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Added on the 24/06/2022 16:44:00 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Speaking at a press conference alongside the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, reveals a new round of sanctions against Moscow over its latest "escalation" in Ukraine. The new sanctions include a cap on the price of Russian oil and a ban on exports from the country worth seven billion euros ($7 billion). The announcement comes as the Kremlin-installed leaders of Russian-held regions in Ukraine have been claiming victory in what Von der Leyen describes as "sham" referendums on joining the Russian Federation. SOUNDBITE
Ending a six-month run of spiraling demand, sales of existing homes in the US contracted in November. It's being read as a signal that rising prices and historically low supply is finally slowing the housing market's rally. According to Business Insider, the National Association of Realtors says home sales fell 2.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million. The median price for existing homes fell to a six-month low as well, dipping month-over-month to $310,800 from $313,100. Even so, the pace is still up 25.8% from the year-ago period.
According to Reuters, a global gauge of stock markets fell below a two month low. On May 29th, MSCI's all-country world stock index fell about 1-percent with losses stretching across Asia, the US, and Europe. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index fell 1.4-percent, while the euro was steady after two days of losses. On Wall Street, the top three markets on the New York Stock Exchange lost about 1-percent each. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 270-points, dropping over 1-percent.
European sanctions hit Russia hard when European cheeses were banned. However, one man decided to take action and re-create the world's best cheeses.
Russia's weak economy is hitting many tourism and luxury goods companies hard, forcing them to cut prices and costs. As Hayley Platt reports Russian tourist spend halved for January.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the UK has sanctioned officials running the Arctic penal colony where Russian opposition figure and critic of President Vladmir Putin Alexei Navalny died, saying Britian and its allies were considering "all options to hold Russia and Putin to account". "He died for a cause to which he dedicated his whole life - freedom - and to return home knowing that Putin had already tried to have him killed is one of the most courageous acts of our time," he tells members of parliament. SOUNDBITE