Section: The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Ukraine votes to overhaul parliament
Voters in Ukraine headed to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament, overhauling a legislature tainted by its association with ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.The election is set to usher in a contingent of largely pro-Western lawmakers. President Petro Poroshenko’s party has campaigned on an ambitious reform agenda and is expected to...
Total CEO killed in Moscow runway crash
Christophe de Margerie, the charismatic CEO of Total SA who helped establish the multinational oil company as one of the world’s biggest, was killed at a Moscow airport when his private jet collided with a snowplow whose driver was reportedly drunk.As well as questioning the driver, Russian investigators said Tuesday they were also...
Obama keeps his schedule clear to focus on Ebola
President Barack Obama, rarely one to leave anything to chance, is keeping a flexible schedule this week as his administration’s response to the Ebola scare continues to evolve.The work-in-progress approach is a departure from the normal practice in which the president’s schedule is previewed days in advance. The blank slate reflects...
Obama switches gears, confronting Ebola head on
President Barack Obama delayed acting on immigration and an attorney general nomination this fall to dodge the politics of the midterm campaign season. But there was one topic he could not push aside — Ebola.The past week’s jarring Ebola developments have put a spotlight on the president’s management skills just as he was earning...
RI acknowledges the importance of Asia-Europe cooperation: Envoy
The Foreign Ministry’s director general for America and Europe, Dian Triansyah Djani, said Indonesia acknowledged the importance of the Asia-Europe cooperation for tackling current global challenges, including development challenges and achieving common prosperity.He said the partnership between the two regions was crucial in promoting the...
Venezuela, New Zealand join UN Security Council
Venezuela, New Zealand, Angola and Malaysia have been elected to coveted seats on the United Nations Security Council, while voting continued to determine whether Turkey or Spain would join the council. Neither Turkey nor Spain got enough votes in the first or second ballot of Thursday’s election by the U.N. General Assembly’s member...
Russia’s defense minister bristles at US comment
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has criticized a comment by the U.S. defense secretary about Russia’s military resurgence. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel issued a warning to the American armed forces on Wednesday about the need to “deal with a revisionist Russia” and its army “on NATO’s doorstep.”...
Putin to focus on Ukraine during trip to Milan
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a series of meetings with Western leaders focusing on Ukraine during his trip to Italy, the Kremlin said Wednesday.Attending this week’s Europe-Asia summit in Milan offers Putin the first chance to discuss the Ukrainian crisis with Western leaders since his trip to France in June to attend the...
New Zealand, Spain, Turkey vie for UN council
Venezuela has taken the spotlight in this year’s campaign for coveted seats on the U.N. Security Council but the hottest race is between New Zealand, Spain and Turkey whose foreign ministers are in New York this week lobbying for votes.The U.N. General Assembly’s 193 member states will vote Thursday to elect five new members to the...
RI starts legal fight against OZ tobacco law
Indonesia has officially submitted a written complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Australia in a dispute regarding the plain packaging of tobacco. The move, made last week, marked the initiation of a legal resolution to a dispute that stretches back to implementation of the 2011 Tobacco Plain Packaging Act by Australia in...
