- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
Oil nears $100 as West prepares Russian sanctions
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.
After heavy falls at the open, European stocks edged into positive territory, as the Kremlin said it remained open to all diplomatic contact over Ukraine.
Asian stock markets had earlier ended their sessions with heavy falls.
Brent North Sea crude oil reached $99.50 per barrel, the highest level in seven years.
At around 1115 GMT, it pulled back to just below $98, still a gain of around 2.5 percent compared with late Monday.
"The intensifying crisis between Russia and Ukraine has raised concerns about the supply disruptions that would ensue as sanctions look set to cripple Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter and the world's top natural gas producer," noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia in response to Moscow's recognition of breakaway regions Donetsk and Lugansk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had demanded an immediate halt to the project, set to pipe Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Zelensky said Russia must be punished for its recognition Monday of Ukraine's two separatist-held regions with "immediate sanctions" that include "the complete stop of Nord Stream 2".
It comes as the United States, Britain and the European Union prepared to launch economic sanctions on Russia.
"Our response will be in the form of sanctions, whose extent the ministers will decide," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
Russia's recognition of the breakaway regions of Ukraine will meanwhile "strongly increase" economic uncertainty for the EU, the bloc's economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said.
Russian troops were believed to be deploying into Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued decrees ordering his army to assume "peacekeeping" functions in the separatist territories.
- Oil surge -
The jump in oil prices is compounding worries about inflation around the world, with the US Federal Reserve coming under intense pressure to tighten monetary policy to prevent prices running out of control.
That has in turn battered equity markets in recent months, and the latest developments out of Europe led to another day of hefty selling on Tuesday.
Russia's MOEX index plunged eight percent at the open, having lost 10 percent Monday.
The ruble though recovered after sharp losses against the dollar.
Haven investment gold climbed past $1,900 an ounce before pulling back.
Away from the Ukraine crisis, German auto giant Volkswagen on Tuesday said it was drawing up plans to list its luxury brand Porsche as it looks to raise the funds for its move to electric vehicles.
In London, HSBC bank announced bumper 2021 profits and plans to repurchase shares worth up to $1 billion as the Asia-focused bank continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and major restructuring.
- Key figures around 1115 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,515.85 points
Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 14,731.73
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 6,799.10
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,993.82
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,449.61 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.7 percent at 23,520.00 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,457.15 (close)
New York - Dow: Closed for a public holiday
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.6 percent at $97.90 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 4.1 percent at $93.90 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1358 from $1.1337 late Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3575 from $1.3609
Euro/pound: UP at 83.68 pence from 83.33 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 114.91 yen from 114.82 yen
A.Jones--AMWN