Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Labor Department reported Thursday that prices for fuel oil surged 20% last month after declining 2.7% in September. That is markedly higher than the nationwide average increase of 7.7%. The price spike comes amid a nationwide and global shortage of diesel fuel. Government data released last month showed the country had just 25 days of diesel supply remaining, with stockpiles at their lowest level for records dating to 1993. In the Northeast, where more people depend on diesel to heat their homes in the winter, supplies are at one-third of their typical levels during this time of year, the…

With cryptocurrencies plunging and cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading filing for bankruptcy, big celebrity names that inked deals with the company — including Tom Brady, his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen and Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz — may now find themselves passengers aboard a sinking ship. The Chapter 11 process will include Alameda Research, West Realm Series and 130 affiliated companies, according to a Friday announcement. This all came after rival crypto exchange Binance, who briefly agreed to step in, bailed, citing red flags that came up during the due diligence process. Embattled CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned, following a lengthy…

Meta Platforms, the owner of the social media networks Facebook and Instagram, confirmed on Wednesday that more than 11,000 of its staff will be dismissed amid a sharp fall in the company’s revenue. In a statement, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that these are “some of the most difficult changes” in the tech giant’s history and added that he is “especially sorry to those impacted.” “I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go,” Zuckerberg said. As the main cause of the challenges the company is…

US President Joe Biden was interrupted by screaming protesters during a speech at the UN’s COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Friday. While Biden boasted of his green policies, the demonstrators demanded an end to fossil fuel use. Stumbling over his words, Biden told the crowd in Sharm El Sheikh that his administration was committed to making “transformational changes” to reduce carbon emissions. As he went on to describe his vision of the US as “a trustworthy, committed global leader on climate,” a series of simian shrieks and howls cut him off. The noises came from a group of activists,…

The US, UK, France, and Germany want the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to pass a resolution declaring it “essential and urgent” for Iran to explain traces of uranium found outside its declared nuclear sites, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a draft of the resolution. The measure, which requires a simple majority to be passed, will be considered during the board’s quarterly meeting on Wednesday. The IAEA’s Board of Governors, made up of 35 member states, “decides it is essential and urgent … that Iran act to fulfill its legal obligations and … take the following actions without delay,”…

The UK government froze assets belonging to Russian businessmen and entities worth £18 billion ($20.6 billion) this year, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), which is part of the UK’s Treasury, said in its annual report on Thursday.The figure tops all other UK sanctions regimes put together and makes Russia Britain’s most-sanctioned nation, the OFSI said.UK sanctions have so far targeted around 1,200 Russian individuals, over 120 entities, and 19 banks. The punitive measures include asset freezes, travel bans, and transport sanctions.“Today’s report shows the scale of UK sanctions – freezing over £18 billion of Russian assets to stop…

Over the past year, China has achieved noteworthy developments in areas including the construction of internet infrastructure, the digital economy and the improvement of digital public services, according to the China Internet Development Report 2022.The report was released by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies on Wednesday at the World Internet Conference in the water-town of Wuzhen in east China’s Zhejiang Province.How has China’s internet infrastructure developed? What role has China’s internet industry played in its economy? How many people in China are online? Let’s look at the data in the report.Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the…

Space-savvy audiences at this year’s Airshow China can catch a glimpse of the model of the country’s next-generation manned rocket for a moon landing, and a life-size replica of the orbiting China Space Station. With a takeoff weight of 2,100 tonnes, the new launch vehicle is 90 meters long. It has a lunar-transfer-orbit capacity of 27 tonnes and a near-Earth orbit capacity of 70 tonnes. The rocket to carry taikonauts is expected to make its maiden flight in 2027, said Zhao Xinguo, an official at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, at the ongoing 14th China International Aviation and…

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Climate change in the United States is unfolding at a faster pace when compared to change dynamics in other parts of the planet, which means that natural disasters will occur more often in the region, the US media reported, citing a new federal report released on Monday.The US has experienced warming 68% faster than the planet as a whole over the past 50 years, the draft document read.Natural disasters will occur more frequently in the US, in particular wildfires and floods, as rainfall and heat extremes are proliferating.According to the document, climate change is unleashing “far-reaching and…

Dubai-based Nakheel has secured AED17bn ($4.6bn) in funding that the local developer says will drive its new growth phase. It has refinanced AED11bn and secured additional funds of AED6bn. The finance will be utilised to accelerate the development of its new projects, including Dubai Islands and other large waterfront projects. The refinancing of AED11bn has been secured through a syndicate of three banks – Mashreq Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD. In August, Nakheel released details of a new masterplan for the reclaimed islands next to the Deira corniche. The islands, now known as Dubai Islands, were originally part…