Washington is growing increasingly alarmed that the Russian government and businesses are using Turkey to evade Western financial and trading restrictions imposed in response to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine six months ago. Turkey's imports of Russian oil are ballooning.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for wealthier countries to help developing nations purchase Ukrainian grain as supplies begin returning to global markets,. Ships carrying grain have been leaving there under a recent UN-brokered agreement, and Guterres said Odesa was a symbol of what countries can achieve when they work...

Russian fertilizers and agricultural products must be able to reach world markets "unimpeded" or a global food crisis could strike as early as next year, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Saturday. "It is important that all governments and the private sector cooperate to bring them to market," he said...

Two more ships carrying grain have left Ukraine's Chornomorsk port, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Saturday, bringing the number of vessels to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports under a UN-brokered deal to 27. The joint coordination center said Zumrut Ana and MV Ocean S were loaded with sunflower oil and...

S&P Global Ratings said that boosting the country's credit score of foreign debt to CCC+ "reflects strong committed international financial support to Ukraine."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for independent inspections at the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the Kremlin said Friday. Putin said "the systematic shelling by the Ukrainian military of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant creates the danger of a large-scale catastrophe that...

The Turkish leader met his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv just two weeks after flying to Sochi for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which the two sides pledged to boost economic cooperation.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday he hopes a gas pipeline linking the Iberian Peninsula to central Europe through France could soon become a reality. Europe is currently undergoing an energy crisis as it struggles to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine.

The UN brokered agreement lifted a Russian blockade of Ukraine's ports and established safe corridors through the naval mines laid by Kyiv.

While the Ukraine war rages on, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pitched weapons to allies around the world, lauding them for ‘reliability, efficiency’ and having been tested on the field of battle in ‘real combat operations more than once.’

OPEC warns that the demand growth for 2023 will slow further to 2.7 million bpd, leaving its forecast unchanged from last month.

Global oil demand will rise more than previously forecast this year as heatwaves and soaring gas prices are prompting countries to switch fuels for power generation, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. Oil prices have dropped by $30 per barrel from a peak in June due to growing supplies and...

The Covid-19 pandemic, regional lockdowns, and Ukraine war have been disrupting trading lane in air and maritime freight, affecting the global supply chain, say experts.

Food prices dropped significantly in July, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline since record highs earlier this year in the wake of the situation in Ukraine, the Food and Agricultural Organization said. FAO published its latest Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in global prices of cereals, vegetable oils,...

The Laodicea, which was docked in the northern port of Tripoli, was cleared to leave after investigations failed to prove it carried stolen goods, officials said. It set sail at 8:00 am (0500 GMT), according to Lebanese state media, and was later reported by authorities in Damascus to have arrived...

News of the launch follows Putin's visit to Iran on July 19, when he met President Ebrahim Raisi and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The first shipment of Ukrainian grain left the port of Odessa on Monday morning, Turkey announced, as Kyiv said the "brutal" shelling by Moscow of the southern city Mykolaiv had killed an agriculture tycoon.

A spokesman for the Turkish presidency said there was a "high probability" that a first ship carrying Ukrainian grain could leave Ukraine's port of Odessa on Monday. That is despite Russian missiles hitting the city in the wake of the July 22 agreement on shipping grain between Russia, Turkey, the...

Saudi Arabia's year-on-year economic growth in the second quarter was 11.8 percent compared to the same period last year, according to initial "flash" estimates published by the General Authority for Statistics. The Middle East's largest economy has benefited from a spike in oil prices and has resisted appeals from Western...

A Lebanese prosecutor ordered the seizure Saturday of a Syrian-flagged ship that docked at a northern port with a cargo of Ukrainian grain Kyiv's embassy in Beirut said was "illegal".

The top diplomats of the United States and Russia spoke Friday for the first time since the Ukraine war, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken describing a "frank" exchange as he pushed to free two Americans. Blinken initiated the call with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom he had shunned a...

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has agreed on a $10.54 billion package for the Comprehensive Food Security Response Program (FSRP) that will support member countries in addressing the ongoing food crisis and increase the group's ongoing efforts to contribute to strengthening its members' resilience to future food security problems....

The UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a phone call to his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described the agreement as a ''key step.''

Mercer’s 2022 Cost of Living City Ranking ranks the emirate the 31st most expensive city in the world.

The UAE has welcomed the agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine on the export of grain, and has applauded the role of Turkey and the United Nations in helping the two countries to sign the Black Sea Grain Export deal.

Ukraine and Russia and two of the world's largest grain producers.

Wheat prices tumbled Friday, retreating to levels last seen prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine following a landmark agreement to unblock Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports. Wheat and other grain have been blocked in Ukrainian ports by Russian warships and landmines Kyiv has laid to avert a feared amphibious...

Ukraine and Russia signed a deal on Friday to unblock grain exports and relieve a global food crisis, as a critical Russian gas pipeline to Europe reopened. However, there was no respite in the conflict on the ground, with Russian artillery on Thursday pounding Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, already...

Syria announced Wednesday that it was severing ties with Ukraine in support of its close ally Russia, saying the move was a response to a similar move by Kyiv.

In a joint statement, French President Emmanuel Macron and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who visited France on July 18 and 19 expressed deep concern regarding war in Ukraine, its terrible impact on civilians, the humanitarian situation, and its effects on commodity markets worldwide.

The tourism sector of the Jordanian economy has seen a huge growth, with more than 1.9 million visitors arriving in the kingdom during the first six months of the current year Tourism Minister Nayef Al-Fayez described the situation as reassuring. He said the return of expatriates was an important component...

With the war in Ukraine still raging, Russian President Vladimir Putin travels Tuesday to Tehran for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Syria conflict. Russia, Turkey and Iran have in recent years met to discuss Syria as part of the so-called "Astana peace process" to end more...

The president will announce today that the United States has committed $1 billion in new near to long-term food security assistance for the Middle East.

A joint communiqué, issued after US president's meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, outlines the strategic alliance between the two countries.

The EU executive, which tracks the economy of the 27 countries in the European Union, said GDP growth in the eurozone would reach 2.6 percent in 2022 and a sharply lowered 1.4 percent in 2023. Inflation would end the year at 7.6 percent, much higher than previously forecast, and 4.0...

Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday made substantive progress in their first direct talks since March on a deal to relieve a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain exports. The high-stakes meeting involving UN and Turkish officials in Istanbul broke up after slightly more than three hours with...

The Paris-based agency cautioned that the global economic recovery could be derailed unless governments take measures to reduce consumption and fuel prices that pose a threat to stability in some nations. Oil prices have surged from around $80 per barrel earlier this year to over $120 at times.

The four-way meeting in Istanbul comes with Russia's invasion of Ukraine showing no sign of abating.

The region is better placed to deal with global slowdown as oil and gas prices will stay high due to supply restrictions, Jean Claus, CEO of Allianz Trade Middle East, tells TRENDS.

Iran is planning to supply hundreds of drones with combat weapon capabilities to Russia for use in Ukraine, a top US official said Monday. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security advisor, said the information received by the United States supported views that the Russian military is facing challenges sustaining...

World food prices, including for wheat, fell in June for a third month running despite remaining near an all-time high, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday. Export flow disruptions resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and international sanctions on Moscow have sparked fears...

IMF has said food prices accounted for about 60 percent of last year’s increase in headline inflation in the MENA region, excluding the GCC countries.

Global oil prices may hit $380 a barrel if Russia were to announce crude oil cuts in response to the US and European curbs.

UNESCO inscribes the culture of cooking borshch soup in Ukraine on its list of endangered cultural heritage amid Moscow's opposition.

The United States vowed to reinforce Europe's defences in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as NATO declared Moscow the West's greatest threat -- prompting Vladimir Putin to lash out at the alliance's "imperial ambitions". Meeting in Madrid Wednesday, NATO leaders said Russia "is the most significant and direct...

Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to stick to a previously decided output boost at their meeting on Thursday, despite pressure to further increase production. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated concerns about oil supplies, sending prices to record highs this year.

Egypt's food security has been under mounting pressure since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February causing massive disruption to exports from Black Sea ports. Before the invasion, the two countries accounted for 85 percent of Egypt's wheat imports.

Saudi oil giant Aramco has built new refineries in Jazan to boost its production capacity to 400,000 barrels a day to compensate for the fuel shortage triggered by curbs against Russia.

United States is seeking to crack down on Russians seeking to skirt existing sanctions by "covertly" acquiring US, Japanese and European defence components.

The war in Ukraine could allow illegal drug production to flourish, while the opium market's future hinges on the fate of crisis-wracked Afghanistan, the United Nations warned Monday. Previous experience from the Middle East and Southeast Asia suggests conflict zones can act as a "magnet" for making synthetic drugs.