Events
Globally
RT: Key OPEC members deny output hike reports
The Kuwaiti oil minister on Tuesday denied reports that there have been discussions to increase oil production at the next OPEC+ meeting.
FT: Oil steadies in wake of output resolve from Opec
Oil prices have steadied after the cartel of major exporters and their allies reiterated plans to stick to targets to cut production, rather than increase output to make up for any shortfall from Russian supplies.
FT: West could end reliance on Chinese batteries by 2030, says Goldman Sachs
To obtain a self-sufficient supply chain, countries competing with China would need to spend $78.2bn for batteries, $60.4bn in components and $13.5bn in mining of lithium, nickel and cobalt, as well as $12.1bn in refining of those materials, the report calculated.
Reuters: China boosts efforts to control Western infrastructure, key industries
Western countries must be careful not to create new dependencies on China as they are weaning themselves off Russian energy supplies amid Moscow’s war on Kyiv, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned on Monday. “We see growing Chinese efforts to control our critical infrastructure, supply chains and key industrial sectors,” he said on a visit to Spain.
“Make SURE you don’t send it to China. Maybe send your industries to the United States instead. Not that– not that we like, were planning that or anything, from the very beginning, we obviously didn’t blow up the Nord Stream pipeli– look, I– we’re just saying that, y’know, maybe give all your industrial base to Good Country instead of Evil Country. That’s all."
Europe
RT: At least two million Ukrainians will migrate in winter – WHO
This winter may be a “life-threatening” experience for “millions” of Ukrainians, Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Europe, has warned. Up to three million Ukrainians are expected to migrate “in search of warmth and safety,” Kluge said on Monday during a press conference in Kiev.
A reminder that the Syrian migrant crisis that did so much to inspire the resurgence in conservatism and anti-immigrant rhetoric in Europe involved only about a million refugees in Europe. When this is all said and done in however many years' time and Ukraine is reduced to a destitute clump of cities in its west and a demilitarized zone tens or hundreds of miles across through its center where nobody lives, I could easily see the number of Ukrainian refugees leaving due to the destroyed electrical grid reach up to 10 million, maybe more.
Oil Price: Russia Has Lost Over 90% Of Its European Oil Market Share
How will Russia ever cope?
FT: UK’s growth prospects worst among top economies, OECD warns
TeleSUR: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Surge in Italy
RT: Life as Germans know it may well collapse, MP warns
Germany’s economic prosperity is in jeopardy due to a “complete failure” of the government’s energy policy, the head of the Free Democratic Party’s (FDP) parliamentary group in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, Henning Höne has said.
Guardian: Fears Kosovo-Serbia number plate row could spark violence
East Asia and Oceania
Reuters: Beijing shuts parks, Shanghai tightens entry as China COVID cases rise
Iraqi News: 36 killed in central China factory fire: state media
ANN: High inflation and unemployment are forcing Nepal’s youths to seek foreign jobs
In the fiscal year 2021-022, on average, 1,745 people left the country for foreign employment every day, according to data provided by the Department of Foreign Employment. And, the number is set to further increase in the current fiscal year, as 76,403 labour permits were issued from mid-August to mid-September—2,546 each day, which is a monthly record.
WSWS: Renault-Nissan workers in Chennai form India’s first rank-and-file autoworkers’ committee
FT: Clothing piles up at Bangladesh warehouses as west cuts imports
Manufacturers said that orders in the world’s largest garment exporter after China had been slowing since July because of the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, and their impact on inflation, interest rates and mortgages across the world.
ANN: Bangladesh’s electricity prices up 19.92% at producers’ end
WSWS: Sri Lankan police brutally attack student protest demanding the release of political prisoners
Last Friday, the Sri Lankan government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe unleashed a brutal police attack on a protest in Colombo organised by the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF), demanding the release of IUSF convener Wasantha Mudalige, another student activist Galwewa Siridamma, and other political prisoners. The protest marked 90 days since the arrest of Mudalige and Siridamma.
WSWS: Australian government protects LNG producers even as gas prices soar
Confident of ongoing support from Australia’s Labor government, the major liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters are thumbing their noses at any suggestion that they reign in domestic gas prices, despite soaring profits due to the US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
Central Asia and the Middle East
ANN: Good relations with India possible but not as long as BJP remains in power: Imran
The PTI chief went on to say that he would seek to establish good relations with all the neighbours of Pakistan, including Afghanistan, Iran, China, and the US if he is elected as the premier again.
Africa
Africa News: Malawi gets $88.3M from IMF under ‘food shock’ loan window
It provides, for a year, a channel for emergency Fund financing to member countries that have urgent balance of payment needs due to acute food insecurity, a sharp increase in their food import bill, or a shock to their cereal exports.
TeleSUR: Stormy Weather Kills 5, Affects 450 Households in Malawi
Africa News: IMF, South Sudan in pact for emergency funds of $112.7 mln
“This emergency financing under the new Food Shock Window will help South Sudan address food insecurity, support social spending, and boost international reserves,” the IMF said in a statement on Tuesday (November 22).
Al Jazeera: Thousands strike for wage increases in South Africa
Africa News: Mali bans NGOs funded or supported by France
North America
WSWS: Hospitals across the US experience an alarming surge of respiratory viruses
Common Dreams: Oregon Governor Pardons 45,000 Marijuana Offenders in Bid to ‘Right the Wrongs’ of Failed Drug War
Reuters: U.S. grants $1.1 bln to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open
Common Dreams: Major Strike Looms as Largest Rail Union in US Rejects White House-Brokered Contract
The largest railroad workers union in the United States announced Monday that its members voted to reject a contract negotiated with the help of the Biden White House, once again raising the prospect of a major strike or lockout as employees revolt over profitable rail giants' refusal to provide adequate paid sick leave.
Naked Capitalism: University of California Comes to a Standstill as Academic Workers Strike
RT: Musk’s wealth drops by $100 billion
With a net worth of $169.8 billion, Musk remains the world’s richest person, as of Monday.
Unbelievable that somebody could lose $100 billion and still be the richest person on the planet. I cannot stress the absurdity.
Responsible Statecraft: The Pentagon fails its fifth audit in a row
Last week, the Department of Defense revealed that it had failed its fifth consecutive audit.
“I would not say that we flunked,” said DoD Comptroller Mike McCord, although his office did note that the Pentagon only managed to account for 39 percent of its $3.5 trillion in assets. “The process is important for us to do, and it is making us get better. It is not making us get better as fast as we want.”
“I would not say that I flunked”, I say to my friends, after failing an exam for the fifth time in a row.
The news came as no surprise to Pentagon watchers. After all, the U.S. military has the distinction of being the only U.S. government agency to have never passed a comprehensive audit.
WSWS: Union representing 55,000 Ontario education workers calls off strike, endorses sellout agreement
In a display of utter disdain for the overwhelmingly low-wage workers they claim to represent, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) agreed to a concessions-filled contract Sunday for 55,000 Ontario school caretakers, education assistants, early childhood educators, and administrative staff.
South America
Financial Times: Third year of drought threatens Argentina’s grain exports
The country is a major player in the global food market. Last year, Argentina’s produce accounted for 8 per cent of global wheat exports, 18.5 per cent of corn exports and 40 per cent of exports of soyabean oil and meals
MercoPress: With Argentine wheat crop failing, Brazil appeals to Russian grain, but it has its problems
A severe drought, followed by several episodes of frost, is expected to reduce Argentine wheat harvest by 40% from initial estimates to around 11/12 million tons, which is expected to have an impact on the Mercosur partner Brazil.
Inquirer: Colombia, ELN rebels start peace talks, hoping to end six decades of war
TeleSUR: Venezuela and India Seek To Strengthen Cooperation
TeleSUR: Cuban President Rejects Sanctions Against Russia
The Ukraine Proxy Conflict
RT: Polish president shares stance on war with Russia during prank call
“Trust me, I’m very careful. I’m not accusing the Russians. Emmanuel, this is war. I think both sides will be blaming each other in this war,” Duda told the fake Macron in an audio recording, released by Vovan and Lexus on their show on the Russian platform RuTube.
Reuters: Poland to put German Patriot missiles near border with Ukraine
Inquirer: Ukrainians likely to live with blackouts until March-end, says energy provider
“I would like everyone to understand: Ukrainians will most likely live with blackouts until at least the end of March,” Kovalenko said in a post on his Facebook page.
Why would they not leave in winter but then decide to go in spring?
Monthly Review: Maligned in Western Media, Donbass forces are defending their future from Ukrainian shelling and fascism
By Eva Bartlett, an independent journalist who frequently reports and writes about the crimes of the Ukrainian regime against the Donbass.
Analysis
Retrospectives, History, and Theory
Multipolarista: ‘Oil war’: How US and Saudi crashed crude prices to hurt Russia, Iran, Venezuela in 2014
The Left and the Right
Jacobin: How North Macedonia’s Promising New Left Became a Hateful Chauvinist Party
North Macedonia’s Levica party looked like a new hope for the Left in the former Yugoslav state. But a controversial takeover of the party has split its original leadership group — and taken it toward hateful chauvinism against the country’s Albanian minority.
Inside the Imperial Core
Multipolarista: French ambassador: US ‘rules-based order’ means Western domination, violating international law
France’s ex US Ambassador Gérard Araud criticized Washington for frequently violating international law and said its so-called “rules-based order” is an unfair “Western order” based on “hegemony.” He condemned the new cold war on China, instead calling for mutual compromises.
Outside the Imperial Core
Monthly Review: China is building a truly ecological civilisation
Although China is still a developing country, the reality is that it’s China rather than the advanced Western countries that’s providing key leadership on environmental issues.
China is already working with a large number of African, Asian and Latin American countries on green development projects, including in Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Argentina and Cuba.
Nigerian journalist Otiato Opali writes:
From the Sakai photovoltaic power station in the Central African Republic and the Garissa solar plant in Kenya, to the Aysha wind power project in Ethiopia and the Kafue Gorge hydroelectric station in Zambia, China has implemented hundreds of clean energy, green development projects in Africa, supporting the continent’s efforts to tackle climate change.
Climate Change
Monthly Review: Greenland is worse than ever, much worse
A new study finds Greenland’s ice sheet thinning much further into the ice sheet core than previously thought, 100 miles inland. (Source: S. Khan, et al, Extensive Inland Thinning and Speed-Up of North-East Greenland Stream, Nature, November 9, 2022)
WSWS: COP27 summit does nothing to address climate change
This year’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) has ended, and the world’s major capitalist powers, banks and corporations that gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt have again pledged to do essentially nothing to stop and reverse the ongoing climate crisis.