TOP-5 news May 22

OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Austria

Polit.ru offers your attention the five news of the day. The selection included the three most read news, one news selected by the editorial office, and the most unusual, in our opinion, news today.

1. The media reported the wiretap of the headquarters of the OSCE special services of the United States

The main office of the security and cooperation organization in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, as of April 9, 2013, was designated as priorities of intelligence activities for American special services. This was written on Thursday by the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, referring to the data of the German Spiegel journalist Holger Stark, who has access to the archives of the former National Security Agency Edward Snowden. At the same time, the foreign policy activities of the organization, attributed to the fourth level of priority, are of less interested in American intelligence than the issues of monitoring the spread of weapons, which are assigned the third level. The Austrian capital, in which about 17 thousand diplomats live, is an important point of collecting intelligence information for the American special services, the publication claims. According to a German journalist, the objects of the main interest of the NSA here are not only international organizations, but also a number of embassies, for example, the North Korean, Iranian and Russian. Holger Stark claims that American scouts, in particular, managed to connect to the Vienna Magistral Internet Nun, and read the information that is transmitted through the fiber-optic cable. It is paradoxical that the Americans subsequently share the information collected in this way, including with their Austrian colleagues.

Editor commentary: In the spring of 2013, ex-USA US employee Edward Snowden handed over to The Guardian and The Washington Post several thousand secret documents of American intelligence. The materials contained evidence that the Anb conducts constant surveillance of Internet users both in the USA and around the world. Later, the scandal moved from the public plane to the political, when new parties of documents were published indicating the monitoring of special services for the leaders of dozens of world states, including friendly US. After an internal audit conducted by the White House inside the department, most of these programs were rolled up, and the rest issued instructions on the closure. At the same time, in March it became known that Anb led surveillance of 122 world leaders, including Angel Merkel, Yulia Tymoshenko, Bashar Assad, Alexander Lukashenko and more than a hundred other presidents, heads of government and world politicians.

2. Cyprus assets of the Donetsk governor were arrested in the lawsuit VTB

The District Court of Nicosia satisfied the lawsuit of the Russian Bank of VTB and arrested part of the assets of Ukrainian businessman Sergei Taruta, who was appointed Governor of the Donetsk Region in Cyprus in Cyprus. The total cost of frozen funds amounted to $ 30 million, Kommersant writes on Thursday with reference to sources familiar with the trial. The adopted court decision prohibits “alienation, transfer, donation, pledge and any other encumbrance of assets, movable or immovable property belonging to Sergey Tarut directly or indirectly”. Eight structures fell under this definition. In particular, this is the Metallurg football club and the offshore company, which is one of the indirect shareholders of the Donbass Industrial Union. The reason for filing a claim by the Russian bank, according to the sources of the newspaper, was non-payment of one of the Siberian enterprises of a loan of $ 30 million, according to which Taruta and his business partner from Russia Alexander Katunin acted as guarantors.

Editor comment: Sergey Taruta was born on July 23, 1955 in the Donetsk region. In 1979 he graduated from the Zhdanovsky Metallurgical Institute. He worked at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, where he went from a worker to the head of the department of foreign economic relations. In 1995, he became one of the founders of the Industrial Union of Donbass Corporation - one of the leading manufacturers became Eastern and Central Europe with a annual production of 10 million tons. He became the executive director of the corporation. In 1998-2006 he became a deputy of the Donetsk Regional Council. At the same time in 2004-2005, he was a member of the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Government of Ukraine. Since 2002, he became chairman of the Board of Directors of the ISD, together with the partner Oleg Mkrtchan controls 49% of the corporation. On March 2, 2014, Taruta was appointed Governor of the Donetsk region. At the same time, the businessman occupies a very tough position in relation to the self -proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and repeatedly promised to fight supporters of federalization. In 2014, Forbes estimated his fortune at $ 597 million.

3. Lukashenko expressed gratitude to Mikhail Saakashvili

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in an exclusive interview with Ksenia Sobchak for the Rain TV channel spoke about his attitude to some Russian oligarchs and former leaders of the countries of the post -Soviet space. Speaking about the ex-president of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, Lukashenko noticed that he always spoke well of him, because "no one had fought for us in the West as Saakashvili." “He is the president, vice president (USA), said that you are behaving incorrectly with Belarus, no sanctions. I am grateful to him for that. He did it publicly. We were friendly with him. Now I would have gladly met him. But in Russia it would not like it, ”said Lukashenko. The Belarusian leader also told why he decided to provide the shelter to the overthrown head of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev. “I responded to Bakiev’s request, when everyone was just abandoned, he is on the run in the south of Kazakhstan with the kids and his wife in his arms: I called him,” said Lukashenko. - He cried and said that Sasha, you have never been a friend to me, but today I am hiding in the forest with children and do not know what to do. Save at least children. " Lukashenko said that during this conversation, his youngest son Nikolai was next to him. The Belarusian president said that at that moment he presented what to be in such a position as Bakiev described - and decided to send a plane for a fugitive Kyrgyz president.

Editor commentary: Alexander Lukashenko also talked about how another fugitive was visited in Minsk - the Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. According to him, Berezovsky came to Belarus with the knowledge of the Russian authorities. Lukashenko also said that Berezovsky loved life too much, so he could not commit suicide. At the same time, the Belarusian leader rejected the version of the involvement in the death of the oligarch of Russian special services. The Belarusian president also spoke about the crisis in Ukraine. He stated that referendums about federalization in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine have no importance from the point of view of law. Lukashenko is convinced that any referendum should be held on the basis of the Constitution. In his opinion, the order in Ukraine will not be restored without a national leader. “In this situation, you need a leader, the person who comes will say: yes, we will do this, and everyone will go,” he said in an interview. When asked if such scenarios in Belarus are possible, he replied: “There will be no these scenarios in Belarus under any combination of circumstances. At least while I'm the president. ”

Choice of the editorial office

An explosion occurred in a residential building on Kutuzovsky Prospekt

On Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow, an explosion occurred in a residential building, Interfax reports with reference to a source in law enforcement. According to him, now it is known that one person was seriously injured. There can be people under the rubble. According to preliminary data, the house is damaged between the second, third and fourth floors. Destroyed inter -apartment bearing walls. There is a threat of collapse of the whole house. Firefighters managed to cope with the fire. The press service of the Moscow Ministry of Emergencies reported that the explosion occurred on the third floor of the nine-story building at 14 Kutuzovsky Prospekt, according to the preliminary version, the cause of the explosion could be a careless handling of domestic gas.

Editor comment: to date, the number of victims from the explosion increased to 5 people. According to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, three of them were provided for outpatient assistance, one injured in serious condition was evacuated to the hospital with a helicopter, another woman was hospitalized in medium severity. As it became known earlier, one of the victims of the explosion is an employee of the American embassy , ​​a US citizen. It is in a state of medical coma, it has 80% of the body burns. The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under the article “Violation of safety rules for mining, construction or other works”. According to the deputy mayor of Moscow, Alexander Gorbenko, video cameras confirm the version that household gas exploded in the house.

The trick of the day

Gay parade in Kostroma is appointed to June 2

The Costroma City Hall allowed the gay parade on June 2, 2014. It is reported by Gayrussia.ru . The city authorities only proposed to change the route of the action. The acting head of the Kostroma administration Oleg Blokhovets invited the organizers to hold the event on June 2 from 13:00 to 15:00 on Lokomotny Street from house No. 3a to the intersection of Lokomotovaya Street with railway tracks opposite house No. 18 along the above street. The organizer of the procession Nikolai Alekssev agreed to adjust the route of the action and sent the corresponding letter to the city administration. The authorities of Kostroma, however, rejected the application of LGBT activists to hold another action in support of sex minorities, which was supposed to take place on May 1. This refusal to the city hall was explained by the possible fall in this event under the sanctions of the Federal Law on the prohibition of propaganda of homosexuality among minors.

Editor commentary: On April 4, the Presidium of the Kostroma Regional Court recognized the prohibitions of the procession of a gay pride and two LGBT milks planned in June 2013, thereby satisfying the cassation complaint of the organizer of the events of Nikolai Alekseev. At the same time, in May, similar processions of gay parades were banned at once in several Russian cities, including in Moscow, Voronezh and Kazan. On Saturday, May 31, the conduct of a gay parade is scheduled in Moscow, which activists are going to carry out without coordination of the authorities.

It remains to be hoped that the Kostroma residents will be able to adequately respond to this action, and the procession of sex minorities will not result in a face with the participation of local homophobes.

See also: TOP-5 news May 21 TOP-5 news May 20 TOP-5 News May 19