Morning bird: Lavrov and Rubio spoke about the war in Ukraine over the phone. The mortgage payment for buying a flat was 9245 crowns more expensive in December last year than the monthly rent
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his American counterpart Marco Rubio discussed the possibilities of resolving the Russian war in Ukraine and Russian-Ukrainian talks, which will take place on Monday in Turkey. The repayment of the mortgage for the acquisition of an apartment was 9245 crowns more expensive than the monthly rent in December last year, according to the analysis of the Rental Housing Association.
American and Russian Foreign Ministers Discussed Negotiations in Istanbul
The talks between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and his American counterpart Marco Rubio were confirmed by the US State Department, noting that Russian party requested the call. The aim was to discuss potential ways to resolve the Russian war in Ukraine and the Russian-Ukrainian talks that will take place in Turkey today.
The day before the second round of direct talks on the possibilities of achieving peace in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia significantly escalated mutual attacks. According to Kiev, Russia sent the largest number of drones over Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed Kiev's participation in the Istanbul talks, stating that his country demands a complete and unconditional ceasefire, release of prisoners, and return of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia, reported Ceskenoviny.cz.
Analysis: Mortgages were 9245 CZK more expensive than rents at the end of 2024
The mortgage repayment for purchasing a flat was in December of last year 9245 crowns more expensive than the monthly rent. The difference was 287 crowns less compared to November, but compared to the last month of 2023, the amount increased by 459 crowns, the server Ceskenoviny.cz stated. The increasing advantage of rental housing is mainly caused by rapidly growing apartment prices, which are rising more than rent. The rising apartment prices are not even able to be offset by decreasing mortgage rates. This is evident from the analysis of the Rental Housing Association.
"The gap between rental housing and a mortgage will, with the decline of mortgage interest rates, rather close over the course of the year. How massive this closure will be, depends primarily on the dynamics of apartment price growth,"
said the president of the association, Jakub Vysocký.
More Palestinians killed in Gaza
Israel killed at least 32 Palestinians waiting for food at two aid distribution sites in Gaza, over 200 more were injured. The aid is distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group supported by Israel and the United States. The United Nations organization and other humanitarian groups refused to cooperate with GHF. They accused it of being created to allow Israel to achieve its stated military goal of controlling all of Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
China Warned the US not to Play with Fire over Taiwan
China warned the United States against "playing with fire" over Taiwan in response to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeling the Asian power as a "threat to the region" at a closely-watched summit in Singapore. In his Saturday speech, he said that China is "credibly preparing" for a military action to change the power balance of Asia, and accused Beijing of rehearsing a potential invasion of Taiwan, reported by Al Jazeera.
Sources: Ceskenoviny.cz, Al Jazeera
