Month: February 2023

Ukraine Raids Tycoon’s Home, Tax Office in Wartime Clampdown

Ukrainian authorities raided an influential billionaire’s home on Wednesday in what an ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touted as a sweeping wartime clampdown on corruption that would change the country. Separate raids were carried out at the Tax Office and on the home of an influential former interior minister, two days before Kyiv hosts a summit with the European Union at which it wants to show it is cracking down after years of chronic corruption. Ukraine sees Friday’s summit as key to its hopes of one day joining the bloc, a goal that has grown more urgent following Russia’s invasion …

READ MORE

Global Corruption Worsens, but Africa Makes Progress

The past year saw little progress in tackling global corruption due to greater violence and insecurity, according to the organization Transparency International’s “Corruption Perceptions Index 2022.” However, there are some encouraging signs that corruption is being successfully tackled in parts of Africa. “Most of the world continues to fail to fight corruption: 95 percent of countries have made little to no progress since 2017,” the report says. “Governments hampered by corruption lack the capacity to protect the people, while public discontent is more likely to turn into violence. This vicious cycle is impacting countries everywhere from South Sudan to Brazil.” …

READ MORE

Global Corruption Worsens, But Africa Makes Progress

The past year saw little progress in tackling global corruption due to greater violence and insecurity, according to the organization Transparency International. Their annual index measures citizens’ perceptions of the level of corruption. As Henry Ridgwell reports, there are some encouraging signs that corruption is being successfully tackled in Africa. Videographer: Henry Ridgwell …

READ MORE

УПЦ (МП) має церковно-канонічний зв’язок з РПЦ – релігієзнавча експертиза

Релігієзнавча експертиза статуту Української православної церкви (Московського патріархату) показала наявність церковно-канонічного зв’язку з Російською православною церквою, повідомляє Державна служба з етнополітики та свободи совісті. «Схвалення нової редакції Статуту про управління УПЦ (від 27.05.2022) та Постанови Собору УПЦ не призвели до розриву церковно-канонічного зв’язку Української Православної Церкви із Російською Православною Церквою. Статус УПЦ як структурного підрозділу РПЦ, що користується певними правами самостійності, але не утворює автокефальну Церкву, залишається незмінним. – УПЦ відносно РПЦ має церковно-канонічний зв’язок частини із цілим. Відносини УПЦ з РПЦ не є відносинами однієї самостійної (автокефальної) церкви з іншою самостійною автокефальною церквою. УПЦ також не має статусу автономної …

READ MORE

Russian Journalist Sentenced for Speaking Out on Ukraine 

A court in Moscow on Wednesday sentenced a Russian journalist in absentia to eight years in prison on charges of disparaging the military, the latest move in the authorities’ relentless crackdown on dissent. Alexander Nevzorov, a television journalist and former lawmaker, was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the military under a law that was adopted soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine. The law effectively exposes anyone critical of the Russian military action in Ukraine to fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years. Nevzorov was accused of posting “false information” on social …

READ MORE

Russia Says Longer-Range Western Weapons Would Escalate Ukraine Conflict

Russia said Wednesday that supplies of long-range weapons to Ukraine would not deter Russian forces, but would increase tensions and escalate the conflict. The comments from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov came amid reports the United States is preparing a new round of aid that would include longer-range rockets to help Ukrainian forces fight off a Russian invasion. Reuters reported that according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter, a weapon called the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb with a range of 150 kilometers was part of the package expected to be announced as soon as this week. Also expected …

READ MORE

На Донеччині через російські обстріли минулої доби загинули четверо цивільних – ОВА

Всього від початку повномасштабного вторгнення через дії Росії на Донеччині, за даними ОВА, загинули 1339 людей, ще 2939 – були поранені. Ці дані не враховують жертви у Маріуполі і Волновасі, точне число яких наразі встановити неможливо …

READ MORE

Report: Advanced Economies Complicit in Transnational Corruption

Anti-corruption efforts in seemingly “clean” advanced economies have stalled even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought to the fore that nation’s role in fostering kleptocracy in recent decades, Transparency International said in a report on Tuesday. While painting a grim picture of the global fight against corruption, the Berlin-based watchdog put the spotlight on countries that have historically scored high, meaning favorably, on its annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Those countries remain among the “cleanest” in the world. But from Germany to France to Switzerland, most saw their CPI scores drop or stagnate last year. Five traditionally top-scoring countries — …

READ MORE