Monday’s attack knocked out a tank that contained 10 percent of all fuel stored a the Jeddah plant, Saudi Aramco official says. Oil giant Saudi Aramco says customers were unaffected by an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a petroleum products distribution plant in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah. Source Al Jazeera
Author: The Board
An Israeli government minister has confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the Saudi crown prince and US secretary of state. But Saudi officials have strongly denied reports that a meeting took place. Source Deutsche Welle
Two investigations were opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office for “violence by persons holding public authority”, after the evacuation of a few hundred migrants from Place de la République on Monday evening. Source Actu17
German ship had to abort inspection of Turkish vessel following protest from Ankara. The German government voiced concern after Turkey stopped the inspection of a suspicious vessel off the Libyan coast, which German forces had boarded as part of an EU-led arms control mission.
On Sunday, the German frigate “Hamburg,” which is in the Mediterranean as part of the EU’s Operation Irini to enforce the U.N. arms embargo on Libya, stopped the Turkish vessel “Rosaline A” about 200 kilometers off the coast because of suspicions that arms were being transported. Source Politico
China will respond to the reported visit of a U.S. Navy admiral to Taiwan and firmly opposes any military relations between Taipei and Washington, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday as a senior U.S. official praised their ties with Taipei. Source Reuters
The second stage of the German capital’s rent cap law has come into effect, meaning that thousands of Berlin landlords could be forced to reduce their rents. But the legal battle over the law is not yet over. Source Deutsche Welle
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said foreign families who object to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad being shown in schools could face deportation.
Speaking to French Europe 1 Radio, Darmanin said the provocative caricatures are protected under free speech and those who ask teachers not to show the images will be sued. Source Daily Sabah
A Greek-managed tanker was hit by a mine in Saudi Arabia, while the explosion caused extensive damage to the tanker.
An explosion damaged the Agrari tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, near the border with Yemen, according to a private insurance company. Source Greek City Times
A Pennsylvania state court issued an injunction Wednesday blocking any potential further certification of election results in the state, pending a hearing to be held Friday.
The order from Judge Patricia McCullough comes in the case brought by Pennsylvania voters including Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., in which they allege that a state law allowing for no-excuse absentee voting violated the Pennsylvania constitution, which outlines specific cases where absentee voting is allowed. Source FoxNews
In “S ***** P ***”, rapper Maka makes particularly shocking remarks. The music video for the song was broadcast on YouTube on November 12 and has nearly 27,000 views as of Wednesday. The rapper’s words directly refer to the assassination of Samuel Paty , this 47-year-old teacher was beheaded during the conflict in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines) on October 16, by a terrorist. Source Actu17
The government plans to implement tax incentives for long-term foreign residents as part of efforts to turn the country into a major international financial hub, official sources said Wednesday.
Under the current system, Japan imposes an inheritance tax on foreign nationals’ overseas assets if they live in the country for more than 10 years, but the special measure to be introduced will make them exempt from the imposition, according to the sources. Source The JapanTimes
Russia says one of its warships caught and chased off a US Navy destroyer after it entered territorial waters in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday.
Moscow accused the USS John S McCain of travelling 2km (1.2 miles) across its maritime border in Peter the Great Gulf and says it threatened to ram the ship. Source BBC
Monday’s attack knocked out a tank that contained 10 percent of all fuel stored a the Jeddah plant, Saudi Aramco official says. Oil giant Saudi Aramco says customers were unaffected by an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a petroleum products distribution plant in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah. Source Al Jazeera
An Israeli government minister has confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the Saudi crown prince and US secretary of state. But Saudi officials have strongly denied reports that a meeting took place. Source Deutsche Welle
Two investigations were opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office for “violence by persons holding public authority”, after the evacuation of a few hundred migrants from Place de la République on Monday evening. Source Actu17
German ship had to abort inspection of Turkish vessel following protest from Ankara. The German government voiced concern after Turkey stopped the inspection of a suspicious vessel off the Libyan coast, which German forces had boarded as part of an EU-led arms control mission.
On Sunday, the German frigate “Hamburg,” which is in the Mediterranean as part of the EU’s Operation Irini to enforce the U.N. arms embargo on Libya, stopped the Turkish vessel “Rosaline A” about 200 kilometers off the coast because of suspicions that arms were being transported. Source Politico
China will respond to the reported visit of a U.S. Navy admiral to Taiwan and firmly opposes any military relations between Taipei and Washington, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday as a senior U.S. official praised their ties with Taipei. Source Reuters
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said foreign families who object to caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad being shown in schools could face deportation.
Speaking to French Europe 1 Radio, Darmanin said the provocative caricatures are protected under free speech and those who ask teachers not to show the images will be sued. Source Daily Sabah
France last year applied a 3 percent levy on revenue from digital services earned in France but suspended collection of the tax. The French Finance Ministry has sent out notices to big tech companies liable for its digital service tax to pay the levy as planned in December, the ministry said on Wednesday. Source NBCNews
- Bitcoin soared above $19,000 on Tuesday for the first time in nearly three years, bringing the cryptocurrency within spitting distance of its 2017 record.
- The price of Bitcoin jumped as much as 3.3%, to $19,272.21, through the morning.
- Cryptocurrencies have garnered new interest from both Wall Street and Main Street in recent weeks as companies and traditional investors embrace digital tokens.
- The rally lifted other popular cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Ripple. Source BusinessInsider
The European Commission issued on Wednesday a warning to Athens that the market support measures during the pandemic should not be excessive so that they do not jeopardize the sustainability of the public debt. It also highlighted that the debt will remain at risk unless growth is supported, which makes it imperative that reforms continue and the Next Generation EU resources are put to full use. Source Ekathimerini
The investment will extend a subsidy for electric vehicles and attempt to secure jobs that are in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement follows talks between Chancellor Merkel and industry heads. Source Deutsche Welle
Rome is preparing a new spending package worth 15-20 billion euros likely to be presented this week which will push up the deficit in 2021, one of the sources said, asking not to be named. Source Investing
The two countries have followed through on their threat to block spending plans through to 2027. The EU needs a unanimous vote from all 27 members in order to pass the budget and coronavirus economic recovery fund.
Hungary and Poland blocked approval of the EU’s long-term budget on Monday, diplomatic sources revealed. The spending plans also include a €750-billion ($888 billion) coronavirus rescue package. Source Deutsche Welle
The presidency of Joe Biden paves the way for a deal between Germany and the United States to resolve the conflict over Nord Stream 2 and complete its construction in exchange for the EU commitments to expand LNG purchases from the US, Simonas Vileikis, a Brussels political adviser to the British consulting company Portland Europe, told TASS on Monday. Source TASS
The governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, on Monday estimated France’s economy to contract by between 9 and 10 percent this year, worse than his previous estimate of 8.7 percent.
“Before the second wave we thought we would have a recession of a bit less than 9 percent. We now expect that for the whole of 2020 we will be between minus 9 and minus 10 percent,” de Galhau told RTL radio.
“Our estimate…will of course depend on the continuation of the confinement,” he added. Source Xinhuanet
Greece achieved a record low interest rate for a 13-week treasury bill auction on Wednesday, as it raised 812.5 million euros at a negative 0.20% interest.
The original issue of €625 million was more than twice oversubscribed, with bids at €1.344 billion and a coverage ratio of 2.10. Source Ekathemirini
France will end 2020 with a public deficit of 248 billion euros (223.25 billion pounds), or 11.3% of its economic output, junior economy minister Olivier Dussopt said in an interview published on Sunday. Source Reuters
Russian pipe-laying vessel Akademik Cherskiy, expected to be used to finish the Moscow-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, is heading towards the German project hub of Mukran, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday. Source GCaptain
