Rosneft in deal to drill in the Arctic despite sanctions August 18, 2014 Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, is about to drill for oil in the Arctic in tandem with a Norwegian company, despite the sanctions reaching for the Russian oil industry. Statoil is the firm in question: a state-run Norwegian company that will help Rosneft to drill in the Bering Sea. The site is inside the Artic [...]
Compensation for EU fruit and veg growers hit by Russian sanctions August 18, 2014 Fruit and vegetable growers in the European Union will receive emergency funding worth 125m euros from the European Commission. The funding represents compensation for the economic suffering that Russia's bans on western food imports are causing some European farmers. Russia placed a one-year embargo on a number of imports from the US, Canada, [...]
Julian Assange: Six things you should know about the Wikileaks founder August 18, 2014 1. The taxpayer has spent £6.5m on police officers stationed outside the Ecuadorian embassy during his two-year stay, to arrest him should he try to leave. 2. Assange has guest starred on the The Simpsons and had his own talk show on Russia Today. He was also visited by Lady Gaga while he was [...]
Eurozone exports to Russia down 14 per cent in 2014 August 18, 2014 Exports and imports between the Eurozone and Russia have plummeted in the period January to May, figures from Eurostat revealed today. There was a 14 per cent decline in exports from to Russia between January and June 2014 compared with the same period last year. Imports from Russia are also down seven per cent [...]
European Championships 2014 medal table: How does Great Britain’s tally compare to previous years? August 18, 2014 After a record-breaking Commonwealth Games for England, Scotland and Wales, the athletes of Great Britain banded together to repeat the feat at last week's European Athletics Championships in Zurich. After such stand-out gold medal victories as Mo Farah's triumph in the men’s 10,000m and 5,000m, Jo Pavey in the women’s 10,000m, Adam Gemili in the men's 200m [...]
Russian and Ukrainian officials open truce talks in Berlin August 18, 2014 RUSSIAN and Ukrainian ministers are to meet in Berlin today to discuss a possible ceasefire, at talks which will also be attended by ministers from France and Germany. Ukrainian foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, will be joined by Frank-Walter-Steinmeier of Germany and France’s Laurent Fabius at a meeting called to [...]
Ebola outbreak and Ukraine conflict pose threats even as supply chain risk drops to 18-month low August 17, 2014 Geopolitical and major disease risks have had less effect than widely believed on the world economy, with supply chains at their least risky levels for a year and a half. According to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), supply chain risk dropped to an 18-month low in the second quarter of the year, [...]
The Week Ahead: Yellen debut at Jackson Hole August 17, 2014 FLASHES of illumination rather than fireworks are expected at this week’s annual meeting of top central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Few predict as momentous a speech as that by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke two years ago that paved the way for an unprecedented $85bn (£51bn) per month stimulus plan. His successor [...]
Pro-Russian rebels shoot down Ukrainian fighter aircraft as ministers meet for talks August 17, 2014 A Ukrainian jet fighter was shot down by pro-Russian rebels yesterday, just before key talks between Kiev and Moscow, aimed at de-escalating the fighting in the east of Ukraine. According to Agence France-Presse, Ukrainian officials revealed a MiG – 29 was downed as it flew to "eliminate a large group of terrorists." The timing of [...]
Russia says Ukraine aid convoy contains no military personnel August 16, 2014 Russia's defence secretary Sergey Shoygu has assured his US counterpart Chuck Hagel that an aid convoy heading for Ukraine contains no military personnel. Western countries have expressed concern that Russia is using the convoy as a pretext for sending more soldiers to the area, but Russia denies these allegations, saying that the purpose of the convoy [...]