https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/eu-cuts-russian-coal-imports-ahead-of-full-ban-reports

EU cuts Russian coal imports ahead of full ban – Reports

As the European Union (EU) prepares to impose a full ban on Russian coal in August, the block imported 48% less thermal coal from Moscow in June compared to May, according to the figures provided by CRU consultancy to the Financial Times.

Russian coal exports to the EU were increasing continuously during spring as the bloc was after filling every available storage, before plunging to 1.7 million tonnes last month, as per the commodity consultancy.

Europe has become more and more dependent on Russian coal for energy after its ban on sea-carried oil imports from Moscow and cuts in natural gas pumped through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The bloc is now seeking to replace the Russian oil from South Africa and Australia.

UBS analyst Myles Allsop, quoted by the British daily, suggested that the EU would have trouble replacing both gas and coal supplies from Russia. Thermal coal was trading at $130 last year and went up currently to $400 a tonne.

In the meantime, Russia has been exploring new markets beyond Europe. It sold more coal to India and China than it did before the pandemic. In June, China accounted for almost a quarter of the 13.7 million tonnes of coal that Russia exported by sea.

>> First it was gas, now it's coal. Crazy!

>>16737698

>>16737719

A pervert advising another pervert. How bad could it be?

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/eu-to-target-russian-gold-in-next-sanctions-package:-commiss

EU to target Russian gold in next sanctions package: Commissioner

The European Union is focusing on Russian gold exports in its sanctions package and seeks to "close exit routes" for bypassing earlier packages, as the EU commissioner revealed on Friday.

So far, the EU has adopted six penalty packages against Russia. The most recent one, passed in June, prohibited most Russian oil imports.

The EU will look into "ways we could slap a sanction regime on gold, which is an important commodity for exports from Russia," Maros Sefcovic, deputy head of the European Commission, said in Prague.

"As soon as we reach an agreement at the level of member states, we will publish it," he said ahead of an informal meeting of EU affairs ministers held by the Czech presidency of the 27-nation bloc.

The move follows a ban on Russian gold exports agreed upon by the world's most industrialized nations at the end of June at a G7 summit.

On Thursday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna, who was in Prague for the meeting, asked the EU to pass a new sanctions package. "Nothing makes Russia so far feel accountable for (its) crimes," she told reporters.

"We hope the next, seventh package of sanctions will have a strong restrictive potential and will be taken without further delay and as soon as possible," said Stefanishyna.

Sefcovic added that the EU would also seek to "close all exit routes for those wanting to bypass the sanctions."

"It is of course a very complex mechanism, so we need to not only set up, but also check, monitor, and close the places that would create platforms for an exit in some way," she said.

He also dismissed any notions of exhaustion among EU nations assisting Ukraine.

"I have never seen so strongly demonstrated unity and effort from all member states to look for all possible reserves, whether we talk about financial aid or arms supplies," Sefcovic claimed.

"Even though it's really difficult, we will continue because it's the Ukrainians fighting for their freedom who are in the most difficult situation," he added.

>> Sanctions on Russian gas -> prices went up.

Sanctions of Russian gold -?

>>16737851

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/no-peace-plan-for-palestine-only-words-from-biden-in-beit-la

No peace plan for Palestine, only words from Biden in Beit Lahm

At the end of US President Joe Biden's first leg to West Asia, he pledged from Ramallah on Friday to uphold his efforts to bring "peace" to occupied Palestine amid the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for decades, though his version of peace does not include putting an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

Amid his promises, Biden offered no new proposals to bring back to life the political dialogue between Palestine and the Israeli occupation, though even that would go against what the Palestinian people want.

Biden's visit to Ramallah did not see him offering any solutions or even condemning "Israel's" occupation of Palestine. He only pledged a multi-year $100 million package of financial and technical help for a hospital in occupied Al-Quds.

After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beit Lahm, Biden said the creation of an "independent Palestine" was a distant prospect in light of Ramallah not having an immediate prospect of talks with "Tel Aviv".

"Even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not give up on trying to bring… both sides closer together," he said.

Abbas said the prospects for a "two-state solution" regarding the Palestinian cause was receding, and the opportunity "may not remain for a long time". The Palestinian leader also asked, "Is it not time for this occupation to end?"

The Palestinian president then demanded the United States open a consulate in occupied Al-Quds, which Palestine seeks to have as its capital following the end of the Israeli occupation. Abbas also asked the United States to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from a list of "terrorist groups" and allow the governmental agency to re-open an office.

The leader also called on his US counterpart to haul into court the killers of veteran Al Jazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, whom the Israeli occupation murdered in the occupied West Bank during a raid the IOF was launching on Jenin.

Ahead of Biden's visit, Abbas said the US president was prioritizing Israeli interests and its integration into a regional security arrangement with Arab states above Palestine's concerns, which include self-determination and the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Biden, in a bid to seem like he sympathizes with the Palestinian people, whose oppression is done at the hands of his allies, said: "You could feel… the grief and frustration," regarding the people suffering in the occupied West Bank and Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

In addition to the meager amount of money pledged for the hospitals in occupied Al-Quds in comparison to the funds allocated to the Israeli occupation's forces each year, Biden will announce measures to upgrade telecommunication networks in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to 4G standards by 2023.

In the visit that saw Biden doing nothing but pledging funds for Palestinians, the US president unveiled that there would be an additional $201 million in funding provided by the UN refugee agency UNRWA to help Palestinian refugees.

Biden claimed that the United States would continue to seek accountability for Abu Akleh's death after US authorities concluded that she was killed by an Israeli soldier. However, the admission to Israeli accountability is missing something: the fact that Washington said it had no reason to believe that the killing was intentional.

Following his meeting with Abbas and the remarks he gave in Beit Lahm, Biden took off from occupied Palestine toward the second leg of his tour, Saudi Arabia.

He arrived at Al-Lydd's Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, where he was received by high-ranking Israeli officials on his first official visit to occupied Palestine as President before holding talks with Israeli occupation Prime Minister Yair Lapid and other senior officials.

His visit to Saudi Arabia will see the US leader try and mend ties with Saudi Arabia to persuade Riyadh and other Gulf allies to pump out more oil in the markets as the Biden administration faces mounting criticism over the soaring oil prices.

Biden signed the "Jerusalem Declaration", which capped his first visit to "Israel" as President. The signing came after he told a local TV station that he was open to "last resort" use of force against Iran - an apparent move toward accommodating Israeli calls for world powers to provide a "credible military threat."

The Declaration, issued to the public ahead of a formal signing ceremony on Thursday, emphasized the United States' unwaning support for "Israel's" regional military advantage and ability to "defend itself alone."

>>16738211

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/russian-new-law-may-make-israeli-organizations-foreign-agent

Russian new law may make Israeli organizations 'foreign agents'

he Moscow Times reported that Russia expanded its definition of "foreign agents" to include "those who take part in any activity that authorities determine goes against Russia’s national interests or who receive support of any kind, not just money, from abroad."

The Jerusalem Post indicated that "Jewish representatives from the Jewish Agency or representatives of international Jewish organizations may be categorized as 'foreign agents'."

According to the new Russian law, "Anyone who has worked with a 'foreign agent' or received funding from one will be included in a new Justice Ministry list of people and groups 'affiliated with foreign agents.'"

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law on foreign agents that stipulates the creation of a unified register of individuals affiliated with them, according to the official legal information portal.

An individual will be considered affiliated with foreign agents if they are currently or have previously been a part of an organization of the foreign agents, whether they were its founder, member, participant, director, or worker.

Under the law, a person affiliated with foreign agents is an individual who is a political activist and who receives (or did so in the past) financing from foreign agents, including through third parties, for political activities.

It is noted that the restrictions on foreign agents do not apply to the people affiliated with them. This unified register will be supervised by the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

JPost: Russian officials investigating the Jewish Agency

Last week, the Jerusalem Post claimed that for the past three years, Russian officials have been investigating the Jewish Agency and closely examining its information and hardware.

The Israeli newspaper website revealed that the Russian Justice Ministry sent the Jewish Agency a list of violations of the law and the consequences of these violations.

The newspaper quoted a senior Israeli diplomatic official as saying that “Russia has claimed that the Jewish Agency illegally collected information about Russian citizens.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, "The fear is that if the Agency has already been under investigation, the new law will create an impossible situation for Jewish and Israeli organizations to work in Russia."

Last week, the Russian Ministry pointed out that the agency officials in Russia have violated the law by sharing the information gathered with its offices in Al-Quds or with the Israeli occupation government's offices.

The Ministry stressed that the agency should respond to the allegations, warning that it may have to cease activities in Russia if found guilty of the charges.

This comes amid growing tension between the Israeli occupation and Russia over "Tel Aviv's" support for Kiev and its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the ongoing war in Ukraine.