Spain’s public administrations owed their suppliers over 83.35 billion euros at the end of 2020, according to data from the Bank of Spain. The debt – which is equivalent to the transfers Spain expects to receive from the Next Generation EU – increased by 2 billion last year and has only grown (+40%) since 2016. Source The Corner
Author: The Board
French energy giant Total on Monday confirmed it is suspending work on a massive $20 billion gas project in northern Mozambique following the latest jihadist assault on a nearby town last month. “Considering the evolution of the security situation… Total confirms the withdrawal of all Mozambique LNG [Liquefied Natural Gas] project personnel from the Afungi site,” the company said in a statement. Source France24
Former generals and military personnel warned President Emmanuel Macron in a letter to act against the looming dangers of hatred due to social tensions, religious extremism or face a civil war-like situation in the future.
The open letter is an initiative of retired gendarmerie officer Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac that was published on his Place Armes blog, an online community of military personnel.
It was signed by 20 retired generals and more than 1,000 officials of different rank and files in the military, police and gendarmerie who claimed that they cannot remain “indifferent” and “passive spectators” in the current circumstances. Source Anadolu
The pandemic is raging, quarantine rules are changing by the day, and there’s still uncertainty over when we might vacation again, but one thing remains constant in the travel world: the €1 houses of Italy. This month, it’s the turn of another Sicilian town, Castiglione di Sicilia, to offer houses for the price of a coffee. Soucre CNN
As we can see, it is no longer time to procrastinate, otherwise, tomorrow the civil war will put an end to this growing chaos, and the deaths, for which you will bear the responsibility, will number in the thousands. Source Valeurs
French authorities have detained three people and opened a terrorism investigation after a man attacked and killed a police administrator Friday with a knife at a police station in a Paris suburb. Authorities say the victim was a 49-year-old female police administrator, who was returning to work after her lunch break, when she was attacked and stabbed in the throat. Witnesses say the attacker shouted “Allah Akbar” — “God is great” — as he stabbed her. Source VOA
The US has reportedly informed Turkey of its formal exclusion from the new F-35 consortium agreement.
The long-awaited decision comes as little surprise, following Turkey’s acquisition of Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft weapons system, amid fears over its compatibility with the F-35 and its possible use for Moscow to obtain intelligence on NATO members. Source Arab News
Carmakers hoping for relief from the acute global chip shortage may have to wait until 2023 before things return to normal, German semiconductor supplier Infineon warned on Tuesday. Source Fortune
If chips are the new oil of the current era, then it pays to hear from the chip chiefs such as TSMC Chairman Mark Liu.
He revealed plenty about the U.S. desire to boost domestic chip manufacturing after decades of neglect in a rare and extraordinary interview on “60 Minutes.” Liu said U.S. companies and the government should not focus on the costly process of shifting the chip supply chain to the U.S. and instead pay more attention to R&D and global collaboration. Source Fierce
Afghanistan’s security forces have fought back a Taliban offensive in southern Helmand province, officials and residents have said, as the armed group launched assaults around the country after a missed United States deadline to withdraw troops. Source Al Jazeera
Libya’s top diplomat has called for the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from the North African country as it heads towards elections later this year.
Najla al-Manqoush, foreign minister of Libya’s interim government, urged Turkey on Monday to implement UN Security Council resolutions demanding the repatriation of more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya. Source AL Jazeera
Turkey and Egypt took a new step toward normalization, as a Turkish delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal, visited Cairo following contact between intelligence chiefs and foreign ministers. Source Daily Sabah
A police officer was severely beaten by a dozen individuals in the city of the Capsulerie in Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis) on Monday afternoon, during an anti-narcotics operation. His colleagues intervened and put the attackers to flight. Source Actu17
About twenty young individuals entered the grounds of an elementary school in Étampes (Essonne) this Wednesday evening. They committed degradations and then violently attacked the police. Source Actu17
Turkey will enforce a nationwide lockdown from Thursday until May 17 to fight a surging third wave of coronavirus infections.
The measures, set to be enforced from 7pm (16:00 GMT) appear to be designed to avoid another spike approximately the time of traditional family gatherings and celebrations that take place when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends in mid-May. Source Al Jazeera
Taiwan’s military on Monday (April 26) intercepted a Chinese spy plane apparently trying to test the country’s radar capabilities by flying at an extremely low altitude of only 30 meters. Source Taiwan News
Eighteen active soldiers are among the signatories. The chief of staff of the armed forces announces sanctions…..In the end, it is not less than nearly 6 out of 10 French people who indicate supporting the soldiers who signed the platform (58%). Source L’Opinion
Six men suspected of being members of the so-called Islamic State (Isis) group or funding it were arrested in an anti-terror raid in Denmark on Tuesday, police said. The suspects, whose identities were not disclosed, are aged between 27 and 35, police in East Jutland said. Source The Local
A second Russian vessel has now begun laying the almost-complete Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Danish waters, the pipeline development company said April 27, in a move likely to accelerate the final work on the Russia-Germany link. The Adakemik Cherskiy — which has dynamic positioning capabilities allowing for speedier pipelaying — has joined the Fortuna pipelayer carrying out work south of the Danish island of Bornholm in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Source S & P Global
The Chancellor stressed that Germany had always advocated for Ukraine to remain a transit country in the export of gas from Russia to the European Union Source Tass
China’s economy grew by double digits in the latest quarter but an explosive rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is slowing abruptly as manufacturing and consumer spending return to normal. Source AP
It finally happened, that glorious moment, when, after teetering on the verge for weeks – for reasons we’ll get into shortly – the incredibly spiking US gross national debt, after kissing the line a couple of times for a moment, finally, and suddenly by a big leap, jumped over the $28-trillion mark, with a $143-billion leap in one day on Wednesday, March 31, following some big Treasury sales. Source Wolfstreet
The Russian Akademik Cherskiy vessel has arrived at the construction site to lay pipes for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, Nord Stream 2 AG, project operator company, told reporters. Source Tass
Holders of UK government bonds are suffering the worst quarter in at least two decades as Britain’s economic prospects brighten, setting a contrast with the eurozone where a more sputtering recovery from the coronavirus crisis is helping haven assets hold their value. Source FT
Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell to a nine-month low in February amid bitterly cold weather, and expensive lumber and rising mortgage rates could cool the housing market this year. Separately on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, surged 34.8% to a 12-year high of $647.2 billion in 2020 as the pandemic severely disrupted exports. Source Reuters
Turkey’s currency tumbled as much as 15% after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked the country’s central bank governor over the weekend. Naci Agbal had been credited as a key force in pulling the lira back from historic lows. Source BBC
- The Fed expects core inflation to hit 2.2% this year, but has a long-run expectation of it sticking around 2%.
- The U.S. central bank also indicated that it didn’t plan to hike interest rates through 2023 and that it would continue its program of buying at least $120 billion of bonds a month.
- Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, described the move in yields as a “belated overreaction” to the Fed’s projections and Jerome Powell’s statements on Wednesday. Source CNBC
The US State Department called for companies to cease activity on the controversial pipeline or face sanctions. The US has slammed the project as a Russian plan to “divide Europe and weaken European energy security.” Source Deutsche Welle
Nokia on Tuesday (16 March) announced plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs within two years to trim costs and invest more in research capabilities, as the Finnish telecoms group seeks to step up its challenge to Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei, write Supantha Mukherjee and Essi Lehto. Source EU Reporter
