Section: News & Summaries

      Moscow police free Radio Liberty journalist, provide no explanation
      Dec21

      Moscow police free Radio Liberty journalist, provide no explanation

      Ivan Voronin, a journalist of the Russian language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who was detained by Moscow police amid a rally on Tuesday, December 20, together with seven more people, including a French national, has been released, according to his colleague from Radio Liberty Alina Shvydko. ”According to the journalist [Voronin],...

      Obama bans drilling in parts of the Atlantic, the Arctic
      Dec21

      Obama bans drilling in parts of the Atlantic, the Arctic

      President Obama announced on Tuesday what he called a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along wide areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic Seaboard as he tried to nail down an environmental legacy that cannot quickly be reversed by Donald J. Trump, according to The New York Times. Mr. Obama invoked an obscure provision of a 1953 law,...

      Naftogaz`s net profit increased by 109 times in 9 months, nearing $1 bln
      Dec21

      Naftogaz`s net profit increased by 109 times in 9 months, nearing $1 bln

      Oil and gas giant NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine`s net profit skyrocketed by 109 times January-September 2016, to UAH 25.5 billion, or about US$960 million. Its net revenue from sales in the nine months of 2016 amounted to UAH 95.5 billion, which was 28.9% up year-over-year, the company said in the information disclosure system of the National...

      Polish parliament lifts media ban but opposition demands more
      Dec21

      Polish parliament lifts media ban but opposition demands more

      Poland`s lower house of parliament lifted a temporary ban on media access on Tuesday in an effort to defuse anti-government protests that have paralyzed the assembly, but the opposition said more still needed to be done, according to Reuters. The clampdown on media access planned by the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party is among a...

      Lukewarm on Putin-Abe Hot Springs Summit

      Russian President Vladimir Putin held all the cards in the Kuril Islands negotiations with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 15-16 December. Amid a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape there were advances, but those who expected that the two leaders would, at one stroke, resolve the decades-old territorial dispute, were disappointed. Putin...

      U.S. adds 7 individuals to sanctions list, 8 entities over Crimea occupation
      Dec21

      U.S. adds 7 individuals to sanctions list, 8 entities over Crimea occupation

      The U.S. Department of the Treasury`s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on December 20, 2016, designated seven individuals and eight entities under two Executive orders (E.O.s) related to Russia and Ukraine, and identified two vessels as blocked property. ”Today`s action is part of Treasury`s continued effort to counter attempts to...

      Ukraine sees 2% rise in GDP in the third quarter of 2016 year-over-year
      Dec20

      Ukraine sees 2% rise in GDP in the third quarter of 2016 year-over-year

      Ukraine saw a 2% rise in GDP in the third quarter of 2016 year-over-year, according to an updated report provided by the State Statistics Service. ”Nominal GDP in the third quarter of 2016 was estimated at UAH 664.7 billion. Real GDP was 100.5% compared to the previous quarter and 102% compared to the third quarter of 2015,” the State Statistics...

      Russian troops attack Ukraine positions in all sectors last day: 1 Ukrainian soldiers killed, 9 wounded
      Dec20

      Russian troops attack Ukraine positions in all sectors last day: 1 Ukrainian soldiers killed, 9 wounded

      Combined Russian-separatist forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in eastern Ukraine 47 times in the past 24 hours, according to the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters. View map in full size One Ukrainian soldier was killed and nine were wounded , according to a Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman. ”There was one...

      Ivan Voronin, Radio Liberty journalist, detained in Moscow
      Dec20

      Ivan Voronin, Radio Liberty journalist, detained in Moscow

      Moscow police have detained Ivan Voronin, a journalist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, together with seven more people, including a French national, according to OVD-Info, a Russian-based independent human rights media project that monitors political persecution cases. The detainees were brought to the Krasnoselsky police station, OVD-Info...

      Ministry of Economic Development and Trade improves forecast of agriproduction growth
      Dec20

      Ministry of Economic Development and Trade improves forecast of agriproduction growth

      The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has improved the forecast of growth of agricultural production in Ukraine in 2016 to 3% from the previous forecast of 2.2%, according to the analytical material published on the official website of the Ministry. ”At the end of 2016, given the considerable volumes of gross harvest of most crops in...