Section: Cyprus
On 30th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster, Ukraine remembers its victims
Ukraine held memorial services on Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which permanently poisoned swathes of eastern Europe and highlighted the shortcomings of the secretive Soviet system. In the early hours of April 26, 1986, a botched test at the nuclear plant in then-Soviet Ukraine triggered a meltdown that...
This is where the Soviet Union ended
Thirty years after the world’s worst nuclear accident on April 26, 1986, the Sunday Mail’s Nathan Morley reports from Chernobyl.This dangerous, highly contaminated place is the new star attraction in the niche travel market known as ‘Dark Tourism’ “It’s taken me four years to convince my wife to let me come here. If you...
Serbia determined to join EU despite bloc’s ‘problems’
By Aleksandar Vasovic Serbia is determined to join European Union despite the bloc’s “problems” but will do nothing to jeopardise its good relations with Russia, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said. Dacic is also deputy prime minister in Serbia’s ruling coalition that is expected to win four more years in power in Sunday’s general...
Ukraine’s Poroshenko hints at deal with Russia to swap pilot Savchenko
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin a framework for a deal to secure the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, serving a 22-year jail sentence in Russia. The sentencing of two captured Russian servicemen in Ukraine on Monday fuelled speculation that they might be...
Putin says shares Russians’ pain over economic hardship
By Andrew Osborn and Alexander Winning President Vladimir Putin assured ordinary Russians on Thursday that he was trying to relieve the hardships inflicted on them by the slowing economy and the financial knock-on effects of Russia’s stand-off with the West. Putin used a televised phone-in, an annual event when he fields questions from...
Ukraine approves new PM in bid to end reform deadlock
By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets Ukraine’s parliament approved presidential ally Volodymyr Groysman as prime minister on Thursday in the biggest political shake-up since a 2014 uprising brought in a pro-Western leadership. President Petro Poroshenko hopes the appointment of the former parliamentary speaker will end months of political...
Russia pushes back ‘Putin’s bridge’ to annexed Crimea by a year
Russia has pushed back the completion date of a showcase multi-billion dollar bridge to link the Russian mainland with annexed Crimea by one year, saying the original plan had to be adjusted to take account of the weight of the trains that will cross it. The Kremlin sees the bridge, which will span the Kerch Strait, as vital to integrating...
Panama raids offices of Mossack Fonseca law firm
Panama’s attorney general late on Tuesday raided the offices of the Mossack Fonseca law firm to search for any evidence of illegal activities, authorities said in a statement. The Panama-based law firm is at the centre of the ‘Panama Papers’ leaks scandal that has embarrassed several world leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy...
Kerry joins other G7 foreign ministers at Hiroshima A-bomb museum
By Arshad Mohammed and Kiyoshi Takenaka John Kerry on Monday became the first US secretary of state to pay his respects at Hiroshima’s memorial to victims of the 1945 US nuclear attack, raising speculation that US President Barack Obama might make his own visit in May. Following the visit by Kerry and his counterparts from the Group of...
Ukraine PM Yatseniuk tenders resignation
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk tendered his resignation on Sunday in a televised broadcast. “I took the decision to resign as prime minister of Ukraine. On Tuesday, April 12, I will submit it to parliament. My decision is based on a several reasons – the political crisis in the government has been unleashed artificially, the desire to...
