Section: Pakistan Today (Pakistan)
Rebels fighting for more territory ahead of Ukraine ceasefire
Fighting intensified in eastern Ukraine on Saturday as separatist rebels tried to seize more territory before a ceasefire takes effect at midnight, the Ukrainian military said. The truce envisages the creation of a neutral “buffer zone” and withdrawal of heavy weapons responsible for many of the 5,000 casualties in a conflict that began almost a...
At least 18 killed in Ukraine despite peace deal
At least 18 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine in new artillery shelling just a day after a peace deal was signed to end the 10-month conflict. Pro-Moscow rebels and government officials said Friday that seven civilians were killed across the conflict zone during the past 24 hours while Ukraine’s military said 11 soldiers lost their...
Ukraine peace roadmap agreed, but Europe sceptical
A new peace roadmap aimed at ending the 10-month war between Ukraine and pro-Moscow rebels was agreed in Belarus Thursday, but Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that “big hurdles” remained. Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from the summit in the Belarussian capital Minsk, saying he, Merkel, French President Francois Hollande...
Pakistan ranks 159 out of 180 countries in press freedom index
Pakistan ranked at 159 out of 180 countries in an annual evaluation released Thursday by the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders which says media freedom suffered a “drastic decline” worldwide last year in part because of extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram. “There has been an overall deterioration linked to very different...
EU delays new sanctions as Merkel talks Ukraine with Obama
Europe on Monday postponed sanctions against Moscow ahead of a Ukraine peace summit as US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed options to end 10 months of bloodshed. Merkel was in Washington as cracks between Europe and the United States seemed to emerge over the White House’s mulling of sending arms to...
Ukraine crisis: Leaders plan new Minsk peace talks
As Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France are set to meet for another round of talks, German chancellor Merkel says she may fail in her last-ditch attempt to ease Ukraine crisis but says it is worth the effort The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France aim to meet in Belarus’s capital Minsk on Wednesday to discuss a peace plan for...
Washington cozying up to New Delhi
It takes two to tango and perhaps in this case, three Prime Minister Nareandra Modi must be regretting that he invited President Barack Obama for the Republic Day. The latter made no secret of demolishing the Bhartiya Janata Party’s ‘ghar wapsi’ slogan and the other programmes related to Hindutva ideology. He reminded India of its...
NATO to boost eastern defences after Russian ‘aggression’
NATO was set Thursday to agree a major boost to its defences including six bases in eastern Europe and a spearhead force of 5,000 troops in response to what it called Russian aggression in Ukraine. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted that the increase being approved by defence ministers in Brussels were purely defensive, but with...
Ties with India not at cost of Pakistan or China, says US
US official says Obama and Modi discussed Pak-India dialogue re-engagement US Defence Intelligence Agency chief expresses confidence in Pak’s nuclear security efforts, acknowledges effectiveness of Zarb-e-Azb Obama’s Pentagon nominee willing to expand counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan Playing down suggestions that the...
10 people dead in minibus crash in Russia
Around ten people were killed in a head-on collision in Russia not far from the Ukraine border Wednesday when a minibus drove into a truck, police said. The crash in the Belgorod region—about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border of eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region—saw the minibus swerve into oncoming traffic and hit a large semi-trailer...
