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A view shows a tank, which was destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 20, 2022. (REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko) KYIV/OSLO — Russia stopped providing gas to Finland in an escalation of a row over energy payments with the West on Saturday and intensified an offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. After ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic southeastern city of Mariupol, Russia is waging what appears to be a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in Donbas. Russian-backed separatists already controlled swathes of territory in Luhansk and the neighboring Donetsk province before the Feb. 24 invasion, but Moscow wants to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-held territory in Donbas. The end of fighting in Mariupol, the biggest city Russia has captured so far, could be crucial to that ambition and gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a rare victory after a series of setbacks … [Read more...] about Russia cuts gas flow to Finland, intensifies push for Donbas

The rupee hit an all-time low of nearly 77 a dollar on Monday after crude oil made fresh surges on news reports that the US and its European allies were weighing a ban on Russian oil.  This was the fourth consecutive session when the currency weakened. At 12.11pm, the home currency was trading at 76.96 a dollar, down 1.03 percent from its previous close. It opened at 76.96 a dollar and touched a record low of 76.97 during the day. Analysts says that the higher crude is likely to widen India's current account deficit. A higher current account deficit is likely to put further pressure on the domestic currency. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and likely lower exports of Russian crude oil will keep the oil prices elevated for a protracted period. "We note increasing risks of global crude prices staying elevated in the next 6-9 months due to large imbalances in the global crude oil markets," an analyst said. Brent soared to a near 14-year high of $140. Oil reached its highest … [Read more...] about Rupee trades at record low of 76.96 a dollar on soaring crude prices

The capture of Mariupol would represent the Kremlin’s biggest victory yet of the war in Ukraine. It would help Moscow secure more of the coastline, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014, and free up more forces to join the larger and potentially more consequential battle now underway for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, the Donbas. (Image: AP) The Ukrainian forces who made a determined last stand in a Mariupol steel mill against Russian troops were a mixture of seasoned soldiers, border guards, a controversial national guard regiment and volunteers who took up arms in the weeks before Russias invasion. As Russia announced it had completed its takeover of Mariupol with the surrender of the fighters who served as the final obstacle, Ukraine's government did not confirm the city's fall. Earlier in the week, Ukrainian officials said its combantants in the Azovstal steel plant had completed their mission and were being … [Read more...] about Explainer: Who were Mariupol’s last defenders?

With his fluffy black dog in tow, Gilberto Rodriguez left Venezuela two months ago on a perilous eight-country journey, mostly on foot, with dreams of a better life in the United States. Leaving behind his wife and two children, aged six and eight, Rodriguez has slept rough, gone hungry, witnessed violence and paid bribes to police. But he smiles from ear-to-ear as he caresses his loyal canine companion of two years, whose name "Negro" means "Black" in Spanish. "He has also crossed everything just like us, he eats the same we eat, he's also a migrant," he told AFP in the town of Tecun Uman in eastern Guatemala, the sixth country stop on his north-bound route. Their journey so far has taken Rodriguez and Negro from Caracas to Colombia and through the perilous Darien jungle to Panama. Close There, they came across some of the criminal gangs that prey on migrants fleeing poverty and political upheaval in their home countries. "We were with some women and they … [Read more...] about Migrant’s perilous 8-country journey to US with pet dog