Free Republic

(Video of the riot in the Kosovo region by the Serbian minority against Albanian rule the local police and US led KFOR troops getting beaten up)

He warned World War 3 would be the end of civlisation, and that should "restrain" world powers fron taking "dangerous steps". Relations between Russia and the West have plunged to Cold War lows amid tensions over Syria, Crimea, NATO build-ups and Sergei Skripal. Putin said pressure on Russia from the West will end when they realise they are "counter productive". And he said fears of mutally assured destruction from nuclear is forcing "powers to respect each other". He said: ""The understanding that a third world war could be the end of civilisation should restrain us from taking extreme steps on...

The bodies of 298 passengers and crew of Malaysia Air Flight 17, 80 of them children, lie unburied in a Ukrainian field while Vladimir Putin's men fire their weapons into the air to keep international investigators from approaching the site. Yes, "Putin's men." Calling them "Russian separatists" unnecessarily dignifies them. They are supplied, armed and trained by the despot in the Kremlin. At the very least, Putin is responsible for arming these dangerous actors. At most, it's possible the missile wasn't fired by Ukrainians at all, but by Russians, which would answer President Barack Obama's question: "What do they...

Critics say hardball tactics could come back to haunt Moscow. Alexander Medvedev went to Davos with the tall task of convincing European leaders and others that they have nothing to fear from the state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom. The company enraged European leaders earlier this month when it temporarily shut off the flow of oil through a key pipeline due to a dispute with Belarus. The move came a year after it had similarly clamped off natural gas supplies due to a dispute with Ukraine. "I'd like to assure all of the people in this room there is no reason...

MOSCOW -- Lawmakers are considering an electoral amendment next week that could open the way for President Vladimir Putin to run for a third term, prompting the opposition to accuse his supporters of trying to cling to power. Putin has repeatedly said he will not change the constitution, which bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms. A senior member of his United Russia party, however, submitted a legislative amendment Thursday that would allow Putin to stand for re-election if he stepped down before the end of his second term ends in March 2008, and if the next presidential...

Put it there ... Putin greets Blair before his tirade RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin sparked uproar yesterday by saying Africans had a history of CANNIBALISM. He lashed out at the continent’s past after being challenged about his human rights’ record.In an astonishing outburst, Mr Putin said: “We all know that African countries used to have a tradition of eating their own adversaries.“We don’t have such a tradition or process or culture and I believe the comparison between Africa and Russia is not quite just.”Tony Blair, who had just finished talks with Mr Putin, was left squirming with embarrassment as...

Vladimir Putin takes on democracy, the West and all-comers THE drama playing out in the streets of Ukraine in recent weeks has been gripping in its own terms. But its bigger significance for the West lies north-east of Kiev, in Russia. As the tide moves towards a presidential election victory for the opposition leader, Victor Yushchenko, on December 26th, the efforts of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, to thwart him have looked ever more cack-handed. But they have also depressed those who still hoped that Mr Putin's Russia might move, slowly and tortuously, on to a path leading to political liberalism—and...