Section: theSun (Malaysia)
Kiev and rebels swap hundreds of captives in peace push
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine: Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels were on Saturday set to complete a swap of hundreds of prisoners as part of a new push for peace that came despite Kiev’s decision to cut off key transport links to breakaway Crimea. The exchange began Friday on a dark and isolated stretch of a road north of the devastated eastern...
Femen activist who grabbed Nativity Jesus at Vatican still jailed
VATICAN CITY: The bare-breasted activist from feminist group Femen who snatched the baby Jesus figurine from St Peter’s Square Nativity scene on Christmas day remained under arrest in the Vatican on Friday. The woman, Iana Aleksandrovna Azhdanova from Ukraine, remained under arrest in a Vatican cell awaiting possible trial for...
Topless Femen activist grabs Baby Jesus in St Peter’s Square
VATICAN CITY: An activist from the feminist group Femen bared her breasts in St Peter’s Square on Christmas Day and rushed to the Nativity scene, grabbing the Baby Jesus figurine. A Vatican police officer wearing a black cape was quick to arrest the blonde activist and wrest the figurine away from her. The words “God Is Woman”...
International journalist deaths soar in 2014
NEW YORK: The gruesome murders of foreign journalists by the Islamic State group contributed to 2014 being a particularly deadly year for international correspondents, an annual review by the Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Tuesday. The CPJ study found that an “unusually high proportion” of the 60 journalists who died...
Obama invited to WWII commemorations in Moscow
MOSCOW: Russia has invited US President Barack Obama (pix) to Moscow next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, a Kremlin advisor said. Asked by reporters whether Obama was on the guest list for the May 9 commemorations, Yuri Ushakov, one of President Vladimir Putin’s top...
EU needs long-term Russia strategy lasting ‘years’
BRUSSELS: New EU president Donald Tusk said Thursday the bloc needs a strategy on Russia lasting years, not just weeks or months, to cope with the problems raised by its intervention in Ukraine. “We need a long perspective strategy… plans for years. We need to be realistic, we have to treat this as a long-term game,” Tusk said...
Hollande: Ukraine peace talks to resume Sunday, or Monday
BRUSSELS: Peace talks between Ukraine’s leaders and Kremlin-backed rebels could take place Sunday or Monday in the Belarussian capital Minsk in the presence of Russian and OSCE envoys, French President Francois Hollande (pix) said. These talks will “happen on Sunday or Monday,” Hollande said after an EU summit on Thursday,...
Putin promises economic recovery, digs in on Ukraine
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Thursday tried to quell fears of economic collapse and vowed rapid recovery from the worst financial crisis of his rule but stressed that his position on Ukraine has not shifted. Speaking at an annual news conference, the Russian leader said that the economic downturn will last two years at most and promised to...
Rouble crisis could shake Putin’s grip on power
MOSCOW: Russia failed to halt the collapse of the rouble on Tuesday, leaving President Vladimir Putin facing a full-blown currency crisis that could weaken his iron grip on power. A 6.5 percentage point interest rate rise to 17% overnight failed to prevent the currency hitting record lows in a “perfect storm” of low oil prices,...
66 journalists killed in past year as attacks grow more barbaric
PARIS: Attacks on journalists have grown more barbaric and kidnappings have soared, Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday, after a year when violence against the media took centre stage and 66 reporters were killed. The beheading of James Foley and Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State group highlighted the extreme danger journalists face in...
