Author: Steven Sahiounie

The landmark meeting sets a road for further cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia due to Chinese mediation, which in turn will extend regional cordiality and developments. A month after Iran and Saudi Arabia struck a deal to restore diplomatic relations under Chinese mediation, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, met in Beijing on Thursday for the first meeting between their two countries’ diplomats in seven years. During the meeting, both officials exchanged views on issues related to bilateral matters, in addition to discussing steps to reopen embassies and pursue the…

Spanish clothing conglomerate Inditex has secured approval from the Russian government to sell its business in Russia, RBK news outlet reported on Wednesday citing Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov. Inditex is one of the world’s largest clothing retailers, which owns brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Oysho, Bershka, and Stradivarius. According to the deputy minister, the permission for the sale was granted on March 30. The deal will see all of Inditex retail sites in Russia pass to a new owner, Fashion and More Management DMCC, “which has an office in a friendly country,”…

Ukraine has offered to rent its underground natural gas storage facilities to the EU for next winter, Euroactiv reported on Wednesday, citing the CEO of Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, Aleksey Chernyshov. The official claimed that Ukraine could make 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of storage available to the EU “right now.” The announcement was made during a trip by the head of Naftogaz to Brussels last week, when a Ukrainian delegation visited the European Commission and met with gas industry representatives. According to Chernyshov, Ukraine has Europe’s largest gas storage capacities with a total volume of 31 bcm,…

Allowing Credit Suisse to go bankrupt would have had serious repercussions, a national regulator has claimed The takeover of the troubled Credit Suisse by rival banking giant UBS has allowed Switzerland’s economy to avoid major problems, including deposit runs at other banks, national regulator FINMA claimed on Wednesday. FINMA and the Swiss central bank brokered the historic takeover for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion) in a deal announced last month. As part of the transaction, the regulator ordered Credit Suisse to write down to zero some 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.6 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds…

A plaintiff in an existing suit wants to add new charges against the bank for its alleged complicity in the late financier’s sex-trafficking scheme The US Virgin Islands is seeking to add a new obstruction charge to its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, claiming that the banking giant benefited from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, US media reported on Wednesday, citing a new filing in Manhattan federal court. The Monday filing referred to a recent deposition by JPMorgan employee Mary Erdoes, who runs an asset management division of the bank where Epstein was a client. According to the…

High energy costs have been blamed for “staggering” closure rates since last year Thousands of pubs in the UK may be forced to shut down this year due to soaring gas prices, the Daily Mail has reported. More than 1,000 pubs closed in the UK in 2022, including 485 in the first six months of the year and another 554 between July and December – “a staggering rate of 21 per week,” the Mail reported on Sunday, citing figures from consumer organization the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The British pub industry was hit hard by Covid-related restrictions in 2020 and 2021.…

The government seeks to offset the negative impact of cheap imports on domestic prices The Polish government is starting to buy grain with state funds to cope with the influx of supplies from Ukraine, Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk announced on Wednesday, before resigning from his post amid growing public discontent. “The purchase will be launched immediately after the Easter holidays. Today, the State Finance Commission allocates the first 600 million zlotys [$140 million] for this purchase,” the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic quoted Kowalczyk as saying. The minister reportedly added that the Polish authorities will now…

Gold prices hit their highest since March 2022 on Wednesday, extending gains above $2,000 per ounce, amid safe-haven demand and disappointing US economic figures. Spot gold was up 0.1% to $2,030 per ounce by 12:40 GMT, while US gold futures were unchanged at $2,038.10. Analysts say the precious metal will sustain gains above the $2,000 threshold due to weaker prospects for the US economy. “The ‘third time’s the charm’ for gold, having probed above the $2,000 level in both August 2020 and March 2022. This time, it appears to be able to sustain the momentum, as dark clouds gather within…

Germany reduced exports to Russia in February by 14.3% to €900 million ($984 million) compared to the previous month, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Data showed on Tuesday that imports from Russia plummeted by 67.2% month-on-month to €300 million ($328 million). The overall volume of German exports to Russia in January-February was nearly 60% lower than during the same period a year ago, while imports declined 82.8%. In 2022, the supply of German products to Russia stood at around $16.3 billion. Imports of Russian goods amounted to almost $39 billion. Back in 2021, Russia accounted for 2.3% of total German…

The Israeli occupation police chief is facing racism accusations over statements he made about Arabs and Palestinians during a phone call. The commissioner of the Israeli police, Kobi Shabtai, was accused of racism after saying that it was in the nature of Arabs to kill each other, said a record of his phone call published by Israeli media. The Israeli official was discussing oppressive security measures taken by the Israeli police to tackle “violence in Arab communities” with extremist Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli media said. “There is nothing to do. They kill each other. It is in the…