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An embargo on Russian gas could lead to a serious shortage of fuel crucial for Italy's industrial and service sectors, according to a study published on Saturday by the association of Italian industrialists Confindustria. “A possible blocking of natural gas imports from Russia, Italy's main supplier in recent years, could have a very strong impact on the already weakened Italian economy. Such a shock would cause a serious shortage of gas volumes for industry and services and an additional increase in energy costs,” the analysts behind the study state. The study claims that Italy being deprived of Russian gas would knock an average of 2% per year off of GDP in 2022-2023. Analysts warn that after a drop in economic growth by 0.2% in the first quarter, “in the second quarter of 2022 the scenario for Italy remains difficult due to the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine.” Russian gas embargo is ‘poison’ for German society – officialREAD MORE: Russian gas embargo is ‘poison...

Major British media outlets are providing one-sided coverage of the Ukrainian conflict and are making efforts to exonerate neo-Nazis in the country, Steve Sweeney, an international editor at London newspaper the Morning Star. Sweeney, who recently returned from the city of Lviv near the border with Poland, said he had to travel there himself because “the British media reporting [on Ukraine] is now incredibly restricted.” “You have the Times, the Telegraph, the Guardian, the BBC, Sky News, Channel 4 all really producing identical reports from Kiev and Lviv that don’t deviate at all from the government line, from the NATO line on what’s happening” in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, he said. “A great effort is being made to really whitewash or rehabilitate the [Neo-Nazi] Azov [military battalion] as either having no influence in Ukraine or being just simply misunderstood nationalists,” the journalist pointed out. The Azov battalion is an infamous neo-Nazi unit in the ranks of the Ukr...

A severe drought has prompted 24 out of France's 96 departments to impose limits on water usage, the country’s Ministry of Ecological Transition said on Saturday. The restrictions range from simple calls to save water in some areas to a more than 50% reduction in agricultural withdrawals and bans on washing cars, watering gardens and filling swimming pools in others, the ministry told Le Figaro. Rainfall levels have been well below normal in France since September 2021, and last month the deficit reached 25%. The situation was exacerbated by abnormally hot temperatures in May, which is on track to become the warmest on record. As early as mid-April, eight French departments were forced to impose curbs on water use, compared to just three in the same period of 2021. “This year, the drought had started early,” France’s new Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said earlier this week. “We are taking steps to manage the water resource and prevent the situation from being unmanageable thi...

ar prices are expected to soar due to the export restrictions imposed by a number of key producing nations seeking to tame rising domestic food prices. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which seriously undermined global supply chains, has been dramatically aggravated by the crisis in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia. The conflict between the two major grain exporters has disrupted global supplies. A number of countries have moved to limit exports of other key commodities, putting global food security under threat, while risking further increases in the prices of agricultural products. On Monday, Kazakhstan began a six-month ban on white and cane sugar exports. India is reportedly considering placing restrictions on sugar exports for the first time in six years to prevent a surge in domestic prices. India’s ban is expected to target around 10 million tons of this season’s exports. Last week, Reuters reported that sugar cane mills in Brazil, the world’s bigg...