Pellegrini: City can beat Bayern and make last 16 November 24, 2014 MANCHESTER City manager Manuel Pellegrini insists his team can tonight overcome a patchy start to the season and the suspension of key players to snatch Champions League survival from the brink of extinction. City likely need to inflict Bayern Munich’s first defeat in 19 fixtures at the Etihad Stadium to resuscitate their European hopes and [...]
Sanctions have cost Russia billions – but Western firms are not getting off lightly November 24, 2014 WHEN the EU agreed to place new names on its Russian sanctions list last week, it added to an ever-expanding and ever vaguer body of international rules for compliance officials to navigate. While Russia’s finance minister has warned that sanctions are costing his country $40bn (£25.5bn) a year, they also pose significant challenges to businesses [...]
Has French company DCNS agreed to transfer warship to Russia despite the conflict in Ukraine? November 24, 2014 France has agreed on a deadline to deliver the first of two warships to Russia in a deal that will total around €1.2bn. DCNS, a French industrial group that specialises in naval defence and energy, has agreed with Russia to transfer the Mistral-class helicopter carrier before 27 November. With the ongoing crisis in Ukraine showing [...]
Iran nuclear deal deadline extended to end of June 2015 November 24, 2014 World powers have failed to meet today's deadline for an agreement over Iran's nuclear enrichment program, resulting in talks being extended to the end of June next year. Iran met with the UK, US, China, Russia, Germany and France in Vienna over the weekend to try to reach a compromise. The other participants want [...]
Plummeting oil prices and Western sanctions have cost Russia $140bn, its finance minister says November 24, 2014 Plummeting oil prices and Western sanctions have caused as much as $140bn to flood out of Russia this year, finance minister Anton Siluanov said today. While sanctions against its businesses are hurting the country's economy, falling oil prices are having the biggest impact. Oil and gas makes up the majority of Russian exports – 68 [...]
The astronauts with expensive taste: Caviar and special espresso machine sent up for a New Year’s Eve party in space November 24, 2014 While we're down here singing Auld Lang Syne as the clock strikes midnight, three astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) will welcome in the new year over a meal of caviar, lemons and Lavazza coffee. Samantha Cristofetti, Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virt successfully docked at the space port this morning, and will be [...]
Eastern woes weighing on Raiffeisen Bank November 20, 2014 AUSTRIAN group Raiffeisen Bank International posted a €119m (£95m) net loss in the third quarter, as the Russian rouble’s crash, tensions in Ukraine and Hungarian legislation hit its lending and banking operations. Karl Sevelda, Raiffeisen’s chief executive, said that such “negative one-off effects” had hit the bank’s results. However, he hoped it would bounce back [...]
Is a space war about to take off? Experts say mysterious Object 2014-28E could be a satellite-killer launched by Russian military November 18, 2014 A strange vehicle floating above our atmosphere could be Russia's first piece of space weaponry launched since the end of the Cold War. Called Object 2014-28E, it has been making unusual movements towards other Russian space vehicles over the past few weeks, and last night it was spotted moving over Guatemala. It is [...]
G20 summit 2014: Vladimir Putin walkout eclipses pledges made in Brisbane November 17, 2014 G20 leaders promised market-led reforms to boost growth at the weekend’s summit in Brisbane that saw Russian President Vladimir Putin controversially leaving early and further progress made on a free trade agreement between the US and EU. “We are implementing structural reforms to lift growth and private sector activity, recognising that well-functioning markets underpin prosperity,” [...]
Park Hyatt New York: First major NYC hotel in over 10 years November 16, 2014 It takes big bucks to open a new luxury hotel in Manhattan – and even bigger cojones. Clearly, the idea has not been tempting for some time. New York’s last mega-launch was the Mandarin Oriental in 2003. Eleven years and one recession later, confidence has finally returned to the Big Apple – and, [...]