标题: 2022.04.01美国从其战略储备中释放约1.8亿桶石油 [打印本页] 作者: shiyi18 时间: 2022-4-1 18:12 标题: 2022.04.01美国从其战略储备中释放约1.8亿桶石油 The world in brief
Catch up quickly on the global stories that matter
Updated less than 1 hour ago (10:18 GMT+1 / 05:18 New York)
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America said it would release around 180m barrels of oil from its strategic reserves over the next six months, in an effort to combat high energy prices. At an emergency meeting on Friday, the International Energy Agency will discuss similar measures. Separately Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, threatened to stop gas deliveries to dozens of “unfriendly countries” from Friday unless buyers pay in roubles, which Western countries refuse to do.
Britain’s defence ministry said that Russian forces continue to bombard the Ukrainian regions around Chernihiv and Kyiv with air and missile strikes, despite claiming to have pulled back in the north of the country. Britain also said that Russia was redeploying forces from Georgia. A Red Cross convoy carrying humanitarian and medical aid to Mariupol—a port besieged since the war began—is stranded outside the city, as Russia has not yet provided it the safe corridor it was promised.
A Russian regional governor said that Ukrainian helicopters attacked a fuel depot in the Russian oblast of Belgorod, 40km north of the countries’ shared border, an 80km drive from Kharkiv. If true, the sortie would mark Ukraine’s first intrusion of Russian territory since the war began five weeks ago.
America imposed sanctions on Russian technology companies and procurement networks that the country has used to evade other sanctions. The 34 organisations and individuals on the new list include “malicious cyber actors” and companies that produce hardware and software for Russia’s defence sector. Mikron, Russia’s biggest chipmaker, was among them.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, a nuclear watchdog, confirmed reports that Russian troops left Chernobyl and relinquished control of the defunct nuclear plant. Most of the soldiers, who seized the site last month, made for Belarus. Ukraine said the Russians retreated after suffering radiation exposure. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it could not confirm that claim.
Other news
The Solomon Islands said that it would not allow China to build a military base on its territory, despite the two countries having signed a draft security agreement. Several countries, especially Australia, were alarmed at the prospect of China’s acquiring a new base in the Pacific • Police imposed an overnight curfew in parts of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city, after protests against the country’s economic crisis became violent. The country is currently subject to rolling electricity blackouts of up to 13 hours a day because the government lacks the foreign-exchange reserves to import fuel.
American stockmarkets dropped amid concerns about the continuing conflict in Ukraine. The benchmark S&P 500 index ended its weakest quarter since the first quarter of 2020, falling by 4.9% over the three months to the end of March • Consumer spending in America grew by just 0.2% in February from the month before, compared with 2.7% in January. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure rose, with prices 6.4% higher in February than a year earlier • An international consortium of scientists sequenced the entire human genome for the first time. Though 92% of it was sequenced back in 2003, researchers had struggled over the remaining 8% for the past 19 years.
Fact of the day: 1,100, the number of manatees that died in Florida last year, the worst on record. Read the special report.
The cost of war to emerging markets
PHOTO: EPA
When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, the price of critical commodities such as wheat and oil soared. Six weeks on, high prices are causing chaos for emerging economies.
High commodity prices are putting upward pressure on (already high) inflation rates and draining economies of hard currency. That is squeezing households and governments already in difficulties because of the pandemic. The war’s effect on commodity supplies may push some 40m people around the world into extreme poverty.
Costly food bills have shaken investor confidence in Egypt, which imports two-thirds of the wheat it consumes, forcing the country to turn to the IMF for assistance. Sri Lanka, where troops have been deployed to calm restive crowds queuing for fuel, may be close behind. The World Bank estimates that a dozen countries may find themselves unable to service their debts over the next twelve months. And even those which remain solvent can expect slower growth, higher inflation and grumpier citizens.
The West and Russia each court India
PHOTO: AP
India has lamented the violence in Ukraine while remaining steadfastly neutral. A flurry of diplomats flew in this week, hoping to change that stance. On Thursday Liz Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary, visited Delhi to stress “the importance of democracies working closer together”. A day earlier Jens Plötner, a visiting senior German diplomat, delivered a similar message. America, which has also sent an official, has asked India to “stand on the right side of history”.
It is the Kremlin, however, which could have the final say. On Friday Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, will meet Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, his Indian counterpart. Before the meeting Mr Lavrov told Reuters that Russia appreciated how India was “taking this situation in the entirety of facts and not just in a one-sided way.” They will discuss the war—but also how India can help Russia sidestep sanctions imposed by the West, by purchasing its oil with a rouble-rupee payment mechanism. America has said such an arrangement would be “deeply disappointing”. But with Russia offering a discount of $35 per barrel, money may end up talking.
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China and the European Union
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The leaders of two of the world’s biggest economies will talk past each other at a virtual meeting on Friday. China wants to warm up a frozen investment pact and sign customs agreements. But the other side wants to discuss Ukraine.
EU leaders are aghast at President Xi Jinping’s failure to condemn the invasion of their neighbouring country (and possible future member). Instead China has lauded Russia’s “efforts to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis” in Ukraine. The EU plans to warn China not to send arms to Russia, or help it evade sanctions.
Ukraine is not the only issue souring the relationship. The EU has slapped sanctions on Chinese officials accused of human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. China retaliated in kind against EU lawmakers and diplomats. And China is squeezing Lithuania with a trade boycott, after it dared allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy. With so many distractions, don’t expect much progress on trade deals.
Britain’s cost-of-living crisis heats up
PHOTO: PRESS ASSOCIATION
On Friday the government’s cap on the price that energy companies can charge consumers rose by 54%. That may mean higher bills for around 22m of Britain’s 28m households. Many will struggle. The Resolution Foundation, a think-tank, estimates that 5m families in England will face “fuel stress” as they spend more than 10% of their budget on energy, up from around 2.5m now.
The cap is being lifted to reflect the rising price of gas, which accounts for around 40% of Britain’s electricity generation and heats 85% of its homes. Prices have soared in recent months, thanks to increased demand from China and disrupted supplies out of Russia. If prices remain high, the cap could rise again. Ofgem, Britain’s energy regulator, is pushing for the authority to adjust the price cap more frequently. And pressure is unlikely to ease. Britain wants to decarbonise electricity generation by 2035, which will require expensive investments in gas infrastructure. Consumers are likely to have to pay the price.
Hong Kong tries to stem its brain drain
PHOTO: REUTERS
On Friday Hong Kong lifted a ban it placed in January on flights from nine countries, including America and Britain, when cases of covid-19 there spiked. Flight bans have been used during the pandemic to prevent infected arrivals spoiling Hong Kong’s record of “zero-covid”. In February and March, as the territory’s own Omicron wave grew, the ban became increasingly questionable. But scientific logic was probably not what inspired the U-turn.
Hong Kong is experiencing a brain drain. A draconian security law has frightened many people off. And residents are tired of school closures, long quarantines and the separation of covid-positive children from their parents. Nearly 100,000 people left in February alone. Now some measures are being relaxed, allowing Hong Kongers to travel more easily. But the resumption of flights will hardly foreshadow a reconnection with the world. Non-residents remain excluded from travelling to the territory and hotel quarantine is still required. Hong Kong’s less-than-splendid isolation will continue for some while yet.
Daily quiz
Our baristas will serve you a new question each day. On Friday your challenge is to give all five answers and tell us the connecting theme. Email your responses (and include mention of your home city and country) by 1700 GMT on Friday to QuizEspresso@economist.com. We’ll pick randomly from those with the right answers and crown one winner per continent on Saturday.
Friday: Which warrior, created by Robert E. Howard, was the subject of a 1982 sword-and-sorcery epic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Thursday: Who was the recipient of the first phone call, made by Alexander Graham Bell?
This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.