Putin’s far-right ambition: Think-tank reveals how Russian President is wooing – and funding – populist parties across Europe to gain influence in the EU →

Lovely:

President Vladimir Putin is widely suspected of being behind an extraordinary Russian cash and charm offensive that is reported to be trying to woo Europe’s far-right populist parties in order to strengthen the Kremlin’s political influence within the European Union.

In recent weeks, the Kremlin’s targets have included France’s xenophobic Front National (FN) party, and politicians from three German parties including the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Social Democrats (SPD).

Future Uncertain for Asian Immigrants Facing Deportation in US →

One group often overlooked in the U.S. immigration debate is the estimated 1.3 million illegal immigrants from Asia. President Barack Obama’s recent executive order can provide a temporary reprieve from deportation to about 400,000 of those people, but for many more, the future is uncertain.

Egyptian Judges Drop All Charges Against Mubarak →

An Egyptian court dropped all remaining criminal charges against former President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday in a sweeping repudiation of the Arab Spring uprising that forced him from power.

The court dismissed murder charges against Mr. Mubarak in the killing of protesters demanding an end to his 30-year rule — charges that once inspired crowds to hang the president’s effigy from the lampposts of Tahrir Square in Cairo and captivated the region. His reviled security chief and a half-dozen top police officials were acquitted.

A simple guide to the sudden collapse in oil prices →

The most immediate reason is that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries -- a  group of 12 nations including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela that holds enormous power over global energy markets, producing 40 percent of global oil supply  --  decided on Thursday not to cut production at their meeting in Vienna...

The long term reasons include booming U.S. and world oil production, little demand in Europe and Japan, and improving automobile fuel efficiency standards.

With oil prices plunging, OPEC and Russia are on their knees →

The trigger for this new state of affairs is dual—the US shale-oil boom, which has wholly muffled the geopolitical disruptions behind previously skyrocketing oil prices, and soft demand from a transforming Chinese economy.

The effects of social origins and cognitive ability on educational attainment →

I shy away from linking directly (or only) to academic papers, but this one strikes me as important at this time. The authors show (though, of course, this is just one study) that, even when accounting for how "smart" we start as kids, the people we are born to matters: the poverty cycle. If we want everyone to have roughly the same chances in life, we need to worry more about inequality.

Merkel Said to Reject Ukraine NATO Bid →

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is alarmed by President Petro Poroshenko’s plan to hold a referendum on Ukraine joining NATO, seeing it as a dead end that would only inflame tensions with Russia.

Egypt jails 78 minors for pro-Morsi protests →

An Egyptian court sentenced 78 minors to between two and five years in prison Wednesday for joining demonstrations calling for the return of the ousted Islamist president, judicial sources said.

The authorities have engaged in a crackdown on Mohamed Morsi's supporters since the army ousted him last year, with hundreds jailed in mass trials the United Nations has described as "unprecedented in recent history".

But of course Egypt is a shining democratic example, which is why they are often the #2 recipient of US military aid.