Russia said drone debris struck a foreign-flagged cargo vessel in a bay of the Azov Sea overnight while Moscow’s forces attacked several Ukrainian regions as the war showing no signs of slowing down. The bulk carrier was located several kilometers off the coast of Taganrog when it was damaged by fragments from an intercepted drone, sparking a fire that’s since been contained, Yury Slyusar, governo...
Russia said drone debris struck a foreign-flagged cargo vessel in a bay of the Azov Sea overnight while Moscow’s forces attacked several Ukrainian regions as the war showing no signs of slowing down. The bulk carrier was located several kilometers off the coast of Taganrog when it was damaged by fragments from an intercepted drone, sparking a fire that’s since been contained, Yury Slyusar, governor of Russia’s Rostov region, said in a Telegram post. The port of Taganrog handles shipments of grain, metals, coal and other industrial cargo. The overnight attack on the city killed one person and injured four others, the governor said. Separately, a missile strike triggered a fire at warehouse facilities belonging to a logistics company, he said. A drone alert remains in effect across the region. Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks on each other in recent weeks. Hopes for a diplomatic solution to end hostilities triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have been set back, with the war in Iran consuming the attention of the US President Donald Trump and his negotiators. Read more: Russia Plans New Ukraine Offensive as World Focuses on Iran Russia’s defenses repelled 85 Ukrainian drones in about a dozen regions overnight, Moscow’s defense ministry said. Two drone hubs and pre-flight preparation sites for Shahed UAVs were struck in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, according to a post by Robert Brovdi, a Ukrainian drone unit commander known as Madyar. Tolyatti, a city on the Volga River in Russia’s Samara region, came under attack with drones targeting an industrial enterprise, regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev indicated in his post without providing details. A drone also hit the roof of a multi-storey residential building, he said. The city is home to AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest passenger car manufacturer, as well as nitrogen fertilizer producers TogliattiAzot and KuibyshevAzot. Such fertilizer plants often also produce explosives. Read ...
Five European Union finance ministers called for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies amid rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, Reuters reported , citing a letter seen by the news agency. Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call in a letter to the European Commission, dated Friday, Reuters said. They wrote that taking such action would “send a clear message...
Five European Union finance ministers called for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies amid rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, Reuters reported , citing a letter seen by the news agency. Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call in a letter to the European Commission, dated Friday, Reuters said. They wrote that taking such action would “send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public,” according to the report. Read More: France Asks EU to Ensure Oil Refineries Don’t Overcharge on Fuel
Former Malaysian transport minister Ling Liong Sik died on Saturday. He was 82. Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong confirmed the news to Bernama when contacted on Saturday. “We received the sad news of Tun Dr Ling’s passing today. Further details will be announced from time to time,” he said. Ling’s death was also conveyed in a message sent to the trustees of Universiti Tun...
Former Malaysian transport minister Ling Liong Sik died on Saturday. He was 82. Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong confirmed the news to Bernama when contacted on Saturday. “We received the sad news of Tun Dr Ling’s passing today. Further details will be announced from time to time,” he said. Ling’s death was also conveyed in a message sent to the trustees of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, where he served as chancellor. In a statement to The Star on Saturday, Wee said the...
Bally Bagayoko, who was targeted by racist abuse after winning Saint-Denis mayorship, vows to tackle inequality to stem deepening divisions A French mayor who faced a barrage of racist insults that are being investigated by police has called for France to urgently tackle race hatred and stem the rise of far-right ideas ahead of next year’s presidential election. “It has become a lot easier for rac...
Bally Bagayoko, who was targeted by racist abuse after winning Saint-Denis mayorship, vows to tackle inequality to stem deepening divisions A French mayor who faced a barrage of racist insults that are being investigated by police has called for France to urgently tackle race hatred and stem the rise of far-right ideas ahead of next year’s presidential election. “It has become a lot easier for racist views to be expressed … and unfortunately racist comments are becoming trivialised,” said Bally Bagayoko, 52, in his office at Saint-Denis town hall outside Paris, where he was recently elected mayor for the radical left. Continue reading...
courtneyk/iStock via Getty Images March was a reminder that markets can shift quickly when geopolitical events begin to shape the economic outlook. Over the course of the month, oil prices rose sharply, while US equities, after holding up reasonably well in the first two months of the year, approached correction territory before a month-end rally. At the same time, bond markets offered less stabil...
courtneyk/iStock via Getty Images March was a reminder that markets can shift quickly when geopolitical events begin to shape the economic outlook. Over the course of the month, oil prices rose sharply, while US equities, after holding up reasonably well in the first two months of the year, approached correction territory before a month-end rally. At the same time, bond markets offered less stability than investors might typically expect, as renewed inflation concerns contributed to higher rate volatility. US equity market leadership also narrowed meaningfully in March. Energy was by far the strongest-performing sector and a key driver of value stocks outperforming their growth peers materially. Even with the shift in market leadership that has occurred in the first quarter of the year, corporate profit expectations have remained relatively resilient despite market volatility weighing on valuation multiples. Consensus earnings forecasts still point to healthy growth in 2026, suggesting that the widespread market weakness in March was driven less by a deterioration in the earnings outlook and more by a reassessment of how much investors are willing to pay for those earnings in a more inflation-prone and geopolitically fragile environment. For the economy broadly, growth expectations have softened but continue to suggest expansion rather than contraction. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate for first-quarter 2026 real GDP growth declined from roughly 3% at the beginning of the month to around 2% by month-end. While that represents a meaningful moderation, it remains more consistent with slower growth than with a recession. The policy backdrop also remains unsettled, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated late in the month that the Fed has not yet determined whether it can afford to look through the economic effects of the conflict. He emphasized that policymakers are closely monitoring energy prices and inflation expectations, while also acknowledging the central...