Timeframe: February 26th to March 4th, 2022
Contributors: Adiba Tahsin, Anika Bushra, Mansib Khan, and Farhan Uddin Ahmed.
To read the Bangla version, click here.
1. Politics
UK seem so slow at acting against Putin’s oligarchs
Boris Johnson is under pressure, including from his own MPs and opposition parties, to move faster in targeting assets of Russian oligarchs after it was conceded it could take “weeks and months” to build legally sound cases. The EU is pressing the UK to go further and faster in imposing sanctions on Russian oligarchs over fears that assets are being swept out of the UK. Contrary to the prime minister’s claims to be leading the world in the economic response to the invasion of Ukraine, there is frustration among allies over the UK’s lethargy in hitting Russian wealth.
Source: The Guardian
Ukraine giant tells world ‘don’t buy Russian oil’
Ukraine’s largest energy firm has told the BBC the West should stop buying gas and oil from Russia.
Yuriy Vitrenko, who runs Naftogaz, said Russian sanctions should be stronger and targeted directly at energy.
To stop the war from spreading “it should make this very clear choice to get rid of this dependency on Russian gas and oil,” he said.
With economic sanctions “you have to believe as if you were at war with Russia,” he added.
Source: BBC
2. Economics & Business
Oil-producing nations stick to their plan despite Ukraine
Even though oil prices have surged to ten-year highs, a powerful cartel of oil-producing countries say they will only increase their output by a modest amount.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Russia, known as Opec+, will not be turning on the taps.
The 23-country-strong cartel will add 400,000 barrels of oil per day to the market from April.
Source: BBC
Commodities Jump Most Since 2009 as Ukraine War Threatens Supply
As countries recover from the pandemic with stretched supply chains and wobbly demand, the Ukraine war has thrown a wrench in the supply chain of oil, metals, and crops. Oil prices crossed the symbolic $100 barrier while the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index rose 4.1%. The cost of living in the US has risen the fastest since 1982, dampening Democratic hopes of doing well in the Mid-terms while the rising prices portend future unrests in the streets of Asia and Africa.
Source: Bloomberg
Aluminium at record high, nickel scales 11-year peak on Russian supply woes
Russia is the main producer of aluminum and zinc. However, due to the current Russia-Ukraine unrest, more and more sanctions are being imposed on Russia, so larger corporations are pulling out of Russia. As a result, the international commodity market is in crisis. Zinc prices have also risen on fears of the rising cost of energy consumption.
Source: Economic Times
3. Environment
World leaders agree to draw up ‘historic’ treaty on plastic waste
In a UN environment assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, world leaders, environment ministers, and other representatives from around 173 countries agreed to develop a treaty on plastics. The treaty will be negotiated in the next two years, and it will cover the entire life cycle of plastics, starting from their production to disposal.
Source: The Guardian
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