What 12 More Years of Putin Means for Russia
The Kremlin’s proposed constitutional amendments to extend Putin’s tenure could still set Moscow up for having to deal with a transition of power at a time of severe economic hardships…. Continue Reading
France Sanctions Chloroquine After 78 Of 80 Patients COMPLETELY Recover From COVID-19 Within Five Days
The French government has officially sanctioned the malaria drug chloroquine to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus, France 24 English reported Saturday. “This ensures continued treatment of patients who have been treated Continue Reading
France passes 4,000 coronavirus deaths, no end of lockdown in sight
France became the fourth country to pass the 4,000 coronavirus deaths threshold on Wednesday, after Italy, Spain and the United States, as the government scrambles to stay ahead of the Continue Reading
Putin takes coronavirus precautions as Moscow unveils tracking app
President Vladimir Putin is taking precautions to protect himself against coronavirus, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, as Moscow authorities launched a smartphone app to track people who have been ordered Continue Reading
Italy’s Coronavirus Death Toll Is Far Higher Than Reported
In the town of Coccaglio, an hour’s drive east of here, the local nursing home lost over a third of its residents in March. None of the 24 people who Continue Reading
Spain sheds nearly 900,000 jobs since coronavirus lockdown
Spain has shed close to 900,000 jobs, more than half of them temporary, since it went into lockdown in mid-March to fight the coronavirus outbreak, social security data showed on Continue Reading
Russia’s coronavirus cases jump to more than 3,500 in record daily rise
Russia’s coronavirus case tally jumped to 3,548 on Thursday, a record daily increase of 771, Russia’s crisis response centre said. Cases have been recorded in 76 of Russia’s more than Continue Reading
Trump Says World’s Biggest Oil Producers to Meet on Market Crash
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would meet with Saudi Arabia and Russia with the goal of stanching an historic plunge in oil prices. Trump, speaking at the White House Tuesday, Continue Reading
Coronavirus: Russia includes jail terms to enforce crackdown
Strict lockdowns in Moscow have been followed up by regions across the country The Russian parliament has approved an “anti-virus” package of laws including up to seven years in prison Continue Reading
Moscow unveils coronavirus tracking app as national lockdown widens
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Authorities in Moscow unveiled a smartphone app designed to keep tabs on people who have been ordered to stay at home because of the coronavirus and Russia Continue Reading
Lockdowns Knock East EU Industry to Post-Economic Crisis Lows
Isolation measures imposed to staunch the spread of the coronavirus thrust central European manufacturing, the region’s main growth engine, into the deepest declines at least since the global economic crisis. As Continue Reading
Russia Won’t Boost Oil Output Amid Oversupply, Official Says
Russia doesn’t plan to increase crude production given the huge oversupply in the global market, according to a government official, a potentially dovish signal in the price war with Saudi Continue Reading
Rosneft Cancels Venezuela Oil Cargoes On Fresh Sanctions
Russia’s Rosneft has canceled VLCC cargoes scheduled to carry 5.7 million barrels of Venezuelan oil because of U.S. sanctions, Reuters reports , citing data from PdVSA, and shipping data from Continue Reading
Relief On The Horizon? Trump And Putin Discuss Oil Markets
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday to have energy officials from both countries discuss the dire state of the global oil market, the Kremlin Continue Reading
Putin, Trump discuss oil market, agree energy ministers to hold further consultations: Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation on global oil markets with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, Monday, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin press service. “There was Continue Reading
Inside Sweden’s Radically Different Approach to the Coronavirus
The ski pistes are open, the restaurants are doing ample business and the malls are awash with shoppers. Welcome to Sweden, the last holdout among the small number of Western Continue Reading
Rosneft Sells Venezuelan Assets as Fight With U.S. Grows
Russian oil giant Rosneft PJSC sold its assets in Venezuela to the Russian government, in what may be a maneuver to avoid any U.S. sanctions in an escalating fight between Continue Reading
Russia’s Rosneft Plans to Sell All Assets Related to Venezuela
In an unexpected move, Russian state oil giant Rosneft announced that it would halt all activities in Venezuela and sell all its assets related to activities in the country. “Today, Continue Reading
Special Report: Five days of worship that set a virus time bomb in France
From the stage of an evangelical superchurch, the leader of the gospel choir kicked off an evening of prayer and preaching: “We’re going to celebrate the Lord! Are you feeling Continue Reading
European shares retreat as coronavirus fears intensify
European stock markets headed lower on Monday, as fears about the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic intensified with several nations extending near-total lockdowns. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was Continue Reading
Kremlin in virus crackdown after Russians rush for ‘long weekend’
A day after President Vladimir Putin announced a nine-day paid national holiday in a bid to stem the spread of Covid 19, hotel reservations in the seaside town of Sochi Continue Reading
Russia’s Plan To Bankrupt U.S. Shale Could Send Oil To $60
As soon as U.S. shale leaves the market, prices will rebound and could reach $60 a barrel, Rosneft’s Igor Sechin said recently. As fate would have it, in what many Continue Reading
Norway’s Equinor raises Johan Sverdrup phase 1 oil output target to 470,000 b/d
Norway’s state-controlled Equinor on Monday raised the expected ‘plateau production’ target for the first phase of its Johan Sverdrup field to 470,000 b/d, from 440,000 b/d previously, and said it Continue Reading
Russia calls U.S. sanctions on Venezuela a ‘tool of genocide’ amid epidemic
Russia said on Friday U.S. “narco-terrorism” charges against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro were absurd, adding that sanctions on Caracas could become “a tool of genocide” amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Continue Reading
Brussels rubbishes UK ventilator claims
Brussels has rejected UK government claims that an “initial communication problem” meant that Britain missed out on participating in the joint procurement of ventilators, insisting that the UK was fully Continue Reading
Italy coronavirus deaths rise by 919, highest daily tally since start of outbreak
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has surged by 919 to 9,134, the Civil Protection Agency said on Friday, easily the highest daily tally since the Continue Reading
Coronavirus Lockdown: Skies Clear in Rome, Paris and Madrid
Air pollution in some of Europe’s major cities has dropped dramatically since governments ordered citizens to stay home to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Readings from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P Continue Reading
Putin Exploits Coronavirus to Justify Centralized Russian Power
The coronavirus pandemic has given Russian President Vladimir Putin a fresh opportunity to drive home for worried Russians a recurring theme of his long reign: Western liberal democracies are weak, Continue Reading
Coronavirus: Russia sees no epidemic but starts shutdown
Parks are closing across the country but many Russians are not sure what all the fuss is about Russia is beginning what Vladimir Putin called a “non-working week”, to try Continue Reading
In drastic move, Italy shuts most factories to halt virus
Italy has become the first western developed nation to idle most of its industry to halt the spread of the coronavirus, a potential cautionary tale for other governments, such as Continue Reading
Russian oil, gas output to continue smoothly despite new coronavirus measures
Russian oil and gas producers said Thursday that measures introduced so far to combat the spread of the coronavirus in Russia will not affect oil and gas production and supply. Continue Reading
Russia calls for new enlarged OPEC deal to tackle oil demand collapse
A new OPEC+ deal to balance oil markets might be possible if other countries join in, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, adding that countries should also Continue Reading
Europe’s Leaders Are at Loggerheads Over Coronabonds: Map – Bloomberg
As Europe’s economy nosedives, its leaders are at loggerheads over how to respond to the shock of the coronavirus pandemic. A group of countries led by France, Italy and Spain seek joint Continue Reading
Russia’s Self-Inflicted Oil Crisis
The timing could not have been worse for Russia to provoke a spat with Saudi Arabia over oil production quotas in early March. Moscow’s decision to withdraw from the OPEC+ Continue Reading
Putin, citing coronavirus, postpones vote on changes to extend his rule
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday postponed a nationwide vote on constitutional changes that would allow him to extend his rule, saying the health and safety of citizens was his Continue Reading
Why Is Russia’s Coronavirus Case Count So Low?
As the coronavirus continues to spread, Russia may have a hard time tracking people who have caught it at work, on the metro, or from relatives. In the past two Continue Reading
Russia’s Unexpected Advantage In The Oil Price War
While the ruble is now at its lowest level against the dollar in four years, the cheaper ruble has a silver lining for Russia’s oil producers in the oil price Continue Reading
The Cost Of The Oil Price War Is Growing For Russia
Russia’s economy needs about a trillion rubles, or roughly $12.7 billion a month over the next few months to emerge stable from the coronavirus pandemic and the oil price crash Continue Reading
Three Russian car plants to suspend production on COVID-19, lack of components
t least three car plants in Russia plant to suspend operations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus while they also struggle with a lack of components. Volkswagen Group Rus, Continue Reading
Europe Opts for Economic Freeze to Fight Coronavirus, as U.S. Debate Continues
European governments weighing the economic damage of a mass shutdown against the risk of spreading the new coronavirus were initially hesitant to impose stringent lockdowns and border closures. But as Continue Reading
Russian official questions Vladimir Putin’s coronavirus data
Russia’s official data showing a low rate of infections caused by the novel coronavirus underestimate the real scale of the disease outbreak in the country, a senior Russian official has Continue Reading
Moscow’s coronavirus outbreak much worse than it looks, Putin ally says
The mayor of Moscow told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the number of coronavirus cases in the Russian capital far exceeded the official figures, as Putin donned a protective Continue Reading
Italian coronavirus cases seen “10 times higher” than official tally
The number of coronavirus cases in Italy is probably 10 times higher than the official tally, the head of the agency collating the data said on Tuesday as the government Continue Reading
Russian Railways unloads record coal volume in Vladivostok region
The Russian Far East saw the highest ever coal unloading volumes set this week at terminals in the Vladivostok region, Russian Railways said Tuesday. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes Continue Reading
German Business Outlook Collapses With Economy Largely Shut Down
German business confidence collapsed the most in three decades after restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus forced mass closures of companies and stores across Europe’s largest economy. The slump Continue Reading
British supermarkets limit customers to enforce social distancing
Britain’s supermarkets have started limiting the number of customers in stores at any one time to enforce social distancing during the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered Continue Reading
Euro-Zone Economy Crashes on Coronavirus Business Shutdowns
The euro zone is sinking into the biggest economic crisis in its history as measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic bring much of the business world to a standstill. IHS Markit’s measure Continue Reading
Europe Gets Serious About Lockdowns as Italy Slows Deaths
On the same day Italy finally saw a dip in the number of deaths from the coronavirus, the U.K. was forced into a full lockdown with Europe still scrambling for new Continue Reading
Greece imposes lockdown after coronavirus infections jump
Greece announced a lockdown on Sunday, restricting movement from Monday morning with only a few exceptions, to combat the spread of coronavirus. “It is maybe the last step, one that Continue Reading
Russian Energy Minister Novak Said to Meet Oil CEOs Monday
Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak will meet executives from the nation’s key oil companies Monday as global crude prices hover at their lowest in nearly two decades, according to a Continue Reading