The Iranian Central Bank has been cut off the SWIFT financial messaging system, the US Treasury Department has said. Disconnection makes it more difficult for the Islamic Republic to settle import and export bills.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has smashed records for its Singles Day, the world’s biggest 24-hour shopping event, despite an ongoing trade war with the US and waning domestic interest in the event.

The widening trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies, China and the US, is senseless, according to Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma. The purpose of trade should be to promote peace and communication rather than conflict, he said at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

A number of European countries have recently signaled willingness to receive Russian natural gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline. Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary are seeking to boost purchases of Russian hydrocarbons. In light of this trend the future of the expected US LNG boom seems bleak.

Good financial results shown by Russian companies may facilitate the return of foreign investment to the country, Moody’s senior vice president Kristin Lindow told Sputnik news agency. “…Recent strong corporate profits quite naturally can result in repatriation of profits by foreign investors. Also, the cleanup that the CBR (Central Bank of Russia) has done in […]

In a surprising victory, local protesters won a battle against the US tech giant, which wanted to revamp a local building into a technology campus. The residents of Kreuzberg, a part of Berlin, have succeeded in repelling Google from developing a campus in their neighborhood.

For 14 years, an “underreported” oil spill has been leaking hundreds of barrels of crude each day into the Gulf of Mexico. While there is no major outcry from the authorities, it could become the US’ worst ecological nightmare.

Senior executives of major Western corporations will still attend Saudi Arabia’s business forum despite the grizzly details of the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Goldman Sachs, Pepsi, Thales and EDF senior executives are all expected to attend Saudi Arabia’s business forum, dubbed as the ‘Davos of the Desert’ next week.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe will double Russian natural gas supplies to Germany via the Baltic Sea and reduce transit across Ukraine. On August 10, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction project was forced to apply for an alternative pipeline route in Denmark, Sputnik contributor Dmitry Lekukh wrote.

The board of Trump Tower Condominium has filed suit against a resident for $90,000 in unpaid fees, including late fees. What’s the problem? The man died in a fire inside the tower in April. Todd Brassner, an art collector who had lived on the 50th floor of Trump Tower in New York City since 1996, […]

Internal research commissioned by Google confirms Orwellian-scale censorship powers enjoyed by tech giants. It says free speech is a “utopian idea,” and creating “ordered spaces for safety and civility” is Google’s new mission. The name of the briefing, leaked to Breitbart, says it all. ‘The Good Censor,’ prepared by a host of prominent industry researchers […]

Meeting the goal of one million “green” cars will be a tough nut to crack, as there are only 9,000 electric cars traversing Danish roads at present. As part of its forthcoming climate initiative, the Danish government intends to phase out diesel and petrol cars by 2030, Danish Radio reported.

Russia and Germany have agreed a new rail link to connect Germany’s capital Berlin with St. Petersburg, which is often branded Russia’s northern capital. The news, first published in the Russian media, was confirmed by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – German WKB Systems manufacturer offers Damascus to use its aerated concrete to restore buildings destroyed during the civil war, commercial director of the distributor of WKB Systems’ products in Syria told Sputnik on Friday.

First batches of Russian-produced solar panels have been supplied to Europe, according to First Deputy Energy Minister Alexey Texler. “Export supplies have been started already, particularly from the Novocheboksarsk plant to Europe,” he said on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week on Friday.