Russia

Through a year of war in Ukraine, the U.S. and most European nations have worked to help counter Russia, in supporting Ukraine both with armaments and in world energy markets. Russia was Europe’s main energy supplier when it invaded Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin threatened to leave Europeans to freeze “like a wolf’s tail” – a reference to a famous Russian fairy tale – if they imposed sanctions on his country. But thanks to a combination of preparation and luck, Europe has avoided blackouts and power cutoffs. Instead, less wealthy nations like Pakistan and India have contended with electricity outages on the back of unaffordably high global natural gas prices. As a global energy policy analyst, I see this as the latest evidence that less wealthy nations often suffer the most from globalized oil and gas crises. I believe more volatility is possible. Russia has said that it will cut its crude oil production starting on March 1, 2023, by...

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. December 5th has entered into force the $60 per barrel cap on Russian oil transported by sea imposed by the G7 countries, the European Union (with the exception of Bulgaria, which was given a longer period to comply) and Australia.The measure allows Russian crude to be shipped to third countries using tankers, insurance companies and G7 and EU lenders, only if the cargo is purchased at or below the price cap.Given that major shipping and insurance companies are based in G7 countries, the imposed limit could make it difficult for Moscow to sell its oil at a higher price.The level of the cap will be reviewed by the EU and the G7 every two months.The first review is scheduled for mid-January and “will need to take into account the effectiveness of the measure, its implementation, international take-up and alignment, market developments and the potential impact on member countries...

A further tragedy has been added to the drama of the war in Ukraine and of those fleeing from the bombings of the Russian army which are devastating the country and causing civilian victims.That of those who cannot escape and remain stuck.Or those who succeed but with extreme difficulty and suffering abuse.The reason?The color of the skin.Racism knows no reasons, not even during conflicts. First the children, then the white women, then the white men and finally the Africans.It seems like a story from another time.Instead, it is the racial hierarchy that must be respected in order to get on a train at the station in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and leave as quickly as possible to reach safety.As if some lives are worth less than others.As if children and women with dark skin were not recognized as children, much less women. Yet those who, for various reasons, left Africa and lived in Ukraine until a few days ago say they have had no problems with its inhabitants who have always been fri...

The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Nord Stream, according to the Swedish prosecutor's office, a group linked to a state was behind the sabotage of the gas pipeline Update April 7, 2023: The Swedish prosecutor who is investigating the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline he stated that the "main scenario" prefigures that a "state actor" may be behind the attack, thus casting doubt on recent theories that hypothesized the responsibility of an independent group. The type of explosive used in the attacks excludes a "large part of possible perpetrators", prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist told the Reuters. According to a United Nations report, the three underwater explosions that severed the gas connection between Russia and Germany northeast and southeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm on September 26, 2022 were equivalent to the power of several hundreds of kilograms of explosives.Swedish...

Of Nancy Porsia The refinancing for the Libyan Coast Guard has already been approved by the Council of Ministers at the beginning of July, and the Senate will soon be called to vote.Although the torture, deaths and more generally the systematic violation of the most basic rights of migrants in Libya have been widely documented by investigations and reports, the Italian Parliament could for the fifth consecutive year vote in favor of refinancing the Libyan Coast Guard. Bodies swollen with water, with skin scaly from sun and salt burns, scattered in random order along the shoreline, return to dot the Libyan coasts.“This is a horror we thought was a thing of the past.Instead he comes back on time,” says a man from Zwara, a city on the coast in the far west of Libya.It was him last May 21st, to find the bodies of two children spat out by the sea together with that of a woman.“It was dawn, I was taking a walk, like every morning, by the sea near the family holiday home, wh...