It will replace Egypt as a tourist hotspot, its offshore oil and gas reserves will cement Russia's position as the world's top energy producer, and its spas will revive the state sector's weary workforce. At least, that's how Russia presents Crimea.

• March 17, 2014

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans on officials from Russia and Ukraine after Crimea applied to join Russia on Monday following a weekend referendum.

• March 17, 2014

Issue # 08
03/10/2014
The Crimean parliament has decided on the autonomy's joining Russia as "a subject of the Russian Federation". Situation in eastern Ukraine remains unstable. You can find more details in the sections "SITUATION IN CRIMEA" and "DOMESTIC POLITICAL". READ MORE

• March 17, 2014

The Gaza Strip's sole power station stopped generating electricity on Saturday, causing blackouts throughout the territory after it ran out of fuel, officials said.

• March 15, 2014

China's central bank loosened its grip on the yuan on Saturday by doubling the daily trading range for the currency, adding teeth to a promise it would allow market forces to play a greater role in the economy and its markets.

• March 15, 2014

Pro-Russian leaders in Crimea made final preparations on Saturday for a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea region from Ukraine to Moscow, despite an outcry and threat of sanctions from the West.

• March 15, 2014

Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher and Andrew Judge

Do such organisations exist beyond the ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ level? Amidst the current tensions about Russian military deployment in Crimea, there has been considerable speculation in the European and American media about the security of Russian gas supplies to the EU. Such speculation is generated by a combination of concerns over the level of dependency on Russian gas imports faced by several EU member states and fears that the Russian government considers gas exports to be an ‘energy weapon’ that can be deployed against its former Soviet neighbours. This short article will address the likelihood of a suspension of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and the impact of such a suspension on EU gas imports. READ MORE

• March 15, 2014

Growing tension between the West and Russia ahead of Ukraine's weekend referendum in Crimea pushed stocks on major world markets down on Friday and ramped up the flight into safe-haven gold and the yen.

• March 14, 2014