The price of natural diamonds has plummeted due to decreased demand and growth of lab-grown diamonds. Credit: Kim Alaniz. CC BY 2.0/flickr
The price of natural diamonds has fallen by 26 percent in the past couple of years with decreasing US and Chinese demand for diamond jewelry being one culprit. Another is the growing popularity of more affordable, lab-grown diamonds (LGD).
Following a short-lived pandemic-era boom in diamond jewelry, miners are fighting to stop the oversupply of the precious gems. Anglo-American’s De Beers, along with Russia’s Alrosa, control two-thirds of the natural diamond supply, and De Beers this week said its sales had dropped 23 percent in the first quarter, as reported by the “Financial Times.”
It’s true that rough stone inventory has stabilized slightly, but polished stone stocks remain very high. At more than $23 billion at the close of 2023, these were near five-year highs, up a third since the end of 2022, according to Bank of America. What’s worse, as lab-grown diamonds have increased their market share, their prices have come down, too, to around 15 percent or less of their natural counterparts.
Synthetic gems are not a new creation, having first appeared around 70 years ago primarily for industrial purposes. However, in the past decade, lab-grown gems have really taken off. In 2015, LGD supply was in no way near being a rival to natural gems, but, by last year, it was more than 10 percent of the global diamond jewelry market, according to specialist Paul Zimnisky, as per the “Financial Times.”
This situation has brought about a competitive frenzy among producers, with LGDs’ lower costs meaning they are able to reduce prices. In October last year, WD Lab Grown Diamonds, America’s second-largest maker of synthetics, filed for bankruptcy. Since then, it has had to move its business away from retail towards industrial customers.
Russian supply has pushed natural diamond prices down even further. Last year, the country provided 27 percent of the world’s rough diamonds with Asian and Middle Eastern countries not taking part in G7 trade sanctions against Russian gems. Russian stones continued to flow to India, the hub for cutting and polishing gems.
Diamond prices are now nearing the same level as in early 2011, and miners are reportedly struggling. Smaller producers such as Canada’s Lucara and UK-listed Petra and Gem Diamonds have market values at around $100 million or less, worth three or four of the mega-stones they aim to discover.
How are diamonds formed?
The gems are made up of billions of carbon atoms, and most were formed between one to three billion years ago deep below the Earth’s surface under intense heat and high pressure.
Older than humankind itself, diamonds are one of nature’s most incredible and unique gifts. Much like a snowflake, every gem has a natural pattern telling a different story, each one is unique, and no two are alike.
The Greek Supreme Court has prevented the far-right Spartiates party from entering European elections. Credit: European Parliament CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Greece’s Supreme Court has published the final list of parties that will compete in June’s European elections with the roster excluding the far-right party Spartiates (the Spartans).
The ruling party New Democracy, along with opposition parties PASOK and New Left, filed a memorandum challenging the Spartans’ participation. The far-right group has been under scrutiny as a result of their associations with convicted members of the now-defunct neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, notably Ilias Kasidiaris.
The prosecution process has been started against eleven Spartan parliamentary members for potential parliamentary and electoral fraud linked to their leadership roles.
The electoral court has not yet decided on objections regarding the legitimacy of Spartan MPs, but in a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court has stated that 31 out of 46 total parties will compete for voters’ support in the June 9 elections. It has been reported that 14 parties failed to submit the required 20,000 euro fee.
Earlier today, an MP elected with the Spartans was arrested after he assaulted a colleague from the populist Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) party in the colonnade outside the plenum hall.
Konstantinos Floros, now an independent MP, assaulted and punched MP Vasilis Grammenos. In addition to immediately evicting Floros under guard, Parliament President Constantinos Tasoulas gave orders that he should be immediately handed over to law enforcement authorities to face criminal charges in the assault of a member of Parliament.
He noted that parliamentary immunity does not apply in the case of violent criminal offenses. Floros is expected to be charged with violating Article 157 of the Criminal Code, according to which it is a felony to attack a member of Parliament during the performance of his duties.
Spartiates party in last year’s elections
The Spartiates party was the biggest surprise of the 2023 elections in Greece, getting 4.64 percent of the vote and gaining twelve seats in Parliament. The grouping was catapulted from relative obscurity after support from Ilias Kasiadiaris, the frontman of the now-banned Golden Dawn far-right party. His own party was barred from the elections, and he endorsed the Spartiates while serving his prison sentence.
The party believes the traditions of Hellenism are missing from public life nowadays. They describe themselves as “the iron arm and the real bulwark that will stop the decline and the sell-out of Greece and the Greeks.”
The Spartiates are among three fringe parties of the right that gained parliamentary representation after the elections. Elliniki Lysi, a nationalist, pro-Russia party, formed by former journalist and TV salesman Kyriakos Velopoulos, got 4.47 percent of the vote and is represented in Parliament with twelve MPs.
Niki, or the Victory party, which emphasizes Orthodox Christian traditions, got 3.71 percent and ten MPs.
Sumerian Civilization relief. Credit: Jackatndy000 Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Sumerian civilization appears to have been established in southern Mesopotamia around 4000 BC, while some historians place it as far back as 5000 BC.
Established in the Fertile Crescent between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in modern-day Iraq, Sumer was the first urban civilization in the region. From early on, they had developed skills in farming and raising cattle. They also wove textiles and were skilled carpenters and pottery makers. More importantly, Sumerians are credited with inventing the wheel around 2500 BC.
Mesopotamians are noted for developing one of the first written scripts around 3000 BC in the form of wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets. This cuneiform script was also adapted and used for roughly two thousand years by surrounding peoples.
One of the world’s first great works of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was written in cuneiform. This form of writing was used for sales and purchases, correspondence, and sharing tales.
Sumerians had developed a merchant navy to import and export goods, traveling into the Persian Gulf and making trade and cultural exchanges with other peoples, such as the Harappans in Northern India. They made and traded textiles, leather goods, and jewelry for semi-precious stones, copper, pearls, and ivory of the Harrapans.
They were polytheistic and many of their deities had anthropomorphic forms, much like the gods worshipped by ancient Greeks. Their dedicated temples were built atop massive ziggurats situated in the centers of most Sumerian cities. Like the pyramids in Egypt, these structures would have taken thousands of people and many years to construct.
Sumerian cities
Sumer was not a country in the modern-day definition. It was a combination of various city-states that were often at war with one another. This is why they were surrounded by walls with the villages spread around them. The Sumerians were the first to establish a city in terms of urban structure and organization. They had schools in order to pass knowledge to children and were the first documented people to have learning establishments. Moreover, they invented the cylinder seal, a personal identification seal for citizens.
Sumerian Uruk is considered the first city in the world by some historians, boasting a population ranging from 40,000 to 80,000 in around the year 2800 BC. However, the Sumerians themselves believed that the first city was Eridu, established by Enki, the god of wisdom and water. Enki is said to have raised it from the watery marshes and established the concept of kingship and order in the land.
Enki raising Eridu from the watery marshes refers to the EriduGenesis, a manuscript dating to 2300 BC that was found in the ruins of Eridu. It is a story that resembles that of Noah’s Ark. Here, the mortal is Ziusudra, who is the only man saved from the great flood when Enki tells him to build an ark and rescue two of every kind of animal. Afterwards, the gods relent and determine to control the annoying human population by introducing death and disease into the world. In this way, they reestablished order and set a limit to human life and ambition. Tablet XI of The Epic of Gilgamesh relates the exact same story a few centuries later.
For Sumerians, order was crucial, and the duty of the citizens was to try to keep order throughout their lives. It was the citizens’ main obligation. The gods themselves, however, would return the world to chaos when humanity’s noise and trouble became too great to bear.
Furthermore, the bestowment of Enki with the title of god of wisdom is an indication of how advanced the Sumerian civilization was in 3000 BC.
The earliest cities established in Sumer other than Uruk were: Eridu, Ur, Larsa, Isin, Adab, Kullah, Nippur, and Kish. Like in most ancient cities, the main temple complex was at the center marked by the tall ziggurats, which is said to have inspired the story of the Tower of Babel. Each city was dedicated to a god who lived in the temple to protect the citizens.
Sumerian scientific advancements
Other than inventing the wheel, Sumerians exhibited advanced scientific knowledge. They were capable in mathematics, as their intricate architecture and engineering shows. They also had advanced knowledge in hydraulic engineering. Evident in their network of canals, they had invented a system of ditches to control flooding and are credited with the first advanced system of irrigation, using the power of the Tigris and Euphrates.
Their system of medicine was based on magic and herbalism, but they were also knowledgeable about extracting parts from natural substances. Surgical instruments found in archaeological sites indicate they performed surgery, meaning they had an advanced knowledge of anatomy.
One fascinating achievement of the Sumerians was their time-keeping structure. They invented the sexagesimal (base-60) system and first divided the movements of the heavens into countable intervals, finding that 60 was the perfect number. The number 60 can be divided into 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30 equal parts.
Ancient astronomers believed there were 360 days in a year, a number in which 60 fits neatly into six times. Sumerian astronomers and mathematicians were the first to systematically divide the passage of time. Their work was widely accepted and spread throughout Eurasia.
The legend of Oannes and theories of extraterrestrials
The advanced civilization of Sumerians and certain depictions of their deities have led some people to believe the Sumerian gods were actually extraterrestrials who visited Sumer and embedded their advanced knowledge.
Renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan (1934-1996) has speculated it is not impossible that an alien species has visited the Earth at some point. It cannot be proven, but it is not impossible. The subject is discussed in the book he co-wrote with Iosif Shklovsky, Intelligent Life in the Universe (1966).
The line of logic is that, in the vast universe of countless planets, there must be an advanced species that can travel for light years and make a stop on Earth. After all, the first piece of writing in the world dates to 3400 BC. What if aliens came before that, and there is no documentation of their visit? What if extraterrestrials visited the Sumerians and passed their wisdom to them, and the locals depicted them in sculptures?
Sagan wrote about the legend of Oannes from Sumer coming out of the Persian Gulf. His whole body “was like that of a fish; and had under the fish’s head another head, and also feet below, similar to those of a man, subjoined to the fish’s tail.”
According to the legend, Oannes bestowed upon the early Sumerians “insight into letters, and sciences, and every kind of art. He taught them to construct houses, establish temples, and compile laws. He also explained the principles of geometric knowledge to them.” After Oannes, a similar creature named Apkallou came to check on the work of the Sumerians,” it was said.
“Sumerian civilization is depicted by the descendants of the Sumerians themselves to be of non-human origin,” Sagan commented, adding that several strange creatures appeared over the course of generations “with the only apparent purpose to instruct mankind.”
Sagan further commented that stories like the Oannes legend and representations, especially of the earliest civilizations of Earth, deserve to be studied thoroughly “with the possibility of direct contact with an extraterrestrial civilization as one of the many possible alternative interpretations.”
The ancient Greek sanctuary and theater of Dodona, home to the oldest oracle, and located in Epirus, northwestern Greece, are part of a uniquely historic site in the country, which predated even the more universally-known Delphi.
Questions that required a prophetic answer from the Oracle of Dodona on matters of politics, religion, family, health, work, travel and property, were written on sheets of lead, and many of these small tablets have been excavated on the site of the Dodona Oracle.
Here is a sample of the questions asked to the oracle of Dodona:
Over the course of centuries, people from across the Greek world traveled to the Oracle of Dodona in Epirus and asked questions inscribed on lead tables.
Some of the questions asked of the Oracle of Dodona
“Would it be in my best interests to migrate to Chalkis?” (a city in Evia, Central Greece)
“Should I go with another man in order to have children? To which Gods should I appeal?”, asks a woman called Kleoniki.
“Will Nikeas be well enough to fit out his workshop?”, a man called Alkinoos asks.
“Will I be happy if I marry the daughter of Filonedes?”
“I am Kittos, slave of Dionysios and ask: Will my boss release me as he promised?”
“I am Myrta and I would like to know if I will become a widow.”
The questions ancient Greeks asked at the oracle are a significant source of information on their everyday lives.
The oracular tablets, on which a total of 4.216 inscriptions can be read, date from the end of the 6th century B.C. to the mid-3rd century BC.
They are usually small lead sections measuring a few centimeters, which had generally been re-used many times.
The letters are no larger than 1-1.5 millimeters, while the questions are written in a variety of alphabets and dialects, as people from many places traveled to the Oracle; from Syracuse, Taras/Taranto, Boeotia, Athens and Corinth.
The historian Herodotus stated that the Dodoan oracle there dated all the way back to the second millennium BC. Even Homer mentioned Dodona, saying that there was an oracle of Zeus there. Situated in a remote region, far from the main Greek poleis or city-states, it was considered second only to the Oracle of Delphi in prestige.
Aristotle considered the region around Dodona to have been part of Hellas—even the region from which the Hellenes originated. The oracle, first under the control of the Thesprotians before it passed into the hands of the Molossians, remained an important religious sanctuary until the rise of Christianity during the Late Roman era.
The MP is led outside the parliament building. Credit: AMNA
An MP elected with the ultra-right Spartiates Party (Spartans) was arrested on Wednesday after he assaulted a colleague from the populist Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) party in the colonnade outside the plenum hall.
Konstantinos Floros, now an independent MP, assaulted and punched MP Vasilis Grammenos.
In addition to immediately evicting Floros under guard, Parliament President Constantinos Tasoulas gave orders that he should be immediately handed over to law enforcement authorities and face criminal charges of assaulting a member of Parliament.
He noted that Parliamentary immunity does not apply in the case of violent criminal offenses.
Floros is expected to be charged with violating Article 157 of the Criminal Code, according to which it is a felony to attack a member of parliament during the performance of his duties.
Greek ultra-right party the surprise of the last elections
The Spartiates party was the biggest surprise of the 2023 elections in Greece getting 4.64 percent of the vote and gained 12 seats in Parliament.
The grouping was catapulted from relative obscurity after support from Ilias Kasiadiaris, the frontman of the now-banned Golden Dawn far-right party. His own party was barred from the elections and he endorsed the Spartiates from jail.
The party considers that the traditions of Hellenism are missing from public life nowadays and describe themselves as “the iron arm and the real bulwark that will stop the decline and the sell-out of Greece and the Greeks.”
The Spartiates are among three fringe parties of the right that gained parliamentary representation after the elections.
Elliniki Lysi, a nationalist, pro-Russia party formed by former journalist and TV salesman Kyriakos Velopoulos, got 4.47 percent of the vote and is represented in Parliament with 12 MPs.
Niki, or Victory party which emphasizes Orthodox Christian traditions got 3.71 percent and 10 MPs.
Kasidiaris was also charged with morally instigating the deception of voters, as the prosecutor’s investigation revealed he is the true leader of the Spartiates party. It was he who secretly controlled events and was responsible for the party running in the elections and electing MPs to Parliament.
The charge is based on evidence showing that there was continuous contact between the Spartiates candidates and Kasidiaris while he was in prison. He is said to have provided the party with guidance and political support. This would be illegal for both him and other jailed members of Golden Dawn, which was ruled to have been a criminal organization.
The 11 lawmakers effectively “used the Spartiates party as a front for a new political entity under Kasidiaris, thereby aiding him in circumventing the electoral restrictions imposed by election legislation,” the prosecutor’s report said.
The shipwrecks at the sites at the region of Magnesia in the Pagasetic Gulf are filled with artifacts from antiquity and the Roman and Byzantine eras. Credit: Ministry of Culture
Four stunning ancient shipwrecks off central Greece can now be explored by amateur divers, the Ministry of Culture announced recently.
The shipwrecks at the sites at the region of Magnesia in the Pagasetic Gulf are filled with artifacts from antiquity and the Roman and Byzantine eras, officials have announced.
Licensed local crews will accompany the divers and monitor them as they check out the treasures. Past shipwrecks have yielded bronze armor, marble statues, ceramics, gold jewelry and silver coins.
“We have responded to this great challenge by opening to the public a total of four underwater archaeological sites in the prefecture of Magnesia, which will allow Greece to join the world map of diving tourism.”
The Aegean is full of wrecks from antiquity, with too many on the seabed to count. These are monitored by the coastguard and you can be arrested for any unauthorized diving near the wrecks. The authorities are worried that valuable artifacts like amphorae might be stolen.
Up until now, only trained archaeologists and other experts were allowed to visit the three subterranean museums and even they needed special permission.
But the Greek Culture Ministry’s announcement comes after the authorities set up a supervised test project near the island of Alonissos, which has been running smoothly since 2019, the ministry says.
So treasures await for divers and the ministry alike, with the latter set to profit from the lucrative tourism.
The 4 ancient shipwrecks in Greece open to divers
Ancient shipwreck of Alonissos in Greece
More than 3,500 amphorae were discovered at the Alonissos-Peristera shipwreck. Credit: Ministry of Culture
The islet of Peristera is located east of Alonissos, within the marine park of the Northern Sporades.
Near its western rocky coast and at a depth of 22 to 30 meters, the ancient shipwreck dubbed the “the Parthenon of shipwrecks”, was discovered by a fisherman in 1985.
More than 3,500 amphorae have been discovered. Two types of amphorae have been identified that come from Skopelos and probably carried wine.
The finds also include luxurious vessels that were secondary cargo, vessels for daily use of the crew (lamps, wicks, etc.), and items related to the equipment of the ship (lead anchor parts and nails).
Based on the findings, the shipwreck is dated to the last quarter of the 5th century BC.
Telegrafos Wreck
Eight types of commercial amphorae were found at the Telegrafos shipwreck. Credit: Ministry of Culture
The Shipwreck was located in “Telegrafos” bay in 2000. The area of the findings is located at a depth of 17 to 23 meters on a rocky bottom with sand pockets.
Eight types of commercial amphorae were found, all from the 4th century A.D. Traces of tar were found inside many amphorae indicating the transport of wine. The type represented with the most vessels (20) is from the Peloponnese. This set is the largest known concentration in Greece.
Other types come from the Northeast Aegean, while a unique amphora was identified as Palestinian.
Kikynthos Island
The Kikynthos shipwreck was a relatively small merchant ship of the middle Byzantine period. Credit: Ministry of Culture
The uninhabited islet of Kikynthos is developed as a natural breakwater at the entrance of Amaliapoli Bay, in the western Pagasitikos.
Due to the ancient remains that have been identified from the early Christian era to the 19th century, the islet has been declared an archaeological site.
On the northwest coast of the island, at a depth of 3.5 to 12m, a pile of large, but broken, transport vessels was discovered in 2005. These are parts of pithos that typologically appear as early as the 9th century and amphorae that date more precisely between the 11th and 12th centuries.
The archaeological data so far indicate a wreck of a relatively small merchant ship of the middle Byzantine period, probably of the 11th century.
Cape Glaros
Byzantine-era amphora seen at the Cape Glaros shipwreck. Credit: Ministry of Culture
On the southwestern shores of the Pagasitic Gulf, Cape Glaros was a dangerous passage for ships trying to enter the sheltered bay of ancient Nios.
Traces of at least four ancient shipwrecks – one Hellenistic, one Roman and two Byzantine – can be found at the bottom of Glaros, as well as vessels and anchors from other periods that represent possible discards.
Two concentrations with a total of over ten iron Byzantine anchors can be linked to 12th-13th century amphorae found in the same area, indicating the wreck of a large Byzantine merchant ship.
This is the largest set of Byzantine anchors that has been found in the Greek seas.
Zelensky said it “reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world”. Credit: Public domain
The US Congress has approved a $95bn (£76bn) foreign aid package that includes military support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The Senate on Tuesday evening backed the measure passed by the US House of Representatives on Saturday. It includes $61bn in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon says can start being delivered to the war-torn nation “within days”.
It passed in a bipartisan vote of 79-18. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.
Biden hailed its passage in a statement late on Tuesday, calling it “critical legislation [that] will make our nation and world more secure as we support our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “After more than six months of hard work and many twists and turns in the road, America sends a message to the entire world: we will not turn our back on you.”
The Senate passed a similar aid package in February, but a group of conservatives who oppose new Ukraine support had prevented it from coming to a vote in the House of Representatives.
Last week, Democrats and Republicans in the lower chamber joined together to bypass this opposition.
They ultimately agreed to a package bill that included foreign aid as well as legislation to confiscate Russian assets held by Western banks; new sanctions on Russia, Iran and China; and a provision that will force the Chinese company ByteDance to sell the popular social media service TikTok.
In the House on Saturday, a majority of Republicans in the chamber voted against the foreign aid package.
The bill also faced resistance among a handful of Senate Republicans who opposed any new aid to Ukraine.
Fifteen voted with two Democrats – as well as independent Senator Bernie Sanders who objected to providing new offensive weapons to Israel – against the bill.
“Pouring more money into Ukraine’s coffers will only prolong the conflict and lead to more loss of life,” Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said in remarks on Tuesday.
“No one at the White House, the Pentagon, or the State Department can articulate what victory looks like in this fight.”
Aid approved by Congress offers a boost to Ukraine
Reacting to the vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it “reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world”.
The aid package is expected to provide a significant boost to Ukraine’s forces, which have suffered from a shortage of ammunition and air defense systems in recent months.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, faced the latest in a series of recent drone and missile strikes, with authorities saying two people in a residential neighborhood were injured.
The commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, said he was expecting an attempt by Russian forces to advance on the city, which is near the Russian border.
The area was called “Montedoro” and inhabited by Greeks who moved inland from the coastal town of Metaponto. Credit: Maurizio Moro5153, CC BY-SA 4.0
Craco, a ghost town in Italy, located in the province of Matera about twenty-five miles inland from the Gulf of Taranto, was once inhabited by Greeks.
The medieval village of Craco in Magna Graecia is typical of the hill towns of the region with mildly undulating shapes and the lands surrounding it sown with wheat.
Around 540 AD, the area was called “Montedoro” and was inhabited by Greeks who moved inland from the coastal town of Metaponto. Tombs have been found dating from the eighth century, suggesting the original settlement dates back to at least that time.
Today, earthquakes, landslides, and a lack of fertile farming land have contributed to the abandonment of Craco.
The inhabitants of the town grew from 450 in 1277 to 2,590 in 1561 and averaged around 1,500 in succeeding centuries. A plague struck in 1656, killing hundreds and significantly reducing the population.
By 1799, there was enough impetus to change the feudal system, and an independent municipality was established. In 1815, it was decided that the town was large enough to divide into two separate districts.
From 1892 to 1922, over 1,300 Crachesi left to settle in North America because poor agricultural conditions created desperate times, as the land was not producing enough for the people.
During the mid-twentieth century, recurring earthquakes began to take a toll on the town. Between 1959 and 1972, portions of the village were severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable by a series of landslides.
The geological threat to the town was known to scientists since 1910 due to Craco’s location on a hill of Pliocene sands overhanging the clays with ravines causing progressive incisions.
Now, Craco is uninhabited. Guided tours allow participants to explore the ruins wearing hard hats. From afar, Craco resembles a painting with stairways and houses stacked on top of each other.
Up close, its advanced state of decay is obvious. There are towers where no bells chime, and rusted balconies where families once hung their washing. Weeds sprout at the altar of San Nicola church, whose nave is open to the sky.
In more recent times, Craco has found fame as a film set—scenes from the Italian movie adaptation of Christ Stopped at Eboli were shot here. Christ did finally make it as far as Craco for the filming of Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ.
As beautiful as Craco is, the land and location have proven unsuitable for sustaining habitation.
Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, is looking to crypto as a means to bypass new sanctions placed on it by the US, Reuters reported.
The US Treasury Department last week gave PDVSA’s customers and providers until May 31 to wind down transactions under a general license it did not renew due to a lack of electoral reforms.
The move will make it more difficult for the country to increase oil output and exports as companies will have to wait for individual US authorizations to do business with Venezuela, Reuters said.
PDVSA since last year had been slowly moving oil sales to USDT, a digital currency also known as Tether whose value is pegged to the US dollar and designed to maintain a stable value. The return of oil sanctions is speeding up the shift, a move to reduce the risk of sale proceeds getting frozen in foreign bank accounts due to the measures, per Reuters.
“We have different currencies, according to what is stated in contracts,” Venezuelan oil minister Pedro Tellechea told Reuters last week, adding that in some contracts digital currencies might be the preferred payment method.
The US dollar is the preferred currency for transactions in the global oil market. Even though they are emerging in some countries, payments in cryptocurrency are not frequent.
Tether said in an email it respects the US Treasury’s list of sanctioned entities and “is committed to working to ensure sanction addresses are frozen promptly.”
Venezuela looks to crypto
Last year, PDVSA was rocked by a corruption scandal after the discovery of some $21 billion in unaccounted receivables for oil exports in recent years, partially related to prior transactions involving other cryptocurrencies.
The nation’s oil exports have increased under Tellechea, who took over Venezuela’s oil ministry following the scandal. Encouraged by U.S. licenses allowing sales, exports reached some 900,000 barrels per day in March, the highest in four years.
By the end of the first quarter, PDVSA had moved many spot oil deals not involving swaps to a contract model demanding prepayment for half of each cargo’s value in USDT.
PDVSA also is requiring any new customer applying to conduct oil transactions to hold cryptocurrency in a digital wallet.
In October, when Washington issued the six-month license that allowed trading houses and former PDVSA customers to resume business with Venezuela, most of them resorted to intermediaries to meet the digital transaction requirements.
“USDT transactions, as PDVSA is demanding them to be, don’t pass any trader’s compliance department, so the only way to make it work is working with an intermediary,” one trader told Reuters, referring to how unusual it still is to pay for oil in digital currencies.
PDVSA has relied on middlemen for its own oil sales, especially to China, since the US in 2020 imposed secondary sanctions on Venezuela, disrupting its relationship with large trading partners.
The volcanic winter of 536 AD that spread chaos around the globe is regarded as one of the worst years in human history. Public domain
Determining which year in human history was the worst to be alive is subjective and there are many contenders for the top post.
Among them 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic that claimed the lives of millions of people and shut down whole countries. Periods marked by large-scale violence and atrocities like World War II are also contenders.
Further back 1918 was horrific when the Spanish Flu pandemic infected one-third of the global population, killing an estimated 50-100 million people. The 1347-1351 period was stigmatized with the Black Death pandemic that devastated Europe, killing an estimated 30-50 percent of the population.
Was 535 AD the worst year ever?
However many historians and scientists argue that the worst year to be alive was 536 AD due to a series of devastating events that plunged much of the world into chaos.
A massive volcanic eruption, or possibly a series of eruptions, shrouded the Northern Hemisphere in a veil of ash and dust. This blocked sunlight for an estimated 18 months, causing a dramatic drop in global temperatures. This phenomenon is known as the volcanic winter of 536.
The plummeting temperatures led to widespread crop failures. With crops unable to grow, people faced starvation across Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.
Weakened by hunger and harsh conditions, populations became more susceptible to disease. The Plague of Justinian, believed to be bubonic plague, emerged in 541 AD and devastated the Eastern Roman Empire, further worsening the situation.
These events had a ripple effect, impacting societies for years to come. The famine and disease caused widespread death and social disruption. The volcanic winter ushered in a period of cold weather known as the Late Antique Little Ice Age, which lasted until around 560 AD.
Medieval historian Michael McCormick from Harvard University said recently that 536 “was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year.”
“For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during the whole year,” wrote Byzantine historian Procopius.
Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell 1.5°C to 2.5°C, initiating the coldest decade in the past 2300 years. Snow fell that summer in China; crops failed; and people starved. The Irish chronicles record “a failure of bread from the years 536–539.”
Then, in 541, bubonic plague struck the Roman port of Pelusium, in Egypt. What came to be called the Plague of Justinian spread rapidly, wiping out one-third to one-half of the population of the eastern Roman Empire and hastening its collapse, McCormick told Science magazine.
Massive volcanic eruptions in Europe and North America
McCormick’s team reported that a cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed ash across the Northern Hemisphere early in 536. Two other massive eruptions followed, in 540 and 547. The repeated blows, followed by plague, plunged Europe into economic stagnation that lasted until 640.
A research team led by Michael Sigl of the University of Bern, found recently that nearly every unusually cold summer over the past 2500 years was preceded by a volcanic eruption.
A massive eruption—perhaps in North America, the team suggested—stood out in late 535 or early 536; another followed in 540. Sigl’s team concluded that the double blow explained the prolonged dark and cold.
