Section: Business Insider (USA)
France set to ink controversial jet sale to Egypt
Paris (AFP) – France and Egypt are poised to sign a multi-billion-euro deal for the first foreign sale of the Rafale fighter jet despite human rights concerns. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was to travel to Cairo Monday to ink the 5.2-billion-euro ($5.9 billion) deal for 24 Rafale fighters that Paris hopes will prompt others to...
Ukraine under fire ‘112 times’ despite ceasefire
Sofia (AFP) – Ukrainian forces have come under fire from pro-Russian rebels over 100 times in the last 24 hours, despite a ceasefire coming into force at midnight on Saturday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Monday. “We and the Ukraine armed forces are fully observing the ceasefire regime but unfortunately in...
New EU Ukraine sanctions list includes the ‘death battalion’ and Russian ministers
The European Union added two deputy Russian ministers, along with a host of senior members of the administrations in the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, to its latest round of sanctions over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Russia’s deputy minister of defence Anatoly Antonov and first deputy minister of defence Arkady Bakhin,...
10 things you need to know before European markets open
Good morning! Here are the big stories you need to know in markets today. Greece’s big day is here. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis meets with the eurozone’s other finance ministers today. He’s looking for a deal to keep Greece’s government funded temporarily, without any of the austerity conditions that have been...
Yemeni militia defiant ahead of UN vote
Sanaa (AFP) – Shiite militiamen who seized power in Yemen vowed to defy “threats” as the UN Security Council prepared to adopt a resolution Sunday calling on them to step aside or face consequences.Yemen is a traditional US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, but the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country has descended into...
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is part of a broader, and more dangerous, confrontation with the West
THE pens were on the table in Minsk, Belarus’s capital, for the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine to sign a deal to end a year-long war fuelled by Russia and fought by its proxies. But on February 12th, after all-night talks, they were put away. “No good news,” said Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president....
Two civilians ‘killed after start of Ukraine ceasefire’
Kiev (AFP) – Two civilians were killed by rockets fired by rebels shortly after the start of a ceasefire in east Ukraine Sunday, a pro-Kiev official said, but most of the frontline had fallen silent.An elderly man and woman died after Grad missile fire hit the town of Popasna in the Lugansk region some 20 minutes after the truce came into...
Ruble tumble busts Russian buying boom in Spain
Madrid (AFP) – Spain was counting on rich Russians to help revive its stricken property market by buying homes on its sunny coasts — until the ruble collapsed on falling oil prices and the Ukraine crisis.The sharp fall of the Russian currency, driven by slumping oil prices and sanctions over Moscow’s backing for separatists in...
Ukraine peace ‘threatened’ by rebel actions: Poroshenko
Kiev (AFP) – The peace process in Ukraine is being “threatened” by pro-Russian separatists who have virtually encircled Ukrainian troops in the key battleground town of Debaltseve, President Petro Poroshenko said early Sunday, shortly after the start of an agreed ceasefire.”Unfortunately, the peace process is threatened,...
Ukraine ceasefire comes into force
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – A ceasefire agreed between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels came into force Sunday, the first step in a fragile peace plan aimed at ending 10 months of conflict in east Ukraine.The truce officially started at midnight Ukraine time (2200 GMT on Saturday) but surging fighting in the run-up to the ceasefire has...
