The problem is that Putin said Russia would have to answer in kind if NATO infrastructure were to be deployed to Sweden and Finland.
A friend of mine took the two pictures above some years ago in Sweden.The aim of this blog is to try to highlight some challenges facing the world, such as crowded megacities, poor living conditions, water shortages, dangerous waste disposal, and arrogant powers behind warmongering. I am interested in sharing opionions and reading your comments.
Thursday 30 June 2022
Madrid's NATO summit
Tuesday 21 June 2022
Flames close to Rome
There is bad news in Rome and its surrondings from an environmental point of view. Last week, more than 90 firefighters were on the waste management centre located close to Rome, as flames engulfed the site. The picture above shows the fire in the waste storage facility. It wasn't easy to extinguish. There is evidence that the fire in the Rome's municipal waste produced high levels of emissions of environmetally significant chemical species, such as dioxins.
Friday 17 June 2022
Exit of the biggest Italian energy company from Russia
This week the great news is that Italy's biggest manufacturer and distributor of energy and gas, Enel SpA, will sell in the next three months its 56.43% stake in Russia to local investors. Established in Russia in 2004, the Italian group will follow similar moves by the world's biggest energy companies, such as Shell and BP after Russian government's invasion of East Ukraine.
In addition, the deal is expected to have a positive effect on the group's consolidated net debt of about 550 million euros. The global reach of the Italian biggest utility extends from Europe to Latin America and India, that's why the company's ordinary financial results would not be affected by the deal to sell the stake in the Russian subsidiary.
Its easy to forecast that other Western multinational companies, which have been established in Russia since long time, are going to do the same.
Saturday 4 June 2022
Wheat shortage crisis
There is a great talk about global food crisis fueled by the war in East Europe, as Ukraine plays a major role in the global food system. So while the Ukraine-Russia war directly threatens global food security, wheat prices hit record high in recent days. According to Wionews.com, Russia and Ukraine are two of the top wheat exporters, with respectively 17% and 10% of global export.
The big question is when will wheat prices come down? Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging accusations over obstructing the movement of wheat shipment through the Black Sea. In my opinion this is a false problem rather than a real barrier, which can't be solved thanks to Intermodal transfer.
With regards to Ukraine, the wheat could be shipped from the two ports of Costanta (Romania) and Varna (Bulgaria), considering there is an efficient railway system from Odesa (Ukraine) to the two towns just mentioned. Intermodal transfer may involve rail and ship, due to the fact that the four biggest wheat importers (Egypt, Sudan, Turkey, and Yemen) are located close to the Mediterranean area.