• In meeting with Putin, Merkel called for Ukraine to be given back control over its borders

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, May 2. As planned earlier, the meeting in Sochi took place before the G20 summit on May 7-8.

    During the press conference at the conclusion of the meeting, the politicians spoke about matters pertaining to bilateral relations, the fight against terrorism, as well as the situation in Syria and in Eastern Ukraine.

    Angela Merkel said that there is no need to make a new agreement regarding a peaceful …

  • Putin forces heads of Cossacks to report on their income

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law according to which Cossack atamans and members of their families are obligated to report on their income. The document with corresponding amendments to the legislation was published on the official legal information portal.

    The president introduced amendments to the law “on the state service of Russian Cossacks”. According to the document, the income and property of the ataman, his spouse and underage children must be in the income declaration. …

  • Booking.com has corrected its data on which country Crimea belongs to

    The world leader in online apartment booking, Booking.com has corrected its data regarding the ownership of the Crimea.

    "Booking.com has changed its opinion on which country the Crimean Peninsula belongs to. Today, on the company's website, the information about hotels and health centers located on the peninsula notes that these sites are located in the territory of Ukraine," the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea states.

    In December, 2016, at the request of the People's …

  • Naftogaz intends to dramatically reduce the tariff for Russian gas transit beginning in 2020

    NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine plans to significantly reduce tariffs on natural gas transit after the expiration of the contract with the Russian company, Gazprom, in 2019, as stated by the Group Chief Commercial Officer of Naftogaz, Yuriy Vitrenko, in an interview with the DPA news agency which was published on Monday, May 1st, Deutsche Welle reported.

    "Starting in 2020, the tariffs will reduce to nearly one tenth [of the current], and this will make transit through the Ukrainian gas transportation …

  • UN calls for investigation to be opened into treatment of homosexuals in Chechnya

    The United Nations has requested a full investigation surrounding the LGBT community in Chechnya, as stated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid al-Hussein, at a briefing in Geneva. According to him, the UN continues to monitor this situation.

    In April, Novaya Gazeta published material detailing a campaign in Chechnya, during which hundreds of homosexual men were abducted. Journalists claimed that the victims were tortured and forced to disclose information about other gays whom …