Offer Zone

In a direct and candid statement at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a growing international question: Why is Russia not offering military support to Iran amid escalating tensions with Israel? “Iran has not asked us for military assistance,” Putin said in response to a pointed question from a journalist. “And under our treaty, there is no obligation for us to intervene unless requested.” The Russian leader referred to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed between Russia and Iran in January 2025. While the treaty has deepened bilateral cooperation in trade, energy, and defense technology, it does not contain a mutual defense clause , meaning Moscow is not compelled to support Iran in the event of an armed conflict. Putin further revealed that Russia had offered joint air defense initiatives , but Iran declined . “We proposed cooperation in defending airspace, but Iran did not show much interest,”...

A group of researchers from Monash University in Australia have made a breakthrough in renewable energy by discovering an enzyme that can generate electricity from the air we breathe.  The enzyme, called Huc, is found in a common soil bacterium and can turn hydrogen gas into a current that can power small electronic devices.  The researchers suggest that this technology could power devices such as medical sensors, wearable exercise monitors, or small computer circuits that run passively on air.  Huc has the potential to replace batteries that consume scarce resources, including rare earth elements.  However, the researchers believe that the enzyme would not be a viable way to produce large amounts of electricity and would be best suited for low-voltage power supply applications.  The researchers seek investment to develop this technology further and hope to see it on the market within a decade.

With the business year truly underway it’s time to look at what 2023 holds for superannuation and how the sector is governed. Many Australians will have been shocked to see that their super actually declined in value last year, with the median balanced fund slipping 4.6 per cent, according to Chant West. The group’s lead researcher, Mano Mohankumar, described the result as “not bad at all” given the fact that bonds and listed shares and property losses were mostly in double digits, between -9.7 per cent and -24.1 per cent. Only cash, up 1.3 per cent, and Australian shares, down 1.8 per cent, helped stem the falls in the listed sector. “2022 was highly unusual in that all traditional listed asset sectors finished in the red, except cash,” Mohankumar said. That’s impossible to know, but the odds look to be in favour of avoiding another decline. Last year’s fall was the first since 2011 and only the fifth since compulsory super started in 1993. Fund category Growth assets (%) One month (%...

Prime Super general manager of investments Jane Kang has left the profit-to-member fund. Kang had been with the fund for seven years, starting as its investment operations manager. She exited earlier this week. Speaking with Industry Moves' sister publication Financial Standard, Prime Super chief executive Lachlan Baird said Kang is taking time off to travel and explore other opportunities. Meanwhile, Prime Super will be evaluating its long-term investment and operational needs. The fund's focus is currently on outsourcing and having a close relationship with its investment advisor Patrizia, he said. Before joining Prime Super, Kang was head of investment operations at  Hostplus , spending 11 years at the industry fund. She's also served as a director of fixed interest at  Rest 's fund management subsidiary and as manager of internal portfolios and investment operations at UniSuper. Last year, speaking to Financial Standard, Kang said she enjoyed working with her team. ...

 The article discusses the possibility of the U.S. military sending thousands of seized weapons and over a million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, which would help Kyiv fight against Russian forces. The weapons and ammunition were originally bound for Iran-backed fighters in Yemen, but they were seized by the U.S. and France in recent months. U.S. officials are considering sending more than 5,000 assault rifles, 1.6 million rounds of small arms ammunition, a small number of antitank missiles, and more than 7,000 proximity fuses to Ukraine. The move would provide a new supply of firepower to America and its allies as they try to support Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. However, the Biden administration must find a legal justification for taking weapons from one conflict and transferring them to another, as the U.N. arms embargo requires the U.S. and its allies to destroy, store, or get rid of seized weapons. The administration's lawyers have been reviewing the resolutio...

 

 When her baby started struggling to breathe, Stella Praveen had a terrible feeling that something was gravely wrong with her 14-month-old daughter, Ellen. She ran barefoot to a nearby clinic, but the doctors there said the child needed to see a specialist right away. Without an ambulance, she jumped on the back of a motorcycle and rode 35 miles to a children’s hospital in another town, where Ellen remained in intensive care for 12 days. (Subscription Required) Full content:  https://wa.me/9789511648