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Bill on countering Russian propaganda presented in the US Senate
A new bill aimed at strengthening Washington’s efforts in countering propaganda and misinformation spread by Russia, China and other countries, was presented in the US Senate. The bill, entitled Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016, was created in response to calls by the US Congress, European governments and NATO to strengthen forces to counter misinformation campaigns.
The new US legislation, developed by the United States Senator from Ohio, Rob Portman and the United States Senator …
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Russian State Duma considering draft to 'rigorously punish' those who insult the President
A bill is currently being drafted in the Russian State Duma "On protection of honor and dignity of the President of Russia". According to Izvestiya, the initiative was taken by LDPR Duma Deputy Roman Khudyakov.
Today, insults against any Russian official, including the President of the country, are included in the Common Article 319 of the Criminal Code (Insulting the authorities). The article imposes various penalties up to 1 year of correctional labor. The Deputy proposed to elaborate a …
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Ukrainian MFA: Ban of Crimean Tatar Mejlis is reminiscent of forced deportations in 1944
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign affairs, the attempts of the Russian-Crimean authorities to ban the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is evidence that Russia is attempting to oust the Crimean Tatars from the occupied Peninsula, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
"We regard the plans for the banishment of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People on the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea to be a deliberate imposition by Moscow of a sentence on the presence of the Crimean Tatar people …
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So-called Donetsk People's Republic begins mass distribution of passports
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has begun to issue its own passports to the population in the separatist areas of the Donetsk region. The leader of the self-proclaimed state and rebel group, of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, called this an important step towards state building, as quoted by Interfax.
According to Zakharchenko, who was one of the first to get the DPR issued document, passports will initially be issued to young people (including 34, …
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Putin: Operation in Syria cost Russia $485 million
Russia’s military action in Syria has cost about 33 billion rubles ($485 million), according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The military operation in Syria, of course, required certain spending but the main part was from Defense Ministry’s resources - around 33 billion rubles. This was included in the ministry’s 2015 budget for holding drills and military training. We just redirected these resources for supporting the group in Syria," Putin said on Thursday.
On March 14th, Putin …