- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Oil soars, ruble and equities dive on Russia fallout
Oil and gas prices surged Monday, but the ruble collapsed and global stocks sank after world powers imposed new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted to the latest tough measures by placing his nuclear forces on high alert on Sunday and the Kremlin has insisted it can ride out the sanctions.
Brent crude again topped $100 per barrel and Europe's reference Dutch TTF natural gas price rose by more than 12 percent to 106 euros per megawatt hour in mid-afternoon trading, as fears grew over Russian energy supplies.
The news, alongside sharp gains for aluminium, nickel and wheat, sparked renewed concern over rampant inflation.
Traders will closely watch a meeting this week of OPEC and other major oil producers led by Russia, where they will discuss output plans.
Wall Street stocks opened lower as investors followed a sell-off that began in Europe earlier on Monday.
The Dow was down 1.2 percent, the tech-rich Nasdaq index shed 0.9 percent and the broad-based S&P 500 was down one percent in early trading.
European stocks sank with London losing 1.3 percent, while Frankfurt and Paris shed 2.1 percent and 2.7 percent respectively following a mixed showing in Asia.
The ruble struck record lows against the euro and dollar after the West banned all transactions with Russia's central bank and ejected some lenders from international payments system SWIFT.
- Eurozone banks take hit -
The weekend news sent shockwaves through European banks early on Monday amid fears of a sector-wide impact.
In Paris, Societe Generale slumped 10.4 percent, BNP Paribas shed 8.2 percent and Credit Agricole lost 5.5 percent.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank was the biggest loser with a drop of 8.5 percent.
"European banks with the biggest exposure to Russia... have been hit hardest amid today's market sell-off," said Interactive Investor's Victoria Scholar.
"The SWIFT system in this context mainly matters as it allows Russian energy companies to easily sell oil and gas abroad via the conduit of the global financial system."
The European subsidiary of Russia's state-owned Sberbank is meanwhile facing bankruptcy in the wake of the sanctions, the European Central Bank said on Monday.
In the British capital, Russia-exposed companies were back in the firing line.
London-listed shares in Russian metal giants Polymetal and Evraz took another battering, collapsing by 52 percent and 27 percent respectively.
British energy giant BP dived almost 6.0 percent after deciding to exit Russia.
Gold and the yen, go-to assets in times of uncertainty, rose, while the dollar was up against most other currencies.
Emerging markets units took a hit from the Ukraine turmoil, with the Hungarian forint hitting an all-time low against the euro.
News that Russia's central bank had raised interest rates to 20 percent -- the highest since 2003 -- helped pare the ruble's losses only briefly as worried Russians queued up outside banks to withdraw savings.
- Key figures around 1445 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 2.9 percent at $100.74 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.9 percent at $95.12 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 33,668.37 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.0 percent at 4,340.83
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.8 percent at 13,589.77
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.3 percent at 7,390.24
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.1 percent at 14,255.85
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.7 percent at 6,568.72
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.7 percent at 3,862.63
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 26,526.82 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 22,713.02 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,462.31 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1227 from $1.1268 late Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3419 from $1.3409
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.68 pence from 84.03 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 115.24 yen from 115.55 yen
M.Davis--CPN