Today, trust between the West and Russia is at its lowest level in recent history. Experts compare the current confrontation with the Cuban missile crisis. However, now the rhetoric and threats from the top leadership of the opposing sides have reached such an intensity that the timidly discussed possibility of a war between Russia and…
The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have called for the immediate release of Vladislav Yesypenko and the withdrawal of all charges against him. Freelance journalist Vladislav Yesypenko has told a court he was tortured and forced to confess after he was arrested in March by the Federal Security Service (FSB) officers in Crimea on fabricated charges. Vladislav Yesypenko’s…
Last year lobbyists working for the separatist Polisario movement lodged documents in the New Zealand high court saying that the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF), with $45 billion under management, unlawfully invested in farms that use phosphate from the southern provinces of Morocco, and interests in companies operating in the Moroccan Sahara. Fertiliser companies Ravensdown…
The intensification of hostilities in the east of Ukraine, the transfer of additional heavy equipment and thousands of servicemen to the Rostov region by Russia have raised the spectre of the start of a major war in the Donbass again. Moscow is trying to show that it still retains a pseudo-dominant role in the post-Soviet…
The International Foundation for Better Governance (IFBG) has published an extensive investigation by award winning journalists Philip Braund and Colin Stevens on the issue of granting asylum in the UK to fugitive bankers from the former Soviet Union, who are accused of fraud and other illegal activities in their homeland. The multi-page document for the…
What started as a routine business trip to Congo (DRC) turned into a 12 day nightmare of detention by the DRC intelligence services and interrogation for 2 international businessmen. From the safety and comfort of Abu Dhabi after being released from detention, Paolo Persico and Alexander Zingman spoke to me of their ordeal. They were…
Writing in the Dong-A Ilbo today Ji-Sun Choi aurinko reports that the South Korean government has declined to co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations, which will be adopted at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council. Human Rights experts familiar with the situation in the country describe the decision…
Interview with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Benelux Countries, Dilyor Khakimov, on the development of the relations between Europe and Uzbekistan in the course of deepening reforms in Uzbekistan. Q: It has been 3.5 years since you started your career as Ambassador to the Benelux countries. How have…
The Chinese Communist Party recently announced it is suing renowned China scholar, Dr. Adrian Zenz, Senior Fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, in its latest attempt to cover up its crimes against Uyghur Muslims and other religious minorities in Xinjiang. The lawsuit, filed by Beijing-controlled courts, follows the extensive research published…
The police detained all 193 participants of the first Municipal Russia Forum in Moscow. The Forum was organized by United Democrats, a project that supports competitive elections in Russia at the municipal level. The organizers aimed to create a platform where incumbent municipal deputies from over 50 Russian regions could exchange experiences in order to improve lives of citizens. Despite the ongoing…
