An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasted off from Kazakhstan early this morning and went into orbit amid fears Moscow might use it to improve its surveillance of military targets in Ukraine.
A live feed from Russian space agency Roscosmos showed the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying the Khayyam satellite from the Russia-controlled Baikonur cosmodrome at the scheduled time of 6.52am (London).
Iran, which has maintained ties with Moscow and refrained from criticism of the Ukraine invasion, has sought to deflect suspicions that Moscow could use Khayyam to spy on Ukraine.
Last week, The Washington Post quoted anonymous Western intelligence officials as saying that Russia "plans to use the satellite for several months or longer" to assist its war efforts before allowing Iran to take control.
But the Iranian Space Agency said on Sunday that the Islamic republic would control the Khayyam satellite "from day one".
"No third country is able to access the information" sent by the satellite due to its "encrypted algorithm," it said.
Germany's economy will lose more than 260 billion euros (£220 billion) in added value by 2030 due to the Ukraine war and high energy prices, spelling negative effects for the labour market, according to a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB).
In comparison with expectations for a peaceful Europe, Germany's price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) will be 1.7pc lower next year and there will be about 240,000 fewer people in employment, said the study published on Tuesday.
The employment level is expected to stay at around this level until 2026, when expansive measures will gradually begin to outweigh the negative effects and lead to a plus of about 60,000 gainfully employed in 2030.
One of the big losers will be the hospitality industry, which was already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and is likely to feel the pinch of consumers' waning purchasing power.
Energy-intensive sectors, such as the chemical industry and metal production, are also especially likely to be affected.
If energy prices, which have so far shot up by 160pc, were to double again, Germany's 2023 economic output would be almost 4pc lower than it would have been without the war, according to the study. Under these assumptions, 660,000 fewer people would be employed after three years and still 60,000 fewer in 2030, it said.