The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a strike on the deployment site of the Ukrainian army’s foreign legion in the Donetsk People’s Republic, eliminating over 130 mercenaries in the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.
"Precision strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces against the temporary deployment sites of foreign legion units in areas near the settlement of Maslyakovka and the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic eliminated over 130 foreign mercenaries," the spokesman said.
The Russian MoD’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
Russian Forces eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed three armored combat vehicles and three pick-up trucks near Kupyansk;
The Russian Army eliminated two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Kharkov region;
Russian Forces eliminated and wounded more than 120 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed four armored combat vehicles, three pick-up trucks and two other vehicles near Krasny Liman;
Russian troops eliminated up to 90 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two tanks, five armored combat vehicles and seven other vehicles near Donetsk;
The Russian Army eliminated more than 30 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and three pick-up trucks in the DPR;
Russian Forces performed a high-precision strike on the dislocation point of foreign mercenaries in the DPR; as a result, more than 130 foreign mercenaries were eliminated;
Russian servicemen hit 72 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions;
The Russian Army destroyed four Ukrainian artillery ammunition depots in the Zaporozhye region;
Russian troops destroyed two US-made HIMARS rocket systems and four RM-70 “Vampire” rocket systems in the DPR;
The Russian Army destroyed two HIMARS rocket systems near Kramatorsk;
Russian Forces destroyed three M-77 7 artillery systems in the DPR and in the LPR, as well as two D-30 howitzers in the Zaporozhye region;
Russian air defenses destroyed 13 Ukrainian UAVs, as well as intercepted nine HIMARS rockets.
Russia’s MoD has revealed footage showing Akatsiya self-propelled 152mm artillery system crews in combat
Germany's first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven. Europe has boosted its LNG imports from the US and Gulf countries amid falling Russian gas exports. Reuters
Forecasts of above-normal temperatures and rising reliance on gas from storage are driving European gas prices lower.
Dutch TTF gas futures, the benchmark European contract, was last trading at €97.75 ($104.08) per megawatt hour on Wednesday, down 25 per cent compared with a week ago.
European gas prices hit a record high of about €343 per megawatt hour in August after Russia reduced gas deliveries to the continent in response to wide-ranging economic sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
“Current weather forecasts indicate that temperatures in Europe will be above normal towards year-end, likely lowering prices further,” Rystad Energy said.
Gas continues to be withdrawn from Europe’s underground storage, with facilities 86 per cent full at roughly 94 billion cubic metres (bcm), the energy consultancy said.
As Europe looks to replace Russian gas, countries in the region have boosted their imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US and Gulf countries.
The continent imported more than 11.4 million tonnes of LNG in November, a record for the year, Rystad said earlier this month.
France, Spain and the UK combined accounted for more than half of Europe’s total imports.
Qatar with 24 per cent, and Russia with 20 per cent, the US Energy Information Administration said.
EU energy ministers on Monday approved an emergency cap on gas prices, which, from February 15, would be triggered if benchmark gas prices rose to €180 per megawatt hour for three working days in a row.
The spread between prices on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility hub and global LNG prices also needs to reach €35 over the same period of time for the cap to be implemented. Once activated, it would remain in force for at least 20 working days.
The cap, roughly €83 per megawatt hour higher than current gas prices, is “unlikely” to be triggered, but will protect European consumers from “extreme price spikes” seen earlier this year, Rystad said.
“We do not believe it will reduce supply or worsen Europe’s gas deficit … we also believe it will continue incentivising gas exports to Europe at maximum levels,” it said.
The International Energy Agency has warned that 2023 may present a “sterner test” for EU countries as Russian gas exports dwindle and Chinese demand for LNG rises.
The EU could fall short by about 27 bcm of gas next year if Russian gas deliveries drop to zero and China’s LNG imports rebound to 2021 levels, the Paris-based agency said in a report this month.
The risk of shortages can be avoided through “stronger” efforts to improve energy efficiency, as well as use more renewable energy and further diversify natural gas sources, it said.
Global liquefied natural gas exports jumped to a record last month as projects ramped-up output and utilities boosted imports to restock inventories, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Qatar, the U.S. and Australia -- the world’s top three exporters of the super-chilled fuel -- all boosted output in December compared to the previous year.
U.S. LNG Cargoes Depart on New Year’s Eve Heading for EuropeUnseasonably mild temperatures are forecast in the South and central portions of the continent this week, Maxar said in an emailed report on Monday. Below normal temperatures are seen across the North in the beginning of next week, trending warmer later on.
Yet prices remain far higher than normal after more than tripling last year. High gas prices have fueled inflation, forced industries to curb output and triggered the collapse of power suppliers.
Gazprom PJSC increased exports to its main buyers in Europe, Turkey and China last year, yet flows remained below pre-Covid levels as the producer capped deliveries to Europe as a whole, amid the continent’s worst energy supply crunch in decades.
Russia’s exports have been closely scrutinized as tight supplies in Europe sent prices soaring to records. The Russian company has been sending only as much gas to EU clients as it’s obliged to under long-term contracts.
Gas shipments into Germany via Russia’s Yamal-Europe link have been halted for 14 days, adding to the uncertainty.
Indonesia, one of the world’s largest thermal coal exporters, has paused on Saturday coal shipments in January to secure dwindling supplies for domestic power plants. The decision could increase LNG needs from China, India, Japan, and South Korea, which together received 73% of Indonesian coal exports in 2021, according to Engie EnergyScan
NFL player Damar Hamlin was not breathing on his own but had a pulse before being transported to the hospital. He’s now hospitalized and in critical condition.
At 8:55 p.m. ET, Hamlin tackled the Bengals' wide receiver, Tee Higgins, got up, took a step, and fell over.
Hamlin was given CPR on the field for several minutes, and ABC cut to commercial multiple times.
The game was temporarily suspended and players returned to the locker rooms after Hamlin was taken off the field in a stretcher.
Hamlin left the stadium in an ambulance at 9.25 p.m. ET. His mother, Nina Hamlin, rode with him to the hospital, ABC announcers reported on-air.
Players from both teams were seen leaving the locker rooms out of uniform and team staff started putting equipment away before the NFL made an announcement.
By 10 p.m. ET, the league officially postponed the game.
The NFL said in a statement posted to Twitter on Monday night that the NFL Players Association agreed on postponing the game.
"Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics. He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition," the NFL's statement read.
"Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available," the NFL added in its statement.
Extreme amount of urgency in treating injured Bills defensive player Damar Hamlin. Ambulance on the field at Paycor Stadium. pic.twitter.com/QLmmn3kqMg
Fox 19 sports reporter Joe Danneman posted a video to Twitter showing an ambulance driving onto the field at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati after Hamlin collapsed:
"I'm told Damar Hamlin has a pulse, but is not breathing on his own. He is being transported to UC," Danneman tweeted on Monday night. "Needed AED and CPR on the field."
Danneman also reported on Monday citing an anonymous source that the Bills are flying home and will not be staying in Cincinnati.
Several players were also seen looking distraught while medical personnel were tending to Hamlin on the field.
"The thoughts and prayers of all of Bills Mafia are supporting you, Damar," the Buffalo Bills tweeted on Monday night.
"Sending big prayers & love to @HamlinIsland right now," the NFL Players Association tweeted.
The game has been postponed. The NFL issued a statement confirming Hamlin is in critical condition after getting attention on the field from “team and independent medical staff and local paramedics.”
“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game,” the statement concludes.
"Please continue to pray for Damar and his family. We currently have no update at this time. Will ask that you keep the family in your prayers," Hamlin's agent Ira Turner told ESPN reporter Alaina Getzenberg.
ESPN’s Booger McFarland spoke about the incident and pleaded with the league to call the game off completely.
The ambulance has now left the stadium, headed to the hospital
“It’s something like we’ve never seen before, I’ve never seen it never been a part of it and never heard about it,” McFarland said.
“You hate to keep repeating the same thing but all you can do is pray for this young man.
“Hopefully they’ve gotten word, hopefully the Bills and the doctors are communicating with the family I can only imagine what my family would want to know.
“That’s somebody’s son, somebody’s brother, somebody’s father, they want to know what’s going on.”
The United Kingdom will face one of the longest recession and weakest recovery among G7 countries throughout 2023 due to long-term inflationary effects of the pandemic and conflict in Ukraine, the US media reported, citing leading UK economists.
According to economists interviewed by the media, the UK would face a longer period of "inflationary shock" than most of G7 states, which would force the government to conduct a strict fiscal policy throughout 2023.
"The combination of falling real wages, tight financial conditions and a housing market correction are as bad as it gets," claims Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg bank.
The UK economy is "unusually exposed" to a worldwide surge in energy prices and interest rates as the country's demand for gas hardly matches storage capacity and a large number of mortgage deals will have to renew fixed-rate contracts, the report noted.
The UK has been experiencing an economic crisis over the past months. According to the Bank of England, the UK economy has entered a recession expected to last until the second half of 2024.
Investors should brace for another turbulent year in the financial markets, economists have warned as central banks fight inflation, China reopens its economy after Covid-19 restrictions and the Ukraine war pushes the global economy towards recession.
The first half of the new year is likely to be choppy, according to Wall Street predictions, after global markets suffered their biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis last year.
But the US S&P 500 is still expected to end 2023 a little higher than it began the year. The average target of 22 strategists polled by Bloomberg has the S&P 500 ending 2023 at 4,078 points – about 6% higher than it ended 2022.
Economists predict the US Federal Reserve will slow its interest rate hikes this year, as the outlook for America’s economy sours. US inflation has dropped back from its peak last summer, while the series of Fed rate hikes in 2022 has also cooled the housing market.
“We believe that a period of sub-trend growth is inevitable, and recession risks are high as the lagged effects of tighter monetary policy work their way through the economy,” said Brian Rose, senior US economist at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Here are the full responses to questions about the economic outlook for 2023
UK economy: Will the UK economy outpace or lag behind other developed economies in 2023 and how will it feel for households?
Silvia Ardagna, head of European economics at Barclays: Lag behind the US but contract together with the euro area. We forecast a five-quarter recession with peak-to-trough contraction in real gross domestic product of about 1 per cent. Households’ consumption is contracting and is the main determinant of the recession.
Kate Barker, pension trustee at BCSSS: The UK likely to lag other economies — productivity growth seems unlikely to pick up. Households without savings from the Covid-19 period and especially those with mortgages will continue to struggle.
Nicholas Barr, professor of public economics at London School of Economics (LSE): Growth in the UK will be below the average for the G7 and EU.
Households will feel the effects acutely: the second year of poor economic performance coming on top of falling real pay in 2022 will adversely affect living standards both in reality and perception.
Ray Barrell, emeritus professor of economics and finance at Brunel University: UK growth is likely to lag other developed economies in 2023.
The shadow of Brexit will continue to reduce growth by up to half a per cent a year for two or three more years. Unwise short-term actions combined with poor long-term planning over the last 10 years leave the UK more vulnerable to shocks than other developed countries.
We lack the social insurance of large gas stocks. Uncertainty about the wisdom of policymakers will persist after the [Liz] Truss experiment.
Encouraging public sector strikes raises uncertainty, but it is probably the last bid for middle-class votes by a failing government. All hinder growth prospects and will impact on household living standards. Real disposable incomes are likely to continue to fall next year.
The latest falsified photo posted by an infamous Ukrainian legislator was widely mocked on Twitter by incredulous users.
A widely-shared photo which claimed to show a child victimized by the Russian military has been deleted by the notoriously-mendacious Ukrainian politician who posted it after social media users discovered it was fraudulent.
“There are no children in #Ukraine anymore,” claimed Lesia Vasylenko, a Ukrainian member of parliament who’s frequently cited in Western media reports on supposed Russian misdeeds. “Pictured: Marc, 8 [years old], just survived a #Russia artillery attack,” she insisted in a since-deleted post which received tens of thousands of likes and retweets.
This Ukrainian member of Parliament posted a photo of a woman tortured and murdered by the nazi regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard a week ago and is passing it off as the Russians’ handiwork
This isn’t a mistake or an aberration—it’s the Ukrainian nationalists’ entire M.O. https://t.co/Layk72i5aS
The only problem? The photo was actually over a decade old, as a simple reverse image search shows. In fact, the image seems to have been pulled directly from the Spanish-language cover of a 2008 book called “The Forgotten Man” by novelist Christina McKenna.
It’s far from Vasylenko’s first brush with forgery. As far back as April, she attempted to pass off horrifying war crimes inflicted by the Ukrainian military’s neo-nazi Azov militants as the doing of Russian soldiers.
The notoriously-mendacious legislator is the daughter of Volodymyr Vasylenko, who was at one point not only the Ukrainian Ambassador to NATO and the EU, but a representative to the UN Human Rights Council.
The elder Vasylenko previously sat on the “international tribunal” which oversaw the prosecution of former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milošević and which openly admitted it wouldn’t prosecute NATO nationals.
Despite the extensive reach of Vasylenko’s false post, only independent and non-Western media outlets fact-checked the incorrect claim. Indeed, no Western media outlets even mentioned the post – perhaps due to the fact that, according to Mint Press News, “most of the fact-checking organizations Facebook has partnered with to monitor and regulate information about Ukraine are directly funded by the U.S. government, either through the U.S. Embassy or via the notorious National Endowment for Democracy (NED).”
Menteri Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Erick Thohir bersama Direktur Utama PT Pertamina (Persero) Nicke Widyawati usai mengumumkan penurunan harga Pertamax di SPBU Pertamina M.T Haryono, Jakarta, Selasa (3/1/2023)/Bisnis-Nyoman Ary Wahyudi
Mulai pukul 14.00, hari Selasa, 03/01/2023, PT Pertamina (Persero) akan menurunkan harga BBM jenis pertamax dari Rp. 13.900 per liter menjadi Rp. 12.800.
Di SPBU Pertamina MT Haryono, Jakarta Selatan, Erick Tohir Menteri BUMN mengatakan :"Nanti insyaallah harga Pertamax menjadi Rp 12.800. Nanti Bu Nicke (Dirut Pertamina) sampaikan jamnya."
Ia menambahkan penurunan harga pertamax dilakukan setelah harga minyak dunia yang saat perang Rusia dan Ukraina melesat ke atas US$100 per barel, kini turun jadi US$79 per barel.
"Sekarang harga minyak dunia turun ke US$79. Karena itu akhir tahun baru kemarin kita 3 menteri; Menkeu, menteri ESDM, saya memproyeksikan harga BBM yang pasar dan bukan dibantu pemerintah, salah satunya Pertamax diputuskan harga turun," katanya.
Dalam kesempatan yang sama, Direktur Utama PT Pertamina (Persero) Nicke Widyawati mengatakan harga baru Pertamax berlaku pukul 14.00 waktu setempat.
"Nanti mulai jam 2 siang ini, harga Pertamax dari Rp 13.900 menjadi Rp 12.800," tutur Nicke.
Nicke menambahkan harga Pertamax Turbo dan Dexlite juga akan turun. Sementara itu, harga Pertalite dan Solar masih tetap.
"Demikian juga produk-produk seperti Pertamax turbo dan lainnya, dexlite ini juga akan turun," tuturnya.
Bagaimana Pertalite dan Solar?
Penurunan harga Pertamax dan BBM nonsubsidi lainnya turun per hari ini, Selasa, 3 Januari 2022, pukul 14.00 WIB. Publik pun kini menanti penurunan harga BBM bersuibsidi yakni Pertalite dan Solar
PT Pertamina (Persero) menurunkan harga Pertamax dari Rp 13.900 menjadi Rp 12.800 per liter. Tapi harga Pertalite masih Rp 10.000 dan Solar Rp Rp 6.800
Menurut Direktur Utama Pertamina Nicke Widyawati, harga Pertalite dan Solar tidak turun di awal tahun ini karenakan telah mendapatkan subsidi yang besar dari pemerintah.
Dia mencontohkan harga Solar Rp 6.800 per liter setelah disubsidi oleh pemerintah sebesar Rp 6.500.
"Harga dari kompetitor lebih dari dua kali lipat," kata Nicke di SPBU Pertamina MT Haryono, Tebet, Jakarta Selatan, hari ini.
Adapun harga Pertamax Turbo turun dari Rp 15.200 menjadi Rp 14.050 per liter, Dexlite menjadi Rp 16.150, serta Pertamina Dex 16.750.
Menteri BUMN Erick Thohir mengatakan penurunan harga Pertamax seiring dengan perubahan harga pasaran minyak dunia, yang semula USD 87 menjadi USD 79 per barel.
Menurut dia, pemerintah mensubsidi harga jual Pertalite Rp 1.100 per liter sehingga menjadi Rp 10.000.
"Krena pemerintah peduli dengan kondisi ekonomi masyarakat," ucapnya.
Menteri BUMN Erick Thohir menyatakan berencana mengumumkan harga Pertamax dan BBM nonsubsidi lainnya setiap pekan.
Japan does not abandon its anti-Russian course, so any dialogue on a peace treaty is impossible, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told TASS in an interview.
"It is absolutely obvious that it is impossible to discuss the signing of such a document [peace treaty] with a country that takes an openly unfriendly posture and takes the liberty of uttering direct threats against our country," he said. "We do not see any signs Tokyo may revise its anti-Russian policy or any attempts to correct the current situation."
Rudenko recalled that earlier Russia had been in talks with Japan on a full-fledged comprehensive treaty on peace, friendship and neighborliness, which "would determine the guidelines for an accelerated development of the entire range of Russian-Japanese relations."
"With the start of a special military operation in Ukraine the Kishida administration actively joined a West-orchestrated Russophobic campaign, thus dismantling the results of mutually beneficial cooperation accumulated over years," he added.
Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of their standoff over islands, seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war, just off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido.
The islands are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories.
"We are not seeing signs of Tokyo moving away from the anti-Russian course and any attempt to rectify the situation."Andrey Rudenko said.
Russia withdrew from its talks with Japan in March last year, following Japanese sanctions over Russia's special military operation of Ukraine. Japan reacted angrily to the talks, calling Moscow's move 'unfair' and 'completely unacceptable'.
