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Russia made two overtures to ease tensions around Ukraine reporting a pullback of troops near its neighbour and welcoming talks with the West. But the United States and its allies said they needed evidence of the troop movements and that the threat of a Russian invasion still loomed. For the second day Tuesday, there were signs of hope that Europe might avoid war following weeks of escalating East-West tensions as Moscow massed around 150,000 troops on three sides of Ukraine and held massive military drills. Those moves led to dire…

The Biden Administration has warned Russia of severe consequences in case its forces invade Ukraine and insisted on a diplomatic solution to the issue. We are actively working to reach a diplomatic solution to de-escalate the crisis. Over the weekend, as you all know, the President spoke with President Putin, and we remain engaged with the Russian government in full coordination with our allies and partners, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage constructively, she said.…

 Inflation soared over the past year at its highest rate in four decades, hammering American consumers, wiping out pay raises and reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s decision to begin raising borrowing rates across the economy. The Labor Department said Thursday that consumer prices jumped 7.5per cent last month compared with a year earlier, the steepest year-over-year increase since February 1982. When measured from December to January, inflation was 0.6per cent, the same as the previous month and more than economists had expected. Prices rose 0.7per cent from October to November and…