Section: Egypt Independent (Egypt)
Analysis – New leadership seeks to rebuild EU self-confidence
Short, snappy and focussed on two priorities – reviving sagging investment in Europe and standing firm towardsRussia, the first European Union summit under new leadership was a demonstrative break with the past.Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister who took over the chairmanship of the 28-nation European Council this month, put his...
EU leaders ready long confrontation with Russia
European Union leaders warned Moscow they were ready exercise their combined muscle over the long haul in a confrontation with an economically wounded Russia if President Vladimir Putin refused to pull back from Ukraine.”We must go beyond being reactive and defensive. As Europeans we must regain our self-confidence and realise our own...
Oil prices sink further in Asian trade
Oil suffered fresh losses in Asia Wednesday, sinking to new multi-year lows as dealers watch Russia’s ruble crisis and await the latest US crude supply report, analysts said.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery sank $1.16 in afternoon trade to $54.77 while Brent crude for February fell 71 cents to $59.30 on the...
Russian arms sales soared in 2013, bucking global slowdown – think tank
Russian arms makers’ sales soared 20 percent in 2013, bucking a slowdown in other countries’ industries, largely thanks to a Kremlin push to modernise its military, the SIPRI think tank said on Monday.Russia’s figures were strong enough to slow a three-year decline in global arms sales caused mainly by Washington’s...
Russia says will react if U.S. imposes new sanctions
Russia will take counter measures if Washington imposes new sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday.The U.S. Congress has readied new sanctions on Russian weapons companies and investors in the country’s high-tech oil projects, but U.S. President Barack Obama has...
Three Ukraine soldiers dead in first casualties since ceasefire
Three soldiers were killed and eight injured in the past 24 hours, a Ukraine military spokesman said on Thursday, marking the first casualties since a ceasefire was introduced earlier this week.”We lost three soldiers and another eight were wounded in the past 24 hours,” said spokesman Andriy Lyssenko.Previous reports had said the...
Gorbachev calls for U.S.-Russia summit to defrost ties
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called on Wednesday for a U.S.-Russia summit to be convened to prevent a deep freeze in Moscow’s relations with the West over the Ukraine crisis. Gorbachev, whose policy of “perestroika” (restructuring) played a role in ending the Cold War, warned of potentially dire consequences if...
UN: Record numbers trying and dying to reach Europe
More than 3,400 people have died in the Mediterranean this year trying to reach Europe, the UN refugee agency said Wednesday, urging governments to take more action to save lives.More than 207,000 people have made the risky sea crossing since January, almost three times the previous high of 70,000 during the Libyan civil war in 2011, the UNHCR...
UNICEF laments 2014 as extremely harsh year for millions of children
The UNICEF lamented 2014 as being an extremely harsh year for millions of children who were absorbed into violent clashes and wars around the world. The international organization estimated children caught up in violent conflicts in 2014 at 15 million in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, Palestine, Syria and Ukraine. It added...
TRFN: Conflict, militancy hit human rights in Middle East, African nations
Syria was bottom and Ukraine had the biggest slide in a human rights index published on Wednesday, as countries suffering from conflict grappled with human trafficking and other rights violations.The worsening situation in Syria and Iraq, two of the three worst performing countries, increased the likelihood of human trafficking, forced labour and...
