Diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war are gathering pace, even though Tehran continues to insist talks with the United States are not happening. Here is what we know about the behind-the-scenes mediation efforts: Stay updated: Get the latest faster by downloading the Gulf News app - it's completel»»»

Russia has been trading oil without a discount and even at a premium on some routes, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Thursday, as cited by Vedomosti. Global energy markets are under strain due to the fallout from the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, which has disrupted transit throug»»»

The US could redirect arms supplies originally designated for Ukraine to America’s own war with Iran, the Washington Post has reported, citing sources familiar with discussions on the matter. Under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), introduced in July 2025, European NATO members are »»»

The long boom in gold prices has been cut short by the Iran war, triggering a double-digit percentage fall. The Iran war has played a role, Suranjali Tandon, assistant professor at the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, tells Sputnik."With supply chains disrupted the price»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The start of the Russian parliamentary delegation's negotiations with their US counterparts went remarkably well, and the parties have already achieved good results, Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Boris Chernyshov told Sputnik on Thursday. "It was a wonderful experience, w»»»

India has secured crude oil supplies for the next 60 days, ensuring stable fuel supplies in the country despite disruption in shipments from the Middle East, the oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday. India, the world's third biggest oil consumer and importer, was buying over 40% of its oil »»»

Schools teachers in the far northern Russian region are getting ready to provide kids with training in drone warfare. This month, the regional Ministry of Education organised courses for teachers on drone operation, according to the Russian edition of the Barents Observer. The training was conducte»»»

A Turkish oil tanker has reportedly been struck by drones near the Bosphorus after taking on around 140,000 tons of oil at a Russian port, local media reported on Thursday. The ship is blacklisted by the Ukrainian government for transporting Russian goods. The vessel, identified as the Altura, is o»»»

Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan, Marlen Mamataliev, held talks in Moscow with Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin. The press service of the Zhogorku Kenesh reported. The parties discussed strengthening cooperation in energy, transport, and agriculture sectors. Vyache»»»

During his working visit to Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Adylbek Kasymaliev, participated in a narrow-format meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. The Cabinet of Ministers’ press service reported. The meeting addressed a number of issues aimed at furt»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump on Thursday posted a link on his Truth Social to a report by Just The News about intercepted messages of Ukrainian officials who in 2022 discussed diverting hundreds of millions of dollars intended for clean energy to support Former US President Joe »»»

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China and Russia should jointly promote deescalation in the Middle East, Chinese Special Envoy for the Middle East Zhai Jun said Thursday at a meeting with Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov. "Russia and China, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, support a ce»»»

An annual meeting of the Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Jeenbek Kulubaev with representatives of the expert community was held in Bishkek. During the event, the minister presented the results of the country’s diplomatic service for 2025 and outlined priorities for the current period. According to K»»»

“The old world is dying,” Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci wrote in 1930, “and the new world struggles to be born.” His Marxist convictions notwithstanding, Gramsci would feel at home in the Trumpian age. The old world, in this case, is the international order that the United States built in the»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The conflict in the Middle East is causing significant damage to global logistics and industry, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. "The armed conflict in the Middle East is making an increasingly significant contribution to the current situation and causing signif»»»

The 15-point plan that Team Trump presented to Iran is already D.O.A. It’s an imposed capitulation: a surrender document disguised as “negotiation”.The non-plan plan – imposing demands while begging for a one-month ceasefire - includes zero uranium enrichment on Iranian soil; full dismantlement of »»»

The shadow campaign to swing the Hungarian election against Viktor Orban has escalated with the wiretapping of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. The case offers a rare look into how bureaucrats, journalists, and spies run a regime-change operation in real time. Read more Battle for Hungar»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Araqchi Rules Out Negotiations: ‘Our Policy Is to Continue Resistance’ 26-03-2026 14:21 PM Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (image from»»»

Russia is in contact with the United States about a new round of talks on a Ukraine peace settlement as soon as conditions allow, the Kremlin said on Thursday. "We remain open, we are in contact with the Americans, and we are counting on holding the next round of talks as soon ‌as circumstances per»»»

BELGRADE - Serbia's First Deputy PM and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday evening Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Russian President Vladimir Putin were due to hold a conversation within the next few days to discuss, among other topics, a new natural gas arrangement between Serbi»»»

Amid rising Middle East tensions, Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif has offered Islamabad as a neutral venue for US–Iran talks, a move experts say reflects strategic positioning rather than a simple diplomatic gesture. Dr. Maria Sultan, an adviser to Pakistan's Ministry of Defense, explained in an inter»»»

Bangkok: Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centres. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of t»»»

Ahmedabad, India: India's government says there are adequate fuel stocks despite shortages due to the Middle East war, but panicking citizens have triggered long queues at filling stations. In retaliation for US strikes that began more than three weeks ago, Iran has virtually closed the strategic S»»»

Walking on the Moon by 2030, building a lunar base, and then perhaps on to Mars: after 30 years of honing its expertise, China is challenging the United States' supremacy in spaceflight. As US space agency NASA prepares for its crewed lunar flyby mission, Artemis II, we take a look at China's ambit»»»

Archaeologists say they may have discovered the skeletal remains of the legendary D’Artagnan, the figure immortalized by French writer Alexandre Dumas in ‘The Three Musketeers’, Dutch regional broadcaster L1 reported on Wednesday. The remains were found in the Dutch city of Maastricht. Historical a»»»

Australia and Germany agreed Thursday to simplify hosting each other's troops and cooperate on space defense during a visit by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to Canberra. Australia's Defense Minister Richard Marles said the two countries would sign a status of forces agreement making it "m»»»

Foreign ministers from the G7 meet outside Paris from Thursday with European nations and allies seeking to narrow differences with the US on the Middle East war while keeping other crises like Ukraine and Gaza high on the agenda. The two-day meeting of seven leading industrialized democracies at th»»»

A Turkish-operated oil tanker was attacked early Thursday in the Black Sea, possibly by an unmanned surface vehicle, Türkiye's transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said. "I can say that a foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explo»»»

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) gestures beside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a welcome ceremony at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on his first official visit to North Korea, state media reported Thursday. Photo by KCNA/EPA SEOUL, March 26 (UPI) -- Belarusian President Alexa»»»

A military drone launched by Russia entered national airspace for 4 kilometres and crashed near the locality of Parches after being diverted by Ukrainian air defence systems, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) informs on Thursday.According to the same source, during the night of Wednesday into»»»

The Pentagon said on Wednesday it had reached framework agreements with BAE Systems, Lockheed and Honeywell to boost production of defense systems munitions as part of a push to put the US military on a “wartime footing.” The ‌announcements come more than three weeks after US President Donald Trump»»»