🔹PERU 🇵🇪 - The death toll has risen to 23 in nationwide protests denouncing a coup. At least 426 people, including 216 security personnel, have been wounded in the capital Lima & other regions.

🔹Newly installed President Dina Boluarte is removing her PM, Pedro Angulo after 10 days in office. US 🇺🇸 Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the different political actors in Peru to multiply their efforts to make “the necessary reforms” to safeguard democratic stability.

🔹President Boluarte ruled out that she will resign & demanded that Congress reconsider “voting on the advancement of elections”, after the rejection on the eve of her plans to hold elections in December 2023.

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💠 President 🇵🇪 Pedro Castillo was removed by Congress & arrested on accusations of corruption & extending executive power. US backed VP Dina Boluarte takes power with plans to build Peru better as per WEF agenda. State of Emergency declared to suspend certain constitutional rights.

🔹Belarussian 🇧🇾 President, Lukashenko at a joint press conference with Russian 🇷🇺President Putin, complimented the sanctions specialists from both countries on a job well done. Russia's MoD Shoigu & FM Lavrov also arrived in Minsk for a series of talks with their Belarusian counterparts about economic, military, & energy cooperation.

🔹The two members of the Union State 🇷🇺🇧🇾will continue their joint exercises, intended to boost the combat readiness of their militaries. Both had already activated an integrated air defense & warning system.

🔹Belarus will take over the rotating presidency of the Collective Security Treaty Organization 🇧🇾🇦🇲🇰🇿🇰🇬🇹🇯🇷🇺in January. Minsk is now armed with Iskander ballistic missiles and protected by S-400 air defense systems. Pilots from Belarus will soon receive training in using “special weapons & special ammunition,”.

🔹The US 🇺🇸 responded to Putin’s visit to Minsk by accusing Belarus of “ceding its independence” to Russia.

Video courtesy Smotri_Media

🔹The Japanese 🇯🇵 gov't is currently in discussions with local oil refineries to buy oil produced as part of Russia's 🇷🇺Sakhalin-2 project. The oil, a by-product at the LNG plant, needs to be shipped out regularly for LNG production to continue.

🔹A potential restart of Russian oil 🛢imports by Japan is not likely to upset its allies in the G7 as they have agreed to exempt Sakhalin-2 oil from the price cap for one year.

🔹The Sakhalin-2 project provides almost 9% of Japan's consumption of LNG, almost all used to generate electricity, providing 3% of Japan's generation.

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💠 Russia is selling LNG 🚢 from the Sakhalin-2 project at a 50% discount & the operating company, is still making a profit.

💠 Moscow approved Japan’s 🇯🇵 Mitsubishi participation in the Sakhalin-2 LNG project. Tokyo Gas & JERA signs long term LNG contracts.

💠 President Putin 🇷🇺 ordered the re-organization of the Far Eastern Sakhalin-2 LNG project, transferring ownership to a new domestic co.

🔹EU 🇪🇺 negotiators reached a political deal to overhaul the bloc's carbon market, cutting planet-heating emissions faster and imposing new CO2 costs on fuels used in road transport and buildings from 2027.

🔹The EU 🇪🇺 carbon market requires around 10,000 power plants & factories 🏭 to buy CO2 permits when they pollute. Then the EU's plan involves removing 90 million CO2 permits from the system in 2024, 27 million in 2026.

🔹"From 2027 on, its crunch time. Everybody needs to reduce emissions by then or will have to pay a lot," said the EU lead negotiator Peter Liese. From 2026-2034, the EU will phase out the free CO2 permits that protect industry from foreign competition.

🔹The EU carbon price is trading around 84 euros per tonne of CO2, roughly ten times 📈 its value 5 years ago.

🔹An EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will be set up to equalise the price of carbon paid for EU products operating under the EU Emissions Trading System & one for imported goods.

Video courtesy Paul Joseph Watson.

🔹The EU approved Germany’s 🇩🇪 nationalization of two major gas companies with a long list of conditions requiring both firms to sell off assets & subsidiaries.

🔹The EU 🇪🇺authorized a €34.5 billion rescue package for Uniper SE. It also approved the €6.3 billion rescue of SEFE GmbH, the confiscated European trading & supply unit of Russia's 🇷🇺 Gazprom PJSC.

🔹Uniper must sell power plants 🏭 in Germany & Hungary 🇭🇺 to satisfy the commission. The deal requires Uniper to use 30% of its profits to cover the cost of replacing Russian gas.

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💠 Uniper reported a 4.8 billion euros loss in the first 9 months of 2022.

💠 Uniper increasing debt & low levels in Rhine river affect hydro-power plants / commodity transport 🚢.

💠 Uniper seeks gov't bailout as sanctions on Russia 🇷🇺 result in higher gas prices.

💠 Uniper reducing storage volumes 📉 to maintain liquidity.

💠 German 🇩🇪 gov't attempted to pass new gas tax to help Uniper.

Video courtesy Reuters

🔹USA 🇺🇸- The White House stated that reviving the nuclear deal with Iran 🇮🇷 is “not our focus right now,” after an unconfirmed video of US President Biden calling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “dead” was put online.

🔹🇺🇸 National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded to the video saying, “There is no progress happening with respect to the Iran deal now. We don't anticipate any progress anytime in the near future. That's just not our focus,”.

🔹The JCPOA was a deal struck between the five permanent members 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷🇨🇳🇷🇺of the UN Security Council & Germany 🇩🇪(P5+1) on one side and Iran on the other, in July 2015. The arrangement provided for lifting the UN sanctions against Iran in exchange for strict oversight of Tehran’s nuclear program. In May 2018, the US ended the deal.

🔹Russia's UN Rep. said "unlawful, unilateral, & discriminatory US sanctions against Iran 🇮🇷 must be fully & permanently removed" at the UN Security Council meeting.

Video courtesy PressTV

I'll be on to speak along with others at Off-Grid Ireland. That is 9pm GMT (Dublin), later today God's willing.

Jonathan

👉 @timkirbyhardcore
👉 @TheParadigmShiftChannel
👉 @martinpcostello
Chats Off-Grid Ireland Wednesday @ 9pm
https://t.me/OffgridiIreland?livestream

🔹Russia’s 🇷🇺 2nd largest bank, VTB, has launched a new service allowing both individuals & businesses to transfer money to & from Iran.

🔹Russia wants to cooperate with Iran 🇮🇷 on manufacturing of gas turbines. Iran has committed to supply 40 turbines to Russia to help the country with its plans to build modern gas power 🏭 plants.

🔹Iran is considering joint production of automobiles with Russia. Iran hosts 6th intl. transportation exhibition with representatives from Russia, Italy 🇮🇹, China🇨🇳, & Singapore 🇸🇬.

🔹Iran and Russia are discussing joint production of passenger planes with a capacity of 70-150 seats.

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💠 Iran 🇮🇷 negotiating with EAEU on bilateral free trade.

💠 Russia & Iran working out mechanisms to implement oil 🛢 & gas swap deals.

💠 Iran & Russia 🇷🇺 unifying banking systems for trade in ruble/rial currency pair.

Video courtesy PressTV.

🔹Independent Chinese 🇨🇳 refiners have seen their refining margins jump, as they are able to negotiate steeper discounts for their preferred Russian crude grade, even if they buy it above the G7 price cap.

🔹A possible oil shock is on the horizon. Oil exports 🚢 of Russian ESPO-grade oil 🛢 from the Pacific port of Kozmino had collapsed more than 50% following the implementation of the western oil price cap.

🔹OPEC has not consistently produced more than 30 million bpd since 2015-2018. Structural underinvestment in new oil supply may lead to structurally higher prices. Meanwhile, the US 🇺🇸 needs to buy some oil for its strategic petroleum reserve after releasing close to 200 million barrels from it this year.

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💠 Hungary 🇭🇺 got exemptions from the EU's oil price cap on Russian crude.

💠 Russia has discretely assembled a "shadow fleet" 🚢 of more than 100 tanker ships.

💠 Russia's 🇷🇺 Deputy PM warns that oil price cap will lead to market volatility.

🔹Croatian 🇭🇷 lawmakers narrowly rejected a proposal the country should join an EU mission in support of the Ukrainian military. President Zoran Milanovic said Croatia should not be involved in the war and that the proposal would violate the constitution because it failed to clarify the basis for declaring Ukraine an ally, given that it is not a member of the EU🇪🇺 or NATO.

🔹He also hit out against PM Andrej Plenkovic for his proposal to have Ukrainian 🇺🇦 troops trained in Croatia. Milanovic said such a move would “bring war” to the country. “You keep pushing moral blackmail,” he addressed Plenkovic, “but you have no morals yourself. Go to Ukraine and fight.”

🔹Speaking of the Croatian military’s preparedness to fight, Milanovic noted it had a shortage of anti-tank rockets, for example. “We have Americans 🇺🇸, who will defend us the way they defend the Ukrainians. Great!” he said sarcastically.

Video: Croatian President Zoran Milanovic

🔹Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia 🇷🇺 and current deputy chair of the Security Council, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing.

🔹Medvedev said he and his Chinese host discussed intra-party cooperation, among other things. Xi was re-elected as secretary general of the Communist Party of 🇨🇳 China in October. Medvedev leads the ruling United Russia party.

🔹The two officials also discussed bilateral relations between China and Russia as well as international affairs, including the crisis in Ukraine 🇺🇦.

🔹"The shaping of the 🇨🇳 Chinese-Russian 🇷🇺 comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era is a choice made by China and Russia accounting for their unique national features and long-term strategic interests," Xi added.

Video courtesy CGTN

🔹Europe faces impediment to bringing new renewable power 💡online due to insufficient grid capacity. European countries are planning huge additions of renewables over the next few years.

🔹A huge amount of grid capacity will need to be developed, both to integrate new generation capacity into respective countries’ power mixes and to better connect European countries so that electricity 🔌 can flow in the most optimal way.

🔹Europe's 🇪🇺 policymakers and the power sector will need to carefully examine if a country’s development plans for new generation capacity match its development plans for both internal and cross-border transmission capacity.

🔹UK 🇬🇧 signs MoU with EU & North Sea nations to develop wind farms and interconnectors in the North Sea.

EU approves Germany’s 🇩🇪 near US$30 billion renewables scheme lasting till 2026.

🔹The EU's 🇪🇺 natural gas price cap (from Feb 15th 2023) could limit Europe’s capacity to continue to draw most of the global spot LNG supply. If risks to the security of supply occur, they will suspend the price cap rule. More than 70% of all U.S. 🇺🇸 LNG 🚢 exports have headed to Europe in recent months.

🔹There simply may not be enough LNG supply to flow to Europe when China 🇨🇳& Asian demand rebounds in 2023.

🔹Head of the EU Energy Regulator admits, the EU’s price cap is an untested tool that may not work as intended to prevent gas price spikes. "The gas price cap is “a difficult creature, it’s unprecedented, it’s untested,”.

Last reported on this channel.

💠 Poland 🇵🇱, Spain 🇪🇸 & Greece 🇬🇷 are eager to implement the cap at a much lower price.

💠 Some EU 🇪🇺 leaders are insisting that the EU impose a price cap on all natural gas imports.

💠 EU 🇪🇺 plans to use joint purchasing power as leverage in gas negotiations.

💠 Hungary 🇭🇺 would not support a price cap on Russian gas.

🔹Tired of a too-strong and newly weaponized US 🇺🇸 dollar, some of the world’s biggest economies are exploring ways to circumvent the US currency. Corporates around the world are selling an unprecedented portion of their debt in local currencies, wary of further dollar strength.

🔹The dollar 💵 has strengthened about 7% this year, on track for its biggest annual advance since 2015. The dollar’s strength is a huge headache for Asian nations who’ve seen prices of food purchases soar, debt-repayment burdens worsen and poverty deepen.

🔹Dollar-denominated bond sales by non-financial companies have dropped to a record low 37% of the global total in 2022. The weaponizing of the dollar & SWIFT has forced non-US investors & nations to diversify their holdings outside of the traditional safe haven of the US. Eurasian/Asian nations are stepping up negotiations with China 🇨🇳 to boost their use of the yuan.

🔹Russia 🇷🇺 will start purchasing yuan on the currency market in 2023 if the country's oil and gas revenues meet expectations. The Bank of Russia will buy yuan if budget revenues from oil and gas exports exceed 8 trillion rubles ($116.57 billion).

🔹The share of the US dollar in spot transactions has halved from 84% to 42% on the Moscow Exchange. The share of the Belarusian 🇷🇺 ruble is up 📈 110X, Chinese 🇨🇳 yuan 41X, Turkish 🇹🇷 lira 17X, Kazakh 🇰🇿 tenge 13X.

🔹Russia in February stopped intervening on the currency market after its use of foreign exchange reserves was restricted by Western sanctions. Russia has since accelerated its shift toward China's currency.

🔹The 🇨🇳 yuan's share of the Russian currency market has risen to as much as 45%, up from less than 1% at the start of the year. The ruble slipped to 72 rubles:1 USD 🇺🇸, its lowest level against the dollar since April 29th. It is still trading 4% higher than it did in January.

Video courtesy Sean Foo

🔹Hungary's 🇭🇺 PM Viktor Orban concerned over the deaths of Hungarians killed in Ukraine. Ukrainian military has been disproportionately conscripting ethnic Hungarians from the Transcarpathian Oblast, Ukraine.

🔹Ukraine's new regulation targets Hungarians with dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizenship, as they are no longer allowed to cross the Ukrainian border with a Hungarian passport .

🔹The Hungarian Cultural Association of Transcarpathia & the Hungarian Democratic Alliance of Ukraine 🇺🇦 criticize a new minority law passed by Ukraine. Interpretation of the law will lead to ethnic Hungarian communities & organizations from the exercise of institutional political, educational & linguistic rights.

🔹The law not only reinforces the restrictions on rights previously codified in the Education & Language Law that was hurtful to Hungarian communities, but also introduces new ones, and it “does not guarantee the preservation of compact nationality settlement areas, nor the use of nationality symbols.

🔹Russia 🇷🇺 & Iran 🇮🇷 are building a new transcontinental trade route and are rapidly expanding supply chains, having stepped up mutual cargo deliveries across the Caspian Sea. Russia and its ally Iran have been able to bypass the Western trade sanctions as the two countries began shipment 🚢 of goods via the North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that connects Moscow with Asian and Persian markets.

🔹A trilateral deal was signed by Azerbaijan 🇦🇿, Russia, and Iran to facilitate the development of the INST). Azerbaijani FM: From Jan-Oct. 2022, the INSTC trade turnover exceeded $3 billion, thus growing by 20%. Discusses with Russia's FM to promote the INSTC.

🔹Kazakh 🇰🇿Minister of Trade and Integration hindrances to INSTC need to be addressed. There is a need to eliminate bottlenecks along the INSTC, it is necessary to digitalize the process of controlling cargo flow at the borders, harmonize customs procedures and coordinate tariff policy.

🔹A traditional informal summit of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has started in St. Petersburg, Russia🇷🇺. President Putin said, “unfortunately, challenges and threats in this area, coming primarily from outside, are growing every year”. Against this backdrop, he added that CIS intelligence agencies and other security institutions have been engaged in “close contacts.” Armenian 🇦🇲 PM & President Putin meets on the sidelines.

🔹Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 is developing cooperation with partners within the CIS in three dimensions: in politics and security, economic and humanitarian spheres". The country considers the establishment of a full-fledged free trade zone and the strengthening of transport interconnectivity in the CIS as priority tasks.

🔹Kazakh 🇰🇿president said, "we believe that we should work substantively on the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, preventing protectionism. We should establish cooperation in food security,".