Category: All News

Russia’s international flight connections expanding

Indonesia is launching the flight because “Russia is now looking to the East, so we are also looking towards Russia,” Helmi explained. Also on Friday, the first Russian plane landed in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi after a four-year hiatus. The arrival was met by a small group of anti-Russia protesters at the airport. On Saturday, meanwhile, the first Georgian Airways plane…

Biden backs advanced fighter jets, pilot training for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that Washington will support providing advanced warplanes including F-16s to Ukraine and will back efforts to train Kyiv’s pilots, a senior White House official said Friday. The U.S. move signals a major breakthrough for Kyiv, which has repeatedly — and until recently unsuccessfully — pushed its Western supporters to agree to provide high-tech…

‘War is not an option’, Taiwan president says amid China tensions

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Saturday to maintain the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid high tensions with China, which has stepped up military pressure on the democratically governed island. Taiwan will not provoke and will not bow to Chinese pressure, Tsai said in a speech in the presidential office in Taipei marking the…

US university fired 2 employees for including their pronouns in e-mails

NEW YORK – When Ms Raegan Zelaya and Mr Shua Wilmot decided to include their pronouns at the end of their work e-mails, they thought they were doing a good thing: following what they viewed as an emerging professional standard and also sending a message of inclusivity at the Christian university where they worked. But their bosses at Houghton University,…

G7 stance on China complicated by huge stakes in economic ties, cooperation on global issues

Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are generally united in voicing concern about China. The question is how to translate that worry into action. Over the past two years, President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to reframe the relationship with Beijing and build support among like-minded nations for a strong response to what officials in Washington and some…

Greenpeace to shut down in Russia after being declared ‘undesirable organization’

The Russian branch of environmental group Greenpeace on Friday said it would shut down after authorities declared the group an “undesirable organization”, effectively banning it from operating. In a statement, Russia’s Prosecutor General said Greenpeace had tried to “interfere in the internal affairs of the state” and was “engaged in anti-Russian propaganda” by calling for sanctions against Moscow. The label…

US imposes sanctions on hundreds of targets in fresh Russia action

WASHINGTON – The United States on Friday announced sanctions on more than 300 targets as Group of Seven leaders met in Japan, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented. The move, which targets Russia’s sanctions evasion, future energy revenues and military-industrial supply chains, marks the latest sanctions and…

Tesco chair Allan to step down after inappropriate behaviour claims

LONDON – Tesco chairman John Allan will step down at the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting next month, with Britain’s biggest retailer saying claims of inappropriate behaviour against him risked becoming a distraction to the business. One of Britain’s highest-profile corporate names, Mr Allan, 74, is often featured in British media commenting on retail and general business matters. He has chaired…

Russia adds ICC prosecutor who sought Putin’s arrest to wanted list: Media

MOSCOW – Russia has issued an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor who in March prepared a warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges, Russian media reported on Friday. The British prosecutor, Karim Khan, was added to the Interior Ministry’s wanted list, state-owned news agency TASS said, citing the ministry’s database. Moscow opened cases against…

Britain sanctions target Russian metal, ‘shady’ resellers of Ukraine’s grain

LONDON – Britain on Friday published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel and slap a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain. Along with the United States, Britain and other Group of Seven (G-7) major economies are set to unveil sanctions and export controls targeting Russia…

Warming world risks adding 9 million deaths annually, WHO warns

GENEVA – Rising temperatures are making it increasingly difficult to reach global health goals. There is a risk of more than nine million climate-related deaths each year by the end of the century, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). “All aspects of health are affected by climate change – from clean air, water and soil to food systems and…

GIC to jointly acquire commercial assets in India for $1.89 billion

SINGAPORE – Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has tied up with Brookfield India Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) to acquire two prime commercial real estate assets in India for a combined enterprise value of around US$1.4 billion (S$1.89 billion). The assets, to be acquired from Brookfield Asset Management’s private real estate funds, have a total area of 6.5 million square…

US ‘no longer confident’ about victim in Syria strike – WaPo

The Pentagon has so far refused to name the target of the attack. However, relatives and neighbors of the victim claim he had no affiliation with the Islamist militants.  Two unnamed officials cited by the Post raised doubts about the strike, which occurred in a rural area of Idlib Province on May 3. “We are no longer confident we killed…

China considers moving stakes in bad banks to sovereign wealth fund

BEIJING – China is considering transferring government ownership in the nation’s biggest bad debt managers to a unit of its sovereign wealth fund as part of a financial regulatory regime overhaul, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the current proposal, the Ministry of Finance will move its stakes in China Cinda Asset Management, China Great Wall Asset Management…

Britain bans Russian diamonds

The office of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined the measures in a statement on Thursday, voicing hopes that new restrictions would curtail Russia’s multi-billion dollar diamond trade and a range of other exports, including copper, aluminum and nickel.  “Alongside these trade measures, the government is also preparing new individual designations – targeting an additional 86 people and companies from [Russian…

US fails to break Russia-India ties – leaked Pentagon documents

A cache of classified US documents online last month has shed light on American intelligence gathered about other countries. The documents consist of an elaborate timeline, dozens of military acronyms, including some items marked “top secret,” which give a detailed picture of the conflict in Ukraine, raging since February 24, 2022. “Top secret” is the highest level of classification. Some…