Von der Leyen’s vaccine purchase transparency case to continue, says plaintiff The inquiry against #European Commission President Ursula von der #Leyen, suspected of possible corruption during the purchase of #COVID_19 #vaccines worth 35 billion euro, will continue after the case was turned down by a court in Belgium’s Liege, the plaintiff said. "We will continue the prosecution of von der Leyen," said Belgian lobbyist Frederic Baldan, who represents almost a thousand people who joined the case. "Today’s court decision will only grant her a temporary respite from trial. Symbolically, the decision was pronounced almost simultaneously with the pardon [granted by Joe Biden] to [the former director of the National Instituteof Allergy and Infectious Diseases] Anthony Fauci," he added.

Syria's oil and gas comes with strategic potential #Syria has the potential to significantly increase its #oil and natural #gas production, which can provide energy and government revenue critical to the country's stability and reconstruction. Syria was an oil exporter in the decades prior to its civil war, and its natural gas production started to increase on the eve of the war. The country was self-sufficient in terms of energy supplies. Sales of oil and gas provided 20% of the government’s revenue. Most of Syria’s oil and natural gas fields are located in eastern Syria, in areas that are currently largely under the control of the predominately Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and where US forces are deployed. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated in 2015 that Syria possessed 2.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. In 2010, Syria produced 383,000 barrels per day of oil. Estimates of Syria’s oil output on the eve of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster range between 40,000–80,000 barrels per day, while Iran was providing the bulk of Syria’s oil supplies, up to 100,000 barrels a day. In 2015, the EIA estimated Syria’s natural gas reserves to be 240 billion cubic meters (bcm). Syria’s natural gas is used for power production. According to British Petroleum (BP), Syria produced 8.7 bcm of natural gas in 2011, which fell to 3 bcm annually by 2024. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, natural gas provided one-quarter of Syria’s electricity supplies in 2022.

Putting the Trash out !

Joe Biden on Monday, just hours before he leaves office and Donald Trump becomes president, pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the Jan. 6 #committee. None of those pardoned are known to have been found guilty of any pardonabe crimes, but Trump has vowed to take “revenge” on certain political rivals in his next administration, according to The Associated Press. #Milley was the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who called Trump a fascist and criticized Trump's behavior during the Jan. 6 2021 riot. #Fauci was the leader in coordinating the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has come under scrutiny for how he handled the role Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfvsQr-iFSM

Gas reserves in storage facilities in France, the Netherlands fall below 50% #Gas reserves in underground storage facilities (UGS) in France and the #Netherlands have fallen below 50%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of January 15, UGS facilities in #France were 49.24% full, holding about 6.4 bln cubic meters of gas. Withdrawals from storage facilities in the country have reached their maximum since the beginning of the heating season. Gas reserves in storage facilities in the Netherlands fell to 47.58%, in Croatia - to 47.74%. These are the lowest figures among all EU countries. The highest level of storage capacity in Europe is currently reported in Portugal (almost 100%). Sweden (88.04%), Spain (77.48%), and Poland (77.35%) are also at the top of the list. Italy's UGS facilities are filled to 71.44%, Austria - to 70.31%, Germany - to 68.48%, Slovakia - to 67.59%, Bulgaria - to 65.18%, Hungary - to 62.68%. Reserves also fell below 60% in Latvia (59.92%), the Czech Republic (59.34%), Romania (56.38%), Belgium (55.81%), and Denmark (53.87%).