By Albin Sybera The escalating political corruption scandal in Brno, Czechia’s second city, has forced First Deputy Mayor Petr Hladik to withdraw his nomination as the new environment minister. Police on October 18 searched Hladik’s office and called h…
ING: Aluminium market braced for supply disruptions
By Ewa Manthey at ING Global aluminium prices briefly rallied after news that the United States is considering an effective ban on Russian imports of the metal in response to the conflict in Ukraine. This comes at a time when the LME is also discussing…
50,000 civilians evacuated from Kherson, martial law declared in Ukraine’s four annexed regions
Russian authorities ordered the evacuation of 50,000 from the southern Ukrainian town of Kherson occupied by Russians, as fighting around the city intensifies on October 19. On the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law in four …
European Parliament calls for admission of Bulgaria, Romania to Schengen
By bne IntelliNews Members of the European Parliament adopted on October 18 a resolution calling for admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen as the two countries have long ago fulfilled all the criteria. The resolution was accepted with the votes…
Smugglers reportedly selling Musk’s Starlink dishes in Iran as protesters battle regime’s internet shutdown
By bne IntelIiNews Smuggling gangs in Iran are selling satellite receiver dishes for Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service brought in through the country’s porous border with Iraqi Kurdistan, Iranian newspaper Shargh reported on October 17. The dishes …
Bulgaria’s inflation reaches new record of 18.7% y/y in September
By bne IntelliNews Bulgaria’s consumer prices increased by 18.7% y/y in September, after rising by 17.7% y/y in August, reaching the highest level since July 2008 (chart), the statistics office reported on October 17. Inflation has been rising for 19 c…
EU set for sanctions response to dive-bombing of Ukraine by ‘Iranian kamikaze’ drones
By bne IntelIiNews The European Union looks set to hit Tehran with sanctions after a day that saw Russia dive-bombing the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and several regions with what appeared to be Iranian-made ‘kamikaze’ drones. The French and German foreig…
Poland’s core inflation goes into double-digit territory in September
By Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw Poland’s core inflation, which measures price growth without food and energy, grew 0.8pp to 10.7% y/y in September (chart), the National Bank of Poland (NBP) said on October 17. Core inflation growth tracks the expansion of c…
Financial squeeze forces Southeast European countries to pull out of 2023 Eurovision
By bne IntelliNews North Macedonia will not participate in the next year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which be held in Liverpool, due to financial difficulties, public broadcaster Macedonian Radio Television (MRT) announced on October 14. This is t…
Kamikaze drones explode in Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia
By Dominic Culverwell in Kyiv Another wave of Iranian-made Kamikaze drones struck on Kyiv and Southern Ukraine on the morning of October 17, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, as Russia’s relentless bombing of Ukraine’s infrastructure c…