Category: crisis

NATO Chief Speaks With Erdogan About Finland, Sweden Joining

BRUSSELS—NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Finland’s prime minister and spoken to Turkey’s president as he seeks to overcome Turkish resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance. Stoltenberg, who visited Washington this week, said on Twitter late Friday that he met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin while there and discussed “the need…


Russia Summons Heads of US Media Outlets, Warns of ‘Stringent Measures’

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was summoning the heads of U.S. media outlets in Moscow to a meeting next Monday to notify them of tough measures in response to U.S. restrictions against Russian media. “If the work of the Russian media—operators and journalists—is not normalized in the United States, the most stringent measures will inevitably…


German Lawmakers Approve 100 Billion Euro Military Revamp

BERLIN—Germany’s Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on Friday approved creation of the 100 billion euro ($107.2 billion) special defence fund that Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The money is destined to top up the regular defence budget of around 50 billion euros over several years to help re-build…


EU Formally Approves Embargo on Russia Oil

BRUSSELS—The European Union on Friday formally approved an embargo on Russian oil and other sanctions targeting major banks and broadcasters over Moscow’s war on Ukraine. EU headquarters says Russian crude oil will be phased out over six months, and other refined petroleum products over eight months. It says that “a temporary exception is foreseen” for…


Russia’s National Depository to Replace Citi as Eurobond Servicing Agent

Russia is replacing Citibank, which has stopping servicing the country’s Eurobonds, with its own National Settlement Depository, the finance ministry said on Thursday, as it risks its first major external debt default in over a century. Sanctions imposed by Western countries and their allies on Russia after it started what it calls a “special military…


Oil Firms on EU’s Russian Oil Ban and End of Shanghai Lockdown

LONDON—Oil prices firmed on Wednesday after European Union leaders agreed to a partial and phased ban on Russian oil and as China ended its COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai. Brent crude was up $1.71, or 1.5 percent, at $117.31 a barrel by 0817 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.67, or 1.5 percent, to…


US Wheat Crop Hit by Dry Winter Then Soggy Spring, Adding to Global Tightness

North Dakota farmer Dwight Grotberg wanted to plant more wheat this spring to capitalize on soaring prices since Ukraine’s war cut grain exports and left the world short of millions of tons of wheat supply. Heavy rain has prevented Grotberg from planting as much wheat crop as he wanted and is hampering farmers across the…


Oil Bull Run Continues as EU Agrees to Ban Most Russian Oil

LONDON—Oil prices extended a bull run on Tuesday after the EU agreed to a partial and phased ban on Russian oil and China decided to lift some coronavirus restrictions amid rising demand ahead of the peak U.S. and European summer driving season. Brent crude for July, which expires on Tuesday, rose $2.11, or 1.7 percent,…


Twitter Rolls Out New ‘Crisis Misinformation’ Policy

Twitter on Thursday said it is rolling out a new “crisis misinformation” policy that is intended to target false information during crises. “To determine whether claims are misleading, we require verification from multiple credible, publicly available sources, including evidence from conflict monitoring groups, humanitarian organizations, open-source investigators, journalists, and more,” Twitter said in a post…


[Premiering 7:30 PM ET] Bad Politics Are Driving America to a Stagflation Disaster: Stephen Moore

America is moving fast toward a stagflation economic crisis, where costs go up and the available money goes down. Yet, according to a former top economic adviser to President Donald Trump, this crisis is still avoidable. Stephen Moore is a former member of Trump’s Economic Task Force and is an economic adviser. We spoke with…