US President Joe Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russian invasion’s first anniversary February 20, 2023 US president Joe Biden has been spotted in the Ukraine capital Kyiv on a surprise visit this morning. The 46th president was filmed walking the city streets with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine this Friday. Biden and Zelenskyy visited the Wall of Remembrance of the [...]
UK defence budget needs £3bn boost for ‘broken’ armed forces, top general warns February 19, 2023 A top general has warned Britain’s armed forces are “at their most broken since the Cold War” and need a £3bn boost to ramp up the UK’s military capabilities. General Sir Richard Barrons has urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to fund the replacement of weapons and tanks given to Ukraine in the budget next month. Barrons, [...]
Oil prices to stay high this year on China reopening and OPEC output snags, experts predict February 19, 2023 Oil prices will be propped up this year by rebounding demand from China alongside tightening supplies into Europe and OPEC's capacity issues.
Customers face higher bills as Ofgem double Covid allowance for suppliers February 17, 2023 Ofgem has announced it will almost double the allowance it grants energy suppliers to recover some of the bad debt costs from the pandemic.
Liz Truss: Former PM urges nations to ‘learn lessons of Russian aggression and stand up to China’ February 17, 2023 Liz Truss has urged democratic nations to stand up to China and learn the lessons of not taking earlier and tougher action against Russia. Speaking in Japan in her first public speech since her resignation as prime minister, Ms Truss called on the international community to agree a co-ordinated package of defence, economic and political [...]
UK military risks NATO downgrade, security think tank warns February 16, 2023 Britain risks no longer being NATO’s top military power in Europe, a think tank report has warned, in the midst of growing security issues. The French military has more troops, jets and ships than the UK, despite spending £13bn less on defence, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) found. France boasts 203,250 personnel compared [...]
Shell: European demand to boost LNG competition over next two years February 16, 2023 Europe's growing need for liquefied natural gas will boost competition with Asia for LNG over the next two years, Shell revealed on Thursday.
Russia pummels Ukraine with barrage of overnight missiles as targets in north, west, south, east and centre hit February 16, 2023 Russia again pummelled Ukraine with a barrage of cruise and other missiles on Thursday, hitting targets from east to west. Ukrainian authorities said one of the strikes killed a 79-year-old woman and injured at least seven other people. Russian forces used a variety of missile types, firing 36 in all in a two-hour overnight bombardment, [...]
Ed Warner: The European Super League isn’t dead yet – and it’s because of the Premier League February 16, 2023 “Laughable”, “all hot air”, “flimsy”, a “walking corpse”. So has English football, on a mostly unattributable basis, dismissed the attempt to breathe new life into the European Super League concept which unraveled so swiftly and spectacularly two years ago. But sat on this side of the English Channel, we would say that, wouldn’t we? Is [...]
China will drive oil demand to record 100m-plus barrels per day, keeping prices elevated February 15, 2023 China will drive oil consumption to record levels this year, as the world's second largest economy reopens following sustained lockdowns.