Sunday, December 4

Europe

NATO warns that attacks on gas pipelines will have a “determined” response
29SepTroublespotsBy TroublespotsNo Comments
NATO

NATO warns that attacks on gas pipelines will have a “determined” response

NATO member countries today expressed deep concern about the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and warned that "any deliberate attack against critical Allied infrastructure" will merit a "united and determined response". In a statement released in Brussels, the North Atlantic Council, the main political decision-making body of the NATO organization, begins by pointing out that "the damage caused to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in international waters in the Baltic Sea is a matter of deep concern " and underline that "all the information currently available indicates that they are the result of deliberate, reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage". "These leaks are causing risks to navigation and substantial environmental damage. We suppor...
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Finland closes the Russian border from midnight
29SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
Finland

Finland closes the Russian border from midnight

The entry of Russians for family visits, for work or study reasons, will continue to be allowed. Finland will close the border to Russian citizens from midnight this Thursday, according to an announcement by Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, quoted by Reuters. According to the official, the decision follows the increase in the flow of Russian tourists after Vladimir Putin ordered a "partial mobilization" of his citizens for the conflict in Ukraine. The entry of Russians into Finland is now seen as a danger to the Nordic country's international relations, according to the minister, and so they cannot keep their borders open to Russian citizens. Despite the measure, the entry of Russians for family visits, for work or study reasons will continue to be allowed, according to the o...
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“EU will never recognize illegal referendums and their falsified result”
29SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
European Union, Ukraine

“EU will never recognize illegal referendums and their falsified result”

Borrell accused Russia of wanting to "change Ukraine's internationally recognized borders by force, in clear and serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations." “The EU does not and will never recognize these illegal 'referendums' and their falsified outcome, nor any decision taken on the basis of this outcome and urges all UN members to do the same,” Borrell said in a statement on behalf of the 27. The official also accused Russia of wanting to "change Ukraine's internationally recognized borders by force, in clear and serious violation of the United Nations Charter". “The result is null and cannot produce any legal effect”, he stressed. Referendums, Borrell added, "have no legitimacy and blatantly violate international law and Russia's international obligations." Referendu...
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Putin signs annexation treaties for the occupied territories tomorrow
29SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
Russia, Ukraine

Putin signs annexation treaties for the occupied territories tomorrow

At stake are four Ukrainian territories: Zaporyjia, Kherson, Lugansk and Donetsk. Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign, this Friday, the treaties of annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, announced the Kremlin. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agency Tass, the signing ceremony of the agreements with the Russian Federation will be held on Friday at 15:00 (Moscow time). After that ceremony, Putin is expected to deliver a grand speech and also meet with the administrators appointed by Moscow for the regions in question, Peskov added. At stake are four regions - Zaporizhia, Kherson, Lugansk and Donetsk - where referendums organized by Moscow took place asking Ukrainians whether they approved the joining of their regions to th...
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Referendums “cannot be considered legal under international law”
29SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
Ukraine

Referendums “cannot be considered legal under international law”

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding said on Tuesday that Russia's referendums on the annexation of Ukrainian territories "cannot be called a genuine expression of popular will". At a Security Council meeting to address growing tensions resulting from Moscow's decision to partially mobilize army reserves to support the war effort and hold referendums for the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories, Rosemary DiCarlo said these referendums "cannot be considered legal under international law". "At the time of our meeting, so-called 'referendums' have just been conducted by authorities in the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporyjia, and Kherson regions. The Ukrainians were asked whether they approved of the joining of their regions to the Russian Federation. ...
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With the economy in freefall, Liz Truss defends “urgent measures”
29SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
UK

With the economy in freefall, Liz Truss defends “urgent measures”

British Prime Minister Liz Truss said today that the government had to "take urgent measures to grow the economy" in reference to the instability caused in markets by the announcement of her government's fiscal plan. In the first public statement on the consequences of the growth program that Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled last Friday, Truss defended that this is the "right plan". The growth program, which includes aggressive and massive tax cuts, has sunk the pound sterling, drawn criticism from the International Monetary Fund, and prompted the Bank of England to intervene in an emergency, announcing the purchase of bonds. The Conservative leader reiterated in statements to several BBC broadcasters that she is "prepared" to make "controversial and difficult decisions" to move...
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Sweden detects new leak in Nord Stream pipelines
29SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
Europe, NATO, Sweden

Sweden detects new leak in Nord Stream pipelines

The Swedish coast guard has detected a new leak in the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe, the fourth since the beginning of the week. The incident comes after three gas leaks were detected on Tuesday - two in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, next to Sweden, and another in Nord Stream 2, southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. "There are two breakouts on the Swedish side and two breakouts on the Danish side," a Coast Guard official told France-Presse news agency. "The distance is subjective, but they are close to each other," said the official, referring to the two escapes on the Swedish side. "This is a large spill of about 900 meters in diameter and a smaller one of about 200 meters," Jenny Larsson, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, told the Svenska Dagbladet newspa...
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Deaths in France increased during heat wave, says statistics institute
6SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
France

Deaths in France increased during heat wave, says statistics institute

A report by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) of France found a clear increase in mortality in the country in July 2022. According to the organization, the phenomenon is explained "probably by the heat wave" experienced in this period. The document, published on Friday (2), is just a monthly update on mortality in the country, but it revived in French memory painful memories left by the summer of 2003, one of the hottest in French history. That year, high temperatures caused the death of more than 14,000 people, the vast majority elderly. According to provisional data published by Insee, the number of deaths per day increased significantly in July this year. On a daily average, 1,750 people lost their lives this month, for various causes, against 1,610 ...
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Macron calls for a 10% reduction in energy consumption
6SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
France

Macron calls for a 10% reduction in energy consumption

The question is in dosing the gestures of everyday life. This is how French citizens were asked to voluntarily reduce energy consumption in the coming months. This, says the French president, to avoid more radical measures, such as supply cuts. "If we collectively know how to act more soberly and make savings, there will be no rationing, no cuts. If the winter is very cold, if we have to appeal to European solidarity, we can overcome the challenge, if in the meantime we manage to save about 10 % of energy," said Emmanuel Macron. Following the Russian suspension of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, France is prepared to send gas to Germany in exchange for electricity. It is just one example of solidarity that can become essential. If we have to appeal to European solidarity, we can overcom...
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France wants to avoid power cuts this winter
6SepBy TroublespotsNo Comments
France

France wants to avoid power cuts this winter

The French government wants to avoid power cuts this winter at all costs - following the Defense Council on the energy crisis, chaired by Emmanuel Mácron, to assess gas and electricity supplies and avoid future shortage scenarios. At a time when Russian gas supplies are compromised and the French nuclear fleet unavailable, electric power company "EDF is committed to restarting all reactors this winter," said energy transition minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher. Currently, almost all nuclear power plants are affected by the shutdown of one or more reactors. But according to plans by electric power company EDF, 27 reactors are to be restarted by the end of December, followed by another 5 between early January and mid-February 2023. Russia's gas supplies have dwindled and Europe is preparin...
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