Section: The Manila Times (Philippines)
Russia, Brexit loom over NATO summit
WARSAW: NATO leaders meet on Friday for a landmark summit in Warsaw to send an uncompromising message to a resurgent Russia while trying to contain the fallout from Britain’s dramatic vote to quit the European Union. Britain’s divorce from the EU is set to dominate talks between US President Barack Obama, attending his last NATO...
‘Suwalki Gap’ key to NATO’s eastern flank security
WARSAW: Lakes, forest and villages dot the rolling hills along Poland’s 65-kilometre (40-mile) stretch of border with Lithuania, but for NATO’s top brass, this bucolic landscape gives cause for sleepless nights. Sandwiched between Russia’s highly militarized Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus, strategists dub the idyllic stretch of...
Reactor fuels Russia bid for atomic lead
NOVOVORONEZH, Russia: The new No. 6 reactor at Russia’s Novovoronezh atomic power station is not just about generating power, but re-launching Russia’s ambitions to become a major player in the nuclear industry. The new design comes 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet republic of Ukraine dealt a body blow to reputation...
NATO summit surrounded by Warsaw’s communist ghosts
WARSAW: Leaders meeting in Warsaw for a NATO summit this week will be surrounded by the ghosts of communism as they endorse the defense alliance’s biggest military buildup since the Cold War in response to a newly resurgent Russia. US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other top officials will on Friday dine in a...
Reactor fuels Russia bid for post-Fukushima atomic lead
NOVOVORONEZH, Russia: The new No. 6 reactor at Russia’s Novovoronezh atomic power station is not just about generating power, but relaunching Russia’s ambitions to become a major player in the nuclear industry. The new design comes 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet republic of Ukraine dealt a body blow to reputation...
17 more charged over Istanbul airport attack
ISTANBUL: Seventeen people including 11 Russians have been charged over the Istanbul airport attack, Dogan news agency reported Tuesday, bringing to 30 the total number charged over the suicide assault. The latest suspects, who also include six Turks, were charged with “belonging to an armed terrorist group.” Ankara says the Islamic State group...
Russia slams EU for ‘short-sighted’ sanctions extension
MOSCOW: Russia on Friday blasted the European Union for extending economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, insisting the punitive measures would not make Moscow change course. The foreign ministry said in a statement that it viewed the move as “a continuation of the short-sighted policy of Brussels” and that it was “absurd” to link them to a...
UN approves deal for Italy, Netherlands to share Council seat
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN General Assembly on Thursday elected Italy to the Security Council under a deal that will see the Netherlands take over the seat in a year. The two countries agreed to split the two-year term on the council after five rounds of voting earlier this week ended with a tie. Under the deal, Italy will take up the...
Ukraine will join EU within 10 years – PM
BERLIN: Ukraine will join the EU within the next decade, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said Friday, adding that his country still believed strongly in the bloc despite Britain’s vote to leave. Groysman told Germany’s Funke media group that Ukraine saw its future in the West and hailed an association agreement with the EU as a...
Putin lifts ban on travel to Turkey
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lifted restrictions on travel to Turkey after mending ties with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seven months after Ankara downed a Russian jet, triggering a raft of sanctions. Following his first call with Erdogan since the incident, Putin announced that Moscow’s ban on charter...
