News
Erdogan blasts Abu Dhabi’s ‘bankrolling of Russian mercenaries in Libya’ and latest Kremlin role in Syria
Turkish leader hits out at “desert lord” Haftar. Says he’s losing patience with military assault in Syrian region of Idlib.
Horizon Capital returns as shareholder in major Romanian-Moldovan winemaker Purcari
Bucharest-listed Purcari Wineries aims to build a wine champion in the fragmented CEE market, via both organic growth and M&A.
Leaked Italian police report says cannabis cultivation in Albania jumped 1,200% in 2019
Albania was notorious as a major producer of marijuana until a government crackdown in 2014, but an Italian police report leaked to the media shows there has been backsliding recently.
Estonia’s Fermi Energia signs MoU on developing first nuclear reactor
Fermi Energia is looking to develop Estonia's first source of nuclear energy in the 2030s, but environmental groups say it would pose “significant risks” to the environment and be economically unfeasible.
Work on Afghan stretch of Turkmenistan to India gas pipeline faces additional 6-month delay
TAPI project, also to traverse Pakistan, is going nowhere fast. Claims that Turkmen section is complete seen as highly dubious.
Foreign investors bring $1bn to Russia in 2020
Since the beginning of 2020 foreign investors have brought over $1bn into Russian funds,
75th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation marked in Poland
The 7anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz gathered survivors and politicians at an event overshadowed by politics – global and national.
Slovenian PM Sarec resigns, calls for snap elections
Former comedian Marjan Sarec said he had been unable to carry out substantial reforms at the head of a five-party minority government.
Iranian airliner skids on to city highway from runway
Latest of string of aviation incidents in Iran again raises questions over condition of country’s aircraft fleets in face of US sanctions that make parts difficult to source.
Armenia’s PM calls on protesters to end gold mine blockade 'in national interest'
Residents and activists claim operations at Amulsar could pollute local water sources. Minerals and metals make up around half of impoverished Armenia’s exports.
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Second Chinese airline cancels Prague flights as Czech-Chinese relations deteriorate
The decision by China Eastern Airlines comes amid a deepening rift between the authorities in the Czech Republic and in China.
US envoy says Serbia, Kosovo agree in principle to restore rail links
Rail links have become a priority after US officials brokered another deal earlier in the week to restore air traffic between the two countries after 21 years.
Analysts think Turkish finance minister got “slap on wrist” after “competitive lira” remarks
“Broke the number one rule for members of the government—Don't talk about the exchange rate!” says strategist after Berat Albayrak appears to row back on comments.
Russia’s RTS spring rally pauses as investors take profits
With no new money flowing into ETFs, Russia’s spring rally paused this week as investors took profits following a strong start to the year.
Eastern EU members “failing to address corruption effectively”, finds Transparency International
Many of the newer EU member states saw their scores deteriorate on the latest Corruption Perceptions Index amid growing state capture and efforts by governments to undermine judicial independence.
Western Balkans countries sink on latest Corruption Perceptions Index
Poor performance on latest index from Transparency International comes after years of warnings of the risks of democratic backsliding in the region should states fail to progress towards EU accession.
Ukraine’s population falls behind Poland’s for the first time, electronic census says 5mn people lost since 2000
Ukraine’s population fell behind that of Poland for the first time as an electronic census revealed the number of citizens had fallen by some 5mn people to 37.289mn since the last census in 2000.
Immigration helps ease CEE labour crisis
The labour shortages that have threatened to limit economic expansion in Central and some parts of Southeast Europe have started to ease in some countries, with increased labour migration a contributing factor.
Ukraine’s domestic bond market off to a strong start in 2020 as yields fall below 10%
Ukraine’s domestic bond market got off to a strong start in 2020 as heavy bidding at the weekly auction on January 22 depressed yields to 10%. A year ago Ukraine bonds were yielding 19%.
President of war-hit Ukraine offers 'investment nanny, tax holidays' to potential investors
Any potential investor who invests more than $100mn in Ukraine, will get a personal "guardian" from the government, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is at the Davos conference to talk up Ukraine’s investment case.