Section: Cyprus
Kremlin critic Navalny given suspended sentence, brother jailed
By Maria Tsvetkova A Russian court gave Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a suspended sentence on Tuesday for embezzling money but jailed his brother for three and a half years in a case seen as part of a campaign to stifle dissent. As hundreds of his supporters gathered in front of the Kremlin, Navalny broke house arrest to join the rally but was...
Indonesian TV shows footage of objects in Java Sea, may be AirAsia jet debris
INDONESIAN TRANSPORTATION MINISTRY OFFICIAL SAYS AIRCRAFT SEARCHING FOR MISSING JET HAVE SIGHTED “RED AND WHITE COLOURED” DEBRIS OFF KALIMANTAN COAST By Fergus Jensen Countries around Asia on Tuesday stepped up the search for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that is presumed to have crashed in shallow waters off Indonesia, as television...
Ukraine’s President to meet Russian, French, German leaders
By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets UKRAINE’S President said on Monday he would meet the leaders of Russia,France and Germany on Jan. 15 in an attempt to restore peace to Kiev’s eastern territories and acknowledged Kiev lacked the resources to regain control by military means. He said he had spoken with US President Barack Obama...
Indonesia says presumes missing AirAsia plane crashed in Java Sea
By Fergus Jensen and Siva Govindasamy A missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people is presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said on Monday, as countries in the region offered to help Jakarta in the search and recovery effort. The Indonesia AirAsia plane, an Airbus A320-200, disappeared after its pilot failed to get...
AirAsia flight carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore missing – officials
By Chris Nusatya and Randy Fabi An AirAsia flight with 162 people on board lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday after the pilots asked to change course to avoid bad weather during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, Indonesian officials said. Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ 8501, an Airbus 320-200, lost contact with...
After turbulent 2014, expect little calm for 2015
By Peter Apps FROM FINANCIAL crisis in Russia to cyber warfare with North Korea, 2014 has generated new flashpoints right into its final days, setting 2015 up to be just as turbulent. Almost all of the major confrontations, such as the battle with Islamic State militants, the West’s stand-off with Russia over Ukraine and the fight against...
Ukrainian parliament angers Moscow by scrapping ‘non-aligned’ status
By Alessandra Prentice The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday renounced Ukraine’s “non-aligned” status with the aim of eventually joining NATO, angering Moscow which views the Western alliance’s eastward expansion as a threat to its own security Kiev first announced its intention of seeking the protection of NATO membership in August...
Pro-Palestine parliaments – hopes and dangers
By John V Whitbeck THE EUROPEAN Parliament, after a late compromise in pursuit of consensus, passed on December 17, by a vote of 498 to 88 with 111 abstentions, a resolution stating that it “supports in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution and believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace...
Russia calls new sanctions on Crimea ‘collective punishment’
By Vladimir Soldatkin THE Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday new Western sanctions against Ukraine’s Crimea region were a “collective punishment” on residents who voted last March to join Russia, adding it was preparing to retaliate. Both the European Union and United States adopted tighter restrictions on investments in Crimea this...
EU leaders prepare for long confrontation with Russia
By Alastair Macdonald and Jan Strupczewski European Union leaders warned Moscow they are ready to flex their combined muscle and “stay the course” in a long confrontation with Russia if President Vladimir Putin refuses to pull back from Ukraine. “We must go beyond being reactive and defensive. As Europeans we must regain our self-confidence and...
