A prominent critic of Russian President Putin, Boris Nemtsov, was shot dead in the streets of Moscow. Nemtsov had been a leader of the democratic opposition to President Putin and was one of a handful of critics who dared to stay in Russia. The assailant was not captured and his identity is not known. President Putin condemned the killing and promised to apprehend the assassin.
In another assassination, Avijit Roy, a prominent secular blogger in Bangladesh was hacked to death by a crowd armed with machetes. Roy wrote on gay and lesbian issues and was a critic of religious fundamentalism. He had received death threats because of his anti-religious views. Bangladesh is ruled as a constitutional democracy, but Islam is considered the state religion of the country. There have been several previous attacks on secular bloggers.
The US and Cuba have been engaged in diplomatic discussions over the few months and it appears as if the two countries may finally break the impasse that has frozen relations for over 55 years. Apparently the last stumbling bloc is the designation of Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism by the US. There is actually very little evidence that Cuba has been involved in any foreign activities since the 1980s. The change is long overdue.
World Politics News 
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