The Austrian government plans to introduce a new windfall tax on energy companies, Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler and Finance Minister Magnus Brunner announced at a press conference on Friday. The levy will amount to 40% of excess profit for oil and gas companies, according to the announcement.

Businessmen were “stunned” to see their accounts frozen in Western banks, the president has said   The West’s seizure of Russian state assets and reserves – and those of its citizens – is a violation of all legal norms, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, while addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Russian President Vladimir Putin has passed an executive order banning the purchase of foreign software for use in critical infrastructure projects by the state agencies and semi-government entities, in an apparent bid to make the country less vulnerable to further Western sanctions and potential cyberattacks.