NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Tuesday / December 7
Beijing boycott
The United States announced on Monday that it will diplomatically boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing China's human rights record.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed to reporters that although U.S. athletes will continue to participate, the Biden administration will not send any official representatives to the games because of China's "continuing genocide and crimes against humanity and other human rights violations in Xinjiang."
The previously anticipated action was earlier criticized by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Zhao called the US diplomatic boycott "a mockery of the Olympic spirit, political provocation and a crime against the 1.4 billion Chinese people".
"If the US persists on the wrong path, China will take necessary and decisive countermeasures," Zhao said.
Hours following the US decision, New Zealand announced its diplomatic boycott of the games.
Aramco warning
Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, told global leaders that the assumption that the world can switch to clean energy "overnight" was "deeply flawed", urging them to invest in fossil fuels in the coming years.
Nasser, in his statements at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston, USA, claimed that too rapid a switch to cleaner fuels could lead to uncontrolled inflation and social unrest, and that eventually countries could raise their emissions targets to reduce carbon pollution.
Speaking at the conference focused on low carbon strategies and technology, Nasser said, "I understand that it will be difficult for some to publicly acknowledge that oil and gas will play an important and important role during and after the transition."
But Nasser said it would be "much easier" to accept this fact than to deal with prices soaring, seeing countries begin to bounce back from their net zero commitments, dealing with energy insecurity, rampant inflation and social unrest.
Putin-Biden meeting
President Joe Biden will warn his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that the United States and other western allies are ready to implement serious economic countermeasures if Moscow launches an attack on Ukraine, a senior US administration official told reporters on Monday.
The video call between Putin and Biden on Tuesday will take place against the backdrop of escalating tensions triggered by the massive deployment of Russian troops and defense equipment to the Ukrainian border.
"we believe that we have a path forward that would involve substantial economic countermeasures by both the Europeans and the United States that would impose significant and severe economic harm on the Russian economy, should they choose to proceed," the official said.
The official declined to say whether the United States would take direct military action against Russia in the event of an invasion.
US stocks
Stocks in the US rallied as investors' fears over the emerging Covid omicron variant dissipated.
The Dow rose 646.95 points, or 1.8%, to 35,227.03 on Monday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index broke out of negative territory and closed at 15,225.15, up 0.9%. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 4,591.67. All three big averages finished the week lower on Friday.
The United States announced on Monday that it will diplomatically boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing China's human rights record.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed to reporters that although U.S. athletes will continue to participate, the Biden administration will not send any official representatives to the games because of China's "continuing genocide and crimes against humanity and other human rights violations in Xinjiang."
The previously anticipated action was earlier criticized by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Zhao called the US diplomatic boycott "a mockery of the Olympic spirit, political provocation and a crime against the 1.4 billion Chinese people".
"If the US persists on the wrong path, China will take necessary and decisive countermeasures," Zhao said.
Hours following the US decision, New Zealand announced its diplomatic boycott of the games.
Aramco warning
Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, told global leaders that the assumption that the world can switch to clean energy "overnight" was "deeply flawed", urging them to invest in fossil fuels in the coming years.
Nasser, in his statements at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston, USA, claimed that too rapid a switch to cleaner fuels could lead to uncontrolled inflation and social unrest, and that eventually countries could raise their emissions targets to reduce carbon pollution.
Speaking at the conference focused on low carbon strategies and technology, Nasser said, "I understand that it will be difficult for some to publicly acknowledge that oil and gas will play an important and important role during and after the transition."
But Nasser said it would be "much easier" to accept this fact than to deal with prices soaring, seeing countries begin to bounce back from their net zero commitments, dealing with energy insecurity, rampant inflation and social unrest.
Putin-Biden meeting
President Joe Biden will warn his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that the United States and other western allies are ready to implement serious economic countermeasures if Moscow launches an attack on Ukraine, a senior US administration official told reporters on Monday.
The video call between Putin and Biden on Tuesday will take place against the backdrop of escalating tensions triggered by the massive deployment of Russian troops and defense equipment to the Ukrainian border.
"we believe that we have a path forward that would involve substantial economic countermeasures by both the Europeans and the United States that would impose significant and severe economic harm on the Russian economy, should they choose to proceed," the official said.
The official declined to say whether the United States would take direct military action against Russia in the event of an invasion.
US stocks
Stocks in the US rallied as investors' fears over the emerging Covid omicron variant dissipated.
The Dow rose 646.95 points, or 1.8%, to 35,227.03 on Monday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index broke out of negative territory and closed at 15,225.15, up 0.9%. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 4,591.67. All three big averages finished the week lower on Friday.
