Cincunri Sakia

Selasa, 16 November 2021

Germany suspends certification of Nord Stream 2 pipeline - Financial Times

Germany’s energy regulator said it had “temporarily suspended” certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, dealing a setback to the Kremlin-backed gas project and sparking a rise in UK and continental European gas prices.

The regulator said it could not yet approve the project, led by Russia’s Gazprom, because its owners had chosen to create a German subsidiary branch that was not yet properly set up according to German law.

The suspension comes at a critical time for European gas supply, with prices surging across the continent. Gazprom has been accused by some countries of restricting exports to western Europe to increase pressure on Germany and accelerate approval of the project.

UK gas contracts for delivery in December rose almost 10 per cent to £2.24 a therm on the news on Tuesday, while the European benchmark gained 8 per cent to €87.80 per megawatt hour, with both contracts trading near their highest level for the past month.

The Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 project is creating a German subsidiary to own and operate the German section of the pipeline in response to EU “unbundling” regulations, which require that companies producing, transporting and distributing gas within the bloc are separate entities. The project’s request to be exempted from the rules was rejected by German courts in August.

“Our company undertakes this step to ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations,” Nord Stream 2 told the Financial Times.

German regulators said certification would be suspended until all relevant assets and employees were transferred to the subsidiary. It said Nord Stream 2 would then be able to continue the four-month certification process laid out by law.

Brussels officials said that once German authorities had finalised their draft certification process, it could be submitted to the European Commission. Brussels has two months to assess the certificate.

Alan Riley, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think-tank, argued that the attempt to create a territorial subsidiary for the 33km section of the pipeline in Germany was effectively an attempt to find a loophole in the rules.

Even if the commission accepted the plan, he said, a bloc member such as Poland — which opposes Nord Stream 2, arguing it is a threat to European energy security — would sue. He said Nord Stream 2 “will have to test if there is in fact a loophole at the European Court of Justice”.

Nord Stream 2 would send 55bn cubic metres of gas per year under the Baltic Sea, allowing Gazprom to reach customers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe without using pipelines running through Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is in effect blackmailing Europe by restricting gas supplies, and that reducing its reliance on Ukraine could make it easier for Moscow to launch an invasion.

Yuriy Vitrenko, chief executive of Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz, warned Gazprom was “resorting to legal tricks” with the subsidiary. “This is a mockery of European rules,” he said.

Pawel Majewski, chief executive of PGNiG, Poland’s state-controlled gas company, welcomed the German decision as a “good sign for Poland and for Europe”.

“It is not possible to certify a subsidiary of Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent operator of the gas pipeline. It is also not possible to establish an operator applying EU law only in the territorial waters of Germany,” he said. “We regard today’s decision as the first step towards ensuring the enforcement of the law.”

Gas traders have been looking for signs that Russia will increase exports to western Europe but have seen only piecemeal increases in recent weeks, with flows well below the level of a year ago.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has consistently linked higher exports to approval of Nord Stream 2. Any delay is likely to increase fears that Russian flows will remain relatively low this winter.

“Any remaining hopes that this pipeline would be available for the winter are completely dashed,” said James Waddell at Energy Aspects, a consultancy. “Increasingly it’s looking like it may not start up until the second half of next year.”

Waddell said Russia could boost supplies to western Europe through the Ukrainian pipeline system Russia has relied on since Soviet times, but he said this was unlikely given Moscow’s insistence that Nord Stream 2 was the key to boosting exports.

Additional reporting by Roman Olearchyk in Kyiv, James Shotter in Warsaw, Nastassia Astrasheuskaya in Moscow and Mehreen Khan in Brussels

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2021-11-16 14:28:22Z
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Germany suspends certification of Nord Stream 2 pipeline - Financial Times

The regulator said it could not yet approve the project, led by Russia’s Gazprom, because its owners had not yet properly set up an operating subsidiary according to German law.

The suspension comes at a critical time for European gas supply, with prices surging across the continent. Gazprom has been accused by some countries of restricting exports to western Europe in order to increase pressure on Germany and accelerate the approval of the project.

UK gas contracts for delivery in December rose almost 10 per cent to £2.24 a therm on the news while the European benchmark gained 8 per cent to €87.80 per megawatt hour, with both contracts trading near their highest level for the past month.

The Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 project created a German subsidiary to own and operate the German section of the pipeline. That unit “must then meet the requirements of the Energy Industry Act for an independent transport network operator”, the regulator said on Tuesday.

“The certification process remains suspended,” the regulator said. It said Nord Stream 2 would be able to continue certification within the four-month period set by the law.

Nord Stream 2 would send 55bn cubic metres of gas per year under the Baltic Sea, allowing Kremlin-controlled gas exporter Gazprom to reach customers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe without using pipelines running through Ukraine.

Gas traders have been looking for signs that Russia will increase exports to western Europe but have seen only piecemeal increases in recent weeks, with flows well below the level of a year ago.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has consistently linked higher exports to the approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Any delay is likely to increase fears that Russian flows will remain at relatively low levels this winter.

“Any remaining hopes that this pipeline would be available for the winter are completely dashed now,” said James Waddell at Energy Aspects, a consultancy. “Increasingly it’s looking like it may not start up until the second half of next year.”

“The lack of gas in storage and the lack of Russian supplies mean we essentially have to cut into industrial demand in order to preserve crucial gas supplies for the power and heat networks. Europe is having to heavily reduce industrial gas demand in a way we haven’t seen in decades.”

Waddell said Russia could boost supplies to western Europe through the Ukrainian pipeline system that Russia has relied on since Soviet times, but he said this was unlikely given Moscow’s insistence that Nord Stream 2 is the key to boosting exports.

Ukrainian officials have warned they believe Russia is in effect blackmailing Europe by restricting gas supplies, and that reducing its reliance on Ukraine could make it easier for Moscow to launch an invasion.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday that the EU faces “a choice” between “sticking up for Ukraine” and approving the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

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2021-11-16 10:38:24Z
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Biden urges Xi not to allow competition to ‘veer into conflict’ - Financial Times

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held extensive talks about Taiwan in a virtual meeting on Monday but failed to establish any “guardrails” to ensure that tensions over the island do not escalate into a dangerous conflict.

The US president opened the three-hour meeting by telling his Chinese counterpart that they had to ensure competition between the powers did “not veer into conflict”. But they did not reach agreement or find any way to ease tensions over Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.

“On Taiwan, there was sort of nothing new established in the form of guardrails or any other understandings,” a senior US official said. “The president was very clear in reaffirming very longstanding US policy and raising very clear concerns, but the idea of establishing specific guardrails with respect to Taiwan was not part of the conversation.”

Taiwan has evolved into a flashpoint as China increasingly flies fighter jets and bombers into its air defence identification zone.

China has suggested that Biden was weakening the “one-China” policy, under which the US has recognised Beijing as the sole seat of government since the countries normalised relations in 1979. Biden has made policy changes that have made it easier for US officials to engage with Taiwanese counterparts.

Xi warned Biden that advocates of Taiwan independence and anyone supporting them were “playing with fire” and would “burn themselves”, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency. He added that China would have to take “decisive measures” if anyone crossed its “red lines” on Taiwan, and pressed Biden to make sure he did not weaken the “one China” policy.

Biden said last month that the US would defend Taiwan from any Chinese attack. The comments contradicted the longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity”, under which Washington refrained from detailing how it would respond to a Chinese attack. The policy is also intended to give China pause about military action.

The White House rolled back Biden’s comments at the time. On Monday, it said Biden told Xi that he supports “one-China” and “opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo”.

Aside from Taiwan, the two leaders appeared to agree on the need to ensure that US-China relations, which have fallen to their lowest level in decades, did not spiral further downwards or towards conflict.

“None of this is a favour to either of our countries . . . it’s just responsible world leadership,” Biden told Xi in his opening remarks in front of the media.

The Chinese president told Biden that the two sides needed to “manage differences and sensitive issues in a constructive way to prevent Sino-US relations from derailing”, according to Xinhua. He compared the two countries to two large ships that needed “stable rudders” to avoid a collision.

The White House said Biden had raised concerns about Chinese policy in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, and on human rights more broadly.

The US had hoped that China would discuss nuclear issues amid concerns in the US over the country’s rising capability. Beijing tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon in July and the Pentagon last week said the Chinese military would quadruple its nuclear stockpile to more than 1,000 warheads by 2030.

China had shown no interest in nuclear “strategic stability” talks. The senior US official said the leaders did discuss “strategic risk” and the importance of having further conversations but did not elaborate.

The virtual meeting followed two telephone calls between the leaders this year. Biden wanted to hold an in-person summit but Xi has not left China for almost two years because of the pandemic.

Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official now at the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, said both sides had “very modest expectations” for the meeting and that the goal was “to stabilise the relationship and manage the competition, not necessarily fix big problems”.

The US official said Biden and Xi had a “healthy debate” on many issues but that the White House had not expected the meeting to produce a fundamental shift in relations.

“We were not expecting a breakthrough, there was none to report,” the person said, adding that the meeting was about ensuring that the US and China “have sort of a steady state of affairs”.

Additional reporting by Xinning Liu in Beijing

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2021-11-16 08:07:38Z
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Senin, 15 November 2021

Poland-Belarus border: EU warned it must stand up to Vladimir Putin over crisis - Sky News

The European Union has tightened its sanctions against Belarus over the migrant crisis at its border with Poland, but has been told it must do more - including standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The warning came from Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, whose country is one of three EU nations that share a border with Belarus.

Mr Landsbergis is pushing for tougher action, including sanctions specifically outlawing the use of Minsk airport.

He has made little secret that his government holds Mr Putin at least partly responsible for stoking the dispute.

"I fully agree that he is driving this crisis, together with [Belarusian president] Alexander Lukashenko," he told Sky News.

"Politically that is for certain, and I am very worried about the possible notion that some people see Putin as part of the solution. I would never see him as part of the solution - he's part of the problem, and that has to be stated very clearly."

On the new sanctions, he said that any future packages needed to create more impact, and suggested greater focus.

He said sanctions on the Belarusian tobacco industry had restricted access to filters and rolling machines but had not actually included any sanctions on tobacco itself.

Instead, Mr Landsbergis said he wanted to see sanctions placed on Belarus's main airport, in Minsk, to stop airlines from landing in the country, and bringing in more would-be migrants.

Lithuania, Poland, and Latvia all share a border with Belarus and each have watched the growing number of people who have flown into Belarus recently, only to attempt immediately to cross a border into a neighbouring nation.

Mr Lukashenko, who is considered an illegitimate and dictatorial leader by the EU, is accused of luring thousands of migrants to Belarus with the promise of easy passage to the EU, and particularly to Germany.

Belarus has organised visas and flights for people coming from a range of countries, as well as onward transport to the border areas, resulting in thousands of people attempting to cross into other countries. However, the three EU nations have each refused to allow any crossings.

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Mr Lukashenko's victory in last year's presidential election was considered a triumph of vote-rigging and intimidation, and he has subsequently faced a range of sanctions, which extend to his supporters and to the wider Belarusian economy.

His decision to direct so many migrants to the border region is widely considered to be an act of revenge, albeit one supported by Mr Putin.

It is the role of the Russian leader that troubles a number of countries, including Lithuania.

Mr Landsbergis said it was possible "that Ukraine could be attacked while we are dealing with the Belausian border".

But he added that his greater concern was the prospect of Russia moving troops into Belarus, nominally to prop up a volatile security situation.

"We could see a very much increased military presence that could be permanent in the territory of Belarus," he said.

"Putin can go either way. What we might see one day is that Belarusian border guards would be replaced by Russian FSB guards.

"The signal has to be clear that we are seeing this. We know that there are Russian military troops on the border and that Russian special troops landed in Belarus.

"If we see them acting in the escalation, then they would have to answer for that."

His country, like Poland, is now committed to building a barrier along its border with Belarus, and is appealing to the EU to contribute to the cost of this.

It is a demand that has received a mixed response so far. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said she does not want to spend money on fences and barbed wire, while her European Council counterpart, Charles Michel, appears more receptive.

But in the border region, as temperatures continue to drop, there appears to be no imminent solution to the stand-off.

The forests of Belarus are home to a growing number of migrants, housed in makeshift and rudimentary camps, caught between a nation that summoned them and parked them at the border, and countries that don't want them to enter.

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2021-11-15 18:11:15Z
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Kyle Rittenhouse: Weapons charge against accused US teen dropped - BBC News

Tensions are high in a Wisconsin city where closing arguments have begun in the trial of a US teen who shot three people during civil unrest last August.

Prosecutors alleged Kyle Rittenhouse "provoked everything" when he shot two men dead and wounded another in Kenosha.

Defence attorneys for Mr Rittenhouse, who has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts, are next set to speak.

Earlier, the judge dismissed a misdemeanour weapons charge against the teen.

Ahead of the verdict, 500 National Guard troops were placed on standby in Wisconsin.

The case has become politically divisive and its result will be closely watched across the nation. In a statement, Governor Tony Evers urged people to "respect the community by reconsidering any plans to travel there" in response to the verdict.

If Mr Rittenhouse is convicted on the most serious charges, he could face life in prison.

In August of last year, riots had erupted on the streets of Kenosha after police shot Jacob Blake, a black man. Mr Rittenhouse had travelled to the city from his home in Illinois and, with a semi-automatic rifle in tow, he said he sought to help protect property from unrest on the streets.

Defence attorneys for the young gunman have said he acted in self-defence on the night of 25 August 2020, but prosecutors allege he came looking for trouble that night and behaved like a vigilante.

"You cannot claim self-defence against a danger that you create," lead prosecutor Thomas Binger told the court on Monday in his closing statement.

"Consider whether or not it's reasonable for a criminal to be able to shoot himself out of a crime scene," he said. "If someone comes up to that person and tries to disarm them, do they forfeit their life?"

Mr Binger - the assistant district attorney for Kenosha - questioned why Mr Rittenhouse broke curfew in a city he did not live in and "pretended to guard" people and property he was not familiar with.

"He ran around with an AR-15 all night and lied about being an EMT [emergency responder]. Does that suggest to you that he is genuinely there to help?" asked the prosecutor.

Mr Rittenhouse had worked as a first responder cadet prior to the shootings. He testified last week that he provided medical aid to people that day.

Jurors were shown video, sometimes frame by frame, leading up to and after each shooting. Mr Binger assailed the teen for showing "no regard for human life" and then fleeing the scene "like he was some sort of hero in a western".

Mr Rittenhouse was 17 years old when he fired the fatal shots that killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, while also wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.

On Monday, defence attorneys successfully argued that Wisconsin law could be interpreted to allow him to possess the firearm despite being under the age of 18. Judge Bruce Schroeder agreed to drop the weapons charge prior to closing arguments.

The judge is yet to rule on a motion for mistrial brought up by Mr Rittenhouse's lawyers last week and has indicated he may do so later today.

Five hours have been allotted for closing arguments before the jury enters into deliberations.

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2021-11-15 18:25:03Z
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Belarus sends de-escalation signals on migrant crisis - POLITICO Europe

Belarus and its state-owned airline moved on Monday to de-escalate a migrant standoff at the Polish border just as the EU moved forward on new sanctions against the country.

Early Monday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he was working to repatriate thousands of migrants now camped in freezing temperatures at the country’s Polish border. Belarus state airline Belavia also announced it would stop accepting travelers via Dubai from a number of Middle Eastern countries, and the Iraqi government said it was organizing a “voluntary” repatriation flight for its stranded citizens.

Taken together, the steps appear designed to defuse a potential powderkeg between Belarus and the EU — although the situation is far from resolved.

Even as Lukashenko said “active work is underway” to send migrants to their home country, he added a key caveat: “Nobody wants to go back.” And even if Belavia stops accepting travelers from the countries in question — the airline singled out Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan — many other airlines, including several Russian operators, fly into Minsk.

Lukashenko is accused of luring migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere to Belarus only to send them to the country’s border with the EU — a ploy the bloc’s leaders have dubbed a “hybrid attack.” The tactic has left several thousand migrants stuck at the border, deprived of consistent access to food and water, after Poland refused them entry.

The situation escalated in recent days when Lukashenko threatened to cut off gas to the EU in retaliation for the bloc’s expected penalties. On Saturday, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin — Lukashenko’s main ally — warned the Belarus leader not to take that step, perhaps setting the stage for the country’s backtrack on Monday. Poland has accused Putin of orchestrating the border standoff from afar.

Iraq will start its repatriation process on Thursday with its “first flight for those who wish to return voluntarily,” Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf told Iraqi television early Monday. Baghdad had identified 571 citizens stuck at the border who said they wanted to return, al-Sahaf added.

That leaves open the question of what happens to the other Iraqis, as well any citizens from other countries, now camped at the border.

The EU on Monday cleared a key hurdle to pass new sanctions specifically targeting the Belarus migration scheme. The upcoming penalties aim to hit the airlines and officials moving people from their home countries to the Belarus-EU border, which also includes Lithuania and Latvia.

Yet while the punishments may help shut off the pipeline of migrants, they don’t address the pressing humanitarian crisis at the border itself. With temperatures dropping and aid organizations largely unable to get to the migrants’ campsite, human rights activists have warned that the situation could grow dire. Already, at least nine people have died in the harsh conditions.

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2021-11-15 11:25:45Z
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Danny Fenster: US journalist freed from Myanmar jail - BBC News

US journalist Danny Fenster has been released from prison in Myanmar after he was sentenced to 11 years in jail by a military court three days ago.

His employer, English-language news site Frontier Myanmar, said he was on a flight out of Myanmar.

Junta spokesperson Major-Gen Zaw Min Tun confirmed to the BBC that he would be allowed to leave the country.

Fenster, who was Frontier's managing editor, was detained in May as he was about to fly back to the US.

He is one of dozens of journalists, and thousands of people overall, to be held since a military coup in February.

Fenster had been convicted of breaching immigration law, unlawful association and encouraging dissent against the military.

Then last week he was hit with two additional charges of sedition and terrorism, which carry a maximum term of life imprisonment.

Exactly how Fenster came to be let out is not yet confirmed.

However, former US ambassador Bill Richardson is in Myanmar and is believed to have negotiated the release.

Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?

According to Frontier, Fenster had previously worked for Myanmar Now, an independent news site that has been critical of the military since the coup.

"The charges were all based on the allegation that he was working for banned media outlet Myanmar Now. Danny had resigned from Myanmar Now in July 2020 and joined Frontier the following month, so at the time of his arrest in May 2021 he had been working with Frontier for more than nine months," said the news site.

"There is absolutely no basis to convict Danny of these charges."

In a statement before the sentencing, the US state department commented that "the profoundly unjust nature of Danny's detention is plain for all the world to see. The regime should take the prudent step of releasing him now".

Myanmar's military leaders seized power in February after suffering a massive election defeat at the hands of the ruling National League of Democracy.

They said they had been forced into the move by widespread vote fraud, although the country's election commission said there was no evidence to support such claims.

Mass civilian protests rose up across the country, and were brutally suppressed by the military.

Since then, at least 1,260 people have been killed and 7,251 are under detention in a crackdown on dissent, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Around 80 local journalists are known to have been detained for their reporting so far. According to the AAPP, 50 of them are still in detention and half have been prosecuted.

Fenster was the first Western journalist sentenced to prison in recent years in Myanmar, Reuters reports.

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2021-11-15 10:12:15Z
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Selasa, 16 November 2021

Senin, 15 November 2021

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