Author: Steven Sahiounie

A key section of the East Route natural gas pipeline has been completed, Global Times reports. A key construction project that is part of the East Route pipeline supplying Russian natural gas to China was completed over the weekend, the newspaper the Global Times has reported, citing energy giant PipeChina. The now-completed tunnel under the Yangtze River will allow Russian gas to reach Shanghai. Having taken 28 months to construct, the tunnel is over 10km long and is designed with three natural gas pipelines, each 1.4m in diameter, according to the report. The East Route natural gas pipeline is expected…

New Delhi will prioritize its energy needs just like the EU, its foreign minister says India will make its own decisions with regard to Russian oil imports, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Monday. He questioned the fairness of Western states putting their energy needs first while asking his country to do otherwise. “I understand that there is a conflict situation. I also understand that Europe has a point of view and Europe will make the choices it will make, that is Europe’s right. But for Europe to make choices which prioritize its energy needs and then ask India…

Deliveries of Russian seaborne oil to Europe have dropped more than fivefold since the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Monday citing vessel tracking data. According to the report, the shipments plunged to an average of 309,000 barrels per day in the four weeks to December 5. This is less than a fifth of their volume in the four weeks to February 25, an average of 1.58 million barrels a day. Deliveries in the final week to November 25 dropped by 34%.Analysts expect those figures to slide further after an EU embargo and the Western coalition’s…

The economy has already fallen into a “short and shallow” recession, according to the Confederation of British Industry The British economy is on course to shrink 0.4% next year as inflation remains high and companies put investment on hold, the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) warned on Monday. According to the report, the UK has already fallen into a “short and shallow” recession that will leave business investment 9% below 2019 levels and productivity 2% below its pre-pandemic trend at the end of 2024. Persistent weak productivity and business investment “doesn’t bode well for the country’s potential to grow,” it said.Inflation in the country,…

Both payment services are no longer available in the country due to Western sanctions Russian banks have been ordered to come up with a domestic payment service to replace Apple Pay and Google Pay, Kommersant news outlet reported on Monday. According to the report, the National Payment Card System (NSPK) has charged banks with creating a service which would allow people to pay with their Mir cards using a smartphone and a QR code. NSPK is the operator of the Mir payment system, a Russian analogue to Visa and Mastercard, which also operates all non-cash payments in Russia.The new service…

Western sanctions can’t curb the global appetite for energy, according to Aleksandr Novak. Russian oil will still be in high demand despite the latest EU sanctions on the country’s exports, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Tuesday. His statement comes as the EU introduced a ban on Russian seaborne crude along with a $60 price cap. The latter measure has received support from G7 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) and Australia. According to Novak, this type of interference in market instruments will “certainly affect” the work of Russian companies and sales, but Moscow…

Know FIFA World Cup 2022 football results and scores from the matches in Qatar. Get group standings and scorecards from the knockout rounds, including final. The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar will see a total of 32 top national teams from five different confederations vie for the title of football world champions from November 20 to December 18. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will follow a familiar format with the 32 teams having been divided into eight groups – Group A to H – of four teams each. The teams in each group will face off in a single-headed round-robin format…

Morocco will face Spain before Portugal take on Switzerland as the 2022 World Cup’s last-16 phase wraps up. The fourth and final day of the Qatar 2022 World Cup last-16 phase will see Morocco take on Spain and Portugal go head-to-head with Switzerland. Morocco vs Spain Spain head into Tuesday’s last-16 clash against Morocco as favourites but the Atlas Lions will hope they can pull off an upset after an electrifying start to their World Cup campaign. The Spaniards, who humbled Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening game, eventually finished second in Group E behind Japan following a shock 2-1 loss to…

CNN — Japan bids the World Cup farewell after its World Cup last-16 penalty shootout defeat by Croatia on Monday, but the team and its fans left lasting memories that won the Asian nation plenty of plaudits in Qatar and across the watching world. In the early days of Qatar 2022, Japan’s stunning and surprising 2-1 comeback win against Germany helped establish the idea that this tournament could be a showcase for the strength of soccer’s other continents outside of Europe and South America – the World Cup has never been won by a team from outside of those two continents, nor has…

Raheem Sterling has left the England World Cup squad in Qatar and returned to London after his home was burgled. The Chelsea winger, 27, missed Sunday’s last-16 victory over Senegal, after the incident on Saturday. Surrey Police said the occupants of the house returned to find jewellery and watches had been taken. No threats of violence were involved. The player’s spokesperson said Sterling was “prioritising the wellbeing” of his three young children. Sterling was said to be “shaken” and “as soon as he was alerted he wanted to get home”. The spokesperson, speaking on Sunday, added the intruders had been armed and the…