Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator King Abdullah II of Jordan vowed on December 16 that “anyone who raises a weapon against the state will be dealt with firmly”. Yesterday, three more policemen were killed in the same area that saw the murder of the deputy police chief on Thursday and the wounding of two others. The unrest and murders occurred in the southern area near Maan.  The area has supported the Radical Islamic ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS.  Large amounts of guns and ammunition were seized by the police. Experts are wondering if this might be the…

STEPHEN KATTE11 HOURS AGOBlockFi files motion to return frozen crypto to wallet usersCrypto lender BlockFi has asked a U.S. bankruptcy court for the authority to return the crypto held in BlockFi wallets to users.6485580:00NEWSCollect this article as NFTBankrupt crypto lending platform BlockFi has filed a motion requesting authority from a United States bankruptcy court to allow its users to withdraw digital assets currently locked up in BlockFi wallets. In a motion filed on Dec. 19 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, the lender asked the court for authority to honor client withdrawals from wallet accounts that have been…

As of December 20, the price of Bitcoin has remained fairly stable and is currently trading at around $16,800. In the past 24 hours, BTC has seen a slight increase of 0.21% and has fluctuated between a high of $16,858 and a low of $16,413. Over the past week, the value of BTC has decreased by about 2.5%.Bitcoin Wallet Maker Foundation Raises $7 Million to Promote Self-custodyFoundation Devices, a Bitcoin-focused company, announced on December 19 that it had completed a $7 million initial fundraising round in response to rising demand for self-custody solutions. The Boston-based company plans to use the…

The FTX disaster has set back crypto by ‘years’ — here are 3 ways it could reshape the industry If there’s no regulation, the investors are left without that protection that they need. The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets is the most comprehensive regulatory framework to date. It aims to reduce the risks for consumers buying crypto, making exchanges liable if they lose investors’ assets.But MICA is not due to start until 12 months from now. Keystone Law’s Abbott said it’s important that regulators act quickly.“People need to see that there’s steps being taken to regulate it. And I think If we are…

December 19, 2022Ottawa will be the first among G7 countries to use a law that allows sanctioned assets to be forfeited by a court orderCanada intends to arrest and confiscate $26 million from the sanctioned company Granite Capital Holdings owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, its Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.Along with the EU and the UK, Canada imposed sanctions on Abramovich shortly after the conflict in Ukraine began in late February.It is the first time Ottawa will be using its new legislation – the Special Economic Measures Regulations – which allows the country’s government to confiscate the sanctioned assets of…

The country has overtaken Japan as Covid restrictions are eased and demand recoversChina’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased in November versus January, according to Chinese customs data reported on Sunday, thus propelling the country past Japan to become the globe’s leading importer of the fuel.   The volume of LNG supplied to China totaled 6.42 million tons in November, although this is below the 6.9 million tons it imported last year. Japan, meanwhile, saw inbound shipments of 5.09 million tons in the same month of this year.However, China’s LNG imports of 56.88 million tons for the first 11 months…

Major Russian bank launches new service in Iran.Individuals and businesses in both countries will be able to conduct cross-border transactionsRussia’s second largest bank, VTB, has launched a new service allowing both individuals and businesses to transfer money to and from Iran, the lender announced on Monday.  State-owned VTB, which has been subject to sweeping Western sanctions since late February, has thus become the first lender to provide banking services to Iran, a country that has been under international restrictions for decades.   The bank’s vice president, Denis Valvachyov, believes that such transactions will be in high demand and that the move…

Meta hit with EU antitrust complaintThe tech giant is stifling competition in the online classified ad business, according to the European CommissionThe European Commission (EC) has accused Facebook parent company Meta of breaching antitrust rules and announced on Monday having issued a formal complaint that could lead to fines. In its complaint following an investigation launched last year, the commission alleges that the tech firm was squeezing out classified ad rivals by tying Facebook Marketplace to its own social network.The EU watchdog suggested that Facebook users automatically had access to Marketplace “whether they want it or not.” The bloc’s antitrust commissioner,…

The crude sent through the Druzhba pipeline does not fall under the EU embargoGermany and Poland have requested pipeline oil deliveries from Russia for 2023, the head of state oil supplier Transneft, Nikolay Tokarev, said in an interview with Russia 24 TV on Monday.Both countries had previously said they would give up pipeline supplies of Russian oil by the end of the year.According to Tokarev, Warsaw expects to receive 360,000 tons of Russian crude this December and 3 million tons more in 2023. He added that Berlin has also placed an order for the first quarter of next year, but…

The famed economist warns mankind is headed into a crisis of global proportionsThe global community is facing a host of new threats, which may drive it back to the times of wars, pandemics and famine, renowned economist Nouriel Roubini told the Financial Times.According to the man dubbed ‘Doctor Doom’ by Wall Street, the period of optimism and growth that lasted for the past 75 years is an exception for humanity, not a rule.“I think that really the world is on a slow-motion train wreck. There are major new threats that did not exist before, and they’re building up and we’re…