Canada: Trudeau says he has no faith Russia will uphold deal to export Ukrainian grain

Servicemen of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic work to defuse a Ukrainian mine in the Mariupol Sea Port in April. This photo was taken during a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Agreements signed Friday by Russia and Ukraine with the United Nations and Turkey clear the way to export Ukrainian grain through a Russian blockade of Black Sea ports. (The Associated Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's not convinced that Russia will hold up its end of a deal to reopen Ukrainian Black Sea ports to grain exports.

Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements Friday with Turkey and the United Nations clearing the way to export millions of tonnes of desperately needed Ukrainian grain, as well as Russian grain and fertilizer — ending a wartime standoff that had threatened food security around the globe.

. Read more at: Trudeau says he has no faith Russia will uphold deal to export Ukrainian grain | CBC News

Russia: Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness - Opinion - by the WP Editorial Board

Vladimir Putin is frequently portrayed as one of the architects of a 21st-century model of autocracy that is gaining strength globally, even as democracy stumbles in the United States and elsewhere. Events in Russia on Saturday belied that narrative. Tens of thousands of people in more than 100 cities defied freezing temperatures and riot police to join raucous protests against the Putin regime. While the Russian dictator isn’t likely to be toppled soon, the unrest revealed the rotten foundations of his rule — and the opportunity that offers to democratic adversaries.

Mr. Putin’s weakness was revealed thanks to the ingenuity and stunning courage of Alexei Navalny, who survived a poisoning attack by Mr. Putin’s agents in August and then returned to the country just over a week ago to take on his nemesis frontally. As expected, the 44-year-old activist was swiftly arrested. But Mr. Putin surely did not anticipate what came next: Mr. Navalny’s call for demonstrations, coupled with his release of an extraordinary, 112-minute video documenting Mr. Putin’s corruption, including the Versailles-scale palace he has secretly constructed on the shores of the Black Sea. By Monday, the video had accumulated more than 89 million views on YouTube — and thousands of Russians who had never before protested against Mr. Putin had taken to the streets.

Read more at: Opinion | Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness - The Washington Post

Ukraine: new president snubs Putin offer and offers Russians citizenship who want to get away from Russian oppression

Ukraine president offers Russians citizenship in snub to Putin

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/28/ukraine-president-volodymyr-zelenskiy-snubs-putin-passport-offer-and-hits-back?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

USA Trump Administration:Trump’s Odds of Impeachment Are Spiking Online - by Bess Levine

Since the election, millions of people the world over have comforted themselves with the thought that no matter how outrageous, incompetent, or stupid Donald J. Trump may be, at least the odds are reasonably high that he won’t make it through a full term. Sure, with Republicans controlling Congress, impeachment would be no easy feat, but sooner or later, he would have to do something that would get them to put country before politics. (Whether Vice President Mike Pence would be an improvement is, among Democrats, another subject of debate.)

While we’re probably not there yet, the events of this week—wherein Trump fired the man who was investigating his campaign for ties to Russia—have betting men and women worldwide putting more money on the odds of The Big I. Per Politico:

On the website PredictIt, traders set the Trump’s chances of still serving as president at the end of 2017 at 83 percent, as of Wednesday afternoon. That’s down from 87 percent at the close of trading Tuesday — though the price has stabilized from the low-water mark of 79 percent following the Comey news. Across the pond, where bettors have been more bullish on Trump’s potential removal, the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power told Politico on Wednesday that its Trump impeachment odds had shortened, from 10/11 (52 percent) to 4/6 (60 percent) . . .

The odds on Bovada, another offshore gambling site with a bigger U.S. footprint, are more pessimistic about Trump’s removal. Trump is considered marginally more likely than not to serve a full term as president; bettors have to wager $130 to win $100 that Trump will make it to January 20, 2021.

Of course, the G.O.P. does not appear ready to wash its hands of Trump and, as Politico points out, as of now, “few Democrats are openly talking about impeaching” him. Then again, the president is little more than 100 days into his term. Imagine what kind of unhinged, potentially impeachable acts we have to look forward to.

Read more: Trump’s Odds of Impeachment Are Spiking Online | Vanity Fair

Ukraine says Russian tanks flatten town; EU to threaten more sanctions - Richard Balmforth and Adrian Crof

Ukraine said Russian tanks had flattened a small border town and pro-Russian rebels had made fresh gains in its east, as EU leaders signalled on Saturday they would threaten more sanctions against Moscow over the crisis.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, attending an EU summit in Brussels, said he was hoping for progress in finding a political solution, but told journalists there were now thousands of foreign troops in his country.

Russia has repeatedly dismissed accusations from Kiev and Western powers that it has sent soldiers into its neighbour, or supported pro-Russian rebels fighting a five-month-old separatist war in Ukraine's east.

Read more: Ukraine says Russian tanks flatten town; EU to threaten more sanctions | Reuters

Pravda: Why do foreign tourists hate Russians on holidays?

For the complete report from Pravda.Ru click on this link

Why do foreign tourists hate Russians on holidays?

A recent research published in the Netherlands revealed that many foreign tourists, particularly the Dutch, prefer to stay away from Russian holiday-makers in Turkey and Egypt. The research was conducted by Esme Visser, a specialist of Eastern Europe. She personally questioned hundreds of tourists and used several hundreds of comments which she gathered at hotels and online forums. She was interested in most popular destinations with Russian tourists – Turkey, Egypt and Arab Emirates. For example, over 1.5 million Russian vacationers visited Turkey in 2006 alone. The researcher said that she was shocked to hear so much criticism of Russians from Dutch tourists. About 40 percent of opinions included in the research touched upon Russian tourists, most of them contained complaints. There were positive comments, but they were in minority. To crown it all, there were hardly any complaints about tourists of other nationalities.

The phenomenon even led to the development of a new trend in tourism, known as “tours without Russians.”