Section: Business Insider (USA)
Russia warns US arms to Kiev will cause ‘colossal damage’ to ties
Moscow (AFP) – Russia on Thursday warned the United States against sending weapons to Ukraine, saying such action would cause “colossal damage” to ties between the former Cold War foes.Moscow is “seriously concerned” by discussions in the West about possible arms supplies to Ukraine which is battling a pro-Kremlin...
Ukraine’s currency in freefall after central bank rate hike
The Ukranian hryvnia is down over 40% hitting new record lows against the dollar after a central bank rate hike failed to calm nerves. The collapse follows an announcement that the central bank is declining to intervene to support the currency. Although central bank governor Valeriia Gontareva stressed it was not a free-float, she added that...
Diplomacy on Ukraine ‘cannot go on indefinitely’: Hollande
Paris (AFP) – President Francois Hollande said Thursday that while France and Berlin had chosen diplomacy rather than arming Kiev troops against the pro-Russian separatists, negotiations could not drag on forever.Other than arming Ukraine “there is another option, it is not certain it will succeed but if we don’t try we will...
Hollande, Merkel to visit Kiev, Moscow in push for Ukraine peace
Paris (AFP) – French President Francois Hollande said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would visit Kiev later Thursday, before heading to Moscow, in a fresh push to find a solution to the raging conflict in eastern Ukraine.”Ukraine is at war. Heavy weapons are being used and civilians are being killed daily,” Hollande told...
Kerry arrives in Kiev as Washington mulls sending Ukraine weapons
Kiev (AFP) – US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev on Thursday in a signal of firm US support for the country amid growing international alarm at a surge in fighting.The top US diplomat will try to explore ways to end the conflict that has claimed more than 5,100 lives in the past nine months, as Washington mulls sending weapons...
The 10 most important things in the world right now
Good morning! Here’s what you need to know for Thursday. 1. Taiwan rescuers are still searching for 12 missing people after a plane crashed Wednesday shortly after take-off from Songshan airport in Taipei. 2. Greece may run out of cash as early as March as the new radical government refuses to except more bailout loans. 3. The European...
10 things you need to know before European markets open
The ECB lifted an important waiver for Greece and funds linked to the country’s stocks plunged. The ECB scrapped the waiver which previously allowed the country’s banks to use (junk-rated) Greek government bonds as collateral for lending, which has been removed now that a successful completion of Greece’s bailout now looks...
A very telling trend of who is leaving and who is entering Russia
There’s a really telling trend about Russia’s demographics: Westerners are moving out of Russia, while citizens of central and east Asia are moving in. Germans, Americans, Britons, Fins, Spaniards, and Italians topped the list of foreigners moving out of Russia in 2014. On the other hand, those living in China, Armenia, Kazakhstan,...
Hospital shelled in east Ukraine as calls mount for truce
Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Four people were killed Wednesday when a hospital in east Ukraine was shelled ahead of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State John Kerry that will see the possibility of weapons being supplied high on the agenda.The latest deaths came as international pressure grew for an immediate halt to surging violence which...
This chart shows how almost every country in the world has a disputed border
The borders of the world’s countries don’t change that often any more. And when they do, it’s big news. The peace agreement that allowed South Sudan to break off from the rest of Sudan in 2011 came after decades of war. Attempts to redraw international boundaries by force, like Saddam Hussein’s 1991 invasion of Kuwait, or...
