Section: The United Kingdom
An odd way to make friends
Jolly bombing weather RUSSIA’S behaviour in Syria resembles the fable of the scorpion who promises not to sting the frog that carries him across the river, but does so anyway—because it is his nature. The list of foreign powers stung by Russia continues to grow. This week Turkey protested after Russian fighters intruded into its airspace,...
Europe’s last dictator
THE crisis in Ukraine has been painful for nearly everyone involved. Russia finds itself under sanctions and at loggerheads abroad. NATO faces as grave a challenge as any since the cold war ended. And Ukraine itself, dismembered and drained by war, struggles to recover even as the fighting in the east of the country grinds to a halt. Yet one...
Who is Nobel literature prize-winner Svetlana Alexievich?
Belarusian journalist and Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich (© AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Who is Svetlana Alexievich? Svetlana Alexievich was born in Ukraine on 31st May 1948 to a Ukrainian mother and Belarusian father. Her family moved to Belarus, which was then a Soviet republic, when she was a child, and her parents worked as teachers. She...
Ukraine says four soldiers wounded in rebel attack despite truce
KIEV (Reuters) – The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday pro-Russian separatists had violated a ceasefire in the east of the country by firing an anti-tank missile and wounding four soldiers, even as President Petro Poroshenko hailed a “real truce”. …read more Source:...
Nobel Peace Prize 2015: the top five contenders
Credits Berit Roald/AFP/Getty Images Angela Merkel and Pope Francis are favourites, but a priest from Eritrea could pip them both to the prize Profile Wednesday, October 7, 2015 – 3:32pm The Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace …read more Source: The...
Ukraine could destroy 3.7m polio vaccines despite risk of major outbreak
Unvaccinated children at risk as healthcare lobbyists claim UN-donated vaccines are unsafe in spite of assurances from World Health OrganisationA healthcare lobby group is arguing for the destruction of 3.7 million polio vaccines donated to Ukraine by the UN, despite the risk (pdf) that a new outbreak of the disease could spread across the...
Missile fragments ‘found in MH17 bodies’
A former investigator says fragments of a Russian-made Buk anti-aircraft missile have been found amongst the wreckage of the Malaysian airliner downed over eastern Ukraine last year …read more Source: The...
Loose ends in efforts to untangle the Gordian knot of Syria | Letters
Every means possible should of course be explored to protect Syrian civilians from the various foreigners waging war in their country (Editorial, 2 October).However, having asserted that removing Assad is a precondition for ending the war, you have a duty to explain what the alternative is. Your front-page story (Putin moves to prop up Assad, 2...
Ukraine rebels agree to scrap elections
Hopes rise for lasting peace between Kiev and separatists in war-torn industrial heartland …read more Source: Financial...
Ukraine rebels ‘delay disputed poll’
Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine say they have agreed to postpone disputed elections until February – a key issue that has hindered the peace process. …read more Source:...
