Section: South China Morning Post (China)
EU unanimously votes to extend economic sanctions against Russia over Ukraine conflict
European Union leaders on Thursday extended punishing economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine for another six months.“Russia sanctions unanimously extended for another six months because of a lack of Minsk Agreements implementation,” a spokesman for EU President Donald Tusk tweeted from a summit in Brussels.Russia sanctions...
MH17 investigation shows ‘no proof’ that Russia was behind attack: Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the international community had failed to provide any evidence that Moscow was behind the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in which 298 people died.“What we’ve seen as evidence of Russia’s guilt absolutely does not suit us. We believe that there is no proof there,” Putin...
MH17 disaster: Mahathir Mohamad claims Russia was scapegoated for Malaysia Airlines plane crash that left 298 people dead
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday Russia is being made a scapegoat for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and questioned the objectivity of the investigations into the 2014 disaster.The international investigative team set up to probe the crash said on Wednesday three Russians and one Ukrainian will face murder...
Three Russians and one Ukrainian to stand trial for murder in Netherlands over shooting down of MH17 flight
International investigators said on Wednesday they were issuing arrest warrants for three Russians and one Ukrainian suspect over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.The Dutch-led probe said it would prosecute Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, over their...
Shaking Angela Merkel sparks health concerns for German chancellor
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared unsteady and was visibly shaking on Tuesday as she greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, raising concerns about her health.When Merkel stood with Zelensky in the hot weather while a military band played their national anthems outside the chancellery, the chancellor’s legs and body...
Chernobyl’s surprise tourism boom on the back of acclaimed HBO series raises uncomfortable questions
Ukraine’s Chernobyl might be on track to become 2019’s surprise tourism destination, after a widely discussed HBO miniseries resulted in a surge in bookings for trips to the site and the nearby town that were abandoned after a major nuclear accident in 1986.Trip bookings for May of 2019 were 30 per cent higher than May of 2018, and...
Six killed in fire at Ukraine psychiatric hospital
Six people died when fire swept through a psychiatric hospital for war veterans in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, authorities said on Tuesday.The fire erupted late on Monday evening in the single-floor building, Ukraine’s emergency services said in a statement.“Six people died and four have been hospitalised,” the statement said. Nine other...
Poor Ukraine at crossroads: a tool for the West or friend of China?
Brimming with confidence after a landslide election victory, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky may look to China to help keep his country’s moribund economy afloat.With a GDP per capita of US$2,963 per year as of 2018 – lower than Iraq and Venezuela – Ukraine remains one of the poorest countries in Europe and is desperate for any...
Global tribunal tells Russia to free detained Ukrainian sailors ‘immediately’
An international tribunal on Saturday urged Russia to release “immediately” 24 Ukrainian sailors seized last November off the Crimea peninsula.“The Russian Federation must proceed immediately to release the Ukrainian soldiers and allow them to return to Ukraine,” said Judge Jin-Hyuan Paik at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,...
Kremlin warns new Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky against calls for more Russia sanctions
The Kremlin on Tuesday warned Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky against asking Washington for more sanctions against Russia, suggesting it would not help his efforts to end the war in the east.President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman made the comments after US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in Kiev that Washington intends to...
