A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly unsealed U.S. court documents seen Thursday by The Associated Press show.

The now-public case against Empire Navigation, which faces three years of probation under the plea agreement, marks the first public acknowledgement by U.S. prosecutors that America seized some 1 million barrels of oil from the tanker Suez Rajan.

A two-day summit in Romania began on Wednesday that brings together 12 European Union member states situated between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas, as the grouping of mostly formerly communist countries aim to boost ties and connectivity amid Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Three Seas Initiative, which is being held in the capital, Bucharest, brings together high-ranking officials from EU countries as well as representatives from partner countries and aims to improve interconnectivity in the transportation, energy, and the digital fields.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is facing growing skepticism from some leading rich and developing nations as the residual impact of sanctions against Russia is deepening divisions among the Group of 20 countries.

With world leaders and finance ministers meeting this week in India for the G20 summit, fractures have came into the open, and alliances are tightening among some nations that have long been resistant to the U.S.-led efforts to exact economic punishment on Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

The annual “Art of Living Exhibition”, a pioneer in interior home design and innovation projects, is taking place at the Forum de Beyrouth from 15 till 19 November 2023.

“We decorate the future. Our main goal is to give you the best solutions with expert designers” and “a place to turn your ideas into decoration,” a press release said.

Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Tuesday to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

The dual announcements from Riyadh and Moscow pushed benchmark Brent crude above $90 a barrel in trading Tuesday afternoon, a price unseen in the market since November.

New Delhi's crowded streets have been resurfaced. Streetlights are illuminating once dark sidewalks. City buildings and walls are painted with bright murals. Planted flowers are everywhere.

Many of the city's poor say they were simply erased, much like the stray dogs and monkeys that have been removed from some neighborhoods, as India's capital got its makeover ahead of this week's summit of the Group of 20 nations.

The United Arab Emirates has created a federal authority to potentially run a national lottery and what it describes as "commercial gaming," likely a sign that it is on the verge of allowing gambling as major casino operators flock to the Gulf Arab nation.

The state-run WAM news agency carried an announcement late Sunday on the creation of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, without offering many details about its structure or operations.

China's foreign minister is seeking to sell his Italian counterpart on the benefits of leader Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road" initiative of Chinese-built and -funded infrastructure projects, as Rome considers whether to renew the agreement.

In a Monday meeting, Wang Yi told Antonio Tajani that bilateral trade had grown from $50 billion to nearly $80 billion and that Italy's exports to China increased by around 30% over the past five years.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin a deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain. Moscow withdrew from the agreement in July. But Putin made it clear that the initiative would not be restored right now.

Here's what's at stake:

Interim Central Bank Governor Wassim Mansouri has held "promising talks" with Arab and Saudi central banks governors on the sidelines of the Arab Banking Conference in Riyadh, media reports said.

Al-Liwaa newspaper reported Tuesday that Mansouri has asked for Saudi support and for enhancing joint financial investments and that in the coming weeks, financial meetings will take place in Lebanon in order to support the central bank.