Azerbaijan’s majestic scenery is refreshingly untouched by global tourism October 19, 2015 ‘Azerbaijan border – Good luck,” read the sign at the Georgian frontier town. I gulped, hoisted my backpack and reached for my passport. Ominous cautions from its neighbours notwithstanding, Azerbaijan is trying to court people like me. It’s not, on the face of it, an easy sell. Human Rights Watch recently noted “Azerbaijan’s government has [...]
Forget Syria: Putin is on the verge of victory in Ukraine October 18, 2015 The western commentariat doesn’t know what to do with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or the enigmatic country that he leads. This can be seen in the comically diverse opinions presently being gravely intoned as to what Putin is doing in both Syria and Ukraine. “Putin is a genius”; “Putin is a fool”; “Russia is regaining [...]
Bernie Ecclestone: Sepp Blatter should remain Fifa president as corruption allegations “a tax football had to pay” October 17, 2015 Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has said Sepp Blatter should remain in charge of Fifa despite the corruption allegations engulfing football's governing body. Blatter announced his intention to resign as president in May after a number of Fifa officials were arrested on charges of corruption, while the organisation has had to fend off accusations of bribery from [...]
Fifa crisis: Germany “appears” to have used bribes to win right to host 2006 World Cup, says newspaper October 16, 2015 Germany is the latest country to become embroiled in Fifa corruption allegations after a local newspaper announced it had uncovered evidence of potential bribes used to win the right to host the 2006 World Cup. Der Spiegel says it has information which suggests the German bid committee had set up a slush fund with 10.3 Swiss francs, [...]
UK farmers get a funding boost: £138m given to rural communities to help them grow October 16, 2015 In an attempt to help UK farmers grow and diversify their business, the government is giving them access to £138m of funding. Under a scheme dubbed LEADER, rural communities will be able to use the money to support projects in their local area, such as the creation of farm shops and ice cream parlours, or the [...]
S&P slashes Russia’s economic growth forecasts amid weak oil prices October 15, 2015 Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has said that oil prices remaining lower for longer will punish Russia's economy. S&P slashed its forecasts for Russia's economic growth from -2.6 per cent to -3.6 per cent this year, and from 1.9 per cent to 0.3 per cent in 2016. "The change reflects our expectations of a more prolonged weakness in [...]
The war on the driver is a war on freedom – and autonomous cars are part of the problem October 14, 2015 Freedom-hating municipal politicians have it in for the motorist: London has its congestion charge, Dublin is closing off ever more of its urban core, and Paris is now experimenting with sporadically banning all private transport. Young people, faced with turbo-charged costs, onerous restrictions and absurd taxation – not to mention rising housing costs – [...]
E.On to sell Norwegian oil and gas assets to firm owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman October 14, 2015 German utility giant E.On is selling its Norwegian oil and gas assets to a company owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman for $1.6bn (£1.04bn), as part of its ongoing restructuring plan for its oil and gas division. The blue-chip firm, whose UK supply arm is one of the big six energy providers, saw its share price [...]
Euro 2016: Robin Van Persie scores own goal in defeat by Czech Republic as Holland fail to qualify for first finals since 2002 October 14, 2015 Holland failed to reach a major finals for the first time since 2002 after their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign ended with a 3-2 defeat to Group A winners Czech Republic at the Amsterdam Arena last night. Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Robin van Persie scored an own goal to hand the Czechs a three-goal advantage [...]
Flight MH17 final crash report released: Dutch investigators confirm Malaysian Airlines plane was brought down by Buk missile October 13, 2015 Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was brought down by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile, Dutch investigators have confirmed. Speaking at a press conference in Gitze-Rijen today, Tjibber Joustra, the Dutch Safety Board chairman, showed an animation of MH17's last moments. The missile hit the front left hand side of the plane – the cockpit – killing three crew [...]