Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
Russia’s ‘Go East’ policy shakes up Asia
For several years now, Russia and China, with very different methods, have been testing their strengths in areas each considers to be in its legitimate arc of influence.Russia’s approach is more raw, focusing on military muscle and energy supplies. China’s is more nuanced, deploying its economic strength and legendary patience, while...
Putin laughs off ‘rumours’ over his 10-day absence
SAINT PETERSBURG – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday dismissed days of frenzied “rumours” over his health and whereabouts as he reappeared in public after an unusually long 10-day absence.The feverish speculation fuelled by social media saw all eyes turn to an otherwise unexceptional meeting planned between Putin and...
Russia shows military might nationwide
MOSCOW – More than 45,000 Russian troops as well as war planes and submarines started military exercises across much of the country on Monday in one of the Kremlin’s biggest shows of force since its ties with the West plunged to Cold War-lows.President Vladimir Putin called the Navy’s Northern Fleet to full combat readiness in...
Crimea celebrates choice to join Russia
SEVASTOPOL – Crimea kicked off celebrations that will see fireworks and concerts on Monday to mark a year since a controversial vote to join Russia that the West blasted as an illegal takeover.The annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula however won President Vladimir Putin huge acclaim at home and Moscow is pulling out all the...
Putin puts Northern Fleet on alert for Arctic exercises: RIA
MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet and paratrooper units to go on full alert as part of snap military exercises in the Arctic, RIA news agency quoted the defence minister as saying on Monday.Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is overseeing an expensive modernization of the armed forces,...
Putin says Russia was ready for nuclear confrontation over Crimea
MOSCOW – Moscow was ready to put its nuclear forces on alert to ensure Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year, President Vladimir Putin said in a pre-recorded documentary aired on Sunday.Putin also said that Russia had saved the life of Ukraine’s former pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovich, who he said had been...
Putin set to reappear after 10-day absence
SAINT PETERSBURG – President Vladimir Putin was due to reappear in public on Monday after an unusually long 10-day absence that unleashed frenzied speculation about the whereabouts and health of the Russian strongman.Putin is scheduled to meet with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in Saint Petersburg later Monday, and a Kremlin official...
What happened to Putin? Satirists run riot online
MOSCOW – A wave of savage mockery broke over Russian President Vladimir Putin across the Internet on Friday, sparked by days of absence from public view, despite official insistence it was business as usual in the Kremlin.State television footage of Putin working at his residence failed to quell the tide of fantastical theories circulating...
Nemtsov killing exposes cracks in Kremlin unity
MOSCOW – The killing of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov within sight of the Kremlin has exposed rarely seen tensions between different camps inside President Vladimir Putin’s system of rule.No outsiders can know with any certainty what is happening behind the red-brick walls of the Kremlin, but some of Nemtsov’s...
Merkel won’t attend Moscow WWII Victory Day parade: Berlin
BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel won’t attend a May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow but will visit the Russian capital a day later, her office said Wednesday, amid tensions over the Ukraine conflict.Merkel has declined an invitation to attend the Red Square commemoration marking 70 years since the capitulation of Nazi Germany...
