By Eshe Nelson
As prices for energy, food and commodities rise after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, (click here) the impact is being felt sharply around the world. In Britain, the central bank pushed interest rates to their highest level in 13 years on Thursday, in an effort to arrest rapidly rising prices even as the risk of recession is growing.
The bank predicted that inflation would rise to its highest level in four decades in the final quarter of this year, and that the British economy would shrink by nearly 1 percent.
“Global inflationary pressures have intensified sharply in the buildup to and following the invasion,” Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said on Thursday. “This has led to a material deterioration in the outlook,” he added, for both the global and British economies. On an annual basis, the economy would also shrink next year.
The Bank of England raised interest rates to 1 percent from 0.75 percent, their highest level since 2009. Three members of the nine-person rate-setting committee wanted to take a more aggressive step and raise rates by half a percentage point. The Bank of England has raised rates at every policy meeting since December....
May 6, 2022
By Franco Ordonez
Bilka, Ukraine — For Ukrainian farmer Anatolii Kulibaba, (click here) this year's planting season comes with anguish. Kulibaba is among many who were forced to flee their land as Russian forces moved in with their tanks.
In the first few days of the war, Russian soldiers delivered an even crueler blow: They killed Kulibaba's son, Oleksandr, as he was traveling to their village of Bilka, 25 miles from the Russian border.
"He was just 45. He had his whole life ahead of him," Kulibaba says.
Two months later, Kulibaba, 70, is still trying to work through the pain, but it's a struggle. He desperately misses his son, who also led most of the farm duties.
Kulibaba says he could really use Oleksandr's help right now, trying to restart production after Russian forces took over and destroyed parts of their farm.
Ukraine is one of the biggest producers of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, and the war has wreaked havoc on the so-called "breadbasket of Europe." Ukraine and Russia together account for over a quarter of the world's wheat exports. Ukraine's Ministry of Agriculture now says that 30% of the country's farmland is occupied or unsafe....
Russian troops (click here) headed by Vladimir Putin are set to go to court to challenge an illegal order for them to fight in the war against Ukraine.
A total of 25 national guards “refuseniks”, who report directly to Putin, are demanding their job back after they were fired for defying commanders’ orders to send them to a foreign war zone.
The Vladikavkaz garrison military court (click here) is due to start considering their lawsuit on Thursday said lawyer and human rights campaigner Pavel Chikov.
Vladikavkaz Garrison is in Osettia. He must be pulling soldiers out from all over Russia. Word about the casualties must be reaching the Russian military. Otherwise why would they question anything?
They aim to prove that their dismissal was “illegal” since it was based on their refusal to enter Ukraine....
