Russian President Vladimir Putin has written an opinion article in the New York Times to appeal to the American people about the ongoing crisis in Syria, and caution them that a military strike on Syria could result in a rise in terrorism.
The West has been united in its condemnation of the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, laying the blame squarely on Assad’s forces, but Russia has downplayed the importance of the attack and the need for international military intervention in the ongoing civil war.
It was a danger as soon as Edward Snowden stepped foot on Russian soil: becoming trapped in the clutches of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is now enjoying a rare position of moral high ground over both the whistleblower and the US forces seeking to capture him. Now, looking woefully in over his head in his airport prison, Snowden’s attempts at both upholding moral integrity and avoiding US jail time seem to have become two mutually exclusive paths.
Stephen Fry has written an open letter to prime minister David Cameron and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about the persecution of LGBT people in Russia
Alexei Navalny, one of President Putin’s greatest critics, has been found guilty of theft and embezzlement and jailed for five years in Russia.