«Якщо до 2014 року країною масового працевлаштування була Росія, то зараз левова частка українців воліють працювати в країнах Європи»
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При цьому Антимонопольний комітет продовжує перевіряти обставини аукціону, на якому приватизували завод
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Rights groups in Kenya are pushing authorities to resettle tens of thousands of squatters evicted just ahead of the holidays to make way for a Chinese-backed expressway.  

Kenyan Lucy Wangare, in her forties, cleans a makeshift tent that has provided her family flimsy shelter since October, when Nairobi city authorities evicted them from their home of almost two decades.

She, her husband, and her sister spent the holiday season living in the tent, enduring cold and wet nights. 

City authorities evicted more than 40,000 squatters like Wangare from the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum and razed their homes to make way for construction of the Nairobi Expressway.  

What is left of the Mukuru slum looks like a wasteland, with scores of makeshift tents forming a small island.  

Authorities gave them just days’ notice to vacate their homes, says Wangare.

“If you look at where I sleep, you’d think I wasn’t a Kenyan citizen, you’d think I was a refugee, said Wangare. 

They used to have property and houses but, right now, they’ve been left destitute. She blames Kenya’s government.

The half a billion dollars elevated expressway aims to ease Nairobi’s notorious traffic by connecting the main international airport to the city center and wealthy suburbs.      

The Chinese state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation is building and financing the expressway, which should be working in 2022, and will collect the tolls for nearly three decades.    

Despite critics calling it a road for the rich, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta defended the project while taking a tour of it the day before Christmas.  

“The difference that is being occasioned by the road building, the drainage being build, by the sewage being put in — I do believe that within another two years, Nairobi will be a truly 21st century city, catering for its population in a positive manner and in a manner befitting our people,” said Kenyatta.    

But Kenyan rights activists fault the government for not striking a balance between the need for infrastructure and human dignity for those evicted.  

Anami Daudi, 25, is with the Mukuru Community Justice Center.

“It’s so traumatizing, people are having mental issues here, we have other special challenges, they should get like special attention.  But you find out that even the facilities we have around they can’t even accommodate to create maybe that space to provide such services,” he said. 

The single squatters left homeless, like 38-year-old Pauline Gathoni, struggle with security fears.      

“It’s very dangerous to spend the night here, especially for us, women,” she said. The men can defend themselves if attacked,  but she can’t fight anybody. ”If someone attacks me and steals my property, tells me to leave, I will have no choice but to obey them,” she said.

City authorities’ promises to compensate and help resettle the evicted families have yet to come true.    
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With the arrival of winter in Europe and energy prices soaring, tensions are running high over the provision of gas from Russia — especially through the Yamal-Europe pipeline that runs through Poland and Belarus. 

But the Yamal pipeline is just one part of a complex gas infrastructure network shaped not only by energy needs but also wider economic interests and politics, including strife between Russia and Ukraine. 

The pipeline, opened in 1994, runs over 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) to Germany from the city of Torjok in central Russia, transiting through Belarus and Poland. 

It delivers 30 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe each year, making it one of the most important vehicles for the provision of Russian gas to the continent. 

Russia sells Germany gas at a cheaper rate than it does to Poland, in part to make up for the higher transit fees through the longer delivery distance. 

But this means that it is more cost efficient for Poland to buy Russian gas from Germany. 

Some of the gas sold by German traders to Poland flows directly into Polish territory, or if that is not sufficient, the pipeline can also operate in reverse to send more to Germany’s eastern neighbor. 

Since December 21, the pipeline has been operating in reverse, with gas flowing east back into Poland from the German border, according to data from management company Gascade seen by AFP. 

This means that over the last days, Germany itself has not been receiving gas via Yamal. 

Meanwhile, Russian gas continues to flow to Europe through other major pipelines such as Nord Stream I and TurkStream. 

It is not unusual for the Yamal pipeline to operate in reverse for short periods, but this latest about-turn comes against a backdrop of political tension over fears that Russia may invade Ukraine. 

Political pressure 

In Germany, the government has said that in the event of any “escalation”, it will put the brakes on another gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, which is still awaiting the green light from the authorities. 

Some European states, such as Poland and Ukraine, have accused Moscow and Russian energy company Gazprom of cutting gas supplies to Europe to exert political pressure over these tensions. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the change in gas flow through the Yamal pipeline is purely down to fluctuating orders and denied any political motive. 

Gazprom, for its part, has called accusations that it is failing to deliver enough gas to Europe “absolutely groundless and unacceptable” and blamed Germany for dipping into its reserves to supply neighboring Poland. 

Berlin on Monday denied any intervention on its part. “It is not the government that decides on gas flows, but the market, the traders,” the Economy and Climate Ministry said. 

According to George Zachmann, a specialist in energy issues for the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, Gazprom may also be “favoring its own pipelines” over those it does not 100% control, such as the Yamal pipeline. 

Low reserves

A spokeswoman for the German Economy and Climate Ministry told AFP that “security of supply is still guaranteed.” 

But Berlin, which has “relatively low” gas reserves with its tanks just 53 percent full, could soon have “difficulties”, according to Christophe Bonnery, president of the Association of Energy Economists. 

“If contracts are adhered to there will be no problems until at least March,” said Zachmann. But “if Russia cannot or will not deliver gas for technical or other reasons, then supplies could fall short.” 

The wrangling comes amid an explosion in gas prices, which are up to seven times higher than at the beginning of the year.

The surge is thought to be partly down to a particularly cold winter and an increase in activity linked to the post-coronavirus economic recovery. 

With 40% of gas consumed in Europe coming from Russia, Moscow is suspected of taking advantage of the tensions on the world market to reduce supply and drive up prices. 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in September called on Russia to be a “reliable supplier” and send more gas to Europe. 
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As Europe rang in the New Year 20 years ago, 12 of its nations said goodbye to their deutschmarks, French francs, liras and pesetas as they welcomed the euro single currency. 

On January 1, 2002, euro notes and coins became a reality for some 300 million people from Athens to Dublin, three years after the currency was formally launched in “virtual” form. 

Here is a recap of the event, drawn from AFP reporting at the time: 

In a far cry from the austere New Year’s celebrations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic 20 years later, fireworks, music and lights blazed at midnight into the early morning of January 1, 2002, to mark the biggest monetary switch in history. 

AFP reported that many people passed on their traditional New Year’s Eve parties, choosing instead to queue up at cash dispensers in their enthusiasm to get hold of the first pristine euro notes. 

In Berlin, Germans said hello to the euro and goodbye to their beloved mark at a special ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate, as up to 1 million people thronged the streets for the traditional giant New Year’s Eve street party there. 

The euro cash was also a hit in the coffee shops and red-light district of Amsterdam. 

Irish revelers were, however, less in a hurry to welcome the euro, continuing to pay for Guinness, Ireland’s favorite tipple, in the national currency, leaving the headache of the changeover until the next day. 

As many feared, the euro switch provoked sporadic price hikes across Europe. 

From Spanish bus tickets, which jumped by 33%, to a Finnish bazaar, where “everything for 10 markka (1.68 euros)” was now “everything for two euros,” many price tags were a bit heftier since the single currency became legal tender. 

The European Central Bank president at the time, Wim Duisenberg, who warned merchants not to take advantage of the euro launch to increase prices, said he had not seen signs of widespread abuse. 

“When I bought a Big Mac and a strawberry milkshake this week it cost 4.45 euros, which is exactly the same amount as I paid for the same meal last week,” Duisenberg told reporters. 

Europe surprised itself with the almost glitch-free transition to the single currency, AFP reported. 

The Germans — reputedly skeptical about the single currency and nostalgic for their mark — turned out to be among the most enthusiastic. 

An editorial in the popular German tabloid Bild proclaimed: “Our new money is moving full speed ahead. No problems whatsoever in saying adieu to the mark, no tears to be shed.” 

Initial “europhoria” was, however, tempered as a few hiccups appeared, such as cash shortages and long lines in banks, post offices and at toll booths. 

France urged citizens to not rush all at once to the banks with their savings, often hoarded under mattresses and in jam jars, since they had until June 30 to get rid of their francs at commercial banks and until 2012 at the Bank of France. 

And the European Commission reported minor problems in getting small euro bills and coins distributed in most countries. 

Duisenberg said, however, he was sure that January 1, 2002, would be written into history books as the start of a new European era. 

 
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