Headline

EU Adopts New Round Of Sanctions On Russia

Published

2 years ago

December 19, 2023

The European Union on Monday adopted a new package of sanctions on Russia that include an import ban on Russian diamonds, officials said.

The package is the 12th packet levelled at Moscow since it sent Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in a full-scale invasion.

They are designed to reduce Russia’s access to revenues, metals and technology used to sustain its war effort.

The latest round of sanctions was settled last Friday by envoys from the 27 EU member countries but not formally adopted because of an objection from Austria that was subsequently lifted.

“We continue to stand with Ukraine, through thick and thin,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.

The EU ban on Russian diamonds covers natural and synthetic varieties as well as in jewellery from January, and Russian diamonds cut in other countries as from September next year.

Moscow is accused of helping to fill its war chest with proceeds from diamond sales, which are worth an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion a year.

Belgium, which hosts a major diamond trading hub in its city of Antwerp, dropped its hesitation towards the ban following a G7 decision backing the measure.

The industry has proposed several solutions, including a tracking system, to limit the fallout of the sanctions on the business.

The sanctions package also extends EU efforts to restrict technology Moscow can get its hands on for military purposes, adding 29 more companies to a list of entities prohibited from exporting products able to help Russia’s arms industry.

Some of those companies are in countries outside the EU and are suspected of circumventing the bloc’s sanctions, according to a European Council statement.

Some countries, such as Kazakhstan, are accused of helping Russia import certain products and technologies that can bolster its military industry.

The EU is also seeking better enforcement of previous sanctions hitting Russian oil exports, which place a price cap of $60 a barrel on its crude.

Russia has been able to sidestep that measure by building a “dark fleet” of oil tankers, and also with the help of China and India, a researcher at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Alexandra Prokopenko, recently revealed.

The EU countries agreed a “strengthened information sharing mechanism” for tankers designed to identify ships involved in practices such as ship-to-ship oil transfers at sea, the European Council statement said.

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

3 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.