Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator In Ashrafieh, the wealthy Christian neighborhood in east Beirut, there is a group of 300 young, muscular, and bearded men patrolling the streets from 6 pm. to 6 am. as part of Neighborhood Watch, but they have an extremist Christian ideology which many have termed neo-fascist. They call the group the Soldiers of God, and its members refer to themselves as the Guardian Angels. According to an investigation carried out by Lebanese army intelligence, the Soldiers of God participated in the October 2021 massacre of 7 people, and the injury of 32 others who…

Key Points The Office for National Statistics reported that between June and August 2022, around 2.5 million people cited long-term sickness as the main reason for economic inactivity, an increase of around half a million since 2019.In its report last month, the ONS said a range of factors could be behind the recent spike, including National Health Service waiting lists that are at record highs, an aging population and the effects of long Covid.The number of “economically inactive” people — those neither working nor looking for a job — between the ages of 16 and 64 has risen by more…

The Russian regulator says it has no confidence Western institutions will safeguard investors’ rights to use their unblocked fundsPermits issued by the international clearing systems Euroclear and Clearstream to unblock some assets of Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD) do not guarantee that Russian investors will be able to recover them, the country’s central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.Last week, the Belgian and Luxembourg finance ministries authorized the release of “certain frozen funds and economic resources” that belong to non-sanctioned Russian investors, by granting a general license to the NSD. A number of banks had their funds blocked in…

The government will support high-tech industries and investments, the Russian president has saidMoscow will continue to promote the development of modern, high-tech companies and create comfortable conditions for investors to work in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.The statement was made during the launch of the Pskov Titan-Polymer Plant, which is expected to strengthen Russia’s industrial sovereignty and contribute to import substitution of polymer products used in the pharmaceutical industry and food packaging, among other areas.Putin, who was participating in the event via video link, talked about plans to form an industrial cluster of enterprises in Pskov…

The inflation rate in the country will continue to rise in 2023, according to a surveyMost Germans do not expect consumer price growth to ease next year, according to a survey released on Monday by analytics firm YouGov. Inflation in Europe’s top economy hit double digits for the first time in 70 years this fall. Half of the 2,057 people surveyed consider it likely that inflation will continue to rise in 2023. Just under a third (28%) expect price growth to remain at the high level of the past months. Only 13% of respondents expect lower inflation in 2023. The poll…

Gazprom has revealed plans to massively increase deliveries to the Asian countryRussian energy major Gazprom set a new daily record on December 28 for gas deliveries to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, the CEO of the energy giant, Aleksey Miller, announced on Wednesday.   Gazprom has ramped up supplies to the Asian country compared to what had previously been planned for December, exceeding daily contractual obligations by up to 18.7%, Miller said.   Russia supplies gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, a section of the so-called East Route, under a bilateral long-term agreement between the two countries.…

Ankara has increased its initial assessment of an offshore deposit in the Black Sea and found a new gas fieldTürkiye’s natural gas reserves in the Black Sea now total 710 billion cubic meters, with a market value of $1 trillion, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced after a new deposit was discovered and a previous find was revised higher.The increase is mainly due to the Sakarya Gas Field, which is now estimated to hold 652 billion cubic meters of gas (bcm) compared to an initial assessment of 540 bcm, Erdogan said following a cabinet meeting on Monday, adding that Türkiye has…

Exxon Mobil says the levy on excessive profits would not help lower bills for consumersUS energy giant Exxon Mobil on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the European Union, aiming to block the recently announced windfall tax on oil companies.The suit was filed by Exxon’s Dutch and German subsidiaries at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg. It contests the legal authority of the EU Council to impose the levy, arguing that it should be a matter decided by each country individually.Brussels introduced the new tax in September as part of a package of measures aiming to curb the surge in energy…

The Trade Ministry names new export destinations, and says talks on supplies are underwayRussia will redirect its metal exports from Western countries to alternative markets due to sanctions imposed by the EU and US, Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Monday.Moscow named China, Türkiye, South East Asia, member states of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and CIS countries as priority areas for diversifying metal supplies. According to Manturov, trade flows will also focus on the Latin American, African and Middle Eastern markets.Speaking at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Manturov noted that “our enterprises, with the participation of…

A Swiss court has given the gas pipeline operator more time to avoid insolvencyA court in Switzerland has suspended bankruptcy proceedings for the operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for another six months until July 10, 2023, the court announced in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Wednesday. The pipeline was fully completed and ready for launch in September 2021, but its certification was delayed and eventually blocked by Germany in early February due to US sanctions. After $11 billion was spent on its construction, it now stands idle and its operator is scrambling to avoid insolvency. This is the…