A border dispute over a small village near the ski resorts where the winter Olympics of Sochi 2014 are set to take place has caused some skirmishes between Moscow and the de facto authorities of Sukhumi.
Anvar Sharipov, a Russian citizen from Dagestan, has recently obtained refugee status in Italy. His story should have proceeded smoothly, but unfortunately it did not. On the contrary, the Sharipov affair shows up major shortcomings in safeguarding rights to asylum in Italy. From the OBC.
From OBC: Azim is 92. Due to the bombings during the Chechen wars of the nineties, he had to rebuild his white-stone house six times. His life reflects the destiny of the Chechen People through a century characterised by war, deportations and more wars.
In Duba-Yurt, a Chechen village hard hit by the war that devastated the region in the 1990s, there lived an old man who grew tulips. He was a spark of color and hope in dark times.
We did not see much of the Vancouver Winter Olympics as we were in Brazil . . . though it was a delight to watch some events on Brazilian TV, which was uninterrupted by commercials! Whatever you may think of the Olympics, the athletic feats are impressive, the stories behind some of the Olympians are [...]
At the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, Russia announced that an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was unacceptable. Developing countries applauded; developed ones cringed. But can we really blame the Russians for balking at this goal? (more…)