Author: Steven Sahiounie

After becoming the first country to render Bitcoin a legal currency alongside the dollar on September 7, El Salvador has announced that it has purchased even more Bitcoin.  As the South American country previously owned 400 Bitcoin, El Salvador president Nayib Bukele announced that the country now owns 700, as he excitedly claimed to “buy the dip.”  The father of all cryptocurrency has once surpassed $60,000 – Bukele made the announcement on early Monday morning, where the coin was priced at approximately $45,000. El Salvador is a country with one of the highest number of cryptocurrency ATMs – it comes…

With Indian start-ups raising $10 billion through IPOs so far in 2021 and some 150 private firms lined up to list on the country’s stock market, India could soon increase $400 billion in market value, Goldman Sachs predicts. India’s stock market has already raised more money so far this year than it did in the last three years, the investment bank said in a report. Analysts predict investors’ interest to stay firm, propelling the country’s market capitalization to $5 trillion by 2024 from the current $3.5 trillion. This would effectively make India’s the world’s 5th largest stock market, throwing the…

The debt fallout from China’s major real estate developer Evergrande hit global equity markets this week, spilling over into the cryptocurrency sector. Boom Bust’s Ben Swann analyzes the situation as bitcoin’s hedge status comes into question.

Ankara is discussing new contracts for gas supplies with a number of countries, including Russia, Turkish Deputy Energy Minister revealed on Tuesday. “This year will be very difficult for all of us. But we are on good terms with our current suppliers, such as Azerbaijan and Russia. We are discussing new volumes of supplies, new contracts, because some contracts, for example, with [Russian state-run energy giant] Gazprom, expire at the end of the year,” Alparslan Bayraktar told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing Gastech international conference in Dubai. He noted that potential supply contracts are being discussed with other…

France will rethink its concept of alliances and partnerships after the US negotiated a nuclear submarine deal with the UK and Australia without so much as telling Paris, said the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. “At issue here isn’t so much the breach of a weapons contract – even if this harms France – but the breach in confidence between allies,” Le Drian said Monday at a press conference in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. “This calls for serious reflection among Europeans on the very concept that we have of alliances and partnerships” US President…

Authorities in Harbin, China have imposed a slew of restrictions and ordered a range of venues – including spas, cinemas and mahjong salons – to temporarily close after detecting a Covid case in the Northeastern city. On Tuesday, local officials urged residents to stay put in the capital of the Heilongjiang province to stop the virus from spreading elsewhere. In case of essential travel people are required to show a green health-code pass to prove they are safe. Public spaces, such as entertainment venues including karaoke halls, dance and game venues, as well as pedicure and massage salons, were instructed…

France has reiterated its unwillingness to set aside its dispute with Australia, claiming EU ministers are firmly on the side of Paris amid concerns that Gallic anger may derail a trade deal between Brussels and Canberra. Speaking on Tuesday, France’s European affairs minister Clement Beaune said that his European counterparts supported France in its dispute with Australia after the latter cancelled a $40 billion submarine contract with Paris in favor of a new deal with the UK and US. He welcomed the EU support, noting that this was more than just a French problem, but a European problem. “We cannot act…

A German man has been taken into custody on suspicion of murder after shooting dead a young cashier in a gas station in the western German town of Idar-Oberstein after the worker told him to wear a mask. On Monday, authorities issued a statement confirming that the 49-year-old male is in custody after being suspected of a shooting that took place late on September 18. According to law enforcement, the suspect first entered the gas station just before 8pm local time on Saturday to make a purchase, where the cashier asked the man to wear a face covering. After an…

EU powerhouse Germany says France being snubbed by Australia in favor of a partnership with the US and the UK is a signal to continental European nations to stand together and boost self-reliance. France invoked EU solidarity after Australia cancelled a $40 billion contract for French-made attack submarines in favor of US-made nuclear-powered boats. The deal, which was announced as part of the so-called AUKUS cooperation mechanism also involving Britain, blindsided France. German European Affairs Minister Michael Roth called the ongoing row a “wake-up call” for the EU. “We cannot exclusively rely on others but must cooperate, and we have to overcome…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Daraa is returning to peace. The summer saw heavy clashes between illegal armed groups and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in Daraa al-Balad, the old section of Daraa, which sits on the border with Jordan and Israel. About 900 men belonging to illegal armed groups have laid down their arms in a Russian mediated peace deal, which has brought stability to Darra. These men are battle weary and want to rebuild their lives and homes in Daraa. They have begun to work alongside the SAA to restore peace and stability throughout the area. The…