Author: Steven Sahiounie

The exit of Western and Japanese companies has provided an opportunity to rising industry players Chinese auto makers have embarked on a major expansion in the Russian market and are expected to reach a 60% share of total sales this year, the newspaper Izvestia reported on Monday, citing car-dealer chain Autodom. According to the report, in the first half of 2022 the share of Chinese car brands in the Russian market stood at 3.7%, a figure that rose to almost 33% in the second half. Overall car sales in Russia last year decreased by 58.8% to 687,000 units, the Association…

The issue of children “brought to Russia forcefully” is totally overblown, Vasily Nebenzya said Russia intends to return children who have been evacuated from the conflict zone to Ukraine when the conditions there are safe enough for that, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at a news conference on Monday. “We wanted to spare them of the danger that military activities may” pose. “That is it. The issue of children `brought to Russia forcefully’ is totally” overblown, Nebenzya said. “We want to show it at the [UN Security Council] Arria formula meeting (scheduled for early April -…

The coordinated action is aimed at easing concerns over the state of the global financial system amid the banking crisis The US Federal Reserve and five other major central banks launched a coordinated effort on Sunday to boost the flow of US dollars in the global financial system via swap line arrangements, the regulators announced in a joint statement. Apart from the Fed, the action was joined by the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and Swiss National Bank. The move will “enhance the provision of liquidity via the standing US dollar liquidity…

Former Iranian Foreign Minister and Head of Iran Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, in a meeting with the Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments), said: “We must prevent western conspiracy to divide Islamic countries.” Kamal Kharrazi, former Iran Foreign Minister and Head of Iran Strategic Council on Foreign Relations arrived in Damascus on Sunday for a three-day visit to meet with senior Syrian officials. Abbas Araghchi, the secretary of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations accompanies him on the trip. During his stay in Damascus, Kamal Kharrazi met Syria’s Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed. In the meeting, the parties discussed countering the spread…

The situation in the Zaporozhye region has sharply escalated recently. A major offensive of the Ukrainian military in the area aimed at smashing the Russian grouping in the Donbass and advancing towards the Sea of Azov is expected to begin in the coming weeks. On March 19, Ukrainian forces launched the combat reconnaissance operation to the South of Orekhov. They attacked Russian positions near Novodanilovka with up to two battalions fully equipped by NATO. The Ukrainian column was quickly detected by Russian drones. It was shelled by artillery and struck with ATGMs. The shooting battle broke out in the area.…

It is the United States, not China, that is providing weapons to the Ukrainian battlefield, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday. “China has always upheld an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue. All that China has done is to promote talks for peace,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news briefing in response to a relevant query. China always stands on the side of peace and dialogue, and on the right side of history. China will continue to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, he said. “It is the United States, not…

The Committee recalled that on March 22, ICC prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan lodged a motion with the ICC Pre-Trial Division for issuing a warrant for the arrest of Russian citizens and the judges returned illegal verdicts on the arrest of the Russian president and children’s rights ombudswoman Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Monday it has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor and judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan,…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last Friday that Ankara was ready to ratify Finland’s application for NATO membership Ankara may approve Sweden’s application for NATO membership in time for the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday. “Last Friday, I spoke with the Swedish foreign minister. I told him about the decision on Finland, so that he learned about it from us first. <…> He expressed hope that the NATO accession process would be completed by the alliance’s summit, to which I replied, ‘It all depends on you,’” Cavusoglu said. Finland and…

Australian Special Air Service veteran Oliver Schulz allegedly accused of murdering an Afghan man will face a trial in a civil court, which could set a precedent for the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. Former Special Air Service (SAS) soldier Oliver Schulz became the first decorated Australian veteran to be charged with war crimes in Afghanistan. Arrested in regional New South Wales, the 41-year-old was charged on Monday with one count of War Crime as per the Murder under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. After conducting a joint investigation with the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed the…

The Chinese leader’s plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport around 12:59 Moscow time Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia on Monday for a state visit The Chinese leader’s plane landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport around 12:59 Moscow time. The Chinese Hongqi (Red Banner) car waits for the country’s president outside the airport. Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia will last from March 20 to 22. The Russian Federation is the first country the Chinese leader has visited since his March 10 reelection to a third term by the National People’s Congress (parliament). According to diplomatic protocol, state visit is…