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EU commences phased boycott of Russian crude oil.

Russian Crude

The European Commission has formally drafted a long-awaited ban on Russian crude oil imports, according to the Wall Street Journal, and it circulated the details to EU member states on Tuesday.

If adopted, the measure would force Russia to sell its oil at a discount to faraway buyers, like refiners in India and China.

The proposed text would require most EU member states to phase out Russian crude imports within six months and all Russian refined products within the year, officials told the paper.

The plan contains a 20-month extension for Hungary and Slovakia, which both rely heavily on Russian crude oil supplies.

All 27 EU member states must agree to the plan in order for it to be enacted.

The government of Hungarian President Viktor Orban has been vocal in its objections to the idea of a Russian crude oil ban, and the carveout would allow Hungary to continue to source Russian oil for the foreseeable future.

In addition to a ban on Russian oil, the sixth round of sanctions will also remove additional Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system and list Russian “disinformation actors,” according to EC foreign affairs commissioner Josep Borrell.

The possibility of an outright ban on Russian oil reflects significant efforts by EU member states and oil refiners to find alternate sources of crude.

 Germany, which once sourced about one-third of its oil from Russia, now expects to fully transition to other suppliers by the end of the summer.

It may also accelerate a trend of “self-sanctioning” by Western oil traders, who have already begun limiting their exposure to Russian crude because of the perceived risks.

 If these barrels are locked out of the market in Europe and North America, they will have to be sold for less to buyers in India, China and elsewhere – but the obstacles are significant.
According to Bloomberg, the options for financing and insuring Russian oil are getting slimmer, and Asian buyers are demanding steep discounts to cover the inconvenience.

Assuming that Russia can find alternate markets to absorb production, tanker owners could be up for a windfall with the reshuffling of the oil trade.

With fewer short-haul shipments running between Russia and Europe, tonne-mile demand for long-haul transport of oil could rise.
 In addition, Western sanctions on Russian shipping have restricted the trading patterns and insurance options for Russian tanker companies, creating more opportunity for their foreign competitors, according to shipbroker Gibson.

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Foreign

David Nwamini, Ekweremadu accuser, seeks asylum in UK

” they will kill me if I come to Nigeria” — he pleads to court

The eyewitness reporter
David Nwamini, the accuser of Senator Ike Ekweremadu who sent the lawmaker to 10 years jail term in the United Kingdom over an organ trafficking case, has raised an alarm that he may be killed in Nigeria if he comes back.
Consequently, he has asked the court to allow him to stay back in the UK for safety reasons.
“They would arrest me and kill me in Nigeria” he reportedly told the court.
His impact statement was read in court, at the sentencing that saw Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice, 56, and the doctor-middleman, Obinna Obeta, 51, jailed, for 10 years and 8 months, 4 years and six months, and 10 years, respectively.

The three were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to arrange the travel of a young man with a view to exploiting him for his body part.

The Ekweremadus’ 25-year-old daughter, Sonia, has a severe kidney disease. It was for her the donor was sourced and brought to the UK.

According to David, he was approached with an opportunity to work in the UK, which he had always dreamed of but never thought would happen.

“He (Dr Obina Obeta) did not tell me he brought me here for this reason. He did not tell me anything about this.

“I would have not agreed to any of this. My body is not for sale.

“I worry for my safety in Nigeria. Those people can do anything. I think they could arrest me or kill me in Nigeria.

“My plan now is to work and to get an education and to play football,” David said, adding that he does not want to claim compensation from the “bad people” as it would be “cursed and bad luck”.

He also said someone visited his father in Nigeria and asked the father to get him to drop the case.

Although it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if there is a reward.

The Ekweremadus were arrested on June 21 last year as they arrived at Heathrow Airport.

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Foreign

UK court shuns Nigeria, ECOWAS pleas as it sentences Ekweremadu to 10 years imprisonment for organ trafficking

 

The eyewitness reporter

The United Kingdom court on Friday sentenced former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu, to nine years and eight months in prison for organ trafficking plot.
This was despite the plea for clemency made by the Nigerian government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that the court should temper justice with mercy.
The court also sentenced his wife, Beatrice, to four years six months while the medical doctor, who act as a ‘middleman’ in the plot, Dr Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years and his medical licence was also suspended.
The Ekweremadus’ daughter Sonia, who has a serious kidney condition, wept as she was cleared of the same charge.
Mr Justice Johnson told the defendants: “In each of your cases the offence you committed is so serious that neither a fine nor a community sentence can be justified.”
It was alleged that the 21-year-old street trader was to be rewarded for donating the organ to Sonia Ekweremadu, in an £80,000 private procedure at London’s Royal Free Hospital.
The case marked the first-time defendants have been convicted under the Modern Slavery Act of an organ harvesting conspiracy.
While it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if money or another material advantage is rewarded.
The prosecution claimed the donor was offered up to £7,000 along with the promise of a better life in the UK.
The donor did not understand until his first appointment with a consultant at the hospital that he was there for a kidney transplant, the Old Bailey was told
On March 23, the jury pronounced a guilty verdict on the senator, his wife, Beatrice, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor who acted as the middleman.
The jury held that they conspired to bring the 21-year-old at the centre of the matter to London to exploit him for his kidney.

 

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Foreign

Nigeria missing as UNCTAD lists top African countries in service exports.

 

The Eyewitness reporter

Nigeria was not listed among the top five countries in Africa in service exports in 2021 as Egypt tops the list as announced by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in December.

According to the report, Egypt topped African countries regarding services exports in 2021 by around $20 billion

 Egypt has also come second in maritime routes in Africa in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022.
According to the report, Egypt has achieved a considerable growth in services exports by 45.5 percent year-on-year in 2021.

Morocco followed Egypt in services exports then Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

Egypt also came third on the list of the top five countries regarding goods exports in Africa in 2021 by around $40 billion, achieving growth of around 60 percent year-on-year.

In maritime routes, Egypt was preceded by Morocco, South Africa, then Ghana, and Togo.

Earlier this month, Egypt announced a plan to develop Egyptian commodity exports to African countries to reach $15 billion during the coming few years.

Egypt’s exports to Africa have increased by 25.4 percent during Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021, the Cabinet said in a statement in mid-December.

According to Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt’s exports to the African Union countries have reached more than $5.4 billion in 2021 compared to around $3.9 billion in 2020.

Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, and Kenya received more than 60 percent of Egyptian exports, according to CAPMAS.

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