Russia is expected to annex four occupied regions of Ukraine at a lavish Kremlin ceremony on Friday that follows a threat by President Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons in their defence.. Along with threats to use nuclear weapons, Putin announced a mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Russians to bolster Moscow's army in Ukraine, sparking demonstrations and an exodus of men abroad.
Asian markets sank Friday after another devastating day on US and European trading floors, with inflation continuing to soar and central bankers getting increasingly hawkish in their attempts to bring prices under control.. "Risky assets don't stand a chance of a meaningful rally if the economy continues to show resilience while inflation continues to be significantly above the Fed's Funds rate," said OANDA's Edward Moya.
A fire broke out Thursday at Paraguay's Superior Court of Elections, destroying thousands of electronic ballot boxes and other equipment only two months ahead of the South American country's presidential primaries, officials said.. Paraguay's primary elections are scheduled for December 18, with the general presidential election on April 30, 2023. hro/dl/ll/des/caw
Uruguay was a pioneer in the legalization of recreational cannabis use, a move that helped to push many drug traffickers out of the domestic market.. "There are many more domestic growers who are simply not registered" but have already overtaken trafficking networks in the sale of cannabis.
A Thai court is set to rule Friday on whether suspended prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha should be reinstated, or thrown out of office permanently, with a verdict in his favour likely to trigger protests.. Under the 2017 Thai constitution, a prime minister cannot serve more than eight years in office, but Prayut's supporters and critics disagree as to when his term began.
US senator Bernie Sanders on Thursday urged Brazilians of all stripes to respect the outcome of presidential elections and reject political violence, in a message tweeted by fellow leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.. "It is one where both the winners and the losers of elections must respect the results and where political violence or the threat of political violence is always unacceptable."
Nord Stream's operator said Thursday it was unable to immediately assess damage to pipelines linking Russia to Europe, threatening an indeterminate outage -- after Sweden detected a fourth leak and NATO decried "acts of sabotage". . Nord Stream's operator said it "intends to start assessing the damage to the pipeline as soon as it receives necessary official permits".
As Russia prepares to annex four Ukrainian regions, Kyiv's forces are finishing the job of driving Moscow's retreating troops out of a fifth and threatening their foe's supply lines.. Kupiansk hosts a severely-damaged bridge across the Oskil river, a natural barrier that the retreating Russians had attempted to hold, and a rail line once used to supply the occupation forces.
The United States indicted Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, his Russian partner and two others Thursday over a scheme to obtain US citizenship for his two children in violation of US sanctions.. "Today’s indictment reflects the FBI's commitment to use all of the tools at our disposal to aggressively pursue those who attempt to evade the United States’ economic countermeasures against the Russian government," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
More than three-quarters of the world's murders of environmental activists took place in Latin America last year, an annual review by watchdog Global Witness showed on Thursday.. "Over three-quarters of the attacks recorded took place in Latin America," said Global Witness, which has issued such reports since 2012.
