Monaco Journal - News from Monaco, Monte-Carlo and the world

Major gas exporting nations said Tuesday they could not guarantee prices or supplies at a summit overshadowed by the worsening Ukraine crisis which has pushed costs to record highs in Europe.

HSBC on Tuesday announced bumper 2021 profits and plans to repurchase shares worth up to $1.0 billion as the Asia-focused bank continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and major restructuring.

Russia faced a furious global diplomatic and economic backlash Tuesday after President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine to secure two breakaway regions.

Oil prices surged close to $100 per barrel Tuesday as major crude producer Russia prepared to send troops into two breakaway regions of Ukraine, sparking Western nations to ready economic sanctions against Moscow.

In normal times, Emmanuel Macron would have hit the campaign trail by now to try for a second term in a presidential election only seven weeks away, plotting strategy, appearing in TV debates and firing up supporters at rallies.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that he was suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia in response to Moscow's recognition of two breakaway regions in Ukraine.

Alexander Zverev edged to victory over Jenson Brooksby in Acapulco early Tuesday morning in the latest-ever finish to a professional tennis match.

Reigning champion Tyson Fury said Tuesday that Dillian Whyte had signed a contract that sets up a world heavyweight title fight between the two British boxers.

Queen Elizabeth II has cancelled her planned virtual engagements for Tuesday due to "mild" coronavirus symptoms, Buckingham Palace said.

Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for "coordinated and global solutions" ahead of expected talks on an international treaty on the issue.

Hong Kong's population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city's leader said Tuesday, as she confirmed that mainland Chinese officials were now coordinating the response to the financial hub's worst outbreak.

Luciano Spalletti is hoping to have a fit first-choice team ready to face Barcelona as Napoli turn their attentions to their decisive Europa League clash in Naples after escaping Cagliari with an undeserved 1-1 draw on Monday.

Qatar's emir said major gas exporting nations were working to ensure "credible and reliable" supplies as he hosted a forum overshadowed by the worsening crisis in Ukraine on Tuesday.

Women working in Afghan government departments must cover up -- even with a blanket if necessary -- or they may lose their jobs, the Taliban's religious police said Tuesday.

A prominent anti-China activist has been arrested in Mongolia, part of what campaigners have said is a wider effort to "clean up" Beijing's critics in the country.

Ukraine on Tuesday urged its Western allies to hit Russia with "tough sanctions" after President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions as independent and ordered in his troops.

Passenger traffic at Dubai international airport, the world's busiest, will not recover to pre-Covid levels before 2024, its CEO told AFP on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka's inflation hit a record high for the fourth consecutive month, official data showed Tuesday as an economic crisis driven by a crippling foreign exchange shortage worsens.

Internet connection was restored in Tonga on Tuesday, five weeks after a massive volcanic eruption shredded the undersea cable that connects the Pacific nation with the rest of the world.

Indian teenage chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won praise Tuesday for a stunning victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen in an online championship.

China and Russia set off alarms in the West this month with the most robust declaration of their friendship in decades but Beijing has signalled it would not back Vladimir Putin if he sent troops in to invade Ukraine.

UN rights experts have called for an end to "misogynistic and sectarian" online attacks against a Muslim Indian woman journalist, asking the authorities to investigate the harassment.

Former Bolivian interim president Jeanine Anez, imprisoned since March 2021 for her alleged role in a coup d'etat, will remain in detention for at least three more months, a court ruled Monday.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are known for their tiny heads, English bulldogs for their smushed wrinkled muzzles -- traits their owners love.

Cultural hits from Netflix show "Squid Game" to Oscar-winner "Parasite" have raised South Korean inequality to global prominence, and one presidential hopeful claims his working-class credentials make him the best man to fix a broken system.

HSBC on Tuesday announced bumper 2021 profits and plans to repurchase shares worth up to $1.0 billion as the Asia-focused bank continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and major restructuring.

Ocean View is a contender for one of the world's most ironic place names.

Lawyers for Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, wanted on drug trafficking charges in the United States, asked Monday that he be granted house arrest while the extradition case against him proceeds, a spokesperson said.

The United States and its allies rounded on Russia during an emergency Security Council session Monday, denouncing Vladimir Putin's recognition of rebel-held areas in Ukraine and his ordered deployment of troops as a gross violation of international law and "pretext for war."

Nominated for this year's Oscars, Chilean short film "Bestia" (Beast) uses animation, an art form more often associated with children's movies, to deal with a macabre topic: the sexual torture of women.

The "Suisse Secrets" data leak claiming to reveal how Credit Suisse handled billions of dollars in dirty money has renewed pressure on Switzerland's financial sector, which has spent years trying to clean up its image.

The United States said it will impose sanctions on Moscow Tuesday, following an initially cautious response to President Vladimir Putin's order for Russian troops to deploy in two Kremlin-backed separatist areas of Ukraine.