From Foreign Waters

  Germany has officially seized the world's largest superyacht owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov because of Russia’s aggression in the war-torn country, Ukraine. According to police sources, this was part of sanctions against Moscow following the outbreak of war in Ukraine . German customs had been trying to seize the superyacht for several weeks, but it was unable to seize it earlier because of a legal imbroglio over its ownership. It seized the yacht after the Russian oligarch had transferred its ownership to his sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova, who is also facing Western sanctions following Russia 's invasion of Ukraine. The superyacht Dilbar measures some 511 feet and 15,917 tons. It has an estimated value of $600 million. It is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage. The superyacht is named after the mother of its original owner, Alisher Usmanov, the billionaire of Russia. Usmanov was sanctioned by the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (U.K....

  Russia's central bank on Monday raised its key policy rate to 20 per cent from 9.5 per cent amid the Ukrainian crisis. The western countries imposed harsh sanctions against the country, which affected the Russian economy. The central bank also ordered companies to sell 80 per cent of their foreign currency revenues to manage the fallout of harsh economic sanctions. The West pummelled the country with economic sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . Reportedly, the central bank said in a statement that external conditions for the Russian economy have drastically changed after Russia invaded Ukraine. The bank further said that the rate hike from 9.5 per cent to 20 per cent will ensure a rise in deposit rates to levels needed to compensate for the increased depreciation and higher inflation. According to Reuters, the central bank will also resume buying gold on the domestic market and ease restrictions on banks' open foreign currency positions. The Russian rouble plu...