Business

1 April 2022; Tehran, IRNA – While Moscow faces increasing Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, Western clothing brands are now expected to be replaced with Iranian ones in the Russian market over a span of three years. According to a proposal made by the Russian Council of Shopping Centers (RCSC), Western clothing brands that have left the Russian market due to sanctions over the country’s military operation in Ukraine could be replaced by Iranian companies that produce leather clothing, shoes, and bags.

15 April 2022; AA: Residential property sales in Turkiye surged 20.6% year-on-year in March, according to the latest data released on Friday.

A total of 134,170 houses changed hands last month, up from 111,241 in March 2021, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported.

Mortgaged house sales amounted to 30,271 in March, up 38.8% year-on-year, accounting for 22.6% of all sales.

Sales to foreign buyers jumped by 31% to 5,567 units last month.

Montana, Apr 16 (AP) The Interior Department has said it's moving forward with the first onshore sales of public oil and gas drilling leases under President Joe Biden, but will sharply increase royalty rates for companies as federal officials weigh efforts to fight climate change against pressure to bring down high gas prices.

The royalty rate for new leases will increase to 18.75% from 12.5%. That's a 50% jump and marks the first increase to royalties for the federal government since the early 1900s.

New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) India's fuel sales fell in the first half of April as a record rise in prices in a short 16-day period dented demand, preliminary industry data showed on Saturday.

Petrol sales fell almost 10 per cent in the first half of April when compared with the same period in the preceding month, while diesel demand slid 15.6 per cent.

Even cooking gas LPG, which had consistently shown growth even during the pandemic period, saw a 1.7 per cent month-on-month fall in consumption during April 1-15.

15 April 2022; MEMO: Ukraine yesterday accused Russia of blocking four Egypt-bound ships loaded with wheat and corn from leaving Ukrainian ports.

"The Riva Wind ship is ready to bring 27,000 metric tons of corn to Egypt – enough to feed well over a million people for a month," the Ukrainian embassy in Egypt said on Facebook.

The embassy had pointed out that Moscow had mined the "Black Sea floor, preventing the ship from sailing to Egypt from Ukraine's Pivdennyi port."

15 April 2022; MEMO: Tunisia will raise local fuel prices every month this year by no less than 3 per cent, an official in the energy ministry said on Thursday, which may mean an increase of at least 30 per cent by the end of 2022, Reuters reported.

Tunisia raised fuel prices by 5 per cent on Wednesday, its third hike this year, following a sharp rise in oil prices in an effort to rein in its budget deficit, according to the Reuters report.

15 April 2022; MEMO: Palestinians staged a general strike in the occupied West Bank on Thursday in mourning for the killing of four people by Israeli army forces, Anadolu Agency reports.

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem on Wednesday. Two other Palestinians were fatally shot on Thursday during an Israeli raid in the town of Kafr Dan, northwest of Jenin city.

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said Egypt, which is one of the largest importers of wheat from Ukraine and Russia, has approved India as a wheat supplier.

There is a sharp decline in availability of wheat in the global markets due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Both the nations are major producers and exporters of wheat.

by Seymanur Yont

The war between Russia and Ukraine since 24 February has already had a global impact. Energy prices have spiked, triggering a sharp increase in the cost of food. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation's food price index that measures the monthly global price change in food commodities reached an all-time high last month.

14 April 2022; MEMO: Turkish economic researchers may face up to three years in prison if they publish unofficial data on indicators without first seeking approval from the country's statistics agency, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, the Turkish government had planned to submit the proposed legislation to parliament this week but has held off while officials do further work on it, two party officials said on condition of anonymity.