Reuters

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's decision to slash welfare payments for Ukrainian refugees in state accommodation will impact close to one third of the 86,000 people who fled Russia's invasion and remain in Ireland, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said on Wednesday.

The government decided on Tuesday to reduce the payment to 38.80 euros ($41.96) from 220 euros, following an identical cut for new arrivals in March that ministers said has resulted in a... (continue reading...)

By Christian Kraemer

BERLIN (Reuters) - There are Russian assets worth 3.95 billion euros ($4.28 billion) currently frozen in Germany, according to a letter from the finance ministry seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The figure includes assets of individuals and companies that were subject to sanctions following Russia's attack on Ukraine, as well as foreign assets of the Russian central bank.

"This sum is subject to... (continue reading...)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Kyiv looked like a sign of Washington's growing alarm over the frontline situation and what it called Ukrainian military failures.

Blinken, the first senior U.S. official to travel to Ukraine after the U.S. Congress last month passed a delayed $61 billion military aid package, said the U.S. would stand by Ukraine until its security... (continue reading...)

By Mohammad Yunus Yawar

KABUL (Reuters) - A helicopter used by the Afghan air force crashed as it attempted an emergency landing in central Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring 12, the defence ministry said.

The Mi17 aircraft encountered "technical issues" as it attempted to recover the bodies of people who had fallen into a river in the central Ghor province, Afghanistan's Taliban-run Ministry of National Defence... (continue reading...)

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The euro zone economy grew by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, suggesting a slow recovery is now underway after six straight quarters of stagnant or negative growth, Eurostat said on Wednesday, confirming a preliminary estimate.

In the previous quarter, however, growth was confirmed at minus 0.1%, indicating that the bloc was in recession, as many economists had long predicted.

The economy shrank by 0.1% in... (continue reading...)