Seven OPEC+ countries plan to increase oil production in August - | 24.KG
Seven countries within the OPEC+ group are planning to increase oil production in August, Reuters reports. They are expected to once again agree on raising oil output quotas by 188,000 barrels per day. The same decision has been taken over the past two months by members of the group — Russia, Saudi»»»
From Karakol to Bishkek on foot: Eco-activist completes unusual campaign - | 24.KG
An eco-activist and founder of Taza Karma Foundation, Andrei Panaev, arrived in Bishkek on July 1, completing a walking campaign aimed at promoting environmental awareness and greening efforts. The Bishkek municipality reported. Related news Eco-activist walks from Karakol to Bishkek to promote tre»»»
KYIV BLOG: Russia, Ukraine political assassinations and the backpack bomb in Monaco
A backpack bomber targeted Ukrainian real estate mogul and online scammer Vadym Yermolaiev in Monaco yesterday in the principality’s first ever terrorist attack. No one was killed, but seven people were injured and Yermolaiev’s wife had both her legs amputated as a result of the blast. CCTV footage»»»
Russia's PM Medvedev to attend Khamenei funeral in Tehran
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, will attend the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran as a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin, Iran's ambassador to Moscow said, ISNA reported on July 1. Iran is expected to shutdown for four days»»»
Russian drone, missile attack on Kyiv hits residential buildings, injures 16
KYIV: Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen, as drones and missiles struck residential buildings and started a fire in a hotel on a central boulevard. President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier warned of a possible over»»»
CIA to release more MKUltra mind-control files – GOP Rep.
The CIA is declassifying a new trove of documents relating to its ‘MKUltra’ program, Representative Anna Paulina Luna said on Tuesday. Nazi scientists were involved in the agency’s mind-control experiments. Last month, Luna ordered CIA Director John Ratcliffe to preserve 40 boxes of “JFK files and »»»
CEO of Russia’s Sberbank Gref call for ending “military action”
Russians are concerned above all with a swift end to "military action," German Gref, chief executive of Russia's largest state-controlled lender Sberbank, said, state media RBC reported on July 1. The remarks are notable given how rarely senior Russian executives comment publicly on the war in»»»
Fire erupts in central Kyiv after explosion: AFP reporter
A fire broke out in central Kyiv on Wednesday after an explosion during an air raid alert, an AFP reporter saw. The journalist heard a detonation and saw a cloud of smoke and flames. Fire crews and ambulances arrived promptly at the scene. About 50 minutes after the first blast, AFP journalists wit»»»
Strait of Hormuz reopens but UN warns poorest nations will face lasting economic fallout
NEW YORK CITY: The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after more than 100 days of shipping disruption will bring relief to global energy and trade flows, but the world’s most vulnerable economies face a longer, costlier and more uneven path to recovery, the UN Conference on Trade and Development sai»»»
Former CIA director Brennan sues Trump administration to protect records - UPI.com
John Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, testifies in 2017 on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Brennan is suing the Trump administration, asking a judge to preserve all »»»
The EU can’t fix Europe – but it can fund Kiev forever
NATO-EU Europe, that tense, unhappy realm of deeply unpopular yet aggressively doctrinaire centrist regimes, has many grifts. Its elites, whether national or EU, in business, politics, and the mainstream media and think-tank sinecure system are stunningly inept when it comes to addressing the urgen»»»
Who is Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev, the suspected target of the Monaco bombing?
The explosion that wounded three people in Monaco Monday night is being treated as an “attempted murder”. So who was the target? While Monegasque authorities remain tight-lipped about the victims’ identities, media reports point to Vadym Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian-born oligarch sanctioned by Kyiv for »»»
COMMENT: Ukraine may take the war to Russian LNG
Ukraine’s widening drone campaign against Russian energy infrastructure raises the prospect that Kyiv could shift some of its focus from refineries and oil logistics to LNG assets, which have largely remained untouched. Kyiv has been intensifying attacks on Russian oil refineries in recent months, »»»
Xi looks beyond Putin as Beijing quietly prepares for post-Putin Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest summit with Vladimir Putin produced few headline-grabbing agreements. The biggest missing deal was an agreement to build the Power of Siberia 2 (POS2) gas pipeline. But analysts argue the visit revealed something potentially more significant: Beijing is quietly»»»
Europe's defence tech push risks outpacing strategy, Carnegie warns
Europe’s rapid push into defence technology risks undermining its own security ambitions unless policymakers develop a coherent strategy defining how emerging technologies should reshape military power, sovereignty and accountability, according to a new analysis by Carnegie Europe. As the European »»»
Russia's VTB may revisit plans to expand presence in Iran
Russia's VTB may return to the question of expanding its presence in Iran once regional military action ends, VTB Chief Executive Andrei Kostin said, Interfax reported on June 30. Iran and Russia have dramatically accelerated their banking integration efforts since Russia faced Western sanctions fo»»»
German prosecutors charge Nord Stream suspect
BERLIN: German prosecutors said Wednesday they had brought charges against a suspect in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia with Europe. Federal prosecutors confirmed to AFP that a man had been charged over the explosion, with German media reporting that he was a Ukrain»»»
Europe is Funding War It Can't Afford
NATO member states have raised military spending by 14% in a single year. But the real story is what they're giving up.Germany will spend more on the armed forces than on its entire education and health systems combined by 2035.The €739 billion spent across Europe in 2025 could build 10 million new»»»
Zelensky says Ukraine hits a Russian oil refinery for the second time in a week
KYIV: Ukrainian forces struck Russia’s major Ufa oil refinery for the second time in a week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasi»»»
Djedovic Handanovic: All parties losing patience in NIS talks
BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Wednesday that, even though a US licence for the completion of talks on an acquisition of a Russian-majority stake in the Serbian oil company NIS by Hungary's MOL had been extended for 30 more days, all parties we»»»
Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine fewer in June: AFP analysis
KYIV: Russia fired fewer drones and missiles at Ukraine in June compared to a month before, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data showed Wednesday, as Kyiv stepped up its own retaliatory attacks on Russia. Moscow launched 5,749 drones and 180 missiles against Ukraine in June — down 29 percent»»»
Zelensky Seeks to Provoke Escalation of Conflict Through Attacks on Civilians - Moscow
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Vladimir Zelensky seeks to provoke escalation of the Ukraine conflict through terrorist attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "Behind all the demagoguery about supposedly resolving the conflict, »»»
Russia Starves Ukrainian Army of Fuel With New Tactic – Military Expert
Russia has hit at least 25 filling stations and several fuel tankers across eastern and central Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. The Ukrainian army’s supply routes use civilian rather than military equipment, making filling stations legitimate targets, military analyst and Arsenal Ote»»»
Kazakhstan agrees to supply 50,000 tons of gasoline to Russia, sources say
MOSCOW: Kazakhstan has agreed to supply 50,000 metric tons of gasoline to Russia in July and August as humanitarian aid, four industry sources said on Wednesday. Russia has been beset by fuel shortages, long queues at the filling stations, surging gasoline and diesel prices in the past weeks as Uk»»»
Berlin makes bid to build more US weaponry in Germany
BERLIN: Germany is hoping to expand defense industry ties with the United States and produce more US-designed weaponry at factories in the country, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday. The pitch comes just ahead of a major NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Turkiye, where European mi»»»
Italy blocks 2027 NATO aid commitment to Ukraine ahead of key summit – media
Italy is stalling a NATO aid commitment to Ukraine for 2027 after the bloc signed off on a €70 billion ($80 billion) military package to Kiev this year, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Tuesday. While NATO envoys agreed on the terms of this year’s assistance on Tuesday in »»»
Russians Living in Bulgaria and Russia Donate 17 Off-Road Vehicles in Support of Ukrainian Armed Forces
Russian citizens have donated 17 off-road vehicles in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gennadiy Vorobyov of the Bessarabian Front told journalists in Sofia on Wednesday. The vehicles, bearing Ukrainian flags on their windscreens, were parked in the morning near the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathe»»»
Beslac: New US licence for NIS to put Russia under more pressure to finish talks or give up
BELGRADE - A new operating licence issued to Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will put Russia under additional pressure to bring talks with Hungary's MOL on selling its stake in the firm to a conclusion or give up on them, says Serbia»»»
Heavyweight boxing enters a new era after Usyk vacates his belts. Here’s where they’re all headed
BEIRUT: Heavyweight boxing is entering a new era after Oleksandr Usyk’s decided to stand down as unified champion and sent his belts to different parts of the world. That’s given a bunch of globally unheralded fighters the chance to emerge from the shadows in the sport’s glamor division. Usyk recen»»»
EU issues new steel and e-commerce regulations to reduce trade imbalance with China
The European Union rolled out two measures to protect its steel industry and limit e-commerce small parcels on Wednesday as the 27-nation bloc grapples with its staggering trade imbalance with China. "Today's change is about restoring fairness for European businesses and better protecting our consu»»»
Anchorage’s hollow spirit: Why Trump’s Ukraine diplomacy is stalling
The exchange between Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio over whether agreements were reached in Alaska last year, or whether proposals were merely put forward, says much about the current level of mutual understanding. In substance, however, it is less a basis for further action than a commentary on att»»»
ICC says Mali, Burkina, Niger withdrawals undermine justice
The Hague: The executive body of the International Criminal Court Wednesday voiced concern over the recent withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, saying it undermined the global pursuit of justice. The military-led West Africa states announced in September they were pulling out of the ICC, wh»»»
ICC says Mali, Burkina, Niger withdrawals undermine justice
THE HAGUE: The executive body of the International Criminal Court Wednesday voiced concern over the recent withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, saying it undermined the global pursuit of justice. The military-led West Africa states announced in September they were pulling out of the ICC, wh»»»
Saudi main index continues YTD growth momentum, advances 2.9%
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index maintained its strong year-to-date momentum, delivering a 2.9 percent gain in the first six months of this year, according to Kamco Invest. The report revealed that the Kingdom was also the second-best-performing market in the Gulf Cooperation Council »»»
US export controls lifted on powerful Anthropic AI models
Fable and Mythos are coming back online. Leading US AI company Anthropic says the US Commerce Department has lifted export controls on the AI models, less than three weeks after the company was ordered to suspend access to them over national security risks. Washington has stepped up oversight of ne»»»
Russia Wants ICRC to Be Strengthened Based on Independence, Impartiality - Lavrov
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia wants the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be strengthened based on the principles of independence and impartiality, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday. "Of course, we want to strengthen the International Committee of the Red Cross b»»»
COMMENT: Steadily but surely, Erdogan has broken with Putin
Steadily but surely, almost imperceptibly, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in the past two years broken from his accommodation with Vladimir Putin. At least that’s the contention of a good many Turkey analysts as the country’s president prepares to host the July 7-8 Nato leaders’ summit that should at lon»»»
COMMENT: Steadily but surely, Erdogan has broken with Putin
Steadily but surely, almost imperceptibly, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in the past two years broken from his accommodation with Vladimir Putin. At least that’s the contention of a good many Turkey analysts as the country’s president prepares to host the July 7-8 Nato leaders’ summit that should at lon»»»
North Korea's unlikely economic revival reshapes life in Pyongyang as Russia and China deepen support
Pariah no longer, since the war in Ukraine started, Russian and Chinese money has poured into Pyongyang, fuelling a rapid economic development and unexpected real estate boom in a country better known for repression and poverty. Decades of sanctions, international isolation and chronic shortages le»»»
Russia Surges Into World's Top Two Ranking for Fastest-Growing Household Wealth
Over the five years leading up to 2025, Russia climbed to second place globally in household asset growth, according to the 2026 UBS Global Wealth Report. Wealth, as defined in the report, is the total value of financial and real assets minus all outstanding liabilities, with all figures adjusted f»»»
Russian Citizens Living in Bulgaria, Russia Donate 17 Off-Road Vehicles in Support of Ukrainian Armed Forces
Russian citizens have donated 17 off-road vehicles in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gennadiy Vorobyov of the Bessarabian Front told journalists in Sofia on Wednesday. The vehicles, bearing Ukrainian flags on their windscreens, were parked in the morning near the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathe»»»
Kyrgyzstan seeks new fuel suppliers amid global market instability - | 24.KG
Kyrgyzstan has begun negotiations with several countries to expand its fuel and lubricant supplies. Authorities explain this move by the need to diversify fuel imports amid the unstable global energy market. The Ministry of Energy told 24.kg news agency that official requests have already been sent»»»
Kim Jong Un vows stronger ties with China in letter to Xi - UPI.com
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2-R) sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) on the 105th founding anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, state media reported Wednesday. In this photo, Xi and Kim are seen at a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang in June. File Photo by KC»»»
The Debate - Crimea back in play? Russia feels pain of Ukraine long-range strikes
A couple of weeks back, we asked if the tide was turning in Ukraine. The short answer: a little, but it's hard to cut through the fog of war. Now, we're beginning to wonder if Crimea could be back in play. Kyiv's new line of longer-range missiles and drones are wreaking havoc on fuel and power supp»»»
President orders faster construction of fish farm and ship assembly complex - | 24.KG
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov today, July 1, reviewed investment projects for the construction of a modern fish farm and a ship assembly complex in Pristan Karakol settlement during a working visit to Issyk-Kul region. The head of state was presented with a fish farm project aimed at restor»»»
How the US shaped the world: 250 years of power and policies
GlobalizationUnited States of AmericaHow the US shaped the world: 250 years of power and policiesPeter Hille | Gianna-Carina GrünThe United States declared its independence from Britain 250 years ago. Here's how the US's relations with other nations — and its global image — have changed since. http»»»
Türkiye tightens security for NATO summit as Erdogan seeks to boost global standing
DUBAI: Turkiye is preparing for next week’s NATO summit with heightened security measures across Ankara, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to use the gathering to reinforce the country’s role as a key player in the alliance. Tens of thousands of police officers have been deployed, air defense»»»
Serbia Minister Confirms NIS License Extended, Keeping Russian-Backed Energy Flowing
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian-Serbian company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), which is currently under US sanctions, has received a 30-day operating license extension from the US Treasury Department, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said. On June 26, NIS requested a new »»»
About 66% of Ukrainians Want Immediate Peace Talks With Russia – Poll
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Two-thirds of Ukrainians support an immediate start to negotiations with Russia to resolve the conflict, a Gallup poll has shown. According to the survey, 66% of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine should begin negotiations as soon as possible, while less than a quarter of respondent»»»
NATO Actively Using Offensive Scenarios During Drills Near Russia - Russian Diplomat
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The scale of NATO exercises near the borders of Russia is growing, and offensive scenarios are being used more and more actively, Vladislav Maslennikov, the chief of the Department of European Issues at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik. "In general, the growing scale of»»»