Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
Russia probes MP who opposed Crimea annexation
MOSCOW – Russia has opened a criminal probe into the only lawmaker who voted against Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, accusing him of embezzlement, authorities announced Tuesday.The Investigative Committee, which reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, accused MP Ilya Ponomaryov of complicity in embezzling 22 million rubles...
Fuel depot blazes in Ukraine, three firemen missing
VASYLKIV, Ukraine – Emergency services struggled to prevent the spread of a deadly fuel depot fire outside Kiev on Tuesday and three firemen were reported missing after the blaze triggered a powerful explosion.The fire burned overnight and by morning had spread to at least 16 tanks, most of them storing petrol. That sent a huge pall of...
Huge fire engulfs fuel depot near Kiev, three missing
KIEV – Three firefighters were missing and feared dead Tuesday after a ferocious blast tore through a fuel depot and sparked a fire that threatened to engulf a nearby filling station on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital Kiev.Videos posted on the Internet showed the force of the explosion and the heatwave it produced setting aflame...
Ukraine says rebels have army of ‘mid-sized European state’
KIEV – Ukraine’s defence minister on Monday accused pro-Russian rebels backed up by Moscow’s forces of assembling a 40,000-strong army sufficient for a “mid-sized European state”.Stepan Poltorak’s estimates fly in the face of Russia’s denials that it either backs the separatist fighters or covertly sneaks...
Battered by crisis, Moscow restaurants embrace Russian cuisine
MOSCOW – Ginger pickles, soup with cabbage and porcini, and reindeer tartare: as economic troubles take a bite out of imported food, Russian restaurants are increasingly turning to local delicacies.Gone is the era when Italian and French cuisine dominated Moscow’s high-class eateries. The economic crisis and import embargo keeps foie...
Sink or sell? Russia spat leaves France with warships to spare
PARIS – For sale: two French-built helicopter carriers, tested by Russians. Buy now for only 1.2 billion euros. Shipping extra.Tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine have blocked a deal in which Moscow was to buy the ships, leaving Paris trying to negotiate a face-saving compromise and work out CAwhat to do with two unwanted...
Latvia to choose president in controversial ‘black box’ vote
RIGA – Latvia’s parliament votes for a new president on Wednesday as the small Baltic NATO and eurozone member weighs security concerns amid heightened tensions with Soviet-era master Russia.Four candidates are in the race, but given Latvia’s indirect presidential voting system and its fractious 100-member parliament, it is...
Egypt seizes over 64 million smuggled cigarette packs
CAIRO – Egypt said on Monday it seized more than 64 million packs of smuggled cigarettes in May, of which over two million were counterfeit.The customs authorities at Port Said confiscated about 56 million packs before they could enter the country, the interior ministry said.At the same port, 5.9 million packs that were being shipped from...
Georgia threatens to strip ex-leader Saakashvili’s citizenship
TBILISI – Georgia has threatened to revoke pro-Western former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s citizenship after he was granted a Ukrainian passport and appointed as governor of the strategic Odessa region.Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said Saakashvili’s move, which according to the constitution, could lead to the loss...
S Korean violinist, 20, wins Queen Elisabeth competition
BRUSSELS – Twenty-year-old South Korean violinist Ji Young Lim has won Belgium’s prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition.Ji’s interpretation of Brahms’s violin concerto in D major landed her the top prize of 25,000 euros (S$36,750) and a four-year loan of a 1708 Stradivarius from the Nippon Music...
