IBT Staff Reporter

The World Bank said its executive board on Monday approved a $723 million package of loans and grants for Ukraine, providing desperately needed government budget support as the country battles a Russian invasion.

The U.N. human rights chief urged the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Monday to re-establish fair elections and said she was "concerned" about the country's lack of accountability for repeated human rights violations.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign a long-awaited executive order this week directing the Justice Department, Treasury and other agencies to study the legal and economic ramifications of creating a U.S.

U.S. authorities are investigating what appeared to be one of the largest human smuggling attempts off U.S.

Florida's top health official said on Monday the state would recommend against the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children, breaking with guidance from the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let North Carolina and Pennsylvania use electoral maps approved by state courts to replace ones deemed to have given Republicans unfair advantages, improving Democratic chances of retaining control of the U.S.

Argentine bonds fell on Monday as a new $45 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) started to move through Congress, with the crisis in Ukraine hitting investor sentiment as well as doubts about the country's economic outlook.

Bulgaria supports sanctions on Russia as a means to halting its invasion of Ukraine, but will likely seek an exception on banning Russian natural gas and oil imports if such a proposal is put forward, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said on Monday.

Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta will drop its provincial fuel tax to give consumers some relief from soaring energy prices, Premier Jason Kenney said on Monday, as he also urged the United States to revive the cancelled Keystone XL (KXL) oil pipeline.

The former patriarch of the Espirito Santo family of bankers, Ricardo Salgado, was sentenced to six years in jail by a Lisbon court on Monday for appropriating 10.7 million euros ($11.65 million) from defunct lender Grupo Espirito Santo (GES).

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday threw his weight behind measures to tamp down domestic fuel prices after the Ukraine conflict sent oil prices to their highest levels since 2008, adding to pressure on state-run oil company Petrobras.

Soaring grain prices in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine are hurting Brazilian meatpackers, but trade disruptions facing Ukrainian and Russian meat producers may be an opportunity to boost Brazil's share in global trade, industry sources said.

Michael Ferkol, who who once served as a supply specialist with engineer battalions in the U.S.

The possibility that the United States might ban Russian oil imports has triggered a surge in Brent crude to almost $140 a barrel, its highest level since 2008.

The Biden administration is threatening to add companies to a trade blacklist if they skirt new export curbs against Russia, as it ramps up efforts to keep a vast array of technology out of the country after it invaded Ukraine last month.

Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Chapek said on Monday in response to calls that the company take a public stand against a Florida bill that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity that Disney's stories "are our corporate statements" in support of a diverse, inclusive world.

Sri Lanka's central bank on Monday set an exchange rate limit of 230 rupees to the dollar, effectively allowing a currency depreciation it hopes will attract investment and remittances to help ease the worst financial crisis in years.

Global financial conditions are at their tightest since early 2016, driven by soaring energy prices, sliding stocks and market turmoil stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The number of women employed in senior management of the UK financial sector will take 30 years to reach parity with men at the current pace, a UK government-backed initiative said on Monday as it announced steps to kick start "urgent action".

The top U.S. lawmakers on trade matters on Monday announced a plan for legislation to ban the import of Russian energy products and suspend normal trade relations with Russia, according to a statement from the bipartisan group.

Wheat importers face a threat to delivering politically sensitive bread supplies across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) after Russia's invasion of Ukraine closed off access to the lower priced Black Sea grain they depend on.

Britain set out ways it would crack down on "dirty money" on Monday, introducing new legislation to "hobble" Russian President Vladimir Putin by making it more difficult for those close to him to use London as their playground.

'Make their voices heard': Turkish women fight femicide

Hundreds of people streamed out of Irpin on Monday to escape Russian forces advancing towards the nearby Ukrainian capital Kyiv, some saying there were only a few residents left in the town badly damaged by recent shelling.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a "big wake up call" for European governments hoping to balance the need for fossil fuels with environmental concerns, the head of French energy giant TotalEnergies said on Monday.

At an animal shelter in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Natalia Horobets bid an emotional farewell to her beloved pet cat Charly on Monday.

It will be years before the full impact of Brexit on Britain's financial sector is fully known as more activity could leave London for the bloc or other centres like New York, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said on Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met in the Latvian capital of Riga on Monday to discuss Israel's diplomatic initiative to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

'Hand-to-hand combat': Street battles rage on Kyiv's edge