Major indices in the US stock market rebounded to close higher Thursday, recovering from losses as the Federal Reserve prepares to hike interest rates in the coming months. 

Despite plummeting around 300 points earlier, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was up 87 points, or 0.25%, to close at 34,583.

The S&P 500 rose 19 points, or 0.43%, to end at 4,500.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 8 points, or 0.06%, to finish at 13,897.

Earlier losses came after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed needs to raise its benchmark interest rate to 3.5% and the central bank's current policy rate is "too low by about 300 basis points."

Fed officials support one or more 50 basis point interest rate increases at future meetings if inflation remains high or keeps climbing, according to minutes released on Wednesday.

At the final bell, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was down 2.5% to 21.55.

The dollar index rose 0.22% to 99.82, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes climbed 1.66% to 2.652%.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.32% to $1,931 per ounce and silver rising 0.56% to $24.6.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $101.28, up 0.2%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $96.92 -- a 0.7% gain./aa

Fitch Ratings said Thursday it expects lower economic growth and higher inflation in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) amid the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

The global rating agency said in a statement that it expects damage from the war to cause a 35% contraction for Ukraine this year, while Belarus’s economy will shrink 10% due to large trade links with Russia, sanctions and challenging financial conditions.

Fitch said it revised down economic growth estimates across the CIS+ region for 2022 but added that oil and natural gas producing and exporting countries will benefit from higher prices.

"This is most apparent in Azerbaijan, which exports gas to Europe and will benefit from strong demand and higher prices," it said. "Turkmenistan currently exports all gas under long-term contracts with a lag in the pricing structure, meaning that much of the price impact will be felt in 2023.”

It anticipates Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan economies to grow in 2022 but their estimates are cut by 0.2 to 4 percentage points.

The rating agency, in addition, revised up inflation forecasts for CIS+ countries, as all are expected now to have average inflation rates of more than 8.5% in 2022, due to a combination of higher food and energy prices, and exchange-rate depreciation./aa

The World Health Organization on Thursday said it has verified 91 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24. 

Ukraine is living in “dark days,” WHO Europe chief Hans Kluge said in a briefing from Lviv, a city near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, on the 43rd day of the war.

“Routine immunization coverage for polio and measles is below the threshold for population immunity, 50% of Ukraine’s pharmacies are presumed closed, and 1,000 health facilities are in proximity to conflict areas,” said Kluge, who had to temporarily shift the press conference underground due to an air raid warning.

He said around 80,000 babies will be born over the next three months with insufficient pre- and post-natal care available due to the ongoing conflict.

The WHO has prepared for different eventualities in Ukraine, “anticipating that health challenges will worsen before they get better,” he added.

He said the global health body is considering all scenarios and making contingencies for different situations, from the continued treatment of mass casualties to chemical attacks.  

World Health Day

“Today is World Health Day, the day on which the WHO was founded 74 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, to uphold the principle that health is a human right, and all people should enjoy the highest standard of health,” said Kluge.

He expressed deep admiration for Ukraine’s medical workers for protecting people’s health in times of immense difficulties.

“Our mandate and humanitarian principles call on us to ensure health for all – including the poor and most vulnerable – wherever they may be,” said Kluge.

“We have a fully functional office in Lviv and are setting up an operational base in Dnipro in east-central Ukraine to mobilize resources more quickly and reach some of the most vulnerable people in conflict zones with urgent supplies,” he added.

According to the WHO regional chief, an estimated 260,000 people with HIV live in Ukraine.

Along with the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Ukrainian authorities and the WHO had ensured enough supply of antiretroviral drugs to cover the needs of every person with HIV in Ukraine for the next 12 months, he said.

Kluge said Ukraine was making excellent progress on specific challenges before the war started, including in its fight against tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.

“It was a beacon of best practice in Eastern Europe, with TB incidence falling by almost half in the past 15 years, thanks to investment in modern diagnostic technologies to rapidly identify TB infection and effective treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant TB,” he said./aa

Foreign ministers of G7 countries and the EU's foreign policy chief on Thursday condemned the Russian army’s alleged atrocities in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns. 

Following their meetings, the foreign ministers of the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, as well as Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, released a joint statement.

The G7 reunited after the NATO foreign ministers' meeting, to which Japan was also invited, as were officials from other non-NATO countries and the EU.

“The G7 is committed to holding (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin to account for his unprovoked war of choice and ensuring he endures a strategic defeat in Ukraine,” US State Secretary Antony Blinken said on Twitter following the meeting.

Their statement condemned “in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha and a number of other Ukrainian towns.”

“Haunting images of civilian deaths, victims of torture, and apparent executions, as well as reports of sexual violence and destruction of civilian infrastructure, show the true face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine and its people,” it alleged.

The ministers vowed that “the massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities and severe violations of international law” and those responsible will be held accountable.

The G7 underlined “the necessity of further increasing the economic pressure inflicted on Russia and the Lukashenka regime in Belarus,” and pledged to “sustain and increase pressure on Russia by imposing coordinated additional restrictive measures.”

They reiterated the group’s “unwavering support for Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders” and promised further assistance, including military and financial aid.

They also warned Russia to completely withdraw its forces from Ukraine and to respect international law, including refraining from using chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.

The ministers also voiced grave concerns over the Russian capturing of nuclear facilities, pointing out that violent actions increase the risk of a nuclear incident and endanger Ukraine and its neighbors.

They promised action against the “rise of food insecurity” and humanitarian crisis initiated by “Russia’s ruthless war and actions,” which have “massive consequences on global commodity and food prices."

Putin and Moscow are facing vehement criticism from the international community after Ukraine accused Russian forces of committing “genocide” and “war crimes” in Bucha.

Russia has rejected the allegations as a “fake news attack,” arguing that the images that have drawn global outrage were staged after Russian forces withdrew from the city.

The Russian war on Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with Western countries and their allies implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

In response, Russia imposed visa restrictions on citizens of "unfriendly countries," and asked these states to pay for its energy in rubles.

At least 1,611 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,227 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher./aa

At least 1,611 civilians have lost their lives in Ukraine while 2,227 have been injured since Russia began its "special military operation" in the neighboring country on Feb. 24, the UN said on Thursday.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in its daily update.

It added that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.

Meanwhile, according to the UN refugee agency, more than 4.3 million have fled Ukraine.

Neighboring Poland has taken in more than 2.5 million people from Ukraine, while nearly 663,000 have gone to Romania, more than 404,000 to Hungary, over 401,000 to Moldova, and around 305,000 to Slovakia.

According to the International Organization for Migration, over 7.1 million people have also been internally displaced since the war began./aa

Rwandans paused Thursday to mark the 28th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group at nationwide remembrance ceremonies to honor 1 million people killed in 100 days. 

Thousands gathered at memorial sites in the national capital of Kigali and across the country to lay wreaths on graves where victims are buried, but with a sense of determination to move forward after nearly three decades.

About 1 million people, mostly from the Tutsi community and moderate Hutus, were killed by Hutu extremists.

The main event was held at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 victims were laid to rest.

President Paul Kagame and first lady Jeannette Kagame were in attendance where the dean of the diplomatic corps and representatives of survivors paid their respects.

As is the norm, Kagame lit the “Flame of Remembrance” at the memorial.

Every year that passes makes Rwandans stronger and better people, said Kagame.

He aimed his speech at those criticizing his justice system on the back of hundreds of genocide fugitives still at large.

“You can even imagine people who doubt our justice system, yet Rwanda abolished the death penalty in its laws not because anybody influenced or put pressure on us at a time when it had so many people to be justifiably hanged. And you turn and say that we do not have justice,” he said. “Rwanda is a small country but big in justice. We believe in the rule of law.”

The government said more than 1,000 suspects have taken refuge in different countries including France, the US, Netherlands and Canada but authorities in those countries are unable to prosecute or hand over the suspects.

“Some of those big and powerful countries are very small in justice and therefore have no lessons to teach anyone because they are part of this history that saw over 1 million people perish, they are the cause, as Rwandans just executed killing their fellow Rwandans,” he said. “Some genocide suspects are even protected by the very countries that talk about justice.”

Concerning genocide denial and distortion, he said “yet as we know they create false stories about people, about Rwanda, about genocide and when you want to present facts there is much power to tell everyone not to give you space to answer back, to argue.”

The National Unity and Civic Engagements Minister Jean Damascene Bizimana attributed the genocide to bad governance.

“We remember our slain dead for what they were. In our lives, they are unforgettable,” said Bizimana.  

International Day of Reflection

In a message marking the annual April 7 International Day of Reflection on the genocide against Tutsis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it “was neither an accident nor unavoidable.”

“As we remember the bloodshed 28 years ago, we must recognize that we always have a choice: To choose humanity over hatred; compassion over cruelty; courage over complacency,” he said.

On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi was downed by a rocket attack, killing everyone on board.

The crash triggered massacres by Hutu extremists./agencies

Up to 7.3 million people fleeing war in Ukraine may stay in Poland, a government official said on Thursday.

Poland has so far accepted about 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees, a Polish Development Funds and Regional Policy statement quoted Deputy Minister Malgorzata Jarosinska-Jedynak as saying

Noting that some of the Ukrainian refugees, who came to Poland initially, went to other countries, Jarosinska-Jedynak said 11 million Ukrainians could leave their country if the war continues.

"We assess that the vast majority of them, from 2.8 million or even up to 7.3 million refugees, may stay in Poland," he added.

The Russian war on Ukraine has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,563 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,213 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher./agencies

Major indices in the US stock market closed lower Wednesday as the Federal Reserve eyes higher rate hikes in the coming months.

Fed officials support one or more 50 basis point interest rate increases at future meetings if inflation remains high or keeps climbing, according to minutes that were released.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 144 points, or 0.42%, to close at 34,496.

The S&P 500 fell almost 44 points, or 0.97%, to end at 4,481.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted 315 points, or 2.22%, to finish at 13,888.

The dollar index rose 0.15% to 99.62.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, was up more than 5% to 22.10. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes climbed 1.26% to 2.586%.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.12% to $1,925 per ounce and silver rising 0.5% to $24.45.

Crude oil prices plummeted nearly 5% for the day.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $101.74, down 4.6%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $96.94 with more than a 4.9% loss.

Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto by market value, fell 4.6% to $43,850 around 4.30 p.m. EDT. Ethereum, the world's biggest altcoin, plummeted 7.1% to $3,212. Some altcoins lost as much as 15%.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market was down 5.6% to $2.01 trillion./aa