Business

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: Oil prices soared yesterday by about five per cent after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members announced a sudden voluntary cut in crude production.

US crude futures rose 4.85 per cent to $79.34 a barrel, while Brent crude futures rose 5.02 per cent to $83.90 a barrel, according to Bloomberg data.

Saudi Arabia led a coordinated reduction in daily production in a number of major oil countries, despite pressure from the United States to increase production.

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) announced on Tuesday that oil exports through Turkiye's Ceyhan pipeline would resume later in the day, following a pause of more than a week caused by a long-running international arbitration case between Iraq and Turkiye, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Head of KRG Foreign Media Affairs, Lawk Ghafuri, said on Twitter that oil exportation through Ceyhan would resume today.

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: Some 41.8 tonnes of gold were mined in Sudan last year, worth 150.9 billion Sudanese pounds ($2.5 billion)., the government said yesterday.

The data came in a statement issued by the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company affiliated with the Ministry of Minerals. It said that "last year's production recorded 41.8 tonnes." No figures were released for 2021.

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: The US has told Israel that it is considering advancing a "partial agreement" with Iran based on freezing parts of its nuclear programme in return for lifting some sanctions, Walla news site has reported. The report cited ten Israeli officials, Western diplomats and American experts.

04 Apr 2023; MEMO: The ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Iraq held a meeting in the Gulf country of Oman on Tuesday, according to Iraqi Ambassador, Qais Saad Al-Amiri, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The diplomats exchanged views about regional affairs during the meeting hosted by Al-Amiri "in an atmosphere of optimism and familiarity among the attendees," the Iraqi Embassy in Muscat tweeted.

BEIJING (AP) — Furious at U.S. efforts that cut off access to technology to make advanced computer chips, China’s leaders appear to be struggling to figure out how to retaliate without hurting their own ambitions in telecoms, artificial intelligence and other industries.

Beijing, Apr 3 (PTI) China responded positively on Monday to Russia's new foreign policy concept, saying Beijing, Moscow and New Delhi are emerging "major powers" with "notable influence" and it was ready to boost ties with them and send a "positive signal" to the world in view of the complex changes. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the new Foreign Policy Concept Friday last, which said strengthening and deepening relations with China and India is a diplomatic priority for Russia.

New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck began his two-day trip to India on Monday with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar receiving him at the airport here, reflecting the importance New Delhi has attached to the visit.

The Bhutanese King will hold talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

In the evening, Jaishankar called on the visiting dignitary.

03 Apr 2023; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, today, to meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and discuss expanding the scope of investment in the North African state.

The visit comes in light of a severe economic crisis in Egypt, especially the lack of US dollars available to pay for necessary imports and settle debt instalments.

03 Apr 2023; MEMO: Five years after breaking ground on the first unit of Turkiye's first nuclear power plant (NPP), Akkuyu, the country is now counting down the days to its operation, Anadolu News Agency reports.

With the delivery of the first fresh nuclear fuel to the plant site on 27 April, the Akkuyu plant will become a nuclear power facility.