Month: September 2022

UN Inspectors Set to Start Work at Ukraine Nuclear Plant 

U.N. nuclear inspectors expect to begin their work Thursday at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, assessing safety and security matters amid international concern that fighting in the area could endanger the facility. “It’s a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident,” International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Wednesday. Grossi said he expects his team’s initial work at the plant to last a few days, while hoping to establish a “permanent or continued presence.” “We’ll do many things. We have mainly technical work to do in order to make a comprehensive evaluation of the situation, about the …

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Why China’s Leaders Think Gorbachev Took Wrong Path

The death of the Soviet Union’s last leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms led to the disintegration of the former communist giant in 1991, is seen by many in China as a reminder to avoid the same fate as its neighbor. Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at 91, is lauded in China for normalizing Sino-Soviet relations, paving the way for solid ties between the two countries in subsequent years. But Beijing also blames him for bringing about the dissolution of its ally, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. While the West saw Gorbachev as a brave hero who brought much needed …

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News Outlet in Malta Battles 40 Lawsuits Over Records Request  

When Caroline Muscat filed Freedom of Information requests in Malta to access public contracts and payments to the director of a prominent media company, the agencies in Malta told her the information “does not exist.” Muscat, founder and editor of a small independent news website called The Shift, appealed. After investigating, the Data Protection Commission ruled in her favor, ordering the agencies in July 2021 to share the information. Instead, 40 government ministries and agencies sued The Shift, appealing the ruling. Some of the lawsuits alleged that The Shift’s requests, filed in December 2020, amounted to harassment of officials, the …

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To Ukrainians, Gorbachev Remains an ‘Imperialist’

Mikhail Gorbachev could have been celebrated for involuntarily opening a path toward Ukraine’s independence, but his support for Crimea’s annexation and silence in the face of Russia’s invasion have stained his reputation there. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, triggered its demise in 1991, which led to the formation of 15 new independent countries including Ukraine. But it is no accident that the Ukrainian government is still mute, a day after the death of Gorbachev, whose mother and wife were of Ukrainian origin. Ukrainians walking through the streets of Kyiv on Wednesday did not mince their words about …

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