BERLIN: With the arrival of winter in Europe and energy prices soaring, tensions are running high over the provision of gas from Russia, especially through the Yamal-Europe pipeline that runs through Poland and Belarus. But the Yamal pipeline is just one part of a complex gas infrastructure network shaped not only by energy needs but also … Read more
The emerging regional trade outlook after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to an active engagement between Pakistan and Central Asian Republics. The US defeat in Afghanistan also eliminated the Indian influence in the neighbouring country, which sits at the crossroads to South and Central Asia. Capitalising on this, Pakistan is intensifying trade with … Read more
EDIRNE: The sea of Bulgarian buses parked outside a market in Turkey’s historic city of Edirne betrays the scale of the currency crisis impeding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s path to a third decade of rule. The mosque-filled city on Turkey’s western edge was an early capital of the Ottoman Empire when it was expanding across the … Read more
FRANKFURT: German consumer sentiment worsened for the second month running, a key survey said on Tuesday, as Europe’s largest economy braces itself for rising inflation and the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Pollster GfK’s forward-looking barometer fell to -6.8 from a revised figure of -1.8 for December. “The high incidence of the virus due to … Read more
LONDON: World oil prices fell by more than 5 per cent on Monday, as energy demand fears grew over the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant. In morning deals, Brent North Sea crude tumbled 5.1 per cent to $69.79 per barrel and New York’s West Texas Intermediate oil lost 5.7 per cent to $66.84. The rapid spread … Read more
RIYADH: State-owned NEOM and The Red Sea Development Co. are spearheading the Saudi government’s efforts to boost the yields of the aquaculture sector fivefold by 2030 in coordination with other key private players. The sector is expected to get a boost in the short- to medium-term through various projects to increase production to 600,000 tons … Read more
MOSCOW: Russian natural gas deliveries to Germany through the Yamal-Europe pipeline dropped sharply, Reuters quoted data from the German network operator Gascade, as showing. Flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German-Polish border fell to an hourly volume of 1,217,444 kilowatt hours from an average of 10,000,000 kWh/h on Friday and around 12,000,000 kWh/h on Thursday. … Read more
OSLO: Norway on Friday granted 1 billion Norwegian crowns ($111 million) in support for three projects to produce emissions-free hydrogen and ammonia, aiding a transition to a low-carbon economy, Arab News quoted the government, as saying. The funding will be allocated to projects led by Yara, Tizir Titanium & Iron (TTI) and Horisont Energi, government agency Enova … Read more
BRUSSELS: Economic growth in the Eurozone slowed to a nine-month low in December, as a fresh wave of the coronavirus rattled businesses, especially in Germany, a closely watched survey said on Thursday. The survey, released by data firm IHS Markit, added that prices in Europe were continuing on their upward march, though rates of increase had … Read more
Recalling warnings by global agencies, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi asserted on Wednesday that 97 per cent of the Afghan population would plunge into poverty in the next six months if immediate measures were not taken, Radio Pakistan reported. Read more: Afghanistan’s SOS call Pakistan is hosting an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic … Read more
LONDON: British Airways said its new short-haul subsidiary will start flying to 35 destinations, including the Moroccan city of Marrakech, from March next year. The new airline, which the carrier said would operate under the BA name but exist as an “entirely separate entity,” will be based at London Gatwick Airport. Tickets for flights to … Read more
KARACHI: The cooling down of consumer spending, and reduced shipping congestion will result in global trade growing by 5.4 per cent in 2022, an Euler Hermes Global Trade report showed. While there is a risk of a double-dip in the first quarter of 2022, Euler Hermes expects a normalisation of international trade flows in volume … Read more
GENEVA: The Swiss medicines agency Swissmedic on Friday approved the vaccination of children aged between five and 11 with Pfizer-Biontech’s Comirnaty vaccine. “Clinical trial results show that the vaccine is safe and effective in this age group,” it said in a statement. The Comirnaty vaccine is administered in two doses of ten microgrammes three weeks … Read more
PARIS: With French football reeling this season due to repeated incidents of crowd violence, Lille’s achievement in reaching the Champions League last 16 comes as a much-needed bright spot. While an all-star Paris Saint-Germain dominate the headlines, Lille have followed up their remarkable Ligue 1 title triumph last season by making it through to the knockout stages … Read more
ACCRA: Public health authorities in Ghana have introduced new travel guidelines requiring visitors to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 from next week as the government tries to avert a fourth wave of infections. Under new rules coming into effect from midnight on Sunday, travellers “will be required to provide evidence of full vaccination,” Ghana’s … Read more
Bahrain has revived its age-old pearl industry, as it looks to other sources of revenue to diversify its oil economy, Arab News reported. The Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones recently announced that it has examined over 10 million pearls from across the world since it was established in 2017. It said its commercial laboratory has become … Read more
GENEVA, Dec 8, 2021 (AFP) – The Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains, top scientists from the WHO and the United States told AFP, while cautioning that more research is needed to judge its severity. The hopeful assessments came as global concern grew over the heavily mutated variant, which has forced … Read more
SÃO TOMÉ: A morsel of chocolate sits on the tongue, and a strong yet subtle flavour starts to blossom. “When the chocolate starts to soften, you bite into it,” orders chocolatier, Claudio Corallo. The chocolate tasting then expands into different flavours, ginger, coffee, pepper, sea salt, but underpinning each of these delights is an earthiness, a … Read more
DUBAI: Nissan is eco-friendly but also consumer-led, a top official from the Japanese automaker said in the wake of the company not signing a COP26 global pledge to phase out gas-guzzling cars, Arab News reported. As many as 30 national governments joined the deal struck in Glasgow last month, as the transportation industry races to fix decades … Read more
COPENHAGEN, Dec 7, 2021 (AFP) – The World Health Organization in Europe on Tuesday called for better protection of children against Covid-19, with five-to-14-year-olds currently the most infected group. Mandatory vaccines should also be “an absolute last resort and only applicable when all other feasible options to improve vaccination uptake have been exhausted,” regional director for WHO Europe, … Read more
LIVERPOOL: As Barcelona and Spanish champions Atletico Madrid scrap for a place in the Champions League last 16 this week, the Premier League’s four participants can take it easy knowing their places in the knockout stages are already guaranteed. Read more: Barca, Atletico in danger of Champions League exit Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United … Read more
THE HAGUE: Europe’s drug watchdog launched an accelerated review Thursday of a Covid-19 vaccine by Franco-Austrian biotech firm Valneva, for which the EU has already signed a deal for up to 60 million doses. The jab — which uses “inactivated” viruses rather than the new mRNA technology of the Pfizer or Moderna shots — showed … Read more
LONDON: Opec+ sees the oil surplus worsening to 2 million barrels/day in January, 3.4 million bpd in February and 3.8 million bpd in March next year, an internal report seen by Reuters showed. “Generally, the impact of Omicron seems to be jet-fuel related for now, particularly in Africa and Europe,” the report said. [embedpost slug=”/opec-meets-under-pressure-from-biden-and-omicron/”]
RIYADH: Nissan Motor Co plans to spend 2 trillion yen ($17.59 billion) over the next five years to accelerate vehicle electrification. The new electrification strategy, called Nissan Ambition 2030, is a roadmap on how the company plans to meet its goals by the end of the decade, Bloomberg reported. The Japanese automaker will launch 23 new electrified … Read more
JOHANNESBURG, The newly-discovered Omicron variant is likely to fuel a surge in South Africa’s coronavirus cases that could see daily infections treble this week, a top epidemiologist warned Monday. Health monitors reported over 2,800 new infections on Sunday, up from a daily average of 500 in the previous week and 275 the week before. “We can … Read more
RIYADH: The Opec+ group is likely to take a cautious stance when deciding next week whether to go ahead with the planned production increases; following the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant, Arab News quoted Geneva-based oil trader Vitol Group, as saying. The new variant, named Omicron, has rattled the oil market globally, pushing prices down to … Read more
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan: President Dr Arif Alvi has said that despite having all elements for economic growth, the ECO region is among the least integrated regions in terms of trade and investment, which necessitated unlocking of potential for an impetus to growth and development. Addressing the 15th Summit of the Heads of State of the Economic … Read more
FRANKFURT: Germany’s new government has pledged to spend big on the economy, climate change and social security, but without raising taxes or taking on more debt, leaving many asking where the money is going to come from. “We have decided that this will be a decade of investments,” future chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday as … Read more
