Russia bails out bank following ruble slide
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA Russia has bailed out a mid-sized bank for about $500 million to save it from bankruptcy— a clear sign that the slide in the value of the…
Financial markets
Putin: Russia military modernization plan to go on
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will continue its ambitious military modernization program with a particular emphasis on nuclear strategic forces. Speaking at Friday’s meeting with top military brass, Putin said…
Putin accuses West of trying to sideline Russia
By LAURA MILLS and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to fix Russia’s economic woes within two years, voicing confidence that the plummeting ruble will recover and promising…
Russians flock to stores to pre-empt price rises
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA Russian consumers flocked to the stores Wednesday, frantically buying a range of big-ticket items to pre-empt the price rises kicked off by the staggering fall in the…
Russian ruble sinks sharply despite bank rate hike
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA The Russian ruble came under intense selling pressure Tuesday, falling at one point by a catastrophic 20 percent to a new historic low despite a massive pre-dawn…
Oil price steady as investors eye Iraq conflict
By The Associated Press FILE – In this June 22, 2008 file photo, Iraqi police officers protecting oil installations secure an oil pipeline from the Rumailah refinery, north of Basra,…
Iraq: al-Maliki’s rivals jockey to replace him
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA FILE – This Dec. 3, 2011 file photo shows Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks during an interview with The Associated Press in…
Taliban video shows handover of US soldier
By RAHIM FAIEZ In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl,…