First, links to reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Tass, teleSUR, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Finally for today, via The Greanville Post and The Unz Review, commentary on media coverage of the Nord Stream pipelines explosions (first published on April 11). — MCM
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Putin critic jailed in treason case for 25 years, by Andrew Osborn | Reuters * Politician Kara-Murza was accused of treason * Denied wrongdoing, said he stood by his actions * Spoke out strongly against the Ukraine war and Putin * Lobbied the West to impose sanctions on Russia * London and Washington demand his release | MOSCOW — Outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for a quarter of a century by a Moscow court on Monday, the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine, after being found guilty of treason and other offences he denied. Kara-Murza, 41, a father of three and an opposition politician who holds Russian and British passports, spent years speaking out against President Vladimir Putin and . . . READ MORE . . .
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EU, UN, Germany and France react to Kara-Murza sentencing. From AFP. Click HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE to read.
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Slovakia gives Ukraine remaining 9 of 13 promised warplanes. From AP. BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia has delivered the remaining nine of the 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets that it promised to Ukraine, the Slovak Defense Ministry said today. The ministry said the warplanes were transported overland for security reasons. The first four were flown from Slovakia to Ukraine by Ukrainian pilots on March 23. On March 17, the Slovak government became the second NATO member to answer Ukraine’s plea for warplanes to . . . READ MORE . . .
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Slovakia to temporarily ban Ukrainian grain imports – newspaper. From Tass. PRAGUE, Czech Republic — The Slovakian government will suspend grain imports from Ukraine, the Pravda newspaper reported today. The cabinet’s office would hold a meeting of an interdepartmental task force on the issue of temporarily restricting import of Ukrainian grain and number of other product types later in the day . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ecuador willing to send arms to Ukraine, U.S. leaks show. From teleSUR. The U.S. Intelligence documents leaked by computer technician Jack Teixeira last week unleash new scandals as they uncover maneuvers by Washington to fuel the war in Ukraine. The New York Times published an article stating that the Ecuadorean government led by right-wing President Guillermo Lasso took into consideration the requests for military support that the United States made to its Latin American . . . READ MORE . . .
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Thousands of Ukrainian children have been sent to Russia to escape the war zone. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR Since the start of the war, thousands of Ukrainian children have been sent or taken to Russia. Human rights organizations allege Russia is trying to indoctrinate those children against their home country. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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War separates two best friends from Ukraine. Elissa Nadworny of NPR tells the story of two kindergarten classmates and best friends who were separated by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Click HERE to listen.
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How the war in Ukraine broke up a kindergarten class. Reported by Elissa Nadworny | NPR The war in Ukraine has forever changed the young students of one kindergarten classroom, who are now scattered all around the world. Click HERE to listen.
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The religious battle at a Kyiv monastery. Reported by Julian Hayda | NPR Ukraine’s Orthodox Christians, divided by war and politics, stake their claim to the country’s most important religious site — Kyiv’s Caves Monastery. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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In New York, a nonprofit helps Ukrainian refugees make a home. Reported by Jon Kalish | NPR NEW YORK — More than 270,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the U.S. since the start of the war a year ago and tens of thousands have made their way to New York State. Bob Perl, a real estate broker who owns properties in the neighborhood known as Little Ukraine in Manhattan’s East Village, started the Ukrainian Habitat Fund because . . . Click HERE to listen and read.
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Why the media don’t want to know the truth about the Nord Stream blasts, by Jonathan Cook | The Greanville Post Anyone following the fallout from explosions last September that ripped holes in three of the four Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea supplying Russian gas to Europe should be wary of accepting anything Western agencies . . . READ MORE . . .