Author: Press Room

Finland has detained a Russian ship after a power cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea The EU plans to impose sanctions on what it calls Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers after an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia was severed, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.Finnish authorities detained a Russian oil tanker, the Eagle S, as part of an investigation into damage caused to the EstLink 2 power cable on Thursday. The EstLink 2, which delivers electricity to Estonia via the Baltic Sea, was cut in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday.In a joint statement by…

Via The CradleClashes raged in Syria on Thursday between the remnants of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the currently-ruling Hayat Tahrir-Sham (HTS) extremist group several hours after over a dozen HTS militants were killed in the western Tartous governorate.  Violent armed clashes were recorded by citizens in Tartous on Thursday. Video footage also showed positions of the SAA’s 25th Division stationed in the Latakia mountains in western Syria. 🇸🇾 Intense clashes rage into their second day in Tartus, Syria, between Syrian Arab Army resistance cells and forces loyal to the new government.Footage captured by a local woman from her home offers…

Credit: CNA photo Taiwan’s Presidential Office has conducted its first-ever tabletop exercise simulating a military escalation with China. The three-hour exercise involved dozens of central and local government agencies, as well as civil groups. Led by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, the simulation addressed scenarios ranging from high-intensity grey-zone warfare to situations where the island teetered on the brink of conflict. Reuters reported: In a media briefing at the Presidential Office late on Thursday, Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang said the government is aiming to train more than 50,000 volunteers across the island by next…

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 19: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on energy as (L-R) Secretary … [+] of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein listen during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House October 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden spoke on American energy independence, green energy investments and announced the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserve. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Getty Images “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” – Yogi Berra Forecasting the energy sector is no exception. Each year brings unexpected twists,…

A cross country survey in Europe has found that support for a forever war in Ukraine is falling, perhaps not coincidentally given President-Elect Donald Trump telegraphing he expects Europeans to pay a greater share of the bill for their own defence. Total Ukrainian victory at any cost feeling appears to be waning in Europe, with a YouGov survey this month finding that support for Kyiv “until it wins” against Moscow has steeply declined throughout western Europe, the Guardian reports. Amid growing realisation that they may soon be on the hook to foot the bill, support for standing by Ukraine until…

Large fossil fuel companies will now have to hand over punitive reparations to help New York fight the effects of “climate change” under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). AP reports a state fund for infrastructure projects meant to repair or avoid future damage from climate change has been set up to benefit from the payments. Lawmakers approved the bill earlier this year to force big oil and gas companies to contribute to the cost of repairs after extreme weather events critics attribute directly to fossil fuel companies and their wares. “The Climate Change Superfund Act is now…

https://www.tipranks.com/news/the-fly/byd-objects-to-reports-of-slavery-like-conditions-at-brazil-site-ap-reportsChinese automaker BYD (BYDDF) slammed reports regarding poor conditions at a Brazilian construction site where it is building a factory, arguing the allegations were aimed at ‘smearing’ China and Chinese brands, AP’s Elaine Kurtenbach reports, citing a company spokesperson. The response comes after a Brazilian task force said it had rescued 163 Chinese nationals that were working in “slavery-like” conditions at the site. “In the matter of smearing Chinese brands, smearing China, and attempting to undermine the friendship between China and Brazil, we have seen how relevant foreign forces maliciously associate and deliberately smear,” said BYD spokesperson Li Yunfei on…

As you ransacked your basement in search of holiday decorations, perhaps you came upon boxes of documents from the last millennium. And then, you probably asked yourself: “Couldn’t I just throw these out?”Companies and governments often have document retention policies. Most people do not.Common wisdom suggests we keep important papers for seven years, for reasons that, we vaguely recall, have something to do with taxes.For those of us with paper records dating to the Clinton Administration, that would seem to mean you can throw them away.But does that mean everything?We posed those questions to accountants and tax experts. Here’s what…

Bloomberg has named chocolate’s main ingredient the best-performing commodity of 2024 Cocoa has been named the best-performing commodity of the year, outperforming Bitcoin, according to Bloomberg. The crypto coin was arguably the most watched asset this year, as it smashed the long-awaited $100,000 threshold in early December.Prices for chocolate’s main ingredient have almost tripled since the start of 2024 as faltering production in West Africa — the world’s biggest growing region — led to massive supply shortages, the publication wrote, citing exchange data.In early January, cocoa futures traded at around $4,000 per tonne. In mid-December they peaked at $12,700 per…

Han Duck-soo became the country’s interim head of state after the parliament stripped President Yoon Suk Yeol of his powers earlier this month South Korea’s Parliament has voted to impeach acting head of state Han Duck-soo over his refusal to appoint justices to the Constitutional Court, local media reported on Friday. The appointments are necessary to finalize the impeachment of Han’s predecessor, President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was stripped of his powers earlier this month.The motion to impeach Han, filed by the opposition Democratic Party, was passed with 192 votes in favor in the 300-member parliament, called the National Assembly, speaker…