“Juggling the Roles of Kazakh and Russian Languages”, “Putin tells West Russia will develop own card payment system”, “Berezovsky Death Remains Mystery as Coroner Records Open Verdict”, “Russia Considers UN Vote on Crimea Annexation a 'Victory'”

eurasianet.org. “Juggling the Roles of Kazakh and Russian Languages” - Dr. Zhar Zardykhan is an associate professor at the Department of International Relations and Regional Studies at KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. During an interview conducted in Almaty in November 2012, Zardykhan discusses whether Russian will continue to dwindle as a language-of-need in Kazakhstan, the country's 2020 goal of Kazakh fluency, and if being monolingual in a multi-ethnic country is a handicap.

trend.az. “Putin tells West Russia will develop own card payment system”- President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would develop its own credit card system to reduce reliance on Western-based companies and soften the potential blow from U.S. and EU sanctions, Reuters reported.

themoscowtimes.com. “Berezovsky Death Remains Mystery as Coroner Records Open Verdict” - A British coroner has recorded an open verdict on the death of self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky after hearing conflicting evidence from experts. Berkshire Coroner Peter Bedford said Thursday he could not prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the tycoon had been killed or had committed suicide.

“Russia Considers UN Vote on Crimea Annexation a 'Victory'” - The United Nations has overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the Russian annexation of Crimea while Moscow's envoy to the UN praised the vote as a "victory" after a handful of countries, such as North Korea, Venezuela and Syria chose its side.

kyivpost.com. “Interim commission to be set up to probe into activist Sashko Bily death” - An ad hoc interim commission will be set up in parliament to probe into the situation around the death of Right Sector coordinator Oleksandr Muzychko, also known as Sashko Bily, independent Member of Parliament (MP) Yuriy Derevianko said.

“Crowded Ukraine presidential field already shaping up for May 25 election” - With presidential elections now less than two months away, the field of contenders is filling up. The latest edition to the race, the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymo­shenko, announced her candidacy on March 27. While she’s expected to be a front-runner, she will come up against a group that includes businessman Petro Poroshenko and boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko, both of whom are leading her in the latest polls. 

“Investigators find fortunes in homes of Ukranian ex-ministers” - “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves” could not have dreamed about loot as large as that allegedly left behind by Ukraine’s fugitive and corrupt former officials.Just one police raid on March 21 on a property that belonged to former Energy Minister Eduard Stavitsky uncovered a fortune that cannot be explained by his $15,000 in earnings declared last year.