Section: Free Malaysia Today (Malaysia)
Vladimir Putin: Russia’s post-Soviet tsar
Vladimir Putin has stamped his total authority in Russia. (AFP pic) MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin, who is set to extend his rule to 2024 in Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, has stamped his total authority in Russia by silencing opposition and reasserting Moscow’s might abroad. The 65-year-old former KGB officer has reimposed the...
Ukrainian doctor struggles with lack of resources
Doctors in Ukraine are hampered by the country’s failing healthcare system. (Reuters pic) KIEV: Family doctor Dmitriy Rozumiy struggles to bridge the gap between what his patients in rural Ukraine need and what the country’s cash-strapped healthcare system can provide. His clinic in the village of Ivankovichy, 35 kilometres outside...
Saudi chess PR gambit checked by controversies
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia brushed aside rulings from top clerics to host a big money chess tournament, but the gambit to improve the kingdom’s image has been jolted by regional power plays. The landmark event and its record $2 million (1.7 million euro) prize pot come as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks to repackage his oil-rich nation as...
US vetoes UN resolution rejecting Trump’s Jerusalem decision
NEW YORK: The United States on Monday vetoed a draft UN resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, after all 14 other Security Council members backed the measure. The veto cast by US Ambassador Nikki Haley highlighted Washington’s isolation over Trump’s announcement...
UN council weighs measure rejecting US Jerusalem decision
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution finding any change to the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be reversed, after the US recognized the city as Israel’s capital. Egypt circulated the draft text on Saturday, and diplomats said the council could vote on the proposed measure as early as...
The Trump-Russia probe: What we know
WASHINGTON: In a spectacular twist to the US probe into allegations of Russian election meddling, Donald Trump’s former top advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying over his contacts with Moscow, and promised to cooperate with the wide-ranging investigation. While Russia continues to deny it interfered in the 2016 election, US...
Don’t mention the war: Ukraine off the agenda at EU summit
BRUSSELS: The EU’s bid to deepen ties with six former Soviet states enters its latest round in Brussels on Friday with anxiety about Russian influence running higher than ever in the bloc. But with Russia and the war in eastern Ukraine off the official agenda, the Eastern Partnership summit looks likely to be more of a stock-taking exercise...
More governments manipulate media with ‘bots,’ trolls, says study
WASHINGTON: More governments are following the lead of Russia and China by manipulating social media and suppressing dissent online in a grave threat to democracy, a human rights watchdog said Tuesday. A study of internet freedom in 65 countries found 30 governments are deploying some form of manipulation to distort online information, up from 23...
Trump says Putin ‘means it’ with election meddling denials
DANANG: President Donald Trump said Saturday he believes Vladimir Putin is being sincere when he denies meddling in the US election that propelled Trump to power, adding that the Russian leader felt “very insulted” by the allegations. But in Washington, the director of the CIA said he stood by the US intelligence community’s assessment that...
Documents reveal offshore deals with Apple, others
WASHINGTON: New revelations Monday from the “Paradise Papers” shed light on Apple’s tax avoidance strategy which shifted profits from one fiscal haven to another as well as loopholes employed by Nike and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. They are the latest disclosures from a trove of documents released by the US-based International...
