Section: theSun (Malaysia)
Little hope of breakthrough as Russia hosts Syria talks
MOSCOW: Russia plans to bring together members of the Syrian regime and opposition in a new push to resuscitate talks on ending the country’s nearly four-year civil war, although hopes of a breakthrough are slim. The January 26-29 behind closed doors talks will include Syria’s regime-tolerated domestic opposition and members of Bashar...
Space station crew safe, no ammonia leak confirmed
MIAMI: The six astronauts at the International Space Station are safe and are taking shelter in the Russian segment after an alarm went off on the US side of the orbiting outpost, NASA said Wednesday. The US space agency said it could not confirm that an ammonia leak was the cause, as the Russian space agency reported earlier. “ISS flight...
Toxic leak at International Space Station
MOSCOW: A leak of a toxic substance on Wednesday forced astronauts to evacuate the American section of the International Space Station, Russia’s space agency said Wednesday. The “toxic substance was emitted from a cooling system into the station’s atmosphere” in the US segment of the station, the agency said in a...
Concern for hunger-striking Ukraine pilot held in Russia
MOSCOW: The health of a female Ukrainian helicopter pilot detained by Russia is causing ‘concern’ as a hunger strike she is staging enters its second month, her lawyer said Tuesday. Nadia Savchenko has been refusing food since Dec 13 to protest her detention by Moscow on charges of involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists...
Ukraine clashes kill four, including three civilians
KIEV: Three Ukrainian civilians and a soldier were reported killed on Tuesday in the latest wave of fighting across the country’s separatist east. The Ukrainian military said another 10 soldiers were wounded in Grad rocket and mortar attacks by pro-Russian insurgents based around the eastern industrial city of Donetsk. The upsurge in...
Russia bans transvestites and transsexuals from driving
MOSCOW: Russia has passed a controversial law banning transvestites, transsexuals and people with other “disorders” from driving, prompting sharp criticism from rights activists, including a prominent Kremlin advisor. The legislation, which took effect this week, says its aims at lowering the country’s high death rate from road...
Dutch probe secret service role ahead of MH17 crash
THE HAGUE: The Netherlands wants to know whether its intelligence services warned airlines of danger about flying over war-torn Ukraine prior to the downing of flight MH17 in July, officials said Tuesday. Dutch officials are leading the probe into what brought down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 over Ukraine and killed 298 people aboard, most...
Ukraine adopts ‘draconian’ budget backed by IMF
KIEV: Ukraine’s parliament on Monday adopted an austerity budget that hikes import prices and shrinks social spending in order to balance the books under a plan backed by the International Monetary Fund. The highly-disputed 2015 plan was rammed through by the government-led coalition after a marathon debate concluded with a 4:15 am vote...
Indonesia says missing AirAsia plane could be at ‘bottom of sea’
JAKARTA: A missing AirAsia jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said on Monday, as countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search effort. The Indonesia AirAsia plane, an Airbus A320-200, disappeared after its pilot failed to get...
Australia PM: Missing AirAsia plane no MH370 mystery
SYDNEY: The plight of a missing AirAsia jet lost over the Java Sea cannot be equated with Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 which vanished without a trace in March, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (pix) said Monday. Australia is leading the search for MH370 which was on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it disappeared off...
