Tag: RUSSIA
Eurojust Aids Crackdown on EUR 645 Million Medicinal Cannabis Fraud Across Europe
Eurojust aids in dismantling a multi-million Euro fraud scheme involving fake investments in medicinal cannabis plants across Europe, marking a significant collaborative effort to combat transnational financial crimes.
Ukraine Sounds Alarm for Global Conflict Amid Congressional Standoff over Aid
Ukraine's prime minister warns of dire consequences if US Congress fails to pass critical foreign aid legislation, underscoring the potential for global conflict amid escalating tensions with Russia.
Israel’s Response to Iran’s Attack: Netanyahu Defiant, Raisi Warns of Harsh Retaliation
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi issued a stern warning against any Israeli retaliation, stating that even the smallest incursion into Iranian territory would result in a severe and extensive response. The heightened rhetoric comes in the aftermath of Iran's barrage of missiles and drones launched at Israel over the weekend, purportedly in retaliation for an Israeli strike that claimed the lives of two Iranian generals.
Crude oil prices stay muted in 1H amid altered oil flows tracking Ukraine war
Dated Brent prices are expected to remain relatively flat in the first half of 2023. On ample inventories despite persistent supply risks. With an...
New Russian offensive underway in Ukraine, says NATO
KYIV: Days before the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion heavy artillery bombardment was being directed at the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. As the...
EU officials visit Kyiv as Russia strikes civilian target
KYIV, Ukraine: Leading representatives of the European Union arrived in Kyiv. For talks with Ukrainian authorities as rescue workers combed through the debris of...
US accuses Russia of endangering nuclear arms control treaty
Washington, D.C. The Biden administration asserted on Tuesday that Russia’s refusal to permit the restart of on-the-ground inspections poses a threat. To the New...
CIA director visits Kyiv, meets with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
Washington, D.C. According to a U.S. official, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and CIA Director William Burns met in Kyiv last week. This was the most recent...
US to send $3.75B in military aid to Ukraine, its neighbors
WASHINGTON: As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, the United States will provide $3.75 billion in military supplies and other aid. To Ukraine and its...
EU eyes Russian officials, banks, industry for sanctions.
BRUSSELS: As part of a fresh wave of sanctions meant to increase pressure on Moscow over its involvement in the crisis in Ukraine. The...
Oil prices climb after Opec+ keeps output cut targets, China eases Covid curbs
As a result of OPEC+ countries maintaining their output objectives in advance of a European Union ban. The start of a price restriction on...
WTO warns of ‘real’ recession risk in some major economies
Indonesia's NUSA DUA: The crisis in Ukraine, rising food and gasoline prices, and surging inflation have all contributed to a cloudy view of the...
Biden approves $800M in new military assistance for Ukraine
WASHINGTON USA: In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden approved an $800 million package of military assistance. Including...
Finland, Sweden move ahead toward possible NATO membership
HELSINKI Finland: European Union nations Finland and Sweden reached important stages. On their way to possible NATO membership. As the Finnish government issued a...
Biden waiving the ethanol rule in a bid to lower gasoline prices
MENLO, Iowa USA: With inflation at a 40-year high, President Joe Biden journeyed to corn-rich Iowa on Tuesday. To announce a modest step aimed...
Hundreds Of thousands hit Pakistani streets to protest Imran Khan’s ouster
Pakistan: Huge rallies were held in cities across the South Asian country in favor of the ex-premier and against "foreign interference." A day after...
Poland-Ukraine ties seen as a target of Russian disinformation
WARSAW, Poland: Days before Poland’s Independence Day in November, vandals painted the blue-and-yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag on monuments in Krakow. The vandalism,...
Biden, Modi to speak as US presses for a hard line on Russia
WILMINGTON USA: President Joe Biden is set to speak with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he presses world leaders to take a hard...
S&P downgrade indicates Russia headed for historic default
BOSTON USA: The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its assessment of Russia’s ability to repay foreign debt. Signaling rising prospects that...
The US doubts the new Russian war chief can end Moscow’s floundering
WASHINGTON USA: Russia has tapped a new Ukraine war commander to take centralized control of the next phase of the battle. After its costly...
SpaceX launches 3 visitors to the space station for $55M each
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida USA: SpaceX launched three rich businessmen and their astronaut escorts to the International Space Station on Friday. For more than a...
Food prices soar to record levels on Ukraine war disruptions
ROME ITALY: Prices for food commodities like grains and vegetable oils reached their highest levels. Everlast month largely because of Russia’s war in Ukraine...
Europe agrees to ban Russian coal but struggles with oil, gas
The European Union nations have agreed to ban Russian coal the first sanctions on the vital energy industry over the war in Ukraine. But...
UN assembly suspends Russia from top human rights body
UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the world organization’s leading human rights body. Over allegations of horrific rights violations...
Congress votes to suspend Russia’s trade status, enact an oil ban
WASHINGTON USA: Congress voted overwhelmingly to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil. Ratcheting up the U.S. response...
Germany seeks to boost renewable energy and cut Russian imports.
BERLIN Germany: The German government unveiled a major package of reforms. To boost the production of renewable power, and meet its climate goals. And...
UN to vote on suspending Russia from the rights council.
UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly will vote on whether to suspend Russia from the U.N.’s premier human rights body. The move was initiated...
Mariupol’s dead put at 5,000 as Ukraine braces in the east.
ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine: The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol put the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000. As Ukraine...
The US hits Russia with ‘war crimes’ sanctions, Europe following.
WASHINGTON USA: The U.S. rolled out a new wave of financial sanctions on Wednesday against Russia. That President Joe Biden said would place a...
Asia’s US$350bil gas projects intensify the clean energy debate.
SINGAPORE: Asia is pumping billions of dollars into new gas infrastructure. Making the region pivotal in a debate over the role of fossil fuels...
Wins for pro-Putin leaders buttress autocracies in Europe.
BUDAPEST, Hungary: After two nationalist European strongmen won overwhelming victories in elections on Sunday. One of the first foreign leaders to congratulate both were...
The US to seek Russia’s suspension from Human Rights Council.
BUCHAREST, Romania: The United States plans to seek a suspension of Russia from its seat on the U.N.’s top human rights body. Pointing to...
Russia faces global outrage over bodies in Ukraine’s streets.
BUCHA, Ukraine: Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes. After Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with corpses...
Ukraine accuses Russia of the massacre, a city strewn with bodies.
BUCHA, Ukraine: Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds, and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv. After...
Secret intelligence has an unusually public role in the Ukraine war.
LONDON UK: The war in Ukraine is the conflict where spies came in from the cold and took center stage.
Since Russia invaded its neighbor...
Lithuania cuts off Russian gas imports and urges the EU to do the same.
VILNIUS, Lithuania: Lithuania says it has cut itself off entirely from gas imports from Russia. Apparently becoming the first of the European Union’s 27...
Ukrainian forces retake areas near Kyiv amid fear of traps.
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian troops moved cautiously to retake territory north of the country’s capital on Saturday using cables. To pull the bodies of civilians...
Russian space chief: Sanctions could imperil space station.
MOSCOW: The head of Russia’s space program said that the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance. After the United States,...
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan protests to the U.S. about alleged interference.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government handed an official protest to the U.S. embassy on Friday over what it called...
European inflation soars to a record 7.5% on fuel, food costs.
LONDON: Inflation in Europe soared to another record, according to new EU figures released in a fresh sign. That rising energy prices fueled by...
Cyberattack in Ukraine war affected thousands across Europe.
A cyberattack targeting a satellite network used by Ukraine’s government and military agencies shortly after Russia’s invasion also knocked offline tens of thousands of...
Poland to end Russian oil imports; Germany warns on gas.
WARSAW, Poland: Poland announced steps to end all Russian oil imports by year’s end. While Germany issued a warning about natural gas levels and...
US seeks tighter UN sanctions after N. Korea missile test
SEOUL, South Korea: The United States called for tougher U.N. sanctions after North Korea said it test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile to date....
Activists stage global climate protest, slam Ukraine war.
Berlin Germany: Climate activists staged the 10th series of worldwide protests. To demand that leaders take stronger action against global warming. With some linking...
Russians shift focus from Kyiv, scaling back goals in war?
WASHINGTON USA: Russian forces in Ukraine seem to have shifted their focus from a ground offensive aimed at Kyiv the capital. Instead, prioritize what...
Ukraine war drives the US, EU deal to undercut Russian energy
BRUSSELS: With stunning speed, Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving Western Europe into the outstretched arms of the United States again. Especially apparent when...
Biden pledges new Ukraine aid warns Russia on chemical weapons.
BRUSSELS Belgium: President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid. In response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine. But their...
The U.S. reinstates 352 product exclusions from China tariffs.
WASHINGTON USA: The U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Wednesday it has reinstated 352 expired product exclusions from U.S. "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese...
The U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday imposed fresh sanctions on Russia. Targeting dozens of Russian defense companies. Hundreds of members of its parliament, and...
Ukraine reports 300 dead in airstrike on Mariupol theater
KYIV, Ukraine: About 300 people were killed in the Russian airstrike last week on a Mariupol theater that was being used as a shelter....
Russian stock market, crushed by war, will partially reopen
NEW YORK USA: Russia plans to reopen its stock market for limited trading. Nearly one month after shares plunged and the exchange was shut...
Poland orders expulsion of 45 Russians suspected of spying.
WARSAW, Poland: Poland ordered the expulsion of 45 Russians whom the government identified as intelligence officers. Using their diplomatic status as cover to operate...
Putin wants ‘unfriendly countries’ to pay rubles for gas.
MOSCOW Russia: President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will demand that “unfriendly″ countries pay for Russian natural gas exports only in rubles from now...
NATO, in Arctic training drills, faces up to Putin’s ‘unpredictable’ Russia.
BARDUFOSS, Norway: NATO must face a Russian adversary that is more unpredictable and ready to take greater risks to project power in Europe. A...
UK inflation hits a 30-year high of 6.2% as Sunak readies response.
LONDON UK: British inflation shot up faster than expected last month to hit a new 30-year high. Worsening a historic squeeze on household finances...
‘No mercy’: Mariupol bombing compared to Nazi war crimes.
MEDYKA, Poland: The president of Poland compared Russia’s attacks on Ukraine to Nazi forces during World War II. Saying that besieged Mariupol looks like...
Ukraine war imperils wheat, but farmers are in no rush to pivot.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Worldwide, farmers like are weighing whether to change their planting patterns and grow more wheat this spring. As the war...
UN chief: Don’t let Russia crisis fuel climate destruction.
BERLIN Germany: Countries scrambling to replace Russian oil, gas, and coal supplies with any available alternative. May fuel the world’s “mutually assured destruction” through...
EU slams ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine but new sanctions unlikely
BRUSSELS Belgium: European Union countries accused the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine. But appeared unlikely to impose new sanctions on...
New rules for companies on climate risks proposed by SEC.
WASHINGTON USA: Companies would be required to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions they produce. And how climate risk affects their business under new rules...
Boris Johnson: Russian win would bring ‘age of intimidation’
LONDON UK: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a “turning point for the world.” Arguing that a victory...
Zelenskyy evokes Holocaust as he appeals to Israel for aid.
JERUSALEM Israel: Ukraine’s president called on Israel to take a stronger stand against Russia. Delivering an emotional appeal that compared Russia’s invasion of his...
Boris Johnson: Russian win would bring ‘age of intimidation’
LONDON UK: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a “turning point for the world.” Arguing that a victory...
‘No city anymore’: Mariupol survivors take train to safety.
LVIV, Ukraine: The heat on the train was as thick as the anxiety. Ukrainian survivors of one of the most brutal sieges in modern...
High energy costs trigger unrest in parts of Europe.
MADRID Spain: High energy costs are stoking unrest in parts of Europe, with Spain deploying more than 23,000 police officers in cars and helicopters....
UK regulator revokes license of Russia-backed broadcaster RT.
LONDON UK: Britain’s communications regulator revoked the license of the state-funded Russian broadcaster RT amid concern that its coverage of the war in Ukraine...
Russia’s invasion drives NATO rethink of Europe force stance.
Brussels, Belgium: In an underground archive below NATO’s headquarters lies a key document. That sets out the vision of both NATO and Russia about...
Council of Europe expels Russia from human rights body.
STRASBOURG, France: The Council of Europe on Wednesday expelled Russia from the continent’s foremost human rights body in an unprecedented move over Moscow’s invasion...
Asian shares rise ahead of Fed decision on rate hike
TOKYO Japan: Asian shares rose as investors awaited a widely anticipated decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rate policy.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225...
Biden will travel to Europe for Ukraine talks: White House
WASHINGTON USA: — President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week for face-to-face talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion of Ukraine,...
EU and UK hit Russia with wider sanctions that target luxury
BRUSSELS Belgium: EU and UK hit Russia with more sanctions this time victim is Pure-bred horses, truffles, a soccer club owner, and a media...
Asia stocks extend losses as Ukraine war, China’s Covid-19 surge hit sentiment
SYDNEY: Asian stocks were in the red on Tuesday as surging COVID-19 cases in China hit the confidence of investors. Who is already worried...
War censorship exposes Putin’s leaky internet controls
BOSTON: Long before waging war on Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin was working to make Russia’s internet a powerful tool of surveillance and social control...
Refugee exodus reaches 2.8 million as Russian strikes hit west Ukraine
KRAKOW, Poland/ISACCEA, Romania: Thousands of people crossed into eastern Europe after Russia attacked a Ukrainian base near the border with NATO-member Poland.
The number of...
Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against the war in Ukraine
BERLIN, March 13: Up to 30,000 men, women, and children joined an anti-war demonstration in central Berlin on Sunday, with many waving Ukrainian flags...
Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine kills 35
LVIV, Ukraine: — Ukrainian authorities said Russian missiles pounded a military training base near Ukraine’s western border with NATO member Poland, killing 35 people....
War in Ukraine to hurt poor nations importing grain: UN warned.
ROME: U.N. food agency warned that Poorer countries in northern Africa, Asia, and the Middle East risk suffering significant food insecurity because of Russia’s...
Russian strikes hit western Ukraine as offensive widens
LVIV, Ukraine: Russia widened its military offensive in Ukraine on Friday, striking airfields in the west and an industrial city in the east. A...
World Bank official says war-driven oil price hikes to slash growth for big importers
WASHINGTON: Persistent high oil prices prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could cut a full percentage point off the growth of large oil-importing developing...
Biden bans Russian oil, warns of higher prices at US pumps.
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports. Toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its...
Russia-Ukraine war in the world’s ‘breadbasket’ threatens food supply.
BARCELONA, Spain: The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine are threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Who...