ANKARA, March 30 (Reuters) – The Turkish parliament on Thursday approved a bill to allow Finland to join NATO, paving the way for the country to become part of the Western defense alliance as the war continues raging in Ukraine. Turkey’s parliament was the last of the alliance’s 30 members to ratify Finland’s membership after … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) – China has spent $240 billion between 2008 and 2021 to bail out 22 developing countries, with the amount soaring in recent years as more people have struggled to repay loans spent on building of “Belt & Road” infrastructure, according to a study published Tuesday. Nearly 80% of bailout loans were … Read more
SINGAPORE, March 27 (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) on Sunday signed an agreement with Chinese partners for an oil refining and petrochemical project in northeastern China expected to open in 2026 to meet growing demand from the land to fuel and chemicals. The project in the city of Panjin in Liaoning Province will be Aramco’s … Read more
ZURICH, March 26 (Reuters) – Swiss financial regulator FINMA said it was considering disciplinary action against managers at Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) after Switzerland’s second largest bank had to be bailed out by UBS (UBSG) last week .S). FINMA president Marlene Amstad told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag it was “still open” whether a new procedure … Read more
JERUSALEM, March 26 (Reuters) – A top lawmaker from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party on Sunday echoed a call by the defense chief to halt a contentious judicial review, raising the possibility that the parliamentary majority of the government could be eroded. Deviations from the prime minister’s own party and cabinet have sparked … Read more
RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 25 (Reuters) – Two Israeli soldiers were wounded on Saturday, the army said, in a drive-by shooting claimed by a Palestinian armed group in the flashpoint town of Huwara in the occupied West Bank. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) said in a statement that it carried out … Read more
JERUSALEM, March 25 (Reuters) – Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday called on the government to halt legislation on changes to the judiciary, saying the bitter dispute over the measures poses a threat to national security. “The deepening rift is seeping into military and defense institutions — this is a clear, immediate and real … Read more
BEIRUT, March 25 (Reuters) – The death toll in US airstrikes against pro-Iran installations in eastern Syria has risen to 19 fighters, a Syrian war monitor said Saturday, in one of the deadliest exchanges between US and Iran-aligned forces in years . The US carried out strikes in eastern Syria in response to a drone … Read more
March 24 (Reuters) – Oil prices added to losses on Friday on concerns over possible oversupply after US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said replenishing the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) could take several years. Brent crude fell 34 cents, or 0.45%, to $75.57 a barrel at 0412 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude … Read more
CARACAS, March 20 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Monday accepted the resignation of the country’s powerful oil minister following the detention of at least six senior officials amid a corruption probe targeting state-owned PDVSA and the judiciary power. Tareck El Aissami had said on Twitter earlier Monday that he would step down to … Read more