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☆ Trailblazing former UK House of Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( William James | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-British Speaker of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd looks on during her visit to State Duma lower house of parliament October 14. LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Betty Boothroyd, the trailblazing first female Speaker in Britain's House of Commons, has died aged 93, drawing tributes from across parliament for her distinctive, firm-but-fair style honed over a five-decade political career. She remains the only woman to serve as Speaker in the House of Commons. After retiring from the House of Commons in 2000, she was made a member of parliament's House of Lords upper chamber where she continued to contribute to political debate into her nineties. Tributes to Boothroyd poured in from across the political divide, hailing her formidable parliamentary presence and her personal warmth.

☆ Russian lawmaker who hung noodles on his ears to mock Putin's speech might face punishment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A lawmaker shared a video of himself with noodles hung on his ears while watching Putin's speech. In Russia, the idiom "to hang noodles on someone's ears" means to tell lies. A spokesman for the Russian Communist Party said they would be looking into the incident. A spokesman for the Russian Communist Party, Alexander Yushchenko, said on Thursday that the party would be investigating the noodle video and "won't leave it without attention," The Telegraph reported. "This is an odd, to put it mildly, escapade which would be more suitable for a Ukrainian, not a Russian lawmaker," Khinshtein said, according to The Telegraph.

☆ Russia's parliament prepares to approve suspension of New START
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russian officials on Wednesday blamed the United States and the West for President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend Moscow's participation in the New START treaty, as Russia's parliament was set to rubber-stamp the move. "This decision was forced on us by the war declared by the United States and other NATO countries on our country. It will have a huge resonance in the world overall and in the United States in particular," Medvedev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Russia's parliament is expected to rubber-stamp the move to suspend the treaty, possibly as early as Wednesday. The head of Russia's Duma, the lower house of parliament, also blamed the United States for the breakdown.

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, Russia February 21, 2023. Since invading Ukraine a year ago, he has repeatedly boasted about Russia's nuclear arsenal and said he would be willing to use it if the country's "territorial integrity" is threatened. TREATY LIMITSThe 2010 New START treaty limits each country's deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 - which Russia has also said it will continue to observe - and deployed missiles and heavy bombers to 700. Asked in what circumstances Russia would return to the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Everything will depend on the position of the West... Russia is now demanding that British and French nuclear weapons targeted against Russia should be included in the arms control framework, seen as a non-starter for Washington after more than half a century of bilateral nuclear treaties with Moscow.

☆ Russia proposes caps on oil export discounts -draft law
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies NK Rosneft' PAO FollowMOSCOW, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Russia's State Duma introduced a bill late on Saturday setting discounts for Russian oil exports, according to the lower house of parliament's website. Under the draft proposal, the discount on dated Brent oil will be limited to $34 per barrel in April, declining to $31 in May, $28 in June and $25 in July. The government has been debating how to calculate Russia's taxable oil price following the European Union's import ban and the resulting lack of a reliable price-setting mechanism. Russia currently uses Urals price assessments in Europe's Rotterdam and Augusta ports, provided by commodity price reporting agency Argus, to determine its mineral extraction tax, additional income tax, oil export duty and reverse excise on oil. Russia said on Friday it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, or around 5% of output, in March, following the West's imposition of price caps on Russian oil and oil products.

Russia, without providing evidence, has repeatedly said the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany. In his blog post, entitled "How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline", Hersh said a plan was hatched in 2021 at the highest levels in the United States to destroy the pipelines. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month that Washington was directly involved in the sabotage of the pipelines. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there would be "consequences" for Washington, adding the report was not a surprise for Russia as it had long considered the United States and possibly other NATO members were behind the blasts. The United States should pay "compensation to countries affected by the terrorist attack", Volodin added.

☆ Russia calls for international probe into Nord Stream blasts after blogger report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A blog by a U.S. investigative journalist alleging the United States was behind the explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines should become the basis for an international investigation, Russia's top lawmaker said on Thursday. Volodin said the United States should pay "compensation to countries affected by the terrorist attack." Moscow, without providing evidence, has repeatedly said the West was behind the explosions affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. President Vladimir Putin has accused "Anglo-Saxon" powers of blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, a Kremlin-designed project to circumvent Ukraine in exporting its gas directly to Germany and further to Europe. Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday the United States had questions to answer over its role in explosions on the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Germany promises a decision on tanks; Russian official warns Ukraine allies risk own destruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Sunday that he expected a decision soon on the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, meanwhile, said Berlin would not block Poland from sending its own Leopard 2s to Ukraine. The comments on Sunday suggest a change in Berlin's position regarding the tanks after months of pressure to either offer Ukraine some of its own Leopard 2s or at least allow other allies with their own German-made tanks to export them to the war-torn country. Last Friday, defense chiefs from Ukraine's allied nations met in Germany to discuss the issue but no decision was reached. In other news, a high-profile Russian official has said countries that offer offensive weapons to Ukraine risk their own destruction, saying it could lead to a "global catastrophe."

☆ Putin ally says West's deliveries of new weapons to Kyiv will lead to global catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - A close ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that deliveries of offensive weapons to Kyiv that threaten Russia's territories will lead to a global catastrophe and make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction untenable. "If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. "Arguments that the nuclear powers have not previously used weapons of mass destruction in local conflicts are untenable. Volodin's comments followed a similar threat last week by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former prime minister and president. "Deliveries of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime will lead to a global catastrophe," he said.

☆ Russia official warns countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risk their own destruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The speaker of Russia's parliament warned Sunday that countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risked their own destruction, a message that followed new pledges of armored vehicles, air defense systems and other equipment but not the battle tanks Kyiv requested. "Supplies of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe," State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said. "If it requires our sending some Abrams tanks in order to unlock getting the Leopard tanks from Germany, from Poland, from other allies, I would support that." Since invading Ukraine, Russia also has increased both the scope and the number of its joint military drills with China. Ukraine is asking for more weapons as it anticipates Russia's forces launching a new offensive in the spring.

☆ As Russia's only aircraft carrier falls apart, some Russians want to undo a shady ship deal with China 25 years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia's sole aircraft carrier has been sidelined for years and may not see action again. A Russian lawmaker has proposed trying buying China's Liaoning aircraft carrier as a replacement. Liaoning began life as a Soviet carrier, but China acquired it in a shady sale in the late 1990s. Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning during a drill in the western Pacific in April 2018. A 40-year-old aircraft carrier in the Black Sea won't provide much value.

☆ Putin ally suggests seizing property of war critics who fled Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 13 (Reuters) - A close ally of President Vladimir Putin suggested on Friday confiscating the property of Russians who have left the country and who "insult" the state and its armed forces from abroad. The proposal from Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, was clearly aimed at opposition figures - many already designated as "foreign agents" - who have condemned the Ukraine war after fleeing the country to avoid arrest. "Their goal is clear - to curry favour and try to maintain their well-being abroad," he wrote on his Telegram channel. At the same time, they allow themselves to publicly pour dirt on Russia, insult our soldiers and officers. Volodin, 58, has been speaker of the lower house, the State Duma, since 2016, having previously held a senior role in the presidential administration.

☆ German minister promises Ukraine weapons, EU accession help on surprise trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a statement ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Baerbock expressed Germany's solidarity with Ukrainians living through Russia's invasion and harsh winter conditions. After Germany last week promised to send Marder fighting vehicles to Ukraine as part of increased military support, Baerbock promised more weapons, without specifying which ones. Senior Russian legislator Leonid Slutsky, echoing Moscow's line that it launched the war to "denazify" Ukraine, said history would harshly judge the comments by Baerbock. Baerbock also said it was important not to lose sight of Ukraine's place in Europe and its desire to join the EU. She said Germany would provide 20 million euros ($21.47 million) for demining efforts and another 20 million euros to boost Ukraine's access to Starlink internet terminals.

☆ Russia backs banning of maps disputing official 'territorial integrity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A woman walks past a building with Russian flags placed on its wall in Saint Petersburg, Russia April 24, 2022. REUTERS/Anton VaganovJan 8 (Reuters) - Russia's government extended support to a legislative amendment that would classify maps that dispute the country's official "territorial integrity" as punishable extremist materials, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Sunday. The amendment to Russia's anti-extremism legislation stipulates that "cartographic and other documents and images that dispute the territorial integrity of Russia" will be classified as extremist materials, the agency reported. The new amendment, TASS reports without citing sources, emerged after its authors pointed out that some maps distributed in Russia dispute the "territorial affiliation" of the Crimean Peninsula and the Kuril Islands. Ukrainians and their government have since often objected to world maps showing Crimea as part of Russia's territory.

☆ Russia risks causing new-year IT worker flight with remote working law
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. The government estimates that 100,000 IT specialists currently work for Russian companies overseas. Now, legislation is being mooted for early next year that could ban remote working for some professions. Product designer Yulia, 26, estimated that a quarter of her team would rather quit than return to Russia under duress. Professional online poker player Sasha, 37, also living in Argentina, said he had now stopped paying Russian taxes.

☆ Duma prepares higher taxation for Russians who left country - speaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 25 (Reuters) - Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma, said the Russian lower house of parliament was preparing a law to introduce higher taxation for people who have left the country, as many have since the war in Ukraine began in February. "It is right to cancel preferences for those who have left the Russian Federation and to introduce an increased tax rate for them," Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The number of Russians who have left since the start of the war is unclear. Russians working abroad who are Russian tax residents must pay the tax independently, according to the Federal Tax Service of Russia. "It's completely understandable why they fled," Volodin said.

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg. REUTERS/Sumaya HishamJOHANNESBURG, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Party allies, and even some rivals, of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday condemned opponents who disrupted his opening speech with chants and shouting at a conference of the ruling ANC on Friday. Ramaphosa, who was speaking at a five-day gathering of the African National Congress (ANC) to elect candidates for 2024 national elections, is seeking a second term and is widely seen as the party's strongest candidate. We are all interested to emerge here with a very solid, strong leadership," ANC deputy presidential hopeful and Eastern Cape ANC Chairperson Oscar Mabuyane told reporters. What they did yesterday soiled (their) campaign," Zamani Saul, Northern Cape ANC chairperson told SABC news.

☆ Viktor Bout praises Putin, enjoys celebrity status after Griner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

He has since given high-profile interviews to state media and on Monday appeared on stage at a political event as he joined an ultranationalist party. Viktor Bout on a plane in Abu Dhabi before departing for Russia on Thursday. Russian media also showed him walking off a plane in Moscow, where relatives waiting with flowers embraced him. AFP - Getty ImagesSince his return home, Bout has given a pair of interviews to Maria Butina on the state-run TV channel RT. Like Butina, who was elected to the State Duma last year, Bout spared no time kicking off a potential political career.

But they fear a harsh new anti-gay law passed by Russian lawmakers will leave them little choice. As the Kremlin prepared to finalize the expansion of the 2013 discriminatory anti-gay law, members of the LGBTQ community in Russia told CNN they feared the uncertain future ahead. Activists say a new legislative package that beefs up an existing anti-gay law is a threat to LGBTQ people in Russia. And it’s just reducing the space within which a non-heterosexual existence can comfortably take place in Russia,” Healey told CNN. Yulia Alyoshina, Russia's first transgender politician, said the new law was discriminatory and would make life tougher for Russia's LGBTQ community.

A Russian lawmaker announced Saturday that he invited freed arms dealer Viktor Bout to be in "broad cooperation" with a government committee that he leads. The legislator, Leonid Slutsky, is head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. Slutsky said Bout could help the committee on "issues of assistance to Russian citizens who find themselves in a difficult life situation abroad." "And the experience of interaction during the release of Victor will certainly be useful,” Slutsky said in a post on his Telegram account. The Russian official said Bout is holding up well for "all the trials he had gone through."

☆ Putin's supporters call for the liquidation of Ukraine as 'genocidal rhetoric' swells
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty ImagesProminent supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin are using increasingly "genocidal rhetoric" when discussing and demonizing Ukrainians, analysts note, with some pro-war commentators cheering the concept of the "liquidation" of the modern state of Ukraine. "To be a 'Ukrainian' one does not even have to speak the Ukrainian language (which is also still being formed). "All this can be stopped only through the liquidation of Ukrainian statehood in its current form," Medvedev said. Another popular motif being used by pro-war, pro-Putin bloggers is characterizing Ukraine and Ukrainians as "evil" or "sadists" or "Satanists." "As ISW has previously reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin has similarly employed such genocidal language in a way that is fundamentally incompatible with calls for negotiations."

☆ Russian Parliament Agrees to Expand Ban on Promoting LGBT Issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW—Russia’s parliament passed a bill that expands restrictions on anything perceived as promoting gay issues or same-sex relationships among Russians of all ages, a move that activists say will encourage further hostility toward the country’s already beleaguered LGBT community. Previous legislation outlawed what authorities called “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” to minors, introduced in 2013. On Thursday, the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, extended the prohibition to all age groups and introduced new bans on what the legislation calls “propaganda on pedophilia and gender reassignment,” according to information about the bill published by the parliament.

☆ Russia is on the verge of passing an expanded version of its notorious anti-LGBTQ bill that bans promotion of 'non-traditional sexual relations'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The revised bill bans spreading "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to people of any age. The bill prohibiting the promotion of "non-traditional sexual relations" builds upon a notorious law passed in 2013, which took aim at "propaganda" spread to minors. Under the new law passed by the State Duma, films, and advertisements depicting same-sex relationships could be banned. Russian citizens found to have spread propaganda about "non-traditional sexual relations" could face a fine of up to 400,000 rubles, or $6,600 at current exchange rates. Human-rights organizations have condemned Russia for the so-called "gay propaganda" law since its introduction.

☆ Russian and Cuban leaders meet in Moscow, hail 'traditional friendship'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met with his Cuban counterpart in Moscow, where the two unveiled a monument to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and hailed the “traditional friendship” between their sanctions-hit nations. We have always supported Cuba on the international stage and we see that Cuba takes the same position towards Russia,” Putin said. Other top Russian officials struck similar tones in their meetings with Díaz-Canel, who arrived in Moscow on Saturday. Cuban state media reported that Díaz-Canel’s agenda will focus on the energy sector, very sensitive for the island as it battles shortages of food, medicines and fuel. Havana’s main regional political ally, Venezuela, has sold the island the oil Cuba needed for the past two decades.

☆ Russian court orders Google to restore parliament YouTube channel - Duma
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Don't like Musk? Work for us! Tech firms woo ex-Twitter staff, article with imageWorld at Work category · November 22, 2022Put off by Elon Musk's muscular management style? Move to us! That's the pitch being used by talent-starved technology firms trying to lure thousands of former Twitter Inc employees laid off by the social media company under its new owner.

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