Section: theSun (Malaysia)
China extends military splurge with 10.1% budget increase
BEIJING: China unveiled a fresh double-digit spending boost for its military – the world’s largest – on Thursday with a 10.1% increase in 2015, as it pursues a series of territorial disputes with its neighbours. Beijing plans to raise its military spending to 886.9 billion yuan ($141.4 billion), according to a budget report to the annual...
Spain arrests Ukraine’s ex-finance minister
MADRID: Spanish police on Wednesday detained Ukraine’s former finance minister Yuri Kolobov (pix) who is wanted by Kiev on charges of embezzlement and financial wrongdoing, a police source said. The 41-year-old, who served under ousted pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych, was arrested in Altea, a hilltop village on the Mediterranean...
In Putin’s Russia, West blamed for Nemtsov murder
MOSCOW: Kremlin opponent Boris Nemtsov’s blood was barely dry on the Moscow sidewalk before powerful Russians came up with a startlingly clear conclusion: that the West was to blame. The West stands accused of an increasing number of outrages in President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. All-powerful state television networks, cowed...
More than 30 killed in mine blast in rebel east Ukraine
DONETSK: An early morning mine blast in the eastern Ukrainian rebel stronghold of Donetsk killed more than 30 people and injured 14, a local official said on Wednesday. Approximately 70 people were working underground at the time of the explosion, a local emergencies ministry official told the Donetsk separatist press service as saying....
Russian bombers disrupted planes in Irish airspace
DUBLIN: One plane was diverted and another delayed to avoid two Russian bombers that flew through Irish-controlled airspace without warning in February, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said on Tuesday. The disruption is believed to have occurred during the same February 18 incident in which British RAF Typhoon fighters were scrambled to escort...
Russia bids farewell to slain Putin critic
MOSCOW: Thousands of mourners on Tuesday filed past the coffin of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, bidding farewell to a charismatic activist whose brazen assassination shocked the country. The 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, longtime critic of President Vladimir Putin and anti-corruption crusader who was gunned down...
Nemtsov murder witness says blocked from leaving Moscow
MOSCOW: The Ukrainian model girlfriend of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov complained Monday she was being blocked from leaving Moscow, as authorities vowed to solve the most shocking political assassination of Vladimir Putin’s rule. The funeral for Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, longtime Putin critic and...
Russia’s Lavrov says crimes against Mideast Christians ‘genocide’
GENEVA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (pix) said Monday crimes committed against Christians in the Middle East were tantamount to “genocide”, joining other high-ranking diplomats in calling for action. Like other minorities, Christians have been the target of brutal violence waged by jihadists in countries such as Libya or...
Russia hunts for killers of opposition figure Nemtsov
MOSCOW: Russian investigators scrambled Monday to track down the killers of outspoken opposition figure Boris Nemtsov as fresh details emerged about the most shocking political assassination of Vladimir Putin’s rule. The 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, a longtime Putin critic and renowned anti-corruption crusader, was shot dead...
Kerry, Lavrov open tough talks on Ukraine, Nemtsov
GENEVA: US Secretary of State John Kerry began tough talks in Geneva Monday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov due to focus on the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Kerry was also expected to press Lavrov to ensure that Moscow carries out a credible investigation into the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. The two men...
