Section: The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Jet carrying 162 lost over stormy Indonesian waters
Several hours of searching Indonesian waters turned up no sign of an AirAsia plane that disappeared Sunday with 162 people on board in airspace possibly thick with dense storm clouds, strong winds and lightning, officials said.Aircraft searching for AirAsia Flight 8501 called off the effort for the night and will resume at Monday morning, said...
Missing flight is 3rd Malaysia-linked incident
The disappearance Sunday of AirAsia Flight 8501 was the third air incident this year involving Malaysia, where budget carrier AirAsia in based. Here’s a look at the two other disasters, as well as the latest missing flight, which went missing with 162 people aboard less than an hour after taking off from Surabaya, Indonesia, for...
Russia’s Putin scraps New Year’s holidays for ministers
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday scrapped New Year’s holidays for government ministers because of the unfolding economic crisis.Russian company employees throughout the country are entitled to holiday from Jan. 1 to Jan. 12 when Russians celebrate the New Year, the main holiday in Russia, as well as Orthodox Christmas on Jan....
Pope wishes Christmas hope and peace for Mideast
Pope Francis is focusing his attention on all those weeping in the world this Christmas, singling out the refugees, hostages and all those suffering in conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine.On a day that brings joy to little ones in much of the world, Francis expressed anguish for children who are victims of violence, including the...
Russia: NATO pushed Kiev to drop nonaligned status
NATO members pushed Ukraine toward dropping its nonaligned status, Russia claimed Wednesday, and also criticized the alliance for expanding its military presence near Russian borders.Ukraine’s parliament abandoned the nonaligned position Tuesday, possibly paving the way for a bid to join NATO, in defiance of Russia’s protests.The move...
Russia’s central bank to help companies meet debts
Russia’s central bank has made another move to shore up the ruble, offering hard currency loans to help companies and banks service their debts.The bank said Wednesday it would accept foreign currency debt obligations as collateral against the loans. The hope is that it will provide relief to those who can’t tap foreign capital...
Report: At least 60 journalists killed in 2014
At least 60 journalists around the world were killed in 2014 while on the job or because of their work, and 44 percent of them were targeted for murder, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.An “unusually high proportion,” or about one-fourth, of those killed were international journalists, though the overwhelming number of...
Russia bails out bank following ruble slide
Russia has bailed out a mid-sized bank for about $500 million to save it from bankruptcy— a clear sign that the slide in the value of the ruble in the wake of falling oil prices is straining the banking system.The Central Bank said Monday that it will provide a 30-billion ruble loan to help the Trust Bank to continue operating as normal. It will...
Russian minister talks up the ruble
A senior Russian minister said on Monday he’s expecting the ruble to extend its recent gains and said the government is not planning to introduce currency controls on Russian companies.The ruble has been the worst performing currency this year along with the Ukrainian hryvnia, having lost half of its value. Its collapse in the past weeks...
Belarus enjoys bonanza amid Russia-West tensions
As relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated, there’s one country that’s reaping rewards — Belarus, whose authoritarian leader was once dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” by the United States and the European Union.President Alexander Lukashenko is relishing his new role as broker of the Ukraine peace...
