Author: Steven Sahiounie

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that she intends to inform the US Congress of expected default dates within two weeks. “I don’t want to talk about exact dates. It will certainly happen within the next two weeks,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg, which was published on Friday. Last January, the United States exceeded the statutory debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion, which prompted the US Treasury Department to use emergency measures to continue its financial operations. The US administration has been urging Congress in recent months to raise the debt limit. The Republicans who control the House of Representatives…

Grocery inflation surged above 19% in March, according to data from the Bank of England Rising grocery prices in the UK have replaced energy as the main inflationary concern for the Bank of England (BoE), Bloomberg reported on Thursday, after the bank made a 12th consecutive hike to the base interest rate. Although energy prices have slightly declined, British families are facing a tight squeeze on their finances due to double-digit inflation. Low- and middle-income families are being hit the hardest, given that they spend the bulk of their income on essentials and are now seeing a dramatic increase…

Bern will report on Moscow’s reserves every three months, the government has said Assets and reserves belonging to the Bank of Russia worth 7.4 billion Swiss francs ($8.3 billion) are currently held in Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) reported on Wednesday. The government said the sum represents all central bank reserves and assets withheld in the country to date, adding that “the bank’s assets have been immobilized.” The “sum of immobilized assets should be distinguished” from the 7.5 billion francs ($8.4 billion) worth of frozen assets which belong to sanctioned Russian individuals and companies, SECO explained. Swiss officials highlighted…

The German government has given a final approval to a long-debated agreement that allows China’s state-run company COSCO to purchase a major stake in a container terminal in Hamburg Port despite security concerns and protests from members of the governing coalition. Berlin gave its go-ahead to the controversial deal in October but announced plans to revisit the decision last month. The review came shortly after the BSI, Germany’s national cybersecurity agency, classified the Tollerort container terminal as critical German infrastructure, meaning the acquisition could have faced heightened restrictions. In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the German government said…

Dmitry Medvedev recalled that attempts are being made to accuse Russia of blowing up the pipelines whereas it is Russia whose rights have been infringed upon Russia will continue to use all available legal instruments to bring those behind the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines to responsibility, but the likelihood of this happening at international court bodies is slim, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday. “Naturally, we will continue to use all available legal instruments to hold those responsible accountable but the chances of doing that at international court bodies are negligible,”…

At least four Palestinian youths were shot and injured in al-Arroub refugee camp to the north of Hebron, including one seriously, as Israeli forces attacked Palestinians who rallied in support of Gaza and in condemnation of the Israeli aggression against it. Activist and journalist Sameeh al-Titi told WAFA Israeli army opened live fire directly at participants in the rally, shooting and injuring a youth in the abdomen and another in the foot. The condition of the youth who was shot in the abdomen was described as critical. Tens of others suffocated after inhaling the tear gas that was fired directly by…

Bahrainis march in the streets of Manama in support of Palestine and Gaza as “Israel” continues its aggression for the fourth day in a row. Scores of Bahrainis took to the streets in protest of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip as they demonstrated in Western Manama affirming that the Bahraini people stand with the Palestinian people and its Resistance. The crowds marched in the streets surrounding the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in Diraz, as Bahrainis held banners displaying slogans in support of Palestine. The Israeli occupation continues its aggression against Gaza, as airstrikes hit residential areas on the fourth day…

Israeli warplanes renewed tonight its aerial attacks against several locations in the besieged Gaza Strip, said sources. Israeli aircrafts launched an airstrike targeting an agricultural land and a car market in al-Zaytoon neighborhood to the southeast of Gaza, in addition to several locations in southern, central, northwest, northeast, northern, and western Gaza. Israeli air forces also shelled a land in the north, and another to the northeast of Gaza. Earlier today, two Palestinians were killed and at least five others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a residential apartment in al-Nasser neighborhood to the west of Gaza city.…

The US ambassador to South Africa has made public allegations accusing Cape Town of providing Russia with ammunition through a covert naval operation. The US ambassador to Cape Town, Reuben Brigety, accused South Africa of supplying Russia with munitions in a covert naval operation. According to the Financial Times, the accusations further deepened the foreign policy crisis for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, as the alleged act depicted a clear tilt toward the Kremlin in the context of the most recent events. However, the US’ public accusations resulted in an angry rebuke from the president, who has played a significant role in establishing…

Kemal Kilicdaroglu reiterated that Turkey has close economic ties with Russia, signaling that he would pursue a delicate balance in foreign policy with regard to relations with Moscow Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main challenger to incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on Friday that if he wins the presidential election he will not break friendly relations with Russia, will push for a new peace initiative on Ukraine and will support NATO’s enlargement. “We want to maintain our relations, we don’t want to break our friendly relations but we will not allow interference in our internal matters,” he said…