Biden allows Ukraine to hit some targets in Russia with US weapons

4 hours ago

US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use American-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but only near the Kharkiv region, US officials say.

One told BBC News his team had been directed to ensure Ukraine was able to use US weapons for "counter-fire purposes" to "hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them".

Russian forces have made gains in the Kharkiv region in recent weeks after a surprise offensive in the area, close to the border with Russia.

On Friday, Ukrainian officials said three people had been killed and 16 injured in Russian shelling of a residential building in a suburb of Kharkiv city.

The US official also told the BBC: "Our policy with respect to prohibiting the use of Army Tactical Missile System [ATACMS] or long-range strikes inside of Russia has not changed.”

When asked by CBS, the BBC's US partner, whether the new policy included attacking Russian aircraft, an official said: "We’ve never told them [Ukraine] they can’t shoot down a Russian airplane over Russian soil that’s coming to attack them.”

The White House and state department had no immediate comment.

The UK earlier signalled that it was open to an easing of restrictions on how Ukraine could use weapons supplied by the West.

Despite concerns that such a development could further escalate the conflict, several European leaders also recently called for restrictions on the use of such weapons to be relaxed.

But Washington, which provides the bulk of Ukraine's weaponry, had resisted easing these restrictions over fears of escalation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at the shift during a visit to Moldova on Wednesday.

"At every step along the way, we've adapted and adjusted as necessary," he said.

"And so that's exactly what we'll do going forward."

Russian forces appear to have recently taken advantage of a window of opportunity to push deeper into Ukrainian territory in Kharkiv as Kyiv waits for further Western weapons to arrive at the front.

At least 12 people were killed and dozens more were wounded last week after Russian forces hit a supermarket in the city of Kharkiv with two glide bombs.

Early on Friday, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that Russian shelling had struck a five-storey apartment block in the Novobavarskyi District of Kharkiv, destroying part of the building and causing a fire.

At least three people were killed and 16 were injured, including a 12-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, both of whom were taken to hospital, he said.

The Ukrainian official accused Russian forces of targeting "exclusively civilian infrastructure" and using a "double-strike tactic", hitting the site for a second time after paramedics and rescue workers had arrived.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy770l9llnzo

OPEC+ Working on Complex Deal to Extend Production Cuts into 2025, Sources Say

By Dmitry Zhdannikov, Alex Lawler and Maha El Dahan Reuters May 30, 2024

LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) – OPEC+ is working on a complex deal to be agreed at its meeting on Sunday that will allow the group to extend some of its deep oil production cuts into 2025, three sources familiar withOPEC+ discussions said on Thursday.

OPEC+ has made a series of cuts since late 2022 amid rising output from the United States and other non-members, and worries over demand as major economies grapple with high interest rates.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries led by Saudi Arabia and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, is currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day, equal to about 5.7% of global demand.

The cuts include 3.66 million bpd by OPEC+ members valid through to the end of 2024, and 2.2 million bpd of voluntary cuts by some members which expire at the end of June.

OPEC+ will begin a series of online meetings at 1100 GMT on Sunday.

The deal on Sunday could include extending some or all of the cuts of 3.66 million bpd into 2025 and some or all of the voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd into the third or fourth quarter of 2024, three sources familiar with the discussions said on Thursday.

The extension of some cuts into 2025 will likely be made conditional on OPEC+ agreeing new individual member output capacity figures later in 2024, two of the sources said.

OPEC+ is trying to agree new oil production capacity for its member countries by the end of 2024, an issue that has created tensions in the past because each nation’s output target is calculated from its notional capacity.

“We expect OPEC+ could announce on Sunday a framework for 2025 and how to phase back some of the cuts,” said Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects think-tank.

The countries which have made voluntary cuts that are deeper than those agreed with the wider group are Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“We would not entirely rule out a plot twist – in the form of a deeper cut – given (Saudi energy minister) Prince Abdulaziz’s (bin Salman) penchants for Hollywood twist endings,” said Helima Croft from RBC Capital Markets.

Prince Abdulaziz has repeatedly said he likes keeping the oil market on its toes and promised to punish speculators.

The OPEC+ meeting may coincide with a secondary share offering in oil giant Aramco 2222.SE on Riyadh’s Saudi Exchange – the culmination of a years-long effort to sell another chunk in one of the world’s most valuable companies after its record-setting IPO in 2019 raised $29.4 billion.

https://gcaptain.com/opec-working-on-complex-deal-to-extend-production-cuts-into-2025-sources-say/

This could turn into some major shit

South Africa #12 >>20943496

ANC on course to lose majority

Farouk Chothia, BBC News, Johannesburg 31 May 2024

South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is on course to lose its majority in parliament for the first time since it came to power 30 years ago, partial results from Thursday's parliamentary election suggest.

With results from more than 50% of voting districts counted so far, the ANC is leading with 42%, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 23%.

The the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) of former President Jacob Zuma has received nearly 11% of the vote and the Economic Freedom Fighters party, nearly 10%.

Final results are expected over the weekend.

Many voters blame the ANC for the high levels of corruption, crime and unemployment in the country.

The respected Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the News24 website have projected that the party's final vote will be around 42%, a big drop from the 57% it obtained in the 2019 election.

This would force it go into a coalition with one or more of the other parties in order to form a majority in parliament.

The DA has liberal economic policies, while both the EFF and MK favour more state intervention and nationalisation, so the choice of partner would make a huge difference to South Africa's future direction.

It is unclear whether President Cyril Ramaphosa will remain in power, as he could come under pressure from the ANC to resign if the party gets less than 45% of the final vote, said Prof William Gumede, chairman of the non-profit Democracy Works Foundation.

"The ANC could turn him into a scapegoat, and a faction within the party could push for him to be replaced by his deputy, Paul Mashatile. The EFF and MK are also likely to demand his resignation before agreeing to any coalition with the ANC," Prof Gumede told the BBC.

South Africans do not directly vote for a president. Instead they vote for members of parliament who will then go on to elect the president.

The influencers rallying South Africa's youth to vote

Cynthia voted for Nelson Mandela. Now she's abandoning his successors

The initial results show that the ANC is suffering heavy losses to MK, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, where Mr Zuma's party has been leading with 43% of the vote to the ANC's 21%.

Mr Zuma caused a major shock when he announced in December that he was ditching the ANC to campaign for MK.

KwaZulu-Natal is the home region of Mr Zuma, and the province with the second-highest number of votes, making it crucial in determining whether the ANC retains its parliamentary majority.

Although Mr Zuma has been barred from running for parliament because of a conviction for contempt of court, his name still appeared on the ballot paper as MK leader.

If MK wins KwaZulu-Natal, it would be a "major upset" and herald the "potential decimation" of the ANC in the province, Prof Gumede said.

The ANC also risks losing its majority in the economic heartland of Gauteng, where the party currently has 36% to the DA's 29%.

Wednesday's election saw long lines of voters outside polling stations late into the night across the country.

According to the electoral commission, the last polling station closed at 0300 on Thursday morning local time.

One electoral official in Johannesburg told the BBC the queues were reminiscent of the historic 1994 election, when black people could vote for the first time.

Sifiso Buthelezi, who voted in Johannesburg's Joubert Park - the biggest polling station in South Africa - told the BBC: "Freedom is great but we need to tackle corruption."

Change has been a recurring sentiment, especially among young voters.

"The turnout amongst them was high, and they voted against the ANC," Prof Gumede

More:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjll8nr6962o

>>20943728

A few more minutes

Then a few more more minutes

Then you become Omni Shift

Remember the freak out over the "foreign agents" legislation in Georgia?

Chinese to develop Black Sea port in Georgia

Sam Chambers May 30, 2024

Two Chinese firms have won the rights to build and operate a deepsea port on the Black Sea.

China Communications Construction Company and China Harbour Investment will develop the long-planned port at Anaklia in Georgia.

The initial phase of Anaklia port development involves constructing a berth capable of handling 7m tons of cargo and a 600,000 teu container terminal, with a total investment value of $600m. The government will hold a controlling stake of 51% in the port.

Anaklia is a town and seaside resort in western Georgia. It is located in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, at the place where the Enguri River flows into the Black Sea.

Georgia’s top two existing ports – Batumi and Poti – are operating at near capacity as trade from China heading west to Europe grows.

https://splash247.com/chinese-to-develop-black-sea-port-in-georgia/

Who's the "B" in BRICS?

Subsea 7 scores Petrobras contract worth more than $1.25bn

Adis Ajdin May 30, 2024

Subsea 7 has landed what it describes as a “super-major” contract worth over $1.25bn with Brazil’s Petrobras.

The deal will see the Oslo-listed offshore services player work on the Búzios 9 field development, located some 180 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in the pre-salt Santos basin.

The work scope includes engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and pre-commissioning of 102 km of rigid risers and flowlines for the steel lazy wave production system.

Project management and engineering will be carried out from Subsea 7’s offices in Rio de Janeiro and Paris.

Fabrication of the pipelines will take place at the company’s spool base at Ubu in Espirito Santo, Brazil, and offshore operations are scheduled to be executed in 2026 and 2027.

https://splash247.com/subsea-7-scores-petrobras-contract-worth-more-than-1-25bn/

>>20943953

> maybe most of them really did only cheat their way through community college

That would explain the inability to accomplish a simple Beer Run. They were never real College Freshmen so have never been on a beer run