🔹Top diplomats from Iran🇮🇷, Türkiye 🇹🇷, Russia 🇷🇺 and Syria 🇸🇾 have wrapped up their landmark summit on the Syrian conflict in Moscow (May 10th), underscoring the Arab country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and setting up a roadmap to improve strained ties between Damascus and Ankara.

🔹Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mikdad focused on a comprehensive solution to the Syria crisis based on the role of the Astana platform. The participants affirmed their commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

🔹Assisting in efforts for a safe return home of Syrian refugees was also discussed. Russia's FM remarked that the US 🇺🇸 has set about creating a "Free Syria Army," consisting of terrorists and militants, to serve as a tool against the legitimate gov't in Damascus.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 The Arab League readmitted Syria, after more than a decade of suspension.

💠 First visit of an Iranian 🇮🇷 president to Syria in more than a decade. 14 documents were signed on expanding economic cooperation.

💠 Saudi Arabia’s 🇸🇦 FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. First such trip since 2011.

💠 Syria's 🇸🇾 Foreign Minister visits Saudi Arabia, first such trip since 2012.

💠 Tunisia 🇹🇳 initiates procedures that would appoint a new ambassador to Syria.

💠 UAE 🇦🇪 President was visited by the Syrian Preisident. UAE calls for Damascus to be reintegrated into the wider Arab region.

💠 President Assad visited Russia 🇷🇺 to discuss political/economic issues on the Syrian crisis.

Video source - Kanal13 & Agora

🔹The Ukrainian 🇺🇦 army attacked an oil loading station for the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline that supplies oil from Russia to Europe. The (May 10th) attack was done twice within 20 minutes on the Klintsy oil tank farm in the Bryansk Region, Russia 🇷🇺, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

🔹The munitions 🧨 dropped, partially damaged the cement foundation and a tank for storing petroleum products. Three empty fuel storage tanks were hit by shells, with several ten-centimeter holes detected in them afterwards. Fortunately, no one was hurt or injured and the tanks being empty did not explode.

🔹Hungary's 🇭🇺 FM commented that "in Europe, particularly in Central Europe, there are countries that purchase oil from Russia, which is why it is obvious that the suggested attack on the pipeline running from Russia to Europe targets our security, whereas our energy security is an issue of our sovereignty,"

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Ukraine 🇺🇦 is preparing to significantly increase tariffs for transporting Russian crude oil to the EU through its territory via the Druzhba pipeline.

💠 Kazakhstan’s Kaztransoil applied to Russia's Transneft to transport Kazakh oil 🛢through Russia's section of the Druzhba pipeline to Germany 🇩🇪.

💠 Poland intended to halve Russian oil imports via the Druzhba pipeline. Oil via the Druzhba has been exempted from EU sanctions.

💠 Hungary 🇭🇺 & Serbia 🇷🇸 have agreed to build a connection to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

💠The German gov't confiscates Russia's state-owned Rosneft's German assets in order to keep the PCK Schwedt refinery 🏭 (which receives crude from the Druzhba pipeline). Poland to supply Germany with re-sold oil.

🔹 Türkiye 🇹🇷’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu strongly criticized the United States for leading a Western media campaign to manipulate Turkey's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. Minister Soylu recently said Turkiye has eliminated the institutions that the West has penetrated and which the West created, with the help of President Erdogan.

🔹 On May 8th, Ankara rejected US proposal to transfer Russian 🇷🇺 S-400 air defense system from Türkiye to Ukraine 🇺🇦. Türkiye 🇹🇷’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the proposal was "unacceptable as it sought to infringe on Turkish sovereignty."

🔹 Last week, the interior minister blamed Washington 🇺🇸 for a failed coup attempt in Türkiye in 2016. He further accused the US of involvement in the military coups of 1960 and 1971.

🔹This week Türkiye has opted to defer until 2024 as much as $600 million in payments to Russia for natural gas deliveries.

Deteriorating relations between Türkiye & the US, reported on this channel:

💠 Interior Minister Soylu claimed that "the whole world hates America" while suggesting that Europe is merely a pawn of the US 🇺🇸.

💠 Türkiye was the only NATO member state without an invite to the US's 🇺🇸 Summit for Democracy.

💠 Russia & Türkiye 🇹🇷 working on an alternative to replace the Russian payment system MIR after the US threatened Türkiye with sanctions for servicing MIR cards.

💠 Türkiye confronts the US 🇺🇸 ambassador over US meddling in country's internal affairs.

💠 US warns Türkiye of potential embargo if it doesn't implement sanctions on Russia.

💠 Türkiye lambasts the US for ‘bullying’ it's own ally, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦.

Video source - Sami Handi

🔹Investors bought 302 tons of gold bars and gold coins in Q1 with a value of $18.4 billion. This was 14% above 📈 the 5-year average. The surge in physical gold investment came even as gold prices reached record levels in many currencies.

🔹 The banking failure in March lit a fuse under US gold bar and gold coin investors. US 🇺🇸 bar and coin demand jumped 40% from the fourth quarter of ’22 and charted a 4% year-on-year increase. Q1 bar and coin investment also soared in China. Demand totaled 66 tons. That was a 34% jump year-on-year and a 7% rise quarter-on-quarter.

🔹The 🇺🇸 Alaska House passed a bill on May 11th that would allow gold and silver to be used as legal tender.

🔹China 🇨🇳added to its gold reserves for a sixth straight month, raising its gold holdings by about 8.09 tons in April. Total stockpiles now sit at about 2,076 tons, after the nation increased reserves by about 120 tons in the five months through March.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Russian 🇷🇺 gold miners boosted output by 26.5% year-on-year in March

💠 Gold hits 11th straight month of net outflows leaving the COMEX vaults.

💠 Russia’s central bank gold bullion holdings jumped by 1 million ounces between Mar. '22- Feb '23.

💠 China 🇨🇳 imports highest volume of gold in 2022, since 2018.

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

💠 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 source - Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (Speaker - Dr Marc Faber)

🔹 The European Union 🇪🇺 as part of its next round of sanctions against Russia 🇷🇺, is considering formally banning Russian crude flows via the Druzhba pipeline to Germany and Poland, which have already stopped importing Russia’s crude. Flows through the Druzhba are currently exempted from the EU embargo on imports of Russian crude oil by sea.

🔹The pipeline flows via the southern branch to the Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Hungary 🇭🇺, and Croatia 🇭🇷 would continue to be exempted from the EU embargo.

🔹Germany's 🇩🇪 Schwedt oil refinery will run at 70% of capacity from June, after operating at 50-60% capacity earlier this year after Germany stopped oil supplies from Russia.

🔹EU states have agreed that tankers 🚢 suspected of carrying Russian oil in violation of embargoes must be barred from the bloc’s ports as part of the 11th sanctions package.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Hungary concerned over Ukraine's terrorist attack on the Druzbha oil pipeline facility in Russia.

💠 Ukraine 🇺🇦 is preparing to significantly increase tariffs for transporting Russian crude oil to the EU through its territory via the Druzhba pipeline.

💠 Kazakhstan’s Kaztransoil applied to Russia's Transneft to transport Kazakh oil 🛢through Russia's section of the Druzhba pipeline to Germany 🇩🇪.

💠 Poland intended to halve Russian oil imports via the Druzhba pipeline. Oil via the Druzhba has been exempted from EU sanctions.

💠 Hungary 🇭🇺 & Serbia 🇷🇸 have agreed to build a connection to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

💠The German gov't confiscates Russia's state-owned Rosneft's German assets in order to keep the PCK Schwedt refinery 🏭 (which receives crude from the Druzhba pipeline). Poland to supply Germany with re-sold oil.

🔹The U.S. 🇺🇸 Administration could begin crude oil repurchases to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as early as in June. A congressionally mandated sale of 26 million barrels 🛢 will be completed by June, and it's at that point where the US will flip the switch and then seek to purchase.

🔹House & Senate Republican energy leaders have requested the Gov't Accountability Office to evaluate the Dep't of Energy’s mismanagement of the SPR. They stated that this mismanagement has undermined America’s energy security and increased our reliance upon foreign energy sources.

🔹Global commercial oil inventories were close to their long-term seasonal average at the end of Q1 2023 following massive releases from the US SPR over the previous 12 months. In October of 2022, the administration announced that it would repurchase crude oil for the reserve when prices were at or below about $67-$72 per barrel (presently trading @ $70).

Last reported on this channel:

💠 The Biden 🇺🇸 admin plans to sell 26 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR.

💠 US bans sale of SPR oil to China 🇨🇳.

💠 US East Coast at risk of a gasoline shortage this summer due to EU’s 🇪🇺 ban of Russian fuel.

💠 US SPR has not been this low since Dec. 30, 1983.

💠 US used 📉 218 million barrels of oil from it's SPR.

Photo source - John Kemp

🔹Hungary 🇭🇺 will not agree to any sanctions against Russia 🇷🇺in the nuclear sphere, even minimal ones, according to its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, after a meeting in Brussels.

🔹EU 🇪🇺 ambassadors met in Brussels to formally review the European Commission's latest proposal for their 11th package of sanctions against Russia.

🔹Russia's Rosatom ☢️ remains the world’s biggest exporter of nuclear fuel through its TVEL subsidiary. Indeed, many European nations that were formerly part of the Soviet Union still rely on Russian fuel.

🔹Enriching uranium is a highly specialized process that can only be done in certain countries, such as Russia that also has some of the world's largest uranium supplies. While the US 🇺🇸 is self-sufficient in fabrication, uranium, and uranium processing, U.S. capabilities in conversion and enrichment are another matter.

🔹Russia's collection of nuclear suppliers provide a quarter of the U.S.'s nuclear fuel, and the US continues to pay for the resource, spending a collective $1 billion last year.

🔹UK's 🇬🇧Telegraph publishes article exposing unreliability of solar and wind power. "Wind and solar need to be backed up, close to 100%, by some other means of power generation". "But if we had 100% nuclear backup for solar and wind, we wouldn't need the wind and solar plants at all."

Last reported on this channel:

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

💠 G7 members have formed an alliance aimed at blocking Russia out of the international nuclear energy market.

💠 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.

💠 Rosatom & the Chinese 🇨🇳 atomic energy agency agreed on a comprehensive program of long-term cooperation.

Video source - Jordan Trimble

🔹Bolivia's 🇧🇴 president, Luis Arce, announced that the gov't is evaluating the possibility of using China's 🇨🇳yuan as a replacement for the U.S. dollar to carry out financial transactions in its foreign trade. Bolivia faces difficulties in liquidity of US dollars in the domestic market. USD shortages began to escalate in early 2023 due to the decrease in net international reserves (NIR).

🔹Bolivian analysts see a difficult road ahead using the yuan in the short term because in the world trade, imports, debt payment is made with dollars 💵 and, in addition, Bolivia needs to earn NIR in that currency.

🔹The Federation of Private Entrepreneurs and the Bolivian 🇧🇴 Institute of Foreign Trade welcomed the proposal for the installation of a Chinese bank in Bolivia, in order to carry out foreign trade with China in yuan. However, the Chinese Ambassador to the country stressed that this will take time.

South American countries trade with China reported on this channel:

💠 Argentina 🇦🇷 is set to follow Brazil and start to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than US dollars.

💠 China 🇨🇳 and Brazil 🇧🇷 have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies after setting up a yuan clearing arrangement in to facilitate cross-border transactions.

💠 Argentina & Brazil want to "advance discussions on a common South American currency" to be used for financial and trade flows.

💠 Argentina applies to join BRICS group of nations.

Video source: Bolivia TV Oficial

🔹EU’s 🇪🇺 foreign policy chief says the EU should “take measures” to stop India 🇮🇳 reselling Russian oil to the region in the form of refined fuels. “If diesel or gasoline is entering Europe… coming from India and being produced with Russian 🇷🇺 oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions and member states have to take measures”.

🔹Indian Oil Corp Ltd, the country's top refiner 🏭, reported its first rise in profit in five quarters today (May 16th), as cooling crude prices bolstered its refining margins, sending its shares to their highest in more than one year.

🔹India's imports of Russian oil rose tenfold 📈 last year, according to Indian state-controlled lender Bank of Baroda.

🔹Russia in April exported the most oil since Feb. 2022, hitting a high of 8.3 million barrels 🛢 a day.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Imports of fuel from India to the EU are set to jump above 360,000 bpd, overtaking shipments from Saudi Arabia🇸🇦.

💠 India 🇮🇳 has decreased oil imports from the Middle East amid growing purchases from Russia.

💠 Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft and India's top refiner (IOC) agreed to use the Asia-focused Dubai 🇦🇪 oil price benchmark. India have begun paying for this oil in UAE dirhams instead of USD.

💠 India's Oil Min. - "India is not obligated to buy Russian oil at rates below the price cap imposed by the G7 & other Western nations".

💠 Russia 🇷🇺 supplies in Mar. '23 was around 35% of India’s total oil imports, it was at 1% before Feb. 2022.

Video source - CNA

🔹Georgia 🇬🇪 faces criticism from the EU over the decision by Georgian officials to allow the resumption of flights ✈️ to and from Russia. Last week, Russia 🇷🇺 introduced visa-free travel for Georgian citizens and lifted the 2019 ban on Russian carriers serving the Caucasus country.

🔹The EU 🇪🇺 says it may reflect negatively on Georgia's EU integration since Georgia has implemented only 80% of the European Commission’s recommendations to earn EU candidate status. Ukraine and Moldova have already gained candidate status.

🔹Up to a million Georgian citizens live in the Russian Federation, and the decision will significantly contribute to their trip to Georgia. However, the US 🇺🇸 State Dep't recently warned Tbilisi with a threat of sanctions in the event of a resumption of direct air traffic between Russia and Georgia.

🔹Ukraine 🇺🇦 criticised Georgia as well over restoration of flights with Russia. Georgian opposition are already mobilizing protests for the first flight from Russia at Tbilisi 🇬🇪 airport. They claim the plane will not be able to land comfortably and calmly and the passengers does not concern them.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 The parliamentary majority in Georgia 🇬🇪 withdrew a bill on registering ‘foreign agents’ following 2 nights of massive protests in the capital. The US and EU opposed the bill and supported protests via NGO's. The protests were an attempt to remove the present Georgian gov't.

Video source -EU debates

🔹Hungary 🇭🇺 will block a further €500 million-euro ($542 million) tranche of EU 🇪🇺 (off-budget) financing for arming Ukraine and would be reluctant to back further sanctions against Russia 🇷🇺. The EU can ignore or bypass Hungary's position using the qualified majority voting system or force the country to reverse by withholding further funding.

🔹Hungary sees an “increasingly belligerent” attitude on the part of Kiev towards Hungarian interests. This belligerence include:

🔸Ukraine’s decision to encourage restrictions against OTP Bank Nyrt., Hungary’s largest lender.

🔸Ukraine was limiting the educational rights of the country’s ethnic Hungarian citizens.

🔸A report from the Washington Post suggesting that Ukraine talked about blowing up the Druzhba pipeline delivering oil from Russia to Hungary via Ukraine.

🔹Hungarian PM V. Orban has warned that Brussels is pushing a framework that can cause countries within the EU to lose autonomy (Video). Hungary is struggling to unlock more than $30 billion of EU funds dedicated to he country that have been suspended by the bloc.

Hungarian - Ukrainian relations previously reported on this channel:

💠 Budapest 🇭🇺 will not agree to any sanctions against Russia 🇷🇺in the nuclear sphere.

💠 Kiev regime targeting ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia to supress them.

💠 Ukraine's terrorist attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline facility in Russia which supplies oil to Hungary.

💠 Ukraine 🇺🇦 is preparing to significantly increase tariffs for transporting Russian crude oil to the EU through its territory via the Druzhba pipeline.

💠 Foreign Minister P. Szijjártó responds to Zelensky's criticism of Hungary's NATO membership.

Video source - About Hungary

🔹 Moldovan 🇲🇩 police raided the central election commission of Gagauzia, alleging irregularities after a politician championing better relations with Russia 🇷🇺, and not the EU 🇪🇺, won the local gubernatorial vote. Supporters of the Shor party & citizens accuse Chisinau of intimidating the Gagauzia authorities.

🔹 Gagauzia, an autonomous region in southern Moldova, elects its own bashkan – governor – and Sunday’s run-off saw the victory of Yevgenia Gutsul, with 52.36% of the vote. Gutsul represents the Shor party, which the gov't in Chisinau has tried to ban. The National Assembly of Gagauzia intend to approve Gutsul as bashkan.

🔹Thousands rallied outside the Constitutional Court in Chisinau 🇲🇩, protesting against the verification of the legitimacy of the Shor party and its possible ban.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Ex-Moldovan President Igor Dodon has voiced concerns over a possible provocation against Transnistria by Ukraine 🇺🇦.

💠 Feb 19th '23 Moldovan protestors call for resignation of president Maya Sandu.

💠 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.

💠 In late 2022, multiple protests took place in Chisinau, 🇲🇩 calling for the resignation of pro-EU president Sandu amid high energy prices. Some protests grew violent with police brutalities resulting with some protests escorted by retired military. Protests reported on this channel, on Nov 28th, Nov 13th, Oct 30th, Oct 23rd, Oct 16th & Sep 9th.

Video source - People Say

🔹 Iran 🇮🇷 and Russia 🇷🇺 have signed an agreement on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, a strategic transport corridor that connects the existing railways of the two countries and Azerbaijan 🇦🇿.

🔹 The 162-kilometer railway 🚃 will connect the Iranian city of Rasht, near the Caspian Sea, to Astara on the border with Azerbaijan. The project is aimed at integrating the transport and information routes of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and India, within the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

🔹 Russia’s Deputy PM Alexander Novak led a high-ranking delegation to major events and ceremonies in Tehran on where Iranian and Russian ministers and senior officials signed contracts and MoUs worth billions of dollars.

🔹 Russia’s second-largest and majority state-owned VTB Bank has opened up a representative office in Iran to further connect their interbank communication and transfer systems in the face of Western sanctions.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 A trilateral deal was signed by Azerbaijan 🇦🇿, Russia, and Iran to facilitate the development of the INSTC. From Jan-Oct. 2022, the INSTC trade turnover exceeded $3 billion, thus growing by 20%.

💠 Russia and India 🇮🇳 are considering the possibility of creating a transarctic container line and building processing facilities near the Northern Sea Route.

Video source - RT News

🔹President R. Erdogan of Türkiye 🇹🇷 announced that Russia 🇷🇺has backed the extension of the Black Sea grain and fertilizer agreement by another two months. It was due to expire today, after Moscow said the West had failed to keep its end of the bargain.

🔹He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting the Turkish initiative to extend the arrangement, and promised Ankara would do everything it can to see it fully implemented. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 📉 2% to $6.12 a bushel. Prices have fallen 23% since the start of the year, and dropped 57% since hitting an all-time high of $14.30 a bushel in March last year.

🔹The West has not fulfilled previous guarantees of removing all barriers to the export of Russian grain 🌾 & fertilizers, which is part of the July 2022 deal.

Timeline of grain deal developments reported here:

💠 Russia 🇷🇺 extended the grain deal for 60 days (in March) instead of 120 days because of failures to remove restrictions on Russian agricultural exports.

💠 Most grain from Ukraine goes to the EU 🇪🇺 for animal feed at dumping prices, not to the poorest countries.

💠 Russia resumes participation to the Black Sea grain deal after guarantees to lift restrictions on Russian exports of food & fertilizers.

💠 Russia suspends grain deal after ships in the Black Sea were attacked by Ukraine 🇺🇦.

💠 Grain 🌾 deal hypocrisy by western countries, exposed.

💠 Chairman of the African Union visits Russia to discuss food crisis in Africa.

💠 Grain deal signed with safe routes 🚢 made in Black Sea. Previous deal was botched by Ukraine.

Video source - RT News

🔹Chinese 🇨🇳 President Xi Jinping unveiled a grand plan for Central Asia's development, from building infrastructure to boosting trade, taking on a new leadership role in a region. China is ready to coordinate development strategies with Kazakhstan 🇰🇿, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬, Tajikistan 🇹🇯, Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 and Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, and promote the modernisation of all.

🔹The five former Soviet republics, with a network of trade corridors, offer China alternative routes to transport fuel, food and other commodities in the event of disruptions elsewhere. "No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests," President Xi said. The Central Asian leaders thanked China for proposing and successfully hosting the first China-Central Asia Summit.

🔹 Rejecting foreign media's hyping of Russia 🇷🇺-China 🇨🇳 competition in this region, China's enhanced cooperation with Central Asia benefits Russia and the region. Cooperation between the three sides are complementary, and there is no contradiction in China and Russia's cooperation with Central Asia.

Previous China - Central Asia developments reported on this channel:

💠 China's central bank signed a MoU on setting up yuan clearing arrangements in Kazakhstan 🇰🇿.

💠 Russia 🇷🇺 is discussing a possible “gas union” with Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 to support shipments between the 3 countries & to China.

💠 The top diplomats of Tajikistan 🇹🇯, Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 and Uzbekistan participate with Russia, China, Iran & Pakistan for a ministerial conference of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

💠 Chinese President Xi Jinping wants China 🇨🇳 to cooperate more with SCO member Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 on energy.

Video source - ShanghaiEye

🔹Syria’s 🇸🇾President Bashar al-Assad attended today's 32nd Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia’s 🇸🇦 port city of Jeddah. Syria was suspended from the regional body 12 years ago and has been recently re-admitted.

🔹Main streets in Jeddah were lined with the flags 🇸🇾🇸🇦 of Arab League member states including Syria. MBS also received Al-Assad on the sidelines of the Arab Summit in Jeddah. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and developments in the Arab arena.

🔹Washington 🇺🇸 has objected to any steps towards normalisation with Assad, saying there must first be progress towards a political solution to the conflict.

Recent Syria developments reported on this channel:

💠 Top diplomats from Iran🇮🇷, Türkiye 🇹🇷, Russia 🇷🇺 and Syria 🇸🇾met in Moscow to ensure the Arab country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and setting up a roadmap to improve strained ties between Damascus and Ankara.

💠 The Arab League readmitted Syria, after more than a decade of suspension.

💠 First visit of an Iranian president to Syria in more than a decade. 14 documents were signed on expanding economic cooperation.

💠 Saudi Arabia’s 🇸🇦 FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. First such trip since 2011.

💠 Syria's 🇸🇾 Foreign Minister visits Saudi Arabia, first such trip since 2012.

💠 Tunisia 🇹🇳 initiates procedures that would appoint a new ambassador to Syria.

💠 UAE 🇦🇪 President was visited by the Syrian Preisident. UAE calls for Damascus to be reintegrated into the wider Arab region.

Video source- Syriana Analysis

🔹The 14th International Economic Summit (KazanForum 2023) kicked off in Kazan, the capital of the Russian 🇷🇺Republic of Tatarstan, to strengthen cooperation in commerce, economy, research, and technology and develop social and cultural relations between Russia and the Muslim world. The event hosted over 7,000 attendees from 85 nations.

🔹On the sidelines of the summit, a meeting of the Group Strategic Vision (GSV) "Russia – Islamic World" on the topic "Traditional spiritual and moral values as the basis of interreligious cooperation" was held.

🔹🇷🇺 President V. Putin statement was read at the meeting of the GSV, highlighting the “significant role” of Russian Muslims in expanding his country’s international contacts.

🔹The KazanForum 2023 aims to expand Islamic finance and the halal industry in Russia and create new markets and economic opportunities for investors. The forum will strengthen the relations between Russia and the members of the Organization of Islamic ☪️ Cooperation (OIC) in the fields of trade, culture, and science.

🔹Head of the Iran 🇮🇷 Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, at the forum stressed the need for establishing a joint Islamic market among the members of the OIC over the next 10 years. This entails concluding a free trade agreement among Islamic countries and removing tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Video source - Телеканал ХУЗУР & KazanForum

🔹US 🇺🇸 electricity regulator, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) 💡 report is published. No regions were highlighted as high risk but most were marked as elevated risk due to:

🔹Generator ⚙️ retirements continue to increase the risks associated with extreme summer temperatures, which factors into potential supply shortages in the western two-thirds of North America if summer temperatures spike.

🔹New environmental rules that restrict power plant emissions will limit the operation of coalfired 🏭 generators in 23 states, including Nevada, Utah, and several states in the Gulf Coast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.

🔹Low inventories of replacement distribution transformers 🔋could slow restoration efforts following hurricanes and severe storms.

🔹Unexpected tripping of wind and solar PV resources during grid disturbances continues to be a reliability concern.

🔹Winter precipitation is expected to improve the water supply for hydro generation in parts of the U.S. West, but low water💧levels on major reservoirs remain a concern for electricity generation.

Previous posts on the US power grid reported:

💠 Projection of EV growth raises concerns over the increasing strain on power grids being ill-equipped to shoulder the load.

💠 Utility co.’s face delays & high costs 📈 for transformers.

💠 A surge in decommissioning fossil fuel power plants 🏭 has outpaced new generation capacity.

💠 Increased EV 🚗 use leading to demand strain on grid sectors.

💠 GE plans to make major job cuts in its U.S. wind operations.

Video source - NERC