Section: Singapore
Spy Litvinenko post-mortem was world’s most dangerous ever, UK inquiry hears
LONDON – Pathologists examining the body of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope London in 2006, carried out the world’s most dangerous-ever post-mortem, an inquiry into his killing heard on Wednesday.They also said they would probably never have discovered the way he had been killed had unusual...
EU to extend Russia sanctions, add new names, prepare new steps
BRUSSELS – The European Union will extend by six months sanctions imposed on Russia last March over its annexation of Crimea, add new people to those under sanctions and prepare new measures, draft conclusions for an EU foreign ministers meeting showed.EU foreign ministers will meet on Thursday in Brussels for emergency talks to address...
International travellers hit record 1.13 billion in 2014
GENEVA – The number of international tourists rose 4.7 per cent on the year to a record 1.138 billion in 2014, according to figures published Tuesday by the UN World Tourism Organisation.Growing travel demand in China and other emerging nations offset the dampening effects of the Ukraine crisis and the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in...
US threatens tougher action against Russia over Ukraine
Washington is ready to increase sanctions on Russia over its actions in war-torn Ukraine, says US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew during a visit to Kiev. …read more Source: Channel...
Obama, Merkel want Russia held accountable for violence in Ukraine
BERLIN – US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed their concern about Russia’s role in rising violence in eastern Ukraine in a phone call late on Tuesday and agreed on the need for funds to stabilise the Ukrainian economy.The White House said both leaders were worried about “Russia’s material...
Putin eyes benefits as rebels gain in Ukraine
MOSCOW – Boxed into a corner by a financial crisis and the West’s refusal to drop sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has come out fighting.After a relative lull in the conflict in east Ukraine since a ceasefire deal was reached last September, separatists have launched a new offensive. Kiev says...
Elderly Auschwitz survivors urge world never to forget
AUSCHWITZ – For what may be the last time, elderly Holocaust survivors returned Tuesday to the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp 70 years after its liberation, to urge the world never to forget one of history’s worst atrocities.Around 300 survivors, some wearing scarves in the blue-and-white stripes of their death camp uniforms,...
EU backed by US warning of new Russia sanctions over Ukraine
[NEW YORK] The European Union and the US are considering additional sanctions against Russia in technology, energy, defense and banking over its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. …read more Source: The Business...
Russia scorns 'politically motivated' downgrade to junk rating
[MOSCOW] Moscow on Tuesday slammed Standard and Poor’s for downgrading Russia’s credit rating to “junk”, saying the move was motivated by the West’s current standoff with Russia over Ukraine. …read more Source: The Business...
Inquiry opens into Russian ex-spy’s radiation death
LONDON – The most sensational spy tale since the Cold War landed in a London court on Tuesday as inquiry hearings began to examine alleged Russian state involvement in the radiation poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko.The former agent with Russia’s FSB security service, who was doing work for Britain’s MI6, was killed with...
