Saudis & Top World Oil Producers Meet in Vienna to Focus on Output Cuts, Key Energy Issues

Key player: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, arrives for the 35th Opec meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday.Photo: REUTERS/SCANPIX

The 8th OPEC International Seminar is taking place as two of the world's biggest oil exporters, Russia and Saudi Arabia, have decided to extend their voluntary oil production cuts to August in an effort to boost prices.

The 8th OPEC International Seminar is set to convene in Vienna on Wednesday, with high-level participants expected to focus on issues such as sustainable energy transition, energy security, investment, advanced technologies and economic diversification.

The two-day seminar will begin at the Hofburg Imperial Palace at 10 a.m. Vienna time (08:00 GMT).

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais will address the seminar during an opening ceremony on Wednesday morning. Al Ghais will be joined by Antonio Oburu Ondo, the energy minister of Equatorial Guinea, which holds the OPEC Presidency this year.

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud will be the speaker at the special introductory session, scheduled to take place at 10:50 a.m.

UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Parviz Shahbazov, will take part in the ministerial session on market stability and energy security where certain trends in the current oil market and potential challenges, including excessive volatility, will be discussed. Al Mazrouei will also speak at Thursday's ministerial panel on diversifying energy economies.

Energy sustainability will be at the top of the agenda of Wednesday's high-level roundtable, with European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson expected to be among the panelists speaking on the so-called trilemma of energy sustainability, which includes such aspects as energy security, energy affordability and the need to reduce carbon emissions.

Other roundtable participants include Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French oil major TotalEnergies, Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Arabia's energy giant Aramco, and Mohamed Hamel, secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, an intergovernmental organization based in Doha.

Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji, along with his Kuwaiti, Iraqi and Libyan counterparts, will be joining the panel on investments, finance and inclusive petroleum growth strategies.

On Thursday, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla will address the "Pathways to Just Energy Transition" ministerial session. Angolan Petroleum Minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo will take part in the session, among other prominent officials.

The organization has canceled accreditation for US media reporters, freezing them out of the event. This is the second time when Western media outlets have been excluded from an OPEC function, after the journalists were not invited to OPEC+ ministerial meetings in early June.

The Seminar is taking place amid Russia's and Saudi Arabia's decision to extend the voluntary oil production cuts to August in an effort to increase prices. Riyadh announced on Monday that it would reduce the amount it sends to the global economy by 1 million barrels per day (bpd), while Moscow followed suit with a 500,000 bpd cut. Algeria has also joined in with a 20,000 bpd decrease in August.

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Russia's Special Military Operation, July 4th

Special operation, July 4th. Main:

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that in the morning an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by five drones on objects in the Moscow region and New Moscow was thwarted, there were no casualties or damage;

The grouping of the Russian Armed Forces "South" in the Donetsk direction repelled ten attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as a result of which Ukraine lost almost 300 military personnel, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

Russian servicemen in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions destroyed up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers, one tank, four armored cars and three howitzers, the Ministry of Defense reported;

Kyiv at night disconnected the Zaporizhzhya NPP from the main external power supply, the station worked from a backup line, said Karchaa, adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom;

On the night of July 5, Kyiv is going to attack the ZNPP with precision weapons and kamikaze drones, Karchaa said;

As a result of the shelling, two people were killed in Donetsk, eight people were injured in the cities of the DPR, including a girl born in 2017, Pushilin said;

Gladkov said that the Belgorod region will need 5 billion rubles for the restoration of housing, 10 billion for the restoration of enterprises and more than 5 billion for the restoration of social institutions;

Video of the detention of a Ukrainian agent who was preparing a terrorist attack on Sakhalin

At the SCO summit, Putin thanked the countries of the organization for supporting actions to protect the constitutional order of Russia during the attempted armed rebellion.

On July 5, joint Russian-Syrian exercises begin in Syria, which will last 6 days. During the exercises, it is planned to work out joint actions of aviation, forces and means of air defense and electronic warfare in repelling air strikes, the Center for Reconciliation reported.

Blatant support for Ukrainian Nazis to leave indelible mark in US history — Russian envoy

The US is smirched with dishonour as it blatantly supports the Ukrainian Nazis, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday when commenting on the visit to the United States of representatives of the Azov nationalist battalion (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) and their meetings at the Capitol.

"One cannot look indifferently at how the heirs of Hitler and Bandera are honored in the country that contributed to the defeat of the fascist Germany. This is a betrayal of the memory of the Americans who gave their lives during World War II. The blatant support for the Ukrainian Nazis will leave an indelible mark in the American history," he said.

The Ukrainian terrorists that have committed countless atrocities against the Russian population in Donbas, "make speeches within the walls of the once trustworthy Stanford University" now, the diplomat noted.

"The question arises: what vision of the world do they want to instill into young Americans and foreign students, studying here? The duty of humanity is to oppose the glorification of Nazism with all its might. We tirelessly urge Washington to solve this problem. However, in response, we encounter absurd prohibitions even in the run-up to memorable events, such as laying wreaths at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial," Antonov emphasized.

📹 Russia's artillerymen unleashed Krasnopol precision-guided munitions against the Kiev regime’s positions, decimating a Ukrainian command post and equipment in the special military operation zone

📹 The crew of Russia's Ka-52 helicopter destroyed enemy armored vehicles in the zone of the special military op

Artillerymen of the Central Military District destroyed the Ukrainian command post and equipment in the Krasnoliman direction with Krasnopol precision-guided munitions

The Russian Ministry of Defense has published a video of the firing of Rapira anti-tank guns.

The military changes the type of shells in a few minutes in order to first hit the mortar, and then the tank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which began to fire from the forest belt.

Artillerymen call the "Rapier" a "sniper rifle" for its simplicity, accuracy and reliability in operation. It fires at a range of more than 7 km and can maintain a rate of fire of up to 6 rounds per minute.

Artillerymen from the Southern Group of Forces, together with scouts from a separate reconnaissance battalion "Sparta", discovered and destroyed a Ukrainian anti-aircraft gun hidden in a forest belt in the Donetsk direction

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Macron Says May Shut Down Social Media in France If Riots Worsen

©AP Photo / Lewis Joly

The French authorities can shut down social networks if the situation in the country deteriorates, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

"We need to think about the issue of social media and applicable bans. And if the situation worsens, we perhaps need to be able to regulate and turn them off," Macron was quoted as saying by French broadcaster BFMTV.

However, the president added that this discussion should not be held "rashly."

On Friday, Macron said that the French authorities would identify those who called for protests through social media in light of the ongoing unrest triggered by the killing of a teenager.

Later that day, French media reported that the government had met with representatives of social media due to unrest in the country. In particular, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications Jean-Noel Barrot reportedly warned platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter of their responsibility and asked for support identifying users involved in committing offenses.

France has been gripped by unrest since June 27, when a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by a police officer for failing to stop his car when ordered to do so in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. The officer who pulled the trigger on Nahel M. has been taken into custody for voluntary manslaughter, but that has not deterred the protesters.

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Russian Activist Says FBI Tried to Contact Him, Prompt Him to Take Illegal Actions

CC BY 2.0 / JOE ANDRUCYK /

Alexander Ionov, a Russian human rights activist and anti-globalist who has a $10 million bounty on his head in the United States for alleged election meddling, told Sputnik that the FBI attempted to establish contact with him and questioned social activists who took part in joint Russian-US conferences.

"We were conducting our first Dialogue of Nations, and some Americans were also present. That day was my birthday, so my friends and I went to a restaurant that night to celebrate. A woman came there, too. I asked who had invited her. It turned out she took part in the Dialogue of Nations, spoke good Russian and six other languages to boot. I told her to have a seat since she was there. And then, at the end of the party, after she had several shots of liquor, out of the blue she told me she worked for the FBI," Ionov said.

He added that the woman had later added him to her friends list on social media.

"It had been five years or so, and then one day I stumbled across her page, and she did indeed work for the FBI. So I've met some FBI agents," the activist said.

He added that the participants of joint conferences had been questioned in the US for three to six hours.

"FBI agents asked them to try to record all their conversations with me, on the phone, at the conferences and personally, to make me say something extremist, ask me for money or propose to stage a coup together. That is, something that violates the US legislation so that they could initiate a criminal case against me," Ionov said.

He noted that he had always laughed at such proposals and emphasized that he could not finance anyone since he was a social activist. Ionov added that anyway, one must be very careful in such situations and not fall for provocations. "Western intelligence services, especially the FBI, do not shun any means. They even come to Russia," the activist said.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) accuses Ionov of using his Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR) to launch influence campaigns in the US which were allegedly monitored by FBI agents who are also persons of interest in Ionov's case. Ionov and his associates allegedly conspired to meddle in the US elections, secretly financing and managing the campaign of a certain candidate in local elections in St. Petersburg, Florida. After that, they discussed the US presidential elections, the DOJ said. From 2014-2022, Ionov allegedly orchestrated what the DOJ describes as "a years-long foreign malign influence campaign" that used US political groups to sow discord, spread pro-Russian propaganda and interfere in US elections.

The DOJ has offered a $10 million reward for evidence of meddling by Ionov or his alleged associates from the African People’s Socialist Party, which seeks reparations for slavery. The indictment alleges that Ionov helped fund a protest tour in support of a petition criticizing the "genocide" of African people in the US.

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Pasal Pidana Si Kembar - Penipuan, Penggelapan, UU ITE, dan Pencucian Uang

Antara/Akbar Nugroho POLDA Metro Jaya menahan 'Si Kembar' Rihana-Rihani, tersangka kasus dugaan penipuan penjualan iPhone.

Direktur Kriminal Umum (Dirkrimum) Polda Metro Jaya, Kombes Pol Hengki Haryadi mengatakan kedua tersangka, Rihana Rihani, mulai hari ini resmi dilakukan penahanan.

“Mulai hari ini resmi ditahan,” ujar Hengki dalam konferensi pers di Mapolda Metro Jaya, hari Selasa, 04/07/2023.

Dalam kasus yang menjerat si kembar, polisi mengenakan Pasal 378 KUHP tentang Penipuan dan atau Pasal 372 KUHP tentang Penggelapan juncto Pasal 64 KUHP perihal perbuatan berlanjut (voortgezette handeling) serta pengenaan Pasal terkait dengan Undang-undang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik (ITE).

"Pertama adalah Pasal 378 dan/atau Pasal 372 KUHP, tipu gelap. Nanti akan kita juncto kan dengan Pasal 64 KUHP, karena memang ini perbuatan berlanjut," kata Dirkrimum Polda Metro Jaya Kombes Hengki Haryadi kepada wartawan, pada hari Selasa, 04/07/2023.

Pihak kepolisian, lanjut Hengki, juga menjerat keduanya dengan Undang-undang ITE karena tipu-tipu jual beli iPhone tersebut dilakukan melalui media sosial.

"Dan kita kenakan Pasal ITE, karena melakukan penawaran itu melalui media sosial dengan ancaman 6 tahun penjara," ujarnya.

"Karena modusnya menggunakan media sosial, penyidik pun akan menerapkan Pasal 28 Undang-Undang ITE . Kami juga akan terapkan tindak pidana pencucian uang," ujar Hengki.

Hengki menambahkan, penyidik akan terus mendalami dugaan pelanggaran pidana yang dilakukan Rihana dan Rihani. Polisi juga akan menghitung jumlah kerugian para korban.

Untuk penerapan pasal tindak pidana pencucian uang alias TPPU, penyidik akan terlebih dahulu berkoordinasi dengan Pusat Pelaporan Analisis dan Transaksi Keuangan (PPATK).

Diberitakan sebelumnya, si kembar Rihana-Rihani ditangkap di Apartemen M Town Gading Serpong, Kabupaten Tangerang, Selasa pagi.

Rihana-Rihani ditangkap atas kasus dugaan penipuan dan penggelapan bermodus preorder IPhone dengan kerugian ditaksir mencapai Rp 35 miliar.

Setidaknya, terdapat lebih dari 18 laporan polisi soal tindak pidana yang dilakukan si kembar.

Kini, keduanya telah ditetapkan sebagai tersangka dan ditahan di ruang tahanan Polda Metro Jaya.

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Sandiaga Uno luncurkan TIC di Bandara Sentani

Menparekraf mengikuti foto bersama setelah peluncuran TIC Bandara Sentani, Rabu (5/7) (ANTARA/HO-Humas Bandara Sentani)

Menteri Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif (Menparekraf) RI Sandiaga Uno meluncurkan Tourist Informatioan Center (TIC) di Bandara Sentani, Kabupaten Jayapura, Papua, untuk mendorong pergerakan wisatawan nusantara.

"Kami harapkan sektor pariwisata dan ekonomi kreatif di Papua bisa menggeliat ke depan," kata dia di Sentani, Rabu.

Menurut Sandiaga, peluncuran TIC di Bandara Sentani saat ini merupakan yang pertama pada tingkat kabupaten di seluruh Indonesia.

"Dengan scan barkode ini sangat mudah untuk wisatawan dan bisa mendorong mendapatkan informasi terkait produk ekonomi kreatif di Papua," ujarnya.

Dia menjelaskan selain itu juga bisa mendorong pergerakan wisatawan nusantara karena pihaknya menargetkan 1,4 miliar wisatawan nusantara yang setiap pergerakan menghasilkan dampak ekonomi kepada masyarakat setempat.

"Dan target lapangan kerja akan diharapkan bisa mencapai 4,4 juta pada 2024 sehingga mungkin dicapai jika seluruh kabupaten di Indonesia memiliki inovasi yang sama," katanya lagi.

Sementara itu, Penjabat Bupati Jayapura Triwarno Purnomo mengatakan dengan peluncuran TIC di Bandara Sentani merupakan motivasi bagi pelaku ekonomi kreatif dalam rangka peningkatan ekonomi masyarakat di daerah itu.

"Sehingga kami memberikan apresiasi kepada Menparekraf yang telah meluncurkan TIC di Bandara Sentani, kami harap ke depan ekonomi dan pariwisata di Kabupaten Jayapura bisa lebih bertumbuh dan berkembang," katanya.

Sandiaga Uno Bakal Buka Festival Danau Sentani Tahun 2023

Menteri Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kretatif, Sandiaga Uno direncanakan bakal membuka pelaksanaan Festival Danau Sentani ke XIII tahun 2023.

Hal ini disampaikan oleh Staf Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kretatif, Dwi Marthen Yono saat ditemui di Lokasi Festival Danai Sentani (FDS) di Pantai Khalkote, Distrik Sentani Timur, hari Selasa, 04/07/2023.

“Sebelum membuka Festival ini, pak Menteri akan melaunching Tourist Information Center (TIC) online untuk Kabupaten Jayapura” ucapnya.

TIC online adalah sebuah fitur yang dapat digunakan oleh para turis baik dalam dan luar negeri yang ingin mengetahui tempat destinasi apa saja yang ada di suatu wilayah.

Dia melanjutkan, usai melaunching TIC online, Menparekraf akan berjumpa dengan pengelola 14 Desa wisata yang ada di Kabupaten Jayapura, Kota Jayapura dan Kabupaten Keerom dalam acara pilih kreatif yang akan dilaksanakan di Kantor Bupati Jayapura.

“Kemudian pada pukul 10.00 WIT beliau akan langsung ke sini untuk membuka pelaksanaan Festival Danau Sentani tahun 2023” tukasnya.

Lebih lanjut dikatakannya, usai membuka pelaksanaan FDS tahun 2023, Menparekraf akan mengunjungi dan melihat langsung ekonomi kreatif yang dipasarkan oleh orang asli Papua yang berada di seluruh stan di lokasi FDS.

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