Tag: Sanctions
Europe bans Russian diesel, other oil products over Ukraine
FRANKFURT Germany: In an effort to reduce its reliance on Moscow for energy and as retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. Europe put a...
EU approves new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine war
BRUSSELS: The European Union announced on Thursday that it had agreed on a fresh round of sanctions meant to increase the pressure on Russia...
EU eyes Russian officials, banks, industry for sanctions
BRUSSELS: As part of a fresh wave of sanctions meant to increase pressure on Moscow over its involvement in the crisis in Ukraine. The...
Biden approves $800M in new military assistance for Ukraine
WASHINGTON USA: In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden approved an $800 million package of military assistance. Including...
Finland, Sweden move ahead toward possible NATO membership
HELSINKI Finland: European Union nations Finland and Sweden reached important stages. On their way to possible NATO membership. As the Finnish government issued a...
Biden waiving the ethanol rule in a bid to lower gasoline prices
MENLO, Iowa USA: With inflation at a 40-year high, President Joe Biden journeyed to corn-rich Iowa on Tuesday. To announce a modest step aimed...
Poland-Ukraine ties seen as a target of Russian disinformation
WARSAW, Poland: Days before Poland’s Independence Day in November, vandals painted the blue-and-yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag on monuments in Krakow. The vandalism,...
Biden, Modi to speak as US presses for a hard line on Russia
WILMINGTON USA: President Joe Biden is set to speak with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he presses world leaders to take a hard...
S&P downgrade indicates Russia headed for historic default
BOSTON USA: The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its assessment of Russia’s ability to repay foreign debt. Signaling rising prospects that...
The US doubts the new Russian war chief can end Moscow’s floundering
WASHINGTON USA: Russia has tapped a new Ukraine war commander to take centralized control of the next phase of the battle. After its costly...
Food prices soar to record levels on Ukraine war disruptions
ROME ITALY: Prices for food commodities like grains and vegetable oils reached their highest levels. Everlast month largely because of Russia’s war in Ukraine...
Europe agrees to ban Russian coal but struggles with oil, gas
The European Union nations have agreed to ban Russian coal the first sanctions on the vital energy industry over the war in Ukraine. But...
UN assembly suspends Russia from top human rights body
UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the world organization’s leading human rights body. Over allegations of horrific rights violations...
Congress votes to suspend Russia’s trade status, enact an oil ban
WASHINGTON USA: Congress voted overwhelmingly to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil. Ratcheting up the U.S. response...
Germany seeks to boost renewable energy and cut Russian imports.
BERLIN Germany: The German government unveiled a major package of reforms. To boost the production of renewable power, and meet its climate goals. And...
UN to vote on suspending Russia from the rights council.
UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. General Assembly will vote on whether to suspend Russia from the U.N.’s premier human rights body. The move was initiated...
Mariupol’s dead put at 5,000 as Ukraine braces in the east.
ANDRIIVKA, Ukraine: The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol put the number of civilians killed there at more than 5,000. As Ukraine...
The US hits Russia with ‘war crimes’ sanctions, Europe following.
WASHINGTON USA: The U.S. rolled out a new wave of financial sanctions on Wednesday against Russia. That President Joe Biden said would place a...
Asia’s US$350bil gas projects intensify the clean energy debate.
SINGAPORE: Asia is pumping billions of dollars into new gas infrastructure. Making the region pivotal in a debate over the role of fossil fuels...
Wins for pro-Putin leaders buttress autocracies in Europe.
BUDAPEST, Hungary: After two nationalist European strongmen won overwhelming victories in elections on Sunday. One of the first foreign leaders to congratulate both were...
The US to seek Russia’s suspension from Human Rights Council.
BUCHAREST, Romania: The United States plans to seek a suspension of Russia from its seat on the U.N.’s top human rights body. Pointing to...
Russia faces global outrage over bodies in Ukraine’s streets.
BUCHA, Ukraine: Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes. After Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with corpses...
Ukraine accuses Russia of the massacre, a city strewn with bodies.
BUCHA, Ukraine: Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds, and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv. After...
Lithuania cuts off Russian gas imports and urges the EU to do the same.
VILNIUS, Lithuania: Lithuania says it has cut itself off entirely from gas imports from Russia. Apparently becoming the first of the European Union’s 27...
Ukrainian forces retake areas near Kyiv amid fear of traps.
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian troops moved cautiously to retake territory north of the country’s capital on Saturday using cables. To pull the bodies of civilians...
Russian space chief: Sanctions could imperil space station.
MOSCOW: The head of Russia’s space program said that the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance. After the United States,...
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan protests to the U.S. about alleged interference.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government handed an official protest to the U.S. embassy on Friday over what it called...
European inflation soars to a record 7.5% on fuel, food costs.
LONDON: Inflation in Europe soared to another record, according to new EU figures released in a fresh sign. That rising energy prices fueled by...
Cyberattack in Ukraine war affected thousands across Europe.
A cyberattack targeting a satellite network used by Ukraine’s government and military agencies shortly after Russia’s invasion also knocked offline tens of thousands of...
Poland to end Russian oil imports; Germany warns on gas.
WARSAW, Poland: Poland announced steps to end all Russian oil imports by year’s end. While Germany issued a warning about natural gas levels and...
US seeks tighter UN sanctions after N. Korea missile test
SEOUL, South Korea: The United States called for tougher U.N. sanctions after North Korea said it test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile to date....
Activists stage global climate protest, slam Ukraine war.
Berlin Germany: Climate activists staged the 10th series of worldwide protests. To demand that leaders take stronger action against global warming. With some linking...
Russians shift focus from Kyiv, scaling back goals in war?
WASHINGTON USA: Russian forces in Ukraine seem to have shifted their focus from a ground offensive aimed at Kyiv the capital. Instead, prioritize what...
Ukraine war drives the US, EU deal to undercut Russian energy
BRUSSELS: With stunning speed, Russia’s war in Ukraine is driving Western Europe into the outstretched arms of the United States again. Especially apparent when...
Biden pledges new Ukraine aid warns Russia on chemical weapons.
BRUSSELS Belgium: President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid. In response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine. But their...
The U.S. reinstates 352 product exclusions from China tariffs.
WASHINGTON USA: The U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Wednesday it has reinstated 352 expired product exclusions from U.S. "Section 301" tariffs on Chinese...
The U.S. imposes fresh sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday imposed fresh sanctions on Russia. Targeting dozens of Russian defense companies. Hundreds of members of its parliament, and...
Ukraine reports 300 dead in airstrike on Mariupol theater
KYIV, Ukraine: About 300 people were killed in the Russian airstrike last week on a Mariupol theater that was being used as a shelter....
Putin wants ‘unfriendly countries’ to pay rubles for gas.
MOSCOW Russia: President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will demand that “unfriendly″ countries pay for Russian natural gas exports only in rubles from now...
NATO, in Arctic training drills, faces up to Putin’s ‘unpredictable’ Russia.
BARDUFOSS, Norway: NATO must face a Russian adversary that is more unpredictable and ready to take greater risks to project power in Europe. A...
‘No mercy’: Mariupol bombing compared to Nazi war crimes.
MEDYKA, Poland: The president of Poland compared Russia’s attacks on Ukraine to Nazi forces during World War II. Saying that besieged Mariupol looks like...
Ukraine war imperils wheat, but farmers are in no rush to pivot.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Worldwide, farmers like are weighing whether to change their planting patterns and grow more wheat this spring. As the war...
UN chief: Don’t let Russia crisis fuel climate destruction.
BERLIN Germany: Countries scrambling to replace Russian oil, gas, and coal supplies with any available alternative. May fuel the world’s “mutually assured destruction” through...
EU slams ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine but new sanctions unlikely
BRUSSELS Belgium: European Union countries accused the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine. But appeared unlikely to impose new sanctions on...
Russia’s invasion drives NATO rethink of Europe force stance.
Brussels, Belgium: In an underground archive below NATO’s headquarters lies a key document. That sets out the vision of both NATO and Russia about...
Council of Europe expels Russia from human rights body.
STRASBOURG, France: The Council of Europe on Wednesday expelled Russia from the continent’s foremost human rights body in an unprecedented move over Moscow’s invasion...
Asian shares rise ahead of Fed decision on rate hike
TOKYO Japan: Asian shares rose as investors awaited a widely anticipated decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rate policy.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225...
White House: Biden will travel to Europe for Ukraine talks.
WASHINGTON USA: — President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week for face-to-face talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion of Ukraine,...
EU and UK hit Russia with wider sanctions that target luxury
BRUSSELS Belgium: EU and UK hit Russia with more sanctions this time victim is Pure-bred horses, truffles, a soccer club owner, and a media...