Oil prices hit four year high: Latest news on the Middle East conflict on 9 March
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $...
The German government is willing to consider a European Union initiative to release frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, a government source told Reuters on Thursday.
According to Politico, the proposal would see up to €200 billion ($235 billion) of Russian funds, currently held in a Belgian depository, redirected to Ukraine and replaced with EU-backed bonds.
The plan, aimed at securing financial support for Kyiv amidst doubts over U.S. commitment under President Donald Trump, is expected to dominate discussions at an informal EU summit in Copenhagen next week.
So far, the EU has only channelled the interest accrued from the frozen Russian assets, which were blocked following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Germany, the bloc’s largest economy and Ukraine’s second-biggest military supporter, has previously raised legal objections to any attempt to seize the funds outright. However, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil signalled last week that Berlin was reconsidering its position on the contentious issue.
“The German government is open to discussions on the European Commission’s latest proposals,” the government source said, without confirming the details.
While the United States has long been Ukraine’s primary backer and arms supplier, Trump has insisted Europe should shoulder a far greater share of its own defence responsibilities.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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