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A30 world news
Diahuebs 15 september 2022

Armenia, Azerbaijan trade blame for clashes that killed 155

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) son and demanding he step
— Armenia and Azerbai- down.
jan accused each other of
instigating new rounds Pashinyan angrily denied
of shelling across their reports alleging that he had
borders Wednesday and signed a deal accepting Azer-
reported that 155 troops baijani demands as an "infor-
from both sides have died mation attack."
since hostilities reignited
between the longtime ad- Arayik Harutyunyan, the
versaries this week. leader of Nagorno-Karabakh,
reacted to the uproar by say-
Meanwhile, thousands of ing that the region will not
protesters took to the streets agree to come into the Azer-
of Armenia's capital accus- baijani fold and will continue
ing Prime Minister Nikol pushing for its independence.
Pashinyan of betraying his
country by trying to appease On Friday, Putin is set to hold
Azerbaijan. a meeting with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in Sa-
Armenia's Defense Minis- markand, Uzbekistan, where
try claimed that Azerbai- they both plan to attend a
jani forces launched combat summit of the Shanghai Co-
drones in the direction of the of his country's troops have forces backed by Armenia that Azerbaijani troops had operation Organization, a
Armenian resort town of Jer- been killed since fighting since a separatist war there fired on a Russian military security grouping dominated
muk overnight and renewed erupted early Tuesday, while ended in 1994. outpost in Armenia. It al- by Russia and China.
shelling with artillery and Azerbaijan said it lost 50 sol- leged Armenia was making
mortars in the morning in diers. Russia moved quickly on such assertions in an attempt The Armenian government
the direction of Jermuk and Tuesday to negotiate an end to turn a Moscow-dominated said Pashinyan, who also was
the village of Verin Shorzha. Azerbaijani authorities said to the latest hostilities, but a security alliance "into a tool due to attend the summit,
they were ready to unilater- cease-fire it sought to broker for its dirty deeds." would not show up because
The Azerbaijani military, in ally hand over the bodies of has failed to hold. The gov- of the fighting.
turn, charged that Armenian up to 100 Armenian soldiers. ernments of Azerbaijan and Some in the opposition saw
forces shelled its positions in Armenia traded blame for the statement as a sign of Pa- Asked about the renewed
the Kalbajar and Lachin dis- The ex-Soviet countries have violations of the cease-fire, shinyan's readiness to make fighting, German Chancel-
tricts of Azerbaijan, near the been locked in a decades-old while the international com- concessions to Azerbaijan. lor Olaf Scholz said that "this
separatist Nagorno-Karabakh conflict over Nagorno-Kara- munity urged calm. Thousands of angry protest- conflict makes no sense,"
region. bakh, which is part of Azer- ers quickly descended on the adding that "it costs human
baijan but has been under the The ministry rejected as an government's headquarters, lives and it must be solved
Armenia's Pashinyan said 105 control of ethnic Armenian "absolute lie" Armenia's claim accusing Pashinyan of trea- peacefully."

Energy crisis: EU chief wants to tap excess producer profits

reduced or cut off natural gas money must be found out- through renewable energy
to 13 member nations, surg- side of national budgets to sources and nuclear power of
ing gas and electricity prices provide more help to mil- 180 euros per megawatt hour,
that are expected to go higher lions struggling to pay their less than half the current
as demand peaks during the electricity bills. That's why price. EU countries would
cold months. the commission wants to tap also collect a "solidarity con-
the profits of power produc- tribution" from oil, gas and
Europe also has been hit by ers using oil, gas and coal as coal refineries earning 20%
a drought that experts say is well as renewables and nu- more profit than they aver-
the worst in 500 years. Prices clear power. It estimates that aged over the last three years.
for natural gas — which is some companies are making
used to power industry, heat five times their usual profits. The commission's goal is to
homes and generate electrici- reduce electricity consump-
ty — are now 10 times higher "These companies are mak- tion in the bloc by at least 5%
in the EU than before CO- ing revenues they never ac- during peak use hours.
VID-19 took hold in 2020. counted for, they never even
dreamt of," von der Leyen Von der Leyen, sporting
"Russia keeps actively ma- said. "In these times, it is Ukraine's national colors
nipulating our energy mar- wrong to receive extraordi- with a blue top and yellow
ket," European Commission nary record revenues and jacket, also said the bloc's
BRUSSELS (AP) — A top President Ursula von der profits benefiting from war electricity market must be re-
European Union official It's one of several propos- Leyen told EU lawmakers in and on the back of consum- formed to properly tackle the
unveiled a plan Wednes- als aimed at containing an Strasbourg, France. "So, this ers." energy crisis.
day to cap the revenue energy crisis in Europe that market is not functioning
of electricity producers could lead to rolling black- anymore." "Our proposal will raise more Even before Russia started its
that are making extraor- outs, shuttered factories and than 140 billion euros ($140 war against Ukraine, many
dinary profits because of a deep recession this winter. Individual countries have billion) for member states to EU member states had been
the effects of Russia's war Others include slashing en- passed subsidies, tax cuts and cushion the blow directly," calling for reform of the
in Ukraine and climate ergy use and reforming the other relief for households she said. bloc's energy market because
change, saying the pro- electricity market, which all and businesses as high energy they believe that the influ-
posal could raise $140 bil- need approval by the 27 EU prices drive record inflation. Most of the money would ence of gas in setting whole-
lion to help people hit by countries. As the bloc sup- But with economies still re- come by setting a price cap sale electricity prices is dis-
spiraling energy prices. ports Ukraine, Russia has covering from the pandemic, on electricity produced proportionate.