Moscow / AFP Russia President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a nationwide ceasefire deal to come into effect across Syria from midnight and that the warring parties had agreed to sit down for peace talks. The deal brokered by Russia and Turkey could represent a major breakthrough in nearly six years of war in Syria and comes a week after …

  Moscow / AFP Russian officials probing the crash of a Syria-bound military plane said on Thursday that there was no explosion on board, but equipment was functioning abnormally when it plunged into the Black Sea. “There was no explosion on board, I can say that for certain,” said Sergei Bainetov, head of flight safety for the Russian airforce. “But an …

  Istanbul / AFP Turkish authorities on Thursday detained a prize-winning journalist over a succession of tweets and articles for an opposition daily, state media said, as alarm grows over press freedom in the country. Ahmet Sik was detained on accusations of making “terror propaganda” and denigrating the Turkish Republic, the judicial authorities and police, according to the state-run Anadolu news …