Russian oil production fell in the first weeks of August, ending several months of recovery from Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday.
Average daily production so far this month has fallen by 3% compared to July, totaling 1.428 million tons, the publication said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the data.
Small oil companies, as well as state-owned major producer Gazprom Neft, accounted for 90% of the decrease.
The rest of Russia’s major oil producers have kept output levels stable. They are expected to boost output under the latest OPEC+ agreement raising the oil cartel’s production goal by 100,000 barrels per day.
Experts cited by Kommersant say larger oil companies are displacing their smaller competitors and causing them to lose their place in the market.
Russia’s oil production has been on a path to recovery since falling sharply in April, though it is yet to reach pre-sanctions levels.
The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for Russian crude production into 2023, saying last week that sanctions have had a limited impact due to increased demand from mostly Asian buyers.
An EU embargo on Russian crude oil and petroleum products is expected to further decrease Moscow's exports to Europe when it takes effect in February 2023.
The summer vacations of schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been extended till August 31.
According to the announcement issued by the Ministry of Education, the decision was taken in view of the increase in heat waves in the province in recent days.
The extension of holidays will be applied only to schools in hot areas.
The schools will reopen from September 1 instead of August 15. The extension of holidays will be applied to students up to matriculation.
Russian tourist Alexandra Rumyantseva is tanning on a beach in Moscow-annexed Crimea, not far away from the front lines of Ukraine's eastern and southern territories.
Sitting on a rock in a white bikini by clear Black Sea waters on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Rumyantseva looks up as a Russian fighter jet whizzes through the perfectly blue sky.
"Of course, I cannot say that we are in a fully relaxed state," she told AFP.
The front is around 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Sevastopol —Crimea's largest city and home to the Russian Black Sea fleet.
Despite the fighting nearby, the St. Petersburg charity worker chose to have her beach break with her husband and two sons on the peninsula.
Moscow's intervention in Ukraine, the onset of Western sanctions, severed air links with Europe and mounting economic troubles at home have made a lot of popular tourist destinations in Europe and elsewhere off limits to Russian tourists.
But even getting to Crimea, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and a popular beach destination, is difficult.
Russia's balmy Black Sea coast and Crimea have become hard to reach due to the closure of airspace in the south over the fighting in Ukraine.
Rumyantseva's family drove 2,500 kilometers. They used a land bridge Moscow built to connect the peninsula to mainland Russia.
Rumyantseva said there were rumors the bridge could be blown up and that "many were worried," but the family decided to risk it anyway.
On their way, they saw a military convoy, seemingly on its way to the front.
When AFP visited Sevastopol on a hot July day, Russian warships were visible in the distance as beachgoers cooled off in the sea.
Aside from the ships and occasional jet sounds, few signs pointed to the full-scale military campaign next door.
Teenagers jumped off rocks and bare-chested men drank beer and made shashliki (grilled meat), a Russian summer favorite.
In the city center, Russian patriotic music rang out and souvenirs featuring the letter Z — a symbol of Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine — were offered to visitors.
Fewer tourists than usual have showed up in Crimea this summer.
"It seems like it is mainly locals here," said 28-year-old Anna Zaluzhnaya, who works in the food industry, as she lounged in the sun.
Local businesspeople, who rely on tourism as the peninsula is largely cut off from the world due to sanctions, are feeling the effects.
Albert Agagulyan, 69, runs a small kebab joint on a beach outside Sevastopol.
The retired fighter pilot said he could not afford to send his child to summer camp this year.
"People are not coming here because they are scared," he added.
Crimea borders the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson — now controlled by Moscow — and the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia — partially occupied by the Russian army — is also nearby.
Kyiv has pledged to retake lost southern territories captured by Russian troops, and some believe that the possibility of Ukrainian strikes on Crimea cannot be ruled out.
While some prefer not to discuss politics, locals like Viktor Borodulin say they have been closely following Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.
"I am very worried by these events," said the 77-year-old engineer. He said he was particularly saddened by the sinking of the Russian cruiser Moskva in April.
Borodulin waxed nostalgic for the Soviet past and lit up when he spoke of the possibility of buying fruit and vegetables from Moscow-occupied southern Ukraine.
"Today I even bought some products from Kherson," he said.
"For me, it is a great joy."
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The Michigan Supreme Court signaled Friday that there will be no summer decision in a high-stakes dispute over whether people convicted of crimes can be ordered to pay to keep the lights on and cover other operating costs in local courts.
The court heard arguments in April and subsequently asked the parties to file more briefs addressing certain issues.
The law, which raises millions of dollars each year, expires Oct. 1, though there’s a bill in the Legislature to extend it until fall 2025.
In its latest order, the Supreme Court said it will hear more arguments on three points in the months ahead, including whether judges assessing costs creates a potential for bias.
Critics argue that it’s unconstitutional for a judge to oversee a criminal case and also have power to order someone to pay a share of keeping the building clean and office supplies stocked.
"The simple fact is that courts are not a private enterprise. Criminal defendants are not a special class of citizens upon whom the expenses of state government should be levied," said the Detroit Justice Center, which represents low-income Detroit residents.
A Michigan dispute over paying court costs will not be resolved before the end of the summer.
MICHIGAN WOMAN SUES MAN FOR STANDING HER UP ON DATE, GETS INTO ARGUMENT WITH JUDGE
The money goes to a court’s local government, but only people convicted of crimes must pay, not others who use the courts. Nothing is deducted from the budget of prosecutors who lose cases.
From 2018 through 2020, courts collected $108 million statewide, 75% of it in District Courts, which handle traffic tickets, drunken driving cases and other misdemeanors mostly committed by people who can least afford to pay.
MICHIGAN BUSINESS OWNERS IN UPROAR AFTER CITY DECRIMINALIZES PUBLIC URINATION, DEFECATION
Costs can vary by community. Some judges don’t order them.
