Author: Steven Sahiounie

Chief Executive of the Persian Gulf Star Oil Refinery, Alireza Jafarpour, said on Thursday that gasoline output of the refinery had reached 41 million liters per day, up from a daily production of 35.6 million liters reported last year. He said the refinery supplies another 4 million liters per day of gasoline derivatives to other refineries to help them increase their output, Press TV reported. “We are responding to 45 million liters of the gasoline demand in the country directly and indirectly,” Jafarpour added. The Persian Gulf Star Oil Refinery is the largest refinery in the world that runs on…

The United Arab Emirates has become a new safe haven for the wealth of Russia’s sanctioned rich, Swissinfo reports Swiss sanctions against wealthy Russians and their businesses have forced them to move their money elsewhere, most notably the UAE, SwissInfo reported on Friday. Although not an EU member, Switzerland abandoned its traditional neutrality last year and joined the bloc in adopting sanctions against Russian individuals, companies, and organizations and freezing Russian assets in retaliation for Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. According to Swissinfo, citing a study from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a “significant exodus of Russian assets” resulted in a $100…

The US no longer ensures its national currency’s role on the global market, the Russian Foreign Minister has insisted Moscow will continue expanding trade relations with ‘friendly’ countries and boost the use of national currencies, cutting the US dollar’s share, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Friday. According to the top diplomat, Moscow has no intention of undermining the US currency’s global role, but Washington is doing that itself. “We obviously are not developing our line against the US, against the West. It’s not that we want to ruin the dollar. The US no longer ensures the dollar’s global…

The number of jobless claims in Italy increased for the first time in six months in July, Istat reports Unemployment in Italy grew unexpectedly to reach 7.6% in July after six consecutive months of decline, preliminary official data showed on Thursday. Some 73,000 jobs were lost during the month, Istat reported, noting that the unemployment rate grew for the first time since February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to drop to 7.4%. In the corresponding month last year, the rate was 8%. Compared to July 2022, the number of employed in the Eurozone’s third largest economy…

A Palestinian was struck with a tear gas canister and several others suffocated as Israeli military forces attacked Palestinians protesting peacefully at the Gaza-Israeli borders to the east of Gaza city, said sources. Israeli soldiers deployed along the borders to the east of the Strip opened fire at dozens of Palestinians who rallied in protest of the Israeli occupation’s continued crimes against Palestinians and their holy sites. A youth was hit and injured in the back by a tear gas canister and several others suffered from suffocation. Source: WAFA

Almost one-third of the country’s industrial firms are planning to relocate production overseas or cut domestic output, according to a commerce group More than half of German companies believe that the transition toward renewable energy and away from Russian gas will harm their businesses, according to a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). The DIHK’s energy transition barometer survey issued on Tuesday showed that on a scale of minus 100 (‘very negative’) to plus 100 (‘very positive’), the barometer value is -27, the worst result since the survey was launched in 2012. “The confidence of German…

The Russian president revealed that the Chinese leader considers him his friend Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he will soon meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. “Rather soon we will have some events and there will be a meeting with Chairman of the People’s Republic of China [Xi Jinping],” the Russian president said during an open lecture entitled “Conversations about what matters.” Putin revealed that the Chinese leader considers him his friend. “I am happy to call him my friend because this is a man who is personally doing a great deal for the development of Russian-Chinese relations,…

“The reason for this successful cooperation is that both the United Arab Emirates and the Russian Federation proceed from their national interests and would not tolerate any pressure which would make them sacrifice their national interests and the interests of developing their economies, their peoples,” the foreign minister stressed Inviting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) will have a positive impact on that country’s relations with Russia and other members of the organization, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. “This will be a very positive influence, both in our bilateral ties and…

Qaddura Fares, the Chairman of the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, has strongly condemned the decision made by racist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to reduce family visits to the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centers to once every two months instead of once a month. In a press statement Fares said Ben-Gvir’s decision as part of a “racist and retaliatory approach aimed at harming the prisoners and their families. This decision infringes upon the basic rights of the Palestinian prisoners, in clear violation of both Israeli laws and international legal standards.” Fares pointed out that Ben-Gvir’s…

In July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a meeting between Biden and Xi is likely to happen at some point in the coming months. US President Joe Biden expressed on Thursday his continued hope to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in India, despite media reports saying that the latter will not attend the event. “The answer is I hope he attends,” Biden said when asked whether he hoped Xi would be at the gathering. Earlier on Thursday, media reports said that Xi is likely to skip the upcoming summit in New Delhi, scheduled on…