Belarus tests new BUK missile system as a low-key arms race in Eastern Europe gathers momentum
CSTO states express serious concern over terrorist threat in Afghanistan
Armenia refuses to host Eurasian Economic Union summit
COMMENT: Trump 2.0 could be a blessing for Belarus
North Korean troops suffer casualties in Ukraine conflict
Ukrainian bomb kills Russian Nuclear Forces general in Moscow
COMMENT: Russia’s losses in Syria are Turkey’s gains
Russia’s HIV crisis: 30,000 annual deaths of working-age people undermine dwindling labour force
Hungary blocks EU military help to Ukraine and some sanctions against Georgia and Russia
Ukraine raises key interest rate to 13.5% amid rising inflation
IMF: The 2004 EU enlargement was a success story built on deep reform efforts
For the Baltic states, bigger defence spending may never be enough
Poor market conditions start to put Emerging Europe IPOs on hold
Gas prices rising as EU storage tanks empty faster than usual
Czech government to push against ETS 2 emissions trading system implementation
UK government approves Křetínský’s takeover of Royal Mail
Slovakia will continue supplying Czechia with processed Russian oil for another six months
Hungary's state utility giant buys E.ON’s energy supply operations in Romania
Hungary and Slovakia block EU sanctions on Georgian Dream
Poland’s core inflation comes in at 4.3% y/y in November
Advanced economies have lower out-of-pocket healthcare spending
Polish inflation rate eases to 4.7% y/y in November
Slovak, Hungarian, Austrian and Italian groups sign declaration backing continued gas transit through Ukraine
Emerging Europe winemakers sparkle as global wine production declines
EBRD warns of risks for emerging markets pursuing industrial policies
Bureks vs. Big Macs
Albanian police use tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters
Albania considers TikTok, Snapchat ban after fatal school stabbing
Kosovan PM’s visit leads to new rift in Bosnia
Serbia faces backlash over controversial foreign agents bill
Russia spent €69mn on propaganda and interference in Bulgaria and Romania, Bulgarian cybersecurity group reveals
EU admits Bulgaria, Romania to full Schengen membership
Bulgaria’s central bank slams spending hike in 2025 budget
€685mn action plan launched to tackle Croatia’s population crisis
Croatian PM survives no-confidence motion over healthcare scandal
Kosovo to set up its first ammunition factory with Turkish firm MKE
Kosovo's PM Kurti misses special prosecution summons due to overseas visit
More help needed for Ukraine’s ravaged energy sector
Moldova announces it has enough natural gas reserves for the entire winter
Moldova enters state of emergency, Transnistria stockpiles firewood
Rising inflation may force Moldova's central bank to reconsider its expansionary monetary policy
Watchdog warns Western Balkan banks are conduits for money laundering
North Macedonia secures second €500mn loan from Hungary to repay 2018 Eurobond
North Macedonia’s FX reserves soar 24.1% y/y at end-November
Political tensions rise in North Macedonia after unrest on Albanian Flag Day
Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan announces presidential candidacy
Amnesty accuses Serbia of spying on journalists and activists
US expected to impose sanctions on Serbia's NIS over Russian ownership
Massive student protests erupt in Belgrade as unrest sweeps Serbia
Turkey will “hold key” to what happens in Syria, says Trump
US, Turkey tread carefully over tensions on future of Kurdish forces in Syria
Growing Islamic finance in Central Asia to unlock GCC investment
INTERVIEW: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank financing Central Asia’s green future
Award seen as Nobel Prize for human rights won by Kabul women’s rights activist and jailed Tajik lawyer
Corruption probe launched into Armenian satellite project
Several top Armenian officials resign amid political shake-up
COMMENT: Could Iran open new fronts against Israel and Azerbaijan?
COMMENT: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China accelerate efforts to expand the Middle Corridor
Azerbaijan continues crackdown on independent media
Azerbaijan rights defender detained ahead of US award ceremony
Ex-footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili voted in as Georgia’s next president in single candidate election
Freedom Holding Corp brings FIDE world rapid & blitz chess championships to Wall Street
Russia’s economic woes starting to overflow into Kazakhstan
Decades-old Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan border dispute could be over
Kyrgyzstan: MPs seem willing to give police a free hand
Hit indirectly by sanctions, Mongolia struggles to find workarounds
HESS: Mongolia’s unique success story between rock and a hard place at risk
Mongolia copper-gold discovery hailed for “globally significant” prospects
Tajikistan: Officials announce discovery of major rare earth deposits
Tajikistan: Rogun Dam is a white elephant in the making – report
COP29: Central Asian states losing arable land
Uzbekistan’s universities claim places in prestigious rankings for first time
Uzbekistan’s first unicorn Uzum to launch a second funding round and fuel faster growth
Russia's budget oil breakeven price world’s second lowest as oil revenues recover
Southeast European countries look to Algeria to diversify energy supplies
Slovenia turns back to Algerian gas after flirtation with Russian supplies
“Silent demise” of world’s vast rangelands threatens food supply of billions, warns UNCCD report
The hurricane season in 2024 was weird
Global warming will increase crop yields in Global North, but reduce them in Global South
Hundreds of millions on verge of starvation, billions more undernourished as Climate Crisis droughts take their toll
Kamikaze marketing: how the natural diamond industry could have reacted to the lab-grown threat
Global access to energy starts to fall for the first time in a decade, says IEA
Saudi Arabia hosts kingdom's first Africa summit, to boost ties, promote stability
Putin at 2023 Africa-Russia summit: Wiping debts, donating grain and boosting co-operation
EBRD 2023: Bank to expand into the whole of Africa plus Iraq
Botswana throws the diamond industry a lifeline
Nelson Mandela worried about natural diamonds, Leonardo di Caprio defended them, makers of lab-grown stones demonise them
Botswana’s 2,492-carat diamond discovery is golden opportunity to replicate legendary Jonker diamond's global legacy
Russia’s Rosatom to support nuclear projects across Africa at AEW2024
JPMorgan, Chase and HSBC reportedly unwittingly processed payments for Wagner warlord Prigozhin
Burkina Faso the latest African country to enter nuclear power plant construction talks with Russia
IMF: China’s slowdown will hit sub-Saharan growth
Moscow unlikely to give up Niger toehold as threat of ECOWAS military action looms
Overcoming insecurity to unlock the Central African Republic’s mineral riches
Russia funding war in Ukraine via illegal gold mining in Africa – WGC report
Rain, rain go away
Africa, Asia most people living in extreme poverty
10 African countries to experience world’s fastest population growth to 2100
EM winners and losers from the global green transformation
Russia blocks UN Security Council resolution on Sudan humanitarian crisis
G20 summit wraps up with a joint statement strong on sentiment, but short on specifics
Malaysia seeks BRICS membership
SDS storms fed by sand and dust equal in weight to 350 Great Pyramids of Giza, says UNCCD
Southern Africa has 'enormous' potential for green hydrogen production, study finds
Kazakhstan has no plans to join BRICS, says Astana
Sri Lanka to apply for BRICS membership
How France is losing Africa
Gabon coup attempt after the re-election of President Ali Bongo
Guinea grants final approvals to Rio Tinto for $11.6bn Simandou iron-ore project
The West is bleeding the Global South of wealth thanks to massive wage inequality, says study
Kenya’s untapped mineral wealth holds the promise of economic transformation
US adds 17 Liberian-flagged bulk carriers and oil tankers to Russian sanctions-busting blacklist
Panama and Liberia vying for largest maritime registry
Force majeure at Libya’s Zawiya Refinery threatens exports and oil expansion plans
Russia, facing loss of Syrian base for Africa operations, seen turning to war-torn Sudan or divided Libya
Libya’s mineral riches: unlocking a future beyond oil
Ukraine claims it was behind massacre of Wagner Group mercenaries in Mali
Can Morocco's phosphate wealth put it at the centre of the global battery supply chain?
Hajj aftermath: deaths, disappearances and detentions spark investigations across world
Sri Lanka's LTL Holdings targets African power sector
Russia's nuclear diplomacy binding emerging markets to the Kremlin
Can Niger's military junta seize the country's uranium opportunity?
Disaster season: heat waves sweep the world – in charts and maps
AI will be a major source of GHGs by 2030, says Morgan Stanley
Niger and beyond: Francophone credit delivers coup de grâce
The world has passed peak per capital CO₂ emissions, but overall emissions are still rising
Trump threatens BRICS with tariffs if they dump the dollar
Global mean sea levels have increased by around 25cm since 1880
SITREP: Middle East rapidly destabilised by a week of missile strikes
Colombian mercenaries trapped in Sudan’s conflict
Air France diverts Red Sea flights after crew spots 'luminous object'
COMMENT: Tunisia on the brink of collapse
Tunisian President Kais Saied re-elected for second term
WHO declares "global public health emergency" owing to mpox outbreak in Central Africa, new virus strain
Climate crisis-driven global food security deteriorated between 2019 and 2022 and is even affecting the US
South Korea’s won slides as martial law crisis sparks market turmoil
Major bank’s service disruptions cause payment delays at fuel stations across Iran
Russia to mine Bitcoin in BRICS countries
China unveils $71bn swap facility to revitalise flagging economy
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway makes waves with $1.9bn yen bond sale
Uzbekistan joins Kyrgyzstan in committing to October start on China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction
Balancing growth and sustainability: Southeast Asia’s energy dilemma
China’s leftover “gutter” cooking oil becomes bio-sustainable aviation fuel wonder
Iranian oil sales to China nosedive as fresh sanctions bite
Geothermal energy poised for major global expansion, says IEA chief Fatih Birol
Where does nuclear power-use stand in post-COP29 Asia?
Pakistan could quit TAPI as India now “extremely lukewarm” on gas pipeline project, says report
Russia and India explore Arctic shipbuilding cooperation
India’s second-largest clean energy company ReNew plans to go private
India's Competition Commission approves major steel industry acquisition
Trump vows to block Nippon Steel's $14bn bid for US Steel
China dismisses Trump's tariff threat, warns of 'no winners' in trade war
Iraq blocks IMDb website over 'immoral content' claims
Display unveils groundbreaking 50% stretchable screen: a game-changer for fashion and mobility
South Korean users flock to YouTube and Instagram as local platforms struggle
Kazakhstan’s big league fintech Kaspi acquires 65% of Turkish Nasdaq peer Hepsiburada for $1.1bn
Bahrain and Iran to begin talks on normalising relations
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait set to offer Russians visa-free entry
Jaw-dropping discovery: 450,000-year-old tooth unearthed in Iran
China's COMAC eyes Saudi Arabia as launchpad for international expansion
Iranian official jumpstarts country's delayed solar programme on energy crunch
Iran's Khamenei gives Syria speech in front of women-only audience
Iran orders mandatory closure of industry amid growing energy crisis
Rising demand pushes US dollar to new highs in Tehran
ISTANBUL BLOG: After “conquering” Damascus, Erdogan turns his eye to the Kurds
SYRIA BLOG: Putin joins George W Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” club
As jubilant Syrian refugees in Turkey celebrate Assad downfall, analysts wonder what comes next in power vacuum
Erdogan sets Damascus as final target for “rebels” advancing in Syria
Israel establishes “winter military positions” in Syrian territory
New Syrian authorities accuse Israel of unlawful attack on country
Qatar-Turkey-Europe gas pipeline ambition could be back on following fall of Assad
Kuwait greenlights tax deal with Iraq to prevent double taxation
Iran demands 'equal footing' with Kuwaiti and Saudi plans to drill for gas in Gulf
Middle East power grid struggles as demand hits record high
Iraq braces for severe heatwave with temperatures to reach 49C
How Assad turned Syria into a narco-state
Lebanon may be at the dawn of a new economic era
Is Israel embarking on a land grab in Syria?
So you want to get on the right side of Donald Trump? Try gift-wrapping a hotel
ANALYSIS: Regional escalation on the table following Israeli strike on Iran
Sea of Oman oil terminal boosts export resilience amid tensions with Israel
Israel attacks more than 250 military targets in Syria in 48 hours
COMMENT: A stable Syria could become a major energy hub
Saudi Arabia extracts lithium from oilfield runoff, plans commercial pilot
Saudi Arabia wins 2034 World Cup bid, beating Australia
Trump Organization expands Saudi presence with two new hotels
EU, France move to re-engage with Syria as diplomatic shifts accelerate
UPDATED: Syria's former president Assad arrives in Moscow
Israel launches biggest strike in Yemen, killing 40 people
TEHRAN BLOG: Pezeshkian's dilemma over Haniyeh's assassination
Iranian foreign ministry condemns Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran
Reactions to the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran
Latin America urged to boost tax take and private investment to close development gap
IMF: Breaking Latin America’s cycle of low growth and violence
COMMENT: Trump’s White House picks signal rocky start with Latin America
EU and Mercosur strike historic trade deal, setting stage for political battle
Latin America trapped in low growth cycle, ECLAC warns
Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc in the Caribbean, leaves 10 dead as it heads for Mexico
Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales faces formal charges of human trafficking
What would a Trump win mean for Latin America?
US-Cuba rum war spills over as Biden law stirs Havana Club row
Brutal gang violence over failed voodoo spell claims nearly 200 lives in Haiti's capital
US election outcome may curb vital remittances to Latin America
Nicaragua unveils new canal route in bid to rival Panama
Paraguay stands firm with Taiwan amid growing Chinese pressure
Peru mining reform fails to stem surge in illegal gold trade and violence
Venezuela faces fresh US pressure as Washington recognises opposition leader as president-elect
Protests in Bangladesh escalate, demanding president leave office
Bangladesh tribunal issues arrest warrant against ousted PM Sheikh Hasina
World Bank says Bangladesh GDP growth to shrink in FY25
Rising gold ETF inflows set to drive global bullion prices
US imposes preliminary duties on Southeast Asian solar imports
COMMENT: From Globalisation to “slowbalisation” as FDIs decline on trade and geopolitical woes
Angkor Archaeological Park attracts nearly 700,000 foreign tourists in nine months
ThaiBev sets THB18bn for expansion, targets Southeast Asia growth
Taiwan boosts defence with advanced Abrams tanks amid rising Chinese tensions
South Korean president impeached, Constitutional Court to sit December 16
Peru's APEC summit exposes trade tug-of-war between Beijing and Washington
Russian exports of diamonds to Hong Kong up 18-fold in 5M24
Gazli Gas responds to reports on Uzbekistan project, refutes any suggestion sanctioned individuals are involved
Valuation questions raised over Blackstone's $2.1bn IPO of India’s International Gemmologist Institute
INTERVIEW: Jeet Chandan, co-founder of Indian investment platform BizDateUp
Boldly brewing where no one has brewed before: Japanese sake to be made in space
Japan plans tax hike to fund $280bn military buildup
Japan's atomic bomb survivors awarded Nobel Peace Prize
BCPG to invest $945mn in power projects, prioritising clean energy
Malaysia’s industrial growth slows in October following mixed sector performance
Southeast Asia’s rising energy demands and what lies ahead
Myanmar junta to allow observers for controversial 2025 election amid ongoing conflict
Nepal floods - death toll rises to 209
Kolkata hospital rape and murder case sparks international outcry, raises questions
South Asia hit by floods and landslides after heavy rainfall
Russian pivot to the Global South includes unscrupulous army recruiting practices
South Korea intensifies military drills to bolster defences against North Korean drone threat
China slams South Korean president's espionage accusations
Security personnel dead as Imran Khan’s supporters breach Islamabad lockdown
India’s Modi urges BRICS to unify stance on terrorism
Papua New Guinea tribal conflict leaves 30 dead amid gold mine dispute
Thousands evacuated as Mt. Kanlaon erupts, threatening more explosive activity
From coal to clean: The green energy transition in SE Asia
Korean political upheaval: PPP leader steps down amid impeachment chaos
Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports in October up 18.22%
US boosts military aid to Taiwan in 2025
Vietnam faces challenges in meeting carbon emission targets
German Prosecutors Confirm Termination of Money Laundering Investigation Against Alisher Usmanov
Comments by President of the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association Andrey Guryev on bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin
PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC green chemistry research grants awarded for the 8th time to world's best young scientists
PhosAgro Tops RAEX ESG Ranking
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On January 31, a Moscow court rejected Booking.com’s appeal against a RUB1.3bn fine ($17mn at the current exchange rate) in relation to its alleged violation of the anti-monopoly legislation.
While expressing its “disappointment” with the ruling, Booking.com said it intends to pay the fine. The company does not rule out “further legal action.”
As reported by TASS, the legal matter began back in 2019 as a Russian business association, Opora Russia, filed a complaint against Booking.com over its pricing policy. The international platform forbids hotels to establish their prices lower than those available on Booking.com, even when the platform is not involved at all in the relationship with the client.
The Russian anti-monopoly authority (FAS) imposed the fine in August 2021, determining that Booking.com had abused its dominant position.
Over the past few years, Russian courts have been actively fining international online giants – including Facebook, Google, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The motives, sometimes controversial, have ranged from failure to remove unlawful content, to election interference, to personal data storage outside the country, to violations of Russia’s anti-monopoly legislation.
This article first appeared in East-West Digital News (EWDN), a bne IntelliNews partner publication.
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