Section: Malaya Business Insight (Philippines)
Global outlook: What to expect in 2016?
A photo taken on January 1, 2016 shows fireworks over the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge) during New Year’s Eve in Amsterdam. / AFP / ANP / robin utrecht / Netherlands OUT BEIJING – Bidding farewell to an eventful 2015, the world is embracing a new year on Friday. The following is a list of major political and economic events that are expected...
Russian Ruble drops to 2015 low amid oil price slump
Russia’s battered ruble reached its 2015 low as the slump in oil prices weighs on the outlook for the country’s recession-hit economy. The ruble stood at 72.46 against the dollar, dropping below 72 for the first time since December 2014. The Russian currency also stood at 79.55 against the euro, its lowest value since August. A woman...
Merkel takes centre stage in EU’s year of crises
German Chancellor Angela Merkel AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN by Frank ZELLER Berlin, Germany | AFP – In a year of crises for Europe, from the Ukraine war to Greece’s debt turmoil to the historic refugee influx, Germany’s Angela Merkel emerged as the continent’s de facto leader, drawing more praise and fire than ever. Whether...
Pope urges Christmas prayers for Syria, Libya peace
MB file photo VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis issued a Christmas Day prayer that recent U.N.-backed peace processes for Syria and Libya will quickly end the suffering of their people. He denounced the “monstrous evil” and atrocities they have endured and praised the countries that have taken in their refugees. Speaking from the central balcony of St....
EU leaders say Russia-Germany gas line could break EU rules
European Union leaders raised objections to a massive new pipeline project that would pump natural gas directly from Russia to Germany, claiming that the scheme would break EU laws. The Nord Stream 2 project would expand the current Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea which directly links Germany to natural gas reserves in Siberia. The...
6 Pinoy crew missing after Danish ship sinks near Indonesia
Batam, Indonesia – Six Filipino crewmen were missing Thursday after their cargo ship collided with a chemical tanker and sank off western Indonesia, officials said. Six other people were rescued. The Danish cargo ship Thorco Cloud collided with the chemical tanker Stolt Commitment about 13 kilometers off Indonesia’s Batam island late...
Ukraine says it won’t repay $3-B debt to Russia
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says his country won’t repay their $3-billion debt owed to Russia due this weekend. Yatsenyuk announced at a televised government session a “moratorium” on any debt repayments to Russia. That effectively means that Ukraine is defaulting on the debt. He did not indicate when Ukraine would be ready...
Kerry in Moscow to push Syria peace plan
by Dave Clark Moscow, Russia | AFP — US Secretary of State John Kerry brought his campaign to end the Syrian civil war to Moscow on Tuesday, where a meeting with President Vladimir Putin could decide the fate of peace talks. Kerry first held talks with his usual sparring partner Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but the success of his trip will...
Russia: UN’s Ukraine meeting shouldn’t discuss human rights
Samantha Power, the United States United Nations Ambassador and President of the UN Security Council for December, addresses the security council on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015, at UN headquarters in New York. The U.N. human rights chief has told the Security Council it is “essential”...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel named Time’s Person of the Year
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year, praising her leadership on everything from Syrian refugees to the Greek debt crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (July 16, 2015/AP File Photo/Markus Schreiber) Time also cited Merkel’s strong response to “Vladimir Putin’s creeping theft of...
