World & Politics
EU countries demand that the USA include them in the negotiations on Ukraine - 02/13/2025
The foreign ministers from Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the EU have released a united statement asserting that “any negotiations must include Ukraine and Europe.” “We anticipate talking about the path ahead alongside our American allies.” “Our shared objectives should focus on empowering Ukraine,” stated the announcement on the German Foreign Ministry's website. “Credible...
Politico: China may take advantage of USAID’s liquidation - 02/12/2025
Following President Trump's closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), numerous media sources have theorized that China might exploit this action. Politico writes that the Chinese government has proposed to Nepal its own initiatives for enhancing local infrastructure and economy, replacing the similar programs that were previously run by USAID. It has also been reported...
Deutsche Bank: Turkey's key rate to fall to 42.5 percent in March - 02/11/2025
Turkey's central bank will implement a significant interest rate reduction in March of 250 basis points, decreasing it from 45 percent to 42.5 percent; by year's end, the rate is forecasted to be 32.5 percent, according to Yigit Onay, a Turkish economist at Deutsche Bank in Germany. In January, Turkey's central bank lowered its key interest rate from 47.5 percent to 45 percent. The regulator's...
Trump imposes duties of 25% on steel and aluminum supplies to the United States - 02/11/2025
On February 11, US President Donald Trump enacted orders that impose a 25% tariff on all forms of steel and aluminum imported into the United States, reports Reuters. The recent decrees implement the “North American standard.” As per this, all steel brought in must be “melted and poured,” while aluminum must be “melted and cast” in this area. In this way, the agency states, it restricts the...
Macron: US will not benefit from duties against the EU - 02/10/2025
French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned the United States not to initiate a trade war with European Union nations. He claims that the US imposing tariffs on products from the European Union could negatively impact the US economy. Mr. Macron stated that US President Donald Trump should concentrate on different issues instead of attempting to damage the EU economy. "To begin with, is the EU...
Euroclear to send €2B of proceeds from Russian assets to help Ukraine - 02/07/2025
Euroclear, the international depositary, anticipates that the tranche, scheduled for March 2025 and allocated to the European aid fund for Ukraine from the investments of Russian assets for the latter half of 2024, will reach around €2 billion. In 2024, Euroclear earned approximately €6.9 billion in interest from Russian assets that were frozen because of sanctions. In 2023, the amount decreased...
WSJ: Over 40 thousand U.S. government employees agree to resign under Trump's proposal - 02/06/2025
According to sources from the Office of Personnel Management, over 40 thousand federal employees in the US have consented to resign in return for eight months' salary payments, The Wall Street Journal reports. This kind of proposal was presented by the administration of US President Donald Trump in late January. Applications for dismissal can be submitted until February 6. Based on interviews...
G7 Ministers condemn rebel offensive in Congo - 02/03/2025
G7 foreign ministers criticized the March 23 Movement (M23) assault in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They urged the rebels and the Rwandan forces backing them to cease hostilities. "The M23 offensive has resulted in a significant rise in the count of displaced civilians in Goma and throughout eastern DRC, along with the displacement of hundreds of thousands since the offensive...
WSJ reports about $2 bln from Russia stuck in JPMorgan - 02/03/2025
The Wall Street Journal referring to sources, that JPMorgan has $2 billion from Russia frozen. Russia is said to have sent over $5 billion to Turkey soon after the conflict started, according to the WSJ. Sources from the newspaper indicated that the countries purportedly consented to Gazprombank, which was not sanctioned at that moment, offering a $9 billion loan for the building of the Akkuyu...
Over 81 thousand refugees return to Syria from Turkey after change of government - 01/30/2025
According to Ali Yerlikaya, the head of the Turkish Interior Ministry, over 81,000 Syrians have gone back to their homeland from Turkey since December 9, 2024, following the opposition's military action that altered the government in Syria. As of now, 2.86 million Syrian refugees are still in Turkey among 4.1 million total foreigners. Ali Yerlikaya informed reporters that 821,529 individuals...