Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
Prisoners of war put to work in east Ukraine
ILOVAISK, Ukraine – On the snowy roof of a music school in eastern Ukraine, workers are busy fixing damage from artillery shelling. When their shift ends, they line up in single file to return to their cells.The workers are Ukrainian prisoners of war, captured by pro-Russian rebels and pressed into forced labour in the small eastern town of...
Australia’s ‘macho’ PM points finger at sexism
SYDNEY – Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was famously accused of misogyny by former leader Julia Gillard, on Friday suggested sexism was behind criticism of his female chief-of-staff.Abbott’s office has battled falling polls in recent weeks and some within the conservative government’s ranks have complained...
Ukraine president pleads with Russia to withdraw
SYDNEY – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday pleaded with Russia to withdraw its troops from his country and close the border, saying it would lead to almost immediate peace.His comments came as a day-old ceasefire that aims to end eight months of brutal war in the east of Ukraine largely held along the bloodied frontline on...
Ukraine leader pleads with Russia to withdraw as truce holds
KIEV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday pleaded with Russia to withdraw its troops from his country and close the border, saying doing so would create peace in the war-torn region within weeks.Poroshenko, on a visit to Australia, spoke as a day-old ceasefire largely held along the bloodied frontline in eastern Ukraine, but...
Aussies pick ‘shirtfront’ over ‘man-bun’
SYDNEY – “Shirtfront”, an aggressive Australian sports term used by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to challenge Russia’s Vladimir Putin, was yesterday picked as the National Dictionary Centre’s word of the year, beating “man-bun”.Two months ago, Mr Abbott vowed to “shirtfront” – an...
Gorbachev calls for US-Russia summit to defrost ties
MOSCOW – Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called on Wednesday for a US-Russia summit to be convened to prevent a deep freeze in Moscow’s relations with the West over the Ukraine crisis.Gorbachev, whose policy of “perestroika” (restructuring) played a role in ending the Cold War, warned of potentially dire...
UN rights chief slams indifference over migrant deaths at sea
GENEVA – The UN’s human rights chief on Wednesday condemned rich nations for their indifference to waves of global migration, after new figures showed more than 3,400 people died in the Mediterranean this year trying to reach Europe.”The lack of concern that we see in many countries for the suffering and exploitation of such...
Chechens loyal to Russia fight alongside east Ukraine rebels
OUTSIDE OF DONETSK, Ukraine – Chanting”Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), dozens of armed men in camouflage uniforms from Russia’s republic of Chechnya train in snow in a camp in the rebel-held east Ukraine.They say their “Death” unit fighting Ukrainian forces has 300 people, mostly former state security troops...
Abbott’s ‘shirtfront’ is Australia’s word of the year
SYDNEY – “Shirtfront”, an aggressive Australian sports term used by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to challenge Russia’s Vladimir Putin, was Wednesday picked as the National Dictionary Centre’s word of the year, beating “man-bun”.Abbott in October vowed to “shirtfront” the Russian president...
MH17 wreckage arrives at Dutch base
GILZE-RIJEN AIRBASE, Netherlands – A convoy carrying wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrived at a Dutch airbase on Tuesday where it will be pieced together as part of a probe into its shooting down over Ukraine.Around 50 relatives of some of the 298 people killed when the plane was blown out of the sky in July were allowed into...
