MOSCOW - RUSSIAN Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Moscow would again cut off gas supplies to Ukraine and possibly Europe if Kiev does not pay off its latest debts by the weekend.
His comments came a day after armed Ukrainian security service agents burst into the headquarters of the Ukrainian state gas firm Naftogaz to conduct a search, in a dramatic display of the country's internal tensions.
WASHINGTON - THE number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but remained at high levels consistent with a severe recession.
The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 639,000 in the week ended Feb 28 from an upwardly revised 670,000 the prior week. Analysts had forecast new claims at 650,000 last week.
LONDON - THE Bank of England said Thursday it will create US$106 billion (S$165 billion) via extraordinary measures to boost lending after cutting interest rates to a record-low 0.5 per cent.
In a bid to lift Britain out of recession, the BoE said it would create 75 billion pounds via so-called 'quantitative easing' measures. It plans to buy government bonds over the next three months from commercial banks, which would use the new money to ease the credit crunch.
JAKARTA - INDONESIAN Buddhists symbolically 'sealed' the upmarket Buddha Bar in Jakarta on Thursday, urging authorities to immediately close the Paris-based entertainment franchise for blasphemy.
About 150 mainly student protesters carrying joss sticks and flowers gathered outside the bar in a wealthy neighbourhood of the capital and denounced its decorative use of sacred symbols and statues.
