Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and warned against withholding humanitarian aid to the country for political purposes. “The situation (in Afghanistan) remains dire, with an estimated 28 million people projected to require humanitarian and protection assistance in 2023,” the envoy said before a United Nations Security Council briefing on the situation in Afghanistan on Wednesday. “However, we must be cautious of the politicization or exploitation of humanitarian aid for political purposes,” Iravani asserted, noting, “Such practices would harm the Afghan people who depend on this aid…

In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers Italy gas and requests it recognizes Al-Quds as the capital of “Israel”. La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, published an interview on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ahead of his trip to Rome, where he underscored significant interest in offering economic support to Italy by supplying it with natural gas. “I would like to see more economic cooperation,” the PM said, citing Italy and “Israel.” “I believe a closer relationship with your companies will be positive for both sides,” Netanyahu argued before adding, “we have natural gas:…

FTX’s investment arm, Alameda Research, has struck a $45 million cash deal to sell its interest in Sequoia Capital to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, according to court documents filed Wednesday. The deal, subject to approval by Delaware bankruptcy judge John Dorsey, is part of the bankrupt company’s attempts to sell its investments in early stage crypto and tech ventures in a bid to repay creditors. FTX “decided to enter into the Agreement with Purchaser based on its superior offer and ability to execute the Sale Transaction within a short time frame,” after receiving indications of interest from four parties…

“We’ve also stepped up surveillance and vigilance,” the South Korean military said in a statement North Korea has launched one short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Accroding to the agency’s information, the missile was launched at about 6:20 p.m. local time (12:20 a.m. Moscow time) from the Nampo area. “We are maintaining full readiness in close cooperation with the US. We’ve also stepped up surveillance and vigilance,” the South Korean military said in a statement. The North Korean General Staff said on Tuesday that artillery firing took place on South…

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has proposed NakaDollar (NUSD), a stablecoin backed by bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin derivatives, that would theoretically be deeply liquid, attractive to traders and provide stability if accepted and used by investors and crypto exchanges. The token, which is wholly-theoretical as of Thursday, will not rely on any centralized entity, such as a bank, and instead be supported by member crypto exchanges that list inverse bitcoin perpetual swaps – a derivative product that is traded and settled with the underlying asset. “We, the crypto faithful, have the tools and the organisations needed to support $1 trillion or more…

Shipments to the UAE have been steadily growing, data shows The United Arab Emirates has boosted its purchases of Russian crude oil despite increasing pressure from the US and its Western allies to curb trade with Moscow, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing ship tracking data and sources. Statistics show that around 1.5 million barrels of Russian crude have been shipped to the Gulf nation since November, with overall volumes having grown since early 2022. The latest cargo with Russian Urals crude reportedly arrived at the oil hub of Fujairah earlier this month. According to energy analytics firm Kpler, the first…

The decision by crypto-friendly bank Silvergate (SI) to wind down operations amid the worsening macroeconomic picture has fueled digital-asset investor anxiety, spurring demand for derivatives that offer protection against price slides in major tokens. At press time, the 30-day bitcoin skew, derived by looking at the difference in implied volatility/demand for cheap out-of-the-money (OTM) calls and OTM put options expiring in four weeks, shows the strongest bias for bearish put options in over two months. That’s a sign investors are worried about a deeper slide in the bitcoin price and are buying put options to hedge their long spot or futures positions, or are…

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) – Bitcoin steadied on Thursday near its lowest since mid-February, after U.S. crypto-focused bank Silvergate said it would voluntarily liquidate, the latest in a series of high-profile crypto collapses triggered by the collapse of the FTX exchange. Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N) said on Wednesday it planned to close and voluntarily liquidate, after warning last week that it was evaluating its ability to operate as a going concern. The California-based company, which was a key banking partner for crypto businesses, had been hit by investors rushing to withdraw around $8 billion of deposits after the sudden bankruptcy of FTX last…

Crypto prices fell on Thursday after Silvergate, a bank that has been at the center of the industry’s growth, made a decision to shut down. Bitcoin dipped nearly 2% to $21,641.71, according to Coin Metrics. Ether lost 1.5% and was last trading at $1,534.05. The slight move lower began late Wednesday, a few hours after Silvergate Capital announced it will wind down operations and liquidate its crypto-friendly bank. The relatively small size of the move indicates that cryptocurrency investors priced the news in last week when the company first warned it may not be able to continue operating and it shut down the SEN, or…

The Netherlands is joining the US supply ban on the most advanced chip technology The Netherlands plans to restrict exports of semiconductors to China under pressure from the US to join its policy of curbing Beijing’s access to advanced technology, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing the Dutch government. In a move that is reportedly aimed at defending national security interests, the Dutch authorities are set to take the first step towards adopting the new export controls initiated by Washington last year. In October, the White House imposed sweeping export restrictions targeting China’s semiconductor industry. The package included a…