Nepal residents thankful normal life has resumed, days after deadly protests
Life in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, returned to normal on Sunday (September 14), just days after deadly protests left at least 51 people dead and blan...
Hungary and Slovakia face challenges in paying for Russian gas due to new U.S. sanctions on Gazprombank, risking supply disruptions without a legal solution.
Hungary and Slovakia are seeking ways to make payments for Russian gas that were thrown into uncertainty by new U.S. sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank, officials said on Wednesday.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he would hold talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak later on Wednesday to work out a legal solution regarding future payments for shipments.
The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank on Nov. 21, creating an obstacle for European buyers of Russian gas. Buyers have been using Gazprombank to make the payments, including a scheme for currency conversion to roubles.
A source close to the Slovak state-owned gas company SPP, which has a long-term contract with the Russian supplier Gazprom and supplies most of the Slovak market, said the problem was acute as a monthly payment was coming up and there was currently no known way how to make it.
Failure to pay could prompt Gazprom to suspend shipments, the source said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree last week cancelling the option for buyers of Russian gas to convert currency into roubles at Gazprombank.The lender said separately in a statement it remained the only bank authorised to process payments for Russian gas by foreign buyers, but it will receive payments only in roubles.
The source close to SPP said the issue affected other buyers in Europe as well, including countries in the Balkans, as banks were not willing to send payments to Gazprombank, and there was no grace period for the U.S. sanctions.
A spokesman for SPP said the company was still analysing the situation.
Slovakia and Hungary have been keen to continue buying Russian gas, though shipments to Slovakia face suspension from January as Ukraine does not plan to extend a transit agreement with Gazprom. Slovakia has been trying to find a workaround to allow the shipments to continue.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Music mega-star Taylor Swift and National Football League player Travis Kelce announced their engagement. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married," the couple wrote in a joint Instagram post, alongside photos of Kelce proposing to Swift in a garden of pink and white flowers.
Life in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, returned to normal on Sunday (September 14), just days after deadly protests left at least 51 people dead and blanketed the city in smoke.
Madrid is set to host high-level talks between the United States and China in the coming days, a development the Spanish government views as an opportunity to repair strained ties with Washington while consolidating its role as a European interlocutor with Beijing.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel on Sunday (September 14), stepping into a region already fraught with tension following Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and its plans to expand settlements in the West Bank.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 14th of September, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Footage on Saturday showed security forces storming a two-storey home in Asuncion to capture Bermudez. Paraguay’s anti-drug agency SENAD released video of a long-haired man pinned to the floor and later seated on a sofa, identified by officials as Bermudez.
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