European Union envoys are set to approve a 20th package of sanctions against Russia, with Slovakia and Hungary expected to drop their opposition following repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.
The measures would strengthen efforts to curb Russian energy revenues and military supplies more than four years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after the bloc failed to secure unanimous backing earlier this year.
Slovakia’s foreign minister said Bratislava was ready to support the package once oil deliveries via Druzhba resumed, arguing the measures would not significantly harm the Slovak economy.
Crude flows through the pipeline are expected to restart on Wednesday for the first time since a January drone strike, removing a key objection from Hungary. Its outgoing Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, had previously blocked further sanctions and a €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
The package stops short of immediately imposing a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil. Envoys agreed to the measure in principle but postponed implementation pending coordination with G7 partners.
If enforced, the ban could effectively end the G7 price cap regime, which allows access to Western shipping and insurance for Russian crude sold below a set threshold.
The sanctions also target Russia’s military-industrial base, including drone production and its so-called “shadow fleet”, and introduce phased restrictions on services for Russian LNG and icebreakers.
They include asset freezes and business bans on major Russian refineries and producers. For the first time, the EU would also use its anti-circumvention tool against a third country, Kyrgyzstan, alongside curbs linked to a foreign oil port and new protections for EU companies against Russian legal claims abroad.
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Kuwait arrested four members of an IRGC-linked group as they tried to enter the country by sea, the Gulf state's KUNA news agency reported on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a senior IRGC officer said Iran had expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz to include a far wider area.
Uzbekistan Energy Week 2026 has opened in Tashkent, bringing together international energy companies, government officials and industry experts to discuss energy security, technological transformation and regional cooperation.
Biological samples from an Italian man were transferred to a specialist hospital for testing on Tuesday, after he was suspected of contracting hantavirus. Meanwhile, World Health Organization boss Tedros Ghebreyesus said there were “no sign” of a larger outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise.
Senior officials from China and Uzbekistan met in Beijing this week for talks on trade, infrastructure and bilateral cooperation, underscoring a relationship that has continued to deepen steadily in recent years.
Kuwait arrested four members of an IRGC-linked group as they tried to enter the country by sea, the Gulf state's KUNA news agency reported on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a senior IRGC officer said Iran had expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz to include a far wider area.
Australia confirmed it will repatriate citizens from the MV Hondius cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, with quarantine on arrival. Spain, France are evacuating nationals as three deaths are confirmed. In the U.S., two passengers have been isolated after testing positive for the virus.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal as a “stupid proposal,” saying Tehran failed to commit to abandoning its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, while warning the fragile ceasefire was on “massive life support”.
Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku has been elected the 142nd head of the Georgian Orthodox Church at a meeting of clergy in Tbilisi following the death of longtime Patriarch Ilia II.
Afghanistan has signed a five-year gold mining contract with Afghan and Azerbaijani companies in a deal worth more than $20m, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has said.
Senior officials from China and Uzbekistan met in Beijing this week for talks on trade, infrastructure and bilateral cooperation, underscoring a relationship that has continued to deepen steadily in recent years.
Senior economic officials from China and the U.S. are holding two days of trade talks in Seoul this week ahead of a summit in Beijing, where Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are set to meet face to face for the first time this year.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer laid down the gauntlet to challengers on Tuesday (12 May), as he defied calls to resign at a meeting of Cabinet, telling ministers that there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest.
Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency has launched a search and rescue operation for 14 people missing at sea after a wooden boat, strongly believed to be illegally transporting undocumented Indonesian migrants, capsized and sank off the country's western coast on Monday morning.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 12th of May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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