Section: Free Malaysia Today (Malaysia)
Australia’s ‘macho’ PM points finger at sexism
SYDNEY: Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was famously accused of misogyny by former leader Julia Gillard, on Friday suggested sexism was behind criticism of his female chief-of-staff. Abbott’s office has battled falling polls in recent weeks and some within the conservative government’s ranks have complained that his...
Dutch identify all foreign MH17 crash victims
THE HAGUE: Dutch authorities have identified two more victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash in Ukraine, with just four of the 298 dead still unidentified, all of them Dutch, officials said Thursday. “Two victims of flight MH17 have been identified this week,” the Dutch justice ministry ministry said in a statement. One of those...
2014, the year when borders were thrown into question
PARIS: Borders are supposed to be sacrosanct the world over but 2014 saw boundaries in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria thrown into question, raising fears of a new world order. Yet experts say such concerns are overblown. Russia’s quick-fire annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in March drew a chorus of outrage and a diplomatic...
Abbott’s ‘shirtfront’ is Australia’s word of the year
SYDNEY: “Shirtfront”, an aggressive Australian sports term used by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to challenge Russia’s Vladimir Putin, was Wednesday picked as the National Dictionary Centre’s word of the year, beating “man-bun”. Abbott in October vowed to “shirtfront” the Russian president — an Australian Rules football term in which a...
Dutch say no to UN taking over crash inquiry
AMSTERDAM: The Dutch government yesterday rejected a proposal from relatives of victims of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 to let the United Nations take charge of its criminal investigation into the disaster. A request to appoint a special UN envoy to take over the inquiry was sent on Friday by a law firm representing 20 relatives,...
MH17 wreckage arrives in Netherlands
THE HAGUE: A convoy carrying wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrived in the Netherlands on Tuesday on its way to a Dutch air force base where the doomed plane will be reconstructed. Dutch national broadcaster NOS showed eight trucks carrying wreckage crossing the border with Germany overnight, before heading to a southern air base...
Diamond deals to add sparkle to India-Russian ties
MUMBAI: India’s gemstone industry will hope to add some sparkle to ties between New Delhi and Moscow this week by persuading Russia to massively increase its exports of diamonds direct to the global hub of cutting and polishing. Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to the Indian capital from Wednesday is expected to see landmark deals...
World’s children paying price for political rifts
GENEVA: Divisions among the veto-wielding powers of the U.N. Security Council are harming the world’s children and sowing the seeds of future conflicts, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday. This year, riven by conflicts, has been the worst in two generations for children around the world, but 2015 looks set to...
MH17 wreckage due in Netherlands on Tuesday
THE HAGUE: Wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 will arrive from Ukraine at a Dutch air force base on Tuesday where the plane will be reconstructed as part of probe into the crash. The convoy of lorries carrying pieces of wreckage from Ukraine is due to arrive at the Gilze-Rijen airbase in the south of the country at around 2 pm (1300...
MH17 wreckage to be reassembled in Netherlands for investigation
AMSTERDAM: Wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 recovered from its crash site in eastern Ukraine will be reassembled for an investigation at a military base in the Netherlands, Dutch authorities said on Monday. The wreckage, collected by local emergency services under Dutch supervision in an area fought over by Russian-backed rebels and...
