By Gleb Stolyarov MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian authorities sought to limit the damage on Monday from oil spilled into the Kerch Strait by two ageing tankers that were damaged during a heavy weekend storm, highlighting the environmental and insurance risks of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’. One crew member was killed after the Volgoneft 212 split in half, …
Stricken oil tankers show risks of Russia’s ageing ‘shadow fleet’ Read More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power, saying he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base on Dec. 8 as it came under drone attack, after leaving Damascus that morning with rebel fighters closing in. His written statement was published on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel …
Assad gives account of last hours before leaving Syria Read More »
By Andrius Sytas TALLINN (Reuters) – Twelve Western countries have agreed measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of vessels in order to prevent sanctions breaches and increase the cost to Moscow of the war in Ukraine, Estonia’s government said on Monday. The measures were agreed by Germany, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, the …
Western nations agree to ‘disrupt and deter’ Russia shadow fleet, Estonia says Read More »
By Andrew Gray BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union should be ready to ease sanctions on Syria if the country’s new leadership takes “positive steps” to establish an inclusive government and respect women’s and minority rights, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday. Many EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Monday …
EU should ease Syria sanctions in return for ‘positive steps’, top diplomat Kallas says Read More »
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, on Monday approved a special law designed to maintain core state functions and prevent any interruption of public services, three days after President Emmanuel Macron named Francois Bayrou as his fourth prime minister of 2024. The French constitution allows for a special law to …
French parliament approves bill to roll over budget, avoiding shutdown Read More »
By Lili Bayer BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday that the bloc should suspend visa-free travel for Georgian officials holding diplomatic passports following a crackdown in Georgia on pro-EU protests. “The situation is not going to a positive direction for the Georgian people,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters …
EU moves towards suspending visa-free travel for Georgian diplomats Read More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank expects to cut interest rates further if inflation settles at its 2% target as it expects, some of the ECB’s top brass said on Monday. ECB President Christine Lagarde and the bank’s most influential policy hawk, Isabel Schnabel, cemented market bets on further gradual reductions in borrowing costs …
ECB expects more rate cuts as inflation fears abate Read More »
(Reuters) -CVC Capital Partners is considering purchasing Vivendi’s stake in Telecom Italia, a move that could pave the way for a potential takeover of the Italian telecommunications company, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Private-equity group CVC has been holding preliminary talks with Vivendi about the stake purchase, the report said, citing people with knowledge of …
CVC weighs buying Vivendi’s Telecom Italia stake, Bloomberg News reports Read More »
MILAN (Reuters) – An Italian court has given the government and Telecom Italia until Jan. 20 to discuss a potential accord over the phone group’s request it gets 1 billion euros ($1 billion) from the state, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The payment request stems from a dispute dating back to 1998 …
By Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Antonov MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s defence minister said on Monday that Moscow must be ready to fight the NATO military alliance in Europe in the next decade, as President Vladimir Putin said he believed the Ukraine war was turning in Moscow’s favour. Andrei Belousov, Putin’s defence chief, cited a NATO summit …
Russia must be ready to fight NATO in Europe in next decade, minister says Read More »
