Miscellaneous News

Michaelsinodef said:

He's been overall failing in foreign policy, especially towards US 'enemies'.

Basically went with a method of max pressure, to try and get concessions/deals (where he would reduce pressure after deal).

But all in all, he ended up with no deal, but rather a breakdown in relationship, so things have actually worsened lol.

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Chevalier said:

I’ve always wondered why Chinese government made a public statement of ceasing shipping to Israel. Given the Houthi activity against western shipping, it’s not too far fetched for any Five Eyes agent to destroy Chinese shipping under the false flag of Houthi drones. Anglos have long wished to cripple Chinese trade in their desire to contain China.
For China to come out publicly against shipping to Israel means the blame for any attack on Chinese shipping will be sourced to its correct perpetrators.

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US buying Russian oil (10k barrels in november) despite import ban – media​

The US has continued to buy Russian oil despite being a staunch proponent of anti-Russia sanctions and its own ban from early 2022 on energy imports from the country, news outlet RBK reported on Thursday, citing data from America’s foreign trade statistics database.

According to the report, the US imported nearly 10,000 barrels of Russian crude – worth $749,500 – in November 2023. While Washington’s oil restrictions, introduced amid broader Western sanctions against Moscow in response to the Ukraine conflict, prohibit imports of crude from the country, they still allow some purchases of it under special licenses from Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The imports in November are believed to be the first US purchases of oil directly from Russia since the ban was imposed. However, the US has continued to buy the commodity from third countries, according to a recent

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by Global Witness, based on Kpler ship-tracking data. The think tank found that, in the first three quarters of last year, the US imported 30 million barrels of fuel from refineries running on Russian oil. These purchases were made through what the agency called a “refining loophole,” which allowed the oil to enter the US once it’s been transported outside Russia and refined.

In addition to the US embargo, Russian seaborne oil is also subject to the G7 and EU price caps. That measure, introduced in late 2022, banned Western companies from providing insurance and other services to shipments of Russian crude unless the cargo is purchased at or below the $60-per-barrel price limit, and placed similar restrictions on Russian petroleum products. The cap was not enforced until October 2023, when the US started trying to close loopholes in the mechanism by sanctioning oil tankers and maritime companies suspected of transporting Russian oil above the price limit set by G7/EU.

However, according to market experts the new restrictions are unlikely to be a serious impediment to Russia’s oil trade. Despite numerous restrictions, Russian oil exports last year amounted to roughly 250 million tons, 7% higher than in 2021, prior to the Ukraine conflict and Western sanctions.

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According to the report, the US imported nearly 10,000 barrels of Russian crude – worth $749,500 – in November 2023.

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Will Ships Link With China To Avoid Houthis​

By Alex Longley (Bloomberg) At least five vessels transiting the Red Sea are using their signals to say they have links to China — the latest unusual measure taken to try and avoid attack by Houthi militants in the Red Sea.

Each of the ships is signaling “all Chinese crew” or something similar in a field that would normally contain its destination. Two are currently in the Red Sea, while two more have navigated the risky waterway and are now sailing to Asia. A fifth appears to be heading toward the Gulf of Aden.

Since early November, there has been a surge in attacks on merchant ships transiting the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis. They say they are targeting vessels with links to Israel to protest against its military campaign in Gaza, though ships with no direct connection to Israel have also been affected.

The result has been significant disruption to swaths of the global merchant fleet.
Suez Canal transits have plunged, falling to the lowest level since the waterway was blocked by a giant container ship in 2021, as many ships choose to avoid the Red Sea and instead sail thousands of miles around Africa to deliver their goods.

The five ships’ destinations show that their crew — or the companies that own the carriers — believe that being affiliated with the Asian country could help avert attack. Ship destinations are normally entered manually by the crew and are then visible to almost anyone on the internet.

The signals advertising Chinese connections follow a similar move by some ships that had been indicating no links to Israel. There are currently five such vessels, of which four are in the Red Sea.

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Vessel name	Current Signal
EVA GLOBAL	20 CHINESE CREW
OVP TAURUS	CNTAO_ALL CHINESE
STONEWALL GLORY	EGEDG ALL CHINESE
AN HAI WAN	CHINESE SHIP CREW
PACIFIC WEALTH	SGSIN_CHN VSL&CREW

Vessel name	Current Signal
POCAHONTAS	VL NO CONTACT ISRAEL
DALIAN STAR D	VL NO CONTACT ISRAEL
KOTA RAHMAT	VSL NO LINK ISRAEL
BRIOLETTE	VSL NO CNTCT ISRAEL

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FriedButter said:

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Some more ships from 2 pages ago using call signs about connection to China or no connections to Israel

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Nobo said:

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I have got to say, i'm utterly surprised by this, as much as i blame this on BNP's incompetence. This is the first time ever we've seen China backing a particular political party parting from their traditional way.

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Victims of the Post Office scandal have been promised swift exoneration and compensation by the government. More than 900 workers were prosecuted after faulty software wrongly made it look like money was missing from their branches. Some went to prison for false accounting and theft. Many were financially ruined, even though they had repeatedly highlighted problems with the software.

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What is Fujitsu's Horizon system?
The system was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks like accounting and stocktaking. Sub-postmasters complained about bugs in the system after it falsely reported shortfalls - often for many thousands of pounds.
Some attempted to plug the gap with their own money, as their contracts stated that they were responsible for any shortfalls. Many faced bankruptcy or lost their livelihoods as a result. The Horizon system is still used by the Post Office, which describes the latest version as "robust".

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siegecrossbow said:

Reality makes Wolf Warrior 2 look tame. God must be a closet Wumao or something…

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huemens said:

An Accounting software written by Fujitsu ruins the lives of a thousand people in UK post office

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