Section: News & Summaries

      Obama said to use 1953 law to block drilling in Arctic, Atlantic – Bloomberg
      Dec20

      Obama said to use 1953 law to block drilling in Arctic, Atlantic – Bloomberg

      U.S. President Barack Obama is preparing to block the sale of new offshore drilling rights in much of the U.S. Arctic and parts of the Atlantic, a move that could indefinitely restrict oil production there, according to two people familiar with the decision, Bloomberg reported. Obama will invoke a provision in a 1953 law that gives him wide...

      IMF chief Christine Lagarde keeps her job, escapes penalty after negligence conviction in France
      Dec20

      IMF chief Christine Lagarde keeps her job, escapes penalty after negligence conviction in France

      International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde escaped punishment and kept her job on Monday despite a conviction on negligence charges over a state payout made while she served as France`s finance minister in 2008, according to Reuters. The executive board representing the IMF`s 189 member countries reaffirmed its full confidence in...

      PrivatBank freezes funds in corporate accounts as of December 19 in ”temporary measure”
      Dec20

      PrivatBank freezes funds in corporate accounts as of December 19 in ”temporary measure”

      PJSC PrivatBank has frozen funds in corporate accounts as of December 19, according to a message posted on ”Privat24 for business” website. The report says that debit transactions from the accounts and cards are allowed within the amount exceeding the balance on these accounts as of the morning of December 19, 2016, and all the credit limits in...

      Serbia to purchase Russian fighter jets amid Montenegro intention to join NATO
      Dec20

      Serbia to purchase Russian fighter jets amid Montenegro intention to join NATO

      Serbia said Monday that it will purchase Russian combat jets in a move likely to add to tensions in the Balkans amid Moscow`s apparent efforts to prevent the volatile European region from joining Western institutions, according to ABCNews. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he will travel to Moscow later this week to sign a deal that...

      The Ukraine question and NATO-Russia summit
      Dec20

      The Ukraine question and NATO-Russia summit

      Following a NATO-Russia summit held Monday, the Bloc`s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the 28-nation military alliance and Russia ”have profound disagreements on the crisis” in Ukraine, according to ABCNews. He said NATO allies ”reiterated their strong support for Ukraine`s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and insisted that they...

      Armed man tried to get into U.S. Embassy in Turkey
      Dec20

      Armed man tried to get into U.S. Embassy in Turkey

      An armed individual has attempted to enter the building of the United States Embassy in Turkey, located in Ankara, according to Daily Sabah. It is noted that the police arrested the man who had shot in the air outside the embassy. The perpetrator`s photo was published by Daily Sabah as well as the footage of the incident. The U.S. Embassy in...

      Berlin carnage death toll rises to 12, circumstances of tragedy still unclear
      Dec20

      Berlin carnage death toll rises to 12, circumstances of tragedy still unclear

      The number of people killed in the Monday night incident in Berlin where a truck plowed into the festive crowd at a Breitscheidplatz Christmas fair raised to 12, according to the latest police reports. Another 48 people remain in local hospitals, some of them – in critical condition. The owner of a Polish logistics company from Gdansk Ariel...

      Ukraine`s gross foreign debt grows by 0.9% to $116 bln in third quarter
      Dec20

      Ukraine`s gross foreign debt grows by 0.9% to $116 bln in third quarter

      Ukraine`s gross foreign debt in the third quarter of 2016 grew by 0.9%, or $1.053 billion, from the second quarter of 2016, to $116.015 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine. At the same time, the gross foreign debt has shrunk by 2.3%, or $2.714 billion, since the beginning of the year. As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine`s gross...

      OSCE counts 2,900 ceasefire violations amid Svitlodarska Duha battles within one day
      Dec20

      OSCE counts 2,900 ceasefire violations amid Svitlodarska Duha battles within one day

      The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine has reported almost 3,000 ceasefire violations on December 18 during battles near the so-called Svitlodarska Duha, a stretch between the militant-controlled town of Horlivka and the town of Svitlodarsk in Donetsk region. ”The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region on both...

      Poroshenko condemns Berlin terror attack
      Dec20

      Poroshenko condemns Berlin terror attack

      Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has condemned a reportedly terror attack, which took place in Berlin, Germany, late on Monday, when a truck drove into a crowd and killed nine people. ”Shocked at the news about the horrific attack at the Christmas market in the heart of Berlin,” Poroshenko tweeted. Poroshenko did not use the word ”terrorist”...