Boxing: Usyk stops Dubois to retain world heavyweight titles

WROCLAW, Poland -- Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine retained his world heavyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Britain's Daniel Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday.

Victory meant Usyk kept hold of the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation belts.

It also extended his perfect professional record to 21 wins from 21 bouts.

Dubois, however, claimed he had been "cheated" out of victory after referee Luis Pabon ruled he had struck Usyk with a low blow in the fifth round, which led to a lengthy delay.

But former World Boxing Council super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall, commentating at ringside, described his fellow Briton's punch as a "borderline shot".

Usyk recovered to drop Dubois down on one knee in the eighth round after landing with several punches to the head.

Dubois just beat the count before the bell sounded for the end of the round.

But the fight was all over in the next, with Usyk sending Dubois onto the canvas.

This time the challenger was unable to get back to his feet before the referee counted to 10.

"I feel good. I am grateful for my team, my family, my children. I love you," Usyk told TNT Sports.

"I'm grateful for my country and the Ukrainian army. Thank you so much."

Asked about the prospect of a unification bout with Britain's Tyson Fury, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, Usyk replied: "I'm ready tomorrow".

Dubois, however, was adamant his punch in the fifth round was legitimate, saying: "I didn't think that was a low blow, I thought it landed and that I've been cheated out of it tonight. I'll come again."

- 'Rematch' -

Veteran promoter Frank Warren added: "It wasn't a low blow. I wish they could put it up on there now and we could all see it. They didn't take any points off him.

"I like Usyk, but that was a complete 'home' decision. He was not fit to go on and they gave him a couple of minutes to recover... The governing bodies will have to look at that and order a rematch."

The 36-year-old Usyk was roared on by a large contingent of Ukrainian fans, with many of his compatriots now living in Poland following Russia's invasion of their country last year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared on the giant screens before the fight to deliver a patriotic rallying cry amid the ongoing war with Russia.

Usyk had the better of the early exchanges but rank outsider Dubois, a 25-year-old Londoner, defied predictions he'd suffer an early defeat.

Then came Dubois's controversial punch in the fifth, which may have been on the belt line in some eyes.

After the bout resumed, Dubois attacked and traded punches with Usyk.

The ill-feeling between the duo was visible at the end of the round and Dubois continued his attack to the body in the sixth.

But Usyk started to dominate from then on, dropping Dubois in the eighth round before charging in again in the ninth, flooring the challenger once more before Pabon waved the fight off.

Agence France-Presse

Markets drop as Fed hike looms, Putin move lifts dollar and oil

HONG KONG - Stocks fell Wednesday ahead of what many expect to be a third successive jumbo rate hike by the Federal Reserve, while the dollar hit fresh multi-decade highs against the pound and euro after Russia stepped up its war in Ukraine.

Equities around the world have been clattered by fears of a recession in major economies as central banks ramp up borrowing costs to combat the highest inflation in decades, which has been compounded by the Ukraine war and supply chain snarls.

In Washington, the Fed is due to conclude its latest policy meeting, with most analysts predicting it will announce another 75 basis-point lift, though some have tipped a full percentage-point move.

However, while the hike has largely been priced into the markets, the US central bank's forecast and post-meeting comments from boss Jerome Powell are the main attraction for investors.

"Volumes remain light and the mood cautious, with few looking to take on large positions before hearing what the Fed says and where policy makers see rates going by the end of the hiking cycle," Fiona Cincotta, at City Index, said.

"This is what will drive the markets, not the rate hike... but what the Fed plans to do next."

Fed officials have for months stuck to the mantra that they will only ease up on their hawkish drive when inflation comes down and remains subdued.

This has led many to warn that rates are unlikely to come down anytime soon, possibly as late as 2024, with a recession more than likely in the United States as well as other major economies.

DOLLAR EXTENDS RALLY 

Other central banks are also meeting this week. On Tuesday, officials in Sweden surprised markets by unveiling a one percentage-point hike, while the United Kingdom and Switzerland are expected to announce more increases.

Asian markets were back in the red, reversing Tuesday's bounce.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney and Manila were all down more than one percent, while there were also losses in Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Jakarta.

London rose in early trade, but Paris and Frankfurt were down.

Adding to the dour mood was Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "partial mobilization" as he upped the ante in his battle against Ukraine after his forces were routed from several cities in recent weeks.

He added that he would annex the territories his forces have already occupied and backed weekend referendums in four regions in Russian-held parts of Ukraine.

"We will definitely use all means available" to protect Russian territory, he warned, adding: "That's not a bluff."

The moves mark an escalation of the seven-month war, which has roiled markets and sparked an energy crisis.

Oil prices, which have wilted in recent months owing to worries about demand caused by any recession, surged more than three percent.

And the dollar, a safe haven in times of uncertainty and turmoil and which was already elevated ahead of the rate decision, rallied further.

It hit a fresh 37-year high of $1.1305 against sterling and a new 20-year peak of $0.9885 per euro, with the eurozone already in economic trouble owing to sanctions on Russian oil and Putin's decision to cut off gas supplies to the continent.

The announcement and possible escalation in the war "raises a whole new set of uncertainties", Rabobank's Jane Foley said.

"This is set to weigh on the euro and on the currencies of eastern Europe."

Agence France-Presse

Indian rupee breaches 80 per dollar, hits new record low

MUMBAI - The Indian rupee fell to more than 80 per US dollar for the first time on record Tuesday, as the greenback extended its rally and foreign capital outflows intensified.

The rupee 80.0600 against the greenback soon after trading started, Bloomberg data showed.

High inflation and rising interest rates in the United States coupled with fears of an impending recession in the world's biggest economy have fuelled a broad dollar rally in recent weeks as investors turn increasingly risk-averse.

Tighter US monetary policy has exacerbated outflows from emerging markets such as India, where foreign investors have withdrawn a net $30.8 billion in debt and equity this year.

Data released last week showed US consumer price inflation hit a fresh four-decade high in June, exceeding market forecasts and stoking expectations of another large Federal Reserve rate hike next week.

In a written statement to the Indian parliament on Monday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attributed the rupee's sharp fall to external reasons.

"Global factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, soaring crude oil prices and tightening of global financial conditions are the major reasons for the weakening of the Indian Rupee against the US dollar," she said.

At the same time, the Indian currency has strengthened against the British pound, the Japanese yen and the euro in 2022 so far, Sitharaman added.

But higher crude prices have resulted in a deteriorating trade balance in a country that imports 80 percent of its oil needs.

India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $26.18 billion in June, official data showed last week, largely because of higher crude and coal import prices.

In its monthly economic review, the Ministry of Finance said costlier imports could widen the current account deficit and cause the rupee to depreciate further.

Consumer price inflation in India, the world's sixth-largest economy, cooled off slightly to 7.01 percent in June after hitting an eight-year high of 7.79 percent in April.

But price rises have persisted well above the central bank's two-to-six percent target range despite consecutive interest rate hikes in May and June.

The central bank has also sold more than $34 billion of its foreign currency reserves in an effort to stabilize the rupee.

Agence France-Presse

Central banks must act quickly on inflation, warns BIS

ZURICH, Switzerland - Central banks must not let inflation become entrenched, with the threat of stagflation looming over the global economy, the Bank for International Settlements warned Sunday in its annual economic report.

BIS, considered the central bank of central banks, said institutions will have to move swiftly to ensure a return to low and stable inflation, while limiting the impact on growth.

"The key for central banks is to act quickly and decisively before inflation becomes entrenched," said BIS general manager Agustin Carstens.

"If it does, the costs of bringing it back under control will be higher. The longer-term benefits of preserving stability for households and businesses outweigh any short-term costs."

BIS's flagship report said that in restoring low, stable inflation, central banks should seek to minimize the hit to economic activity, in turn safeguarding financial stability.

BIS said engineering a so-called soft landing had historically been difficult, and the starting conditions now were making the task all the more challenging.

"It would be more desirable if we could have a soft landing because that would mean that the tightening of monetary policy could be more subdued," Carstens told a press conference.

"But even if this is not the case, definitely the priority should be to combat inflation," to prevent the world economy from slumping. 

STAGFLATION DANGERS

After the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, central banks initially saw the return of inflation as temporary as the economy picked up again.

But the rise in prices has sharply accelerated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

BIS said the global economy risked entering a new era of high inflation.

The dangers of stagflation -- stagnant growth coupled with rising prices -- loom large, as a combination of lingering disruptions from the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, soaring commodity prices and financial vulnerabilities cloud the outlook, it added.

Policymakers must press ahead with reforms to support long-term growth and lay the groundwork for more normal fiscal and monetary policy settings, BIS said.

While the European Central Bank plans to raise interest rates in July and then again September, the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday carried out its largest rate hike since 1994.

The Fed announced a 0.75-percentage-point rise and said it is prepared to do so again next month in an all-out battle to drive down surging inflation.

1970s COMPARISON

Established in Basel in 1930, the BIS is owned by 62 central banks, representing countries that account for about 95 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

In its annual report, the BIS looked at the stagflation of the 1970s, when the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 caused inflation to jump.

In 1973, oil prices had more than doubled in the space of a month. Oil occupied a much more central place in the economy, it said.

Moreover, inflation was already rising before the oil shock, while the global economy is now emerging from a long phase of low inflation.

But the BIS also highlighted other points of vulnerability, including the current high level of private and public debt.

And with Russia's war in Ukraine, inflation this time is not only based around oil, but also other sources of energy, agricultural raw materials, fertilizers and metals.

The most pressing challenge for central banks is therefore to bring inflation down to low levels, according to the BIS.

High inflation situations tend to be self-reinforcing, warned the BIS, especially when wages spiral into an attempt to offset rising prices.

Agence France-Presse

Ukraine's key IT sector booming despite Russian invasion

LVIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's IT sector is booming despite the Russian invasion. Workers with stickers on their laptops recline on beach chairs outside a warehouse for start-ups in the west Ukraine city of Lviv giving off major Silicon Valley vibes.

But the atmosphere inside is different.

Through the glass doors of the complex, young Ukrainians zig-zag between stacks of bulletproof vests and cardboard boxes filled with helmets ready for the front.

They are part of Ukraine's burgeoning tech sector which was forced to adapt after Russia's invasion and has become key to supporting the war effort.

"Most tech companies had developed contingency plans" in case of war said Stepan Veselovskiy, the head of the "IT Cluster Lviv" community.

He told AFP that companies transferred servers to secure locations and established back-up systems outside the country before Russia invaded on February 24.

When Russian bombing started, IT companies shut offices in the capital Kyiv and eastern city of Kharkiv and engineers found refuge in western Ukraine or Poland next door.

Veselovskiy said there were already around 500 tech companies in Lviv before the war but now estimates that 80 percent of the sector is in the western city. 

One is Infopulse, which provides various digital services to mainly European customers.

It brought 300 of its 2,300 employees to Lviv, where it has offices in one of the city's few buildings equipped with a bunker.

There are bunk beds and stable internet underground so employees can continue working in the event of an air raid.

There are also generators in case Russian forces target power stations and terminals for Elon Musk's Starlink internet service.

"Even in the most drastic conditions, business can continue," regional manager Ivan Korzhov said. 

They can even thrive. 

TECH ARMY

Since the start of the war, Infopulse has gained four new customers and in April -- the second month of the Russian invasion -- it created 25 new jobs in Ukraine.

It is not the only tech company in Ukraine to do so. 

Veselovskiy says February -- when Russia attacked -- was a historically good month for Ukraine's tech sector and its estimated 200,000 employees. 

"It slowed down a bit in March, but we are very optimistic for the future because the war doesn't stop us from growing," he said.

This is a stark contrast to other industries, battered by the invasion. Exports for traditional sectors such as steel and agriculture have collapsed.

But the tech sector, naturally, has not been affected by the destruction of bridges, roads or the blocking of ports. 

It has, according to Veselovskiy, made more than $2 billion since the start of the war and has become the country's leading exporter. 

"It's a good thing for Ukraine because we generate income in dollars every month when the country really needs it," Korzhov said.

"We pay our taxes and give a lot of money" to the government. 

The IT Cluster Lviv has already allocated $2 million, mainly to buy equipment for Ukrainian soldiers.

That's how its offices ended up looking like an army depot.

The sector has also offered its brightest to help the military.

Softserve -- one of Ukraine's biggest tech companies -- has worked on the military's websites for free and IT Cluster Lviv modernised one of the military's command centres.

Infopulse also participates in a joint project by the Ukrainian army and the ministry of digital transformation.

"Specialists in tech and cybersecurity work with the government on the information front," its regional manager Korzhov said. 

He then repeated a popular slogan in Ukraine: "We are not waiting for peace, but for victory."

Agence France Presse

Biden authorizes ‘unprecedented’ new weapons aid to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced $1 billion in new security help and the deployment of longer-range weapons and drones to Ukraine on Wednesday -- assuring the ally of America's "unprecedented" support in its war with Russia.

The cash, approved as Russian forces close in on Ukraine's besieged capital Kyiv, includes $200 million allocated over the weekend and $800 million in new funds from an aid package approved last week by Congress.

"These are direct transfers of equipment from our Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them as they fight against this invasion," said Biden, who also announced US help for Ukraine to acquire "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."

As expected, Biden gave no ground on the notion of a Western-imposed no-fly zone over the ex-Soviet state, which NATO has consistently rejected for fear of an escalation that could bring the alliance into direct conflict with Russian forces.

Ramping up its military assistance instead, the White House said Ukraine will receive an additional 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 7,000 light weapons and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

And the United States will be providing Ukraine with 100 drones -- or Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems -- which Biden said "demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense."

Concerning the deployment of longer-range systems, Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, indicated the weapons involved would be Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.

"These S-300s and longer-range artillery forces is what will help close the sky" over Ukraine, Meeks said on CNN following Biden's address.

"President Zelensky is not asking for American troops or American equipment or anything of that nature to close the skies," Meeks said. "What he's asking for is the artillery that will do that. The S-300 may be the one that does that."

Agence France-Presse

World faces food crisis due to Ukraine war, Russian billionaire says

LONDON - A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertilizer prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrei Melnichenko said on Monday.

Several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on Feb. 24, including Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska. 

The United States and its European allies have cast Putin's invasion as an imperial-style land grab that has so far been poorly executed because Moscow underestimated Ukrainian resistance and Western resolve to punish Russia.

The West has sanctioned Russian businessmen, including European Union sanctions on Melnichenko, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy in an attempt to force Putin to change course.

Putin refuses to. He has called the war a special military operation to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists and Nazis.

"The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace," Melnichenko, 50, who is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother, told Reuters in a statement emailed by his spokesman.

"One of the victims of this crisis will be agriculture and food," said Melnichenko, who founded EuroChem, one of Russia's biggest fertilizer producers, which moved to Zug, Switzerland, in 2015, and SUEK, Russia's top coal producer.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced more than 2 million people, and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.

FOOD WAR?

Putin warned last Thursday that food prices would rise globally due to soaring fertilizer prices if the West created problems for Russia's export of fertilizers - which account for 13 percent of world output.

Russia is a major producer of potash, phosphate and nitrogen-containing fertilizers - major crop and soil nutrients. EuroChem, which produces nitrogen, phosphates and potash, says it is one of the world's top five fertilizer companies.

The war "has already led to soaring prices in fertilizers which are no longer affordable to farmers," Melnichenko said.

He said food supply chains already disrupted by COVID-19 were now even more distressed.

"Now it will lead to even higher food inflation in Europe and likely food shortages in the world’s poorest countries," he said.

Russia's trade and industry ministry told the country's fertilizer producers to temporarily halt exports earlier this month.

PHYSICS STUDENT

Melnichenko, who was just 19 when the Soviet Union collapsed, started out trading foreign currency while a physics student at the prestigious Moscow State University.

A gifted mathematician who once dreamt of becoming a physicist, Melnichenko dropped out of university to dive into the chaotic - and sometimes deadly - world of post-Soviet business.

He founded MDM Bank but in the 1990s was still too minor to take part in the privatizations under President Boris Yeltsin which handed the choicest assets of a former superpower to a group of businessmen who would become known as the oligarchs due to their political and economic clout.

Melnichenko then began buying up often distressed coal and fertilizer assets. His fortune in 2021 was estimated by Forbes to be $18 billion, making him Russia's eighth richest man.

The European Union on Wednesday sanctioned Melnichenko for Russia's invasion. It said his attendance at a Kremlin meeting with Putin and 36 businessmen organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs showed he was "one of the leading businesspersons involved in economic sectors."

Melnichenko "has no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations," his spokesman said.

"To draw a parallel between attending a meeting through membership in a business council, just as dozens of business people from both Russia and Europe have done in the past, and undermining or threatening a country is absurd and nonsensical," the spokesman said, adding Melnichenko will dispute the sanctions.

On March 9, Melnichenko resigned as member of the board and non-executive director in both EuroChem and SUEK, and withdrew as their beneficiary, the spokesman said. EuroChem has production assets in Russia, Lithuania, Belgium, Brazil and Kazakhstan.

Italian police last week seized Melnichenko's yacht - the 143-meter (470-foot) Sailing Yacht A - which has a price tag of 530 million euros ($578 million).

-reuters-

YouTube, Google Play suspend payment-based services in Russia

Alphabet Inc's YouTube and Google Play store are suspending all payment-based services in Russia, including subscriptions, as Western sanctions start to pose banking challenges in the country.

Google will also pause ads for advertisers based in Russia across its properties and networks globally, the company said. This is in addition to the company's recent suspension of ads in Russia.

Google and YouTube had earlier stopped selling online advertising in Russia following similar pauses by Twitter Inc and Snap Inc after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 

"As a follow-up, we're now extending this pause to all our monetization features, including YouTube Premium, Channel Memberships, Super Chat and Merchandise, for viewers in Russia," YouTube said in a statement on Thursday.

YouTube channels in Russia will still be able to generate revenue from viewers outside of Russia, which include Super Chat and merchandise sales. Free apps on Google Play also remain available in Russia, according to a company support website.

-reuters-

More than 1.7 million people flee war in Ukraine: UNHCR

More than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, according to the latest data from the United Nations on Monday.

- 1,735,068 refugees -

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, recorded 1,735,068 refugees on its dedicated website, just over 200,000 more than the previous count on Sunday.

UNICEF, the UN children's agency, believes around half of them are youngsters.

Authorities and the UN expect the flow to intensify as the Russian army advances deeper into Ukraine, particularly as it approaches the capital, Kyiv.

More than 37 million people lived under the Kyiv government's control before last week's invasion.

"The military offensive in Ukraine has caused destruction of civilian infrastructure and civilian casualties and has forced people to flee their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance," UNHCR says.

The agency projects that as the conflict unfolds, "an estimated four million people may flee Ukraine", noting that many people were also displaced from their homes within the country.

Here is a breakdown of where the people who fled across Ukraine's borders now find themselves, according to the UN Refugee Agency:

- Poland - 

Six in 10 of those who have fled Ukraine are now in Poland. The UNCHR's figures published Monday said 1,027,603 refugees were now in Ukraine's biggest western neighbour.

The number swelled by 142,300 in 24 hours.

Polish border guards on Sunday said the total figure represented "a million human tragedies".

Poland has championed the cause of Ukrainian refugees. The government has set up reception centres and charities have mobilised in a massive aid effort, helped by the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainians already living in the EU member state.

- Hungary -

Some 180,163 refugees are now in Hungary -- 10 percent of the total who have fled Ukraine. The number was up 11,110 on Sunday's figure.

The country has five border crossings with Ukraine and several border towns, including Zahony, have turned public buildings into relief centres, where Hungarian civilians are offering food or assistance. 

- Slovakia -

Across Ukraine's shortest border, some 128,169 refugees are now in Slovakia, around seven percent of the total.

- Moldova -

Some 82,762 refugees are now in Moldova, though many thousands more have passed through the non-EU state on their way to other countries -- hence the number is down 1,305 since Sunday.

According to the UNHCR, many refugees are continuing on to Romania or Hungary, often to reunite with family.

Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita said Sunday that more than 230,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Moldova on Sunday and Gavrilita urged Washington to provide more humanitarian aid to help her country of 2.6 million, one of Europe's poorest, cope with the influx.

- Romania -

Some 78,977 refugees from Ukraine are now in Romania.

Two camps have been set up, one in Sighetu Marmatiei and the other in Siret.

- Elsewhere in Europe - 

UNHCR said that 183,688 people, having crossed Ukraine's borders into neighbouring nations, had now moved on to other European countries.

- Russia -

UNHCR's latest figure for the number of refugees who have crossed Ukraine's longest border into Russia since the invasion, compiled up to the end of Thursday, is 53,000.

UNHCR notes that an additional 96,000 people moved to Russia from the separatist eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions between February 18 and 23, in the days before the Russian invasion.

- Belarus -

Some 406 refugees had made it to Belarus, according to the latest UNCHR tally for the country, compiled up to the end of Friday.

Agence France-Presse

Visa, Mastercard suspend operations in Russia: statements

Card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced Saturday they will suspend operations in Russia, the latest major US firms to join the business freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

"Noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment," Mastercard said it had "decided to suspend our network services in Russia."

Visa, for its part, said that "effective immediately" it would "work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days."

US President Joe Biden "welcomed the decision" during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in which the two discussed US, ally and private industry actions to deter Russia from aggression, according to a White House readout.

Major corporations across a range of industries have halted business in Russia since its invasion began 10 days ago, including everything from US-based tech firms such as Intel and Airbnb to French luxury giants LVMH, Hermes and Chanel.

Visa and Mastercard had already announced that they were complying with US and international sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its attack.

"Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine," Mastercard said, stating that its cards issued by Russian banks would no longer be supported by the company's network.

Visa similarly said that cards issued in Russia would no longer work outside the country.

Both companies said cards issued abroad would no longer work in Russia.

Russian banks downplay effects

"We are compelled to act following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed," Visa CEO Al Kelly said.

Russia's major banks, including its largest lender Sberbank and the Russia Central Bank, downplayed the effects that the cards' suspensions would have on their clients.

"All Visa and Mastercard bank cards issued by Russian banks will continue to operate normally on Russian territory until their expiration date," the Russia Central Bank said.

Sberbank said in a statement on its official Telegram account that the cards "can be used for operations in the Russian territory -- to withdraw cash, make transfers using the card number, and for payment at offline as well as at online Russian stores."

The cards would continue to work on Russian territory, it said, because all payments in Russia are made through a national system and do not depend on foreign systems.

However, the central bank warned that Russians traveling abroad should carry alternate means of payment.

Mastercard added that it would continue to provide pay and benefits to its nearly 200 employees in Russia.

Agence France-Presse

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher fundraiser for Ukraine refugees tops $6.8M

Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have raised over $6.8 million as of Friday, a day after setting up a GoFundMe page seeking humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees.

Kunis, who was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine in 1983, moved to the United States in 1991.

"I have always considered myself an American, a proud American... But today, I have never been more proud to be a Ukrainian," Kunis said in an embedded video.

"The events that have unfolded in Ukraine are devastating. There is no place in this world for this kind of unjust attack on humanity."

Kutcher, sitting by Kunis' side in the video, said the funds would be used to provide refugee and humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by Russia's invasion of the neighboring country.

"The principle challenge right now is logistics. We need to get housing and we need to get supplies and resources into the area," said Kutcher. "And I have never been more proud to be married to a Ukrainian."

The two actors, who married in 2015, have agreed to match up to $3 million of donations, with the ultimate goal of raising $30 million. They are partnering with short-term housing website Airbnb.org and Flexport.org, which organizes shipments of humanitarian aid to refugees.

-reuters-

PayPal shuts down its services in Russia citing Ukraine aggression

Payments company PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL.O shut down its services early on Saturday in Russia, citing "the current circumstances," joining many financial and tech companies in suspending operations there after the invasion of Ukraine.

"Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia," President and Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in a statement. He added that the company "stands with the international community in condemning Russia's violent military aggression in Ukraine."

A company spokesperson said PayPal will support withdrawals "for a period of time, ensuring that account balances are dispersed in line with applicable laws and regulations.”

PayPal, which had only allowed cross-border transactions by users in Russia, stopped accepting new users in the country on Wednesday. 

Ukrainian government officials had been calling on PayPal to quit Russia and help them with fundraising.

PayPal said on Friday that "since the beginning of the invasion, PayPal has helped raise over $150 million for charities supporting response efforts in Ukraine, one of the largest efforts we've seen in such a short period of time.”

PayPal's suspension in Russia also applies to its money transfer tool Xoom. Rivals Wise and Remitly earlier suspended some services in Russia. 

-reuters-

Europe's largest nuclear power plant on fire after Russian attack, says local mayor

BORODYANKA/LVIV, Ukraine—The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in Europe, was on fire early on Friday after an attack by Russian troops, the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar said.

There has been fierce fighting between local forces and Russian troops, Dmytro Orlov said in an online post, adding that there had been casualties without giving details.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant and had entered the town with tanks.

"As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire," Orlov said on his Telegram channel, citing what he called a threat to world security. He did not give details.

Reuters could not immediately verify the information, including the potential seriousness of any fire.

The invasion of Ukraine is entering its ninth day. Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two unfolds, creating 1 million refugees, hits to Russia's economy, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

On Thursday, the United States and Britain announced sanctions on more oligarchs, following on from EU measures, as they ratcheted up the pressure on the Kremlin.

Included was Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, the founder of mining company Metalloinvest.

Visa restrictions will be imposed on 19 Russian oligarchs, their family members and associates, the White House said.

Sanctions have "had a profound impact already," said US President Joe Biden.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbor's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.

-reuters-

Spotify closes Russian office, limits content over Ukraine

STOCKHOLM - Music streaming giant Spotify said it had closed its office in Russia and removed Russian state-sponsored content from its service.

The move came in response to the "unprovoked attack against Ukraine", Spotify said in a statement, adding it had taken several measures as a result.

"We have closed our office in Russia until further notice," said the Stockholm-based company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition, the streaming giant said it had examined "thousands of podcast episodes since the start of the war" and limited users' ability to find podcasts owned and operated by media outlets tied to the Russian state.

Spotify said that earlier in the week it had removed all content from Russian state-sponsored news outlets RT and Sputnik within the European Union and other markets.

But it would keep its service open to Russian users.

"We believe that it is of utmost importance that our service is available in Russia to allow a global flow of information," Spotify said.

Agence France-Presse

Rouble-crypto trading soars as sanctions hit Russian currency

Trading volumes between the Russian rouble and the Tether cryptocurrency spiked sharply on Monday as the local currency tumbled to a record low on Western sanctions, data shared with Reuters showed.

Rouble-denominated trades with the Tether - a so-called stablecoin - hit $29.4 million, their highest this year and around three times more than a week earlier, according to Arcane Research, an Oslo-based digital asset researcher.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to avoid the wild fluctuations that plague bitcoin. In theory, their steady value allows users to protect funds or savings in times of economic stress.

The figures suggest surging interest in crypto among Russians after Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine took a toll on the local currency.

The Russian rouble tumbled to a record low in volatile trade on Monday, losing a third of its value so far this year, after the West ramped up sanctions including blocking banks from the SWIFT global payments system. 

Trading between the rouble and bitcoin (BTC), whose 13-year history has been peppered with wild price swings - was more muted, the data showed.

Rouble-bitcoin trading on Thursday topped $16 million, its highest this year, as Russia launched its invasion. On Monday it totalled about $8.5 million.

"People with the rouble are trying to get out of it due to the drastic devaluation after all the sanctions," said Arcane's Bendik Norheim Schei.

"Under the current market conditions, I'm not surprised to see investors, at least those in Russia, seeking stablecoins and not taking on the market risk of BTC. This is about saving their funds, not investing."

-reuters-

Facebook owner Meta will block access to Russia's RT, Sputnik in EU

Meta Platforms Inc, parent company of Facebook, will restrict access to Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik on its platforms across the European Union, the company's head of global affairs said on Monday.

Nick Clegg said in a Twitter post that the social media company received requests from a number of governments and the EU to take steps in relation to Russian state-controlled media on its platforms. Clegg said Meta would continue to work closely with governments on the issue.

The European Union said on Sunday it would ban Russian state-owned television network RT and news agency Sputnik. Canadian telecoms operators have also stopped offering the RT channel.

Russian state-run media's activity on social media platforms has emerged as a contentious issue for big tech companies during the country's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation."

Meta, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc's Google and YouTube have taken measures in recent days to restrict Russian state media from making money from ads on their platforms. Twitter Inc banned RT and Sputnik from advertising on its site in 2017.

Twitter said on Monday it would label and restrict the visibility of tweets containing content from Russian state-affiliated media outlets, in an expansion of its policy to label the state media accounts. Read full story

(Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford in New York, Editing by Will Dunham and Matthew Lewis)

-reuters-

UK wants to cut Russia off from SWIFT: defense minister

LONDON - Britain would like to cut off Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system and will continue to lobby reluctant allies to take that step, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday.

"We would like to go further, we'd like to do the SWIFT system - that is the financial system that allows the Russians to move money around the world to receive payments for its gas - but ... these are international organizations and if not every country wants them to be thrown out of the SWIFT system, it becomes difficult," Wallace told BBC TV.

US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that United States and the European Union have opted not to cut Russia off from SWIFT, but he said they could revisit that issue.

On Thursday, major western countries including the United States and Britain announced sanctions on Russia, stretching from its banks to elites, in response to Russia invading Ukraine after months of diplomatic dialogue failed to bear fruit.

Wallace said Britain would continue to lobby its allies to win support for a move on SWIFT.

"We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy," he said.

-reuters-

Biden says Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine is ‘beginning’

‘First tranche’ of sanctions on Russia announced, including on debt

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Russia has begun to invade Ukraine but that there was still time for diplomacy to avoid the "worst case scenario" of a full-blown assault on the country.

"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," the US leader said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's declared plans to send troops deep into the Donbas region in southeast Ukraine. 

"He's setting up a rationale to take more territory by force," Biden said in a nationwide address from the White House.

"And if we listened to his speech last night... he's setting up a rationale to go much further," Biden said.

Biden announced more sanctions targeting Russian finances and political elite, in hopes that the pressure will deter a wholesale invasion.

He said that the United States would continue to supply "defensive" weapons to Ukraine and deploy more US troops to reinforce NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

But he suggested that diplomatic talks could stem a worsening of the crisis, one of the deepest in Europe since World War II.

"There's no question that Russia is the aggressor, so we're clear-eyed about the challenges we're facing," Biden said.

"Nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people if they move as suggested," he said.

‘FIRST TRANCHE’ OF SANCTIONS

Biden, meanwhile, announced the "first tranche" of sanctions against Russia, including steps to starve the country of financing, saying Moscow had started an invasion of Ukraine.

And Biden threatened tougher steps if Russia "continues its aggression."

"We're implementing sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt. That means we've cut off Russia's government from Western financing," Biden said.

"It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either."

The measures also target VEB, Russia's state development bank, and members of the country's "elites," the US leader said.

"They share the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies, and should share in the pain as well."

The announcement came after the European Union unveiled its own sanctions in a coordinated Western effort to pressure Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Biden said the responses "have been closely coordinated with our allies and partners" and added, "We'll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates."

However Washington's response did not seem to go as far as the European Union, nor as far as some expected.

Biden announced "full blocking sanctions" on both VEB and Russia's "military bank," which likely means the institutions will have their foreign assets frozen and will be prohibited from using the US financial system.

However, the penalties cover fewer financial institutions, and do not appear to have severed the country from the SWIFT system used to move money around the globe.

Nor did Biden resort to export controls, which would have cut Russian firms off from key high-tech equipment and software, which some analysts said was a possibility.

Agence France-Presse

Gas supply shock would cut value of Europe's economy, ECB says

FRANKFURT - A negative shock from any gas supply disruption would eat into the value of goods and services produced in the euro zone, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday, worsening the impact of high energy prices on the bloc's growth.

Record energy prices in response to concern a Russian attack on Ukraine will lead to disruption of fuel exports to Europe have dented euro zone growth. Russia denies any plan to invade.

In an Economic Bulletin article on Tuesday, the ECB said it expected high energy prices would reduce euro zone economic output by around 0.2 percent this year, compared with baseline levels of GDP, with the biggest impact in the first quarter.

Over 90 percent of the gas used in the euro zone is imported, the ECB said, meaning negative economic impacts would be aggravated if the bloc loses some of its gas supply.

"The direct and indirect impact of a hypothetical 10 percent gas rationing shock on the corporate sector is estimated to reduce euro area gross value added by about 0.7 percent," the bank said.

The actual fall could even be greater as the modeling does not consider the effect of energy price changes, the ECB said.

Austria and Slovakia would take the biggest hit, the ECB said, while among industrial sectors, basic metals would likely suffer the most.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; editing by Barbara Lewis)

-reuters-

Philippines, Brazil, Mexico among those due to get Pfizer shots from COVAX in Q2

GENEVA - Some 14.1 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to 47 countries and economies for delivery in the second quarter of this year, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance said on Monday.

Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, and Ukraine are set to be among the main recipients of the Pfizer vaccine between April and June, according to Gavi, which co-leads the COVAX facility with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners.

The COVAX program offers a lifeline to low-income countries in particular, allowing them to inoculate health workers and others at high risk, even if their governments have not managed to secure vaccines from the manufacturers.

Australia, Britain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are due to receive their first shots via COVAX with the Pfizer doses, which is "based on current knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine supply availability", Gavi said in a statement.

The program delivered nearly 38.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 102 countries across six continents, six weeks after it began to roll out supplies, Gavi said last Thursday.

Deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 142 participants under a previously announced round were underway, "with some delays" that may extend deliveries past May, Gavi said on Monday.

Reduced availability delayed some deliveries in March and April, and much of the output of the Serum Institute of India, which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, is being kept in India, where the number of daily infections is spiraling.

The chief executive of Gavi, Seth Berkley, said last Friday that COVAX aimed to deliver one third of a billion COVID-19 doses by mid-year, on the way to more than 2 billion in 2021.

-reuters-