Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Pedro Guiamat	Pedro Guiamat	Jemaah Islamiyah	Southeast Asia				20050630
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Europe

Spain hit by more blackouts as 'tens of thousands' left without power in Canary Islands

2025-05-10

[Daily Mail, where America get its news] A power outage hit several areas of the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands on Thursday, just a week after national outages.

Local media reported that thousands of locals and holidaymakers across the island were left without power for nearly two hours after a blackout occurred at around 10am local time.

The affected areas included Los Llanos de Aridane, Breña Alta, Santa Cruz de La Palma and Fuencaliente.

More than twenty towns were left without in the dark in these areas, stretching from north to south of the island, before Endesa and Red Eléctrica begun working on restoring power.

Javier Llamas, the mayor of the town of Aridane, told a local radio station at around midday that: 'More than half of the power outage has already been restored.'

Local media reports explained how the power outage could potentially affect up to 30,000 people in La Palma.

'The source is unknown for now, but everything points to a problem at the Los Guinchos power plant,' La Radio Canaria said.

La Palma was not affected by the massive blackout that hit most of Spain and Portugal, including their capitals, Madrid and Lisbon, on April 28.

Airports were disabled, and shops and offices were left in the dark.

Traffic was gridlocked, flights were grounded, and trains were suspended while people waited to be rescued from elevators and were left without water supplies.

Whole cities were cut off with mobile networks, Wi-Fi, ATMs and card machines inoperative during the disruption, which began around 12.30pm last Monday.

Renfe, the national rail operator in Spain, confirmed the outage and its impact in a statement at the time.

'At 12:30 p.m., the entire national electricity grid was cut off. Trains stopped and there were no departures at any station,' the statement said.

By 7am local time on April 29, more than 99 per cent of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country's electricity operator Red Eléctrica said.

Portuguese grid operator REN said the following morning all the 89 power substations had been back online since late the night before and power had been restored to all 6.4million customers.

'We have never had a complete collapse of the system,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a televised address following the chaos.

He described the problem in the European grid as a 'strong oscillation' and added that the cause was still being determined.

Sanchez asked the public to refrain from speculation and said no theory about the cause of the outage had been discarded.

He also thanked the governments of France and Morocco where energy was being pulled from to restore power to north and southern Spain.

Link

Caribbean-Latin America

‘Precise Operation' ‐ Marco Rubio Announces Daring Rescue of Venezuela Regime Hostages

2025-05-08

[Breitbart] U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that the five Venezuelan dissidents trapped in the shut down Argentine embassy in Caracas for 14 months were rescued in a "precise operation" and are now on U.S. soil.

"The U.S. welcomes the successful rescue of all hostages held by the Maduro regime at the Argentinian Embassy in Caracas," Rubio said. "Following a precise operation, all hostages are now safely on U.S. soil. Maduro’s illegitimate regime has undermined Venezuela’s institutions, violated human rights, and endangered our regional security."

"We extend our gratitude to all personnel involved in this operation and to our partners who assisted in securing the safe liberation of these Venezuelan heroes," the secretary of state added.

Although Sec. Rubio did not disclose details of the rescue operation, "unobjectionable sources" confirmed to the Argentine outlet Infobae that "it was a military operation commanded from the United States." Neither socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro — who was just arriving in Russia at the time of Rubio’s announcement — nor any regime member or Venezuelan propaganda outlet has publicly commented on the matter at press time.

The five Venezuelan dissidents — Pedro Urruchurtu, Magallí Meda, Claudia Macero, Humberto Villalobos, and Ómar González — are close associates of María Corina Machado, who leads Venezuela’s only mainstream center-right party, Vente Venezuela. The now-rescued five dissidents sought shelter in the Argentine embassy in March 2024 after Venezuelan authorities issued arrest warrants and remained there up until the unspecified rescue operation.

A sixth dissident, 70-year-old Fernando Martínez Mottola, was also part of the group sheltered in the embassy, but voluntarily turned himself in to Venezuelan authorities in December. Martínez Mottola died from a stroke in February.

The group was among those targeted by the "Bolivarian Fury," a violent dissident crackdown campaign Maduro launched in 2024. Maduro justified the crackdown by claiming that those targeted were involved in dubious and unproven assassination plots against him and other members of his authoritarian regime.

Maduro launched the crackdown campaign shortly after receiving a generous oil and gas sanctions relief package from former U.S. President Joe Biden in exchange for vague promises that he would take actions leading to the holding of a "free and fair election."

No such free election took place in Venezuela. Instead, Maduro held a fraudulent "election" on July 28, 2024, proclaimed himself the "winner" while refusing to show any kind of documentation corroborating the claimed results, and launched an even more brutal dissident crackdown campaign. The opposition candidate in the sham election, 75-year-old diplomat Edmundo González, fled to Spain in September while Machado, who was banned from running, remains in hiding facing threats of arrest.

The Maduro regime repeatedly refused to grant safe passage to the dissidents, forcing them to remain inside the embassy for 14 months. The regime kept the embassy itself in a constant state of siege, cutting its access to running water and power, stealing the building’s fuse box, and constantly harassing the dissidents, among other actions.

After Maduro cut ties with Argentina and several other countries that refused to acknowledge his "victory" in the sham July 2024 election, Brazil agreed to take custody of the Argentine embassy and the sheltered dissidents in August. A month later, the Maduro regime revoked Brazil’s custody permission. Brazil responded to Venezuela at the time that it would nevertheless continue to protect the Argentine embassy and the Venezuelan dissidents until the government of President Javier Milei designated another country "acceptable" to the Venezuelan regime.

President Milei welcomed the unspecified rescue operation and the dissidents’ transfer to the United States in a statement on Tuesday expressing gratitude to those involved — especially thanking Rubio for his "personal commitment" to the operation, "which has made it possible for these true heroes to finally regain their freedom."

Link

Europe

What could have caused the major power outage in Spain and Portugal?

2025-05-03

[EuroNews] POSSIBLE GRID ISSUES
Onyema Nduka, a senior lecturer in power sustainability at the University of London, said that power networks are normally interconnected because the generation plants that power them are located far away from the cities.

That means that a power cut in one part of the grid could "lead to a cascading effect in other areas".

"Ideally, redundancies are built into the system, such as having multiple supply points, backup generators sited at different locations, interconnected wires and cables etc," he said.

The solution is for energy companies to restore electricity to the affected customers as soon as possible, but the procedure for completing this feat "has not yet been revealed," Nduka added.

Portuguese officials quoted by the AP and local media have so far blamed the outage on unspecified technical issues that stem from outside the country, but noted that the investigation is still ongoing.

CYBERATTACK RULED OUT BY SOME, NOT ALL
Juanma Moreno, president of the Andalusian regional government, said on Monday that a cyberattack has not been ruled out and advised citizens to be cautious.

However, the cyberattack claim has been refuted by officials, including Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s premier, Luis Montenegro, Portugal’s prime minister, and Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council.

"Spain has mechanisms to deal with these types of situations," Sanchez posted on social media platform X.

"Once again, I appeal to the public to cooperate with all authorities and act responsibly and civilly, as we have always done".

The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Centre also said in a statement that there was no indication the outage was due to a cyberattack.

In comments to Euronews, Taco Engelaar, managing director at energy infrastructure experts Neara, posited that the interconnectivity of the national grids and their systems would mean a fault or attack would have the same net result.

"Such a widespread grid failure is extremely unusual and could be caused by a number of things: there could be a physical fault in the grid which brings down power, a coordinated cyberattack could be behind it, or a dramatic imbalance between demand and supply has tipped the grid system over the edge," he said.

"If it's a system fault, then the interconnectivity between different regional and national grids could be leading to the large footprint of outages we're seeing today [Monday]," he added.

"The same goes for a cyberattack - lots of these systems are connected and share assets - taking down one could take down many".

Link

Europe

Spain and Portugal begin restoring power supply after blackout

2025-04-29

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In Spain and Portugal, power has been partially restored after a massive power outage on the Iberian Peninsula. This is reported by the Reuters agency.

Officials from both countries said the reasons for the outage were unclear, with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro stressing there was "no indication" a cyberattack was to blame.

"We do not yet have definitive information about the causes of this (power outage. - Ed.)," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez noted in his address to the nation.

According to him, almost 50% of electricity supply has been restored in Spain by now. The country's leadership was forced to resort to using fuel reserves, he added.

The agency notes that in Spain, power began to return to the Basque Country and Barcelona early in the day, and to some parts of Madrid on Monday evening.

Power supply also gradually began to be restored in various municipalities in Portugal late in the evening, including Lisbon, as well as in the cities of Porto and Coimbra.

In some parts of the Pyrenees, the power outage lasted more than 9 hours. Local media reported that the Spanish and Portuguese began stocking up on food and water amid the outages.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, a large-scale power outage in Spain and Portugal occurred on April 28. Traffic was in chaos on city streets due to the shutdown of traffic lights, there were disruptions at the Madrid-Barajas International Airport, and the operation of the Lisbon Airport was paralyzed.

The Spanish government called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council in connection with the blackout. Among others, the Prime Minister, the Chief of the General Staff and the Director of the country's intelligence service were summoned to it.

Sky News, citing information from Portuguese electricity grid operator Redes Energéticas Nacionais, reported that a "rare atmospheric phenomenon" was the cause of the widespread power outage in Spain and Portugal.

According to the TV channel, the blackout affected Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Lisbon in particular. Water supply stations were left without electricity, and the Internet was down. Restoration work is underway. At the same time, the situation in Spain has begun to normalize.

At the same time, another Portuguese power grid operator, E-Redes, said that the blackout was caused by problems with the European power supply system. Officially, the reasons for the large-scale accident have not yet been named.

Link

Europe

Spain’s leftist government in jeopardy after PM backtracks on cancellation of Israeli bullets order

2025-04-25

[IsraelTmes] Smaller partners of minority government accuse Pedro Sanchez of ‘breach of contract’ after he includes already agreed upon 6 million-euro bullet purchase in defense spending boost

A decision by Spain’s Socialist government to backtrack on a promise to cancel a contract to buy bullets from an Israeli firm drew a rebuke on Wednesday from its junior coalition partners, with some allies threatening to withdraw support.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government has struggled to pass legislation since securing a new term by cobbling together an alliance of left-wing and regional separatist parties in 2023.

On Wednesday, the ministry said it had been advised by Spain’s state attorney that breaking the contract would have meant paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.

On Tuesday, Sanchez angered far-left junior partner Sumar after unveiling a plan to boost defense spending.

Spain is a long-time critic of Israel’s policies toward Paleostinians in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
and the West Bank, and has outraged Jerusalem by recognizing Paleostinian statehood last May, along with Norway and Ireland.

Sanchez’s government pledged to stop selling arms to Israel shortly after October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas
Hamas

..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
-led bully boyz stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Last year, the government widened that commitment to include weapons purchases from Israel.

Sumar, a platform of left-wing parties that controls five ministries led by deputy premier Yolanda Diaz, said Wednesday that the decision to go forward with the arms purchase was "a flagrant violation" of the alliance’s coalition agreement with Sanchez’s Socialists.

"We demand the immediate rectification of this contract," Sumar said in a statement.

Spain’s Interior Ministry said last October it was canceling a contract worth 6.6 million euros ($7.53 million) to buy more than 15 million 9-millimeter rounds from Guardian LTD Israel.

On Wednesday, the ministry said it had been advised by Spain’s state attorney that breaking the contract would have meant paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.

*Snicker*

Guardian LTD Israel did not immediately comment on the decision.

Izquierda Unida (United Left) politician Enrique Santiago, whose party is part of Sumar, suggested there were legal grounds to cancel the contract without paying, but that even "a breach of contract of only about six million [euros] will be applauded by the whole country."

Asked if IU could abandon the coalition government, he told news hounds: "We are currently considering all scenarios."

Before the news of the ammunition contract broke, Diaz had said her group disagreed with the increase in defense spending, particularly a plan to procure more weapons, but that the coalition was in good health and would see out the legislative term ending in 2027.

Link

Economy

China raises tariffs on US goods to 125% as it slams Trump for 'defying basic economic laws and common sense'

2025-04-12

"We have all this cheap crap stuck in ports and ships. Buy now!"
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] China will raise its tariffs against the U.S. to 125% from Saturday in the latest escalation in the burgeoning trade war, the finance ministry announced today.

The new duties are a significant climb from the 84% announced on Wednesday, rising to meet the current U.S. tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.

Beijing said that the U.S. tariffs against China defy 'basic economic laws and common sense' after Donald Trump raised the rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

A statement from the finance ministry said the imposition of 'abnormally high tariffs' amounted to 'unilateral bullying and coercion'.

China's tariff hike only moves in line with Trump's latest raft of duties; Washington said yesterday the 125% announced Wednesday compounded an existing 20%.

Beijing did say that it would not respond to any more tariffs imposed by the U.S.

The Trump administration has kept up the pressure on China despite climbing down from high, and varied, duties on dozens of other trading partners this week.

While the EU now faces a baseline 10% rate pending 90 days for negotiations, leaders are still contemplating countermeasures should talks falter.

Meeting with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday, Xi Jinping urged cooperation with China to resist what he called 'unilateral bullying' from the U.S.

The three-month reprieve on hefty tariffs against 57 countries followed 'pressure from China', Beijing said in a show of goodwill.

'China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities... and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,' Xi said on Friday, state news agency Xinhua reported.

This, he stressed, would not only 'safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also... safeguard international fairness and justice.'

Sanchez, in turn, told a press conference following his meeting with Xi that tensions over trade should not impede cooperation between the European Union and China.

Spain buys about 45 billion euros ($49.1 billion) of goods every year from China, its fourth-largest trading partner, but sells around 7.4 billion euros' worth.

'Both Spain and Europe have a significant trade deficit with China that we must work to rectify,' he admitted.

But, he said, 'we must not let trade tensions stand in the way of the potential growth of the relationship between China and Spain and between China and the EU'.

Sanchez broke with the rest of the European Union on his last trip to China in September 2024, urging the bloc to reconsider plans to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric cars and calling for a 'fair trade order'.

China has found itself largely isolated in Trump's trade war, heavily penalised with tariffs as the new administration looks to encourage domestic manufacturing.

There is no winner in a tariff war, and going against the world will only push the U.S. into self-isolation, President Xi said during his meeting with Sanchez.

Beijing has vowed not to shy away from the fight should Trump insist upon his economic conflict with China.

But Xi did say any further tariff hikes from the U.S. would be 'ignored' by China.

'Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy,' he said, per CNBC.

China's mission to the World Trade Organization did, however, say today that it had filed an additional complaint to the trade body over U.S. tariffs.

'On 10 April, the United States issued the Executive Order, announcing a further increase of the so-called 'reciprocal tariff' on Chinese products.

'China filed a WTO complaint against United States' latest tariff measures,' the statement from China's mission said, citing a ministry of commerce spokesperson.

With tensions mounting, Elon Musk's Tesla suspended new orders on its Model S and Model X electric cars in China.

Musk has tried to maintain cordial ties with Beijing. China represents a huge market for the car manufacturer and extracts precious metals used in its batteries.

In Shanxi, China, jewelry stores raised large red banners announcing that American customers would face 104 per cent 'service fees' in store.

The Zhangji BBQ Beef Offal Restaurant in Wuhan lifted similar banners, local media reports.

Meanwhile, China's e-commerce giant JD.com said on Friday it would launch a 200 billion yuan ($27.35 billion) fund to help the country's exporters sell their products domestically over the next year, as a U.S.-China trade war intensifies.

JD.com said in a statement that it would send its employees to Chinese companies involved in foreign trade, directly purchase their 'high-quality products' and set up a special area on its e-commerce platform to sell these products and direct traffic and marketing support to this area.

Separately on Friday, supermarket chain Freshippo, owned by JD.com rival Alibaba and known as Hema in Chinese, said it had opened a fast-track path for export companies to explore the domestic market.

The support programmes for Chinese exporters could help them re-coup some of their losses stemming from reduced sales overseas by quickly starting or increasing domestic sales, although they will face intense competition in a slowing economy.

Like JD.com, Freshippo will set up a special zone on its platform where only products from these companies will be sold.

It said it will also make it easier for exporters to get on its platform by simplifying registration procedures and would allow these exporters to make use of the company's warehouse network.

In a twist on the trade war, social media users have relished in content poking fun at the Trump administration and its radical tariff regime.

A trend has emerged of AI-generated videos circulated on TikTok and Chinese app Douyin depicting Trump and his White House staffers working in sweatshops.

One video showed Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance, stitching MAGA hats in a factory.

'Factories are being located to the United States,' read the overlay in Mandarin, next to three laughing emojis.

Another video circulating this week showed Trump, Elon Musk and JD Vance working on a production line making trainers.

Concerns mount that should the economic stand-off with China continue, consumer goods like the Nike shoes featured in the viral video could skyrocket in price.

At the moment, 62 per cent of the shoes sold in the United States are imported from China, with other nations like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and India providing the rest. Just one per cent of shoes are produced domestically.

China is a key trading partner with a large manufacturing industry, producing huge quantities of inexpensive goods for American consumers.

Good to know.

Link

Europe

'Facing the threat from Putin': Is Spain ready to send troops to Ukraine

2025-03-06

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Vladimir Dobrynin

[REGNUM] Unexpectedly for many, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez showed demonstrative concern for Ukraine, publicly promising it a billion euros of Spanish generosity. But money alone will not do in this matter. In Europe, there is talk of sending troops to Ukraine.

No sooner had the sounds of the latest speech about military support for Ukraine died down at the London meeting of the heads of 12 European countries than the Spanish TV channel LaSexta immediately began to find out whether Spanish politicians from the parties represented in parliament agreed with the idea of sending troops.

95.2% of Socialist MPs, 87.5% of the leftist Sumar party, and 77.2% of the opposition People's Party voted in favor of sending military units to Ukraine.

The right-wing populist group Vox came out strongly against this initiative - 77.8% of its deputies rejected the proposal to send troops, while only 20.4% were in favor. However, given the small number of right-wing "ultras" in Congress, the final percentage of those who supported sending troops to Ukraine was simply overwhelming - 81.7%.

True, one can assume that the opinion of ordinary Spaniards will differ greatly from what the deputies showed, but the television people did not poll the street on this topic.

In an interview with the Telecinco (Fifth Button) television channel, the head of Spanish diplomacy, José Manuel Albarez, expressed a reserved attitude towards the possibility of sending troops to ensure peace in Ukraine.

This measure, according to the head of the Spanish Foreign Ministry, is part of the points agreed upon this Sunday at a meeting of Western leaders in London under the leadership of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and in the presence of the head of the Kiev regime, Volodymyr Zelensky. Agreed upon, but not yet approved, Albarez emphasized.

“It seems to me premature to talk about peacekeeping forces when there is still no peace and when we still do not know whether what some call peace is just a ceasefire that will become chronic, or, even worse, just an intermediate stage between two wars,” the minister said rather confusingly on Monday.

Prime Minister Sánchez declined to comment on the recent talks between the "coalition of the willing," as the Spanish press calls the group of European dignitaries meeting in London. This behavior gave opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who leads the Popular Party, the opportunity to take another jab at his political rival.

"In the current circumstances, we are forced to insist that the Prime Minister disclose to the members of Congress both the content of the initiatives to establish peace in Ukraine and specify what is meant by the 1 billion euros he recently promised in aid to Kiev, " El Periodico quotes Feijóo as saying. "We must know where our government is leading us."

The publication's correspondent Ivan Khil believes that "Pedro Sanchez is trying to remove the issue of sending troops to Ukraine on a peacekeeping mission from the agenda at the European level. And here he has to fight against the Starmer-Macron tandem, who again and again insist on the need to introduce a NATO peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine."

It was not possible to find confirmation of the Spanish Prime Minister’s peaceful attitude in other publications in the kingdom.

"In Moncloa (the seat of the Spanish government. - Ed.) they assure that they are not avoiding debates in parliament on the topic of participation in the NATO peacekeeping mission, " an anonymous source in the government assured Gil. "But they simply believe that the time has not yet come. There is no point in talking about anything until an agreement on at least a ceasefire in Ukraine is signed."

Other government sources give the impression that peace on the terms demanded by European countries is still a long way off. Even if talks take place in the short term, they say, the debate over troop deployment will be nuanced, starting with whether peacekeepers will operate under the flag of the North Atlantic alliance, the United Nations or the EU.

Foreign Minister Albarez assured that Spain will be "among those who write history" as a "leading actor" in the decisions taken, and not as a secondary player "uncritically joining the consensus."

For this reason, he "did not close the door" to sending Spanish troops to Ukraine on a "peacekeeping mission." However, he would like to stress that the current discussion is "political and diplomatic, not military and implementation-oriented."

In connection with the issue of sending troops to Ukraine, Spanish politicians are also discussing the EU and NATO directives calling for each of the alliance member states to increase their defense spending to 2% of annual GDP. Madrid “still aims to achieve this figure by 2029.” In other words: we’ll try sometime later. There is no money here and now.

Sanchez intends to take steps to strengthen European defense "in the face of the threat posed by Putin." At the same time, the Spanish Prime Minister expects that both Spain and the EU as a whole will be able to achieve this "outside the national budgets." That is, by creating another fund of hundreds of billions of euros, which will have to be borrowed from somewhere and then gradually repaid.

Such debts may have to be repaid over several decades, some experts believe.

They also do not rule out that the same thing could happen to this fund as happened to the billions with which the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, “on behalf and on behalf” of the European Union and “in one person,” purchased several billion doses of the so-called anti-Covid vaccine from Pfizer.

The court, the prosecutor's office and a team of investigative journalists are now working to clarify the details of this operation.

Several small parliamentary factions representing small parties in Spain are not thrilled with the “two percent prospect” (and also with the proposed introduction of troops into Ukraine).

For example, the once-powerful but now dwarfed Podemos party called for Spain to leave NATO. Others, such as the Catalan ERC and the Basque EH Bildu, took a less radical stance, merely questioning the need for increased defense spending. Vox simply declared that it would not accept the idea of sending Spanish troops “beyond NATO’s eastern border.”

ElPeriodico's anonymous experts independently expressed a unanimous opinion that Sánchez will bet on dragging out the troop-sending talks, possibly in the hope that the situation will somehow resolve itself.

Link

Europe

Europe’s dangerous delusion of defense without the US

2025-03-03

[Asia Times: Uwe Parpart] Europe can dream about strategic autonomy but the reality is it wholly lacks the military means to defy Trump’s Ukraine peace plan

US President Donald Trump unceremoniously showed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky the door following an acrimonious exchange at the White House on Friday. Trump’s angry words for Zelensky were televised for all of America to hear, and no doubt shocked many in the viewing audience.

“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump said. “You’re not winning. You’re not winning this. But you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.”

Just as shocked as the American TV audience about Trump’s blunt “make a deal or you’re on your own message” were the US’s European allies and rushed to pledge their support for Zelensky and condemn Trump –moves and words they may soon live to regret.

European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa jointly tweeted: “Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President@ZelenskyyUa.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you”; his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk wrote: “Dear [Zelensky], dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.”

Incoming German chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed a tweet directly to “Dear Volodymyr” and vowed to stand with Ukraine “in good and in testing times.”

Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Keir Starmer chimed in with similar profundities.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat and former prime minister of Estonia, outgunned them all: “Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor. Today it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”

Most of them were scheduled to meet the Ukrainian leader on March 2 in London for a summit on Ukraine organized by Prime Minister Starmer. Zelensky was set to be honorably hosted by King Charles III at his Sandringham country retreat.

As a welcome to London on Saturday, Zelensky was handed a 2.6 billion pound check (a loan), a down payment on the UK’s “standing with you as long as it takes to protect the integrity of your country.”

Hit the link for the actual opinion piece. It's painfully accurate.

Painfully blunt as well. Mr. Parpart, who served in the West German military in the decade before the Berlin Wall fell, explains that at the current procurement rate some German weapons systems will take a century to be fully supplied.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 24, 2025

2025-02-25

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 19.00 The UN General Assembly supported a resolution on the third anniversary of the Russian war against Ukraine. The document was prepared by the Ukrainian side and its partners.

The document entitled Promoting a Comprehensive, Just and Lasting Peace in Ukraine was supported by 93 countries. Another 65 states abstained and 18 voted against. Among those against were the United States, Russia, Israel and Hungary. However, Slovakia voted "for", while China and India abstained.

18.12 Those guilty from Russia who started the war against Ukraine should be brought to trial even after the end of the "hot phase" of hostilities. This was stated on Monday, February 24, by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a joint press conference with the leaders of partner countries at the Support Ukraine summit.

18.01 At least one person was killed as a result of Russian shelling of Slavyansk. The total number of victims is being clarified. This was reported by the head of the Donetsk OVA Vadim Filashkin on Monday, February 24.

17.55 The foreign ministers of the EU member states have supported a new initiative for military aid to Ukraine. This was stated by the EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.

17.47 US President Donald ordered an urgent review of the need for the continued operation of the base in Alexandroupolis, which the Greek government allocated to the Biden administration for the purpose of transferring forces and weapons systems to Ukraine to fight in the war unleashed by Russia, the Greek newspaper Democracy reported .

17.21 Ukraine has received 12 of the 19 F-16 fighters promised by Denmark. The rest will be delivered this year. This was stated by Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen at a special YES meeting in Kiev.

16.48 Officers of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation set off an explosion in the office of the so-called head of the illegal occupation institution "Multifunctional Center My Documents" Roman Podsudevsky in the temporarily captured city of Primorsk in the Zaporizhia region. The explosion occurred on the night of February 23. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

16.37 Russian aviation has struck a frontline settlement in the Dergachev community in the Kharkiv region. This was reported by the State Emergency Service on Monday, February 24.

According to preliminary data, four people were injured. There may still be people under the rubble of the residential building.

16.28 Since the beginning of the day, 69 combat clashes have occurred on the front. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the operational summary as of 16.00. About a third of Russian attacks are concentrated in the Pokrovsk direction. There, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are repelling assaults in the areas of 11 settlements.

16.19 The full-scale war against Ukraine, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin three years ago, has worsened the lives of 54% of Russians. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Chronicles.
15:57 Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, more than 200 civilians have died in Kiev, including 11 children. This was reported by the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko.

According to him, the air raid alarm sounded 1,539 times in total. During this time, 1,239 residential buildings were damaged, as well as 194 educational institutions, 41 healthcare institutions, and 17 social institutions.

15.32 The UK has introduced the largest package of sanctions against Russia in three years. This was reported by the British government. The new sanctions are aimed at illegal income that fuels Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine and Russian kleptocrats.

15.19 The SBU has detained two clerics of the UOC-MP who were actively disseminating enemy propaganda via social networks and messengers, calling for the seizure of Ukrainian territory. This was reported by the SBU press service on Monday, February 24.

15.00 EU countries may increase the package of additional military aid for Ukraine by a third - up to 30 billion euros. This was reported by Radio Liberty editor for Europe Rikard Jozwiak.

14.21 Russia does not yet see any preconditions for resuming dialogue with Europe. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the 15th package of sanctions against Russia approved by the EU. The actions of the Europeans are in complete contrast to the recent actions of the Americans, Dmitry Peskov stated.

13:53 The Irish government plans to transfer some of its outdated air defense systems to Ukraine to protect cities and small towns. This was reported by The Irish Times on Monday, February 24.

In particular, Ireland will transfer Giraffe Mark IV radar systems to Ukraine.

13.49 Spain will provide Ukraine with military aid worth 1 billion euros by the end of 2025. This was stated by the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at the plenary session of Support Ukraine in Kyiv. Spain will also address the needs of the Ukrainian diaspora and create a special hub in the province of Alicante.

13.42 A former Odessa MP from the pro-Russian Rodina party , who accompanied a column of Russian troops to Kiev, has been charged with high treason and war propaganda. This was reported on Monday, February 24, by the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) on its Telegram channel.

13:34 The National Bank has minted a new commemorative coin " Let's fight !" for the third anniversary of the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

13:19 Russian troops attacked one of the residential areas of Kherson on the night of February 24. As a result of enemy shelling, a man was killed. This was reported by the press service of the State Emergency Service on Monday, February 24.

13:00 Canada will provide Ukraine with a new package of military aid and 5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.52 billion) received from frozen Russian assets. This was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the plenary session of Support Ukraine in Kyiv. This includes armored vehicles, equipment for F-16s, millions of additional ammunition and other equipment.

12:58 Russia's ground forces have changed radically over the three years of full-scale war in Ukraine. Russia now relies on mass rather than quality to continue the war against Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence reports.

12.38 Europe must be at the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine, since it, its way of life and security are strategic targets of Russia. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the plenary session of the Support Ukraine forum in Kyiv.

12:29 President Volodymyr Zelensky recalled that Russia has violated ceasefire agreements more than 25 times since 2014. He said this in Kiev during the plenary session of the Support Ukraine forum on Monday, February 24.

According to the head of state, simple "silence on the front" is not enough to achieve lasting peace.

12:10 Ukraine's largest charitable foundations raised UAH 24.1 billion last year, which is 28% more than in 2023. In total, during the years of the full-scale war, Come Back Alive , the Prytula Foundation and United24 raised UAH 93 billion.

The United24 platform collected the most donations last year: UAH 17.5 billion. 92% of all donations collected by this platform were directed to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

UAH 4.4 billion, or 18% of the total donations last year, were collected by the Vernisya Alive fund . Another UAH 2.1 billion in donations were accumulated by Serhiy Prytula's fund in 2024.

11:49 Russia will stop military actions in Ukraine only when negotiations to end the war "produce a firm, sustainable result" that satisfies Moscow. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after negotiations in Ankara. He also stated that those territories of Ukraine that are already included in the Russian constitution have allegedly acquired a different "international legal status."

10:55 The European Union adopted the 16th package of sanctions against Russia on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. The EU Council announced the details of the package .

10:38 Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov opened the first part of the Memorial to Ukrainian intelligence officers in Kiev on the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.

10.30 Ukrainian military successfully hit two strategic facilities on the territory of the aggressor country Russia. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We are talking about the Ryazan Oil Refinery in the Ryazan Region and the Russian oil depot - FGKU Kombinat 8 Marta in the Tula Region.

10:15 The Security Service detained two enemy agents who were adjusting Russia's fire on Ukrainian defenders in the frontline areas of Donetsk Oblast.

Both defendants acted separately. One of them, a 47-year-old resident of the village of Dachnoye, directed Russian airstrikes on Defense Forces locations in the Pokrovsk direction. The other, a 44-year-old resident of the village of Ilyinovka near Konstantinovka, helped Russian assault groups attack the combat positions of the defenders of Chasovy Yar.

09:46 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky made a statement on the third anniversary of the war. "The world did not believe that Ukraine would survive, but the Ukrainian people are worthily holding back the enemy's attacks. We defeated the Russian offensive group, pushed the invaders back from Kiev, liberated the north of Ukraine, the Kharkiv region and Kherson," the general said.

09:11 In the suburbs of Odessa on the night of February 24, debris from a Russian drone damaged port infrastructure, the glazing and roof of a private house, as well as cars. There were no casualties.

08:45 Over the past 24 hours, 96 combat clashes have been recorded at the front. Missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit three areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, five command posts and one UAV command post of the Russians.

08:34 President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukrainians for their heroism on the occasion of the third anniversary of the start of full-scale Russian aggression.

"Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians. I am proud of Ukraine! Thank you to everyone who defends it and helps. To everyone who works for Ukraine. And eternal memory to everyone who gave their lives for our state and people," the head of state said.

08:26 On the night of February 24, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 185 Shahed-type attack drones and various types of drone imitators. The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down 113 Russian drones, and another 71 UAVs were lost.

The enemy attack affected Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions.

08:15 Rescuers have eliminated the consequences of the Russian attack in the Kyiv region. In the Brovarsky district, debris from an enemy drone hit an unfinished multi-story building. The debris caused a fire on the 23rd floor of the multi-story building.

Rescuers quickly extinguished the fire. The 51-year-old security guard of the housing complex suffered an acute stress reaction, and doctors provided him with the necessary assistance.

07:33 As of February 24, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 868,230 people (+1050 per day).

04:59 Drones attacked the Ryazan Oil Refinery. The attack caused a major fire. This is the third attack on the Ryazan Oil Refinery since the beginning of the year.

03:56 Sweden will transfer air defense systems to Ukraine worth 1.2 billion kroner (about $113 million). We are talking about the Robot 70 and Tridon Mk2 systems. And as part of international cooperation, Sweden will transfer anti-aircraft missiles already in use in Ukraine, as well as anti-aircraft weapons that can be carried by individual soldiers.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: February 18, 2025

2025-02-19

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 20:58 The situation in Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast, is critical. Russian occupiers are very close to the city along the entire front line. This was reported by the head of the Kupyansk city military administration, Andrey Besedin, on the Espresso TV channel.

20.31 The European Union is considering a new military aid package for Ukraine worth at least six billion euros to strengthen the country's strategic position ahead of negotiations with Russia, Politico reports, citing three diplomatic sources.

19.48 Sending Chinese peacekeepers to Ukraine is a hypothetical question, so China refuses to comment on such rumors. This was stated by the spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guo Jiakong during a briefing when he was asked to comment on rumors that the United States is offering China to send its soldiers to peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after the end of the war.

19:05 Mobilization activities have begun in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk Oblast. This was reported by the National Resistance Center. The occupiers plan to begin the so-called conscription in March-April 2025. This will allow them to disguise the mobilization as an annual conscription campaign in Russia.

18:58 The 28th separate mechanized brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign already has about 400 applications in three days since the start of the Contract 18-24 project. This was reported by the head of the recruiting group of the 28th separate mechanized brigade Denis Bystry on the air of the telethon.

18.41 Another array of data on foreign components in Russian weapons, including in attack drones, which the enemy is using in the war against Ukraine, has been published on the War&Sanctions portal. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense.

18:35 Neither side will win the war between Ukraine and Russia by force of arms. A transition to diplomacy is needed, but it must "lead to a fair peace." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in Ankara during a joint briefing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

17:41 The war between Ukraine and Russia must end on terms that suit both sides. Only then will peace be long-lasting. This was stated by US Secretary of State Mark Rubio at a briefing following negotiations with the Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia.

17.09 President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled his visit to Saudi Arabia, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday. He said this in Ankara at a joint briefing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Ukrainian leader "does not want coincidences" and to be in Saudi Arabia when Russian representatives are there.

16.45 Since the beginning of the current day, 109 combat clashes have occurred on the front in 10 directions. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the details in the operational summary as of 16:00.

16.19 The American side now wants to please Vladimir Putin in order to quickly achieve success, but a ceasefire in Ukraine is not a success. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with the German TV channel ARD.

15.57 Russian aggressors carried out an airstrike on the village of Zolochiv in the Bogodukhov community on Tuesday, February 18. An administrative building was destroyed, residential buildings and commercial facilities were damaged. This was reported by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

14.15 At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, extinguishing of two cells of smoldering roof insulation continues and work is underway to partially open the shelter structures.

According to the State Emergency Service, the radiation level at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant industrial site does not exceed the norm, there is no threat to the population, and the situation is under control.

13:40 The Security Service detained an FSB agent in Khmelnitsky. The 37-year-old, mobilized to a local military unit on orders from the Russians, adjusted missile strikes on the city.

As an unmanned systems operator, the "mole" used the regular UAVs to track potential targets. The agent also installed a hidden mini-camera with remote access for the FSB opposite the region's railway junction.

13:10 Moscow believes that it is the sovereign right of any state to join the European Union, including Ukraine, and has a different approach to military alliances. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing.

12:48 The European Union is preparing the largest defense package for Ukraine, Western media report. We are talking about a sum of up to 700 billion euros. This is such a large package that it has never been seen before in such a dimension, noted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

12:20 The participation of the DPRK army in the war against Ukraine will have long-term consequences for the security system in the Asia-Pacific region. This was stated by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov.

He emphasized that the Russian Federation and the DPRK are deepening military cooperation in the field of technology. Thus, at first the accuracy of the North Korean KN-23 missile was very low, with an error of 500 to 1,500 meters, but Russian specialists made technical modifications. Now the missile has become much more accurate and threatens the security of South Korea and Japan.

11:50 The Ministry of Defense has codified and approved for use in the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the unmanned aerial systems U13 and U15 of Ukrainian production.

FPV drones U13 and U15 are designed to destroy protected firing positions, armored vehicles and enemy manpower. The copters are equipped with powerful electric motors. The "birds" of these systems are less vulnerable to enemy electronic countermeasures and can be used in various meteorological conditions.

11:39 As a result of repatriation measures, the bodies of 7,017 fallen defenders have been returned to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war with Russia. A total of 75 repatriations were carried out, Ukrayinska Pravda reported, citing a comment from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

11:18 Russian invaders attacked Konstantinovka twice with FPV drones. Five people were injured, including the head of the city military administration (GVA) Sergey Gorbunov. This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

10:51 Direct talks between the US and Russia on Ukraine have begun in the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, but without the participation of Kiev itself and representatives of European countries. The main goal of the meeting is "real normalization of relations" between Russia and the US, the Kremlin noted.

And the State Department said that the US wants to find out the Kremlin's intentions during the talks with Russian representatives, and the details of the peace agreement will not be discussed.

10:30 The Security Service detained a Russian agent in the Kyiv region - the head of the department of social, educational and psychological work of one of the correctional colonies of the capital region, recruited by the FSB. The man "leaked" information to the Russians about former prisoners who were fighting in the ranks of the assault units of the Defense Forces on the front lines.

09:35 Russian military attacked Ukraine with 176 Shahed attack UAVs and drone imitators of various types.

The downing of 103 Shahed attack UAVs and other types of drones was confirmed in the Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. 67 enemy drone imitators were lost.

The Kirovograd, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Cherkasy regions suffered from the enemy attack.

09:22 On the morning of February 18, rescuers are still continuing to eliminate the consequences of the Russian drone hitting the sarcophagus at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The radiation status is under constant control. Fluctuations in current values are within the usual limits for each point.

09:05 As a result of Russian strikes on the city of Orekhov in the Zaporizhia region, one person was killed. The body of an 80-year-old man was pulled out from under the rubble of a house.

08:37 In Cherkasy Oblast, the night alarm lasted for almost six hours. Air defense forces shot down 26 Russian drones within the region. In Cherkasy District, four houses and a garage were damaged by debris. Windows were knocked out, and roofs were damaged in some places. A car was also damaged.

08:25 Over the past 24 hours, 139 combat clashes have been recorded at the front. The largest number of attacks by Russian troops were recorded in the Pokrovsky and Novopavlovsky directions. The defense forces hit eight areas where Russian personnel, weapons, and military equipment were concentrated.

07:48 As of February 18, 2025, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine were approximately 861,090 people (+1,170 per day).

07:20 At night, in the city of Dolinskaya in the Kirovograd region, a Russian drone hit a multi-story building during an air attack. Three people were injured - a mother and two children. They were immediately provided with medical assistance. Residents were evacuated from the building, a total of 38 apartments.

05:15 UK lawmakers from the main parties want to put Prime Minister Keir Starmer's proposal to send troops to Ukraine as part of the post-war process to a vote. The MPs say they believe lawmakers should be involved in any decision to deploy troops to Ukraine.

05:00 US Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg will arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday, February 19, by morning train from Poland. The program of the visit, which will last three days, is still being coordinated. According to Kellogg, on Tuesday, February 18, he will go to Warsaw and from there take the night train to Kiev, where he will arrive on the morning of Wednesday, February 19.

04:42 Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that no decisions were made on the situation in Ukraine at the summit of European Union leaders held in Paris on February 17. Such meetings are aimed at consultations, but do not provide for the adoption of binding decisions. However, according to him, the summit in Paris noted the need to strengthen cooperation in strengthening European security and finding a common strategy to end the war in Ukraine.

04:20 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Europe's security directly depends on the establishment of a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion. These are "two sides of the same coin."

03:09 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron after the meeting of European leaders in Paris. According to Zelenskyy, they discussed the global situation, the situation in Europe and, in particular, a security guarantee for Ukraine. This is actually what was discussed at the meeting of EU leaders in Paris.

02:30 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke about the results of the emergency summit of European leaders in Paris. In the evening, he wrote in the X microblog that European countries are ready not only to strengthen their own security, but also to lead security guarantees for Ukraine. He did not disclose specific decisions, adding that the details require cultivation.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Border Czar Tom Homan demands apology from Illinois governor for spreading grade school ICE raid hoax

2025-01-28

[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] President Trump's border czar Tom Homan demanded an apology from Illinois governor JB Pritzker and reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown

reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown

...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
Public School CEO Pedro Martinez, after they made false claims that ICE agents showed up at a school to detain undocumented Democrat children.

After Martinez made the false claim about the ICE agents, Governor Pritzker posted to X: ''After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school. Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American.''

The claimed ICE agents, however, were members of US Secret Service who were there to investigate an unrelated matter involving threats made on TikTok. ICE agents were never at the school.

In response, Homan demanded an apology from Pritzker and said that Martinez lied about the incident: ''Pedro Martinez lied. He lied to the city of Chicago. He knew they were secret service agents, because I talked to people involved. They left their credentials. He knew exactly who was there. So he lied. Again, sowing fear in the immigrant community.

''Governor Pritzker, rather than calling ICE and asking 'did this happen,' he goes on social media and terrifies elementary schools [saying] ICE agents are walking in there. He accuses me of terrifying the community—no, he terrified the community, he terrified the children,'' Homan continued.

Link

International-UN-NGOs

Davos Discomfort: Globalists Nervous Ahead of West-West War

2025-01-26

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Savin

[REGNUM] This past week, heads of government, banks, large corporations, as well as economists and other supporters of the program that the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Klaus Schwab calls the “fourth industrial revolution” or “reset” gathered once again in Davos, Switzerland.

The WEF is also well known for working with celebrities and public figures to help advance its agenda. This time, former Spice Girl Melanie Brown was featured in Davos as a victim of domestic violence.

The speeches of many participants were a rather strange cocktail of ideas of globalism, capitalism, technological development and neoliberalism, seasoned with "democratic" rhetoric. There is no point in dwelling on all the speeches in detail; it is worth highlighting only the most striking details.

THE BEGINNING CONFRONTATION
Compared to previous forums, there was a certain nervousness in the air, caused, above all, by the return to the White House of Donald Trump, who has effectively declared war on globalism, and therefore on the agenda that the Davos Forum is promoting.

Ahead of the meeting, various economists and bankers called 2025 a difficult year that could change. And that is absolutely true: under Trump, the EU will come under greater pressure.

In his Davos speech, he accused European Union regulators of targeting Apple, Meta* and Google, calling the lawsuits against US companies a "form of taxation."

The US president specifically cited a €13 billion court case that Apple lost last year. The EU court in Luxembourg upheld a landmark 2016 ruling that Ireland had violated state aid laws by giving Apple an unfair advantage. And the money, which had been sitting in an escrow account until the final ruling, should be returned.

Given that virtually all major US tech companies support Trump (and he, accordingly, them), the White House is clearly intent on pushing the interests of these giant corporations in the EU.

In general, with the new course of US foreign policy, the globalists gathering at the WEF are unlikely to feel comfortable.
Secret depravity of the Davos global elite
Especially considering that there is a clear division in the EU between supporters and opponents of Trump.

There is, for example, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who will certainly be listening closely to signals from Washington. On the other hand, there are the heads of Germany and France, who are still having problems with the electorate.

And, of course, the most striking example of the emerging confrontation with the US is Britain, which is closely linked to the EU. Its Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with the easy help of billionaire and one of the key members of Trump's team Elon Musk, has already received the nickname "Pakistan rapist".

GLOBALIZATION IN CHINESE
The second noteworthy moment of the forum was the speeches by representatives of China. In a special address, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Ding Xuexiang called on governments to support multilateral institutions and warned against the ever-wider use of protectionist policies.

"We must jointly uphold and practice genuine multilateralism. Multilateralism is the right way to maintain world peace and promote human progress. It is the golden key to solving the difficulties and challenges facing the world," he said.

Earlier, the US administration of Barack Obama, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, advocated for the aforementioned “multilateralism”. Why is China now talking about it?

To some extent, this country is trying to replace the globalization under the auspices of the United States with its own globalization. Of course, it differs from the American one in a number of parameters, but still, from the point of view of national economies, it is the same globalization.

Under it, goods and services are displaced by Chinese ones, and the expansion of international infrastructure (the Belt and Road Initiative) serves the long-term interests of China itself, helping to saturate other countries with its goods. It is just done more gently, without the overt pressure or coercion previously practiced by Western transnational corporations.

FIGHTING "OPPONENTS OF DEMOCRACY"
As for the notable speeches of other state leaders, commenting on the US desire to have greater control over the Panama Canal, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino once again stated that the canal belongs to his country and called for respect for international agreements. He also emphasized the strength of Panama's alliance with the US.

Trump uses his menacing rhetoric and pressure as a “booster” in further negotiations, including to strengthen the US position in Central America as a whole.

In reality, a military intervention to establish control over the canal, which Panama fears, is unlikely. And the American president's harsh attacks are explained by the presence of infrastructure in the canal area, operated by China.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also spoke at the forum, calling on the EU to help “make social media great again” (to borrow Trump’s slogan) by cracking down on tech platforms he says are run by lawless tycoons.

“Tech billionaires want to overthrow democracy. This is the truth about the terrible threat we face,” Sanchez said, citing the spread of “disinformation” that fuels anti-liberal political movements. “The technology that was supposed to liberate us has become an instrument of our own oppression,” the Spanish prime minister said.

The truth is that with the advent of Trump, social media began a sharp turn away from the liberal globalist agenda, although they had previously followed it and introduced strict censorship towards any opponents and critics of it.

But now that the liberals’ criticism has “suddenly” become in demand, they immediately began to be indignant, explaining the new rhetoric as the machinations of “opponents of democracy.”

Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the forum, but he did not distinguish himself with any innovations. He was concerned that the US and Russia could reach an agreement on Ukraine, so he called on the EU to unite and continue to provide assistance to Kiev. In his opinion, Europe is interested in strengthening and repelling the “Russian threat”.

His call for NATO countries to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP surprisingly coincided with Donald Trump's demands. Although Zelensky has his own interest here - receiving further military-technical assistance.

However, it is unclear how European countries can stabilize their economies without cheap Russian gas in order to increase military spending. The EU leadership has confirmed that energy resources will become even more expensive. Therefore, increased spending, which continues to destroy the European economy, is inevitable.

Therefore, statements about the EU investment plan, which supposedly will ensure a technological breakthrough, support the “green” agenda, and strengthen collective defense, do not look very convincing.

Overall, the Davos forum leaves a strong impression that both it and the globalists' program as a whole, despite their connections and influence, continue to crack. And the most significant contribution to this is now being made by the main player in the Western world - the United States.

Link

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