Author: Steven Sahiounie

Australia’s inflation for the first quarter of 2023 slowed to 7% year-on-year, down from a 23-year high of 7.8% in the quarter ended December 2022. This also marked the end of a streak of five straight increases in the consumer price index since the quarter ended September 2021. The country’s bureau of statistics reported that the largest contributors for the March quarter were costs of gas and household fuels, which surged 14.3%, as well as costs of tertiary education and domestic holiday travel, which increased 9.7% and 4.7% respectively. The trimmed mean CPI – which excludes the most volatile 30% of items…

Asia-Pacific markets were trading mixed on Wednesday after banking fears were reignited on Wall Street. Shares of First Republic Bank tumbled more than 49% after the regional bank posted its latest quarterly results, saying late Monday that deposits dropped 40% to $104.5 billion in the first quarter but have since stabilized.  Investors were also watching Australia’s inflation numbers for the first quarter of 2023, which slowed to 7% year-on-year, down from a 23-year high of 7.8% the previous quarter. The S&P/ASX 200 was down marginally to close at 7,316.3. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.71% to end the day at 28,416.47 , and the Topix dropped 0.89%…

The best hope for avoiding a collapse of ailing lender First Republic hinges on how persuasive one group of bankers can be with another group of bankers. Advisors to First Republic will attempt to cajole the big U.S. banks who’ve already propped it up into doing one more favor, CNBC has learned. The pitch will go something like this, according to bankers with knowledge of the situation: Purchase bonds from First Republic at above-market rates for a total loss of a few billion dollars – or face roughly $30 billion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fees when First Republic fails. It’s the…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Tehran welcomes any initiative and measure resulting in the removal of blockade on Yemen, establishment of ceasefire, and compromise among the Yemeni political groups. Amirabdollahian held a meeting with Mohammed Abdulsalam, the chief negotiator of Yemen’s National Salvation Government, at the embassy of Iran in Oman on Tuesday. The top Iranian diplomat described as positive the progress in the case of humanitarian issues and exchange of hostages in Yemen. He laid emphasis on Yemen’s territorial integrity and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes any initiative, plan and action that leads to the lifting…

The Ministry of Defence insists it has no obligation to help clean up areas contaminated by the weaponry The UK government has already started shipments of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has told parliament. He added that the British military would not attempt to track where the weapons are used. In response to questions from Scottish MP Kenny MacAskill, Heappey confirmed on Tuesday that DU munitions for the UK-made Challenger 2 tank had already arrived in Ukraine, though declined to comment on Kiev’s “usage rates for the rounds provided.” “We have sent thousands of rounds of…

President Cyril Ramaphosa misspoke when he claimed the country would withdraw from the court, his spokesman clarified South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made a mistake when he said the country would leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), his office said on Tuesday. “This clarification follows an error in a comment made during a media briefing held by the governing African National Congress (ANC) on South Africa’s status with regard to the ICC,” Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement on its website. “Regrettably, the President erroneously affirmed a similar position during a media session today.” The presidency affirmed that South Africa remains…

The Chinese leader pointed out that Beijing “has no intention to benefit” from the Ukrainian crisis in any way Chinese authorities have no intention to quietly observe the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, but at the same time will not fuel the flame, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during a phone call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky Wednesday. “China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible power,” Xi Jinping said, according to CCTV. “We will not observe the ongoing fire quietly, and we will not fuel the flames.” The Chinese leader pointed out that Beijing…

Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Dr. Fayssal Mikdad stressed that the crimes of the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories are inseparable from its practices in the occupied Syrian Golan. Mikdad’s remarks came in a statement, delivered on his behalf by Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh during the Ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council. “The Israeli entity’s repeated crises, lead its failure leaders to export these crises through launching attacks against the Palestinian people and the Syrian lands,” Mikdad said. He added that the holy month of Ramadan witnesses every year an Israeli criminal escalation and shameful hostile practices…

A former representative of the Iranian leader in Sistan and Baluchestan and a current member of the Assembly of Experts was announced dead following an armed attack. The former representative of the Iranian leader in Sistan and Baluchistan and current member of the Assembly of Experts, Abbas-Ali Soleimani, was assassinated on Wednesday in Babolsar, Northern Iran, according to Mehr news agency. Reports indicate that Soleimani was murdered in an armed attack, while he was inside a branch of Melli Bank in the city of Babolsar. According to eyewitnesses, an unidentified person snatched a guard’s weapon and shot at Soleimani, killing him on…

Israeli police today raided Bab al-Rahma prayer area for the fourth day in a row and carried out inspection operations inside its yards. Last night, the forces raided Bab al-Rahma prayer area and confiscated the ID cards of worshippers. The police broke into the prayer area last Saturday and Monday and damaged the electrical power grid of Bab al-Rahmeh prayer area. Source: Wafa