Section: Voice of America (USA)
Court Rejects Russia’s Appeal Over Oil Company Compensation
Europe’s top human rights court said Tuesday that it had rejected an appeal from Russia over a ruling that it must pay 1.9 billion euros in damages to shareholders of defunct oil giant Yukos. Yukos, once worth $40 billion, was broken up and nationalized a decade ago, with most of its assets eventually handed to Rosneft, an energy giant run...
Obama to Approve New Russian Sanctions
President Barack Obama has decided to sign legislation authorizing more sanctions on Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis, the White House said Tuesday. The bill, which cleared the Senate last week, also gives the president authority to provide $350 million in lethal and nonlethal military aid to the Ukrainian government. That potential aid...
Italian Shoemakers Urge EU to Tread Carefully on Sanctions
Bad relations between the EU and Moscow have helped cut exports of Italian shoes to Russia by around a fifth, the sector said in a letter to the bloc’s foreign policy chief, urging consideration of economic effects before more sanctions are imposed. The EU has imposed measures including economic sanctions in response to Moscow’s...
Dollar Grows Elusive as Russian Ruble Plunges
The official exchange rate was still in the 60s, and the sign on the currency exchange kiosk’s door said there were U.S. dollars on sale at 80 rubles. The woman at the window wanted 85. At the exchange points that are a fixture across the Russian capital, those seeking dollars to protect their savings from the ruble’s collapse were...
Kerry Cites ‘Constructive Moves’ by Russia on Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says “Russia has made constructive moves” on the Ukraine crisis that could open the path to resolving the conflict and easing or lifting international economic sanctions. While holding a series of meetings on world issues, Kerry said improvements in the eastern Ukraine cease-fire, progress on negotiating a line...
Autopsy Ordered on German MP Who Criticized Russia
A German court has ordered an autopsy on a conservative member of parliament, who was a prominent critic of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, in order to rule out any link between his death and his hardline stance towards the Kremlin, state prosecutors said. Andreas Schockenhoff, a deputy parliamentary floor leader for Chancellor Angela...
Ukraine’s Poroshenko Hails First Full Overnight Truce in Rebel East
Ukraine’s separatist east passed the night into Tuesday without any shooting, President Petro Poroshenko said, hailing the first such stretch of calm as a positive signal for the next steps in a peace plan. Army chief of staff Viktor Muzhenko also stressed progress had been made on the implementation of the cease-fire, but said one...
Ruble Plunges to New Lows Despite Rate Hike
The ruble has tumbled to another historic low, despite an emergency attempt by Russia to prop up the rapidly declining currency. In a surprise move late Monday, Moscow’s Central Bank dramatically raised interest rates to 17 percent from 10.5 percent. The move came after the Russian currency experienced its largest one-day decline since...
Ukraine PM: $10B Needed to Avoid Bankruptcy
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says his country urgently needs $10 billion to avoid bankruptcy. After meeting with European Union ministers in Brussels Monday, reporters asked Yatsenyuk when he needs the money. He replied “yesterday.” Ukraine’s war with pro-Russian separatists has battered an already bad economy....
Russian Ruble Falls to New Lows
The value of the Russian ruble plunged to new lows Monday against the dollar and euro, with Moscow’s central bank predicting higher inflation and the national economy tumbling into a recession. The ruble weakened by more than 5 percent, breaking through the level of 60 to the dollar and 75 to the euro for the first time. The Russian...
