Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
Ukraine leader, under pressure from West, pledges new government soon
KIEV – Ukraine will take the first steps this week towards forming a new government, President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday, seeking to assuage concern among his Western allies that the delay is holding up reform and imperiling Western assistance.The US and other Western governments are criticising Kiev’s tardiness in putting...
Three more Ukrainian soldiers killed: Kiev military
KIEV – Three Ukrainian servicemen have been killed in the past 24 hours in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the east despite a ceasefire in place since early September, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Monday.Ukraine lost four other serviceman on Saturday, and the death toll among Ukrainian soldiers since the ceasefire came...
German business morale rebounds in November
BERLIN – German business sentiment rebounded in November, breaking a streak of six straight declines, in a sign that Europe’s largest economy may be gaining some momentum again after narrowly avoiding a recession in the third quarter.The Ifo’s business climate index, based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms, rose to 104.7...
Russia to seek new partners if Western oil majors leave: minister
MOSCOW – Moscow will seek new partners in countries that have not imposed sanctions on it if Western oil and gas companies pull out of projects with Russia, RIA news agency quoted Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Saturday.The sanctions over Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis have targeted the delivery of oil technology,...
Pope to urge Europe to tackle racism, religious intolerance
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is expected to take Europe to task over racial and religious intolerance during a visit to the European parliament Tuesday, as the crisis-hit continent battles with growing populism and the spectre of radicalisation.It will be the second visit by a pope to the Strasbourg-based parliament – a lightning,...
Moscow accuses West of seeking Russia ‘regime change’
MOSCOW – Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday accused the West of seeking to force a regime change in Russia through sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.”The West is showing unambiguously that they do not want to force (Russia) to change policy, they want to achieve a change of regime,” Lavrov told a forum of political...
Kiev says Russia has 7,500 troops in Ukraine
KIEV, Nov 22, 2014 (AFP) – Russia has 7,500 troops in the east of the country, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting government troops for months, Ukraine’s defence minister said.”Unfortunately, the stabilisation of the situation in the east of Ukraine does not depend only on us,” Stepan Poltorak said in a...
4 soldiers, civilian killed in eastern Ukraine: officials
KIEV – Four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 10 others wounded in unrest in the east during the past 24 hours, security officials in Kiev said Saturday.One civilian, a 60-year-old man, was also killed in the eastern region of Lugansk on Friday, the governor’s office announced.Ukrainian forces are locked in a struggle with...
Britain’s Prince Charles to speak out as king: Report
LONDON – Britain’s Prince Charles plans to make “heartfelt interventions” in national life when he becomes king, the Guardian newspaper reported Thursday, citing sources close to the outspoken heir to the throne.The prince, who has long courted controversy with what some see as political meddling, will remain “true...
McDonald’s reopens flagship Moscow outlet after clampdown
MOSCOW – McDonald’s on Wednesday reopened its flagship outlet in central Moscow for the first time in four months after Russia clamped down on the fast-food chain for alleged hygiene violations following Western sanctions over Ukraine.”We have obtained agreement from the Russian public health agency to reopen our Pushkin Square...
