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China
October 23, 2025 8:57 PM GMT+2 Updated October 24, 2025 Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow's two biggest oil companies. Chinese national oil companies PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC and Zhenhua Oil will refrain from dealing in seaborne Russian oil at least in the short-term. Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec stopped Russian oil buying last week after Britain designated Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as shadow fleet ships and Chinese entities including a major Chinese refiner. China also imports approximately 900,000 bpd of Russian oil by pipeline, all of it going to PetroChina, which was likely to be little affected by sanctions. Rosneft and Lukoil sell most of their oil to China through intermediaries instead of directly dealing with buyers. The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow, to comply with the U.S. sanctions. While China imports roughly 1.4 million barrels of Russian oil per day by sea, most of that is bought by independent refiners, including small operators known as teapots, although estimates of purchases by state refiners vary widely. A sharp drop in oil demand from Russia’s two largest customers will force the world’s top importers to seek alternative supplies and pushing up global prices for non-sanctioned oil from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)
Oct 23, 2025 China said today it opposes recent sanctions slapped by the United States on the two largest Russian oil companies over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, saying they had “no basis in international law”. At the same press conference, Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman, Mr Guo criticised sanctions on Russia agreed on Oct 22 by the European Union whose targets included Chinese companies, saying Beijing was “strongly dissatisfied'. “The European side is in no position to make irresponsible remarks about the normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises.” (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore)
Gaza
October 22, 2025 Egypt wants the Gaza stabilisation force envisaged in US President Trump's peace plan to be led by US forces and include Turkey, as part of its conditions for participating. Cairo seeks up to 10-year ceasefire to allow Hamas and other armed factions to transform into political groups. US Vice President Vance, US special envoy Witkoff and Mr Trump's son-in-law Kushner were in the Middle East this week to cement the ceasefire and discuss the next phases of the plan. Egypt's chief of intelligence, Rashad, visited Israel yesterday to discuss the plan with US and Israeli officials. He was due to hold talks with Sheikh, Vice President of the Palestinian Authority, and Farag, the Palestinian Authority's intelligence chief, in Cairo later today. After his talks with Mr Vance, the Israeli leader said decisions on the stabilisation force would be made in discussion with the US. However, he appeared to reject any role for Turkey in the force. (Source: The National - United Arab Emirates)
19.10.2025 1 German brigadier general, 2 military staff officers from the Operational Command of the Bundeswehr join US-led Civil Military Coordination Center next week to help monitor ceasefire, coordinate security measures, oversee aid delivery. They will serve uniformed but unarmed at the CMCC in southern Israel. The announcement follows German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's earlier commitment to provide strong political, financial, and technical support for the Gaza ceasefire plan while stopping short of committing troops to the planned International Stabilization Force. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
India
Friday 17 October 2025 US president Trump has claimed that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has agreed to halt the import of Russian oil during a conversation on Wednesday. That’s a big step. Now I’ve got to get China to do the same thing, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House, referring to Mr Modi. New Delhi has clarified that the discussions on the topic are ongoing. The US has directed its anger towards India for taking advantage of the discounted prices offered by Moscow. The Trump administration imposed secondary sanctions on India with a 50 per cent tariff on goods from the country as a punishment for India’s reliance on Russian energy. “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” Jaiswal, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said in Thursday’s statement. “Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions,” the statement added. “Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” it said. India, which is the world’s largest importer of oil, has become a major importer of Russian crude since the start of the war in 2022, from buying almost nothing before the invasion. India imported 1.62 million barrels per day in September, roughly one-third of the country's oil imports. However, China remains the largest buyer of Russian energy through both seaborne and pipeline imports. India has accused Washington of singling out New Delhi as Mr Trump has largely avoided placing similar pressure on China. The US is now ramping up pressure on Japan to stop importing Russian energy. Japan continues to buy Sakhalin Blend crude – a byproduct of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Far East. The energy source remains crucial for Japan, providing about 9 per cent of its total LNG imports. “Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner,” Japanese finance minister Kato told reporters when asked whether Japan was urged by the US treasury secretary Bessent to stop importing Russian energy. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
(October 16, 2025) India and Brazil today agreed to significantly expand their existing trade agreement between India and the MERCOSUR bloc, deepening the existing Preferential Trade Agreement signed on 17 June 2003. (Source: DD News - India)
Iran
19/10/2025, Sunday Iran, Russia and China have jointly notified the United Nations - through an official communication sent yesterday to the United Nations secretary-general and the Security Council - that the nuclear agreement with Tehran has been formally terminated, ending the Security Council's consideration of Iran's nuclear program. This development follows the E3's August 28 announcement activating the snapback mechanism, which itself came after the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement. The three powers criticized the collectively known as the E3 European powers – the United Kingdom, France and Germany - for their handling of the agreement's final stages, for what they described as a legally flawed attempt to reimpose UN sanctions against Iran through the snapback mechanism. The letter argued that these European parties lack the standing to invoke its provisions having themselves ceased to fulfill their commitments under both the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and UN Security Council Resolution 2231. According to the communication, all provisions of Resolution 2231 reached their predetermined conclusion on October 18, 2025, in accordance with the resolution's operative paragraph 8. The Iranian Foreign Ministry separately confirmed that the 10-year period defined by the resolution, originally adopted on July 20, 2015, had officially expired, terminating all restrictions and mechanisms related to Iran's nuclear program as of that date. The three countries called for refraining from unilateral sanctions, threats of force, or any actions that could escalate regional tensions. They urged all parties to maintain commitment to finding a political settlement through diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on mutual respect. (Source: Yeni Şafak - Turkey)
Israel
Thursday 23/10/2025 Israeli Knesset approves West Bank annexation bills in test to US and challenge to peace efforts. US Secretary of State Rubio said the steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened the Gaza peace deal. (Source: The Arab Weekly - publication put out in London, United Kingdom)
Kazakhstan
October 20, 2025 4:08 PM GMT+2 A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Orenburg gas plant has forced neighbouring Kazakhstan to reduce production at its Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field by 25% to 30%. One of the world's largest gas processing plants, Orenburg was forced to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan after the attack, Kazakhstan's energy ministry said today. Karachaganak produced around 263,000 bpd of oil in 2024. It is exported by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium via a Russian Black Sea terminal, as well as through Russia's Druzhba pipeline to Germany. The field is operated by a consortium which includes U.S. major Chevron (18%) and European energy firms Shell (29.25%) and Eni (29.25%). Russia's Lukoil (13.5%) and local firm KazMunayGaz (10%) also hold stakes. Orenburg is controlled by gas producer Gazprom. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)
Palestine
16 Oct 2025 - 07:36 pm Palestinian Prime Minister Mustafa said Gaza's recovery will cost an estimated USD 67 billion, covering infrastructure, governance, and public services. He urged global support for a Palestinian-led, Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction. Mustafa spoke at a Ramallah meeting with 100 international and diplomatic representatives, presenting a recovery plan for Gaza with 56 sub-programs across 18 sectors. Mustafa said Gaza's recovery will be led by Palestinian institutions with global support, unfolding in three phases: USD 3.5 billion for early recovery over six months, USD 30 billion for sectoral rebuilding over three years, and long-term comprehensive reconstruction. (Source: The Peninsula - Qatar)
South Korea
October 20, 2025 South Korean President Lee said today the country will devote a larger-than-expected budget in defence and aerospace research until 2030 as it seeks to build the world's fourth-largest defence industry. Arms have become one of South Korea's fastest-growing exports, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inking multibillion-dollar deals selling everything from howitzers and ammunition to missiles and warships around the world. South Korea ranked 10th in arms sales as of 2023, according to data from 'Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI)' top 100 arms companies data. We will establish technological sovereignty by focusing investment on the development of technologies, parts, and materials that must be secured independently, such as special semiconductors in the defence sector, Lee said. He was speaking at South Korea's largest-ever arms fair, the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025. (Source: AsiaOne - Singapore / Reuters - United Kingdom)
Syria
October 21 2025 "Syria's reconstruction costs are estimated at $216 billion after more than thirteen years of conflict," the World Bank said in its latest report, which it said assessed "infrastructure and building assets, covering the period from 2011 to 2024” "with a conservative best estimate". (Source: Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey)
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