Section: Egypt
Rolling Blackouts Expanded In Ukraine
Ukraine officials say rolling two-hour blackouts that began in some towns Monday are being expanded. Ukraine Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchishin said Wednesday a technical fault forced operations at the Zaporizka nuclear plant to shut down Friday. Concerns were raised earlier when Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk spoke of a nuclear power …...
Russia’s Putin Defends Annexation of Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his country’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and accused the West of using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext to impose sanctions on Moscow. Delivering his annual state of the union speech Thursday, Putin referred to Crimea as Russia’s spiritual ground. On the subject of...
Russia’s Ex-Economy Minister Sees Fundamental Problems
MOSCOW—Russia’s currency, the ruble, this week fell to its lowest value in a quarter century. Oil prices also fell as finance officials changed their economic forecast for next year from slight growth to recession. Russia’s economy is taking a beating from Western sanctions over Ukraine and foreign investment is fleeing the country....
Draft: EU, US to Stand United on Ukraine Sanctions, Energy Plan
BRUSSELS—U.S. and European … …read more Source:...
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...
Ukraine, pro-Russian rebels agree new truce
Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels “agreed in principle” on a ceasefire in one separatist province and were working to conclude a broader truce on Tuesday that would end nearly eight months of bloodshed. The latest push for peace in the former Soviet country was being spearheaded by European negotiators alarmed at the unravelling of a...
New Cease-fire for Ukraine’s Luhansk Region
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says Ukraine’s military and pro-Russian separatist forces in the Luhansk region have agreed “in principle” to a new cease-fire effective Dec. 5. The OSCE said Monday the cease-fire would bring a truce include the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the area starting December...
Putin Drops South Stream Pipeline to EU, Courts Turkey Instead
ANKARA—Russia on Monday scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing EU objections, and instead named Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline, with a promise of hefty discounts. The EU, at loggerheads with Moscow over Ukraine, and keen to reduce its energy...
NATO Chief: Russia Violating Ukraine Cease-fire
NATO says Russia is violating a truce in eastern Ukraine by sending in convoys with advanced weapons and personnel reinforcements for pro-Russia separatists fighting Ukrainian government troops.“We see a significant military buildup in and around Ukraine… large transfers of Russian advanced weapons, equipment and military personnel to violent...
Oil prices strike new lows, weighing on energy stocks
Crude oil prices sunk to fresh low points on Monday, dragging down the share prices of energy companies, while miners were hit by weak Chinese manufacturing data, traders said.”Oil sector stocks have driven the FTSE lower,” said market analyst Alastair McCaig from the IG trading group.Countering the downward trend, shares in German...
