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☆ The iconic 'Home Alone' house is back on the market. Take a look at the $5.25 million listing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The owners of the red-brick Georgian Colonial home are asking for $5.25 million. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Now, fans can purchase the red-brick Georgian Colonial home for a pretty penny. The owners are asking for $5.25 million, per a Zillow listing of the house.

Persons: Macaulay Culkin, —, Kevin McCallister Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Realtors, Business Locations: Georgian

☆ 48-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina’s Olympic dream and history bid ended by injury
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Uzbekistan gymnast Oksana Chusovitina had been aiming to compete at her ninth consecutive Olympic Games later this year, but the 48-year-old’s hopes of securing a spot in Paris have been dashed by injury. “Yesterday, while training on the podium of the Asian Championships, which is taking place in Tashkent and is a qualifying event for the Olympic Games in Paris, I was injured during the floor exercise. She won a gold medal in the team all-around competition that year and has competed in every Summer Games since then. However, even if she had qualified for Paris 2024, she would not have been a record holder for very long. The title currently belongs to Georgian shooter Nino Salukvadze, who has competed at every Summer Games since first appearing in Seoul in 1988, where she won a gold medal on debut.

Persons: Oksana Chusovitina, old’s, Chusovitina, Per, “, ”, I, William West, Chusovitina’s, –, Lobar Amrillaeva, Nino Salukvadze, Salukvadze Organizations: CNN, Olympic, Paris, Asian, Olympic Games, Getty, “ Unified, Games, Summer Games Locations: Uzbekistan, Paris, Instagram, Tashkent, Hangzhou, China, AFP, Barcelona, Baltic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Soviet Union, Beijing, London, Georgian, Seoul

☆ Opinion: Hardened like diamonds, these Gen Z protesters fight for a European future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Opinion Will Cathcart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They snatch protesters from the crowd and drag them back into a mass of black uniforms. Will Cathcart Will CathcartHundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Georgia in recent weeks to protest the government’s adoption of a Kremlin-inspired “foreign agents” bill. As with the foreign agents law, the bill’s authors claim it promotes transparency, an absurd notion. The foreign agents bill is a symptom of a deeper issue – money. The pressures of authoritarian intimidation and systematic violence have hardened Georgia’s young protestors like diamonds.

Persons: Will Cathcart, Mikheil Saakashvili, Cathcart Will Cathcart, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Hans Gutbrod, ”, Salome Zourabichvili, aren’t, Gen Z, Europe –, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Party ” –, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Shalva Papuashvili, – “, “, James O’Brien’s, Ivanishvili, Zviad Organizations: CNN, Tbilisi CNN — Riot, Georgian, Ilia State University, European Union, Getty, Global, Party, Georgian Orthodox Church, US, State, Eurasian Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, NATO, Special Forces Exchange Locations: American, Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Europe, AFP, Georgian, Soviet, Russian, United States, Brussels, Washington, Moscow, EU

☆ Georgian president vetoes ‘foreign agents’ bill after widespread opposition
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Michael Rios | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili has vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” bill that sparked weeks of widespread protests across the country. The divisive legislation would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face a fine. Opponents say the bill was modeled after similar laws in Russia that the Kremlin has used to snuff out opposition and civil society. “This law, in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian, contradicting our constitution and all European standards,” President Zourabichvili said after vetoing the bill on Saturday. Demonstrators protest against the foreign agents bill in Tbilisi, Georgia on May 13, 2024.

Persons: CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, Zurab Organizations: CNN, European Union, EU Locations: Russia, Tbilisi , Georgia, Georgia, Soviet, Russia . Georgia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Europe, –, Ukraine

☆ Georgia’s President Vetoes Foreign Influence Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Salome Zourabichvili of Georgia said on Saturday that she had vetoed a bill on foreign influence that has sparked protests and plunged the nation into a political crisis, threatening to derail its pro-European aspirations in favor of closer ties with Russia. Georgia’s Parliament, which passed the draft law in three readings, is widely expected to override the veto. The ruling Georgian Dream party, which introduced the proposed legislation, can turn it into law as early as May 28, when the Parliament will be in session again. Mrs. Zourabichvili called her veto “symbolic,” but it still represented another step in the political conflict between the country’s pro-Western opposition, which Mrs. Zourabichvili supports, and the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012. The crisis has highlighted the highly polarized nature of Georgia’s political life.

Persons: Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili Locations: Georgia, Russia, Georgia’s, Georgian

☆ Georgia president holds talks on 'how to save' the country as U.S., EU and NATO decry 'Russian law'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili delivers a speech during an gathering celebrating Europe Day outside her residence in Tbilisi on May 9, 2024. (Photo by Vano SHLAMOV / AFP) (Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images)Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday held talks with European ministers to urgently discuss "how to save" the country, shortly after lawmakers adopted a deeply divisive Russia-style foreign influence bill. The U.S., European Union, NATO and the United Nations have all issued statements expressing concern about Georgia's new legislation, which opposition lawmakers have denounced as the "Russian law." Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday approved the legislation, with 84 members of the country's 150-member law-making body voting in favor. "On the agenda today is the following issue: how to save Georgia," Zourabichvili said, according to a translation.

Persons: Salome Zurabishvili, Vano SHLAMOV, VANO SHLAMOV, Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili Organizations: Getty Images, Wednesday, Union, NATO, United Nations, EU Locations: Europe, Tbilisi, AFP, Russia, U.S, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, Georgia

☆ Georgia passes 'Russia-style' law on foreign influence despite U.S. warnings and mass protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Georgian demonstrators protesting the controversial "foreign influence" bill stand in front of law enforcement officers blocking an area near the parliament building in Tbilisi on May 14, 2024. Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a highly controversial "Kremlin-style" law on foreign influence, despite massive protests in the country and repeated warnings from the U.S. and European Union. Members of the Georgian Parliament physically came to blows as lawmakers held the third and final reading of the so-called "foreign agents" bill, before ultimately approving the legislation. The foreign influence bill calls for media outlets, nonprofits and other nongovernmental organizations to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has previously vowed to veto the bill.

Persons: Salome Zourabichvili Organizations: Union, Georgian Locations: Tbilisi, U.S, Georgian, Soviet Union

Tbilisi, Georgia CNN —Georgia’s parliament has passed a controversial “foreign agents” bill despite widespread domestic opposition and warnings from the European Union that its enactment would imperil the country’s chances of joining the bloc. Many Georgians fear their foreign agents bill will be used the same way in their country. Georgia’s parliament now has 10 days to send the bill to President Salome Zourabichvili, who has already vowed to veto it. However, EU leaders have made it clear that the foreign agents bill’s passage would jeopardize Georgia’s chances of accession. Georgian law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator near the parliament in Tbilisi on May 14.

Persons: Georgia CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, they’ve, Putin, ” Zourabichvili, Shakh, Levan Khabeishvili, “, ” Khabeishvili, ” Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s, Irakli, CNN’s Christian Edwards, Anna Chernova, Vasco Cotovio Organizations: Georgia CNN, European Union, EU, United, Getty, Soviet Union, Georgian, CNN, European Locations: Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Soviet, United States, Caucasus, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, AFP, Russian, Moscow

☆ Georgia’s Parliament Gives Final Approval to ‘Foreign Agents’ Measure
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Parliament of Georgia gave final approval on Tuesday to a contentious bill that has prompted a series of tense protests in the capital, Tbilisi, spurred by fears that the legislation could push the country back into the Kremlin’s orbit. President Salome Zourabichvili has promised to veto the bill. But Georgian Dream, the governing party in Georgia since 2012, has enough votes to override her veto. Georgia’s justice ministry would be given broad powers to monitor compliance. Violations would incur fines equivalent to more than $9,300.

Persons: Salome Zourabichvili Locations: Georgia, Tbilisi, Caucasus

☆ What is Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ bill, and why is Europe so alarmed?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Georgia’s parliament is set to pass a highly controversial so-called “foreign agents” bill that has triggered widespread protests across the former Soviet republic nestled in the Caucasus Mountains. Here’s what you need to know about the proposed law and the uproar it has caused. The bill would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face crippling fines. About 50,000 protesters gathered in Tbilisi to protest the proposed legislation on Sunday. The proposed law is modeled after a similar one in Russia that the Kremlin has used to increasingly snuff out opposition and civil society.

Persons: CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Vano Shlamov, Ivanishvili, they’ve, Georgia’s, Kobakhidze, Mirian, Jake Sullivan, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Ursula von der Leyen, Anna Chernova Organizations: CNN, Getty, European, House, Washington, Georgian, EU, “ Locations: Soviet, Caucasus, Tbilisi, Here’s, Georgian, Georgia, AFP, Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Soviet Union, European Union, Georgia’s, Didn’t Georgia, Anadolu, backsliding, George, Brussels, “ Georgia

☆ Ukraine was a magnet for foreign fighters. After 2 bruising years, many are disillusioned or dead.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Zelensky's International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine (ILDU) was born, echoing the International Brigades that fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of Ukrainians were killed and more than 100 foreign volunteers injured, ending their campaigns before they began. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, FileUkraine originally said 20,000 foreign volunteers had signed up to fight. That could prove "very enticing" for some foreign volunteers, Bocchese said. AdvertisementAn April 2024 increases payments for Ukrainian volunteers, adds new punishments for draft dodging, and seeks to compel Ukrainian men living abroad to come home.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carl Larson, Marco Bocchese, Rodrigo Abd, Bocchese, Matteo Pugliese, Pugliese, Larson, Oleksandr Shahuri, Zelenskyy, Lukatsky Organizations: Ukraine's, Service, Legion of Territorial Defense of, Brigades, Royal United Services Institute, International Legion, Legion, Webster Vienna Private University, AP, Washington Post, 59th Motorized Brigade, Company, University of Barcelona, Georgian Legion, International, Army, Green Beret, Navy SEAL, State Department, National Guard, Bolivar Battalion, Associated Press Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, Spanish, Ukraine's, London, Iraq, Kharkiv, Alabama, Russian, Lviv, Bucha, Kyiv, Austria, Montenegro, Kosovo, India, Latin America, Ukrainian, Lyman, Bolivar, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuelan

☆ 50,000 protest Georgia’s foreign agent bill as US sounds alarm over ‘Kremlin-style’ law
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —About 50,000 opponents of a “foreign agents” bill marched peacefully in heavy rain through the Georgian capital on Saturday, after the United States said the country had to choose between the “Kremlin-style” law and the people’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. “Georgian parliamentarians face a critical choice – whether to support the Georgian people’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations or pass a Kremlin-style foreign agents’ law that runs counter to democratic values,” he said. Demonstrators protest against the foreign agents bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 11, 2024. Georgian Dream says the bill will promote transparency and Georgian national sovereignty. Demonstrators protest against the foreign agents bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 11, 2024.

Persons: “, ”, Jake Sullivan, Irakli Gedenidze, Nino, Vladimir Putin’s, Reuters Bidzina, Sullivan Organizations: CNN, House, Georgian, European, Reuters, Union, Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, European Union, EU, NATO Locations: States, backsliding, Georgia, European Union, Tbilisi , Georgia, “, Russia, Europe, ”, Georgian, Tbilisi, United States

☆ Georgia rocked by protests as government pushes Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —After spending his days making wine in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, Tsotne Jafaridze returns home to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, and begins his new routine. Jafaridze, who also owns a travel business and says he receives 95% of his income from foreign sources, says he would “immediately” be listed as a foreign agent under the broadly-written law. But the government reintroduced the same bill in March and appears determined to force it through, despite protests that grow fiercer every week. Despite recent Russian aggression against Georgia, Georgian Dream has long been accused of harboring pro-Russian sympathies and its billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, made his fortune in the Soviet Union. Bidzina Ivanishvili addresses a rally in support of the "foreign agent" law in Tbilisi, April 29, 2024.

Persons: Jafaridze, ”, Vladimir Putin, “, Giorgi Arjevanidze, isn’t, ” Natalie Sabanadze, –, Levan Khabeishvili, Khabeishvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili, ” Buziashvili, Ivanishvili, Bidzina, Shakh, Sabanandze, Irakli Kobakhidze, Kobakhidze, ” Sabanadze, Viktor Orban, Europe’s, Matthew Miller, Washington, Georgia “, Irakli Gedenidze, Viktor Yanukovych, doesn’t Organizations: CNN, European Union, Getty, EU, United National Movement, National Security Council, Soviet Army, Soviet Union, Belarus ’, Party, Georgian, Conservative Political, United, State Department, Protesters, Reuters Locations: Caucasus, Tbilisi, Georgia’s, Russia, Georgian, Russian, Soviet, AFP, Brussels, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Hungary, Hungarian, United States, stoke, ”

Security forces clashed with protesters in Georgia’s capital on Wednesday night after the Eastern European nation’s Parliament advanced controversial new legislation that has ignited weeks of demonstrations. Since the governing party, Georgian Dream, pushed a bill through Parliament early last month that the pro-Western opposition believes could be used to crack down on dissent and hamper the country’s efforts to join the European Union, protesters have taken to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, night after night. Their numbers swelled on Wednesday after Parliament approved the bill in the second of three required votes.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Georgian, Tbilisi

☆ Police use tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades on 'foreign agent' bill protesters in Georgia's capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

(Photo by Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu via Getty Images)Tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons were reportedly used by riot police against protesters in Georgia's capital Tbilisi as demonstrations over a so-called "foreign agent" bill escalated. Clashes lasted until late into Tuesday night, with police trying to disperse protesters which the Georgian internal ministry said were breaking demonstration laws by blocking entrances and exits to the country's parliament. "Totally unwarranted, unprovoked and out of proportion use of force ongoing in Tbilisi against peaceful protesters," Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili said in a post on social media platform X. The bill would force non-governmental organizations, campaign groups and media platforms who receive at least 20% of funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents." They would also be under close scrutiny by Georgia's justice ministry and be made to share sensitive details with authorities, or be faced with large fines.

Persons: Davit Kachkachishvili, Salome Zourabichvili Organizations: Getty Locations: Tbilisi , Georgia, Anadolu, Georgia's, Tbilisi

☆ A Proposed Law Targeting ‘Foreign Interests’ in Georgia Riles the Opposition
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the past month, the Georgian capital of Tbilisi has been engulfed in turmoil. Protesters have taken to the streets of the city night after night. A fistfight broke out between legislators in the country’s Parliament. And over the weekend, there were clashes between police and protesters at a large demonstration in the center of the city. The government backed down on a previous attempt to pass the law last year after facing massive protests, but this time appears determined to push it through Parliament.

Persons: fistfight Organizations: European Union Locations: Tbilisi, country’s, Georgian

☆ Georgia presses on with Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill despite huge protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Christian Edwards | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Georgia’s government is attempting to force through a controversial “foreign agent” law, despite international condemnation and huge protests from its citizens. Critics of the law say is it is a Kremlin-inspired effort to undermine democracy which will damage Georgia’s bid to join the European Union. The ruling Georgian Dream party first tried to pass the bill 13 months ago, but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown following a week of intense protests. Nearly 80% of Georgians support European integration, according to a poll conducted in December by the National Democratic Institute. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Russians – especially men of service age – have fled to Georgia to avoid conscription.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, –, Irakli Gedenidze, ” Giorgi Bekurashvili Organizations: CNN, European Union, South Caucasus, “, Kremlin, EU, National Democratic Institute Locations: Soviet, Europe, United States, Tbilisi, Georgian, Russia, South, Russian, “ Russia, Georgia, Ukraine

☆ Violent clashes break out in Georgia amid controversial ‘foreign agents’ law debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Radina Gigova | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Violent clashes erupted between protesters and police in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday as the country’s parliament continued debating a controversial “foreign agents” bill, criticized by Western and domestic opponents as authoritarian and Russian-inspired. “Second night of massive protest in Tbilisi against the Russian Law,” Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili said in a post on social media on Tuesday. The Georgian Dream party, which has been pushing for the law, has the parliamentary majority which could override a presidential veto. At least one employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was injured during Tuesday’s clashes, the ministry said in a statement. If protesters “continue their illegal actions,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs will “administer special measures defined by law,” it warned.

Persons: ”, Salome Zourabichvili, “, Zourabichvili, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Aleko Elisashvili Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russian, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rights Watch, Amnesty International Locations: Georgia’s, Tbilisi, Georgian, Britain, Russian, Soviet

☆ Georgian politician punches opponent in face in brawl over ‘foreign agent’ law
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Georgian Dream said earlier this month it would reintroduce legislation requiring organizations that accept funds from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines, 13 months after protests forced it to shelve the plan. Georgian Dream says it wants the country to join the EU and NATO, even as it has deepened ties with Russia and faced accusations of authoritarianism at home. In a statement, Kobakhidze defended the draft law as promoting accountability, and said it was “not clear” why Western countries opposed it. Once approved by members of the legislature’s legal affairs committee, which is controlled by Georgian Dream and its allies, the foreign agent bill can proceed to a first reading in parliament. Opinion polls show that Georgian Dream remains the most popular party, but has lost ground since 2020, when it won a narrow majority.

Persons: Mamuka Mdinaradze, Aleko, Elisashvili, Shakh, Irakli Kobakhidze, Kobakhidze, ” Organizations: CNN, Georgian, European Union, EU, NATO, AP, Kremlin, Georgia Locations: United States, Georgia, Russia, EU, Georgia's, British, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, . Georgia

☆ The Masters is about to turn Augusta's airport into 'organized chaos.' Here's how it gears up for an influx of over 1,500 private jets.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementWith an average of 30,000 passengers a month, Augusta Regional Airport usually sees one-hundredth the number of passengers as Newark Liberty International. This year's Masters, played at Augusta National, is set to be the busiest yet for Augusta Regional Airport. "In years past, American has always given an influx of direct flights for Masters week," Smith told BI. But perhaps the most striking change from the usual day-to-day is the expected influx of private jets. Private jetsAugusta Regional Airport has two runways but closes one of them down for the Masters so that the private jets can park there.

Persons: —, Lauren Smith, Smith, It's, Barnwell, Augusta —, Uber Organizations: Augusta Regional Airport, Service, Augusta Regional, Newark Liberty International, TSA, Augusta National, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Delta, Private, Augusta, Atlanta —, New, Bombardier Challenger Locations: Augusta, Georgian, Washington, DC, Boston, Austin, JFK, Palm Beach, Orlando, LaGuardia, Detroit, Atlanta, Aiken, South Carolina, New York City, Toro

☆ One man’s artistic wonderland, created secretly in rented apartment, given protected status
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Gittins surrounded the fireplace in this room with a large minotaur head, above which he painted portraits of Greek philosophers. Together they established the Wirral Arts and Culture Community Land Trust (WACCLT), which launched a crowdfunding campaign through the website Ron’s Place, applied for listed status and eventually bought the building last year. Now, the property has been granted “Grade II” listing by Britain’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of national heritage body Historic England. Ron’s Place is the first example of Outsider Art to be given protected status in England, according to Historic England. There is little to hint at what lies behind the front door of this red-brick house in Birkenhead, England.

Persons: Ron Gittins, Gittins, Jan Williams, “, ”, Williams, Chris Teasdale, Ron, ” Williams, ‘, I’ve, Tate, Jarvis Cocker, Cocker Organizations: London CNN, Historic, CNN, Wirral Arts, Culture, Land Trust, “, Britain’s Department for Culture, Media, Sport, England Locations: British, Birkenhead, Liverpool, England, Egypt, Georgian England, Historic England, Jan Williams . Historic England, Ron’s, Birkenhead , England

☆ Opinion: Despite ISIS threat, Putin’s only concern is the politics of terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Opinion Douglas London | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Russia knows it has a terrorist problem, despite its deflection and spin to preserve Putin’s image, but his priorities are elsewhere. Russian intelligence also suffers from systemic failings in recognizing, penetrating and dismantling terrorist cells, failings that stem from doctrine and a deliberately stovepiped structure that obstructs information sharing and agility. FSB officers will coerce, threaten and intimidate potential sources with diminishing returns that will only fuel ISIS-K recruitment and fundraising, which is no doubt seeing a surge from its Moscow attack. Russian intelligence will be left to depend on the unwilling, ill-informed or duplicitous. At the Islamic State’s height, Tajik Gulmurod Khalimov commanded its Iraqi capital of Mosul.

Persons: Douglas London, ”, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Bortnikov, Douglas, Mike Pompeo, Russia’s, Sergey Naryshkin, Igor Korobov, Donald Trump, Pompeo, Russia Michael McFaul, Barack Obama, Trump, Putin, Gulmurod Khalimov, Khalimov, “ Omar al, “ Omar, ” Batirashvili, Washington, Sergei Skripal, Yulia Organizations: CIA, of American Intelligence, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Global National Security Institutes, CNN, Federal Security Service, CBC, Ukraine, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Military Intelligence, Trump, White, ISIS, Central, Former, Terrorism, Embassy, K’s, Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry, Islamic Locations: South, Southwest Asia, London, Khorasan, United States, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Great Britain, Russia, Washington, State, Moscow, Syria, Iraq, Russian, US, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Central Asia, Central Asian, Central, East, Turkey, Turkish, Istanbul, Mosul, Chechen, Georgian, Georgia, Iran, Kerman, Salisbury, England

For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow's courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. Guards take the American journalist from the notorious Lefortovo Prison in a van for the short drive to the courthouse. The periodic court hearings give Gershkovich’s family, friends and U.S. officials a glimpse of him, and for the 32-year-old journalist, it’s a break from his otherwise largely monotonous prison routine. Friends and family say Gershkovich is relying on his sense of humor to get through the days. Every day, Milman said, “I wake up and look at the clock.”“I think about if his lunchtime has passed, and his bedtime," she said.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, He’s, Gershkovich, it’s, “ It’s, ”, Ella Milman, Milman, Nicholas Daniloff, Emma Tucker, ” Milman, Evan, Francesca Ebel, Josef Stalin's, he’s, Polina Ivanova, He's, Pjotr Sauer, ” Sauer, Mikhail Gershkovich, doesn't, “, Biden, Lynne Tracy, Gershkovich “, Vladimir Putin, Vadim Krasikov, ” Ebel, Journal's Tucker, I’m, Tracy Organizations: Wall, Journal, Federal Security Service, U.S, Associated Press, Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Arsenal, British, Guardian, West Locations: Lefortovo, Yekaterinburg, Washington, Russia, Ukraine, “, New Jersey, Moscow, Russian, Germany, Berlin, Georgian

☆ Navalny was on the verge of being freed in a high-stakes deal with Putin when he suddenly died, his staffers claim
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alexey Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his deathNavalny ally Maria Pevchikh said Putin had Navalny killed to prevent the swap. Navalny, Putin's political foe, died at an Arctic penal colony on February 16. Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin's pollitical nemesis, was close to being freed as part of a prisoner exchange before his death, according to one of his allies. Russian journalist and anti-corruption activist Maria Pevchikh alleged that Putin had Navalny killed because he didn't want the exchange to go through. "Navalny was supposed to be free in the coming days because we had received a decision on his exchange," Pevchikh said in the video.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Maria Pevchikh, Putin, Vladimir Putin's pollitical, Navalny, Pevchikh, Vladim Krasikov, Krasikov, Tucker Carlson, Evan Gershkovich —, —, Zelimkhan Organizations: YouTube Locations: Russian, Berlin, Moscow, Georgian, Caucasus

☆ Opinion: What is Putin afraid of?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. But in its attempt to exercise and display its strength, Putin is showing his fear. Security forces have arrested Russians questioning the war in Ukraine, let alone questioning Putin. According to rights organization Freedom House, Russia has become one of the world’s top perpetrators of transnational repression. Criticism of the war or of Putin can lead to death in a Russian prison camp.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Ksenia, Putin, Karelina, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, Chris Van Heerden, didn’t, Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, There’s Navalny, Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, —, Gershkovich, Vadim Krasikov, ”, Maxim Kuzminov, Russia “, Alexander Litvinenko, Sergei Skripal, “ Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Kremlin, Russia’s Federal Security Service, KGB, Security, US, Wall Street, House, Police Locations: Russia, Russian, Los Angeles, Ukraine, Yekaterinburg, Germany, Chechen, Alicante, Kuzminov, London, Salisbury, England, Moscow, Ukrainian

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