Economics,Politics
West Africa struggles to contain Ebola as warnings and deaths mount
03.09.2014 13:02
(Reuters) - The United Nations said on Tuesday the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa was causing food shortages in one of the world's poorest regions and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the disease was threatening the stability of stricken countries and...
U.S. bank regulators set to adopt liquidity, swaps margin rules
03.09.2014 12:54
(Reuters) - U.S. bank regulators plan to adopt on Wednesday rules forcing big banks to hold more assets that they could sell easily in a credit crunch, a requirement that is closely linked to the experience of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Regulators also will unveil a separate proposal governing...
Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talk boost financial markets
03.09.2014 12:53
(Reuters) - World markets jumped on Wednesday as Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said a ceasefire had been reached with Russia, holding steady despite conflicting reports from the Kremlin on the agreement.
Russian shares surged more than four percent, while the rouble jumped 1.5 percent...
Confusion as Ukraine and Russia announce progress towards peace
03.09.2014 12:52
(Reuters) - Ukraine said on Wednesday its president had agreed with Russia's Vladimir Putin on steps towards a "ceasefire regime" in Kiev's conflict with pro-Russian rebels, but the Kremlin denied any actual truce deal, sowing confusion on the eve of a NATO summit.
"The parties reached mutual...
Factory and Lab: Israel's War Business
03.09.2014 12:48
DerSpiegel: Israel invests more money in research than most other countries -- and in no other place are research institutes, the defense industry, the army and politics as interwoven. The result is a high-tech weapons factory that successfully exports its goods globally.
There's not much left...
'Yes' or 'No'? A Divided Scotland Confronts Independence Vote
03.09.2014 12:38
DerSpiegel: Traveling through Scotland, you might think the result of September's independence referendum is a foregone conclusion. "Yes" signs are everywhere. But surveys tell a different story and many who are wary of the hype.
Liam Stevenson was never the type to become particularly...
Failed Diplomacy: NATO Hardliners Push for Firmer Stance against Russia
03.09.2014 12:31
DerSpiegel: After months of failed telephone diplomacy between Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin, hardliners are gaining the upper hand in discussions over the appropriate response to Russia. They may soon prevail with demands that go far beyond new economic sanctions.
The official number is...
Rosneft President Igor Sechin: 'Russia Didn't Initiate the Ukraine Crisis'
03.09.2014 12:21
DerSpiegel: Igor Sechin, head of the oil giant Rosneft, is considered by many to be the second most powerful man in Russia. In an interview, he speaks with SPIEGEL about natural gas deliveries to Europe, the Ukraine crisis and the damage caused by economic sanctions.
His adversaries refer to...
Undeclared War: Putin's Covert Invasion of Eastern Ukraine
03.09.2014 12:18
DerSpiegel: Moscow has continued to deny direct involvement in the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But evidence to the contrary continues to mount. NATO says up to 1,000 Russian soldiers have joined the fray and the pro-Russian separatists have made a remarkable turnaround.
In the middle of a...
Putin, Poroshenko agree on ceasefire steps “to a large extent”
03.09.2014 12:14
ItarTass: Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that Russia is not a party to Ukraine’s internal conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko have agreed “to a large extent” on steps to be taken by the Ukrainian military and militias to achieve a...
Lavrov: There will be no military interference to Ukraine
03.09.2014 12:09
ItarTass: According to Russia’s foreign minister, Washington and Brussels should demand that Kiev quit using arms against civilians
There will be no military interference to Ukraine, and Russia is for peaceful settlement. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has made this...
Ban Ki-moon: no military solution to Ukraine crisis
02.09.2014 16:10
TheGuardian: UN secretary general calls for a political dialogue as Kiev accuses Russia of launching a 'great war'
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has warned western powers "there is no military solution" to the Ukraine crisis, after the government in Kiev...
Nato to create high-readiness force to counter Russian threat
02.09.2014 16:08
TheGuardian: Spearhead force will be made up of around 4,000 troops with capacity to 'travel light but strike hard', according to Nato
Nato is to create a 4,000-strong "spearhead" high-readiness force that can be deployed rapidly in eastern Europe and the Baltic states to help...
UK, EU, and Nato - all in need of a 'new world order'?
02.09.2014 16:03
TheGuardian: Nation state boundaries less and less relevant
• All conflicts are connected
• Federalism not necessarily a dirty word
More than 50 years ago, Henry Kissinger, America's best known political scientist, hugely controversial diplomat and national security adviser, wrote his first...
Putin claims Russian forces 'could conquer Ukraine capital in two weeks'
02.09.2014 16:00
TheGuardian: Leak reveals Russian president told José Manuel Barroso that his forces could conquer Kiev if he ordered them to do so.
Vladimir Putin has said Russian forces could conquer the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, in two weeks if he so ordered, the Kremlin has confirmed.
Moscow declined...
Experts ask Donetsk militia to comb MH17 crash site for small belongings
02.09.2014 15:58
ItarTass: First deputy prime minister Andrei Purgin of Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic says international experts are no longer interested in debris of the plane
nternational experts investigating the downing of a Malaysian Airlines plane ask the authorities of Ukraine’s...
Poroshenko assures Russian military detained in Ukraine to be handed over to Russia
02.09.2014 15:57
ItarTass: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gave assurances to Vladimir Putin at the talks in Minsk earlier this week that several Russian Army servicemen detained in Ukraine would be handed over to Russia.
Putin said this while meeting with young Russians participating in the activities of...
Russia not to be drawn into large-scale conflicts — Putin
02.09.2014 15:55
ItarTass: Partners need to understand that it is better not to mess around with Russia, the Russian president said
Russia will not be drawn into large-scale conflicts but partners need to understand that it is better not to mess around with Russia, President Vladimir Putin said on...
Estonia president wants NATO permanent bases in the country
02.09.2014 15:51
ItarTass: “This is not the signal the potential aggressor should receive from us,” Estonian President Toomas Hendrik says
NATO permanent bases should be created in Estonia, visiting Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves told reporters in the Norwegian capital on Tuesday.
He said at a joint...
Lavrov: There will be no military interference to Ukraine
02.09.2014 15:49
ItarTass: According to Russia’s foreign minister, Washington and Brussels should demand that Kiev quit using arms against civilians
MOSCOW, September 1. /ITAR-TASS/. There will be no military interference to Ukraine, and Russia is for peaceful settlement. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Minister of...
Russia to adjust military doctrine due to NATO expansion, Ukraine crisis
02.09.2014 15:34
RT: Moscow is to review its military doctrine, a move that is caused by expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe, problems of missile defense and the crisis situation in neighboring Ukraine, says an official from the Russia’s Security Council.
“I have no doubts that the issue of drawing of military...
UN: ISIS and govt forces guilty of atrocities in Iraq
02.09.2014 15:28
RT: Islamic State militants have carried out atrocities on “an unimaginable scale” over several months of fighting in Iraq, a UN official said in an emergency debate Monday. The UN agreed to send a commission to the country to investigate.
The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights,...
Putin: I hope common sense prevails in ‘war of sanctions’
02.09.2014 15:21
RT: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he hopes Russia and the west can return to normal cooperation from the current mutually damaging “war of sanctions,” as Europe ponders whether it should go further in penalizing Moscow.
“Concerning limitations in trade and economic activity, at the...
Putin: Impossible to say when political crisis in Ukraine will end
02.09.2014 15:13
RT: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Kiev to start substantial talks on deescalating the crisis in eastern Ukraine. He added that it’s an illusion to expect that the rebels would calmly watch their homes being destroyed.
“We have agreed on a plan, so its realization must be...
Donetsk, Lugansk Republics urge Kiev to recognize their ‘special status’
02.09.2014 15:10
RT: At talks in Minsk, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics have urged Kiev to acknowledge their “special status.” If their demands are met, they will not lay claim to other parts of Ukraine, the rebel republics said.
The initial statement said that if Kiev guarantees...
Putin Faces Debt to Import Curbs as EU Weighs Sanctions
02.09.2014 14:52
Bloomberg: President Vladimir Putin faces possible further curbs on debt sales and access to technology as European Union regulators review the arsenal of measures at their disposal to sanction Russia.
The European Commission, responding to an Aug. 30 call by EU leaders, pledged to...
Russia Hits Out at U.S. on Ukraine as Obama Visits Region
02.09.2014 14:49
Bloomberg: Russia stepped up its criticism of the U.S. over Ukraine as President Barack Obamaheads to eastern Europe to reassure NATO members of their security.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovsaid Ukraine’s allies are stoking the five-month conflict and should back peace...
Obama to Deliver Warning to Putin on NATO’s Frontier
02.09.2014 14:46
Bloomberg: U.S. President Barack Obama touches down in Estonia tonight to deliver reassurance to Baltic nations and a direct warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO stands by its military commitment to alliance security.
Obama added a stop in Tallinn, Estonia,...
Ukraine Warns of Europe’s Worst Conflict Since World War II
02.09.2014 14:44
Bloomberg: Ukraine warned of an escalating conflict in its easternmost regions as a rebel leader said talks this week may include negotiations for a truce.
The country’s military will take on Russia’s “full-scale invasion,” Defense Minister Valeriy Geletey said on Facebook...
UK's fate in the balance as poll shows record support for Scottish independence
02.09.2014 14:42
(Reuters) - A poll showing support for Scottish independence at its highest ever level threw the fate of the United Kingdom into question on Tuesday, just two weeks before Scots vote on whether to secede.
The poll by YouGov showed the unionist lead had shrunk to 6 percentage points from 22 a month...