International brief ~ African Nobel laureates call for AU sanctions against Mugabe
Leading Thursday's international brief, two of Africa's most prominent Nobel laureates have called for the African Union to impose sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe for his continued program of mass evictions in Operation Murambatsvina...
Putin puts Russian prisons under Justice Ministry in rights reform
Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday signed a decree handing control of the country's prisons over to the Russian Ministry of Justice . The move comes in response to pressure from the Council...
Fomer Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov is being investigated by Russia's Prosecutor General for fraud and abuse of trust, according to Russian media reports Monday. Kasyanov is suspected of buying a $100 million country home and another...
Restrictive Russian election law changes advance in parliament
The Russian parliament on Wednesday gave second reading approval to amendments to the country's election law that could further strengthen President Vladimir Putin's government. The proposals would ban the formation of blocs by political parties and block the use...
Russian parliament nixes amendment that could have given Putin third term
A proposed amendment to the Russian Constitution that would have allowed President Vladimir Putin to serve a third term fell far short of approval by the State Duma on Wednesday. Only 32...
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to sign into a law a measure passed by both houses of the Russian parliament that will abolish the country's inheritance tax, according to reports on Monday. After Putin...
Proposed Russian constitutional amendment could give Putin third term
A bill due to be considered in the Russian state Duma next week would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to circumvent the two-term limit on presidents set by the Russian Constitution . The legislative amendment...
Maverick Andrei Illarionov , a top economic advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Thursday that the recent conviction of oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky for fraud and tax evasion had caused Russia major harm and...
Senate report claims Russian officials involved in oil-for-food scam
A US Senate panel reported Monday that Saddam Hussein's government provided Russian officials with millions of dollars in oil rights under the oil-for-food program in a bid to lift UN sanctions against Iraq. The report by...
Russia and the European Union agreed to work on strengthening political and economic relations during a summit Tuesday, but the agreement was tempered by harsh language by Russian President Vladimir Putin on...
