Author: Steven Sahiounie

Only two high-ranking officials out of the 26 heads of ministries, state committees and other departments were appointed to the State Counci: head of the National Development and Reform Commission Zheng Shanjie and National Defense Minister Li Shangfu Delegates to the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (parliament) on Sunday approved the new composition of the Chinese State Council (government cabinet), the Xinhua news agency reported. Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong became deputies to the new Premier of the State Council. National Defense Minister Li Shangfu, Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, Chairman of Jiangsu…

According to the official, 195 senators voted in favor of the reform, while 112 lawmakers were against it The French Senate (upper house of parliament) on Saturday approved the government’s proposed pension reform amid protests against it across the country since late January. The results of the vote were announced on the Twitter page of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. “After hundreds of hours of debates, the Senate has passed the text of pension reform. This is a decisive step towards a reform that will secure the future of our pensions. We are fully prepared for a final decision to be…

Thousands of protesters marched through London to the British prime minister’s residence to demand a better healthcare system in the UK. The protest, which was organized by healthcare workers and activists on Saturday, went off in the city center and ended near the British prime minister’s residence just to support the healthcare workers who have held a series of strikes over bad pay conditions in the state-funded National Health Service (NHS). Participants were seen carrying placards as they chanted slogans and demanded better wages and working conditions. “Our NHS is being sliced up, diced up, carved up and sold off to anyone…

DubaiCNN — Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco on Sunday reported a record annual net profit of $161.1 billion for 2022, up 46% from the year earlier, on higher energy prices, increased volumes sold and improved margins for refined products. The profits follow similar reports in February from international peers BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron which have mostly posted record profits for last year. Oil prices swung wildly in 2022, climbing on geopolitical worries amid the war in Ukraine, then sliding on weaker demand from top importer China and worries of an economic contraction. “Given that we anticipate oil and gas will remain essential…

Token incentive models may become obsolete as layer-2 networks focus on ease of functionality and low fees, but how will this impact decentralization? Layer-2 networks continue to gain momentum as the Ethereum ecosystem advances. For example, data from analytics provider Token Terminal found that layer-2 scaling solution Polygon had 313,457 daily active users as of Jan. 17, 2023 — a 30% increase in activity since October 2022.  Moreover, the Polygon ecosystem recently announced the launch of its beta version Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine. As a result, Polygon’s native token, Polygon  MATIC$1.0720, maintains a bullish narrative. While notable, some believe layer-2 networks offering token incentive…

According to Dua Crypto’s research, The Netherlands rank as the most interested European nation in cryptocurrencies. Russia (where the local central bank is predominantly negative on the asset class) is at the bottom of the list. Bitcoin (BTC) is the most popular digital currency in most countries, while Dogecoin (DOGE) is second. The Dutch Reached the Top The study estimated that the residents of The Netherlands had conducted the highest number of crypto-related searches per capita (0.1299). The leading digital asset by market capitalization – Bitcoin – is the locals’ favorite, while the popular memecoin – Dogecoin – and Cardano…

The Nigerian central bank recently said it had issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria which are expected to enhance efficiency and access to financial services. According to the central bank, some of the guidelines’ objectives include ensuring “consistency and security across the open banking system.” Customer Permissioned Data Sharing The Central Bank of Nigeria said on March 7 that it had issued what it called the operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria. According to the central bank, the guidelines are expected to foster the “sharing of customer-permissioned data between banks and third-party firms to enable the building…

After U.S. regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday, the Bank of England has closed the company’s U.K.-based arm. The central bank explained that it intends to place the subsidiary into bank insolvency procedures. Fallout From SVB Failure Prompts BOE to Close U.K. Branch The ripple effect of the 16th largest bank in the United States failing has started to unwind after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shut down by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). California’s DFPI explained that the chaos at SVB started on Wednesday and by Thursday, customers…

Use of cryptocurrencies is increasing in Russia, the head of the country’s financial watchdog has informed President Putin. The agency, Rosfinmonitoring, is following thousands of participants in digital asset transactions with a new blockchain analytics system, the official revealed. Volume of Crypto Transactions in Russia Almost $13 Billion, Financial Authority Says The turnover of crypto assets in Russia is growing, according to Yury Chikhanchin, director of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation (Rosfinmonitoring), who reported to President Vladimir Putin about the agency’s current operations. The watchdog is monitoring the activities of over 25,000 participants in crypto transactions,…

This month many in the UK will still be looking anxiously at their energy bills and thinking twice about switching the heating on. Ofgem has announced that its cap on the amount suppliers can charge for energy for average dual fuel, direct debit customers will fall by 23 per cent for the three months from 1 April to £3,280, from £4,279 for the January to March quarter. But campaigners warn that imminent changes to the government support measures, introduced last year to tackle soaring domestic energy costs, mean many could actually end up paying more. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the energy price guarantee…