Bitcoin extends gains to $80,000 The price of #bitcoin renewed its all-time high, rising to $80,000, Binance platform data showed as of 11:59 a.m. UTC At 12:20 p.m. UTC, Bitcoin traded lower at $79,500. Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by an unknown person or a group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without intermediaries.

Monopoly - Hezbollah Edition #Hezbollah’s finances are like a game of #Monopoly. Watch until the end to see who their bankers are...

Sanctions against Russia, China, Iran produced no results, says US senator The US policy of constantly toughening sanctions on #Russia, #China and #Iran fails to produce the intended result of making these countries change their political course, US Senator Rand #Paul said at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington. The senator said he was regularly asking the following question to Department of State officials: "Can you tell me one behavior that has changed from a sanction? You tell me one sanction you put on Russia that Russia has now said: ‘We're sorry about it, we should have never done that. And we're going to do exactly what you want us to, just tell us what to do and we'll do it.’ Or just tell me any kind of behavior that's been modified by China or by Russia, or by Iran. In fact, if you look at Iran it's sort of the opposite." "In fact, I would argue the sanctions don't work at all. The only sanctions that work are if you offer to repeal them, in fact. But what we tend to do is: we put more on, and more on, and more on," he continued. "And, to my knowledge, I don't know any that were removed. In the Iran agreement there were some sanctions that were going to be removed and were removed, but with Russia and China we've been doing this for five years, some of these for 10 years with both countries. I'm not aware of any that we've removed," Paul added. "But the thing is, there is another alternative and it's called diplomacy," he said, adding that Washington should rather engage diplomatically with these countries instead of imposing more and more sanctions. He also criticized the US administration’s plans to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. "We claim we are going to take it. We might have the ability. We have amazing controls over the banking system. But at the same time if we take it: do you think Russia is just going to crumble?" the senator asked rhetorically. He said that such measures will prompt Moscow to take retaliatory measures. "So we'll take their sovereign wealth, and they'll take all the private wealth that’s over there. I don't think it gets us more towards a solution," Paul explained. "But once you do it, it's almost impossible to go backwards.".

EU countries unable to come to terms on further weapons supplies to Ukraine Leaders of European countries meeting at a Brussels summit cannot agree on the terms for further financing of arms supplies to Ukraine, the European edition of Politico said in an article. According to Politico, the only consensus that has been reached among the EU heads of state and government on Thursday, namely instructing the European Investment Bank (EIB) to adapt its lending policies for the needs of the defense industry, is evidence that the bloc’s members are unable to come to terms. "Let's be honest: Nothing real is decided on financing defense," a European official told Politico. The authoritative publication notes that the bloc’s countries are divided in their opinions on some profoundly important measures, in particular support for European financing of weapons supplies to Ukraine via joint defense obligations. Poland, France and Estonia favor the release of Eurobonds, while Austria, Germany and the Netherlands oppose it. According to some European diplomats, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated their disagreement with this proposal during the summit. A regular two-day EU summit in Brussels kicked off on Thursday. Within this event, the EU leaders intend to discuss the urgent and intense need for additional military support for Kiev. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, following the meeting, said that the EU did not decide to float defense Eurobonds for financing and reinforcing the EU defense industry. The final statement notes that the EU leaders did not agree on any decision to expropriate investment income earned on Russia’s frozen sovereign assets held at European financial institutions. The relevant ministers were instructed to continue working on the proposals made by the EC and EU diplomatic department.

Global economic activity remaining low, says IMF Midterm prospects of global economic growth and economic activity remain low, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its report, released before the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 28-29. "The global economy appears on track for a soft landing, but activity and growth prospects remain weak," IMF said. "Medium-term growth prospects remain subdued—reflecting secular trends and challenges including weak productivity growth, ageing, GeoEconomic fragmentation and climate vulnerabilities. These trends also undermine income convergence and increase the vulnerability of economies to external shocks," IMF experts added.

The EU will allocate 10 billion euros for a transportation corridor bypassing Russia through Azerbaijan The European Commission and the European Investment Bank plan to invest 1.5 billion euros in strategic transportation infrastructure projects in Central Asia to establish a transportation corridor from the region bypassing Russia. The European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) intend to invest 1.5 bln euro in strategic transport infrastructure facilities in Central Asia for creating a transport corridor stretching 11,000 kilometers from Asia to Europe bypassing Russia, EC Executive Vice-President, Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said when opening a two-day transport investment forum EU-Central Asia in Brussels. "Our long-term objective is to make the [transport] corridor a competitive, sustainable, smart and fast route to link our two regions in 15 days or less. To achieve this, we need to coordinate our resources with other corridor countries, international financial institutions, EU member states, as well as investors and companies both in Europe and Central Asia," he said, adding that "the joint contribution from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to advance the transport agenda in Central Asia will amount to 1.5 bln euro." Meanwhile EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell admitted that the EU’s plans to invest in the transport infrastructure of Central Asian nations have political purposes aimed at protecting the same values. "We need closer partnership to address global challenges. <…> Yes, we have to build infrastructure, we have to increase the connectivity of our space, but all that serves a political purpose to increase our partnership and to share a better future by increasing economic ties and defending the same values," he said.

The gang members in Ecuador taking over a TV station while launching other attacks is a case of "violent lobbying," a term coined by Benjamin Lessing 🔶️ It's an extreme example of gangsters in LatAm using this insurgent-like tactic but it's not the first. ⬛️ Here are other cases: 🔶️ Colombian capo Pablo Escobar unleashed massive violence against the government and civilians to get his way and exert pressure. His most infamous act was using a hitman to down Avianca Flight 203 in 1989. It killed all 107 occupants. As this included Americans, US courts acted. 🔶️ In 2006, Brazil's PCC gang - or First Commando of the Capital - rose up in prisons in São Paolo and carried out almost 300 attacks, burning banks,busses, and police stations and killing dozens of officers. The attack was likely in response to the prison transfer of its leaders. 🔶️ In 2015 in Jalisco, Mexico, gunmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel burned cars and trucks in what are called narco bloqueos and attacked police, soldiers. It was in response to an attempt to arrest boss El Mencho. They shot down an army helicopter, probably with a 50 cal. 🔶️ In 2019, gunmen for the Sinaloa Cartel rose up in Culiacán, Mexico, following the arrest of Ovidio, son of El Chapo. They took hostages, fought with soldiers and blockaded streets. The Mexican government finally let Ovidio go - although the Mexican army re-arrested him in 2023. 🔶️ It is "violent lobbying" because the gangsters are using bloodshed and terror to exert pressure. They want the government to back off or release a suspect or stop raiding their dope. 🔶️ It makes the government pay a cost to go after them - and governments will often back down.