Reuters, Moscow
Russia views the deployment of NATO troops and military hardware to the Baltic states, Poland and Germany as a threat and has no information about how and when the build-up will end, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday. RIA cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov as saying Moscow was watching closely and would ensure that its own security was guaranteed.
Boris Johnson renounces US citizenship
AFP, London
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who was born in New York, has renounced his US citizenship, a United States Treasury Department document said on Wednesday. Alexander Boris Johnson figured in the Treasury list of people who had given up their US citizenship in the last quarter of 2016. The former mayor of London has held both British and US passports.
Tamil Nadu CM refuses to give way to successor
AFP, Chennai
The chief minister of India’s Tamil Nadu state on Wednesday refused to give way to his anointed successor, threatening to plunge the prosperous southern region into chaos months after the death of its popular leader. O Panneerselvam took over as chief minister after Jayalalithaa Jayaram, a former film star who enjoyed an almost god-like status in the state of 78 million people, died in December. On Sunday his party unexpectedly announced he had resigned and that Jayalalithaa’s former aide VK Sasikala – a one-time video cassette seller who has never held political office or stood for election – would take over.
Fire in Philippines leaves 15,000 homeless
Reuters, Manila
A massive fire swept through a crowded shanty town near the docks in Manila, destroying houses and leaving 15,000 people homeless, authorities in the Philippine capital said on Wednesday.
Seven people were injured in fire that broke out late on Tuesday night and raged for 10 hours as it spread rapidly, engulfing more than 1,000 makeshift houses, fire officer Edilberto Cruz told reporters.
