Section: Free Malaysia Today (Malaysia)
UN worried by rise in mass abductions of children
UNITED NATIONS: Mass abductions of children by groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State are on the rise, with the practice now becoming a tactic of war, a UN envoy warned Wednesday. Leila Zerrougui, the special representative for children and conflict, urged the Security Council to punish armed groups who target children with sanctions and...
Allies of convenience: Xi’s just not that into Vladimir Putin
Much has been written about the relationship between China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, largely making the case that theirs is a close personal relationship, based on their similarities. One publication went so far as to assert that “Xi is China’s Putin.” As much fun as this bromance theory might be, it misreads...
Iran nuclear talks intensify after Obama appeal
LAUSSANE: Marathon talks towards an Iran nuclear deal picked up pace Friday as US President Barack Obama appealed to Tehran to seize an “historic” opportunity and begin a “brighter future”. In Switzerland, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart began their fifth day of talks, while in Brussels the leaders of Germany, France...
Russia, China, others snub UN meeting on Crimea human rights
UNITED NATIONS: Russia, China, Venezuela and Angola snubbed an informal United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday on human rights in Crimea a year after Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine, diplomats said. Russia’s parliament approved the annexation of Crimea on March 21 last year after Russian forces took control...
Putin laughs off ‘rumours’ over his 10-day absence
SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday laughed off days of frenzied “rumours” over his health and whereabouts as he reappeared in public after an unusually long 10-day absence. Emerging after days of speculation that he was either ill or had even been deposed in a palace coup, Putin met with the leader of ex-Soviet...
Russia a land of plenty, but hard to reach from rebel east Ukraine
USPENKA BORDER CROSSING: Looking out over the several hundred cars lined up to cross into Russia from rebel-held eastern Ukraine, Vladimir curses the separatist authorities who he says are forcing people to venture out of the rebel stronghold in search of basic needs. In contrast to the highly publicised Russian humanitarian aid convoys that roll...
From ‘Red October’ village, new evidence on downing of MH17
CHERVONYI ZHOVTEN, UKRAINE: Villagers in eastern Ukraine have told Reuters they saw a missile flying directly overhead just before a Malaysian airliner was shot out of the sky on July 17 last year, providing the most detailed accounts to date that suggest it was fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels. The accounts from four villagers of...
Carnegie Hall debut canceled over Nazi anthem
NEW YORK: A debut at Carnegie Hall meant to showcase a young composer was abruptly canceled after management realized it featured a snippet of a Nazi German anthem. The New York Youth Symphony was set to premiere the orchestral work on Sunday at the prestigious concert hall but the orchestra’s management removed it, saying that such an...
Air travel “safer” in 2014 despite M’sia disasters: IATA
SINGAPORE: Last year was by some measures the safest in the history of commercial aviation, despite two high-profile crashes involving Malaysia Airlines aircraft in which hundreds of people were killed, a leading industry body said on Monday. While more people died in air accidents in 2014 than the average in recent years, the number of fatal...
Two charged with Nemtsov killing include Chechen officer
MOSCOW: Russian authorities said on Sunday they were holding five men over the killing of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, one of whom served in a police unit in the Russian region of Chechnya, according to a law enforcement official. The five men were frogmarched into a Moscow courtroom on Sunday, forced by masked security officers gripping their...
