Pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine are refusing to relinquish their hold on government buildings, which flies in the face of yesterday’s agreement designed to de-escalated the tensions between Ukraine, Russia, the US and EU. In response, Ukrainian officials called for unity and offered to meet some the the groups' demands, including a decentralization of power. The agreement between the powers, reached yesterday in Geneva, calls for the amnesty of pro-Russia groups, the disarmament of the groups, and that anyone occupying buildings in eastern Ukraine must leave them.
Edward Snowden defended his decision to yesterday interview Russian President Vladimir Putin on live television, where he asked Putin a question about mass surveillance in Russia. (Putin answered evasively.) Snowden has been exiled to Russia after he leaked information on mass surveillance conducted by the US National Security Agency.
Tensions in the region are only fueled by Russia’s propaganda war surrounding Ukraine. Russian channels have poured out hours of terrifying images of Kiev overtaken by “Nazis” and threats to ethnic Russians in Ukraine, who were therefore in need of protection. Council was asked to set sanctions against North Korean officials accused of crimes against humanity and to refer them to the International Criminal Court. Yesterday, for the first time ever, the UN Security Council met to discuss human rights in North Korea.Like Rwanda, Burundi is still recovering from a history of massive ethnic violence in the 1990s. Unlike Rwanda, it has a strong civil society and independent media. But last week, government officials, police, and the youth league of the ruling party have obstructed opposition party meetings and disrupted demonstrations and other activities.
A Tunisian diplomat to Libya was kidnapped in Tripoli. The motive for the kidnapping remains unclear. This comes only days after Jordan’s ambassador to Libya was kidnapped by armed Islamist extremists who are demanding the release of an Islamist militant jailed in Jordan in exchange for the ambassador’s freedom.
