Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
Sydney spectacular leads global New Year celebrations
SYDNEY – A dazzling display of fireworks lit up Sydney Harbour on Thursday as Australia’s biggest city welcomed the New Year in spectacular style, defying terrorist fears days after a deadly siege.From Hong Kong to London and New York to Rio, millions around the world will celebrate when the clock ticks past midnight, ringing in 2015...
Russia’s Putin praises Crimea’s “return home”
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised New Year’s address on Wednesday that the “return home” of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula to Moscow’s control would remain a very important epoch in Russia’s history.”Love for one’s motherland is one of the most powerful and uplifting...
European stocks rise at end of tough year
LONDON – Europe’s main stock markets rose on Wednesday, the last trading day of a tough year for the region’s equities against a backdrop of weak eurozone growth.London’s benchmark FTSE 100 gained 0.29 per cent to 6,565.90 points nearing the end of a shorter-than-normal trading day on New Year’s Eve, while the index...
Sydney spectacular to set off global New Year celebrations
SYDNEY – Australia’s biggest city was Wednesday preparing to lead the world in welcoming the New Year with spectacular fireworks over Sydney Harbour, defying terrorist fears days after a deadly siege.From Hong Kong to London, New York to Rio, millions around the world will celebrate when the clock ticks past midnight, ringing in 2015...
Journalists’ killings rise to 118 in 2014, press group says
BRUSSELS – The number of journalists who died in targeted killings, bomb attacks or shootings around the world rose to 118 in 2014 from 105 the year before, the International Federation of Journalists said on Tuesday.Another 17 died in accidents or natural disasters while on assignment, according to the Brussels-based IFJ, which says it is...
AirAsia plane crash caps disastrous 2014 for aviation
KUALA LUMPUR – If you weren’t already nervous about flying, that may have changed in 2014, a year that stirred our deepest fears about modern jet travel despite shaping up as one of the safest in aviation history.RELATED STORIESLatest updates on missing AirAsia flight QZ8501Critics ask how AirAsia jetliner went missing in age of GPS...
Most significant events of 2014
PARIS – Here is a panorama of world events in 2014:February18: UKRAINE: Security forces crack down on pro-European protestors in Kiev’s central Independence Square, or Maidan. More than 100 people die.On May 25 a pro-Western billionaire, Petro Poroshenko, is elected president.March8: MALAYSIA: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, flying...
Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship
SURABAYA, Indonesia/JAKARTA – Countries around Asia on Tuesday stepped up the search for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that is presumed to have crashed in shallow waters off the Indonesian coast, with Washington also sending a warship to help find the missing jet.RELATED STORIESLatest updates on missing AirAsia flight...
Sanctions may be benefiting Putin’s circle
ABINSK, Russia – When Russia recently banned imports of some foreign fruit and other foods, it was seen as retaliation against Western sanctions. The move will also benefit a venture by one of the president’s long-standing supportersAs US and European sanctions piled pressure on Russia earlier this year, the Kremlin hit back with an...
Russia must influence separatists to end Ukraine crisis, says Merkel
BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to the Russian government on Sunday to use its influence on separatists in eastern Ukraine to implement a ceasefire plan agreed in Minsk in September aimed at ending the conflict.Planned talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to further...
