WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has spoken with the leaders of Spain and Kazakhstan about the crisis in Ukraine. The calls on Monday come as the U.S. is seeking to show a united front with world leaders on Ukraine. The White House says Obama and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (mah-ree-AH'-noh rah-HOY') agreed that Ukraine's sovereignty must be respected and were gravely concerned over what they deem Russia's violation of international law. Obama and Rajoy also praised Ukraine's new government for showing >>>

It turns out, everything you thought you knew about Femen is wrong. Kitty Green’s insightful look into the Ukrainian protest organization is a documentary as matryoshka doll. Operatic bombast gives way to dignified resignation. Independence is weighed down with cultish reliance. And at the very heart of a feminist organization, you’ll find a patriarch. That is, of course, the big reveal of Ukraine Is Not a Brothel: The breast-bearing troupe of activists is controlled by a man. But by the time the film >>>

Admittedly, I'm not sure what to make of Ukraine is Not a Brothel. The premise certainly is compelling; a group of young, passionate woman streak topless in front of important military and political locations in and around Ukraine to protest the status and treatment of women in their country. The general consensus, by these young women and much of their country, is that women in Ukraine are objects of desire, relegated to prostitution, marriage for hire, or the international sex tourism industry. Since its inception in 2008, FEMEN has garnered a lot of international attention for their topless >>>

Shades of Stalinism

Apart from Russians and Ukrainians, the Crimean population also includes a minority of Muslim Crimean Tatars. They were the majority on the peninsula at the beginning of the 20th century, but were accused of Nazi collaboration by Stalin during World War II and deported. After the fall of the Soviet Union, many returned to Crimea. Fearing new deportation, some, like this family, are fleeing.

Via: dw.de