KARACHI: The rupee is expected to remain unstable next week, owing to the uncertainty in the international oil prices and a surge in the domestic demand for imported goods, analysts said. The local currency remained dependent on the movement of international oil prices during the outgoing week. It lost 39 paisas against the dollar during … Read more
TBILISI – As tens of thousands of Russian troops mass near Ukraine’s border, many in fellow ex-Soviet state Georgia are feeling a frightening sense of deja vu. In 2008, during the Summer Games in Beijing, Russia launched a devastating ground assault against the small Caucasus country on its southern border. Georgia was battling pro-Russian militia … Read more
KYIV – The Ukrainian military and their Russian-backed separatist foes traded allegations of fresh ceasefire breaches on Friday, a day after the shelling of a kindergarten sent international tensions soaring. The Ukrainian joint command centre for the eastern front said the rebels had violated the ceasefire 20 times between midnight and 9.00 am while the … Read more
Moscow – Russia said on Friday that it has begun removing additional tanks and other armoured equipment from locations near Ukraine’s border after conducting war exercises that sparked concern in the West. “After completing scheduled exercises, another military train carrying people and military equipment belonging to tank army units of the western military district returned … Read more
HONG KONG – Asian markets rebounded Wednesday and Europe extended gains on hopes that Russia will not invade Ukraine after Moscow said some of its troops on the countries’ border had started pulling back. While not verified, the claims by Russia provided some much-needed relief for investors, who had grown increasingly fearful of a conflict … Read more
JAKARTA – Finance ministers and central bank governors of G20 nations began a two-day meeting Thursday with Indonesia’s leader warning the Ukraine crisis was a threat to the post-pandemic recovery. The Group of 20 which brings together the world’s biggest economies including the US, China and some European nations is holding the talks in hybrid … Read more
According to American intelligence agencies, Kremlin leaders will launch an attack on Ukraine at 3 a.m. local time tomorrow. They might launch a volley of air strikes on Kyiv’s military and government command and control centres before tanks cross the border. Simultaneously, Russian amphibious warships might storm Ukraine’s southern coast. It comes as Foreign Secretary … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee declined 31 paisas against the dollar on Tuesday, as international oil prices recorded a further rise, dealers said. The exchange rate ended at Rs175.78 against the greenback, compared with the previous day’s closing of Rs175.47 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said the upsurge in the international oil prices put … Read more
BEIJING – China on Monday called on all relevant parties to remain rational and avoid actions that would escalate tensions and impact the crisis in Ukraine. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing that China is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, and the Chinese embassy and consulates in the country are operating as … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee fell 76 paisas against the dollar on Monday, owing to a jump in the global oil prices and rising foreign currency demand for import payments, dealers said. The exchange rate ended at Rs175.47 against the dollar from Friday’s closing at Rs174.71 in the interbank foreign exchange market. The dealers said high oil … Read more
KYIV – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lands in Kyiv on Monday before visiting Moscow to try to head off a “very critical” threat of a Russian invasion that would spark the worst crisis in Europe since the Cold War. Scholz’s visit comes with Kyiv seeking an urgent meeting with Russia explaining why it has deployed … Read more
WASHINGTON: Credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Ukraine’s long-term debt outlook from positive to stable on Friday due to tensions with Russia, while maintaining its rating at B. “Expectations of a more protracted period of heightened tensions with Russia, an increased downside risk of conflict, constrained financing conditions, moderate capital outflows and weakening international reserves, have … Read more
WASHINGTON – Is Joe Biden “weak” in the face of Russia, Iran or North Korea? This is the accusation leveled by opponents of the US president, who is trying to balance a firm hand with pragmatism to overcome multiple international crises and focus on a rising China. “Is it any surprise that Chinese planes are … Read more
WASHINGTON – Faced with accusations of “alarmism” over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, Washington is on the defensive over the credibility of its warnings, even as it keeps certain cards close to its chest. “This is not alarmism. This is simply the facts,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday in a press … Read more
MOSCOW – With war clouds gathering over Ukraine, international diplomacy goes into overdrive on Monday with the French and Russian presidents to talk in Moscow and the German chancellor heading to the White House to meet with US leader Joe Biden. Also on Monday, the German, Czech, Slovak and Austrian foreign ministers were expected in Kyiv, which … Read more
BERLIN: Rising tensions with Moscow over Ukraine have exposed Germany’s problematic dependence on Russian gas, inflaming an already heated debate over soaring energy prices. As Germany pursues its target to transition to cleaner energy sources over the next decade, Europe’s biggest economy has counted on gas temporarily filling the gap while it builds up its … Read more
WASHINGTON – Is Joe Biden “weak” in the face of Russia, Iran or North Korea? This is the accusation leveled by opponents of the US president, who is trying to balance a firm hand with pragmatism to overcome multiple international crises and focus on a rising China. “Is it any surprise that Chinese planes are flying over … Read more
FRANKFURT: Soaring inflation will be in focus when European Central Bank governors meet on Thursday, as the threat of war in Ukraine risked further fuelling already sky-high energy prices in the region. Prices rose in the eurozone at an annual rate of five per cent in December, the highest value on record for the currency … Read more
DONETSK, Ukraine – Ruslan Chebotayev was just 10-years-old when pro-Russian separatists seized his hometown in eastern Ukraine, sparking fighting that he and other teenagers say has robbed them of hope and prospects. The sounds of shelling punctuate life around the industrial city of Donetsk, where younger residents are used to tanks rumbling down their streets … Read more
MONTREAL – Canada’s foreign ministry was hit by a cyberattack last week that is still preventing diplomats from accessing certain online services, federal cyber security agencies confirmed on Monday. A day after the attack, which took place on January 19, Canada’s federal cyber security agency warned that critical infrastructure needed stronger defenses against “Russian state-sponsored … Read more
BERLIN – Russia said Thursday it would hold huge naval drills across four seas, in a new bout of sabre-rattling as tensions with the West soared to new heights over the threat that Moscow would march on Ukraine. The Russian defence ministry’s announcement to deploy more than 140 warships and supporting vessels this month and … Read more
BERLIN – Russia on Thursday condemned US President Joe Biden’s vow of a “severe” response to any invasion of Ukraine as “destabilising”, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened talks with key European allies for a common strategy against Moscow. The Kremlin’s reaction came after Biden in Washington assessed that Vladimir Putin will “move … Read more
ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned Russia against invading Ukraine, calling the former Soviet republic a “powerful” country with international friends. Turkey’s supply of combat drones to Ukraine has drawn the wrath of Russia, which fears they could be used by Kyiv in its years-long conflict in two regions of the Moscow-backed separatist … Read more
Karachi – The year 2021 remained a hub of conflicts across the world from an assault on the US Capitol, horrific bloodshed in Ethiopia, Taliban’s triumph in Afghanistan, great-power showdowns over Ukraine and Taiwan, amid dwindling US ambition on the global stage, Covid-19, to a climate emergency, according to the Foreign Policy report. However, some … Read more
WASHINGTON – From severing Russia from the world’s banking system to further arming Kyiv, US President Joe Biden is hoping threats of painful consequences will deter his counterpart Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. With tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed on Ukraine’s border, the Biden administration has accepted talks in Geneva next week with … Read more
After France, Ukraine too expressed their anger at the light-hearted show, ‘Emily in Paris.’ Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukraine’s cultural minister, has spoken out about the “offensive caricature” shown in the series about his fellow people. This remark was made by Tkachenko during an interview. He said, “Ukrainian men were mostly represented as gangsters in the 1990s … Read more
KIEV: Ukraine said on Wednesday it had complained to the EU against Gazprom, accusing the Russian energy giant of creating “an artificial deficit of gas” in Europe which has resulted in a price surge. European gas prices rocketed Tuesday to all-time highs on strong winter demand and simmering geopolitical tensions between key supplier Russia and consumer … Read more
MOSCOW: Walking through a freezing market in Moscow earlier this month, 60-year-old Sergei Borisovich recalled that he rang in the last New Year at a table laden with festive delicacies. This year, the factory worker, who declined to give his last name, said a spike in prices meant he would have to forego caviar and other … Read more
