Section: Cyprus
Flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine by Russian-built Buk missile, Dutch report says
By Thomas Escritt Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made Buk missile, the Dutch Safety Board concluded on Tuesday in its final report on the July 2014 crash that killed all 298 people on board. The long-awaited findings of the board, which was not empowered to address questions of responsibility, did not...
Belarus re-elects ‘last dictator in Europe’ for fifth term
By Andrei Makhovsky Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term in office by a landslide on Sunday in an election that could see an easing of relations with the West and raise questions about his ties to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Lukashenko’s re-election five years ago led to mass protests and the imprisonment of...
Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich wins Nobel Prize for Literature (Updated)
Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich has won the Nobel Prize for Literature for her portrayal of life in the former Soviet Union which the Swedish Academy said was “a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” Alexievich’s work includes a series of books called the “Voices of Utopia” about individuals in the former Soviet Union as...
NATO chief says prepared to send troops to defend Turkey
By Robin Emmott NATO said it was prepared to send troops to Turkey to defend its ally after violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets bombing Syria and Britain scolded Moscow for escalating a war that has already killed 250,000 people. Officials at the U.S.-led alliance are still smarting from Russia’s weekend incursions into...
Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgents (Updated)
By Sylvia Westall and Dominic Evans Russia and Syria carried out what appeared to be the first major coordinated assaults on Syrian insurgents on Wednesday and Moscow said its warships fired 26 missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new military reach. The combined assault hit towns close to the main north-south highway that runs...
NATO denounces “unacceptable” Russian incursion into Turkey in Syria air war (Update 2)
By Ayla Jean Yackley and Humeyra Pamuk The United States and its NATO allies denounced Russia on Monday for violating Turkish air space along the frontier with Syria, and Ankara threatened to respond if provoked again, raising the prospect of direct confrontation between the Cold War enemies. NATO summoned the ambassadors of its 28 member states...
Russian air strikes in Syria to last 3-4 months – Putin ally
Russia estimates its air strike campaign in Syria could last three to four months, the head of the lower house of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on Friday. “There is always a risk of being bogged down but in Moscow, we are talking about an operation of three to four months,” Alexei Pushkov, an ally of Russian...
Russia starts air strikes in Syria, tells US to steer clear
By Andrew Osborn and Phil Stewart Russia launched air strikes against targets in Syria on Wednesday in the Kremlin’s biggest intervention in the Middle East in decades, telling the US air force to steer clear while its warplanes were in action. Moscow’s assertion that it had attacked Islamic State was immediately challenged by...
Russian parliament grants Putin right to use military force in Syria
The Russian parliament on Wednesday unanimously granted President Vladimir Putin the right to deploy the country’s military in Syria, a move a top Kremlin aide said related only to the air force. Russia has been building up its military presence in Syria, where it supports the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad in a conflict...
Obama, Putin discuss Syria; essential difference over Assad remains
By Jeff Mason and Denis Dyomkin Russia and the United States agreed on Monday to look for a diplomatic end to the Syrian civil war but clashed over the central question of whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should retain power. During a 90-minute meeting, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that their armed...
