Section: The News International (Pakistan)
Ukraine bars several Russian journalists entry for Eurovision
KIEV: Ukrainian officials on Sunday said they had blocked several Russian journalists who visited the annexed Crimea peninsula from entering the country to cover the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev. Border service spokesman Oleg Slobodyan said two unnamed Russian journalists were on Sunday “not allowed across the frontier and banned from entering...
Ukraine clings to nuclear power despite Chernobyl trauma
KIEV: Ukraine is still suffering from the trauma of the world’s worst civil nuclear accident at Chernobyl but has nonetheless turned the hazardous fuel into the backbone of its energy portfolio. The crisis-torn country now uses atomic power for more than half of its electricity needs as it struggles through a coal shortage sparked by a...
Russia boosts military spending despite sanctions
Russia became the world’s third largest military spender in 2016 despite low oil prices and economic sanctions, as the global expenditure rose for a second consecutive year, a study said on Monday. Russia’s military spending was $69.2 billion in 2016, a 5.9 percent rise over 2015, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute...
India?s proposed surrogacy law raises trafficking risk for foreign women
NEW DELHI: India´s proposed law to regulate its booming surrogacy industry and curb the exploitation of impoverished Indian women could result in more foreign women being trafficked into the country to rent out their wombs, a leading expert warned on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s government is considering a bill to ban commercial...
Top UN court to rule on Ukraine?s case against Russia
THE HAGUE: In a key moment for the Ukrainian crisis, the UN’s highest court will rule on Wednesday on a bid by Kiev to stop Russia allegedly pumping money, arms and troops into the country’s war-torn east. Three years into a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives, Ukraine is urging the International Court of Justice...
Pope urges end to Syria ?horror?
Easter address VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis urged an end to “horror and death” in Syria and implored God to bring peace to the Middle East as he delivered the traditional Easter Day mass in Rome on Sunday. The Easter mass, the highlight of the Christian calendar began under a cloudy sky where worshippers had gathered since the early...
Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds Cold War levels
BERLIN: Recent Russian naval activity in Europe exceeds levels seen during the Cold War, a top US and Nato military officer said, voicing concern that the distributed nature of the deployments could end up “splitting and distracting” the transatlantic alliance. Navy Admiral Michelle Howard, who heads Nato’s Allied Joint Force...
On Russia, Trump administration hews closely to Obama playbook
BRUSSELS: Before moving to the White House, Donald Trump expressed his admiration for Russian leader Vladimir Putin and predicted that “President Trump would be so much better for US-Russia relations”. But two months into his presidency, reality has so far proved otherwise — with the Trump administration talking tough and taking...
Power struggle rages over Russia?s state statistics
MOSCOW: Reports that Russia’s economy ministry is set to take control of the national statistics agency has sparked fears that indicators crucial to monitoring the country’s economic woes could become skewed. Data from the Rosstat state statistics agency has been key in measuring the extent of the country’s economic crisis,...
Tillerson denounces ?Russian aggression?
BRUSSELS: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday he would hold talks with Nato allies about ‘Russia’s aggression in Ukraine’, signalling a tougher stance toward Moscow from the Trump administration. ‘We want to have a discussion around Nato’s posture in Europe, most particularly in eastern Europe in response to...
