International

Russia Receives New Sanctions From UK Over On-going War in Ukraine

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2023

319 Views

The United Kingdom has issued fresh sanction against Russia on Friday, targeting imports of diamonds and other minerals in a bid to choke Moscow’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine.

Before a G7 summit in Japan began, London said it would introduce “a ban on Russian diamonds”, copper, aluminium and nickel, and sanction more entities involved in Moscow’s “military industrial complex”.

Russia’s diamond trade is estimated to be worth $4-5 billion a year, netting the Kremlin much-needed tax revenues.

Later in the day, the UK foreign office said the new sanctions would freeze the assets of 86 people and organisations.

These include “companies connected to theft of Ukrainian grain, and those involved in shipment of Russian energy”, it said.

The new sanctions will also target “advanced military technology and remaining revenue sources”.

The summit in Hiroshima is expected to bring a series of new sanctions on Russia — including US measures that will put 70 more Russian and foreign entities on a trade blacklist.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News on Friday that his “straightforward” message for Russian President Vladimir Putin was: “We’re not going away”.

“One of the topics of conversation I’ll be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer term security agreements… for Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression,” he added.

The G7 as a whole is expected to work to tighten existing sanctions, close loopholes, squeeze Moscow’s access to the international financial system and commit to keeping Russian assets frozen until the end of the war in Ukraine.

On Friday, European Council President Charles Michel said the bloc would target the lucrative trade in Russian diamonds, which he joked “are not forever”.

EU member Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with India and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States is a major end-market for the finished product.

AFP

International

Trump says he thinks Putin is helping Iran

“I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?”

Published

5 days ago

March 13, 2026

OCHEFA

76 Views

President Donald Trump on Friday said he believed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is helping Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.

According to CNBC, Trump’s comment came in a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, and a week after the president lashed out at Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for asking him at the White House about reports that Russia was aiding Iran.

Kilmeade asked Trump on Friday: “You think Putin is helping them?”

Trump replied, “I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump continued.

“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump said, referring to Ukraine, which has been at war against Russia since being invaded in early 2022.

“So he [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing, you know,” Trump told Kilmeade.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, they do it, and we do it, in all fairness,’ ” Trump said. “They do it, and we do it.”

International

IEA agrees to release record 400 million barrels of oil to address Iran war supply disruptions

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market

Published

1 week ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

96 Views

Merchant ship on fire hits by Iran in Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history.

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market.

It said that the reserves would be released over a time frame that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.

IEA members are primarily advanced economies in Europe, North America and northeast Asia. The organization is tasked with maintaining global energy security.

It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over U.S. support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

(CNBC)

International

Iran tells world to get ready for oil at $200 a barrel as it fires on merchant ships

The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli air strikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese, as it has spread into ‌Lebanon and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos.

Published

1 week ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

97 Views

(REUTERS): Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships on Wednesday and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s.

Despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran also fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back.

On Wednesday, three vessels were reported to have been hit in Gulf waters as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their forces had fired on ships in the Gulf that had disobeyed their orders.

While Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the operation “will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign,” Trump suggested the campaign would not last much longer.