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☆ World Bank says Ukraine, Russia boost eastern Europe, Central Asia growth outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The World Bank on Thursday lifted its 2023 economic growth forecast for eastern Europe and central Asia to 1.4% from an earlier 0.1% prediction, citing improved outlooks for both Russia and Ukraine despite their ongoing war. The regional forecast, released just days before the World Bank and International Monetary Fund hold their annual spring meetings, has Ukraine's economy growing by 0.5% this year following a staggering contraction of 29.2% in 2022, the year Russia launched its invasion. Russia's economy shrank 2.1% last year, considerably less than the 3.5% contraction the World Bank forecast in January. For 2023, the World Bank forecast Russia's economy to contract by 0.2%, compared to its previous forecast of a 3.3% contraction. The World Bank's regional grouping includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

☆ How to watch Joshua vs. Franklin: live stream boxing online
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Brendan Griffiths | Senior Commerce Director | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

No belts are on the line, but career prospects certainly are, so take a look at our global guide on how to watch a Joshua vs. Franklin live stream today. An Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin live stream might be the biggest professional heavyweight bout we see for a while. Where to watch Joshua vs. Franklin live stream (US)You can catch a US live stream of Joshua vs. Franklin today live on DAZN. How to watch Joshua vs. Franklin live stream (UK)UK boxing fans can also catch the Joshua vs. Franklin live stream from DAZN. How to watch Joshua vs. Franklin online with a VPNSign up for a VPN if you don't have one.

☆ Russia's military is being accused of stealing video game characters from 'Atomic Heart' to promote itself
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Russian army's clothing brand was spotted using posters with characters from the game "Atomic Heart." But the game's developers told Insider they never gave the Kremlin permission to use their work. Ukraine previously tried to boycott "Atomic Heart," accusing its developers of having Russian ties. The posters appear to show characters from "Atomic Heart" dressed in the store's clothing, with the apparel brand's name written at the top. However, the developers of "Atomic Heart," Mundfish, told Insider in a statement on Thursday that it never struck a deal with the Russian military.

☆ One of Russia's longtime allies said it will arrest Putin if he goes there, leaving him a pariah in a region where he was once dominant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Armenia, a longtime Russia ally, has been increasingly distancing itself from Vladimir Putin. Its ruling party said that if Putin visited Armenia, he would get arrested, Moscow Times reported. The party was referring to an international arrest warrant for Putin issued earlier this month. Armenia is among a growing group of countries that have said they would enforce an international warrant issued by the International Criminal Court earlier this month. Pashinyan has previously accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to take a more active role around the disputed separatist region of Nagorno-Karabak.

☆ Factbox: EU keeps on doing business with Russia despite sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here is a list of areas where the EU keeps on doing business with Russia. TRADE FLOWSIn 2021, Russia was the EU's fifth-largest trading partner with goods exchange worth 258 billion euros, according to the EU executive European Commission. Since the invasion in 2022, the value of EU imports from Russia fell by a half to around 10 billion euros last December. Gas is not covered by EU sanctions, but Moscow slashed pipeline deliveries to Europe since the invasion. The EU imported 2.1 billion euros worth of nickel in 2021, up to 3.2 billion euros last year, according to Eurostat.

☆ Killer drones and multi-billion dollar deals: Turkey's rapidly-growing defense industry is boosting its global clout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Drones aren't the only thing elevating Turkey's status as a growing player in the global defense industry. Turnover for the country's defense industry as a whole last year was $10 billion, according to Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries. And the investment shows in the numbers: research and development in Turkey's defense sector "recently increased by 30 percent," the Atlantic Council's report wrote. Turkish defense manufacturers say they are booked for the next several years with orders to help replenish NATO stockpiles. Those firms also have high demand from Turkey's military alone — it is, after all, the second-largest military in NATO after the United States.

☆ Russia warns Armenia against allying with ICC after Putin arrest warrant - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Russia has warned Armenia of "serious consequences" if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, the RIA news agency reported on Monday. The ICC issued the warrant this month, accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, a move condemned by the Kremlin as a meaningless and outrageously partisan decision. RIA, a state Russian news agency, cited a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that Moscow regarded Armenia's ICC plans as "unacceptable". The ICC warrant has the potential to complicate Putin's global travel plans if a country he wants to travel to is an official party to the Rome Statute. Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ McTominay fires Scotland to 3-0 win over Cyprus in Euro qualifier
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Soccer Football - UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier - Group A - Scotland v Cyprus - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - March 25, 2023 Cyprus' Minas Antoniou in action with Scotland's Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong Action Images via Reuters/Ed SykesMarch 25 (Reuters) - Scotland beat Cyprus 3-0 in their first Euro 2024 Group A qualifier on Saturday after second-half substitute Scott McTominay grabbed a double at Hampden Park. The second half was a far less entertaining affair, however, as Scotland failed to build on their advantage. But Steve Clarke's substitutions eventually worked as McTominay doubled the lead in the 87th minute. McTominay then scored again in added time when Cyprus failed to clear a cross into the box, with Robertson laying the ball into the path of the midfielder to score. Scotland next play Spain on Tuesday when Cyprus visit Armenia.

☆ Russian officer sentenced to 6.5 years for deserting amid war he opposed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 24 (Reuters) - A Russian security officer who fled the country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in high-security prison, the Taiga.info news website reported on Friday. Federal Protective Service Major Mikhail Zhilin, 36, fled to Kazakhstan last year when Russia announced a conscription campaign, illegally crossing the border through woods while his wife and children drove through a checkpoint. Zhilin sought refugee status in the former Soviet republic but his request was denied and authorities there stopped him from leaving for Armenia. Kazakhstan handed him over to Russia late last year, leading to the rare conviction of an officer for desertion. A Barnaul court clerk reached by telephone confirmed that Zhilin has been sentenced but declined to provide any further information.

☆ I train protection dogs for a living. The cost for clients can run up to $150,000, but it's a much better deal than hiring a bodyguard.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Mike Israeli owns Delta K9 Academy, which offers a program to train dogs to become protectors to their owners. The highest-level dog training program there can cost between $65K to $150K and can take more than 2 years. Israeli said some people in Los Angeles turn to protection dogs because they don't feel safe. But people found out that I had trained my own dog to be a protection dog, and they were interested, so we decided to offer it as a service. Many people in Los Angeles don't feel safe, and clients come to me because they were attacked or their houses were robbed.

"It seems to me that all the countries located around the Russian Federation should draw their own conclusions about how dangerous it is to take a path towards engagement with the United States' zone of responsibility, its zone of interests." Putin casts the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with the West over the future of both Russia and its former Soviet and imperial satellites which since 1991 have been courted by the United States, NATO, the EU, and China. Washington and the broader West, Lavrov said, wanted to punish Russia because it was perceived as "too independent a player" which challenged the hegemony of the United States. Lavrov, Putin's foreign minister since 2004, said that events in Georgia were orchestrated from outside and motivated by a Western attempt to claw away Russia's traditional allies. They say they simply did not agree with the proposed law and want a Western future which Russia, that fought a war against Georgia in 2008, does not offer.

☆ Putin's war in Ukraine is endangering Russia's centuries of great-power status
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Robert Farley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And yet Russian power and influence have waned in the past; the first 20 years of the 20th century represented a nadir in Russian power, as the Russian Empire lost most of its western territories after suffering a series of defeats at the hands of Japan, Germany, and Poland. Russian soldiers in World War II uniforms parade at Dvortsovaya Square in St. Petersburg in January 2019. AP Photo/Dmitri LovetskyBy virtue of its size and legacy, Russia is undoubtedly an important military power. Even as Russia has struggled mightily to impose its will upon Ukraine, nuclear weapons have ensured that NATO stays on the sidelines. Thomson ReutersBut is Russia a great power if it can't even crush its neighbor without help from China?

☆ Five dead in new Azerbaijan-Armenia clash over Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani troops and ethnic Armenians exchanged gunfire on Sunday in Azerbaijan's contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing at least five people, according to reports from Azerbaijan and Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh was the focal point of two wars that have pitted Azerbaijan against Azerbaijan in the more than 30 years since both ex-Soviet states have achieved attendance. Armenia's foreign ministry said three officials from the Karabakh interior ministry were killed. Nagorno-Karabakh has long been recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan, though its population is made up predominantly of ethnic Armenians. Armenian forces took control of Karabakh in a war that gripped the region as Soviet rule was collapsing in the early 1990s.

☆ Americans arrested for allegedly sending aviation technology to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Two Americans were arrested in Kansas City on Thursday for an alleged scheme to send aviation-related technology to Russia in violation of U.S. export controls. The defendants are charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file export information, and smuggling goods contrary to U.S. law. The U.S. imposed additional restrictions on avionics after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, along with controls on other goods targeting Russia's defense, aerospace and maritime sectors. The controls were later expanded to include Russia’s oil refining, industrial and commercial sectors, and luxury goods. Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkey's last Armenian village fears for its future after quake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Ece Toksabay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A view of the damaged altar at the church in Vakifli, the last Armenian village in Turkey, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, in Samandag, Turkey, February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa LopezVAKIFLI, Turkey, Feb 25 (Reuters) - In Turkey's only remaining ethnic Armenian village, Vakifli, the elderly population thank God that not one of them died during the devastating earthquakes that struck the region. They gather at the tea house for shelter and warmth. "Vakifli is all we have, the only Armenian village in Turkey. Now our house is uninhabitable and we live half the time in the tea house and half the time in the tent."

Overnight, the death toll from the earthquakes, the most powerful of which struck at the dead of night on Feb. 6, rose to 44,128 in Turkey. That took the overall number of deaths in Turkey and neighbouring Syria to more than 50,000. More than 160,000 buildings containing 520,000 apartments collapsed or were severely damaged in Turkey by the disaster, the worst in the country's modern history. Many Turks have expressed outrage at what they see as corrupt building practices and flawed urban developments. Turkey and Armenia are still at odds over the 1.5 million people Armenia says were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Turkey.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West formed what looked like an overwhelming global coalition: 141 countries supported a United Nations measure demanding that Russia unconditionally withdraw. South Korea Indonesia Israel Thailand Japan Saudi Arabia Philippines Afghanistan CambodiaBy contrast, Russia seemed isolated. Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus Syria Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus SyriaBut the West never won over as much of the world as it initially seemed. But like many other African countries, South Africa appears careful to balance its growing ties with Russia against maintaining a relationship with the West. Others that provided Ukraine with military support have declined to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

☆ Leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan set for first meeting since October
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are set to meet for the first time since October at trilateral talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich on Saturday, the U.S. State Department said. The U.S. State Department said Blinken would meet Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at 1235 GMT. Armenia has sent Azerbaijan a draft proposal for a peace settlement, Pashinyan said this week. Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor. Saturday's meeting would be the two leaders' first face-to-face encounter since late October, when Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted talks in the Black Sea city of Sochi.

☆ Fact Check-Drone strike video is not from Russia-Ukraine war, dates to at least 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of what appears to be a drone strike targeting troops on the ground has been circulating online with a caption that falsely claims it was taken during the Russia-Ukraine war. Other iterations of the video can be found on Instagram (here ) and Facebook (here ). However, a reverse image search reveals that the video was shared online as far back as 2020, long before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It was published to YouTube on Oct. 13, 2020, with a description that reads: “Azerbaijani drone strike on Armenian soldiers” (here ). The drone strike video is not related to the Russia-Ukraine war and dates to at least 2020, when it was shared in relation to a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

☆ A year into the war, Russians in Georgia are viewed with suspicion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Bookshop owner Nikolai Kireev, who recently relocated from Russia to Georgia, is seen through a window in Tbilisi, Georgia, February 14, 2023. Kireev is one of hundreds of thousands of Russians who relocated to Georgia following the invasion in February and the announcement of a "partial mobilisation" in Russia in September. According to Georgia's interior ministry, 112,000 Russians were in the country, which has a population of 3.7 million, as of Nov. 1. While the emigrants have helped make Georgia, along with neighbouring Armenia - another popular destination for anti-war Russians - among the fastest growing economies in the world, many Georgians view them with suspicion. In the 1990s, Moscow backed separatists in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with the regions' ethnic Georgian populations expelled.

☆ Turkey-Armenia gate opens for first time in decades to allow aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"I will always remember the generous aid sent by the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the earthquake stricken region in Turkey," Kilic said, thanking Armenian officials. Anadolu said the crossing was last used to send aid from the Turkish Red Crescent to earthquake-hit Armenia in 1988. Last year, Turkish and Armenian leaders met informally at a European summit, following a meeting by their foreign ministers, in efforts to mend decades of animosity. They are at odds primarily over the 1.5 million people Armenia says were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Turkey. Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies it was systematic.

☆ France urges stronger international response to Iran's missile program
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna looks on during a news conference with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira ( not pictured ) at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File PhotoSummary French govt: Colonna spoke to Blinken on ThursdayDiscussed Iran, Ukraine, Armenia, AzerbaijanUrged stronger response to Iran missile programmePARIS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - There must be a stronger "international response" to the threat posed by Iran's ballistic missiles program, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told her U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken, France's Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The French Foreign Ministry said Colonna and Blinken had spoken by phone on Thursday, during which they discussed an array of topics, including Ukraine and Iran. Colonna and Blinken also reiterated their "full support" to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia almost a year ago, and discussed the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten and John Irish; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin says Russia ready to help Syria and Turkey after major quake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A man stands near a damaged vehicle, following an earthquake, in rebel-held Azaz, Syria February 6, 2023. Russia has strong relations with both Syria and Turkey: Putin backed President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war and has a strong rapport with President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a NATO member which has sought to mediate in the Ukraine war. In a similar message to Assad, Putin said Russia shared "the sadness and pain of those who lost their loved ones" and said Russia was ready to provide help. Russia said it had two Ilyushin-76 aircraft with rescuers on board that were ready to fly to Turkey to help the rescue effort. "Saddened by the news of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria that resulted in the loss of so many lives," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

☆ Latvia says traders use Turkey, Kazakhstan, Armenia to dodge Russia sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Traders are using Turkey, Kazakhstan and Armenia to evade European Union sanctions on Russia in a tactic that breaches these countries' compliance with the bloc's embargo, Latvia's prime minister said on Friday. Krisjanis Karins made the assertion following talks with counterparts from fellow EU members Estonia and Lithuania, which along with Latvia have been among most vocal supporters of sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "It seems quite clear that traders are finding ways to legally trade goods, say with Turkey, Kazakhstan or Armenia which are then resent to Russia, because these countries are not adhering to the sanctions regime", Karins told reporters in the Estonian capital Tallinn. There was no immediate response from the foreign ministries of Turkey and Kazakhstan to requests for comment on the remarks by Karins. At the same time, it opposes Western sanctions on Russia and has close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, its Black Sea neighbours.

☆ Armenia tells World Court Azerbaijan blockade is 'ethnic cleansing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

THE HAGUE, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Armenia told judges at the World Court on Monday that a blockade of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region by neighbouring Azerbaijan was designed to allow "ethnic cleansing", a claim rejected by Baku. Monday's hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, was called to hear an Armenian request for the court to order Azerbaijan to lift the blockade. "Such blatant acts of ethnic cleansing have no place in the modern era and this court is the last hope for the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh," Kirakosyan said. Mammadov also said that Armenia's claims of ethnic cleansing were "distorting reality deliberately" and were "fanning the flames" of conflict. On Tuesday the ICJ will hear a competing demand from Azerbaijan for the court to order Armenia to stop planting landmines in territories it once occupied.

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