Section: The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Merkel to brief Obama on four-party talks on Ukraine crisis
President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are trying for a public display of unity despite a potential split over arming Ukrainian fighters to better battle Russian-backed separatists.That was the unstated point of Monday’s meeting at the White House, where Merkel was to brief Obama on upcoming talks aimed at reviving a...
Biden casts doubt on Putin’s peace commitment in Ukraine
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is questioning the willingness of Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek peace in Ukraine as the leaders of Germany and France are seeking such a deal in Moscow.Biden said Friday at European Union headquarters in Brussels that Putin “continues to call for new peace plans as his troops roll through the...
Rebels, Ukrainian forces agree on humanitarian corridor
Pro-Russia rebels and the Ukrainian authorities agreed Friday on a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine as German and French leaders prepared to bring their peace plan to Moscow.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are set to hold talks with Russian...
3 killed in shelling in rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine
The City Hall in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine says at least 3 people have been killed in shelling overnight.This follows artillery strikes on the rebel stronghold on Wednesday which hit a hospital, leaving five people dead.Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces picked up in January after a month of relative calm. The...
A year of high-profile plane crashes
A TransAsia Airways plane crashed into a river outside the Taiwanese capital Taipei Wednesday, leaving at least 23 dead, the latest high-profile accident this year, especially in Asia. Despite several headline-grabbing crashes, 2014 continued a long-term trend of improving air safety, online accident database Aviation Safety Network said in...
Officials agree on measures in wake of aviation calamities
A United Nations agency is hoping to quickly introduce new measures to keep closer tabs on planes following last year’s disappearance of a flight in Asia and shooting down of a passenger plane in Europe.The International Civil Aviation Organization laid out a proposal Tuesday to improve the tracking of long-haul passenger flights by fall...
Death toll mounts in east Ukraine as US mulls arming Kiev
Fears grew Tuesday of an escalation in the mounting bloodshed in east Ukraine as the United States mulled arming Kiev and pro-Russian rebels ordered a mass mobilization. At least 16 civilians and five government troops were killed over the past 24 hours in fierce clashes across the conflict zone, government and pro-Russian rebel officials said....
China’s Xi hails India, Russia ties
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed his country’s relations with India and Russia as Beijing looks to increase its heft on the global diplomatic stage. Twin visits by New Delhi’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Sergei Lavrov from Moscow come on the heels of a high-profile trip to India by US President Barack Obama last...
Global officials meet on safety after aviation calamities
Government and aviation industry officials from dozens of countries are meeting in Montreal this week to try to find consensus on how to keep from losing airliners like the one that vanished in Asia and another shot down in Eastern Europe.It is only the second high-level safety conference in the 70-year history of the International Civil Aviation...
Immigrants could wait until 2019 to have cases resolved
Thousands of immigrants seeking legalization through the U.S. court system have had their hearings canceled and are being told by the government that it may be 2019 or later before their futures are resolved.Some immigration lawyers fear the delay will leave their clients at risk of deportation as evidence becomes dated, witnesses disappear,...
