Reportedly, the new pandemic unemployment payment will have five rates ranging from €150 per week to €350 for those earning €400 or more per week.
Ukraine
Reportedly, the presidents of the u.s. and Russia will talk in a video call today concerning the situation in Ukraine. According to reports, the russian ukraine war began in February 2014 with a Russian invasion of Crimea. Reportedly, a referendum asking Crimeans whether they wished to be part of Ukraine or the federation of Russia took place in March, but is Russia a federation?
According to reports, following the accident at Chernobyl in 1986, reportedly the world’s worst nuclear disaster, and the breakup of the soviet union, Ukraine who held a third of russia’s nuclear arsenal agreed to join the nuclear non proliferation treaty.
Reportedly, the euromaiden protests was the name given to a series of political demonstrations beginning in Kyiv in 2013. According to a report, Prime minister Viktor Yanukovich was overthrown in March 2014 following rejection of the eu-Ukraine association agreement in favour of a russian eurasian customs agreement. Reportedly, in April, russian backed militants occupied administrative buildings in Donetsk, Donbas, and russia began a political and military campaign.
According to reports, the eu-Ukraine association agreement, signed by Ukraine, the eu and the european atomic energy committee committed Ukraine to converge its policies and legislation to the eu and to convergence in the common security and defence policy. Reportedly, the csdp involves the deployment of military missions in accordance with the u.n. and is the subject of discussion and criticism.
According to a report, in November 2014, Ukraine military reported intensive movement of russian troops and equipment into seperatist controlled parts of eastern Ukraine. Reportedly, since 2014 russia have deployed nuclear weapons including long range bombers and ballistic missiles to Crimea, and according to a 2020 report, have done work on the russian nuclear weapons facility, feodosia 13.
Financial institutions fined
According to reports, the eu who have been investigating foreign exchange spot trading in relation to a cartel of banks have imposed total fines of €261 million on four banks; ubs, barclays, royal bank of Scotland and hsbc who decided to settle, and fined credit suisse who did not cooperate €83 million.
Reportedly, the investigation is the sixth enquiry into the financial sector since 2013, concluding the third leg into foreign exchange spot trading. According to reports, a foreign exchange spot transaction is an agreement between parties to buy stocks, bonds or commodities in a currency and sell in another on an arranged date. Reportedly, the collusive activity has undermined the integrity of the financial sector at the expense of the european economy. According to a report, forex the digital foreign exchange market has a daily volume of €6.6 trillion. Reportedly, the investigation revealed that some traders in charge of forex spot trading coordinated trading strategies through an online chat room called ‘sterling lads’.
Russian gas, a solution?
According to a report, the u.s. are considering whether to sanction companies working on the Nord stream 2 Russia to eu pipeline. Reportedly, Nord stream 2 could double Russian gas to Germany, providing inexpensive energy as the country makes the transition from coal and nuclear energy.
Reportedly, according to a spokesperson for icis, intelligence analysing european gas has said capacity auctions will be watched intently by the market for any signal concerning flows from Russia. According to the report, the regions biggest supplier said it aims to continue refilling european storage sites. Reportedly, uk natural gas prices have increased from 50 pence per therm in April to £2.30 per therm.
Two suicide bombings in Uganda
Reportedly, two suicide bombings in November in Kampala resulting in the closure of the Ugandan parliament have been attributed to islamic state central Africa province, known locally as the allied democratic forces. According to the report, the attacks were followed by the Ugandan and Congolese armies staging air and ground strikes against adf camps. Reportedly, the adf are one of the deadliest armed groups fighting for control of mineral resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, includes gold and uranium.
New covid variant
According to a report, it could take weeks to identify how effective current vaccines are on a new covid variant named omnicron, that has a new spike protein.
Reportedly, antibody tests should not be used on infected or recently infected persons, it takes from one to three weeks following infection for antibodies to develop. According to reports, studies show that naturally acquired immunity is more effective against variants than vaccinations, which contain a single antigen or toxin to induce an immune response.
According to a report, infected people may be asymptomatic, with regard to pcr tests, the cycle threshold number numder tells how many cycles through the pcr machine were required for a positive result. Reportedly, twenty or so cycles indicate a relatively high viral load, 35-40 cycles could be very little virus at all.
New bilateral treaty
According to reports, the quirindale treaty, essentially negotiated this year has been signed by France and Italy this morning.
Reportedly, according to a late draft of the treaty, a theme is cooperation in a partnership of foreign policy, cloud computing and macroeconomics. According to a report, France first suggested the pact in 2017. Reportedly, former prime minister Matteo Salvini clashed with France over Libya.
The western presence in the Sahel
According to a 1980 report, Africa’s resources were listed as diamonds, 75% of world’s supplies, gold 70%, platinum 46%, copper 20% and uranium more than 20%. According to the report, while these resources were concentrated in southern countries, gas, oil, phosphates, iron and uranium were located in north Africa, the western Sahara and the Sahel.
The Sahel stretches from the Atlantic ocean to the Red Sea, from Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Reportedly, in 1912 the plan for the organisation of the Sahel identified an administrative and military arrangement. According to the report, the area encompassed the Sahara, Libya, southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Reportedly, the area was extended following the discovery of two important oil fields in 1956 in eastern Algeria. The Algerian war for independence from France ended in 1962. According to a report, the french wanted to maintain their interests in the area, including control over Saharan oil reserves. Reportedly, Algeria ceded to france certain air bases, terrains, sites and military installations sites including facilities for underground nuclear testing in the Sahara.
Reports from the Sahel are of nationalist agendas contrary to western interests and the ambitions of al qaeda, jihad activity and problems with water supplies. According to a report, in 2002 the u.s. created a combined joint task force for the horn of Africa, the trans Sahel counter terrorism innitiative in 2005 and the Africa command in 2008, resulting in military training for Africans and counter terrorism partnerships in Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Morrocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger and Chad.
The oil industry
According to reports, following opec repeatedly ignoring requests to pump more oil, the u.s. are releasing millions of barrels from reserves. Reportedly, the organisation for petroleum exporting companies emerged in 1960, and was founded by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran and Venezuelia, it now has 13 members who account for 44% of global oil production and 81.5% of the world’s proven oil reserves.
According to reports, the seven sisters were British and u.s. oil companies who largely controlled oil production in the middle east. Reportedly consisted of anglo Iranian oil company, became bp; royal dutch shell, the largest non state owned energy company in the world; standard oil company of California, gulf oil and texaco, all now chevron; standard oil company of New Jersey/esso, now exxonmobile; and standard oil company of New York, now part of exxonmobile. According to a report, the surviving companies, known as the supermajors once controlled 85% of the world’s oil reserves. Reportedly, the seven sisters were able to exert power over third world oil producers due to political influence.
Tigray
According to a report, the u.n. are relocating families of international staff in Ethiopia, though not personnel, due to conflict in the Tigray region. Reportedly, the war began in November following independent elections in Tigray. According to the report, the government suspended funds to the region in October.
Reportedly, Eritrea became a seperate nation in 1993, but a boundary dispute in the Tigray region resulted in Eritrea invading Ethiopia in 1998. According to reports, u.n. mediation led to intervention in 2000, consisting of military observers, inspectors and the establishment of a military cooperation commission. Reportedly, a 2002 peace innitiative demarked disputed territories along colonial lines, most given to Eritrea, Ethiopia didn’t recognise the ruling.
Reportedly, a 2018 peace agreement arbitrated by a u.n. cartographer reinforced the 2002 territorial ruling. According to a report, the Ethiopian prime minister was awarded the nobel peace prize for his work in ending the conflict. Reportedly, only two have declined the nobel peace prize, Jean Paul Satre, nominated for his work on behalf of freedom and truth, and Le Duc Tho, a Vietnamese politician.
According to a report, following news that the Tigray people’s liberation front are advancing, prime minister Abiy Ahmed said, Let’s meet at the front.