“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
General Konstantinos Floros sent a strong message to Ankara during a Commemorative Prayer for Fallen Paratroopers, which took place at Vouliagmeni, saying that those who “underestimate us are making a mistake.” Specifically, the Chief of General Staff, referring to the special forces, stated that “the ties of those who serve or have served in the Special Forces are indestructible and are never broken. We are the descendants of easy and brave warriors. Source Greek City Times
In Montpellier, traders in the city center are worried: weakened by the coronavirus crisis , they are the target of unaccompanied minors – MNA – who rob at night and attack customers during the day.
Every night, unaccompanied minors and former unaccompanied minors, young adults who are homeless, carry out raids: they kick violently at store doors, at random. When they give in, they steal everything that can be sold, as well as cash. They climb buildings to take goods, including bikes. Source Actu France
After hours of peaceful protest in downtown Atlanta, some demonstrators suddenly turned violent, smashing police cars, setting one on fire, spray-painting the iconic logo sign at CNN headquarters, and breaking into a restaurant. The crowd pelted officers with bottles, chanting “Quit your jobs.” Source New York Post
Five British mercenaries involved in an operation to fly assault helicopters for Libya’s renegade General Khalifa Haftar were offered bounties of up to $150,000 each for their role in the daring plot which went awry.
The men, comprised of former Royal Marines and RAF personnel, were among 20 foreign mercenaries who traveled to Libya last June in an operation to pilot assault helicopters and speed boats to intercept Turkish ships ferrying weapons to Haftar’s opponents – the UN-backed government in Tripoli. Source Telegraph
Turkey may begin oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean within three or four months under a deal it signed with Libya that was condemned by others in the region including Greece, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Friday. Source Ekathemirin
- President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States will cut ties with the World Health Organization.
- Earlier this month, Trump threatened to permanently cut off U.S. funding of the WHO.
- He has claimed the WHO is “China-centric” and blames the agency for advising against China travel bans early in the outbreak. Source CNBC
Imams will recite verses of the Quran in Istanbul’s Byzantine-era cathedral Hagia Sophia during Friday’s prayers on the anniversary of the city’s 1453 conquest by Ottoman troops, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said according to reports Thursday.
Built in the 6th century, Hagia Sophia was the main seat of the Greek Orthodox church. It remained so until it was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of the city, then-known as Constantinople, in 1453. Source Ekathimerini
On May 19, the Commerce Department issued new export rules to choke off Huawei’s access to semiconductor chips it needs to build cellphones and 5G infrastructure.
The new controls ban chipmakers — mostly based in South Korea and Taiwan — from using U.S. machines and software to manufacture semiconductors for Huawei. That closes a loophole that had allowed semiconductor makers to continue to sell components and designs to Huawei as long as they were made outside the U.S. Source KPCW
The Libyan Interior Ministry is investigating, through Mizda town’s security department, the murder of a Libyan national and 30 illegal immigrants in the town.
In a statement on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said a Libyan national in Mizda, accused of human trafficking, was killed by illegal immigrants while he was smuggling them to coastal cities. Source The Libya Observer
Anti-police rallies formed overnight, rumored to have involved law enforcement in the accident. Several witnesses say they had nothing to do with it. Urban violence broke out in Montigny-lès-Cormeilles, on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, after the death of an 18-year-old boy hit by a train. He was crossing a small pedestrian crossing on the tracks. Source Le Parisien
A municipal police officer in Noisy-le-Sec found a warhead in his bullet-proof vest after clashes with young people from the Béthisy district on Wednesday evening. Source Le Parisien
Sections of 24 blocks outlined in the Turkish Government Gazette on May 30 stemming from the contentious maritime borders agreement signed last November between Turkey and the Tripoli-based government in Libya come within or beyond 6 nautical miles of the coasts of eastern Crete, Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes, and overlap the Greek continental shelf. Source Ekathimerini
French carmaker Renault said on Friday it was launching talks with unions to restructure some plants and potentially close others as it confirmed plans to cut around 15,000 jobs worldwide to ride out a slump in sales. Source France 24
More than 3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, raising to more than 42 million the number of workers who have lost jobs since the coronavirus crippled the economy. Source CBSNews
American consumer spending ground to a halt during the coronavirus lockdown, and that is a massive problem for the spending-addicted US economy.
April’s personal consumption data showed a 13.6% drop in consumer spending, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Friday. That’s equal to $1.89 trillion, and drags spending down to a level not seen since September 2014.
It was the largest month-to-month decline since the BEA began tracking the data in 1959, and worse than economists had expected. Source ABC
- The International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that global energy investment will fall by almost $400 billion in 2020 compared to last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Before the pandemic, the global energy investment was on track for 2% growth, but now it fall by 20%.
- IEA is also forecasting that oil demand could drop by 9 million barrels per day by 2025 .Source Business insider
- The basic income is meant to reach 850,000 households and 2.5 million citizens.
- The plan to install a basic income was a pre-electoral promise, but it was accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Spain has one of the highest levels of unemployment in the euro area and this is set to worsen given the Covid-19 crisis. Source Spain
France’s economy is on course to contract 20% in the second quarter from the previous three months as the country emerges from a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, the INSEE official statistics agency estimated on Wednesday. Source France24
The airline industry’s global debt could rise to US$550 billion by year-end, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In an analysis released yesterday, IATA that that is a US$120 billion increase over debt levels at the start of 2020.
It said US$67 billion of the new debt is composed of government loans (US$50 billion), deferred taxes (US$5 billion) and loan guarantees (US$12 billion). Source The Edge Market
The package includes an increase to the state subsidies given to motivate potential buyers of new electric and hybrid cars. The plan also includes a state loan worth €5 billion for troubled carmaker Renault. Source Deutsche Welle
Boeing Co (BA.N) said Wednesday it was eliminating more than 12,000 U.S. jobs, including involuntary layoffs of 6,770 U.S. workers as the largest American planemaker restructures in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Source Reuters
China seeks to have its planned sovereign digital currency ready in time for the 2022 Winter Olympics here, the central bank revealed Tuesday, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates a shift away from cash.
The government plans to run pilot tests at Olympic venues, though there remains no official timetable for a release, People’s Bank of China Gov. Yi Gang told Chinese media in an interview released by the central bank. Limited trials are underway in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and the Xiongan New Area in the northern province of Hebei, he said. Source Asian Review
