The new settlement mechanism will allow countries to bypass Western financial messenger SWIFT, Anton Siluanov has said BRICS finance ministers are currently examining the possibility of launching a common blockchain-based system of financial settlements that could be used in place of the Western-dominated financial messaging system SWIFT, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.

Antonio Guterres has warned that the risk of a catastrophic conflict is at the highest level since the USSR collapsed Technological advances and escalating geopolitical tensions are imperiling the global population with the highest risk of a nuclear conflict since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned.

Vladimir Zelensky’s official term as the country’s head of state expired last month Power in Ukraine has been usurped, and its executive authorities have lost their legitimacy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).