Tag Archives: lifestyle
Russian troops smash their way into Ukrainian base
Russian troops smash their way into Ukrainian base (Reuters) / 23 March 2014 The facilities at Belbek and Novofedorovka had been among the last still under Ukrainian control after Moscow’s armed takeover and subsequent annexation of Crimea. Russian troops smashed their way into a Ukrainian airbase in Crimea with armoured vehicles, automatic fire and stun grenades on Saturday, while Ukrainian forces abandoned a naval base after attacks by pro-Russian protesters. The facilities at Belbek and Novofedorovka had been among the last still under Ukrainian control after Moscow’s armed takeover and subsequent annexation of Crimea, which has a majority ethnic Russian population and harbours one of Russia’s biggest naval bases. A Reuters reporter said armoured vehicles had smashed through the walls of a compound at the Belbek airbase and that he had heard bursts of gunfire and grenades, making the takeover one of the more dramatic of Russia’s largely bloodless occupation of Crimea. Russian forces had already seized Belbek’s airstrip and warplanes at the start of the crisis. The compound seized on Saturday contained barracks, arms depots and a command building. Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, the commander of the base, said a Ukrainian serviceman had been injured and that he himself he was being taken away by the Russians for talks at an unspecified location. After the Russians entered by force, Mamchur told his troops he would inform the high command that they had stood their ground. The soldiers applauded, chanting “Long live Ukraine!”. Many stood to take pictures of each other in front of the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, which continued to fly over the base. Asked if he thought he would return safely, Mamchur said: “That remains to be seen. For now we are placing all our weapons in the base’s storage.” Earlier, an unidentified Russian officer with no rank insignia had gone to the fence to try to negotiate a surrender, but had been rebuffed by a Ukrainian officer with the words: “We have no documents from the Ukrainian president stating that this is Russian soil. Bring me such a document and we will leave.” Ukraine’s naval base at Novofedorovka, near Sevastopol, was vacated after unarmed pro-Russian protesters attempted to force their way in, Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said in a Facebook post. He said the Ukrainians had first repelled the protesters with smoke bombs, but then left of their own volition. He quoted a sailor at the base as saying the Ukrainians had walked out singing their national anthem and waving the Ukrainian flag. Seleznyov also said Ukraine’s only submarine, the Zaporizhya, had been taken to Sevastopol’s Yuzhnaya Bay by Russian forces on Friday. “The Ukrainian commander left the submarine, refusing to raise the Russian flag. It has been seized,” he said. There have been few casualties since Russian forces started seizing control of military facilities in Crimea, though one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and two others wounded in a shooting in Simferopol earlier this week. Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that Crimea’s bases were still formally under Ukrainian control, but most are now occupied by Russian troops and fly Russia’s tricolour flag. On Friday, extravagant firework displays were staged in Crimea and Moscow to mark the formal unification of the peninsula with Russia, which Kiev and Western leaders refuse to recognise and have answered with sanctions. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Office spaces turn into sleeping quarters?
Office spaces turn into sleeping quarters? Afkar Abdullah / 23 March 2014 Sharjah residents urge municipality to take action against companies that let staff to sleep in the office during night. Residents of Sharjah are facing a peculiar problem: Some companies are renting offices in residential buildings so that staff can sleep there during the night. Residents have urged the Sharjah Municipality to take action against such companies. Residents complained that companies use the space as offices in the day time and allow office boys and some other employees to use them as sleeping quarters to cut costs and avoid providing employees with transport and residence. According to an official at the Sharjah Municipality, they had put an end to this practice some time ago. “It has come to our notice that (some) companies rent offices on the first and mezzanine floors in (residential) buildings and the staff there use them as accommodation quarters during the night. In addition to companies, some supermarkets and salons are allowing workers to sleep on the premises, despite the law forbidding it,” said the official. Loui Farman, a resident of Al Yarmouk, said the workers of a car rental company sleep in the company’s offices in their building. “They create a ruckus at night and disturb the tenants. The practice must be stopped as it is not safe for families.” Mohammed Khalaf, a resident of Al Qasimia, said some employees of a company sleep in their office in his building. “They keep their lights on and walk in the corridor in their pajamas … These companies must follow the rules and regulations to ensure safety for residents.” An official at a real estate company said they have issued warnings to companies that allow their staff to sleep in spaces rented out as offices. Ali Ahmed Mohammed, Director of Tenancy Contract Attestation Department at the Sharjah Municipality said offices are only for work purposes and not for accommodation. The municipality, he said, is carrying out inspection campaigns targeting such practices. “The municipality will impose hefty fines on those found violating the rules and allowing their workers to sleep in a unit that is meant for commercial and business purposes. We urge building managements and landlords to report such practices by calling on 993,” Mohammed said. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
No sign, suspected debris may have sunk: Australia
No sign, suspected debris may have sunk: Australia (Reuters) / 22 March 2014 Aircraft return to area near where objects spotted by satellite The international team hunting for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean has not turned up anything so far, and Australia’s deputy prime minister said the suspected debris may have sunk. Aircraft and ships have renewed a search in the Andaman Sea between India and Thailand, going over areas that have already been exhaustively swept to find some clue to unlock one of the most inexplicable mysteries in modern aviation. Royal Australian Air Force Loadmasters, Sergeant Adam Roberts and Flight Sergeant John Mancey, preparing to launch a Self Locating Data Marker Buoy from a C-130J Hercules aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean as part of the search for Malaysian flight. — AFP The Boeing 777 went missing almost two weeks ago off the Malaysian coast with 239 people aboard. There has been no confirmed sign of wreckage but two objects seen floating deep south in the Indian Ocean were considered a credibe lead and set off a huge hunt on Thursday. Australian authorities said the first aircraft to sweep treacherous seas on Friday in an area about 2,500 km southwest of Perth was on its way back to base without spotting the objects picked out by satellite images five days ago. “Something that was floating on the sea that long ago may no longer be floating,” Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters in Perth. “It may have slipped to the bottom.” But the search is continuing and and Australian, New Zealand and US aircraft would be joined by Chinese and Japanese planes over the weekend. “It’s about the most inaccessible spot that you can imagine on the face of the Earth, but if there is anything down there, we will find it,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters in Papua New Guineau, where he is on a visit. “Now it could just be a container that’s fallen off a ship. We just don’t know, but we owe it to the families, and the friends and the loved ones to do everything we can to try to resolve what is as yet an extraordinary riddle.” India said it was sending two aircraft, a Poseidon P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft and a C-130 Hercules transporter, to join the hunt in the southern Indian Ocean. It is also sending another P-8I and four warships to search in the Andaman Sea, where the plane was last seen on military radar on March 8. In New Delhi, officials said the search in areas around the Andaman island chain was not at the request of Malaysian authorities coordinating the global search for the airliner. “All the navies of the world have SAR regions,” said Capt. D.K. Sharma, an Indian navy spokesman, referring to search and rescue regions. “So we’re doing it at our own behest. “We’re doing it on our own because the Malaysian plane is still missing.” Investigators suspect Flight MH370, which took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing shortly after midnight on March 8, was deliberately diverted thousands of miles from its scheduled path. They say they are focusing on hijacking or sabotage but have not ruled out technical problems. The search for the plane also continues in other regions, including a wide arc sweeping northward from Laos to Kazakhstan. In the Indian Ocean, three Australian P-3 Orions joined a high-tech US Navy P-8 Poseidon and a civilian Bombardier Global Express jet to search the 23,000 square km zone, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
