Author: Embodo

Kiev (8/6 – 17). The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s announcement about the personnel losses suffered by Moscow in May underscores the toll the conflict has taken on the Russian side. The reported figure of 38,940 personnel losses for Moscow as stated by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, indicates a significant escalation in the conflict’s intensity. Such a high monthly casualty count underscores the severity of the situation and the toll it’s taking on the Russian side. Ellie Cook’s report in Newsweek highlights a critical aspect of conflict reporting the difficulty in accurately determining battlefield casualties. Analysts often caution against…

Brazil and Saudi Arabia are discussing investments in sustainable mining and the energy transition, according to Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira. Attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Silveira met with the Saudi ministers of investments, Khalid Al-Falih, and industry and mining, Bandar Alkhorayef. SIGN UP FOR THE ENERGY DIGEST SIGN UP “Last night, I had a bilateral meeting with the minister of investment and the minister of mining from Saudi Arabia to discuss essential investments for Brazil in energy transition, as this is our great vocation,” Silveira told CNN. Silveira said he had discussed the energy transition…

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The government of Guyana, under pressure from neighboring Brazil and a Caribbean trading bloc, agreed Sunday to join bilateral talks with Venezuela over an escalating territorial dispute. The century-old dispute between the two South American nations recently reignited with the discovery of masses of oil in Guyana. The government of Nicolas Maduro, through a referendum last week, has claimed sovereignty over the Essequibo territory, which accounts for two-thirds of Guyana and lies near big offshore oil deposits. Even as troops mass on both sides of the shared Venezuela-Guyana border, Guyana President Irfaan Ali said Sunday that his country will meet on…

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine launched one of the biggest drone attacks on the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula since the full-scale war that started with Russia’s invasion 21 months ago, Russian officials said Friday. They did not mention any casualties or damage. At the same time, Ukrainian officials reported that the Kremlin’s forces escalated their weekslong and costly attempt to storm Avdiivka, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine. The stepped-up efforts came as both sides are keen to show they are not deadlocked as the fighting approaches 2024. Neither side has gained much ground despite a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began in June, and…

Social scientists have yet to decipher what happens every December in Peru, a month of revealed secrets, betrayals, ruptures, under-the-table deals, and the return to the limelight of its old ghosts. As if the scriptwriters of a streaming platform had gone into overtime, this week former president Alberto Fujimori — sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity — was released thanks to a controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court that defies the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; Attorney General Patricia Benavides was suspended for six months for being the alleged leader of a criminal organization; former President Pedro Castillo has…

Toronto, Atlanta (28/11 – 20) A wise old expression intones “Behind every bad borrower is a bad lender”. Like many such cute, amusing aphorisms, it is accurate as far as it goes … but what if? What if a loan approval is held up, then granted, after a couple of phone calls from the office of the Vice President? What if the borrower is a crony or relative of Mr. Big, which is what practically bankrupted Indonesia, when the Soeharto vampire children took out multi-hundred-million-dollar “loans” (wink wink) for projects whose profit-making potential was near zero? What is the potential…

Canada has repeatedly hyped up “dangerous” interceptions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently, but experts said on Sunday that the PLA’s lawful actions took place on China’s doorstep, and that Canada’s blind confidence could lead to troubles of its own. In a recent event, two sorties by a vessel-borne helicopter from the Canadian Navy’s frigate HMCS Ottawa with unknown intentions approached China’s territorial airspace above the Xisha Islands, and despite the PLA naval and aviation forces’ lawful identification, verification and repeated verbal warnings, the Canadian helicopter not only refused to respond, but also took provocative maneuvers including flying at a…

(Kitco News) – According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru (MINEM), silver production in Peru, the world’s third largest silver producing country, was 254,827 kg (8.2 moz) in September 2023, down 1% compared to 256,766 kg (8.3 moz) mined in September 2022. In January-September 2023 (9M 2023), silver production in Peru amounted to 2,212,044 kg (71.1 moz), which is a decrease of 3.5% compared to January-September 2022 (2,293,362 kg or 73.7 moz). MINEM said this negative performance was primarily due to the lower production reported by Compañía Minera Antamina (-28.3%) and Compañía Minera Ares (-12.8%). At the…

Peru’s largest lender, Credicorp Ltd, is bracing for delinquent loans to soar, a signal that the the country’s recession initially triggered by unrest and bad weather is spreading to the broader economy. “Peru’s economic performance is significantly weaker than expected,” the company said in a statement alongside quarterly results, flagging bad weather brought by El Niño as a key risk extending through early 2024. The bank said that new estimates “reflect significant additional provisions for expected losses.” Credicorp said provisions — the amount in loans the bank doesn’t expect to be repaid — had increased 85% compared to a year…

TIRANA – The brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia has dramatically shifted geopolitical dynamics and energized efforts to bring Western Balkans closer to the EU, it is said during the panel “Breaking Barriers to Regional Security Cooperation”, at the Civil Society Forum in Tirana. The panel discussed strategies for rationalizing regional security cooperation initiatives and building greater confidence for exchange and collaboration among security institutions in the region. Participants expressed their views on the current state of regional security cooperation, as well as the cybersecurity, organized crime, and corruption threats. The Interior Minister of Albania, Taulant Balla, mentioned during the discussion a…