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China races to beat gas supply crunch as big chill and Lunar New Year loom

in ASIA/ENERGY by

The Chinese authorities have reinforced the gas supplies in sight of expected heating spike over the holidays, to avoid a repeat of December’s chaos, which saw serious supply shortages. To ensure supplies before the longest holiday in the Chinese calendar, some 60 ships carrying more than 4 million tonnes of LNG are on their way to China this month, the third highest total behind December’s 5.1 million and November’s 4.36 million tonnes. The shipments are coming from unusual origins, Equatorial Guinea and Angola in Africa, Peru in South America, and Trinidad and Tobago, and several are also coming from the United States. Domestic producers are also churning out more gas. China’s December gas output was the highest since at least 2014. The urgency for gas has lifted Chinese prices by 15-18 per cent within a week to 6,650 yuan (US$1,039.87) per tonne.

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Taiwan president says does not exclude possibility of China attack

in Senza categoria by

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said that she does not exclude the possibility of China attacking the self-ruled Island, amid heightened tensions between the two sides including an increasing number of Chinese military exercise near Taiwan. China says the exercises are routine, but that it will not tolerate any attempt by the Island to declare independence. China considers democratic Taiwan to be its sacred territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control. Taiwan has been pressing for the United States, its main source of arms, to provide more advanced equipment, but has also been trying to bolster its own weapons programs.

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U.S., EU discordant notes on Jerusalem underline Mideast policy rift

in AMERICAS/POLITICS by

In a fresh display of Western discord over Middle East peace efforts, the United States said on Monday its Israel embassy would move to Jerusalem by the end of 2019, while its European Union allies voiced support for East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state. Vice-President Mike Pence, visiting Jerusalem, announced the timing of the move in a speech to Israel’s parliament, earning applause from Israeli legislators but also stirring a brief protest by Israeli Arab lawmakers, who held signs reading “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine”.

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Iran and Saudi Arabia: an endless rivalry

in DEFENCE/MIDLE EAST/POLITICS by

The regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is consumed not only indirectly by supporting opposite sides on the battlefields throughout the most critical areas in the middles Est. Indeed, public declarations perfectly show the rivalry between these two key actors. After the Saudis condemnation for supporting Houthi rebels and terrorist groups, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Saudi Kingdom of betraying Muslim world due to the political alignment with the United States and Israel.  The Iranian leader made the remark at a conference held in Tehran on Tuesday, attended by parliamentary representatives from Islamic countries. Khamenei also accused Saudi Arabia of helping the United States and the “Zionists”. This political support has to be marked as a betrayal of the Islamic Ummah and the Muslim World, as he added bitterly. Furthermore, Khamenei affirmed that Iran is ready to help “and act brotherly even with those among the Muslim who were once openly hostile to Iran”. He cried for the unity among Islam Ummah, which must create a great power within the world. Conflicts and wars among Muslim countries must be stopped while political leaders throughout the Middle East “should not allow that a safe haven could be created for the Zionist regime”.

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US and Canada will host North Korea nuclear meeting

in AMERICAS/ENERGY/POLITICS by

The United States and Canada will co-host an international summit on the North Korean nuclear threat in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, as tensions on the Korean Peninsula settle into a steady simmer while direct talks between the north and the south continue. The summit comes at a critical time. But with diplomats’ attentions absorbed by the delicate talks between the two neighboring countries – which were initially focused on North Korea’s participation in the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics but have since broadened – some analysts are skeptical that much will come out of the Vancouver meetings.

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Tillerson : Macedonia is on good track to be successful example for the region

in EUROPE/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

Macedonia is on good track to be a successful example for the region, and the United States will continue to play a positive role for the stability and progress of the region and seek ways to help, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov at Wednesday’s meeting in Washington.Tillerson supported reform agenda in Macedonia urging the government to endure in its implementation.The last meeting of Macedonia Foreign Minister with the US Secretary of State took place in 2008, when then-Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki met with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Dimitrov referred to the current political situation in Macedonia and the region, and also briefed Tillerson on the developments in the process of overcoming the name dispute with Greece. Macedonia is friend and partner of the US, we are convinced that with your help, leadership and support of the European allies, we will soon become part of NATO family. Our commitment and determination is enormous and we intend to use this opportunity, Dimitrov said.Informing about the reforms in Macedonia, Dimitrov stressed that the country wants to build strong and democratic institutions, to strengthen the rule of law and make Macedonia a desirable fully fledged member of the Euro-Atlantic community.At the panel entitled “Great Risk, Great Reward: Tackling the Balkans’ Enduring Political Challenges”, which was attended by Hoyt Yee, Enver Hoxha and Astrit Istrefi, and moderated by Janusz Bugajski, Dimitrov spoke about the current situation in the Republic of Macedonia with a special accent to overcoming the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece.Dimitrov also met with regional experts Daniel Serwer, Edward Joseph, Michael Haltzel and Damon Wilson, Executive Vice President at Atlantic Council of the United States and exchanged views on the current situation and perspectives of the region.

 

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Claiming serious U.S. provocation, North Korea vows retort

in ASIA/FAR EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

Following America’s move to re-designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, Pyongyang has fought back, calling it “a serious provocation”. On Wednesday, two days after being featured on the list, North Korea responded and vowed to keep up its nuclear and missile programs as a deterrent against the “hostile” United States. A spokesman of the North’s Foreign Ministry told its official Korean Central News Agency, “The U.S., the kingpin of all kinds of terrorism who cannot even prevent terror in its own territory, is acting like an ‘international judge on terrorism’ while attaching or removing the label of ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ on sovereign countries. This is a serious provocation and a violent infringement upon our dignified country”. However, the spokesman warned that the North’s “deterrence will be further strengthened” – and that the country “must continue to keep the treasured nuclear sword in our hands more tightly” – as long as Washington continued with its “hostile policy” against the North.

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Trump says he trusts Putin’s denials of election meddling

in AMERICAS/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed President Vladimir Putin when he denied accusations that Russia meddled in last year’s U.S. election after the two met briefly at a summit in Vietnam on Saturday and agreed a statement on Syria. Trump, who has called allegations of campaign collusion with Moscow a hoax, has faced questions from Democrats about the matter since he took office. A special counsel, Robert Mueller, is conducting a probe that has led to charges against Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates. U.S. intelligence agencies have also concluded Russians interfered in the election to tip the election in Trump’s favor through hacking and releasing emails to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and spreading social media propaganda.

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North Korea justifies its most powerful nuclear bomb test

in ASIA/FAR EAST/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

As South Korea and the United States began their week-long joint Navy drills in the waters around the Korean peninsula on Monday – North Korea released a statement justifying its nuclear program. A North Korean lawmaker said that was America’s antics that compelled Pyongyang to develop and successfully test what was by far its most powerful nuclear weapon yet. Addressing the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Deputy Chairman of North Korea’s parliament An Tong Chun argued that U.S. military pressure was the primary inspiration for Pyongyang’s decision to pursue its nuclear and ballistic weapons program, despite heavy international sanctions. He said, “It was the United States who prompted the DPRK (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) to create a hydrogen bomb and ballistic missiles. We are determined to build up our nuclear forces until peace in struggle with the United States is secured. North Korea will never discuss its right to nuclear weapons as long as the United States keeps its nuclear threat and belligerent policy towards North Korea”. Now, North Korea has claimed that it has a right to create, test and possess nuclear and ballistic weapons as a deterrent against an invasion from hostile powers such as the U.S., but the U.S. and a number of other countries, including North Korea’s closest traditional ally, China, have objected to Kim Jong Un’s actions. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has previously protested Kim Jong Un’s moves, signed a decree affirming Moscow’s commitment to a November 2016 UN Security Council resolution that implements harsh sanctions against North Korea and individuals believed to be linked to its nuclear weapons program. Earlier this month, a Russian lawmaker who returned from a visit to Pyongyang said that North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile which it believes can reach the west coast of the United States. According to South Korean intelligence officials and analysts, North Korea might time its next provocation to coincide with China’s all-important Communist Party Congress that begins on Wednesday. Meanwhile, on Monday, the European Union banned the sale of oil and oil products to North Korea, in a largely symbolic move aimed at encouraging countries that have more significant levels of trade with the country to follow suit.

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Turkish army conducts military drill at Iraqi border

in EUROPE/PRESS RELEASE/REGIONS by

Turkish armed forces started a military drill at the Iraqi border on Monday, the army said, a week ahead of a Kurdish referendum in northern Iraq which Turkey has asked to be called off. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the planned Sept. 25 referendum was as an issue of national security, and warned that Turkey would take any necessary steps in response. President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday that he will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi this week to discuss their concerns about the referendum. Turkey, the United States and other Western powers have advised authorities in the semi-autonomous region to cancel the vote, worrying that it would create tensions that would distract from the war on Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

 

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