https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/russia-returns-to-arctic-for-economy-ecology-security-reason

Russia returns to Arctic for economy, ecology, security reasons: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said, during the Ecosystem - Reserved Land youth forum on Monday, that Russia had returned to the Arctic for economic purposes as well as to safeguard its sustainable defense capabilities and ensure the prevention of emergency situations.

Putin highlighted that "Russia is returning to the Arctic both from an economic point of view and in terms of ensuring the country's defense capability, as well as from the perspective of preventing emergencies," noting that "We will develop the infrastructure of the [Russian] Ministry of Emergency Situations [EMERCOM] there," additionally "The development of the Northern Sea Route will take place and we have already launched some major economic projects there, including in the energy sector."

The president also argued that the Arctic is an ecologically very "vulnerable" region and required special attention to ensure its protection as it is considered "to a large extent related to the Arctic".

As a result, "what has been accumulated as a result of human activity over the past decades," such as rubbish disposal and the establishment of favorable conditions that safeguard human life, economic and defense interests, and the interests of conserving the environment as a whole are extremely challenging undertakings.

On August 25, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had stated that cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic poses a strategic challenge to the values ​and interests of the alliance.

"Russia has significantly increased its military activity in recent years, setting up a new Arctic Command, opening hundreds of new and former Soviet-era Arctic military sites, including airfields and deep-water ports, and using the region as test-bed for novel weapon system," Stoltenberg wrote in an article for Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. "Russia’s ability to disrupt Allied reinforcements across the North Atlantic is a strategic challenge to the Alliance."

China is also expanding its presence in the region, declaring itself a "near-Arctic state" and planning to create a "Polar Silk Road" connecting it with Europe through the Arctic, Stoltenberg wrote.

"Earlier this year, Beijing and Moscow pledged to intensify practical co-operation in the Arctic, as part of a deepening strategic partnership that challenges our values and interests," the NATO chief wrote.

Stoltenberg added that Finland's and Sweden's accession to NATO would significantly strengthen the alliance's position in the Far North.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu previously said that the official participation of Helsinki and Stockholm in NATO strategic planning and the possible provision of the territory of these states for the deployment of strike weapons would change the security conditions in the Baltic region and the Arctic, and would require a revision of approaches to the defense of Russian territory.

Nikolay Korchunov, Russia's Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Cooperation, said on May 22 that the Arctic area has become an "international theater of military operations" since Finland and Sweden filed for NATO membership.

On May 24, it was reported that the US plans to invest billions in Arctic defense, including modernizing its Thule Air Base in Greenland, citing an American military report. The report detailed that neither Denmark nor Greenland had been informed of the plans.

>>17501015

>>17501067

>>17501095

Bill Clinton and Hussein should be up there too.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/azerbaijan-turkey-to-conduct-joint-drills:-mod

Azerbaijan, Turkey to conduct joint drills: MoD

Azerbaijan's defense ministry announced Monday the start of joint air force exercises with Turkey, named TurAz Qartali 2022.

"The opening ceremony of the 'TurAz Qartali - 2022' Joint Flight-Tactical Exercises was held on September 5. The event was attended by Azerbaijani and Turkish servicemen, the head of the Executive Power of [Azerbaijan's] Ganja city, Niyazi Bayramov, and other guests," the ministry said in a statement.

The countries' aviation forces will be embarking on a set of tasks, including planning joint activities, studying interaction and combat interoperability. They will also be conducting search and rescue operations, according to the ministry.

The two Caucasian countries regularly hold joint military exercises.

Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to further collaborate on peace treaty work

On August 31, EU Council President Charles Michel said that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to step up efforts in advancing the conclusion of a peace treaty.

Michel held a trilateral meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels.

"Today we agree to step up substantive work to advance on the peace treaty governing inter-state relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and tasked the Foreign Ministers to meet within one month to work on draft texts," the statement said.

The EU is determined to support the establishment of long-term sustainable peace in the South Caucasus and will continue to closely work with all parties on reaching this goal, Michel added.

The leaders agreed to meet in the same format again by the end of November.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/opec-to-cut-oil-production-by-100000-bpd-in-october

OPEC+ to cut oil production by 100,000 BPD in October

On Monday, OPEC+ declared its intention to resume oil production at the August level and cut it by 100,000 barrels per day (BPD) in October.

In a statement, the OPEC+ alliance said that "[OPEC+ decodes to] Revert to the production level of August 2022 for OPEC and non-OPEC Participating Countries for the month of October 2022 as per the attached table, noting that the upward adjustment of 0.1 mb/d to the production level was intended only for the month of September 2022."

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that "This decision was made due to the fact that we considered the current situation on the market, made an assessment, and heard the report of the OPEC + technical committee."

OPEC+ will be meeting again in October and will continue to monitor the market situation, said Novak, given that the G7 group is set to put a price cap on Russian oil.

In his statement, Novak told Rossiya 24 that "Next, we will look at how the situation on the market will develop. Because there are a lot of uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with production in countries that are not part of the agreement, statements by individual G7 leaders and issues under consideration regarding placing a limit on the price for the purchase of Russian oil."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/situation-in-west-bank-likely-to-explode:-israeli-media

Situation in West Bank likely to explode: Israeli Media

The military affairs correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, Nir Dvory, confirmed that "the activities of the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank have become very extensive in light of the warnings, recent events, and Palestinians' continued attempts to carry out operations."

Dvory added, "It has been assessed that things in the West Bank may intensify, as we see that when operations succeed, there are those who try to imitate them."

For his part, Ohad Hemo, the Palestinian Affairs Correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, commented on the state of panic that the occupation soldiers had following yesterday's Jordan Valley operation, saying, "We see the soldiers not knowing what to do and hiding behind the benches; this is how the shooting looked on a bus transporting soldiers in the Jordan Valley.

He continued, "The majority of the soldiers are recruits who did not carry weapons, but there were several armed soldiers who opened fire on the perpetrators. The scenes were not easy."

Hemo pointed out that "the situation in the West Bank is very likely to explode, and the entry of weapons into the battle is new and of a major importance; weapons are being heavily used."

Jordan Valley incident "exceptional"

An expert on Arab affairs for Israeli Channel 13 said that "the Jordan Valley incident is exceptional and different from all the operations we knew in the Jenin and Nablus area, in terms of shooting at a soldiers' bus."

He added, "The army and the Shin Bet are at a crossroads this week, and perhaps in the coming weeks. Will undirected and unorganized terrorism spread to areas that are currently relatively calm, such as the southern West Bank and the areas of Beit Lahm and Al-Khalil, where we would then witness a different story?"

He pointed out that "things are heading towards increasing severity, and what helps this is authorities being out of the picture."

Yesterday, the military commentator on the Israeli Channel 13, Alon Ben-David, said, "I hear statements about what we have been seeing in recent months, saying it is a new kind of uprising that is different from what we witnessed in the 80s and the year 2000, and what distinguishes it is a lot of violence directed against the Israeli army in every arrest operation."

In turn, a Palestinian affairs correspondent for the Israeli Kan channel commented saying, "the data recently presented in the security and military establishment, which we are publishing today for the first time, confirm that in 2021, 91 Palestinian operations were recorded, 75 of which were against security forces and military targets," adding that in the year 2022 that has not ended yet, more than 150 operations were recorded, more than 130 of which were against the security forces."

It is noteworthy that these Israeli statements came after a shooting operation in the direction of a bus of occupation soldiers in the Jordan Valley, causing 6 injuries.

>>17501199

So much for environmental concerns and care for nature!

>>17501205

Dasting!

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/former-aide-to-head-roscosmos-faces-high-treason-sentence

Former aide to head Roscosmos faces high treason sentence - Russia

Moscow journalist and former aide to the head of the Roscosmos, Ivan Safronov, has been found guilty of high treason in a Moscow City Court on Monday.

The judicial board's statement read:

"To recognize Safronov Ivan Ivanovich guilty of committing a crime under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," continuing with "To give Safronov a sentence of imprisonment for a term of 22 years to be served in a strict regime colony."

In addition to his imprisonment, Safronov was sentenced to two years of freedom restriction following his release as well as 500,000 rubles.

Safronov's lawyer Daniil Nikiforov told Sputnik that "We will certainly appeal the verdict, moreover, we have no illusions, in this regard, we already have a complaint in our hands, we are ready to file it right now,"

Although the case was tried in private, the public was allowed to hear the decision. The descriptive and motivational portions of the decision were left out since the court only read the introductory and operative parts.

In another context, the Russian Foreign Ministry, on June 14, added 29 UK journalists and 20 defense officials to the new sanctions list, making them ineligible for entry into Russia.

Members from major media outlets, such as The Independent, Sky News, The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, BBC, and The Financial Times, were banned.

The foreign ministry stated that the British journalists included on the list were involved in the dissemination of false and one-sided information about Russia, events in Ukraine, and the Donbass, adding that their assessments contributed to the incitement of Russophobia in British society.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/abu-akleh-family:-israeli-report-on-shireens-martyrdom-conce

Abu Akleh family: Israeli report on Shireen's martyrdom conceals truth

The family of Palestinian journalist Sherine Abu Akleh, on Monday, accused "Israel" of trying to "hide the truth and escape responsibility for killing the journalist," after an Israeli statement highlighting "the difficulty of determining who is responsible for the killing" of Shireen during the storming of the camp of Jenin in the West Bank of occupied Palestine, was released.

Abu Akleh's family issued a statement that considered "Israel's" statement "earlier today" to be "an attempt to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh."

The family confirmed that it "will continue to demand that the US government upholds its obligations towards one of its citizens (the martyr Shireen holds an American citizenship) and to hold the killers accountable, as well as to continue to call on members of Congress and civil society to continue to put pressure on US President Joe Biden, in order to conduct a comprehensive investigation which will turn to the International Criminal Court in this case."

Meanwhile, the Palestinian presidency confirmed that "the results of the investigations conducted by the occupation army are nothing but an attempt for "Israel" to evade the responsibility for the killing of the journalist."

The official spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said in a statement, "The Israeli report on the martyrdom of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is a new Israeli attempt to evade responsibility for her murder," because "all the evidence, facts, and investigations that were conducted prove that 'Israel' is the culprit, and that it must be held responsible."

The statement stressed that "the Palestinian leadership will continue to follow up the file of the martyrdom of Shireen Abu Akleh with all relevant international bodies, especially the International Criminal Court, in addition to all files that are being followed up in order to protect the rights of our people."

The Israeli attacks on journalists were not limited to one victim as Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi was also wounded by a live bullet in his back; his condition is stable.

Palestinian media reported heavy gunfire between resistance fighters and the occupation forces in the Jenin refugee camp, noting that many journalists were wounded by Israeli bullets while covering the occupation's incursion into the Jenin refugee camp.

Palestine's Attorney General Akram al-Khatib announced on May 26, that an Israeli soldier shot and hit Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, clarifying that the bullet hit her directly in the head.

During a press conference he held after presenting the results of the investigation to the chief of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, al-Khatib explained that Abu Akleh was hit with an armor-piercing round.

He also added that the round that was fired on Abu Akleh appears to be from a semi-automatic sniper rifle, moreover, the investigative team has conclusive evidence that the targeting of Martyr Abu Akleh and the reporters that were with her was direct and deliberate.

>> It was murder, intentional murder. No accidents.

>>17501245

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/as-nord-stream-1-shuts-indefinitely-concerns-over-gas-prices

As Nord Stream 1 shuts indefinitely, concerns over gas prices rise

Russia's decision to suspend the operation of its Nord Stream 1 pipeline has given rise to fear about the prospects for gas prices as the European economy has taken one hit after the other due to the Western sanctions on Moscow.

Gas supplies via Nord Stream have completely stopped since August 31st and the operation of the pipeline has been suspended due to scheduled maintenance work at the Portovaya compressor station, data from gas transportation system operators showed.

Meanwhile, the British economy has taken on another level of deterioration, with an increasing number of UK manufacturers saying they were already cutting production or cutting off employees due to the soaring energy bills.

Previously, Gazprom said gas would continue to flow on Saturday after a different turbine repair was required. However, Western sanctions have made it difficult for the energy company to pursue its maintenance routine.

Some 13% of businesses surveyed by Make UK, the top manufacturing industry trade body in Britain, said they were decreasing their hours of operation or procrastinating production until energy prices cool down, 7% said they were cutting production by long periods of time, and 12% said they fired employees to cope.

Prices all over Europe have been inflated by almost 400% due to the restricted gas flow from Russia, with expectations that they increase further after Moscow went back on its decision to continue pumping gas through Nord Stream 1 to Germany due to maintenance issues.

The United Kingdom was importing some 4% of its gas and 8% of its oil from Russia, but a few days ago, London revealed that it had no energy resources coming from Russia at all for the first time following the deterioration of ties with Moscow in light of the Ukraine war.

Thirteen EU nations have either ceased getting Russian gas entirely or are only receiving a portion of it due to the temporary blockage of the Nord Stream pipeline 1, the Russian TASS news agency reported last week.

The UK and the rest of Europe are incomparable, as Britain is not as dependent on Russian energy, though markets in the EU have largely affected the country's prices.

Russia has underlined several times that it was not weaponizing energy and that the Western sanctions on it, as well as technical difficulties due to said sanctions, have been restricting the flow of gas and oil. Meanwhile, the sanctioning parties - essentially countries most damaged by the self-imposed sanctions - have been accusing Moscow of weaponizing its resources.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline is highly significant for Europe. Running through the Baltic Sea to Germany, the gas pipeline supplied around a third of the Russian gas exports to Europe. Before its shutdown for maintenance last week, the pipeline was running at 20% of its capacity.

Surging costs of power linked to gas prices have already stunted the production of various industries, such as fertilizers and aluminum manufacturers, and prompted EU governments to increase their spending by billions in order to help their citizens.

Gazprom announced on Wednesday that it will suspend gas shipments to French energy giant Engie due to payment concerns, raising the prospect of a wider supply shortfall. However, France is less vulnerable to the rise in gas prices caused by Russia's decision to curtail deliveries to Europe following draconian sanctions on the country after its special military operation in Ukraine.

Italy and Germany are now the two largest European countries most exposed to a gas supply shock due to their extensive use of natural gas and significant reliance on Russia, according to S&P Global Ratings.

About 60% of Germany's natural gas supply was piped in from Russia in 2020, primarily under long-term contracts.

The Ukraine war has led to an energy crisis across Europe, with August emerging as the month with the highest surging prices on record for power tariffs in the bloc, Rystad Energy said this week.

Italy was the first market to record a monthly spot price above €500 ($500.15) per megawatt hour, with the average for August rising to €547 per MWh, followed by France at €492 per MWh, Germany at €465 per MWh, and the United Kingdom at €438 per MWh.