Iran and Russia have officially abandoned the US dollar for mutual settlements after the countries finalized an agreement to trade in the ruble and the rial, Iranian news agency IRNA reported this week. The agreement was sealed during a meeting in Russia between the heads of the central banks of the two countries, the outlet said.

Russia’s foreign currency reserves have continued to grow, surpassing $593 billion as of December 22, the country’s central bank has reported.  Statistics show the volume of international reserves increased by $5.5 billion, or 0.9%, in the week from December 15, largely due to “a positive market revaluation.”

The attack targeted a Singapore-flagged vessel owned and operated by Denmark, US Central Command has claimed A commercial ship was struck by a Houthi missile fired from Yemen as it passed through the Southern Red Sea on Saturday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said. It added that two more missiles were shot down by…