Important Takeaways:
- An underwater communication cable between India and Europe in the Red Sea managed by Seacom has been cut, the company confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg today.
- The cable runs in an area where the rebel group in Yemen called the Houthis have been targeting ships with drones and missiles. Other underwater cables, namely, Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1), Europe India Gateway (EIG), and Tata Global Network (TGN) systems connecting Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Djibouti have also cut off in the Red Sea, as per a report by the Israeli publication Globes.
- Of these, the AAE-1, provides internet to a wide range of countries including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and India; EIG provides internet to 12 countries including the United Kingdom, Portugal, Egypt, and India; and TGN systems links linking Mumbai in India with Marseille in France.
- The repairs of these cables are expected to take about eight weeks and exposes those making said repairs to potential attacks by the Houthis.
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Important Takeaways:
- First Picture of B61-12 Nuclear Bomb Trainer On An F-16 In Europe Surfaces
- A picture has emerged showing an F-16 Viper fighter that appears to be sitting at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands with an inert training version, or “shape,” of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb under its wing. This offers a rare glimpse into the ongoing work to field America’s latest nuclear bomb in Europe as part of NATO’s nuclear sharing agreements.
- Volkel is one of several bases in Europe where the U.S. military keeps B61s, which could be released to select NATO members for use on their aircraft
- It is not surprising that preparations to deploy these weapons in Europe have already been going on for years now and other evidence of this has previously emerged.
- Polish authorities have been particularly open about their interest in at least hosting U.S. nuclear weapons in the future. Poland shares a border with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave, the latter of which at least has facilities to support the deployment of nuclear weapons, if they aren’t actually in place there now.
- The picture of the F-16 with the B61-12 shape under its wing, likely taken at Volkel Air Base, only further underscores that NATO very much remains a nuclear alliance and that its members are actively working toward being able to employ new capabilities in this regard.
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Important Takeaways:
- Simultaneous Tractor Protests Grip Europe From East to West
- Snow-dusted tractors lined up outside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and nighttime protests in Romania marked by vivid national flags have become markers of a farmer protest movement across Europe.
- The biggest demonstrations have been seen in France, where farmers blocked highways around Paris with their tractors
- Farmers blocked more traffic arteries across Belgium, France and Italy on Wednesday, as they sought to disrupt trade at major ports and other economic lifelines. Convoys with hundreds of angry farmers driving heavy-duty tractors advanced toward European Union headquarters, bent on getting their complaints about excessive costs, rules and bureaucracy heard by EU leaders at a summit Thursday in Brussels, Belgium.
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Important Takeaways:
- Countdown to conflict with Putin: Norway’s defense chief becomes latest military figure to warn Europe has three years to prepare for war with Russia
- Norway’s defense chief has become the latest senior military figure to warn that Europe has a matter of years to prepare for war against Russia.
- In his dire warning, Eirik Kristoffersen said NATO countries have ‘two, maybe three’ years to get ready for an assault by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
- Last week, the NATO defense chiefs met in Brussels where several emphasized the importance of countries in Europe increasing their readiness for an attack.
- This came as secret plans were leaked revealing that Germany is preparing for Putin’s forces to attack NATO as early as 2025, and after a senior NATO general said the alliance was preparing for such a scenario to happen within 20 years.
- Speaking to NTB, Norway’s press agency, Kristoffersen pointed out that Moscow has built up its military stockpiles far quicker than expected.
- With his invasion in Ukraine at a stalemate, Putin has also switched his economy on to a war footing, meaning weapons factories are producing arms around the clock.
- What’s more, Putin’s allies in Iran and North Korea are also propping his forces up with arms, meaning Russia can build up its defense’s faster than previously thought.
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Important Takeaways:
- BlackRock Chief Warns Davos Elites: Trump Victory Poses ‘Fundamental’ Challenge to Europe
- The prospect of a Donald Trump return to the White House in 2024 poses a “fundamental” challenge to Europe, the leader of the world’s largest investment company warned Tuesday.
- The Daily Telegraph reports BlackRock vice chairman Philipp Hildebrand issued his caution from the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
- In doing so he added his voice to the swelling chorus from Europe that fears a Trump return to the world stage.
- [Why? Because] given Trump’s determination to embrace America First in matters from trade to diplomacy, NATO funding, and climate policy.
- For his part, Hildebrand urged Europe to seize the opportunity to transform itself into a technological superpower that was less dependent on America. He added Europe’s capabilities on defense were “just not there” and required a rethink. Hildebrand said:
- He spoke within hours of Trump’s stunning victory in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, as Breitbart News reported.
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Important Takeaways:
- Sweden is warned to ‘brace for war’: Civil Defense minister tells citizens to ‘get moving’ and prepare for the end of 210 years of peace as country bids to join NATO in face of Russia tensions
- Sweden’s civil defense minister has warned his country could soon face the prospect of war and urged citizens to join voluntary defense organizations in preparation for a potential armed conflict.
- In a rousing speech that took note of his country’s hotly-anticipated accession to NATO this year and ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine, Carl-Oskar Bohlin called on ordinary citizens to ask themselves ‘who are you if war comes?’.
- Speaking at Sweden’s annual ‘Folk och Försvar’ (Society and Defense) conference in Sälen this past weekend, the minister said: ‘It is human to want to view life as you wish it was, rather than as it actually is.
- ‘For a nation for whom peace has been a pleasant companion for almost 210 years, the idea that it is an immovable constant is conveniently close at hand. But taking comfort in this conclusion has become more dangerous than it has been for a very long time.
- ‘There could be war in Sweden… The world is facing a security outlook with greater risks than at any time since the end of the Second World War.
- ‘Are you a private individual? Have you considered whether you have time to join a voluntary defense organization? If not: get moving!’ he declared.
- It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Vladimir Putin would not stop at Ukraine and will attack other neighbors unless allies joined forces to stop him.
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Important Takeaways:
- Germany arrests four Hamas terrorists for plans to attack Jews
- Four members of Hamas have been detained on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe, German prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.
- Three of the suspects were detained in Berlin and another was detained in the Netherlands, according to the prosecutors.
- All four have been longstanding members of Hamas with close links to the leadership of the group’s military branch, said prosecutors.
- Abdelhamid Al A had been tasked by Hamas leaders in Lebanon with sourcing weapons. The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept at the ready for potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions, said prosecutors.
- European authorities have warned of an increased risk of attacks by Islamists radicalized in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.
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Important Takeaways:
- Now DENMARK battles surge in same type of ‘white lung syndrome’ pneumonia sparking fears in China – after Netherlands warned of alarming spike in cases
- Denmark is currently being hit by a surge in the same type of pneumonia that has rocked China and sparked fears of a fresh pandemic.
- Danish health chiefs say rates of mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterial infection for which some antibiotics are useless, has reached ‘epidemic’ levels.
- Beijing has pointed to the same pathogen as being partly to blame for its ‘mystery’ wave of pneumonia — characterized by a dangerous inflammation of the lungs — in children.
- Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut (SSI) revealed rates have tripled over the past five weeks and warned more kids will be struck down this winter.
- It comes just days after the Netherlands reported its own alarming spike in children battling pneumonia, with similar reports in Denmark’s neighbor Sweden.
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Important Takeaways:
- Europe’s economy risks a recession after output falls in the third quarter
- The euro area economy risks falling into recession later this year after official data Tuesday showed that output shrank slightly in the third quarter.
- Gross domestic product across the 20 countries that use the euro fell 0.1% in the July-to-September quarter compared with the previous three months, according to an initial estimate published by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office.
- The dip follows a rise of only 0.2% in the April-to-June quarter and highlights the fine line between contraction and growth in the eurozone. GDP was stagnant in the final three months of 2022 and the first quarter of this year.
- “The big picture is that the eurozone is struggling. It has only grown by 0.1% over the past year, and the timeliest business surveys consistently point to activity declining at the start of [the fourth quarter],”
- Recent survey data shows that activity in the eurozone’s manufacturing and services sectors has been on a downward trajectory, with demand for goods and services set to weaken further.
- Even if the region avoids a recession, economists say a meaningful recovery is still some way off.
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Important Takeaways:
- Germany Defense Minister Says Military Must Become Ready for War In Europe
- German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius has warned of the looming threat of a violent conflict igniting on the European continent, explaining during a television interview this weekend that a new mentality has to be adopted across society to tackle the increased risks of violent conflict.
- “We have to get used to the idea again that the danger of war in Europe could threaten. And that means: We have to become war-ready,” Pistorius said, adding that bolstering Germany’s defense capabilities is the best means of avoiding future escalations.
- But what he called decades of rot will be hard to fix in 18 months, the Defense Minister noted, also suggesting Germany’s armed forces will look “completely different” by the end of the decade. It was discovered earlier this year that the nation’s ammunition stockpiles have dropped below NATO’s required levels.
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