Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
More Mandarin learners in Ukraine
Ukrainian Zvenyhorodskyi Pavlo says he has learned two things in his journey to learn Chinese. “First, is to adjust your attitude, and second, to respect and embrace the culture. Hotpot, for instance, could be a good start.” In October, the 21-year-old, whose Chinese name is Zeng Ziru, won the second prize in Chinese Bridge, an annual...
Russian ‘scrotum protest’ artist seeks asylum in France
KIEV – Russian dissident artist Pyotr Pavlensky, whose protests against the state have included nailing his scrotum to Moscow’s Red Square, has said he plans to seek asylum in France. Pavlensky, 32, fled to Ukraine with his partner last month to avoid being sent to prison on what he said were trumped-up allegations of committing a sex...
Trump’s offer to Putin: End of sanctions for nuclear arms cut – London Times
LONDON – US President-elect Donald Trump will propose offering to end sanctions imposed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea in return for a nuclear arms reduction deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he told The Times of London. Trump, in an interview with the newspaper published online on Sunday, was deeply critical of previous...
Trump’s secretary of state pick hits out at China
WASHINGTON – US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state set a course for a potentially serious confrontation with Beijing on Wednesday, saying China should be denied access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea. In comments expected to enrage Beijing, Rex Tillerson told his confirmation hearing...
Russian hackers tracked Ukrainian artillery units using Android implant: report
WASHINGTON – A hacking group linked to the Russian government and high-profile cyber attacks against Democrats during the US presidential election likely used a malware implant on Android devices to track and target Ukrainian artillery units from late 2014 through 2016, according to a new report released Thursday. …read more Source:...
Ukraine feels let down by EU with visa deal elusive
KIEV – Ukraine feels let down by the European Union for not keeping to a promise to give its citizens visa-free travel in the bloc, senior Ukrainian officials said. The comments, made by two senior officials in interviews with Reuters, were unusually outspoken and cut through the public displays of bonhomie shown at a Ukraine-EU summit in...
Putin happy – but also wary – about a Trump presidency
Russian President Vladimir Putin should be delighted with Mr Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. After all, Mr Trump has praised Mr Putin as a “great, powerful leader”, and has even hinted that he may recognise Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory. But though Russian parliamentary deputies gave...
Safety pins: a pointed show of solidarity after Trump election
WASHINGTON – People have long used ribbons, flowers, colors or badges to symbolize political causes, from the carnations of Portugal’s 1974 revolution to the orange ribbons of Ukraine’s 2004 revolution to the gel wristbands now worn to promote almost any charity. Enter the lowly safety pin. That humble but practical device is...
Man changes name to ‘iPhone Sim’ to win an iPhone 7
You might think you love your iPhone 7, but you definitely don’t love it more than one Ukrainian man who recently made a great sacrifice to get one: giving up his very name. The possibly-too-hardcore Apple fan, formerly known as Olexander Turin, actually changed his name to iPhone Sim (sim means “seven” in Ukrainian) to win an...
Russia criticises US troop plans in Norway
OSLO – Russia has criticised plans to deploy more than 300 American troops in Norway, saying it would do nothing to make northern Europe safer.Norway announced Monday that 330 US Marines, to be stationed on rotation around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the Russian border, will be engaged in training and manoeuvres from January 2017.The...
