“The main installations have been completed, the shut-off valves have been installed, so we can assume that the project will be completed by the end of 2019,” said project spokesman Jens Müller. Source: The Local Deutschland
Trade Cooperation
Austria has mulled over the possibility of new sanctions against Russia due to the detention of three Ukrainian Navy vessels that sailed toward the Kerch Strait in what Moscow has described as an unequivocal provocation committed in violation of international law. At a secret meeting of the Political and Security Committee in Brussels on Tuesday, French and German diplomats spoke out against stepping up existing EU sanctions against Russia in light of the growing rift between Moscow and Kiev over the Kerch Strait incident. Source: Sputnik
Kosovo Prime Minister says taxes on imports from Serbia and Bosnia will rise from 10 to 100 per cent immediately – a day after Serbia hailed the failure of its bid to join Interpol. Source: Balkan Insight
Russia may launch settlements with Iran in national currencies in order to continue bilateral cooperation despite the US sanctions against Tehran, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the Anadolu news agency on Sunday. Source: TASS
Tehran has expressed hope that the Iran nuclear deal can be saved despite the US pulling out of the agreement. Iran’s statement came during a visit of the British foreign minister to Iran. Source: Deutsche Welle
China said it will continue pursuing negotiations with Canada on a free-trade deal after assurances that a recently settled North American trade agreement would not stop Ottawa from signing deals with other countries. Source: South China Morning Post
The nation’s lawmaking body approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday, following Australia’s ratification on October 31. Source: South China Morning Post
After a successful launch to the new Chinese Space Station earlier this year and the initial 90-day “shakedown cruise” of the Shenzhou 12 crew, three taikonauts launched to the station aboard the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft to begin the first long-duration stay aboard.
Shenzhou 13 launched atop a Chang Zheng 2F (CZ-2F) rocket at 16:23 UTC (00:23 local time on Saturday), from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, in north-central China. Source Nasa
Port workers in Trieste – the seventh-largest port in Europe for handling goods and the leading oil terminal in the Mediterranean – have announced a total block of operations starting Friday in protest against the national health pass mandate for all workers. The move could also impact several other logistical hubs throughout the country. Source Euractiv
Too many asylum seekers are staying in emergency accommodation next to the Ter Apel registration centre and urgent action is needed, local councillors have told broadcaster RTV Noord. The emergency housing – large white tents – has space for 125 people but more people than that stay there on a regular basis, local officials say. Source Dutch News
China’s President Xi Jinping has said that “reunification” with Taiwan “must be fulfilled”, as heightened tensions over the island continue. Mr Xi said unification should be achieved peacefully, but warned that the Chinese people had a “glorious tradition” of opposing separatism. Source BBC
Calls multiplied on Monday in Italy for the ultra-right group Forza Nuova to be banned, after it was implicated in violent demonstrations against the COVID-19 health pass in Rome at the weekend.
Several hundred people clashed with police in central Rome on Saturday evening, damaging the headquarters of the country’s main trade union confederation, the CGIL, and other property. Source Euro News
China’s military said on Monday it had carried out beach landing and assault drills in the province directly across the sea from Taiwan, though it did not link the exercises to current tensions with Taipei.
Democratically ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has complained of stepped-up military and political pressure https://www.reuters.com/world/china/taiwan-defence-minister-says-china-will-have-ability-mount-full-scale-invasion-2021-10-06 from Beijing to force it to accept Chinese rule, including massed air force incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. Source Euro News
Tensions with China are at their worst in 40 years, Taiwan’s defence minister has said, warning of the risk of an accidental strike between the two. Chiu Kuo-cheng’s comments came after China sent a “record number” of military jets into Taiwan’s air defence zone for four consecutive days. Source CNN
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister warns his nation is preparing for war with China and urges Australia to increase intelligence sharing and security cooperation as Beijing intensifies a campaign of military intimidation. Source ABC
The Swedish health agency said it would pause using the shot for people born in 1991 and later as data pointed to an increase of myocarditis and pericarditis among youths and young adults that had been vaccinated. Those conditions involve an inflammation of the heart or its lining. Source Reuters
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 52 Chinese warplanes made incursions into its air defense identification zone on Monday, the highest number since the island began publicly reporting such activities last year. The previous record was posted on Saturday, when 39 Chinese military planes flew into the zone. Source CNN
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on Thursday (Sept. 30) reassured its clients that it will not reveal their information to the U.S. government.
The issue is getting attention following South Korean media reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce had asked TSMC, Samsung, Intel, among other companies, to provide data regarding their sales, inventory status, and details of their clients. Source Taiwan News
“What is happening today in the energy markets of Europe is, to a certain extent, a man-made result of short-sighted policy,” the Russian President added Source TASS
India is facing an impending energy crisis as several states saw coal-fired power plants shut down due to a coal shortage. Major cities such as the capital New Delhi experienced electricity cuts that ran for hours over the weekend. Source DW
India is grappling with an escalating crisis as stockpiles of coal, the fuel used to generate about 70% of the nation’s electricity, dwindle to the lowest in years just as power demand is set to surge. Source EconomicTimes
Soaring gas prices are forecast to drive a switch to oil and put more energy suppliers in Britain out of business, while industry groups called on Thursday for government action to ensure there is no supply interruption this winter. Source GCaptain
- November contracts at the Dutch TTF hub — a European benchmark for natural gas — were trading at around 118 euros per megawatt hour (MWH) just after midday in London.
- The front-month contract has risen almost 400% since the start of the year.
- Several British energy suppliers have collapsed amid the gas price crisis. September alone reportedly saw nine companies cease trading.
- In recent weeks, governments in Spain, Italy, Greece, and France have taken drastic actions to minimize the impact of wholesale price rises on consumers. Source CNBC
EU environment ministers are set to discuss speculation in the bloc’s carbon market as part of a debate on high energy prices on Wednesday, with Poland and Spain pushing for curbs.
“We urgently need to reduce the influence of financial market participants on ETS allowance prices,” said the Polish government in a note to the ministers ahead of the meeting. Source Montel
OPEC+ said on Monday it would stick to an existing pact for a gradual increase in oil output, sending crude prices to three-year highs and adding to inflationary pressures that consuming nations fear will derail an economic recovery from the pandemic. Source Reuters
German utility Steag halted its coal-fired power plant Bergkamen-A after it ran out of hard coal supplies amid an energy crunch globally and logistics challenges domestically, the company told Bloomberg on Friday.
“We are short of hard coal,” Steag spokesman Daniel Muhlenfeld told Bloomberg via email. Source Oil Price
Nord Stream 2 AG has started filling with gas the first string of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the pipeline operator said on Monday. “This string will be gradually filled to build the required inventory and pressure as a prerequisite for the later technical tests,” the company said. Source Tass
Poland has joined a growing group of countries seeking European Union action to curb surging gas and energy prices, as governments take steps to protect consumers from higher bills. Source Reuters
France will move to ease the cost of rising prices for consumers by blocking further natural gas price hikes and by preventing a planned increase in electricity tariffs scheduled in February, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday.
“For natural gas and electricity, we’ll put in place what I would call a tariffs shield. We’re going to shield ourselves against those tariff hikes,” Castex told TF1 television. Source Reuters
