Новости за 28.03.2017

Police are searching for people who attacked a group of Radio Liberty journalists in the town of Kropotkin, Krasnodar Territory, on March 28, Kuban regional police spokeswoman Maria Pirogova told Interfax. “Police are probing the journalists’ complaint of an attack. They also stated that as a result of the attack their equipment went missing but […]

Kazakhstan is in talks to expand exports to Europe, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko said. “The Kazakh-EU cooperation committee is discussing trade opportunities for diversifying and expanding our exports and exports to Europe,” Vasilenko told journalists in Astana on March 28. “The EU is the leading trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan, which […]

Satellite imagery of North Korea’s main nuclear test site taken over the weekend indicates that Pyongyang could be in the final stages of preparations for a sixth nuclear test, a U.S. think tank reported on March 28. Read more here. 

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has confirmed the forecasts that the visa-free regime between the European Union and Ukraine will come into effect by summer. “Starting from 28.03.17, citizens of Georgia will travel to EU countries without visas, and by the summer so will Ukrainians,” the Consular Service Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said […]

The delegations of Ukraine, Poland and Denmark to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have declared that the visit of a delegation led by PACE President Pedro Agramunt to Syria was not sanctioned by the Assembly, and expressed their regret that this visit could harm the credibility of the organization. “We, the […]

Widely circulated online reports crediting President Donald Trump for 2017 increases in retirees’ Social Security checks don’t accurately portray how the system works. Social Security payments are based on a government measure of inflation, and are set automatically without any involvement of the White House. This year’s numbers were announced by the Social Security Administration […]

Ukraine will require anti-corruption groups to make the same asset disclosures as politicians and public servants, a step that NGOs say attacks their work and distracts from their attempts to bring more transparency. Read more here. 

Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip deems as a “thoughtless step” President Igor Dodon’s intention to have the country be granted observer status in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The prime minister said in a letter to the president that the government has thoroughly scrutinized Dodon’s request on February 23 regarding his intention to sign a […]

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has activated a disaster response plan after a powerful cyclone pummelled the north-east coast. Cyclone Debbie caused major damage, torrential rain and power cuts to tens of thousands of homes. Read more here. 

Transparency International and its head Jose Ugaz have called on Ukrainian authorities to abolish controversial amendments to the law on prevention of corruption that appear designed to intimidate and target anti-corruption activists. “These new provisions must be abolished immediately. Lawmakers are trying to intimidate civil society and in particular anti-corruption activists. If these amendments come […]

Operatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry were not supposed to be involved in protecting former State Duma deputy Denys Voronenkov in Ukraine, as this is not part of their functions, MP Dmytro Tymchuk wrote. Read more here.

Berlin – French Socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon assailed European austerity policies as he met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 28, arguing that they have helped fuel the rise of the far right. Read more here.

Europe’s top court on March 28 upheld European Union sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, including on its largest oil group Rosneft, in a ruling that asserts the court’s jurisdiction over the bloc’s foreign policy. Read more here.

The higher export council at the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) believes that stress tests of state-run banks should be conducted each six months. The proposal is outlined in the list of recommendations to the Ukrainian government and the NBU Board on the strategic objectives underlying the development strategy for state-owned banks […]

The majority shareholder in the consortium which agreed on the purchase of Sberbank’s subsidiary in Ukraine is Said Gutseriyev, a son of Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev. This is reported by the press service of the Latvian bank Norvik Banka. Read more here.

A powerful cyclone has pummelled the north-east Australian coast, causing major damage, torrential rain and power cuts to tens of thousands of homes. Cyclone Debbie made landfall between Bowen and Airlie Beach in Queensland as a category four storm, whipping gusts of up to 263 kilometers per hour (163 mph). Read more here.

The European Union’s visa liberalization decision regarding Ukraine can enter into force on June 11, 2017, Brussels-based RFE/RL journalist Rikard Jozwiak wrote on Twitter. Read more here.

Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s State Postal Service, intends to bring Amazon into Ukraine as early as by the end of 2017, according to Ukrposhta CEO Ihor Smilyanskiy, RBC Ukraine reports. Read more here. 

A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia’s incursion into Ukraine disclosed on March 27 that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a top White House adviser, in December. Read more here.

A municipal court of Russian southern town of Yessentuki has issued an arrest warrant for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, accusing him of participating in armed groups in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya in the mid-1990s and fighting against Russian troops. According to the court’s March 27 statement, an international warrant for Yatsenyuk’s […]

Georgian nationals with biometric passports will be able to travel to most European Union member states without visas as of March 28. The day has been eagerly anticipated by Tbilisi, which has long sought closer ties with the EU while facing persistent efforts by Russia to increase Moscow’s influence following a brief war with Georgia […]

In a slick online video, 22-year-old Turkish student Ali Gul sits in front a drum kit and framed artwork while making tart remarks about Turkey’s political leadership. He wraps up by musing that he’ll probably get arrested if the video goes viral. Read more here. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the third anniversary of the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine” (68/262) demands from the Russian Federation to stop the occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Ukraine, for its part, will continue taking steps to counteract the aggression of the […]

Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court has ordered a 25-day arrest of Nikolai Lyaskin, an associate of opposition activist Alexei Navalny and head of the Progress Party’s Moscow division, for a repeat breach of the demonstrations and picketing regulations, Anti-Corruption Foundation lawyer Ivan Zhdanov told Interfax. “The court has imposed a 25-day administrative arrest on Nikolai [Lyaskin],” […]

The Goolarabooloo people of Western Australia had known of the dinosaur tracks for centuries. The find of the world’s biggest dinosaur footprint has put Australia’s west coast on the paleontologist map. Read more here.