Author: Steven Sahiounie

Other topics discussed during the two officials meeting included Ukraine’s vision of a peace agreement with Russia and a global peace summit.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reached an agreement on Sunday with the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte over the number of F-16s to be delivered to Ukraine once Ukrainian pilots complete their training. “[First Lady] Olena Zelenska and I arrived in the Netherlands with the team. There will be focused talks with [Rutte]. Key topic: F-16s for Ukraine,” the Ukrainian President wrote on social media, noting that he and Rutte agreed to supply Ukraine with 42 jets once the…

“Despite sanctions and political difficulties, Hungarian companies represented in Russia are looking for opportunities to expand their activities,” said Bertalan Havasi, a spokesman for the head of the Hungarian prime minister” BUDAPEST, August 20. /TASS/. Hungarian companies plan to expand their activities in Russia despite sanctions and political difficulties, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a meeting with the head of Russia’s Tatarstan region Rustam Minnikhanov in Budapest. “It has been noted at the meeting that, based on the results that have been achieved so far, we are ready to continue cooperation in such areas as agriculture. Despite sanctions…

According to Russian Construction Minister Irek Faizullin, it’s necessary to rebuild homes and the utilities systems even in locations where security is yet insufficient MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. More than 40,000 construction workers are employed in the new Russian regions, Russian Construction Minister Irek Faizullin said at a conference. “The territories of our new regions are a gigantic construction site,” he said. “Currently, 41,000 construction workers are employed on the territory of cities and towns of the Kherson and Zaporozhye Region and the Donetsk and Lugansk republics,” he said. According to the minister, it’s necessary to rebuild homes and the…

The Ukrainian side rejected the application for pumping through Sokhranivka MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia’s energy giant Gazprom is supplying natural gas to Europe through Ukraine in the volume of 41.3 million cubic meters per day via the Sudzha gas pumping station, while an application for deliveries through Sokhanovka was rejected earlier by the Ukrainian side, a Gazprom spokesman told reporters on Sunday. “Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine in the amount confirmed by the Ukrainian side via the Sudzha gas pumping station, [amounting to] 41.3 million cubic meters as of August 20. The…

Christian Lindner said that Berlin has already provided support to Kyiv in the amount of €22 billion BERLIN, August 20. /TASS/. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner proposed that lawmakers of the country’s parliament should support an initiative of yielding annually five billion euros (over $5.45 billion) in military aid to Ukraine using the national budget. Lindner said that Germany has already provided Ukraine with the help worth 22 billion euros (almost $24 billion). “For the next years in view, I have proposed that Bundestag officials in charge of the budget planning should set aside the sum of five billion euros…

SINGAPORE: Oil prices looked set to snap a seven-week winning streak on Friday as concerns about China’s slowing economic growth and the possibility of more US interest rate hikes outweighed signs of tightening supply, according to Reuters. Major benchmarks were slightly higher on Friday, with US West Texas Intermediate crude rising 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $80.61 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $84.12 a barrel as of 9:11 a.m. Saudi time. The seven-week winning streak was the longest for both benchmarks this year. Brent futures rose by about 18 percent and WTI…

RIYADH: ACWA Power has been selected to operate one of the world’s largest desalination plants in Dubai after submitting the lowest water levelised tariff rate in the world. The Saudi-based firm has been designated as the preferred bidder to run the Hassyan Seawater Reverse Osmosis facility by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. The win was secured after ACWA Power proposed the lowest water levelised tariff of $0.365 per cubic meter, setting a world record for DEWA’s first Independent Water Producer model project. The firm is now set to develop and operate the 818,280 m3/day plant, which will increase ACWA…

RIYADH: The establishment of an insurance authority will help boost the local industry, said the representative of Saudi Arabia’s insurance industry. Adel Al-Eisa said the move would help the sector align with global best practices and international standards, besides aligning with the Kingdom’s objective of fostering a world-class insurance ecosystem. Al-Eisa said the authority’s focus on regulation and oversight will provide strategic guidance and support to enhance the efficiency of the domestic insurance sector. The spokesperson added that the new authority will help boost the sector’s economic output by empowering local insurance companies. The establishment of the authority represents a…

ANKARA: Turkiye’s central bank began rolling back on Sunday a growing and costly scheme that protects lira deposits from FX depreciation, marking another move toward more orthodox policies following a shift toward interest rate hikes. The central bank said in the early hours on Sunday that it lifted targets applied to banks for certain levels of conversions of foreign-exchange deposits to the lira-protection scheme, known as KKM. In a reversal, the central bank now wants lenders to set a new goal of transitioning KKM accounts into regular lira accounts, in part by dissuading companies and individuals from renewing the KKM…

RIYADH: As part of its efforts to expand the Kingdom’s industrial base, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has launched a business accelerator and incubator program, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday. The program involves “15 qualitative industrial projects” for Saudi Arabia’s industrial pioneers and aims to identify challenges and ways to resolve issues for sustainable growth. The new initiative — which will last for more than three months — also aims to boost the efficiency of small and medium industrial projects in the Kingdom. According to an official spokesperson of the ministry Jarrah bin Muhammad Al-Jarrah, the…