Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Petr Macinka attended the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels on Monday, March 16, 2026. The main topics of today’s discussion were the ongoing war in Ukraine and the 20th package of anti-Russian sanctions, current developments in the Middle East, and the situation in the European Union’s southern neighborhood. The discussion on Russian aggression against Ukraine was held with the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, who joined the meeting via video conference. The ministers focused on…
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Shares steady, oil turbulence deepens over Middle East war fears
Shares steadied on Wednesday following a retreat in oil prices, but contradictory signals from the US-Israeli war on Iran kept investors anxious over the risks to inflation and global growth. A pullback in oil came after the Wall Street Journal reported that the International Energy Agency had proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to bring down crude prices, providing some relief to battered global stocks while currencies and bonds were little changed. Brent crude futures swung between gains and losses in volatile trade, falling 0.4% to $87.45 per…
Read MoreRussia flags oil risk over Hormuz closure
MOSCOW/LONDON: Russia’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping could lead to significant disbalances on the global oil and gas markets. Trading sources said on Saturday that several tanker owners, oil majors and trading houses have suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the Strait of after the US and Israel and Tehran said it had closed navigation. Some 20% of global oil, including from producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and Iran, passes through Hormuz…
Read MoreIran’s Khamenei: revolutionary atop Islamic republic
TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose death was confirmed by state media on Sunday, was a pillar of the country’s theocratic system since the Islamic revolution and saw off multiple crises over the decades, remaining defiant to the very end. US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social site that “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead” after the United States and Israel launched a massive wave of strikes targeting sites across Iran, including the supreme leader’s Tehran compound. Hours later, Iranian state television…
Read MoreHow Iran will choose a new supreme leader after Khamenei
The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike has plunged the Islamic Republic into one of the most consequential political transitions since the 1979 revolution, triggering a swift constitutional process to select a new leader while the country grapples with regional escalation and internal uncertainty. Khamenei, who dominated Iran’s political and religious landscape for nearly three decades, was assassinated early Saturday when his high-security residential compound in central Tehran was targeted. Several family members — including his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and a grandchild — were also…
Read MoreRussia warns of oil choke due to closure of Strait of Hormuz
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping could lead to significant disbalances on the global oil and gas markets. Trading sources said on Saturday that several tanker owners, oil majors and trading houses have suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the Strait of after the US and Israel and Tehran said it had closed navigation. Some 20% of global oil, including from producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and Iran, passes through Hormuz along with large volumes of…
Read MorePutin denounces Khamenei killing as ‘cynical murder’
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family was a “cynical” murder that violated all the norms of human morality and international law. “Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin said in a note to Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian released by the…
Read MoreIranian leaders want to talk, Trump tells The Atlantic
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s new leadership wants to talk to him and that he has agreed, according to an interview with The Atlantic magazine. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long,” Trump said in the interview from his Florida residence. Trump did not specify who he would be speaking with or say whether it…
Read MoreMore strikes aimed at Iran after supreme leader Khamenei was assassinated by US-Israel air blitz
DUBAI/ JERUSALEM,: Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran on Sunday, saying it aimed to dominate the skies after assassinating Iran’s supreme leader and leaving the Islamic Republic grappling to rebuild its leadership amid its biggest test in five decades. US and Israeli strikes — and Iranian retaliation — sent shockwaves through sectors from shipping to air travel to oil, amid warnings of rising energy costs and disruption to business in the Gulf, a strategic waterway and global trade hub. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a leadership council composed of himself, the judiciary head and a member of the…
Read MoreFrench hard-left firebrand defends Epstein jibe
PERPIGNAN: France’s hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon on Sunday defended himself against accusations of antisemitism, which were sparked by his mocking the pronunciation of the name “Epstein” during a rally. The latest row involving the founder of the France Unbowed (LFI) party came ahead of municipal elections next month and the 2027 presidential vote, as calls grow for left-wing politicians to break with the LFI leader. On Thursday, speaking at a gathering in the southeastern city of Lyon, Melenchon invoked the name of Jeffrey Epstein, after recent disclosures detailed the convicted…
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