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Ukraine says it has obtained clear-cut intelligence indicating that Russia is actively assisting Iran with battlefield information, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky stated that Moscow is sharing signals and electronic intelligence, along with data gathered through its networks in the Middle East, helping Tehran improve the accuracy of its military operations. Zelenskiy warned that this cooperation is not just a...

President Donald Trump seems to have initiated his first serious attempt to define a way out of a war that risks ruining his presidency, crushing the Republican Party's hopes of at least retaining the Senate, pulverizing the economic model of the US allies in the Gulf and deflecting a global recession. On Monday a few hours before an ultimatum expired...

bcSEC and CFTC issue new cryptoasset classification framework S&P Dow Jones Indices licenses S&P 500 to Trade for perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid After being as high as $76,000 last Tuesday, bitcoin has seen a sell-off and is currently back trading around below the $70,000 level. Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected producer price index data from the US sparked the drop, as well as Chairman Powell’s...

I was delighted to open this year the Economic Trends conference which the National Bank of Romania was pleased to host. We highlighted the fact that the war in the Middle East is generating severe economic volatility, as the oil market reacts quickly and sharply, with global implications. Energy shocks are transmitted, with varying degrees of intensity, and cause...

Domestic consumption in Romania dropped sharply at the start of 2026, falling by more than 25% in January compared to December 2025, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and signals from the SME association (IMM România).  We see a steep monthly decline in turnover volume in retail trade with a decrease of 25.3% in January 2026 compared...

Former Romanian president Traian Băsescu believes that it’s possible that Iran might hit American equipment stationed in Romania and has encouraged Romanians to have a plan to take shelter with provisions.  In a Facebook post, from March 16, Băsescu offered what he described as a “personal opinion” on Romania’s deepening military cooperation with the United States. In his classic style,...

At a moment of rare strategic convergence, Syria’s new leadership is being forced to choose between lingering in the gray zone or committing to a pro-Western future Since Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power in Damascus, a question has hovered in the air: has Syria truly changed, or merely changed hands? The question is becoming urgent, because of the escalation in Lebanon,...

More than 170 Royal Navy personnel serving within the United Kingdom’s nuclear submarine force have tested positive for drug use over the past seven years.  Data released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) shows that 175 submariners failed drug tests between 2018 and 2024.  Substances detected ranged from illegal drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, and ecstasy to performance-enhancing steroids and benzodiazepines,...

Romania has joined a statement made by Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, on ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz The leaders of the six countries issued a joint statement on the Strait of Hormuz on Friday in which they expressed their readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.  Romanian...

Baseball is not the global game that soccer is, that's true. But its actual world championship - the "World Baseball Classic - is not played in October. For more than a century, baseball has indulged one of America’s more charming — or is it least charming? — absurdities: the sense of being the only game in town. Hence this US business...