FRANCE
Speaking on the sidelines of the event organized by state-owned bank Bpifrance, French President Emmanuel Macron assured on Thursday (Oct. 6) that the country has enough energy ahead of the heating season “even in the worst-case scenarios.” He also underlined that by the end of October, the prices of electricity and gas will return “to more acceptable levels.”
EU
The European Union announced on Thursday (Oct. 6) it formally approved the eighth package of sanctions against Russia, including a price cap on the maritime trade of Russian oil. The latest sanctions also introduce new exports and imports ban, as well as a brand-new provision that would prevent EU nationals from sitting on governing boards of Russia’s state-owned companies. The package was proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, after the Russian president mobilised hundreds of thousands of reservists. “We have moved quickly and decisively,” von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
RUSSIA
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova underscored on Thursday that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s remarks on the held referendums in the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, as well as the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, that sought to join Russia, were “biased” and “unprincipled”, Austrian BAHA news agency reported on Thursday. She explained that the secretary-general cannot have any independent “position, especially on territorial issues.”
US
United States President Joe Biden delivered remarks in an event accompanied by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday (Oct. 5) and stated that Florida’s full recovery from Hurricane Ian will take years. “Today, we have one job: to get the people of Florida what they need to fully recover,” he said. “Search and rescue teams have knocked on nearly 70,000 doors and rescued 3800 people…Over 4,000 federal personnel are on the ground right now. The Army Corps of Engineers is providing emergency power to hospitals, nursing homes, and water treatment plants.”
