— 🇾🇪/🇺🇳 UN press release regarding the roadmap for peace in Yemen:

'The UN roadmap will include, among other elements, the parties’ commitment to implement a nationwide ceasefire, pay all public sector salaries, resume oil exports, open roads in Taiz and other parts of Yemen, and further ease restrictions on Sana’a Airport and the Hudaydah port.

The roadmap will also establish implementation mechanisms and prepare for a Yemeni-owned political process under UN supervision.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

🛢 🌍 🚢 That will leave a mark

📎 Sal Mercogliano

🇾🇪 🇮🇷 🌍 This graphic attempts summarizing the current incidents targeting maritime vessels in the Arabian Sea/Bab-El-Mandeb region, it highlights potential UAV ranges, simulates traffic density & presents how vulnerable commercial shipping is to such attacks

📎 Damien Symon

Erdoğan appoints crypto professor to central bank

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed Fatma Ozkul, a professor who teaches about crypto assets and blockchain technology, as a member of the central bank's rate-setting committee.

Ozkul, a professor at Istanbul's Marmara University, became the new member of the Turkish central bank's Monetary Policy Committee, according to a presidential decree published Saturday.

Ozkul's appointment is unlikely to change the current course of monetary policy.

However, her recent focus has been on blockchain, crypto assets and their implications on finance.

She published a book about crypto asset accounting in 2022, according to her profile.

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🇬🇧 🇬🇾 🇻🇪 ‘The UK is preparing to send a warship to Guyana in a show of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony, the BBC has learned…HMS Trent would take part in joint exercises after Christmas’

🔶️ The UK is preparing to send a warship to Guyana in a show of diplomatic and military support for the former British colony, the BBC has learned.

🔶️ It comes after neighbouring Venezuela renewed its claim for a disputed part of Guyanese territory that is rich in oil and minerals.

🔶️ The Ministry of Defence confirmed HMS Trent would take part in joint exercises after Christmas.

🔶️ Guyana, a Commonwealth member, is South America's only English-speaking nation.

🔶️ This raised fears that Venezuela might invade and spark the first interstate war in South America since the Falklands Conflict in 1982.

🔶️ While Guyana's economy is growing fast, Venezuela's is suffering. Its hills and jungles are rich in gold, diamonds and bauxite, while huge oil deposits have been found off its coast.

🔶️ A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the BBC: "HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic Patrol Task deployment."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67806227

👮‍♂️ 🇸🇻 🇨🇦 In 2015, El Salvador was one of the most dangerous countries in the world with a homicide rate of 103.

This year, they were practically as safe as Canada.

To replicate these results in your country, follow these two steps:

1. Lock up criminals
2. Keep them locked up

It works!

https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/

📎 Crémieux

❄️ 🇺🇸 🇷🇺 In 1867, the United States made a bold move by purchasing the vast territory of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, which equated to about 2 cents per acre. This historic deal, known as the Alaska Purchase or Seward's Folly, was spearheaded by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward. Despite the initial skepticism and ridicule, the Alaska Purchase would prove to be a wise investment, as the state's vast natural resources, including oil, gold, and more, would make it worth well over $500 billion today.

The mid-19th century was a time of significant territorial expansion for the United States. The country had recently acquired vast amounts of land through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Mexican-American War in 1848. In 1867, the U.S. government saw an opportunity to further expand its territory when Russia expressed interest in selling its Alaskan territory.

The negotiations for the Alaska Purchase were led by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward. Seward was a strong proponent of American expansion and believed that acquiring Alaska would strengthen the U.S. position in the Pacific region. Despite facing considerable opposition and criticism from the public, who thought the deal was a waste of money and resources, Seward managed to secure the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million.

The Alaska Purchase was initially met with widespread skepticism and ridicule. Many people, including some members of Congress, believed that the U.S. had made a foolish investment in a barren, frozen wasteland. The deal was derisively referred to as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox."

However, as time passed, the true value of the Alaska Purchase began to emerge. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gold and other valuable resources were discovered in Alaska, leading to a gold rush and increased economic activity in the region. In the 20th century, the discovery of oil in Alaska further solidified the territory's value.

Today, the state of Alaska is recognized as a significant contributor to the U.S. economy, with its vast natural resources playing a major role in its success. The oil industry in Alaska, centered around the Prudhoe Bay oil field and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, generates substantial revenue for the state and the country. In addition to oil, Alaska's abundant natural resources include gold, timber, and fish, which contribute to the state's economy and overall worth.

The Alaska Purchase of 1867, once considered a foolish and wasteful investment, has proven to be a valuable addition to the United States. Despite the initial skepticism and ridicule, the foresight of Secretary of State William Seward has led to the acquisition of a territory rich in natural resources, including oil, gold, and more. Today, Alaska's estimated worth of over $500 billion.

📎 Historic Vids

🇳🇪🇲🇱🇧🇫 African countries supported by Russia: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in September created a military alliance - the “Alliance of Sahel States” and plan to create a single state in the future. The last French soldiers left Niger on December 22, handing over a base in the capital, Niamey, to the local military. The French were driven out of Mali and Burkina Faso even earlier.

International columnist for Le Figaro newspaper Renaud Gerard said that France's withdrawal from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is a failure of French foreign policy.

Nigerian central bank lifts ban on crypto trading.

Nigeria's central bank has lifted a ban on transacting in cryptocurrencies, while saying global trends had shown a need to regulate such activities, the bank said in its latest circular.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Feb. 2021 barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in crypto assets, citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-central-bank-lifts-ban-crypto-trading-2023-12-23/

NEWS: BARRY SILBERT, MARK MURPHY ARE OUT OF GRAYSCALE BOARD OF DIRECTORS BLOCKWORKS.CO/NEWS/BARRY-SIL… ...

🇬🇧⚓️🇬🇾 The UK has decided to re-task Royal Navy warship the HMS Trent and deploy it to Guyana after Christmas, according to British media reports

Instead of scouring the Caribbean in search of drug smugglers, the warship will take part in joint naval exercises with the former British colony and Commonwealth member. The decision was reportedly prompted by the current flare-up of the territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

💬 "HMS Trent will visit regional ally and Commonwealth partner Guyana later this month as part of a series of engagements in the region during her Atlantic Patrol Task deployment," a UK Ministry of Defense spokesperson was cited as saying.

The warship will stay in Barbados, the Caribbean region of the Americas, during Christmas, after which it will be heading for Guyana. Its activities will reportedly be carried out at sea, and will not involve docking in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.

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