Section: Business Insider (USA)
Ukraine’s uphill battle against graft as election looms
Kiev (AFP) – Golden loaves became a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against graft after bread-shaped gold bars were discovered at Viktor Yanukovych’s lavish estate outside Kiev, one of the many symbols of the greed and tasteless excess of his regime.Seven months on, the new leaders who took office after the toppling of the...
EU warns Russia not to use gas as weapon in Ukraine crisis
Kiev (AFP) – The European Union warned energy giant Russia on Tuesday not to use gas supplies as a weapon in its standoff with Ukraine over the fate of its neighbour’s separatist east.EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said he hoped to reach an “interim solution” with Russia over its three-month-long supply cut to...
These Maps Show The Drunkest Countries In The World
Perhaps surprisingly, Russia is not the drunkest country in the world. That title goes to Belarus, whose residents enjoy just over 2 liters of alcohol more a year than Russians. Wasted Worldwide, a website that compares drinking habits around the world, created a series of maps that reveal which countries drink the most, what types of alcohol are...
These Photos Show How Eastern Ukraine Is Stuck In Its Soviet Past
If you told Ukrainian photographer Valeriya Myronenko six months ago that Donbass, the region in eastern Ukraine where she grew up, would erupt in a war, she wouldn’t believe you. Now, with conflict raging between Ukraine and multiple separatist movements, it has become apparent that the unthinkable has come true for Myronenko. Myronenko,...
Ukraine troops prepare pullback as truce holds
Kiev (AFP) – A fragile truce between pro-Russian insurgents and Ukrainian forces appeared to be consolidate Monday as clashes subsided and attention focused on the unresolved status of the separatist east.Ukraine said it lost two soldiers in sporadic overnight raids by “armed gangs” on small towns surrounding the main rebel...
The Eurozone Economy Is Turning The Corner
The take-up of the ECB’s TLTRO program announced back in June was materially lower than expected. About €83bn worth of cheap long-dated loans was picked up by the area’s banking system. Many had expected €150bn and even greater. Part of the reason is that banks that are not quite ready to deploy the funds don’t want to sit on...
The ‘Great Stagnation’ Is Europe’s Biggest Fear Again
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Scotland’s rejection of independence and a lack of any fireworks at a Fed meeting last week have calmed investors enough to shift the focus back to what some call the “Great Stagnation,” and how to avoid it. The Group of 20 leading nations, meeting at the weekend, said they were tantalizingly close to...
Putin Is Getting Most Of What He Wants In Ukraine
HISTORIANS will struggle to put dates on Russia’s murky war against Ukraine. It had no official start and no formal end. Russia never admitted that it was in the conflict, which it fanned and fought both directly and through proxies, so has not celebrated victory as it did after the annexation of Crimea. Ukraine never formally declared...
NATO warns on Ukraine truce as fighters set to pull back
Kiev (AFP) – Ukrainian forces and pro-Kremlin militias were due Sunday to pull back under a new peace plan, but NATO’s top military commander warned that there was a ceasefire “in name only” on the ground.The warring sides are required to move back fighters and weaponry and create a buffer zone along the frontline that...
NATO cautiously welcomes Ukraine buffer zone deal
Kiev (AFP) – NATO’s top military commander expressed cautious optimism Saturday that a tenuous Ukrainian ceasefire whose details were thrashed out in marathon overnight negotiations would help end a bloody pro-Kremlin uprising that has inflamed East-West ties.Government forces and pro-Kremlin militias were due by early Sunday to pull...
