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Nordics reject Trump’s claim that Chinese and Russian vessels are near Greenland. FT reports
Financial Times reports that Nordic diplomats have rejected Donald Trump's claim of Russian and Chinese vessels near Greenland. The FT reported that there have been no signs in recent years of Russian or 'Chinese' ships?or subs around Greenland, citing senior Nordic diplomats who had access to NATO intelligence. The report could not be verified immediately. The White House as well as NATO have not responded to comments. It is simply not true. I've?seen intelligence. The FT quoted a senior?diplomat who said, "There are no submarines or ships." A second Nordic diplomat has said that claims that Russian and Chinese vessels were "crawling" in the waters surrounding Greenland are unfounded. They added that this activity is on the Russian side of the Arctic. Trump has repeatedly said that Russian and Chinese ships are operating near Greenland. Denmark disputes this claim. He hasn't provided any evidence. Trump said that the U.S. should own Greenland - an autonomous part within the Kingdom of Denmark - to stop Russia or China from occupying this strategically located, mineral rich territory. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Danish Foreign Minister, said this week that the image of Russian and Chinese vessels right inside?Nuuk Fjord with massive Chinese investments is incorrect. MarineTraffic data and LSEG vessel tracking data show that there are no Chinese or?Russian ships near Greenland. Greenland’s Assembly said late Friday that it would convene a meeting on Monday to discuss the response to U.S. threat to take control of island. Trump's renewed push to get Greenland after the U.S.'s military intervention in Venezuela worries many of Greenland's 57,000 residents, who have a common goal to become an independent country.
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Dar Global and Trump Organization Launch $10 Billion Saudi Developments
Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Saudi real estate developer Dar Global, announced on Sunday that two Trump-branded luxury projects will be launched in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Jeddah (Jordan). Chaar said that the projects include the Trump National Golf Course in Riyadh and the Trump International Hotel at Diriyah. This is a massive project located on the western edge of the Saudi capital. Chaar said that a mixed-use development called Trump Plaza is planned for Jeddah. Chaar stated that the projects were in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify its economy and move away from oil. The aim is to attract direct foreign investment. Saudi Arabia will also allow foreigners to own property in certain areas for the first-time starting this month. According to Eric Trump, son of U.S. president Donald Trump and executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, the latest in a long line of partnerships between the Trump Organization and Dar Global (the international arm of Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan) is expected to be completed within the next four or five years. (Reporting and editing by Tomasz Janovski and David Goodman in Riyadh)
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Maersk is exploring more ethanol for green fuel in order to reduce its reliance on China.
The Financial Times published an interview with Maersk's CEO, Vincent Clerc, on Sunday. This could reduce the company's dependence on China, and help the industry to decarbonise. Clerc stated that the U.S. and Brazil are the leading producers of ethanol in the world. Clerc?told FT that if all the benefits are concentrated in China then some countries may object. But if they're more evenly distributed then many more will be supportive ?.?.?. It will allow more countries to see the benefits of the green transition. The shipping industry is more difficult than others to reduce emissions. This requires expensive retrofits for existing vessels or new ships that are able run on efuels. Hapag-Lloyd?and North Sea Container Line (NCL), two shipping companies, won a tender late last year to use low-emission fuels made from hydrogen on container ships starting in 2027. The contract will run for three years. (Reporting from Gnaneshwar rajan in Bengaluru, editing by Kate Mayberry.)
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Ukrainian drone attack injures four, damages buildings in Russia's Voronezh, governor says
The governor of Voronezh Region said that an overnight Ukrainian drone strike inflicted injuries on at least four people and caused damage to a number of buildings. The governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram that an emergency service facility, six houses, and seven apartment buildings were damaged by the attack. The?reports could not be independently verified. Ukraine claims that it has been attacking targets in Russia since the Kremlin launched its war nearly four years ago. This is in response to the repeated drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Russia launched a missile at a Ukrainian site near NATO member Poland on Friday, an attack Kyiv's European partners characterized as a ploy to dissuade them from continuing their support for Ukraine. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell in Melbourne)
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Mississippi man accused in killing six people, including a 7-year old child and a pastor
Officials from law enforcement said that a man was arrested and charged for first-degree homicide in the deaths of six people on Friday night, including a young child, in Clay County, Mississippi. Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott announced on Saturday that Daricka Moore, 24, is suspected of killing several members of her family and a pastor in the area before she was taken into custody. Officials said that the charge against Moore is likely to be upgraded to capital murder and a death penalty could be imposed if he is found to have mental competency. This is horrible. "This is as bad as it gets," said Scott Colom. He's the district attorney of Mississippi's Sixteenth Circuit Court. His jurisdiction includes Clay County. Scott claims that Moore shot his father, brother and uncle in the head, killing them, on Friday night. He then stole a truck, drove to another location, where he attempted to sexually abuse a 7-year old girl who was related to him before shooting her dead in the head. The?law enforcers responded to the 911 call and were directed to a third location where they found two other males who had been fatally shot. One of those men was a pastor from the area. Moore was arrested at a nearby area 'just before midnight', Scott reported. Scott stated that the motives of the murders were unknown. Scott said at a press conference that the incident had "really?shaken" his community. "I personally don't know why someone would kill a seven-year-old." Scott stated that autopsies will be conducted by the Mississippi Crime Lab. Moore will appear in court Monday. Clay County is located in northeastern Mississippi. It has a population close to 20,000. (Reporting and editing by Sergio Non in Houston, Mark Potter and Rod Nickel.
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Local media and law enforcement say that a suspect has been arrested after six people were killed in Mississippi
Local news outlets and police have not provided any additional information, but say that at least six people died after being shot in Clay County, Mississippi. The suspect is in custody. According to WTVA (an NBC News affiliate), the deaths took place at?three separate shooting locations. Eddie Scott, the Clay County Sheriff, announced on social media that the suspect was "in custody" and no longer posed a threat to 'our?community. WTVA reported that six people were killed. Scott and the Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to an?ask for comment. Scott posted on Facebook: "I ask you to lift up our victims and their families in your prayers." Clay County is located in the?northeast part of Mississippi. It has a population close to 20,000. Reporting by Ernest Scheyder. (Editing by Sergio Non, Mark Potter and Mark Potter.
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Four tankers, which had left Venezuela in "dark mode", are now back in its waters
Four tankers, the majority of which were loaded, left Venezuela early in January in "dark mode" - that is, with their transponders turned off despite a "strict" U.S. blockade. According to the state company PDVSA, and the monitoring service TankerTrackers.com, the blockade is now in place. Last month, a flotilla consisting of at least three empty ships and a dozen vessels with cargo left Venezuelan waters. This was in apparent defiance to an embargo that President Donald Trump imposed on Venezuela since mid-December. The U.S. seized the?supertanker M Sophia with a Panamanian flag this week as it returned to the country. Another Aframax Tanker Olina, flying a Sao 'Tome and Principe flag, was also?intercepted, but was released to Venezuela Friday by state company PDVSA. Tankertrackers.com spotted three more vessels in Venezuelan waters on Friday night through satellite images. These were the Panama-flagged Merope and Cook Islands-flagged Min Hang, as well as Panama-flagged Thalia III. U.S. authorities had announced on Friday that Olina, formerly known as Minerva m, would be released. They said that the next step in the negotiations between Caracas, Washington and the U.S. for a $2 billion oil deal would be to begin organized crude exports. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that arrangements had been made for a supply of oil in a meeting with executives from top oil companies on Friday. Sources said that Vitol, Trafigura and other global trading houses received the first U.S. licensing to carry Venezuelan exports and to negotiate with Venezuela. Naphtha is also expected to be supplied to the OPEC nation, according to sources. Marianna Pararaga, Julia Symmes Cobb and Marianna Parraga contributed to this report.
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Kyiv scrambles after Russian attack to repair the damaged power grid
Kyiv’s heating and water systems were restored after they had been briefly turned off on Saturday due to a particularly cold day. Engineers scrambled for stabilisation of a power grid that was pushed to its limits by a series of Russian airstrikes, including the one from two nights ago. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been bombarding Ukraine's power system with intense force. This has caused blackouts that last for several hours each day in many major cities. The heat and water infrastructure has also been severely affected over the past few weeks. This is a growing concern as temperatures have already dropped below minus 10 degrees Celsius. Around noon local time (1100 GMT) on Sunday, the city administration announced that Ukrenergo, the state grid operator, had ordered that the city's power system be shut down. The water and heating systems, as well as the?electrified transport would stop working. Ukrenergo reported that engineers had resolved the immediate problem, caused by previous Russian attacks, and power was returning to parts of Kyiv within an hour. The Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that the heating system in Ukrainian cities, which pumps hot water into homes through pipes and is centralised, will also be re-started. She said she expects heat to be restored to all homes on Saturday. She said, however, that power was still a problem in the capital, because the grid had been badly damaged and more people were using electric heaters due to the cold. After the latest Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, about 6,000 apartment blocks were left with no heating as bitter cold settled in. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that half of these blocks had their heat restored by Saturday. However, it was then shut off again because there was a problem with the power grid. (Reporting and editing by Max Hunder, Emelia Sithole Matarise and Mark Potter)
Turkey says "nothing" about Iraq oil pipeline restart
Alparslan Bayraktar, the Turkish Energy Minister, said on Wednesday that the Iraqi government has not yet confirmed the return of oil flow through the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline.
Iraq's Oil Minister said Monday that oil exports will resume from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region next week. This resolves a dispute of nearly two years that has disrupted oil flows, as relations between Baghdad Erbil have improved.
The return of the Kurdistan region to normal service is expected to relieve the economic pressure that has been caused by the suspension. This has resulted in delayed salaries for workers from the public sector and the reduction of essential services.
When asked by the Turkish parliament about the start of the Iraqi oil supply and if Iraq had any information on the matter, Bayraktar responded: "Nothing."
In March 2023, the Turkish government halted the oil flow after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for pipeline exports that were unauthorised by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The report covered the period from 2014 to 2018. Sources familiar with the issue have confirmed that a second arbitration case is ongoing and covers 2018 onwards.
The Turkish government has stated that the pipeline is ready to restart flow since late 2023.
Hayan Abdel-Ghani, the Iraqi Oil Minister of the central government, told reporters Monday that his ministry would send a delegation to the Kurdish Region in order to negotiate the mechanism for receiving and exporting oil from this region. He added that the "export procedure will start within a week."
Abdel-Ghani stated that Baghdad will receive 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
Iraq is the second largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries behind the de facto leader Saudi Arabia. OPEC data confirms that Iraq pumps about 4 million bpd. This is in line with the production targets agreed with the broader OPEC+ Alliance.
Uncertainty remains about how Iraq will increase its northern exports while remaining compliant with OPEC+ and whether, for example it will trim exports from Basrah, in southern Iraq.
Rudaw TV, based in Erbil, reported earlier this week that Kurdistan’s Minister of Natural Resources, Kamal Mohammed said oil exports would resume before March, because all legal processes have been completed.
This month, the Iraqi parliament passed a budget amendment to subsidise production cost for international oil companies that operate in Kurdistan. The aim is to unlock northern oil exports. Reporting by Nevzat devranoglu, Can Sezer and Daren Butler. Writing by Yousef saba and Elaine Hardcastle. Editing by Jonathan Spicer & Elaine Hardcastle.
(source: Reuters)