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Berlin, Aug 8; AFP: German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned today that US President Donald Trump's decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran could further destabilise the Middle East and boost radical forces in the region.

Trump brought back the punishing sanctions after unilaterally pulling out of a landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and Western powers to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"We still think that it is a mistake to give up on the nuclear accord with Iran," Maas said in an interview with the daily Passauer Neue Presse.

New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) The government has appointed Chartered Accountant Swaminathan Gurumurthy, who is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch, on the board of the Reserve Bank of India.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as non-official director on the central board of the RBI for a period of four years, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

Washington, Aug 8 (PTI) The IMF today described the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a "milestone reform" in India's tax policy, but pushed for a simplified structure, saying the multiple rate structure and other features could give rise to high compliance and administrative costs.

In its annual country report, the International Monetary Fund also said that a dual rate structure with a low standard rate and an additional higher rate on select items can be progressive and preserve revenue neutrality.

7 Aug 2018; DW: The EU foreign affairs minister encouraged companies to ignore US President Donald Trump's threats on doing business with Iran. She said it's up to Europeans to decide who they trade with.

Speaking in Wellington alongside New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Tuesday, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini directly called on EU companies to defy US President Donald Trump.

MOSCOW, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russia said Tuesday it would do everything to preserve and fully implement the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is under threat by U.S. unilateral sanctions.

"The introduction of the first batch of U.S. restrictions is aimed at disrupting the implementation of the JCPOA, which Washington unilaterally abandoned on May 8," a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to restore sanctions against Iran.

TEHRAN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Central Bank (CBI) on Monday unveiled a new policy to protect value of rial against foreign currency.

The policy includes the lift of ban on currency trade and the activity of official money exchange markets ordered by new governor of the CBI Abdolnasser Hemati, Tasnim news agency reported.

Hemati said the policy, endorsed by President Hassan Rouhani's administration, aims to control the currency market and allow economic activists to interact freely.

TOKYO, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan logged a current account surplus of 1.18 trillion yen (11 billion U.S. dollars) in June, the Finance Ministry said in a report on Wednesday.

The latest reading marks the 48th successive month the current account has been in surplus.

The ministry also said in its preliminary report that the country had a goods trade surplus of 821 billion yen (7.3 billion U.S. dollars), while services trade stood at a deficit of 175 billion yen (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the reporting period.

Washington, Aug 7 (AFP) US President Donald Trump today said that sanctions reimposed on Iran were the "most biting ever" as he warned other countries from doing business with Tehran.

"The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level," he wrote in an early morning tweet.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations continues to encourage support for all governments for the Iran nuclear deal, a UN spokesperson said Monday, after Washington vowed to re-impose sanctions on Iran lifted under the deal.

Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continues to view the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal) as a diplomatic achievement and continues to encourage support for all governments for that, just as he did when these sanctions were being contemplated.

BRUSSELS, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU)'s updated Blocking Statute will enter into force Tuesday as a countermeasure to Washington's re-imposed sanctions against Iran, the European Commission announced it on its website on Monday.

The statute, introduced in 1996 in response to U.S. extra-territorial sanctions legislation, was amended on June 6 by adding within its scope the list of extra-territorial U.S. sanctions on Iran.