MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow was ready to look for “diplomatic solutions” amid raging tensions with the West over Ukraine but stressed that the country’s interests were non-negotiable. “Our country is always open for direct and honest dialogue, for the search for diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems,” Putin said in a video address to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day, a public holiday in Russia. […]
International
One dead, 10 feared missing in Australia floods
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — One person was found dead in a submerged car and 10 others were reportedly missing on Wednesday after heavy rain caused flash flooding in eastern Australia and set off a string of emergency warnings up and down the Pacific coast. The body of the drowned 60-year-old was found early Wednesday in the state of Queensland, premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament, describing the incident as a “tragedy”. Almost half a meter (1.5 […]
Japan sanctions Russia, separatists over Ukraine
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japan will impose sanctions on Russia and individuals linked to eastern Ukrainian regions controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday, after Moscow ordered troops into the disputed territory. The measures follow decisions by the United States, Britain and the European Union to penalize Russian entities in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send soldiers into Donetsk and Lugansk. Tokyo’s sanctions include a ban on issuing visas […]
Australia sanctions top Russian officials for ‘unprovoked’ Ukraine invasion
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia announced sanctions on eight of President Vladimir Putin’s top security advisors on Wednesday following Russia’s “unwarranted, unprovoked, unacceptable” invasion of Ukraine. Pillorying Putin’s decision to order troops into breakaway Kremlin-backed statelets in Ukraine’s east, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a suite of sanctions that closely echoed moves from other US allies. Eight members of Russia’s security council will face sanctions, including travel bans, and Australia will move to target military-linked […]
Hong Kong parents decry child separations during virus surge
by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong parents are being separated from children and babies who test positive for the coronavirus, compounding public anger over the financial hub’s lack of readiness for a major outbreak now sweeping the city. The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of its worst-ever Covid wave, registering thousands of cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. A strict […]
Blinken cancels meeting with Lavrov on Ukraine
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he had cancelled a planned meeting with Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later this week, as Russia had started an invasion of Ukraine. “Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time,” Blinken said. Blinken and Lavrov were to […]
Gunman takes people hostage at Amsterdam Apple store
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — A man with a firearm walked into an Apple store in central Amsterdam late Tuesday and was holding people hostage, police said, adding that several of them had been released. “There is an ongoing hostage situation at the Apple Store at Leidseplein at the moment,” the city police force said on Twitter. “Since the start of the hostage taking … several people have managed to leave the store,” the they […]
Biden says US will continue to supply ‘defensive’ weapons to Ukraine
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden said Tuesday the United States would continue to supply “defensive” weapons to Ukraine against a Russian invasion and deploy US troops to reinforce NATO allies in Eastern Europe. “I have authorized additional movements of US forces and equipment, already stationed in Europe, to strengthen our Baltic allies, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” Biden said in a televised speech at the White House. “Let me be clear, these […]
Putin says deployment of troops to Ukraine depends on ‘situation on the ground’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his decision to send troops to eastern Ukraine would depend on the situation on the ground. “I didn’t say that the troops would go there right after our meeting with you here,” he told reporters. “Secondly, it’s impossible to predict any specific outline of possible actions at all, it depends on the specific situation that is developing on the spot, on the ground.” oc/as/yad © Agence France-Presse
NATO warns Russia readying for ‘full-scale attack’ on Ukraine
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Russian forces continue to prepare for a potential attack on Ukraine after Moscow recognised two separatist regions as independent. “Every indication is that Russia continues to plan for a full-scale attack on Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said after an urgent meeting with Ukraine’s envoy. “We see that more and more of the forces are moving out of the camps and are in combat formations and ready to strike.” Stoltenberg said […]
Putin says Ukraine peace agreement ‘does not exist’ anymore
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Western-brokered peace agreements seeking to end a conflict in eastern Ukraine no longer existed, after he recognised the independence of the ex-Soviet country’s separatist regions. “The Minsk agreements do not exist now, we recognised the DNR and LNR,” Putin said, using the abbreviations for the separatist regions in Donetsk and Lugansk. He spoke after Russia’s upper house of parliament granted him permission to use the Russian army […]
UN says ‘race against time’ as new storm nears Madagascar
The UN warned Tuesday that authorities and aid workers were racing against the clock to protect people as Madagascar braces for its fourth tropical storm in as many weeks. Cyclone Emnati is expected to make landfall on southern Madagascar Tuesday evening — just weeks after the island was lashed by Cyclone Batsirai on February 5, affecting some 270,000 people and claiming 120 lives. At the same time, some 21,000 people still remain displaced from when […]





