Section: theSun (Malaysia)
Russia election date set for March 18
MOSCOW: Russia’s presidential election will take place on March 18, the upper house of parliament said Friday, in polls that are all but certain to return Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin for a new six-year term. The election campaign will kick off on Monday, agencies quoted senators as saying. “According to our calculations there are...
Four Ukraine soldiers killed in rebel east
KIEV: Ukraine on Saturday reported the death of four soldiers in the latest spike of fighting with Russian-backed rebels in the east, in the heaviest daily toll over the past weeks of the simmering conflict. The military said the soldiers died in clashes in the area north of the insurgents’ de facto capital of Donetsk. “The situation...
Trump seeks to quash Tillerson sacking rumour
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday tried to shut down reports that he is on the verge of sacking or forcing out his chief diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trump took to Twitter to brand reports of Tillerson’s imminent replacement “FAKE NEWS!” – although the US leader’s admission that he has had to...
Millions at risk in ‘forgotten’ Ukraine crisis: Aid groups
BERLIN: The “forgotten” humanitarian crisis in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine threatens millions as harsh winter weather sets in, aid groups warned on Wednesday. Action Against Hunger, Doctors of the World and other non-government groups called on the international community to help alleviate food, water and heating fuel shortages....
Millions at risk in ‘forgotten’ Ukraine crisis: Aid groups
BERLIN: The “forgotten” humanitarian crisis in conflict-torn eastern Ukraine threatens millions as harsh winter weather sets in, aid groups warned on Wednesday. Action Against Hunger, Doctors of the World and other non-government groups called on the international community to help alleviate food, water and heating fuel shortages....
Rebel infighting sparks fears in east Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine: Armed men in military fatigues without insignia on Tuesday patrolled streets in the rebel stronghold of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine amid a spike in infighting between rebel factions. Men wearing balaclavas blocked access to several administrative buildings in the city, controlled by separatists, and defied the self-proclaimed...
In first, Putin speaks with Ukraine’s separatist leaders
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken to the eastern Ukraine’s rebel leaders to discuss a prisoner swap, his first publicly acknowledged direct contact with the pro-Russian separatist republics. The Kremlin said late Wednesday that Putin spoke by telephone with Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk...
More governments manipulate media with ‘bots,’ trolls: 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...
Russia will fail in efforts to undermine West: British PM
LONDON: Russia will not succeed in efforts to sow discord in the West, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday. In an annual address to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, she catalogued various Russian actions – from the annexation of Crimea to “seeking to weaponise information” – which “threaten the international...
Putin and Erdogan agree on need to boost efforts for Syria peace
SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Monday on the need to boost efforts to achieve a lasting political settlement in Syria. Despite being on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, Russia and Turkey have been working together since a 2016 reconciliation deal ended a crisis caused...
