Author: Steven Sahiounie

Changpeng Zhao faces up to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to money launderin Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO and of founder of Binance, has been ordered to stay in the US at least temporarily, a federal judge ruled on Monday. Zhao pleaded guilty last week to criminal charges tied to the cryptocurrency exchange and was released on a $175 million bond. Under the terms of the bail, he was free to return to the United Arab Emirates, where he resides with his family. The UAE does not have a formal extradition treaty with the US. The day after…

Member states will be able to seize assets if the owners refuse to sell, Finnish news agency STT reports The new package of EU sanctions on Moscow could allow member states to expropriate property belonging to sanctioned Russians that refuse to sell it, Finnish news agency STT reported on Tuesday. The assets could reportedly be unblocked for six months to allow their owners to list the EU-based possessions for sale. The regulations, which may be included in the 12th package of sanctions currently being debated by EU lawmakers, are expected to help Finnish authorities take control of Helsinki’s biggest sports…

The measure is aimed at protecting the domestic market The Russian government has instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to start monitoring the level of the nation’s grain reserves on a monthly basis, Izvestia reported on Tuesday, citing relevant documents. The authorities may introduce an export ban if stocks fall to critical levels. According to the report, a volume of 10 million tons of grain is considered by the ministry to be “critically low” – enough to last for about 1.5 months, given Russia’s annual consumption of 80-85 million tons of grain. The ministry told Izvestia that the country’s current grain…

The Jewish state will pay $53 billion for the seven-week campaign Israel’s war on Hamas will cost the country $53 billion and hamper economic growth into 2024, according to figures published by the Bank of Israel on Monday. Fighting has been paused since a truce came into effect on Friday, but the Israeli military is expected to resume operations in Gaza this week. Direct military spending will account for $29 billion of the $53 billion total, the bank stated, adding that this figure includes military aid provided by the US. Compensation for damage will come to $6 billion, while other…

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin has called Israel’s Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant to discuss the latest developments in Gaza, including the release of captives and the truce. Austin reiterated to Israel “that humanitarian aid into Gaza must increase” and called “for state and non-state actors to avoid expanding the current conflict”, the US Pentagon said in statement. The statement did not say if Austin and Gallant discussed the truce extension or a longer-lasting ceasefire. Source: AlJazeera

French helicopter carrier Dixmude has docked in Egypt and could start treating wounded children from Gaza later this week, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Dixmude is the first Western military ship to dock in Egypt since the conflict started. It moored on Monday at El Arish, some 50km (31 miles) west of Gaza. “We have this ship, which has been transformed into a hospital and which arrived yesterday. It has 40 beds,” Lecornu told Europe 1 radio. With two operating theatres, the warship can treat those with light injuries before moving to hospitals on the ground. Paris has also made…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will not be making a previously announced visit to Ankara on Tuesday, the Turkish presidency said, without providing a reason. The visit had been announced earlier this month by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the two leaders would focus on forging a joint response to the Israel-Hamas war. Erdogan has emerged as one of the Muslim world’s most vocal critics of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza in response to Hamas militants’ October 7 attack. He has branded Israel a “terrorist state” and called Iran-backed Hamas “a liberation group.” Erdogan has also suggested trying Israeli politicians…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to put an end to the Israeli officials’ exemption from prosecution for an array of crimes committed against Gaza. In letters to the president and prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, the top Iranian diplomat stressed the need for immediate action on the case pertaining to Palestine and for punishment for the Zionist regime’s recent crimes against Gaza. In his letters to the international tribunal based in The Hague, Amirabdollahian referred to the Israeli regime’s barbaric bombardment of Gaza and the ground invasion of the enclave that have…

Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al Thani has just finished addressing a General Assembly meeting on the situation in Gaza. Here’s what she said: Source: AlJazeera

The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations dismissed the allegations that the Israeli regime has made against Iran’s launch of a satellite in September, saying the purpose of the baseless claim is to divert attention from the Zionist crimes against Gaza. In a letter to President of UN Security Council Zhang Jun and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on November 27, Saeed Iravani emphasized that Iran has never taken any activity inconsistent with the Security Council Resolution 2231. What follows is the full text of the Iranian envoy’s letter: In the name of God, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful…