Wikileaks founder Julian Assange says that governments worldwide have been using electronic devices, such as smart-phones and computers, to monitor what people are saying, where they are going and what they are writing. The controversial journalist spoke at a panel of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism held at the City University in London on Monday. [...]
Tag: Wikileaks
December 1, 2011
November 2, 2011
British court to deliver Assange verdict today
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will learn, later on Wednesday, the verdict in his fight against extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual misconduct. Assange denies the claims and says they are politically-motivated. One way or another, the moment of truth is approaching the WikiLeaks whistleblower as the British High Court prepared to make a verdict [...]
October 1, 2011
US blocks Chinese dam
The United States has extended its power of influence deep into Asia, as new WikiLeaks cables released reveal that the US embassy in Rangoon helped keep a dam planned by the Chinese from being built. The People’s Republic of China was considered one of the largest funders of a massive would-be hydroelectric project on the [...]
June 29, 2011
Due West: Moscow and Minsk start a cold war, while China waits in the wings
Everything you wanted to know about the Belarusian economy but were afraid to ask is now in the open domain. Belenergo, President Alexander Lukashenko’s state electricity monopoly, cannot pay its Russian counterpart about $20 million it owes for electricity supplies. The Belarusians are saying they have the amount of Belarusian rubles needed for payback, but [...]
June 23, 2011
Uncertain World: Twenty years after the Balkan tragedy
On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia, two republics of the former Yugoslavia, declared independence. Although political tensions provoked by ethnic strife started in Yugoslavia long before that, that day 20 years ago is seen as the beginning of a bloody fratricidal war that was to be the genesis of seven new European states. Fyodor [...]
June 22, 2011
Due West: Ukraine Turns Gaze Back to Brussels
Last Monday, the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant published a document described as a Ukrainian government plan for developing relations with NATO. Ukraine has enjoyed a privileged “partnership” status with the alliance since the late 1990s. Despite this, the general public attitude among Ukrainians toward NATO is ambiguous at best, with only around 30 percent of [...]
June 16, 2011
Main news of June 16
WORLD * Russia will support the reelection of UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon for a second term at Thursday’s voting in the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said * Russia may limit the volume of its loans to Belarus if the former Soviet state continues limiting the circulation of Russian media [...]
June 16, 2011
Wikipedia founder: Medvedev only world leader who understands internet
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales arrived in Moscow for a one-day visit on Wednesday to give a talk on the future of the internet. RIA Novosti pinned him down before the event to ask his views on Wikileaks, freedom of speech and how well world leaders understand the internet.
June 16, 2011
Uncertain World: SCO’s 10 year search for balance
Created for the purely practical purpose of settling border disputes between China and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has evolved into a major regional and global political player since its founding 10 years ago. Fyodor Lukyanov The leaders of its member states met in Astana this week to mark [...]
June 15, 2011
Due West: Russia divided in wake of a murderer’s death
Moscow police lived through a tough 72 hours until the funeral of former Colonel Yuri Budanov was over. Rioting by Russian nationalist groups was anticipated and security forces were on alert. And then … nothing happened. We might still see some targeted violence by Russia’s nationalist fringe, but it seems that the Budanov story as [...]
June 8, 2011
Due West: Long live the King!
“Let’s go!” A tall old man in a blue tracksuit sitting at the wheel of a small Volkswagen switched gears with resolve. I was flustered and, try as I might, couldn’t fasten the seatbelt. My driver was none other than His Majesty Michael I (or Mihai), the last king of Romania (or the King of [...]
June 2, 2011
Due West: Russia’s Balkans obsession seems to be finally over
The arrest of General Ratko Mladic and his extradition to the International Tribunal in The Hague have produced precious little reaction from Moscow. Apart from a Foreign Ministry statement expressing hope that the Bosnian Serb commander will be given a fair trial, there was hardly anything else. This stands as a huge contrast to the [...]
May 27, 2011
U.S. State Department names new spokeswoman
The U.S. State Department on Thursday named Victoria Nuland, a career diplomat and a Russia specialist, its new spokeswoman. Nuland will fill the job vacated in March by Philip Crowley, who resigned after describing the Pentagon as “ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid” in its treatment of Pvt. Bradley Manning, imprisoned on charges of leaking classified documents [...]
May 18, 2011
Due West: Russia’s Two-Faced Approach to Foreign Policy
Russian foreign policy, having shown for some time signs of certain renewal and possible change, is falling back into the old trap of anti-Western stance and rhetoric. President Medvedev during his much anticipated press-conference on May 18, disappointed not only those who expected dramatic domestic policy announcements from him, but the foreign policy watchers too. [...]