Author: Steven Sahiounie

Riyadh is worried about the precedent set by Western policies in relation to Russian crude Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has warned Western states against capping the price of crude oil supplied by the kingdom, adding that any attempts to impose a ceiling would be met with a halt of sales and production cuts. He added that other major oil producers would most likely follow suit. “So, if a price cap were to be imposed on Saudi oil exports, we will not sell oil to any country that imposes a price cap on our supply, and we will…

An escalating crisis at Credit Suisse has sparked fears of a spillover effect for major lenders European banks saw their shares nosedive on Wednesday amid the unfolding US banking crisis. Trading had to be halted for a number of bank stocks, including Credit Suisse, due to the steep losses. The Swiss banking giant was down 28% in afternoon trading, while Societe Generale, which also temporarily halted trading, was down 12%. Shares of the embattled Swiss bank hit another all-time low for a second consecutive day on Wednesday after its top investor, Saudi National Bank, said it would not be able…

The lender’s biggest backer, Saudi National Bank, has ruled out further assistance Shares in embattled bank Credit Suisse have hit another all-time low for a second day in row, losing nearly a quarter of their value, after its largest shareholder refused further financial assistance, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Saudi National Bank (SNB), which acquired a 10% stake in the Swiss banking giant in 2023, said it could not provide any further financial aid, citing regulatory and statutory issues. “We cannot because we would go above 10%. It’s a regulatory issue,” Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said, as cited by…

The proposed move is a response to the country’s inclusion on the EU’s blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions Russia’s Finance Ministry and Foreign Ministry have proposed to suspend double-taxation treaties with so-called ‘unfriendly’ countries in response to Western sanctions, it was announced on Wednesday. According to a statement published on the Finance Ministry’s Telegram channel, the economic restrictions imposed on Russia since 2022, along with the country’s inclusion on the EU blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions in February, “violates the norms of international law” and gives Moscow “grounds to impose retaliatory measures.” The two ministries have suggested that President Vladimir Putin issue a decree…

Food, services and manufactured goods are the biggest contributors to rising prices, according to official data Inflation in France continues to soar at a record pace and rose faster than expected in February, largely due to surging food prices, according to the most recent calculations by statistics agency INSEE, published on Wednesday. Consumer prices increased from a projected 7.2% to 7.3% in February year-on-year, up from 7.0% in January and representing the strongest increase in France’s euro era, INSEE said. This latest report shows that food, services and manufactured goods have been the main contributors to rising inflation. Earlier this…

Operators of Wildberries pickup points across the country have walked off the job over new fines Operators of Wildberries pickup points across Russia’s major cities have staged a strike because of new fines that the online retailer began to impose on them over damaged and lost goods, several local media outlets reported on Wednesday. The retailer has reportedly imposed a new rule for pickup point owners, under which the full cost of items are withheld from store owners if the buyer complains that they were faulty. It has also reportedly introduced a fine of 100,000 rubles ($1,300) for owners of…

Israel’s repeated attacks on Syria are leading to a military escalation against United States forces in the war-torn country. Damascus and its allies, mainly Tehran, are apparently attempting to indirectly deter Tel Aviv and mount some pressure on Washington. The last round of escalation began on March 12 when a series of Israeli strikes hit the western Syrian governorates of Tartus and Hama. Two F-16 fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force launched the strikes from the direction of northern Lebanon. The targets were reportedly an air defense base located near the town of al-Sifsafeh in the southern countryside of…

Russian assault on Bakhmut is ongoing and Wagner fighters declare new victories in the region. Despite the official claims of the AFU commanders and Kiev officials about the upcoming counter offensive, Ukrainian units continue to retreat. On March 15, the head of the Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that the village of Zaliznyanskoe came under control of Wagner units. The village is located on the north-western outskirts of Bakhmut. Russian control of Zaliznyanskoe strengthens Russian claw around the Ukrainian grouping in Bakhmut. Ukrainian military sources confirmed the loss of the village. The Russians continue their assault in the area of…

March 15 marks the 12th anniversary of the Syrian conflict which started with unrest that later translated into a multinational standoff fanned by the collective West. Russia’s involvement turned the table on the war, disrupting the attempts to isolate Damascus. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad held talks on Wednesday, March 15. Assad is still at Syria’s helm despite the collective West’s bid to replace him with a jihadi proxy during a bloody civil war which erupted exactly 12 years ago. Likewise, western governments have failed to isolate Damascus as talks are underway on Syria’s return to…

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh today told the US Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs, Hady Amr, that the Palestinian people are under unprecedented pressure as a result of the Israeli measures. “Our people are living under unprecedented pressures, in terms of Israeli violations, including the escalation of settlement activity, killings, incursions, home demolitions, and land confiscations, as well as financially due to the increase in the illegal Israeli deductions from the Palestinian tax funds, a sharp decrease in foreign aid, and high cost of living and inflation on a global level,” said the Prime Minister. “Israel’s denial of what was reached…