🔹Iranian 🇮🇷 President Ebrahim Raeisi is in Beijing with a high-ranking politico-economic delegation on an official invitation by his Chinese counterpart. Chinese President Xi Jinping has lauded the close relationship between Iran and China 🇨🇳, stressing that Beijing will “unswervingly” develop friendly cooperation with Tehran irrespective of international & regional changes.

🔹Iran & China have signed 20 documents & MOU's to further expand cooperation in crisis management, tourism, communication, IT, the environment, international trade, intellectual property, agriculture, exports & more. The Iranian president thanked China for promoting his country's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

🔹Iran & China signed a landmark 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in March 2022 in defiance of unilateral sanctions against the two countries by the US.

Video courtesy CGTN

🔹Ukraine accused Forza Italia's 🇮🇹 Party president & former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi of spreading Russian propaganda after he said he would not seek a meeting with 🇺🇦 President Zelensky if he were still head of gov't. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said "Berlusconi's accusations... are an attempt to kiss Putin's hands...".

🔹Italy's 🇮🇹 PM Giorgia Meloni said the invitation of President Zelenskiy to Paris, where he met his French 🇫🇷 & German 🇩🇪 counterparts only, was "inappropriate".

🔹Ukraine has urged its European allies to avoid “negative messaging” about its prospects of joining the EU 🇪🇺 as some of EU diplomats warn of Ukraine's unrealistic expectations. While EU leaders have refrained from public comments critical of Ukraine’s membership ambitions, some capitals have privately chastised Ukrainian officials for such expectations.

🔹The European Commission has set down seven reforming steps it wants Ukraine to deliver on before accession negotiations.

Video courtesy Intel Republic

Multiple answer poll results.

🔹China 🇨🇳 National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the largest gas importer in the country, is in the late stages of finalizing a huge long-term LNG 🚢 import deal with Qatar 🇶🇦. CNPC has agreed on the major terms with Qatar in a deal that will be very similar to Sinopec's 27 year LNG contract.

🔹This is a good move for CNPC, securing additional long term supply from a reliable and well positioned partner. This will further insulate from market volatility, diversify supply while optimising between the state owned units.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 China signed a 27-year landmark $60 billion agreement for purchases of LNG from Qatar 🇶🇦.

💠 A crucial section of the East Route natural gas pipeline between Russia 🇷🇺 & China is completed.

💠 Chinese co.'s that signed long-term contracts to buy U.S. 🇺🇸 LNG are selling the excess & making millions per cargo.

💠 Qatar's Energy Minister says EU's 🇪🇺 natural gas price caps are hypocritical.

Video courtesy Shanghai Eye.

🔹China 🇨🇳 imported 1,343 tons of gold in 2022, the highest import level since 2018. Total gold imports for 2022 were up 64% over 2021. During the 15-day period from the Chinese New Year day to the Spring Lantern Festival, Chinese gold consumption was up by 18% year-on-year. China raised its gold reserves for a third straight month as central banks worldwide bolster their holdings.

🔹 The demand for gold bars & coins in Russia 🇷🇺 last year grew faster than in any other country & almost five times as much as in 2021.

🔹Burkina Faso's 🇧🇫 authorities are seeking to process more of its gold locally to ensure control over the country's main source of revenue, following a drop in output. Production sank 15% last year as the gov't battled a sprawling Islamist insurgency.

🔹 Turkey 🇹🇷 will suspend some gold imports to soften the economic impact of recent earthquakes.

Last reported on this channel:

💠Central banks are scooping up gold 📈at the fastest pace since 1967.

💠 Central banks of China, Turkey, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 & India 🇮🇳 increase gold purchases.

💠 Prof. Everisto Benyera on the shift in relationship between Africa, gold & the USD.

💠 BRICS 🇧🇷🇷🇺🇮🇳🇨🇳🇿🇦 plan an international reserve currency based on a basket of the national currencies, backed by commodities such as gold.

Video courtesy Sean Foo

🔹France's 🇫🇷 state-owned nuclear operator EDF is considering using funds from depositors in a centuries-old savings account to finance part of a €50bn plan to build six nuclear reactors. Between €10bn to €20bn could be freed up for the nuclear need.

🔹A 9-month planned maintenance shutdown of EDF's SA’s Chinon-1 nuclear reactor 🏭 has started. French nuclear generation slumped to the lowest in more than three decades in 2022.

🔹France already generates about 70% of its power from nuclear. France has approved looking into the possibility of extending the lifespan of nuclear reactors to 60 years & beyond if safety rules allow it.

🔹France seeks strategy as nuclear waste storage is decreasing. EDF considers to resume sending recyclable uranium to Russia 🇷🇺 as it is the only country able to process it into reprocessed uranium (95%). As a result, France backs Hungary 🇭🇺 on removing Russian nuclear sector from EU 🇪🇺 sanctions.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 🇫🇷 EDF said that it had lowered its nuclear output target for 2022 due to the impact of strikes on its reactor maintenance schedule.

💠EDF is rushing to get nuclear power stations online. 20 of 56 offline due to strikes & corrosion issues. (Last reported 6 of 12 with corrosion issues being repaired).

💠The French gov't to fully nationalize the EDF. which runs a 29 billion Euro loss.

🔹Booming trade flows with Russia’s 🇷🇺 neighbors may be a sign that sanctions are being evaded by EU 🇪🇺& US 🇺🇸 companies. German exports to Russia fell to 38% from May-Jul '22 compared to the average of May-Jul '17-'19. But they almost doubled to Armenia 🇦🇲 & more than tripled to Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬. The EU is poised to adopt a 10th package of sanctions next week.

🔹Latvia's 🇱🇻 PM K. Karins has called on the EU for a crackdown against anyone trying to evade the sanctions. He said It is clear that traders are finding ways to legally trade with Turkey, Kazakhstan, Armenia etc. which are then resent to Russia.

🔹2 weeks ago the US sanctioned nearly two dozen individuals & entities in multiple countries for assisting Russia to evade sanctions. Last week the US declared more focus on sanctions evasion is coming soon.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 The US warns Oman 🇴🇲, UAE 🇦🇪 & Türkiye 🇹🇷 of possible embargo if they continue to evade US sanctions on Russia.

💠 European traders are evading sanctions with fake paperwork claiming Russian/Belarussian firewood is from Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 or Kyrgyzstan.

💠 Belarus 🇧🇾 president warns that sanctions will lead to global food crisis.

🔹Yevheniya Kravchuk, deputy head of the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 parliament's committee on humanitarian & information policy confirms the continuation of the policy for millions of Russian language books 📚to be confiscated from schools, kindergartens & libraries to be destroyed.

🔹Both Russian & Ukrainian are East Slavic languages, and most Ukrainians speak Russian. Ukraine had withdrawn from its libraries about 19 million copies of books, and 11 million Russian-🇷🇺 language books were destroyed in Ukraine last year alone.

🔹On 19 May 2022, the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 Ministry of Culture instructed the Ukrainian Book Institute to destroy all books 📖 published in Russia, printed in Russian or translated from the Russian language, amounting to millions of books. This includes some Ukrainian-language books from the Soviet era.

🔹Ukraine's SBU searched the premises of Sarny eparchy Ukrainian Orthodox Church ⛪️ in Rivne Region. The SBU confiscated books & newspapers dated from 2020 & 2013.

🔹The first 57 tonnes of Russian 🇷🇺 -language books have already been sent for recycling. The proceeds were used to buy a jeep for the AFU.

🔹Hungary's 🇭🇺 FM P. Szijjarto, completed a 2-day meeting with Belarusian 🇧🇾 FM Sergei Aleinik in Minsk, Belarus. Szijjarto stressed that without negotiations, there will be no peace in Ukraine. Aleinik said “we are on the same page with our Hungarian partners in many ways".

🔹Due to the Western imposed sanctions, the bilateral trade between the two countries has shrunk by more than a third. Belarus is ready to support their Hungarian partners in mutually beneficial investment projects.

🔹Szijjarto said "we are feeling the pain of the inflation, which is already double-digit, & energy prices, which have skyrocketed due to the erroneous sanctions policy,"

🔹The visit marked exactly 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus & Hungary.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 USAID 🇺🇸 chief, Samantha Power accuses Hungary of eroding relations with the US.

💠 Hungary rebukes US ambassador for meddling in internal affairs.

💠 Western critics accuse Hungary 🇭🇺 of purging NATO officers from it's military.

💠 Hungary supports Türkiye 🇹🇷 in a call for negotiations with Russia.

💠 Hungary claim Germany 🇩🇪 is blocking the upgrade of Hungary's Paks nuclear facility by Russia.

💠 Ukraine 🇺🇦 disproportionately connoscripting ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia.

💠 The EU 🇪🇺 withholds both Hungary's budgeted & post-pandemic recovery funds as punishment.

💠 Hungary has agreed with Russia 🇷🇺 to re-route gas transit to Hungary via the TurkStream.

Video courtesy People Say.

🔹The BRICS 🇧🇷🇷🇺🇮🇳🇨🇳🇿🇦 group of nations plans to decide this year whether to admit new members and what criteria they would have to meet, with Iran 🇮🇷 & Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 among those who’ve formally asked to join. While BRICS accounts for 42% of the world’s population, its members have less than 15% of the voting rights in the World Bank and the IMF.

🔹BRICS founded the New Development Bank, in 2014, & Bangladesh & the UAE joined the institution in 2021. Egypt 🇪🇬 & Uruguay 🇺🇾 are expected follow suit soon.Other countries that have expressed interest in joining include Argentina 🇦🇷, the UAE 🇦🇪, Algeria 🇩🇿, Egypt, Bahrain 🇧🇭 & Indonesia 🇮🇩.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Russia sees the possibility of a single supranational currency being created for settlements within the BRICS.

💠 The EAEU 🇷🇺 🇦🇲 🇰🇿 🇰🇬 🇧🇾 is interested in setting up a common payment system with BRICS nations.

💠 South Africa expressed that BRICS economies wants to find a way of bypassing the USD.

💠 Egypt has officially become a member of the New Development Bank of the BRICS.

💠 BRICS plan an international reserve currency based on a basket of the national currencies, backed by commodities such as gold.

🔹India 🇮🇳 appears to be pulling off a diplomatic high-wire act between Washington & Moscow as imports from Russia have surged nearly 400% so far this fiscal year (Apr '22 - Mar '23), fueled by purchases of discounted crude oil. The total value of Russian 🇷🇺 imports came to $37.31 billion, up from $7.71 billion in the same period of the previous year.

🔹Russia became India's top crude supplier in Nov. 2022, receiving around 1 million bpd 🛢 & in the first two weeks of Jan. '23, nearly 1.3 million bpd.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Around 70% of Jan. 2023 loading cargoes of Russian Urals was destined to India 🇮🇳.

💠 Russia cuts oil 📉 production in March by 500,000 bpd.

💠 India’s ambassador to Russia, considers jointly building oil-carrying ships & establishing energy insurance companies.

💠 India now buying thirty-three (33) times more 📈 Russian oil than a year earlier.

💠 Russia is now transporting more of it's own crude on its own tankers 🚢.

💠 Russia’s crude grades re-routed from Europe to China 🇨🇳 & India.

Compilation video of India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar.

🔹The European Commission 🇪🇺 is exploring options to confiscate Russian 🇷🇺 state & private assets. This includes $300 billion frozen Russian central bank 🏛 foreign exchange reserves / bonds & applies also to assets of individuals / entities.

🔹The EU disregards that assets of private entities are considered foreign investments, which enjoy protection against expropriation without compensation & a right to fair & equitable treatment under international treaties that Russia has with a lot of EU countries.

🔹The 'UN Convention 🇺🇳 on Jurisdictional Immunities of States & Their Property 2004' is not yet in force & the EU believes that Russia's Central Bank reserves can be "legally" confiscated.

🔹EU member states must report if their financial institutions hold Russian central bank assets. Switzerland 🇨🇭has said it is legally impossible for it to confiscate the assets of sanctioned Russians which violates Swiss law. EU Commission President U. von der Leyen says she is "disappointed” over Switzerland’s decision.

🔹The EU is also planning an "exit tax" on the assets of sanctioned individuals that want to transfer their wealth out of the EU.

Last reported on this channel:

💠The EU has undermined ‘Lex Mercatoria’ (Latin – ‘Merchant Law’). The autonomous legal order of international economic relations for trade & rules for settling disputes. The west has now destroyed, how money & currencies function in relationship to trade & private property rights.

Video courtesy IntelRepublic & Sean Foo

🔹Is the EU's 🇪🇺 plan to confiscate Russian assets an indication of the EU undermining key concepts of western civilization? These include private property rights, free markets & the right to exchange property by mutual agreement.

🔹While the EU claims Russia 🇷🇺 wants to re-create the USSR, is the EU becoming it's own version of the USSR? Is the EU pursuing policies in a direction that coincides with some of the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto, 1848 by Karl Heinrich Marx?

💠 Plank I - Abolition of private property.

💠 Plank II - A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

💠 Plank IV - Confiscation of the property of all emigrants & rebels.

💠 Plank V - Centralization of credit in the hands of the state. (The ECB determining EU member states monetary policy).

Video: Vladimir Bukovsky in 2005 - USSR defector in the 1970's to the West.

🔹People burned several banks in Lebanon 🇱🇧, as the Lebanese pound fell to a historic record low of 80,000 against the US dollar. Protestors are against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years & rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. Protesters also gathered outside the house of Salim Sfeir, head of the Association of Banks 🏦 in Lebanon, and started a fire.

🔹Lebanon has been facing its worst economic crisis since October 2019 & Beirut's port blast in 2020. Banks in Lebanon were on strike, over haphazard judicial decisions against the sector.Late in 2022, the Lebanese 🇱🇧 parliament approved an amended banking secrecy law, a key demand of a $3 billion bailout out from the IMF.

🔹The US 🇺🇸 denied that it was considering imposing sanctions on Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh, for his involvement in “covering Hezbollah's financial activities". Hezbollah claims that it has succeeded in establishing its own banking & monetary system away from the Lebanese banking system, geared towards dodging existing US sanctions.

🔹Hezbollah leader S. H. Nasrallah said “if the Americans or some inside are planning chaos & the collapse of the country, I tell them that you will lose everything in Lebanon.” He stressed the need to revive the industrial & agricultural sectors, & look for other markets, such as Russia 🇷🇺 & China 🇨🇳.

🔹India’s 🇮🇳 FM S. Jaishankar has labelled US 🇺🇸 billionaire investor George Soros as “old, rich, opinionated & dangerous” for his comments on India & said that Soro's comments were typical of a "Euro Atlantic view." Soros criticized India’s PM Narendra Modi saying India was a democracy but Modi was not a democrat.

🔹FM Jaishankar continued by saying such people (Soros) with such views & such organizations (Open Society Foundation) actually invest resources in shaping narratives. "It worries us. We are a country that went through colonialism, we know the dangers of what happens when there’s outside interference,".

🔹A report shows, many fronts that target India's image with fake data & fabricated stories, exploiting India's fault-lines, are found to be linked with George Soros.

🔹The Adani Conglomerate run by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani (until recently the richest man in Asia) has been a target for short selling 📉 and co-ordinated timed allegations of fraud by Western instigators including Soros.

🔹K P Singh, who helmed India's 🇮🇳 biggest listed private real estate company DLF Ltd said Soros is a "crazy nut" and an aged "barking dog.

Notice from the video in the above post, George Soros has a problem with India buying discounted Russian crude.

Below is a previous post on the India-Russia oil market developments for context.

🔹India 🇮🇳 appears to be pulling off a diplomatic high-wire act between Washington & Moscow as imports from Russia have surged nearly 400% so far this fiscal year (Apr '22 - Mar '23), fueled by purchases of discounted crude oil. The total value of Russian 🇷🇺 imports came to $37.31 billion, up from $7.71 billion in the same period of the previous year.

🔹Russia became India's top crude supplier in Nov. 2022, receiving around 1 million bpd 🛢 & in the first two weeks of Jan. '23, nearly 1.3 million bpd.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Around 70% of Jan. 2023 loading cargoes of Russian Urals was destined to India 🇮🇳.

💠 Russia cuts oil 📉 production in March by 500,000 bpd.

💠 India’s ambassador to Russia, considers jointly building oil-carrying ships & establishing energy insurance companies.

💠 India now buying thirty-three (33) times more 📈 Russian oil than a year earlier.

💠 Russia is now transporting more of it's own crude on its own tankers 🚢.

💠 Russia’s crude grades re-routed from Europe to China 🇨🇳 & India.

Compilation video of India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar.

🔹Protests continue in Moldova 🇲🇩 on Feb. 19, as protesters demand that the gov't pay gas, heating and electricity bills for the three winter months. Protestors also called for the resignation of president Maya Sandu.

🔹Police detained six people who behaved suspiciously. Police also prevented buses of protestors from entering the city because the transport did not comply with "technical standards".

🔹Last September, state-backed gas distributor Moldovagaz failed to fulfil wholesale payments to its sole gas supplier, Russia's 🇷🇺 Gazprom. Moldova's gov't has been taking actions to cut ties with Russia to grow closer to the EU under the guise of neutrality.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Moldovan 🇲🇩 PM N. Gavrilita resigned & was replaced with an even more pro-EU PM. Moldova forced several Russian-language media outlets to shut down after not renewing their broadcasting licenses.

Previous 2022 Moldova posts on this channel:

💠 Nov 28th, Protesters call for the resignation of the president & the gov't

💠 Nov 13th, 60,000 protestors marched, escorted by retired military.

💠 Oct. 30th, Stand-offs between Moldovans & police 🚓 grow violent amid protests.

💠 Oct. 23rd, police brutalities continued amid a breakout of protests.

💠 Oct. 16th, 50,000 protestors marched🇲🇩 Weekend before 60,000 protested.

💠 Thousands protest high energy prices during Sep.

Video courtesy NewsMaker

🔹Mexican 🇲🇽 President A. M. L. Obrador signed a decree handing over responsibility for lithium reserves to the energy ministry. A review will be done on foreign companies that have active mining concessions. Plans are for the state to have a majority stake in any future joint venture.

🔹General Motors 🇺🇸 plans to invest $650 million into Lithium Americas to secure access to lithium. CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence believes this is the first of a growing land grab for acreage which is required for the processing of mined lithium. It takes two years or more to build a giga factory and 10 years-plus to finance & build a lithium mine.

🔹Sigma Lithium's new Grota do Cirilo Project lithium mining operation in Brazil 🇧🇷 is being considered for a takeover by Tesla.

Previous lithium posts on this channel:

💠 Canada 🇨🇦 ordered three Chinese companies divest their investments in Canadian lithium & critical minerals.

💠Report on the vast resources needed to be mined for an EV 🚙 vehicle which is clearly unsustainable.

💠 Lithium carbonate, hit a new record high in China 🇨🇳 during September.

💠 Lithium mining pollution and the growing scarcity.

💠 Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 lithium reserves & China investment.

🔹Russian 🇷🇺 exports of discounted crude and fuel oil to China 🇨🇳 have jumped to record levels. Overall flows last month surpassed a record set in April 2020, & exports of fuel oil surged to an all-time high. China is toe-to-toe with India 🇮🇳 as the biggest buyer of Russian crude.

🔹Russia’s overall crude & fuel oil exports to China reached 1.66 million barrels a day last month. Offers for Russian Urals & ESPO 🛢 crude were pegged at a discount of $13 and $8 a barrel, respectively, to Brent. Russian exports of straight-run fuel oil & high-sulfur fuel oil to China hit a record of about 142,000 barrels a day in January.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Russia cuts oil 📉 production in March by 500,000 bpd.

💠 Oman 🇴🇲 & the UAE 🇦🇪, imported more Russian oil in the first 10 months of 2022 than in the previous 3 years combined. Russia oil is blended & re-sold to Europe.

💠 Russia is now transporting more of it's own crude on its own tankers 🚢.

💠 Russia’s 🇷🇺crude grades re-routed from Europe to China & India.

💠 Chinese 🇨🇳 refiners see refining profit margins jump, due to discounts for Russian crude.

💠 US 🇺🇸 bans sale of SPR oil to China.