Section: Cyprus Mail (Cyprus)
Russia orders cuts in World Cup spending
By Katya Golubkoca The Russian government has ordered 30 billion roubles ($560 million) in cuts in spending on the 2018 World Cup finals, Russian news agencies reported on Monday. No reason was given for the decision, but Russia has been hit by an economic downturn worsened by Western economic sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine and a fall in...
Putin says Russia is weathering sanctions storm
By Timothy Heritage President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Russia had a “sufficient supply of inner strength” to overcome its economic problems and assured investors that his country remained open to business with the West. Addressing foreign and Russian business leaders at an economic conference in the city of St Petersburg, Putin set out no...
Tsipras optimistic on Greek debt deal as banks bleed (Update 2)
By George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Papadimas Greeks pulled more than 1 billion euros out of their banks in a single day, banking sources said on Friday, as the country edged closer to default despite assurances from Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that the doomsayers are wrong. The Greek central bank – which has warned that the country’s...
Greece, Russia to cooperate on Turkish Stream pipeline
By Timothy Heritage Greece and Russia signed a memorandum on Friday on extending the planned Turkish Stream gas pipeline to Europe through Greek territory, with financing coming from Russia. Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said at the signing ceremony in the Russian city of St Petersburg that Greece needed support and not pressure...
IMF dismisses hope of grace period on Greek loans (Update 2)
By Paul Carrel and Angeliki Koutantou The IMF dashed any hope on Thursday that Greece could avert default if it fails to repay a 1.6 billion loan by the end of June, piling pressure on leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who showed no sign of yielding to creditors’ demands. Euro zone finance ministers descended on Luxembourg for a...
World’s displaced hits record high of 60 mln, half of them children
By Joseph D’Urso Almost 60 million people worldwide were forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution at the end of last year, the highest ever recorded number, the UN refugee agency said on Thursday, warning that the situation could deteriorate further. More than half the displaced from crises including Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia were...
EU agrees to extend Russia economic sanctions by six months
By Adrian Croft European Union governments agreed on Wednesday to extend economic sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine by six months until Jan. 31, diplomats said, maintaining unity in the West’s tough stance towards Moscow. The six-month extension was agreed by ambassadors from the 28 EU nations meeting in Brussels. Ratification...
Cost of violence hits $14 trillion in increasingly divided world
By Magdalena Mis The cost of violence around the world reached a record $14.3 trillion in 2014, equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, a global security report said on Wednesday. The divide between the most and least peaceful regions deepened with many Middle Eastern and African...
Putin says Russia is beefing up its nuclear arsenal
By Maria Tsvetkova President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia would add more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year and a defence official accused NATO of provoking a new arms race. Putin made his announcement a day after Russian officials denounced a US plan to station tanks and heavy weapons in...
Malaysia Airlines makes emergency landing in Melbourne
A Malaysia Airlines flight returned safely to Melbourne airport on Friday, having turned back within minutes of take-off after an engine fire alert went off, airport and airline officials said. The Airbus A330 aircraft MH148 was carrying 300 passengers and heading from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur. “There was an emergency declared, there was an...
