Section: theSun (Malaysia)
Five foreigners rescued in Mali hotel siege
BAMAKO: A “number” of people held by gunmen during a standoff at a hotel in central Mali have been freed overnight and at least five foreigners evacuated from the site, according to Malian military sources. “We cannot say that everything is finished, but a number of hostages” were freed by Malian forces deployed around the...
Gunmen seize foreign hostages in deadly attack on Mali hotel
BAMAKO: Gunmen stormed a hotel in central Mali on Friday, killing at least three people and seizing hostages including several foreigners in an ongoing standoff with the army. Among the dead were two Malian soldiers, while the body of a white man was seen lying sprawled outside the hotel in the town of Sevare, military sources said. Kiev...
France says ‘several’ nations interested in Mistral warships
PARIS: France’s defence minister said on Thursday that “several” countries had expressed an interest in buying its Mistral-class warships, after Paris refused to deliver them to Russia because of the Ukraine crisis. “A certain number of countries — there are several — have made their interest known for these boats,”...
Nasa signs $490m contract with Russia for ISS travel
WASHINGTON: Nasa has extended a contract with Russia’s space agency for $490 million to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station amid a lack of Congressional funding, the US agency said Wednesday. The United States will continue to rely exclusively on Russia to take astronauts to the orbiting outpost under the new contract,...
Russia slams Sweden over expelled diplomats
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday lashed out at Stockholm and confirmed it had expelled a Swedish diplomat in retaliation for the Scandinavian country turfing out one of Moscow’s diplomats. Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it had recently declared a Swedish diplomat “persona non grata” in a tit-for-tat move after...
Four killed as new Ukraine peace talks fall apart
KIEV: Ukraine on Monday reported the death of four soldiers in clashes with pro-Russian rebels that came just hours before another failed bid to negotiate an end to the 15-month separatist revolt. Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said another 15 servicemen had been wounded in the past 24 hours of fighting across the eastern Russian-speaking...
MH370: Wing part arrives in France, link to be investigated
PARIS: A piece of Boeing 777 wreckage that washed up on an Indian Ocean island arrived for analysis in France early Saturday, after Malaysian authorities said the part was almost certainly recovered from missing flight MH370. Paris’ Orly airport website confirmed the Air France flight transporting the piece of wreckage landed at 6.17am...
Russia opens trial against Ukrainian aviator
DONETSK, Russia: Ukrainian pilot and lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko went on trial in Russia on Thursday in a politically charged case that could send ties between Moscow and Kiev to a new low. The 34-year-old helicopter navigator faces up to 25 years in prison for her alleged involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists in war-torn eastern...
Russia vetoes UN resolution on MH17 tribunal
UNITED NATIONS, United States: Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution Wednesday that sought to set up a special tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down flight MH17 over Ukraine. Eleven of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, which had been drafted by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia,...
Soyuz rocket with three astronauts launches towards ISS after delay
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan: Three astronauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft successfully launched towards the International Space Station on Thursday after a two-month delay caused by a Russian rocket failure. The spacecraft blasted off on schedule from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in the barren Kazakh steppe at 2102 GMT, carrying cosmonaut Oleg...
