/04/15 15:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Thirteen U.S. senators have written to FIFA, soccer's world governing body, urging the organization to replace Russia as host of the 2018 World Cup.

» Report: Video shows final seconds before Germanwings crash - CBS News
01/04/15 15:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. CBS News Report: Video shows final seconds before Germanwings crash CBS News A video allegedly found at the crash site of Germanwings Flight 9525 captures the terrifying moments ...

» Hamleys opens its largest toy store in Moscow despite economic crisis
01/04/15 15:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. MOSCOW (Reuters) - British toy store Hamleys opened its largest shop in the world on Tuesday in central Moscow despite an economic downturn in Russia that is forcing buyers to cut back...

» Obama to Release Military Aid for Egypt
01/04/15 15:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from TIME. President Barack Obama is releasing military aid to Egypt that was suspended after the 2013 coup in that country. The White House says Obama is lifting the hold on sending F-16 fighter jets, tanks an...

» Iran, Saudi Arabia exchange jabs about Yemen conflict
01/04/15 15:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Uploads by AFP news agency. Iran, Saudi Arabia exchange jabs about Yemen conflict Keep up-to-date with the latest news, subscribe here: http://bit.ly/AFP-subscribe Iran warns that the Saudi "attack" on Yem...

» Who was Patrick Sondenheimer, the captain of Germanwings Flight 9525?
01/04/15 15:29 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World.

» Obama Lifts Arms Freeze Against Egypt
01/04/15 15:27 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The move is an attempt to improve relations with a longtime ally in the Middle East at a time of unrest in the region.

» Protracted nuclear talks risk ire of Congress, renewed sanctions push - Fox News
01/04/15 15:26 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Fox News Protracted nuclear talks risk ire of Congress, renewed sanctions push Fox News As talks over Iran's nuclear program spilled past a midnight deadline, the uncertain direction o...

» US restores $1.3bn military aid to Egypt
01/04/15 15:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World News. White House looks to repair ties with authoritarian Sunni regimes

» Iran nuclear talks miss deadline; U.S. threatens to walk away
01/04/15 15:24 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Six world powers and Iran negotiated past a March 31 deadline into the wee hours of Wednesday, struggling to conclude an outline accord on Tehran's nu...

» Andrew Getty, grandson of Getty Oil founder, found dead
01/04/15 15:23 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Cause of death for 48-year-old – an heir to industrialist J Paul Getty – not immediately clear but former girlfriend being questioned, say reports Andrew Getty, the grandson o...

» J. Paul Getty's grandson found dead - USA TODAY
01/04/15 15:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. USA TODAY J. Paul Getty's grandson found dead USA TODAY The grandson of late oil magnate J. Paul Getty was found dead at his home in Hollywood Hills on Tuesday, according to vari...

» Azerbaijan Bars Entry to a Georgian Human Rights Worker
01/04/15 15:19 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Giorgi Gogia of the group Human Rights Watch had planned to attend hearings in court cases of two other rights advocates.

» South Korean Man Charged in Knife Attack on US Envoy - New York Times
01/04/15 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. The Hindu South Korean Man Charged in Knife Attack on US Envoy New York Times SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday indicted a man who slashed the U.S. ambas...

» Azerbaijan Denies Entry To HRW Representative
01/04/15 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Azerbaijan has expelled a Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher after barring him from entering the country to attend the trial of two rights activists.

» Getty Grandson Found Dead At Los Angeles Home
01/04/15 15:17 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. Andrew Getty was discovered in a bathroom after police were called by a woman, who is now helping them with their inquiries.

» Rosamund Pike as Bond? Ed Miliband is the man with the Midas touch
01/04/15 15:16 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Ideas win elections, not kitchens or debates. And this one from Miliband is a simple stroke of brilliance that says so much The election campaign can stop here. There is not g...

» Death toll in Yemen rises as Saudi-led military attacks continue - Washington Post
01/04/15 15:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Salon Death toll in Yemen rises as Saudi-led military attacks continue Washington Post SANAA, Yemen — An airstrike from a Saudi-led military force destroyed a dairy factory along Yemen...

» Activists decry Russians’ increasing sympathy for Stalin
01/04/15 15:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News. The head of the Russian NGO that specializes in the investigation of Stalinist purges has voiced concern over the growing popularity of the late Soviet...

» Russian Analyst Calls For Nuclear Attack on America’s Yellowstone National Park
01/04/15 15:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News. Russian geopolitical analyst Konstantin Sivkov has called for Moscow to launch a nuclear attack on Yellowstone National Park and the San Andreas fault ...

» 'IS Widow' Advises Wannabe Jihadi Brides: The Food Is 'Yummy,' 'Womanly Supplies' Plentiful
01/04/15 15:14 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. An Australian woman who has joined the Islamic State (IS) group is using social media to advise other women who want to follow in her footsteps and join the militants in ...

» April Fools' Day: Check Out Best Gags From Around the World - NBCNews.com
01/04/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from world - Google News. NBCNews.com April Fools' Day: Check Out Best Gags From Around the World NBCNews.com Spoof or serious? Pranksters come out in force every April 1 — with celebrities, corporations and ot...

» Israeli leader says world needs 'better deal' with Iran - Daily Mail
01/04/15 15:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Daily Mail Israeli leader says world needs 'better deal' with Iran Daily Mail JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his stern warning about a possible nuc...

» Father of teenage jihadist arrested in Turkey works in Ministry of Defence post office
01/04/15 15:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. It is believed the man, from Brent, north west London, works in the military's post office, where he would have had access to the names and address of all military personnel at home and...

» Jihadists undergo radicalisation training in deepest rural west Wales
01/04/15 15:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Locations in Ceredigion, Powys and Pembrokeshire, pictured, are being used by jihadists to radicalise other Muslims, according to an officer from the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrori...

» April Fools' pranks reveal the unfunny future of consumerism
01/04/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. Companies’ prank products reflect consumer demands in a slightly exaggerated alternate universe, but they could also be future marketing hooks The tech industry, hovering cons...

» April Fools' Day 2015: The best and worst pranks from around the Web
01/04/15 15:11 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from CNN.com - World. From Pac-Man Google Maps to selfie shoes, here are the best -- and worst -- pranks from April Fools' Day 2015.

» Germanwings pilot Andreas Lubitz 'told his live-in lover he was having an affair'
01/04/15 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Andreas Lubitz, 27, confessed to his 26-year-old partner Kathrin Goldbach that he had been romantically involved with a Germanwings flight attendant named only as Maria, it has been cla...

» Obama Unveils New Cyberattack Penalties
01/04/15 15:09 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. President Obama is creating new sanctions for other nations and people outside the U.S. who participate in significant cyberattacks against U.S. citizens, companies or government entit...

» Obama Approves Targeted Sanctions Against Cyberattackers - NBCNews.com
01/04/15 15:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. NBCNews.com Obama Approves Targeted Sanctions Against Cyberattackers NBCNews.com President Barack Obama authorized the first sanctions program directed at individual or group cyb...

» Dominican Republic busts child sex parties to combat trafficking
01/04/15 15:08 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Matt and seven traffickers lay face down and handcuffed in a luxury villa one afternoon last month, surrounded by Dominican police pointing g...

» The once-mighty bromance is dead – and Get Hard killed it
01/04/15 15:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Network Front | The Guardian. The genre that started out celebrating male friendship has become a travesty of itself, as Hollywood trawls the racist, homophobic depths You can actually see the moment the b...

» Yemeni Houthi fighters in tanks reach central Aden
01/04/15 15:00 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. ADEN (Reuters) - Houthi fighters and their army allies advanced in a column of tanks on Wednesday into a central district of the southern city of Aden, the main foothold of loyalists o...

» The bizarre animal parts on sale in China's 'medicine markets'
01/04/15 14:59 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from News | Mail Online. Guangzhou, China - \n\nForbidden Fruit\n\n'Turtle Meat can cure cancer!'- Such traditional wisdom is widespread in Guangzhou, whose markets stock exotic and endangered animals destined ...

» This drug, banned in Europe, Russia and China, may be in your lunch - Reuters Blogs (blog)
01/04/15 14:56 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Blogs (blog) This drug, banned in Europe, Russia and China, may be in your lunch Reuters Blogs (blog) If you eat meat in any country in the European Union, or even in China or...

» Путин собрал срочное совещание Совета безопасности - Сводка Украинских и Мировых Новостей
01/04/15 14:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Путин собрал срочное совещание Совета безопасности Сводка Украинских и Мировых Новостей Путин обсудил на совещании внеполитические вопросы: ситуацию в Йемене, переговоры по иранско...

» Russia – perhaps more restrained and less powerful than you think? - Washington Post (blog)
01/04/15 14:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Russia – perhaps more restrained and less powerful than you think? Washington Post (blog) The following is a guest post by political scientists Brandon Valeriano (University of Glasgo...

» Польская армия будет обучать украинских военных инструкторов - Российская Газета
01/04/15 14:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Российская Газета Польская армия будет обучать украинских военных инструкторов Российская Газета Польская армия до конца года обучит три группы украинских военных инструкторов. Как...

» NATO Reassures East European Allies of its Support
01/04/15 14:51 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. NATO's supreme commander in Europe said that an armored vehicles convoy of U.S. troops crossing eastern Europe is a "good message of reassurance” to member nations for the military allia...

» Court in Turkey Acquits Military Officers of Trying to Overthrow Government
01/04/15 14:50 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. The court ruled that evidence in the case, which involved 236 defendants, was tampered with and ordered the suspects released.

» Russia Extends Natural Gas Deal With Ukraine
01/04/15 14:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a plan to extend Moscow's current natural gas deal with Ukraine for another three months. Russian authorities announced the extension Tuesday...

» Russian strategist suggests nuking Yellowstone - WND.com
01/04/15 14:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. WND.com Russian strategist suggests nuking Yellowstone WND.com Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest news...

» Наследник американского нефтяного магната найден мертвым в своем доме - Российская Газета
01/04/15 14:44 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from В мире – Новости Google. Российская Газета Наследник американского нефтяного магната найден мертвым в своем доме Российская Газета Тело 47-летнего Эндрю Гетти было найдено во вторник днем в его доме на Гол...

» Russians Identify with Putin to Cope with Unpredictability He Causes, Moscow Psychologist Says
01/04/15 14:43 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, April 1 – The overwhelming support Russians currently give to Vladimir Putin ...

» Iranians celebrate, Obama hails 'historic' nuclear framework 03/04/15 11:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks

A Nuclear Accord With Iran: Everyone declares victory.

Our Online Games

Challenging US-dominated institutions

Tool to foster security

'Disaster'

Analysis: Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Lausanne

'Safer place'

FBI: A 'Most Wanted Terrorist' Killed in Philippinesby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

Doubts Intensify About Reports of a Video Made During Germanwings Flight’s Final Moments by RICK GLADSTONE Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

Violence against Women a Major Problem in the South Caucasus by Paul Goble Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 AM

43 Die as Russian Trawler Sinks, TASS Reportsby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 AM

World Briefing: Russia: A Suspect Protests in Putin Foe Murder Case by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 AM

Dozens dead after Russian trawler sinks in ocean by Agencies Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 AM

World Briefing: Russia: Scores Die as Trawler Sinks in the Western Pacific by REUTERS Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:46 AM

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FBI: A 'Most Wanted Terrorist' Killed in Philippinesby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM

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