Author: Steven Sahiounie

The visit was prepared with information security in mind, and Tokyo, contrary to the accepted procedure, did not announce the trip Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who chairs the G7, has gone on a visit to Ukraine, a Japanese diplomat told a TASS correspondent on Tuesday, without giving any details of the trip. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Kishida during his speech in Kiev will condemn Russia, express solidarity with Ukraine, confirm Tokyo’s support, as well as point to determination to “support the international rules-based order.” The visit was prepared with information security in mind, and Tokyo, contrary to…

Beijing has been a crucial economic partner for Moscow in the face of intensifying Western sanctions Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a three-day official visit to discuss strategic cooperation and other issues with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. RT looks at the state of economic relations between the two nations in the face of growing outside pressure, and what it means for Russia. This article was originally published by RT.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a Saudi-US dual citizen was released from prison in a surprise decision from Saudi Arabian courts. Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a 72-year-old US citizen of Saudi origin, was released from prison after being arrested in 2021 and sentenced for 19 years for criticizing the rules of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His son, Ibrahim, told AFP that the Twitter posts which triggered the Saudi decision were on various topics such as the war on Yemen and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The release, which was announced on Tuesday, came as a surprise to the family after the court had ordered an…

Jakarta wants to reduce its dependence on foreign payment systems, citing sanctions on Russia The Bank of Indonesia is preparing to phase out Visa and Mastercard while introducing its own domestic payment system, Antara news agency reported on Monday, citing the regulator. Last week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged regional authorities to wean themselves away from foreign payment systems and start using cards issued by local banks. He argued that Indonesia needed to shield itself from geopolitical disruptions, citing the sanctions targeting Russia’s financial sector from the US, EU, and their allies over the conflict in Ukraine. “Be very careful.…

More protesters are detained for standing against Macron’s pension reforms. Seventy people were reportedly detained in Paris on Monday evening during protests against the adoption of pension reform by France’s National Assembly, local TV reported, citing a police source. Police and protesters clashed in Paris after two votes of no confidence in the government over pension reform. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced on March 16th that the government had adopted the legislation raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 years by invoking Article 49.3 of the constitution, which enabled the bill to be passed without the approval of…

Credit Suisse was forced to write down billions worth of bonds as part of its merger with UBS The merger between Switzerland’s two largest lenders, the embattled Credit Suisse and UBS, could have a negative impact on the entire Western bond market, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing analysts. UBS agreed on Sunday to acquire its rival, which was on the brink of insolvency due to the loss of investor and customer confidence, for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.24 billion) in stock. The deal, brokered by the Swiss authorities, came with a 9-billion-franc government guarantee for potential losses from Credit Suisse…

Moldova says that Russian energy giant Gazprom may completely halt gas supplies to the country “at a certain stage,” and the government is already considering such a scenario, Energy Minister Viktor Parlikov said on Monday. In an interview with Vocea Basarabiei TV channel, he noted that in such a case, Chisinau would also have to “deal with an energy crisis in Transdnistria.” Moldova reportedly sends the entire volume of gas it receives from Russia to a hydro power plant on the left bank of the Dniester in Transdnistria, its breakaway self-governing region, receiving cheap electricity in exchange. “Now all the gas that reaches…

According to the German leader, the West should continue to support Kiev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not rule out that the conflict in Ukraine may be a prolonged one. “We have to be prepared for the fact that it can take a long time,” DPA quoted Scholz as saying in Dusseldorf on Monday. According to the German leader, the West should continue to support Kiev. “Ukraine must be able to defend its integrity and independence,” Scholz added. The German chancellor said he did not expect the war in Ukraine to end any time soon in an interview with Handelsblatt on March…

Banks have been ordered to use the country’s domestic financial messaging systems for transactions The Bank of Russia has forbidden Russian financial institutions to use the SWIFT messaging system for transactions inside the country, the regulator announced on Monday. Starting from October, Russian banks will be obliged to only use domestic services for transferring messages on financial transactions. The use of SWIFT will be allowed only for international payments. “This will ensure reliability, continuity and security of data exchange when conducting intra-Russian transactions,” the regulator said in a statement. Information on such transactions will now need to be transmitted through the…

The United States does not think that by such actions they are adding fuel and provoking the expansion of the geography of the Ukrainian crisis, Anatoly Antonov said The United States has been causing the geography of the Ukrainian crisis to expand and it turns a blind eye to the corrupt Kiev regime, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said on Monday. Commenting on a new $350 million package of US military aid for Ukraine, he said, “Washington is obsessed with the idea of inflicting a strategic defeat on our country. With its steps, the [US] administration is only…