INTL Europe: Politics, Economics, Military- December 2021

[Plain Jane]

November's thread:

INTL - Europe: Politics, Economics, Military - November 2021

October's thread is here: https://www.timebomb2000.com/xf/index.php?threads/europe-politics-economics-and-military-october-2021.608384/ Trouble Brewing in Ukraine thread beginning page 82: https://www.timebomb2000.com/xf/index.php?threads/trouble-brewing-again-in-ukraine.597099/page-82...

www.timebomb2000.com

Regional Conflict in Mediterranean beginning page 76:

WAR - Regional conflict brewing in the Mediterranean

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/no_itsmyturn/status/1449850219131244553

timebomb2000.com

Main Coronavirus thread beginning page 1455:

CORONA - Main Coronavirus thread

He said the infected person came to San Francisco from South Africa and is experiencing "mild symptoms." Fauci also said the person is experiencing "mild symptoms" and is self-quarantining. Would note that the person came to San Francisco on Nov 22, and started quarantine today.

www.timebomb2000.com

Ukraine thread:

ALERT - RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE - Consolidated Thread

Both Xi the Merciless and Vlad the Impaler have taken our measure, in all aspects of American life and are licking their chops because they KNOW THEY CAN TAKE US DOWN. War is inevitable because the entire leadership class in the USA is simply too arrogant, ignorant, corrupt and incompetent to...

www.timebomb2000.com

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

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Germany Falls Completely To Davos

BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, DEC 02, 2021 - 03:30 AM
Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, 'n Guns blog,
If anyone was under any illusions that Germany wasn’t completely under the control of the Davos Crowd then I think this article from Politico should burn that perception into your retinas.


The article details what’s in the new German government’s agreement between the parties. It lays out the goals of the coalition as well as the roadmap for its policy priorities.

In short, this is literally a laundry list of everything Davos has been demanding and it ensures the complete neutering or submission of the FDP’s Christian Lindner to the Davos agenda.

I’m not going to go through them all point by point, the Politico article does that well enough.
What’s important here is that in light of the media release of OmicronVID-9/11 that the new German government is keen on serving its Davos masters agenda fully. Even though OmicronVID-9/11 looks to be the mildest and least interesting strain of COVID-9/11 that isn’t deterring European governments from announcing enforced vaccination programs, including from Germany’s new, fragile coalition.

This tweet confirms that Lindner fully caved here. New Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a majority of state Presidents are pushing this legislation into the Bundestag as I write.

Sadly, no one should really be surprised by this. While I hoped Lindner would be the thorn in Davos’ side in Germany, it doesn’t look that way at all. This cave was presaged by the ‘retirement’ of uber monetary hawk, Jens Wiedmann, as President of the Bundesbank ‘to spend time with his family.’

Yeah, pull the other one Jens, it plays “Jingle Bells.”

The best Lindner can do under the circumstances is slow the roll out of this but he won’t do it now unless this compulsory vaccination program pushes through the Bundestag and is deeply unpopular with German voters.

But, back to the coalition agreement. This is a document that reads like a German takeover of the entire continent. And I guess that was the bribe offered the FDP to go along with this.

On the surface it cements the idea that Germany is in charge of the EU’s evolution from a collection of independent states into a full political and fiscal union which supersedes all national government considerations. But, at the same time it will further erode any sovereignty left in Germany, as well as any other EU member state.

Davos is clear about what the plan here is, full evolution of the EU into a transnational bureaucratic superstate with zero direct accountability of its leadership to the people.

Expecting this coalition to back down, for example, on “Rule-of-Law” issues with Poland and Hungary is a fantasy. If anything, now Berlin is giving Brussels a blank check to go after these two countries harder than ever.

And the clincher to that argument is in these two provisions highlighted below:

More broadly, the three parties set the highly ambitious goal of changing the EU’s treaties. The deal says the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe — a discussion forum for possible EU reforms — “should lead to a constitutional convention and the further development of a federal European state.” That stance won’t go down well in some other EU capitals like Warsaw or Budapest, which would likely veto any such moves.
On foreign policy and defense, the treaty demands a reform of the EU’s foreign policy division, the European External Action Service. And it pushes the EU to move away from requiring unanimity for all foreign policy moves — a barrier the bloc has struggled to overcome on basic matters like issuing statements on China’s crackdown in Hong Kong.

Moreover, to sell this transformation into a depraved technocracy, the Germans will push for more direct democratic ‘elections’ across the entire bloc to decide on leadership within the European Commission. Look everyone! Democracy!

This is simply a stalking horse for getting further political integration as the national governments still control who represents them on the Commission. Since, as we’ve seen time and again, Davos and the EU are in full control of the party apparatuses in each major country and the people’s loyalty so split up across five to seven parties in each of these countries, elections themselves are a complete joke since the coalitions that end up ruling look nothing like what the majority of the people actually voted for, c.f. Italy, Chechia, Austria.

Davos controls the governing coalitions in every country other than Hungary and Poland. This is an illusion of more democracy and furthering ‘European values’ while cementing total control within the Brussels bureaucracy.

The most insidious thing in the document to me is Germany’s call for ending unanimity within the European Council on foreign policy matters. This is where both Hungary and Poland have been able to fight off the worst advances by Brussels for years and retain some semblance of independence.

By holding EU foreign policy hostage multiple times in recent years, both countries have been able to slow down and/or force course corrections onto Brussels while retaining some semblance of their autonomy. These have been attrition moves by Prime Ministers Orban and Morawiecki hoping to outlast the EU while popular uprisings against Brussels matured.

But Poland has repeatedly betrayed its Visigrad neighbors with its virulent Russophobia which the Eurocrats and the British have used time and again to their advantage. The Poles continue to play footsie trying to play the EU off Russia to get what they want, but all that ends up happening is they bind themselves tighter in the EU’s geopolitical Chinese finger trap while alienating the Russians even further.

If the Germans are able to push this through, by the complete rewriting of the European Treaties as advocated by this coalition agreement, then during their time in office they will have completed the transformation of the EU into the EUSSR for all intents and purposes.

This agreement is worse than any version I could have expected given the FDP’s involvement in this. The pressure on Lindner must be immense and he likely went along with this, like many, hoping he can at least slow this down by withholding the purse strings.

With AfD not rallying into the September elections, there simply wasn’t the political will to oppose what is happening at this point. That may change in 2022 as things progress from here so German polling will bear very close scrutiny.

That said, I suspect this agreement will go down very well with German voters as it looks like one in which Germany’s power within the EU, which they are still overwhelmingly in favor of, expands greatly.
Notice, however, how quickly Olaf Scholz, the new Chancellor, after rejecting Merkel’s call for new lockdowns over COVID-19 last week and looking surprisingly independent, changed course with the release of OmicronVID-9/11 this week.

In the end, this is close to the government Davos wanted. The FDP can still be a wildcard here depending on how the polls in Germany shift over the next six months. But it looks pretty obvious at this point there is no will to move against the Davos agenda of crashing the European economy and destroying capital formation absent a full takeover of EU institutions first.

The dangerous buildup of tensions in Ukraine with Russia over the breakaway republics of the Donbass is inextricably linked to this shift in Germany’s governance. As are the wranglings over the Nordstream 2 pipeline, which the Scholz government is in favor of.

As always, the EU and Davos want Russia as their energy supplier but as a vassal not as a partner. If anyone is using Nordstream 2 as a political tool over the rest of Europe it is Germany, not Russia, as they will control the distribution of gas internally after Nordstream 2 is live, not Russia.

They will use that as a cudgel to get through many of these policy prescriptions. I am still convinced that Nordstream 2 will be live, delivering gas soon. It may take further negotiations to get it done but it will happen. Don’t discount Germany leaking the letter to the U.S. Congress lobbying them not to further sanction the pipeline because it will do irreparable damage to U.S./German relations.

Whether morons like Ted Cruz (R-TX) finally get this or not is still unknown. With the power vacuum at the top of the U.S. political system, where the Neocon Flying Monkeys are being allowed to bring us to the brink of a NATO war with Russia over Ukraine, all bets are off as to what happens next.

I still feel a real sovereign debt crisis is on the horizon and with FOMC Chair Jerome Powell putting the final nail in the coffin of the “transitory inflation” narrative, it’s clear that the U.S. political faction hostile to selling the country out to Obama and Davos are winning.

And because of this the new German coalition staking their flag in the ground saying, “if EU integration is going to happen, it’s going to happen somewhat on terms we control,” may actually be too little, too late.

Lindner may not be privy to everything going on here either. If he isn’t aware of the nuances at play it may explain why he went along with this insanity. Once he, like Powell and a few others here in the U.S., get a sense of what’s really going on, what the real plan is, he may pull out of this coalition during the height of the debt crisis in2022.

In fact, a collapse of this government could be the catalyst for the very debt crisis we’ve been preparing for.

But for now, I’d consider Germany Davos Occupied Territory completely and Germany as an economic powerhouse of any import a thing of the recent past.

 

[Plain Jane]

France rejects British idea of joint border controls amid Channel migrant crisis

French Prime Minister Jean Castex told his British counterpart Boris Johnson that the UK held "a large part of the solution" to the Channel migrant crisis and rejected the idea of joint border patrols,…

www.france24.com

France rejects British idea of joint border controls amid Channel migrant crisis
Issued on: 02/12/2021 - 21:32

French police patrol the Slack dunes on the English Channel at Wimereux, near Calais, France, November 25, 2021. © Pascal Rossignol, Reuters
Text by:NEWS WIRES
3 min

French Prime Minister Jean Castex told his British counterpart Boris Johnson that the UK held "a large part of the solution" to the Channel migrant crisis and rejected the idea of joint border patrols, according to letter seen by AFP on Thursday.


Castex wrote to Johnson on late Wednesday setting out France's suggestions to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats following a tragedy last week in which at least 27 people drowned.

He formally rejected an idea proposed by Johnson of British security forces patrolling on the French coast to prevent dinghies taking to the water.

"We cannot accept... that British police or soldiers patrol on our coasts. It's a question of sovereignty and I know your government's sensitivity towards respecting the sovereignty of others," Castex wrote.

The letter did not directly address another controversial idea of Johnson's of returning all migrants to France that cross the Channel by sea, which the British prime minister believes "would significantly reduce -- if not stop -- the crossings."

It said France would work towards a migration agreement between Britain and the European Union "which could include a virtuous transfer mechanism."

"Sending migrants back to us is not an option and is not a serious or responsible way of tackling the issue," one of Castex's aides said on Thursday, asking not to be named.

Franco-British relations, already seen as at their lowest in decades, dived again after the mass drownings on November 24.

Johnson made proposals in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron last week that were seen in Paris as an attempt to deflect blame onto France.

His decision to make the letter public before Macron had read it was seen as a breach of diplomatic protocol, with the French president later condemning his approach as "not serious."
In retaliation, an invitation to British Home Secretary Priti Patel to take part in a meeting of European ministers in France at the weekend to discuss migration was withdrawn.

According to the Canard Enchainé newspaper on Wednesday, Macron called Johnson a "clown" as well as a "knucklehead" in private conversations with aides last week.
"It is a pretty unhelpful word," UK Business Minister George Freeman told Sky News on Thursday.

"Of course, the Prime Minister isn't a clown, he is the elected prime minister of this country with a very big mandate, leading this country through the pandemic."

Blame-game?
Castex's letter to Johnson, shared with journalists a day after being sent, was strongly worded, but began by saying that "every country must face up to its responsibilities" in tackling the Channel crossings.

It said that France was deploying 700 police officers to patrol its northern coast, while 41 people-smuggling rings had been broken up since the start of the year and 1,552 suspected smugglers had been arrested.

It added, however, that "managing the reception of migrants that want to go to your country falls firstly on France, which is not normal."

It also acknowledged that fellow European Union members such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany needed to do more to tackle people-smuggling and illegal migration.

But it stated that "a large part of the solution is not to be found in France, but in the United Kingdom."

Castex urged Britain to adopt "a more efficient returns policy" to deport failed asylum seekers, as well as opening up legal migration routes for "those who have legitimate reasons to want to come to your country."

"Only you can ensure that your labour market is sufficiently controlled to discourage people wanting to work illegally," he wrote.

It also warned Britain against pushing back migrant boats, an option that has been under discussion by the government in London, saying this would "endanger the lives of migrants and would break maritime law."

In addition, France wanted improved intelligence-sharing from the UK, particularly to bolster a shared intelligence centre in northern France.

"We have noticed that Britain supplies it with little," the prime minister's aide said.

A second aide denied that France was seeking to shift responsibility for the crossings on to London.

"We are not approaching this as a blame-game. We're approaching it as a shared responsibility," the aide said.

France is regularly criticised by rights groups for denying entry to asylum seekers on its southern border with Italy.
(AFP)

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Norway's Oil Boom Is Only Just Beginning

BY TYLER DURDEN
FRIDAY, DEC 03, 2021 - 05:00 AM
Authored by Felicity Bradstock via OilPrice.com,

• Norway’s revenues from oil and gas production hit a record high this year and are showing no signs of slowing down
• While Norway is a major supporter of clean energies, it is also a firm believer that the energy transition can only be achieved by using the profits from oil and gas production
• The future is bright for Norway’s energy giant Equinor, which will be able to take advantage of growing energy demand and play a leading role in the coming energy transition

Norway’s oil and gas production is at an all-time high, bouncing back solidly from a year of pandemic restrictions and curbs on production. Norwegian firm Equinor is running the show with oil and gas revenues doubling and new discoveries by the company suggesting that Norway will continue to produce fossil fuels well into the coming decades. As the oil industry was battling with Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and the severe decrease in oil demand throughout 2020, Norway was able to weather the storm thanks to tax breaks on oil and gas firms, allowing them to come back stronger in 2021. These actions by the government have been criticized by environmental activists hoping for a swifter transition to renewable energy. But for a country founded on oil revenue, it is hardly surprising that Norway wants a continuing piece of the action as post-pandemic oil demand rises.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre believes that a total end to oil exploration and production would harm the transition to renewable alternatives in a world still so reliant on oil and gas.

He stated, "If we were to say from one day to the other that we close down production from the Norwegian shelf, I believe that would put a stop to an industrial transition that is needed to succeed in the momentum towards net zero . . . So we are about to develop and transit, not close down."

Norway has also been one of the largest suppliers of gas to Europe, second only to Russia, as shortages across the region have driven gas prices to record highs. The huge gas producer earned an estimated $7.9 billion in gas revenues in October thanks to the significant hike in prices. The Norwegian government continues to support gas production as a cleaner alternative to coal in the transition to alternatives.

As Norway ramps up its oil production to meet increasing global demand and as several countries come out of pandemic restrictions and businesses start up again, the country’s oil output has been exceeding forecasts month on month. Crude oil output reached 1.82 million bpd in October, up from 1.77 million in September. Natural gas output also went up, achieving 10.4 billion cubic meters of production in October, up from 8.9bcm in September.
As output increases, so do revenues. Norway’s oil major, Equinor, more than doubled its revenues in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020, thanks to rising gas prices and increased oil demand. Net profits rose to $1.4 billion between July to September, according to the company

Equinor’s oil outlook is optimistic, as the company announced its 6th discovery in domestic waters this year in November. The find, north of the Tyrihans field off the coast of Norway, is thought to hold 62 billion barrels of crude. Equinor stated of the development, “Such near-field discoveries are profitable, robust against fluctuations in oil (and) gas prices, they have a short payback period and low emissions.”

Despite ongoing growth in its oil operations, the company is not shying away from the energy transition, with plans to invest $23 billion in renewable energy by 2026. Equinor aims not only to be an international major in low-carbon oil production and carbon capture and storage technologies but also to become a market leader in wind and solar power. As Equinor continues to provide vital oil and gas supplies to Europe at a time where prices are rising to unprecedented levels and several countries are facing energy shortages going into winter, the company is optimistic about its role in traditional energy provision as well as its ability to use profits to invest in the long-term transition.

Following months of increased production and record export levels, Norway’s oil and gas companies announced they are now increasing their investment forecasts for 2022. Tax incentives from the government to support increased oil output are part of the drive, as a national statistics office (SSB) survey showed that Norway’s largest business sector now hopes to invest $17 billion in 2022, instead of the planned $15.6 billion. Tax incentives over the coming year are expected to spur a two-figure percentage growth in investments in 2023.

There is no end in sight for Norway’s oil and gas industry, which continues to get stronger every year, despite production curbs and revenue losses during the pandemic. And with Equinor also investing heavily in renewables, it is certainly not a one-trick pony. Norway’s future in energy is looking increasingly certain, with Europe’s oil and gas demand not showing any sign of waning, Equinor appears to be the star of the show.

 

[Plain Jane]

EXPLAINER: Turkey's currency is crashing. What's the impact?

Turkey’s beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices.

apnews.com

EXPLAINER: Turkey’s currency is crashing. What’s the impact?
By SUZAN FRASERyesterday



1 of 12
A man sells Turkish flags in a commercial area in Kadikoy neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Turkey’s beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices.

As a result, families are struggling to buy food and other goods and the Turkish lira has lost around 40% of its value since the start of the year, becoming one of the world’s worst-performing currencies.

Here is a closer look at the Turkish currency crisis and its impact on a country with eye-popping inflation:

WHAT IS GOING ON?
Turkey’s Central Bank has cut borrowing costs by 4 percentage points since September, in line with Erdogan’s wishes, even though inflation accelerated to around 20%.

Erdogan, who has been in power for some 19 years and has grown increasingly authoritarian, has long argued that high interest rates cause inflation, contrary to what economists generally say: that increasing rates will drive down prices.

The rate cuts have raised concerns over the bank’s independence, while the country’s unconventional monetary policy has spooked foreign investors, who are dumping Turkish assets. And Turkish citizens are rushing to convert their savings to foreign currencies and gold to protect them from soaring inflation.

“People bring their savings and always want to buy dollars. When will it end, where will this go? They’re panicking,” said Hulya Orak, a currency exchange office worker. “People are constantly in panic mode and are using money that’s under their mattresses.”

As a result, the Turkish lira, which had barely recovered from a currency crisis in 2018, has been weakening to record lows against the dollar and the euro.

It crashed to a record low of 13.44 against the American currency on Nov. 23 after Erdogan insisted there would be no turning back from his unconventional policies. On Tuesday, the lira plummeted again to an all-time low of 14 against the dollar after Erdogan reiterated that cuts would continue and amid signs the U.S. Federal Reserve would tighten credit for consumers and businesses as inflation rises.

The lira recovered a bit Wednesday after Turkey’s Central Bank announced it was intervening in the foreign exchange market to stem the volatility.

HOW HAVE PEOPLE BEEN AFFECTED?

With inflation running at more than 21%, according to official figures released Friday, the prices of basic goods have soared and many people in this country of more than 83 million are struggling to make ends meet.

The independent Inflation Research Group, made up of academics and former government officials, puts the inflation rate at a stunning 58%. Turkey’s opposition parties have long voiced skepticism over the official inflation figures and have questioned the Turkish Statistical Institute’s independence.

The devalued lira is driving prices higher, making imports, fuel and everyday goods more expensive in Turkey, which relies on imported raw material. Meanwhile, rents have skyrocketed and prices for home sales, mostly pegged on the dollar, are increasing.

Every morning, long lines form outside kiosks selling bread a lira cheaper than in bakeries and shops.

“We are cutting down on everything,” Sinasi Yukselen said as he waited in line. “I used to buy 10 loaves, now I buy five. We’ve given up trying to buy meat.”

At a shopping center selling discounted goods in Ankara, Emine Cengizer said she wanted to buy her teenage daughter a winter coat but left empty-handed.

“If I buy the coat, we won’t have anything to eat for the rest of the week,” she said.

Selva Demiralp, economics professor at Istanbul’s Koc University, says she’s concerned about a possible brain drain.

“When your salary gap between what you can earn in Turkey versus what you can earn abroad widens so much, it’s just going to be very difficult for us to keep those highly educated white-collar people at home,” she said. “And that’s that’s a major threat for the future of the country.”

WHAT IS ERDOGAN’S ECONOMIC POLICY?
The Turkish president has been pushing for low borrowing costs to stimulate the economy, boost growth and exports, and create jobs. He has vowed to break the cycle of an economy dependent on short-term “hot money” lured by high interest rates.

Economists say raising borrowing costs eases inflation, which has been surging worldwide as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic but is especially acute in Turkey because of the government’s unorthodox policies.

A devout Muslim, whose religion regards usury as a sin, Erdogan has described interest rates as “the mother and father of all evil.” He has fired three central bank governors who resisted lowering rates. In a further shake-up, Erdogan on Thursday appointed a new finance minister considered to be supportive of the push for low borrowing rates, leading to a slight decline of the lira.

“With the new economic model, we are pushing back the policy of attracting money with high interest rates. We are supporting production and exports with low interests,” Erdogan said this week.

The Turkish leader has blamed the currency crash on foreign forces bent on destroying Turkey’s economy and says his government is waging “an economic war of independence.”
Demiralp, the economist, says the government is doing the opposite of what is normally done to tamp down prices.

“The central bank claims that by cutting interest rates, they’re going to contain inflationary pressures. The markets are not buying this story,” she said.

Turkey is focused on growing the economy rather than controlling inflation, Demiralp said, “but I think even growth is highly questionable at this point because you are going to see more contraction coming as a result of the panic and uncertainty and escalating costs coming from this crisis.”

WHAT’S THE POLITICAL IMPACT FOR ERDOGAN?
His early years in power were marked by a strong economy that helped him win several elections. Recently, soaring consumer prices have hurt his popularity, with opinion polls pointing at unease over his economic policies even among supporters.

Last week, police broke up small demonstrations that erupted in Istanbul and several other Turkish cities by groups protesting the high cost of living. Dozens of people were detained.

An alliance of opposition parties that have formed a bloc against Erdogan’s ruling party and its allies has been climbing in opinion polls. Members of the opposition coalition are calling for early elections and accusing Erdogan of “treason” for mismanaging the economy.

Erdogan has refused to call early elections, insisting voting will take place as scheduled in 2023.

He said this week that the government is working on programs that would create 50,000 new jobs and it is expected to raise the minimum wage.

“We are preparing to, one by one, take steps to comfort citizens whose purchasing power has fallen,” Erdogan said.

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Norway Restricts NATO Traffic Near Russia, Tells Allies 'Keep Your Distance'

BY TYLER DURDEN
SATURDAY, DEC 04, 2021 - 07:35 AM
One of NATO's founding members is urgently trying to walk back tensions and lower the potential for confrontation with Russia at a moment the accusatory rhetoric surrounding Ukraine continues putting Russia-Europe relations on edge. Norway's foreign minister Anniken Huitfeld has announced that the Scandinavian country wants American, British, and other NATO aircraft and vessels to keep their distance from Russia's border.

"It is important for Norway to be militarily present in our immediate surroundings. But very close to the Russian border, we believe that we do it best ourselves, with Norwegian planes and Norwegian frigates. It is fundamental for us," Anniken Huitfeldt told the newspaper Verdens Gang. Her words were subsequently translated and presented in Russian media sources.


Recently the Norwegian government led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre declared it wants to improve relations with its large, powerful neighbor Russia. The two share a far northern nearly 200km border.

Huitfeldt was asked by the Norwegian publication whether she wants foreign NATO military assets to stay away from coming near the Russian border, given Moscow would feel provoked.

She appeared to respond in the affirmative: "It is in Norway's interest to take care of these areas on its own, with the Norwegian defense," the top diplomat reiterated. The government appears wary of the potential for the type of misunderstanding or inadvertent conflict incident seen for example in the Black Sea region over the past years, with a prime example being the Kerch Strait incident, or also the rise in aircraft intercepts between the US and Russia.

Recently there have been encounters between the Russia and Norway's navies in the Norwegian Sea. Though without incident, the encounters are closely monitored and a source of tensions.


Meanwhile a former top Norwegian commander was even more blunt in his assessment that NATO patrols should stay away without express permission from Oslo.




"We are trying to tell our partners that Norway is NATO in the north. The Russians are used to Norwegian planes and vessels' presence in the Barents Sea," ex-commander of the Armed Forces' operational headquarters Rune Jakobsen told the same publication, Verdens Gang.



He said further: "Plus the Intelligence Service's vessel Marjata sails there. This is how we want it to be in the future as well: That it is not American P8 surveillance aircraft, but our own that fly in the airspace east of Andøya [Nordland County]."

 

[Zagdid]

Fitch affirms Russia at 'BBB'

Global ratings agency Fitch affirmed Russia's sovereign rating at 'BBB' on Friday, citing its strong external balance sheet and its macroeconomic policy framework.

www.reuters.com

Fitch affirms Russia at 'BBB'
By Bhanvi Satija and Andrey Ostroukh

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Global ratings agency Fitch affirmed Russia's sovereign rating at 'BBB' on Friday, citing its strong external balance sheet and its macroeconomic policy framework.

"Ongoing sanctions risk, and limited structural reform prospects in areas needed to raise Russia's trend growth rate continue to constrain rating," the agency said in its statement.

Fitch maintained Russia's outlook at stable, citing recovery in economic activity and oil prices, which continue to support the country's external and public finances.

 

[Zagdid]

Fitch affirms Russia at 'BBB'

Global ratings agency Fitch affirmed Russia's sovereign rating at 'BBB' on Friday, citing its strong external balance sheet and its macroeconomic policy framework.

www.reuters.com

Reuters
Gas price windfall makes Gazprom patient over Nord Stream 2 delay

Vladimir Soldatkin and Oksana Kobzeva
Fri, 3 December 2021, 11:56 am

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Windfall revenues from high European gas prices mean Russia's Gazprom will not start pumping gas through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline before certification and it will not press Germany to speed up the process, two sources said.

Pumping gas without the German approval would only incur a modest fine, but as Germany gets new political leadership and Russia's ties with the West are severely strained, a source at Gazprom said it was content to wait.

"We don't want to seek faster approval for the pipeline. Now it's Germany that is in charge," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The same source said that Gazprom, Russia's biggest tax payer, and the Kremlin were also keen to understand how ties with Germany's new government would evolve after the departure of Angela Merkel, who supported Nord Stream 2.

The Kremlin has said publicly it does not view as political the certification process, understands it is complex and that Russia must be patient.

The second source said Gazprom was "feeling great" and expected next year's gas market to remain as short of gas as it is now, keeping prices high. Gazprom's additional supplies were not yet onstream, the source said.

INFLATIONARY PRESSURES

Elevated electricity costs have forced some industries to curtail production and European consumers are paying more for home heating as winter approaches, adding to wider inflationary pressures.

The Russian gas export pipeline monopoly, which supplies 35% of European needs, says it is meeting contracted commitments - which top European clients have confirmed to Reuters.

But European politicians, under pressure from consumers who face a jump in winter heating bills, say Russia could supply more and is using gas prices as leverage in a dispute over the Gazprom-backed Nord Stream 2.

Gazprom, which declined to comment on Nord Stream 2, on Monday reported an all-time high quarterly net profit of 582 billion roubles ($8 billion) for the July-September quarter, reflecting high natural gas prices. It said it expected even higher earnings in coming months.

The pipeline, which will double Russian gas export capacities to Europe via the Baltic Sea, is fiercely opposed by Ukraine, which stands to lose lucrative transit fees, and by many Western politicians who say Moscow uses energy as a political weapon, something it denies.

Russia finished building the pipeline in September and filled one of its two lines with gas in expectation of approval from Germany.

But the regulator said in November it was suspending the certification process because the Swiss-based consortium behind the project needed to form a company under German law to get an operating licence.

The suspension could delay the start of operations until March next year, sources have said.

A Gazprom official told a conference call on Monday that the pipeline's operating company, Nord Stream 2 AG, has been in close contacts with the Germany's regulator but declined to provide timing for when deliveries could start.

 

[Plain Jane]

European populist far-right parties meet in Warsaw – DW – 12/05/2021

Warsaw hosted figureheads representing some of the most successful attempts to bring far-right politics back to Europe. The event marks an attempt to unite the far right and sway the EU.

www.dw.com

European populist far-right parties meet in Warsaw
Warsaw hosted figureheads representing some of the most successful attempts to bring far-right politics back to Europe. The event marks an attempt to unite the far right and sway the EU.




Warsaw welcomed far-right extremist figureheads to rail against the EU

Leading nationalist and far-right figures from several European Union countries met for a "summit" in Warsaw on Saturday in an attempt to show a veneer of cooperation amid deep disagreements.

The meet was purportedly to build connections between the various far-right factions who are split among two groups in the EU parliament.

They also spoke of changing the "character of the European Union." Poland and Hungary are currently at loggerheads with Brussels over violations they have made to the principles of the rule of law.

The get-together also comes amid attempts to bridge a rift between different sections of the European far right over connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Protesters gathered outside the meeting as far-right leaders discussed further unity within the EU

Faces of the far right
The so-called "Warsaw Summit" was hosted by Poland's ruling ultraconservative, nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS).

They were joined by France's far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Santiago Abascal from Spain's Vox party.

Emissaries from Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ) also took part while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Italy's Lega were absent.

Orban arrived in Poland on Friday to meet with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The two nationalist leaders are facing problems in the EU as well as at home.

PiS has seen its popularity fall as a series of moves targeting women and LGBT minorities have sparked widespread protest. Orban's Fidesz is facing a coalition of most opposition parties in next year's election.

Far right seeks to overcome differences
Morawiecki also hosted Le Pen for dinner on Friday evening, following a meeting with her in Brussels in October. This rapprochement follows years of antagonism over Le Pen's closeness with Putin — a relationship that has been hard to tolerate in a country that was dominated for decades by the will of the Kremlin.


Watch video42:36
Enemy in Brussels: What are Europe's right-wing populists after?
Radoslaw Fogiel, a PiS spokesperson admitted that the various parties are not in agreement on all topics, but pointed out that the most pro-Russian project currently in Europe is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was championed by outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Wojciech Przybylski, editor in chief of Visegrad Insight, a policy journal focused on Central Europe, called Saturday's meeting "essentially a PR stunt." He told The Associated Press he thinks the event was organized so that each party could show voters "they are not alone."
ab/aw (AP, dpa)

 

[Plain Jane]

Chaos as French far-right candidate launches president bid – DW – 12/06/2021

Anti-racism campaigners were physically attacked and far-right Eric Zemmour put in a headlock as the presidential candidate's campaign got underway.

www.dw.com

Chaotic scenes as French far-right candidate launches presidential bid
Anti-racism campaigners were physically attacked and far-right Eric Zemmour put in a headlock as the presidential candidate's campaign got underway.




French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour launched his bid for next year's polls, but it was not without incident

France's far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour launched his presidential campaign on Sunday amid fanfare and fighting.

Thousands of supporters came came to Zemmour's launch event in Paris. However, violent scenes soon took center-stage.

As Zemmour made his entrance, a person in the crowd lunged toward him and forced the 63-year-old into a brief headlock before being taken away by police.


Watch video02:15
French far-right candidate Zemmour holds first rally
Anti-racism campaigners physically attacked
At one point during the event a group of activists stood up near the front of the hall, with T-shirts that read "No to racism" on them.

They were almost immediately set upon by nearby supporters, with video footage showing them being beaten before they too were ejected from the venue.

Activists from the group SOS Racisme — a movement of NGOs which describe themselves as anti-racist — arranged the protest.

"We wanted to do a non-violent protest," Aline Kremer told AFP. "People jumped on them and started hitting them."

The organization said on Twitter that they were met with "incredible violence" at what they described as their peaceful protest.

Zemmour's anti-immigrant pledges
The former TV pundit announced he would run in next year's election, scheduled for April.
"The stakes are huge: If I win it will be the start of winning back the most beautiful country in the world," Zemmour told his supporters.

Zemmour has taken a strong anti-immigrant stance, and has pledged to expel failed asylum seekers.

He was also critical of the media and said: "They are making up polemics [controversies] about books I wrote 15 years ago; they snoop into my private life, call me all sorts of names ... My adversaries want my political death, journalists want my social death and jihadis want my death,'' he told the crowd.

Those attending the rally were not required to show French COVID-19 health passes.This was in line with a ruling from the Constitutional Council that said the passes should not restrict access to political meetings.
kb/jsi (AP, AFP)

 

[Plain Jane]

Biden, Putin square off as tension grows on Ukraine border

Face to face for over two hours, President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have squared off in a secure video call focused on Ukraine.

apnews.com

Biden to warn Putin of economic pain if he invades Ukraine
By AAMER MADHANI and DASHA LITVINOVAa few seconds ago



1 of 2
FILE - President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrive to meet at the 'Villa la Grange', in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call Tuesday that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine as the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border.

Biden aims to make clear that his administration stands ready to take actions against the Kremlin that would exact “a very real cost” on the Russian economy, according to White House officials. Putin, for his part, is expected to demand guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to include Ukraine, which has long sought membership. That’s a non-starter for the Americans and their NATO allies.

“We’ve consulted significantly with our allies and believe we have a path forward that would impose significant and severe harm on the Russian economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday in previewing the meeting. “You can call that a threat. You can call that a fact. You can call that preparation. You can call it whatever you want to call it.”


The leader-to-leader conversation — Biden speaking from the Situation Room, Putin from his residence in Sochi — is expected to be one of the toughest of Biden’s presidency and comes at a perilous time. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has massed 70,000 troops near the Ukraine border and has made preparations for a possible invasion early next year.

The U.S. has not determined whether Putin has made a final decision to invade. Still, Biden intends to make clear to the Russian leader that there will be a “very real cost” should Russia proceed with military action, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

Biden was vice president in 2014 when Russian troops marched into the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and annexed the territory from Ukraine. Aides say the Crimea episode — one of the darker moments for former President Barack Obama on the international stage — looms large as Biden looks at the current smoldering crisis.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-bide...adimir-putin-3c17d207917eb90adeac03d5ccb31268

The eastward expansion of NATO has from the start been a bone of contention not just with Moscow but also in Washington. In 1996, when President Bill Clinton’s national security team debated the timing of membership invitations to former Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Defense Secretary William Perry urged delay in order to keep Russian relations on track. Perry wrote in his memoir that when he lost the internal debate he considered resigning.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were formally invited in 1997 and joined in 1999. They were followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Since then, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have joined, bringing NATO’s total to 30 nations.

A key principle of the NATO alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country. And no outsider has membership veto power. While there’s little prospect that Ukraine would be invited into the alliance anytime soon, the U.S. and its allies won’t rule it out.

In Washington, Republicans are framing this moment as a key test of Biden’s leadership on the global stage.

Biden vowed as a candidate to reassert American leadership after President Donald Trump’s emphasis on an “America first” foreign policy. But Biden has faced fierce criticism from Republicans who say he’s been ineffective in slowing Iran’s march toward becoming a nuclear power and that the Biden administration has done too little to counter autocratic leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Putin.

“Fellow authoritarians in Beijing and Tehran will be watching how the free world responds,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “And President Biden has an opportunity to set the tone when he speaks with Putin.”

Trump, who showed unusual deference to Putin during his presidency, said in a Newsmax interview on Monday that the Biden-Putin conversation would not be a “fair match,” describing it as tantamount to the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots facing a high school football team.

Ahead of the Putin call, Biden on Monday spoke with leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to coordinate messaging and potential sanctions.

The White House said in a statement that the leaders called on Russia to “de-escalate tensions” and agreed that diplomacy “is the only way forward to resolve the conflict.”
Ahead of the Biden-Putin faceoff, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that he and Blinken “agreed to continue joint & concerted action” and expressed his gratitude for the U.S. and allies providing “continued support of our sovereignty & territorial integrity.” Biden himself is expected to speak with Zelenskyy later this week.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “reiterated the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression.”

The Kremlin has made clear that Putin planned to seek binding guarantees from Biden precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. Biden and aides have indicated no such guarantee is likely, with the president himself saying he “won’t accept anyone’s red line.”

Psaki stressed “NATO member countries decide who is a member of NATO, not Russia. And that is how the process has always been and how it will proceed.”

Still, Putin sees this as a moment to readjust the power dynamic of the U.S.-Russia relationship.

“It is about fundamental principles established 30 years ago for the relations between Russia and the West,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, a leading Moscow-based foreign policy expert. “Russia demands to revise these principles, the West says there’s no grounds for that. So, it’s impossible to come to an agreement just like that.”

Beyond Ukraine, there are plenty of other thorny issues on the table, including cyberattacks and human rights. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S.-Russian relations are overall in “a rather dire state.”

Both the White House and the Kremlin sought in advance to lower expectations for the call. Both sides said they didn’t expect any breakthroughs on Ukraine or the other issues up for discussion, but that just the conversation itself will be progress.
___
Litvinova reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Darlene Superville contributed reporting.

 

[Plain Jane]

Scholz pushes for stronger EU, issues warning to Russia – DW – 12/07/2021

On the cusp of taking the reins from Angela Merkel, incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sent a strong signal about where his government's foreign policy priorities lie. DW has rounded up the most important points.

www.dw.com

Germany's Olaf Scholz pushes for stronger EU, issues warning to Russia
On the cusp of taking the reins from Angela Merkel, incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sent a strong signal about where his government's foreign policy priorities lie. DW has rounded up the most important points.




Scholz said any threat to Ukraine would be 'unacceptable' to the new German government

Germany's incoming government, led by the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), were pressed to clarify their foreign policy priorities at a press conference on Tuesday.

Having officially signed a three-party coalition agreement, Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz and the rest of his Cabinet members are expected to take office on Wednesday after a vote and swearing-in ceremony in the German parliament.

Scholz put Europe in focus as he fielded questions on Russia, China and the United States alongside Greens co-leader and incoming vice chancellor Robert Habeck as well as Free Democrat (FDP) chief and incoming Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

On Europe
Strengthening the European Union on the global stage — and making sure Germany is part of that process — was of the utmost priority, Scholz said.

For his first trip outside of Germany as chancellor, Scholz said he would honor recent tradition and travel to Paris, France — followed by a trip to Brussels for meetings with EU heads. Angela Merkel, Gerhard Schröder, Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt all made a point of visiting France first after becoming chancellor. Franco-German reconciliation and friendship in the aftermath of the two world wars has become a core pillar of German foreign and European policy.
"German foreign policy is a policy of continuity," Scholz said, in a nod to his predecessor Angela Merkel's push to strengthen the 27-member bloc.

The incoming chancellor also pledged German support for Poland concerning the crisis the border with Belarus — criticizing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for using migrants to put pressure on the EU.

Also on the subject of Poland, incoming vice-chancellor Robert Habeck said rule of law was essential for all members of the EU — taking aim at Poland and Hungary. The Green Party co-chief added that Germany would back the European Commission, which is in disputes with the governments in Warsaw and Budapest.

On Ukraine-Russia border tensions
With regards to the latest movements of Russian troops on the border to Ukraine, Scholz said that it must be made "very clear" to Russia that further threats to Ukraine would be unacceptable.

He voiced concern about the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, saying that the principles of de-escalation that have prevailed in the aftermath of the Cold War must be adhered to.

"These include the inviolability of borders. It is very, very important that no one digs around in the history books in an effort to redraw the borders," he said. "Therefore, it must be very, very clear that it would be an unacceptable situation if a threat to Ukraine would emerge."


Watch video03:19
What to expect from Germany's new government? DW's Michaela Küfner reports
On transatlantic ties
After the EU, the new German government's second foreign policy priority will be strengthening transatlantic ties and cooperation with NATO.

A future call with US President Joe Biden is likely in the cards once Scholz officially takes office.

"It is now clear what binds us together," Scholz said, referencing democratic values.

On China
Scholz was notably less direct when asked to clarify his policy towards China, instead saying that working with the EU and the US would be the most immediate priorities.

He also avoided answering questions on whether Germany would join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Over the weekend, incoming foreign minister and Green Party co-chair Annalena Baerbock sparked concern from China after she suggested taking a harder course on Beijing to address human rights concerns.
rs/msh (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

 

[Zagdid]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

www.bloomberg.com

European Gas Extends Gains as Giant Field in Norway Cuts Output
By Elena Mazneva and Anna Shiryaevskaya
December 8, 2021, 2:57 AM EST Updated on December 8, 2021, 5:24 AM EST

European natural gas prices extended gains as one of the region’s biggest fields curbed output because of a fault.

Shipments from Norway are expected to slump by nearly 13% on Wednesday after the Troll field suffered an unplanned outage, according to network operator Gassco AS. Dutch front-month gas, the European benchmark, rose as much as 9.6%, topping 105 euros a megawatt-hour.

“Given the outage length is uncertain, this has added yet more risk to the benchmark price,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, an analyst for European gas and LNG at ICIS. Equinor ASA, Troll’s operator, didn’t elaborate on the field’s issues, saying that while it was having “some operational problems that lead to reduced production” the company delivers on its “obligations.

The reduction in gas flows from Norway is another bullish factor for traders already worried about winter supplies from top provider Russia as tensions surge with the U.S. over Moscow’s positioning of troops at the Ukrainian border.

For now, the U.S. scuttled efforts to add new sanctions to Russia’s new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, but the project is one of the potential targets if Russia invades Ukraine, according to people familiar with the plans.

The benchmark Dutch gas contract rose 7.4% to 103 euros a megawatt-hour by 11:18 a.m. Amsterdam, while the U.K. month-ahead gas added 8.9% to 265.80 pence a therm.

Summer gas contracts are also seeing strong gains, as Europe’s unusually low reserves are quickly depleting, without much extra fuel set to arrive imminently. Russia, from whom many had expected additional flows during this heating season, is keeping its volumes steady, and at levels below this time last year.

Low stockpiles in Europe would mean elevated demand to replenish them when the summer season comes, which may push prices even higher given uncertainty over supplies.

“The storage situation is critical,” Cristian Signoretto, director for global gas and LNG portfolio at Eni SpA, said in an interview this week. “The outlook for gas markets in Europe for this winter and the whole 2022 is still on the tight side.”

While much depends on the weather, a decrease in Europe’s domestic production and intense competition for liquefied natural gas cargoes with other regions are exacerbating supply tightness, Signoretto said. Meanwhile, the halt of a major pipeline delivering Algerian gas to Spain and a reduction of spot flows from Russia aren’t helping either.

 

[Plain Jane]

At last, a government that wants to govern – DW – 12/08/2021

The 16-year Merkel era is over. Social Democrat Olaf Scholz has been sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor. But if he doesn't deliver, the new coalition may prove just a brief episode, warns Felix Steiner.

www.dw.com

Opinion: At last, a government that wants to govern
The 16-year Merkel era is over. Social Democrat Olaf Scholz has been sworn in as Germany’s new chancellor. But if he doesn't deliver, the new coalition may prove just a brief episode, warns Felix Steiner.




Olaf Scholz is sworn in as Germany's new chancellor

Sometimes, even a commentator has to admit he was wrong. Today is one such day. Four weeks before the federal election, having predicted that protracted coalition negotiations would follow,I wrote that Germans could take this in their stride, as the country functioned pretty well even without a proper government.

This was true of the experience of politicians trying to form a government four years ago, when the process took almost six months. But it proved fundamentally wrong in the middle of a pandemic. Because, although virologists had been warning about precisely this scenario since early summer, Germany skidded straight into the fourth wave during the final phase of the election campaign, and things only got worse in the weeks after the vote – yet no one seemed to care.

Lethargic and preoccupied
The old government, which for the past two months was only acting as caretaker, showed little ambition anymore, and appeared lethargic – as it so often did in the previous legislative period. Meanwhile, the new coalition was mainly preoccupied with itself, and trying to find common ground. Consequently, some extravagant, bad decisions were made, like closing the vaccination centers (as if no one was anticipating urgently needed booster vaccinations), or public consideration of a "Freedom Day." And the German parliament decided to end the "pandemic state of emergency" – as if it was all over now.

Instead, the current situation is alarming. Following record numbers of new infections, the number of deaths is now rising sharply again, as well. The new federal government has realized that things cannot go on like this and is suddenly acting decisively and with urgency. Parliament is set to approve a vaccine mandate for special occupational groups on Thursday, and it seems certain that a general vaccine mandate will be introduced next spring.

DW editor Felix Steiner
However, in doing this, Olaf Scholz's government is pursuing a path for which it – and politics in general – will pay a heavy price in terms of public trust. During the election campaign, and even afterwards, all the parties and top candidates bar none promised that there definitely would not be a vaccine mandate. So a potential radicalization of opponents of vaccination could soon present the new government with a very specific challenge.

Will another SPD chancellor have to go to war?
A second, potentially very unpleasant challenge for the new German government lurks in eastern Europe. How will Germany react if Vladimir Putin actually follows through and orders his troops deployed on Ukraine's eastern border to attack the neighboring country? They say that history doesn't repeat itself. But the situation is very reminiscent of spring 1999, when a new Social Democrat (SPD) chancellor and a Green foreign minister, of all people, sent the Bundeswehr on a war mission for the first time since 1945. Then, too, during the Kosovo War, the mission was to protect a people who did not automatically benefit from NATO's obligations to provide assistance.

In view of these urgent problems, the plans that the coalition, which wants to "dare more progress," presented for major reform have taken a back seat for the moment. In any case, once Germans realize what the fight against climate change – the most pressing issue for the majority, according to polls – means in concrete terms for their prosperity and standard of living, it will become apparent just how strong their enthusiasm for it is. Because it won't be enough for the government simply to make decisions whose effects no one will notice. At least, that will not achieve climate neutrality.

How long before the shooting star fades?
Olaf Scholz's election as chancellor is the surprise of the year. Six months ago, hardly anyone (myself included) would have bet on it. And in the weeks since the election, the outgoing conservative Christian Democrats have underlined the fact that they are currently in no fit state to govern. Nonetheless, Scholz would do well to remember that the SPD's lead in the parliamentary elections, the basis for his chancellorship, was only wafer-thin. It can quickly be lost again.

Over the past 50 years, the Germans have re-elected every coalition, and every chancellor, at least once. But it's not something the new government can take for granted. No – Scholz and his cabinet now have to deliver. Otherwise, the current coaltion will be just a brief episode.

See this thread also:

INTL - Olaf Scholz Elected Chancellor of Germany, Ending 16 Years of Merkel

www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/12/08/olaf-scholz-elected-chancellor-of-germany-ending-16-years-of-merkel/ Olaf Scholz Elected Chancellor of Germany, Ending 16 Years of Merkel Peter Caddle5-6 minutes 12/8/2021 The Social Democratic Party’s Olaf Scholz has been elected Chancellor of Germany...

timebomb2000.com

 

[Plain Jane]

Danes arrest 4 people for leaking classified intelligence

Four people with Denmark’s two intelligence agencies have been arrested on suspicion of “disclosing highly classified information from the intelligence services.”

apnews.com

Danes arrest 4 people for leaking classified intelligence
an hour ago


COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish security service said Thursday that it has arrested four people with Denmark’s two intelligence agencies on suspicion of “disclosing highly classified information from the intelligence services.”

In a brief statement, the domestic Danish Security and Intelligence Service, known by its Danish acronym PET, said the four are current and former employees of the two services.

Denmark’s other intelligence agency is the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, known by the acronym FE.

The arrests were made Wednesday together with the police and searches were made at a number of different addresses, the domestic security agency said. It added that the arrests “are the result of a lengthy investigation into leaks from the intelligence services. The investigation is still ongoing.”

PET declined to elaborate further.

 

[Plain Jane]

Macron unveils EU agenda before French presidential race

French President Macron has vowed to work to make Europe “more powerful” as France’s turn in the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency starts Jan. 1 and overlaps with the country’s presidential election.

apnews.com

Macron unveils EU agenda before French presidential race
By SYLVIE CORBETyesterday



1 of 8
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he delivers a speech during a press conference on France assuming EU presidency, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. French President Emmanuel Macron presents the priorities for France's upcoming presidency of the European Union, a tenure that overlaps with the country's presidential election and could put Macron in a tricky position if he campaigns for reelection. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

PARIS (AP) — French President Macron vowed to work to make Europe “more powerful” in the world as France is about to take up the rotating presidency of the European Union, a tenure that overlaps with the country’s presidential election and could put him in a tricky position if he campaigns for a second term.

Macron is expected to run in April’s two-round election, and France’s turn in the European Council’s rotating six-month presidency starts Jan. 1.

“Many would like to rely only on one nation. Nations are our strength, our pride, but European unity is their indispensable complement,” the proudly pro-EU president said.

“We want to get ... a powerful Europe in the world, fully sovereign, free to make its choices and master of its own destiny,” he said during a news conference in Paris.


Macron said France’s EU presidency would work to promote “a European model of growth” that would allow the 27-nation bloc to generate wealth and jobs while at the same time preserving high social and climate-related standards.

He announced a series of summits for the first half of next year about EU defense policies and the bloc’s relationship with Africa and the Western Balkans.

Europe faces major challenges, he said, from climate change to migration issues involving “manipulation from some states” and “attempts at destabilization, tensions including in our closer neighborhood.” The European Union in recent months accused Belarus of encouraging asylum-seekers to cross from the country into neighboring EU members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Macron said he would have talks with other EU leaders to make the bloc more “capable of controlling its borders.”

Macron, who was elected in 2017, has yet to formally declare whether he will seek a second term.

He noted that the schedule for France’s presidency of the EU is notably the consequence of Brexit and insisted he will fully be committed to the European task at least until the French election.
https://apnews.com/article/afghanis...ions-economy-9cbaf19f8b4e79311305b35295a9ad6d

“Maybe France’s politics will change. For sure, France will remain France,” Macron said.

“I say it again: the term (in office) I was given by the French, I will serve it until the last quarter of hour,” he said.

France’s presidency of the EU could provide a platform for Macron’s campaign but also complicate it if the race is focused primarily on domestic issues such as the French economy, security and immigration.

Macron leader would be able to use the presidency to influence the EU-wide decisions, yet the bloc’s complex and consensual decision-making process might play against him and produce few concrete actions before April’s election.

Macron promotes a vision for the EU’s “strategic autonomy” that would allow the bloc to better weather competition from China and put it on a more equal footing with the United States.

Notably, he is pushing for “a stronger and more capable European defense” that contributes to trans-Atlantic and global security and is complementary to NATO.

France’s motto for the EU presidency is “Recovery, power, belonging” - the last word meant to convey the idea of enhancing Europeans’ sense of shared belonging to the bloc.

The French leader’s news conference about the EU presidency was only the time Macron appeared before reporters at the Elysee presidential palace to answer a broad range of questions. His general news conference took place in April 2019 following the antigovernment “yellow vest” protests against social and economic injustice.

Polls on the voting intentions suggest for months Macron is the frontrunner in the race. A priority for him will be to suck support away from conservative and far-right candidates, who are polling more strongly than contenders on the left and appear in a better position to reach the run-off.

Last week, France’s main conservative party, The Republicans, chose the head of the Paris region, Valérie Pécresse, to be its candidate in the presidential race.

Known as a convinced pro-European, Pécresse in recent months hardened her positions on immigration and security. “Macron has only one obsession: to please (people). Me, it’s to do things,” she said, vowing to “break” with the president’s centrist policies.

Two far-right contenders, Marine Le Pen, the head of the National Rally who faced Macron in the 2017 runoff, and former TV pundit Eric Zemmour, are campaigning on anti-Islam, anti-migrant themes.

In a clear response to the far-right, almost adopting the tone of a presidential candidate, Macron concluded the news conference by saying: “when the bad winds are blowing, it’s legitimate that democratic choices are being made.”

French institutions must not make any concession “to racism nor antisemitism” he said, praising “discussions and controversies” and denouncing “hatred.”

On the left, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is the presidential candidate for the Socialist party and the Greens chose European lawmaker Yannick Jadot, a former Greenpeace activist.

The far-left leader of the Rebel France party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is seeking the presidency for the third time, called on Macron to “come into the arena to debate.”
Macron “is not above democracy,” he said.

 

[Jaybird]

Norway needs to take a page out of Finlands history with Russia. Grow a pair. Russia thought they would devour them. They proved them wrong. Appeasement never works.

 

[Jaybird]

Apparently the Vikings are completely gone from Scandinavia.

 

[northern watch]

Serbs to vote on weakening Bosnia, step up secession drive
The Bosnian Serb parliament is convening to vote on a series of steps that would weaken the war-ravaged Balkan country’s central institutions
By The Associated Press
10 December 2021, 06:19

The Associated Press
Bosnian Serb's lawmakers take part in the parliament session in Banja Luka, Bosnia, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. The Bosnian Serb parliament convened on Friday to vote on a set of steps that would weaken the war-ravaged Balkan country's central authority as their leader steps up his secession campaign despite a threat of new U.S. and other sanctions. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- The Bosnian Serb parliament convened on Friday to vote on steps that would weaken the war-ravaged Balkan country’s central authority. The session came as the Bosnian Serb leader is stepping up his secession campaign despite a threat of new U.S. and other sanctions.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on starting a procedure for Bosnian Serbs to withdraw from the Bosnian army, security services, tax system and judiciary. That would be another substantial move following repeated threats by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik to secede, which could lead to about half of Bosnia being incorporated with neighboring Serbia.

Dodik, the Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Bosnian presidency, said Friday’s was a historic parliament session that would strengthen the Bosnian Serb mini state — formed as part of a U.S.-sponsored peace agreement that ended the Bosnian war in 1995.

Dodik called Bosnia a “paper state” and told parliament that a referendum should be held in the Serb entity in Bosnia on the formation of its own army, security service, high judiciary and tax authority and that a new state constitution should be drafted.

Opposition leaders in the parliament criticized Dodik’s policies, saying they are hasty, bring back uncertainty and even possible clashes to the still-volatile Balkan region.

Dodik has for years been advocating the separation of the Bosnian Serb semi-autonomous mini-state from Bosnia and having it become part of neighboring Serbia.

With tacit support from Russia and Serbia, Dodik recently intensified his campaign.

Bosniak officials have warned that Dodik's policies could lead to clashes, and called on the U.S. and the EU to crack down against him and his associates.

The United States has already imposed a travel ban and assets freeze on Dodik and both American and German officials have recently threatened more sanctions in case Bosnian Serbs further weaken Bosnia’s central institutions.

Dodik has repeatedly said he doesn’t care about new sanctions, adding that this would bring Serbs even closer to their “true friends” — Russia and China. He has also denied that withdrawal from the central institutions would lead to a quick secession or a new war.

There is likely to be a six-month delay before the assembly’s decisions take effect while Dodik tries to renegotiate Bosnia’s fragile makeup with the country’s Bosniaks and Croats from a stronger position.

The Bosnian War started in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs, with the help of the Serb-led Yugoslav army, tried to create ethnically pure territories with an aim of joining Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions were left homeless during the worst bloodshed in Europe since World War II.

The war pitted Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats against each other and ended with the U.S.-sponsored peace agreement that created two regions, the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.

The two regions were given wide autonomy, but kept some joint institutions, including the army, the top judiciary and tax administration. Bosnia's three-member rotating presidency is made up of Bosniak, Serb and Croat members.

In a sign seen in Bosnia as support for Bosnia’s joint armed forces, the U.S. on Friday delivered four new Bell Huey 2 multi-role helicopters to its air force.

Serbs to vote on weakening Bosnia, step up secession drive - ABC News (go.com)

 

[northern watch]

French conservative candidate vows to end Macron's centrism
In her first address as a French conservative presidential candidate, Valérie Pécresse is vowing to break with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist policies and to defeat the extremism of her far-right presidential rivals
By BARBARA SURK and CHRISTOPHE ENA Associated Press
11 December 2021, 11:04

The Associated Press
Valerie Pecresse, candidate for the French presidential election 2022, waves after delivering a speech during a meeting in Paris, France, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. The first round of the 2022 French presidential election will be held on April 10, 2022 and the second round on April 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PARIS -- In her first address as a presidential candidate for France's main conservative party, Valérie Pécresse vowed Saturday to break with President Emmanuel Macron's centrist policies and to defeat the extremism of the far-right candidates in the race.

France is holding its presidential race on April 10, with a runoff if needed on April 24. Pécresse, head of the Paris region and a former conservative minister, is first woman chosen to run as The Republicans' presidential candidate.

Since the announcement last week, Pécresse has been gaining in popularity and some polls even have her in a runoff with Macron in the second round of voting. The French president is expected to seek a second term although he has not yet officially declared his candidacy.

Speaking at a conference hall in a Paris hotel, Pécresse assured party members that she will first beat her rivals on the far-right in order to end The Republicans’ streak of presidential defeats.

“We are back on the battlefield to win and the voters know it,” she said. “It will be Emmanuel Macron or us!”

Two far-right contenders — Marine Le Pen, the head of the National Rally party who lost to Macron in the 2017 runoff, and former TV pundit Eric Zemmour — are campaigning on anti-Islam, anti-migrant themes.

On the left, Paris Mayor Anne Hidago is the presidential candidate for the Socialist party and the Greens chose European lawmaker Yannick Jadot, a former Greenpeace activist. The far-left leader of the Rebel France party, Jean Lue Melenchon, is seeking the presidency for the third time.

An experienced politician, Pécresse, 54, has been the minister for higher education, for the budget and was a government spokesperson under former President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2012. Pécresse left The Republicans in 2019 amid leadership divisions after the party had a poor showing in EU elections. She rejoined the party this year.

Known as a pro-European, Pécresse in recent months has hardened her positions on immigration and security. She vowed to crack down on illegal immigration but also to step up the integration of immigrants and break down the barriers faced by the immigrant “ghettos” around France’s urban centers.

She also warned against the rise of what she called “Islamism” in France.

“I am determined to stop the rise of Islamism,” she said. “In France, women are free and the laws of the Republic are respected.”

If elected president, Pécresse said she would end France’s 35-hour workweek so employees work and earn more.

And internationally, she told the audience of about 1,000 party members and supporters, “I want a strong France.”

“I want us to play a leading role in the world, not as vassals of the United States ... and not as subordinates of China and not playing second fiddle in Europe,” she said.

———
Surk reported from Nice, France.

French conservative candidate vows to end Macron's centrism - ABC News (go.com)

 

[Plain Jane]

Bosnian ski resorts benefit from lax anti-virus measures

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — As most European nations impose new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant, Bosnia is taking a relatively laissez-faire approach to soaring COVID-19 infections in the region, much to the delight of its winter tourism industry.

apnews.com

Bosnian ski resorts benefit from lax anti-virus measures
By ELDAR EMRICan hour ago



1 of 10
Skiers wait in a lift queue on Mount Kopaonik, Serbia, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. As most of Europe reintroduces measures to help curb the spread of the omicron variant, Bosnia, to the delight of its winter tourism industry, still maintains a relatively laissez-fair approach to the soaring COVID-19 infection numbers across the continent. (AP Photo/Marjan Vucetic)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — As most European nations impose new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant, Bosnia is taking a relatively laissez-faire approach to soaring COVID-19 infections in the region, much to the delight of its winter tourism industry.

Last week, thousands of skiers from around the country, the Balkans and the European Union happily slalomed their way through fresh snow on Bosnia’s mountain slopes following the official Dec. 4 kickoff for the season. Most ski resorts in the Balkans opened over the past week as well, but with much stricter pandemic-induced capacity and access limits.

On the Jahorina and Bjelasnica mountains near Sarajevo, hosts of the 1984 Winter Olympics, long, tightly packed queues formed at ski lifts while local and international guests gathered at cafes both indoors and outdoors, with some even taking in a nightly music concert.

Travelers coming into Bosnia from the European Union, apart from Croatia, are required to have a negative pre-departure PCR test and proof of recent vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 to enter the country. Citizens of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro are exempt from that rule.https://apnews.com/article/coronavi...kyo-olympics-8ae4580e02314b97d0e11bf6c99f1573

But once a person is in Bosnia, they are not required to present proof of vaccination, a recent recovery or a recent negative test to access the ski slopes, restaurants, bars or cultural venues. While indoor mask-wearing and social distancing mandates are in place, their enforcement remains haphazard.

“We feel very safe here. Conditions are generally good, despite the pandemic,” said Sejla Ibric, who drove over 160 kilometers (100 miles) to Jahorina with her husband to enjoy the first ski weekend of the season.

The managers of the Jahorina and Bjelasnica ski resorts — which form the backbone of Bosnia’s winter tourism sites — note that some precautions seek to slow the spread of COVID-19, including mandatory mask-wearing and reduced capacity in ski lifts. Additional steps have been taken to accommodate guests’ specific pandemic-related needs.

“We have our own PCR testing laboratory and guests who require a negative test to return to their country can have their samples taken in their rooms,” says Dejan Ljevanic, the general manager of Jahorina. The resort also guarantees refunds to ski-pass holders in case they get infected, he added.

Bosnia — which has fully vaccinated only just over 24% of its 3.3 million people — has been registering about 600 new cases and 30 COVID-19 deaths a day of late. It has seen over 12,900 COVID-19 deaths in the pandemic.

Most countries near Bosnia — all of which have notably higher vaccination rates — are seeing quickly rising daily infections and tighter restrictions on daily life. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the two EU members have recently been reporting record new infections a day and Slovakia is in a national lockdown. In Croatia and Slovenia, also EU members, mandatory COVID-19 passes were introduced last month to access most public spaces. In Serbia this fall, graveyard diggers in Belgrade had to work an extra day each week to keep up with COVID-19 deaths.

“Things are going downhill back home with regards to the virus, but here it feels as if it does not exist,” said Mili Planincic of Croatia, who was getting ready to glide down a ski slope in Jahorina.

“People are relaxed, but at the same time they are keeping within reasonable limits” to prevent the spread of the infection, he added.

Others, like Milomir Zele from Serbia, said it was up to visitors to take the necessary precautions.

“One has to be careful, to wear a mask, and get vaccinated beforehand. We did all that,” he said.

Tine Salomon from Slovenia agreed: “If people act responsibly, there should be no problem. We are outdoors and the snow is good, idyllic.”

Last winter, both the Bjelasnica and Jahorina ski resorts registered a record number of visitors, due to Bosnia’s relatively low virus transmission rates compared with the rest of the region and its laid-back approach to anti-virus restrictions. However, Bosnia’s peak ski season was followed last March by a major virus surge and a spike in COVID-19 deaths in the country.

“This year, we expect the ski season to last between 4 and 4 1/2 months. It would be spectacular if we had a repeat of the last season,” said Jasmin Mehic, general manager of the Bjelasnica ski resort.

“We expect that (antivirus) restrictions will not get too harsh, although we will also respect harsher restrictions if (health authorities) decide to introduce them,” he added.
___
Sabina Niksic contributed to this story from Sarajevo.
___
Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at Coronavirus Pandemic: COVID-19 Pandemic News | AP News.

 

[lonestar09]

The US Donates 44 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles To Greece

The Greek Army received the first batch of M1117 Guardian armored vehicles as part of the US' EDA program on Wednesday, November 24.

www.overtdefense.com

The US Donates 44 M1117 Armored Security Vehicles To Greece

By Yusuf Çetiner in AFV, Defense, Greece, Ground Vehicles, News, USA November 29, 2021


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The Greek Army received the first batch of M1117 Guardian armored vehicles as part of the US Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program on Wednesday, November 24. 44 of the 1,200 M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicles were delivered to Greece in the first batch, according to reports from Ptisidiastima in the Greek press.

Under the US Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program, the remaining 450 armored vehicles will be delivered to Greece by the end of the year, and the complete 1,200 vehicles will be delivered to Greece by April 2022.

A training course for Greek Army drivers, trainers, and technicians was also completed three weeks before delivery in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The US Army’s 21st Theater Sustainment Command announced on Thursday, November 4 on its Twitter account that a Greek delegation was in Germany to participate in military vehicle familiarization of the M117 armored vehicle with soldiers from the 18th MP and to take part in the military vehicle exercise. In 2019, the United States and Greece signed a preliminary agreement to transfer the M1117 Guardian wheeled armored vehicle to Greece. Following that, the US decision to sell used M1117s to Greece was approved by the relevant parliamentary committee in December 2020, but both the COVID-19 pandemic and bureaucratic problems and obstacles caused long delays in the delivery of the vehicles during the process of sending and accepting the relevant Letter Offer and Acceptance (LOA).

Because the M1117 armored vehicles cost $800,000 to produce, the US government approved the sale of these vehicles to Greece for around 70,000 euros ($83,700) each. The vehicles were then included in the US’s Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program, which resulted in the vehicles being donated free of charge as a result of long-term negotiations between the Greek Ministry of Defense and GEETHA with their American counterparts. Under normal conditions, Greece would pay $102 million for the 1,200 M1117 armored vehicles it would receive, but it is paying merely a fraction of that (less than $1 million), with only the shipping costs being covered.

It was also stated that the Greek Army would have to purchase and install machine guns and grenade launchers itself because the M-1117 armored vehicles were delivered without weapon systems such as the 40 mm automatic grenade launchers and the 12.7mm and 7.62mm machine guns.

The M1117 ‘Guardian’ Armored Security Vehicle entered service with the US military in the early 2000s, the transfered vehicle are expected to be delivered to the Thrace 4th Corps and the Supreme Military Command of the Interior and Islands (ASDEN) tasked with protecting the Greek-Turkish land border along the Evros river, can withstand a 5 kg mine explosion and fragments of 155mm artillery shells detonated 15 meters from the vehicle. The four-wheel M1117 weighs 13,410 kg and measures 6 x 2.6 x 2.6 meters in size. It is powered by a Cummins 6CTA8.3 diesel engine that generates 260 horsepower and allows it to exceed 100 km/h on asphalt. They are equipped with a 40mm MK-19 grenade launcher and a 12.7mm machine gun.

 

[lonestar09]

Greece – Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (Hellenic Future Frigate (HF2)) | Defense Security Cooperation Agency

www.dsca.mil

Greece – Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (Hellenic Future Frigate (HF2))

WASHINGTON, December 10, 2021 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Greece of Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships and related equipment for an estimated cost of $6.9 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Greece has requested to buy four (4) Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships; five (5) COMBATSS-21 Combat Management Systems (4 installed, 1 spare); five (5) Vertical Launch Systems (VLS), MK 41 (4 installed, 1 spare; 8 cells per set); two hundred (200) Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) BLK 2 (84 installed, 10 test and training rounds, 106 spares); five (5) MK 49 Guided Missile Launcher Systems (4 installed, 1 spare); eight (8) RAM BLK 2 telemetry missiles; thirty-two (32) Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC) missiles (VLA) (12 installed (3 per ship), 8 test and training rockets, 12 spares); sixteen (16) 7.62mm M240B machine guns with ammunition (8 installed (2 per ship), 8 spares), and thirty-two (32) MK-54 All Up Round Lightweight Torpedoes (16 installed (4 per ship), 16 spares).

Also included are additional single, VLS cells for VLA; ordnance; testing; training; follow-on support; TRS-4D radars; Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM); Common Anti-Air Modular Missile- Extended Range (CAMM-ER); Naval Strike Missile (NSM) RGM-184B and launchers; MK 46 Lightweight Upgrade to MK 54 Lightweight Torpedo; torpedo containers; Recoverable Exercise Torpedoes (REXTORP) with containers; Exercise Torpedoes (EXTORP) with containers; Expendable Mobile A-size Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Training Targets (EMATTs); Fleet Exercise Section (FES) and fuel tanks to be used with MK 54 conversion kits; air launch accessories for fixed wing; 76mm OTO STRALES gun with ordnance; Fire Control Radar; Gun Computer System; 20mm Narwhal gun system with ordnance; M2A1 .50 caliber machine gun with ammunition; NIXIE SLQ-25 Surface Ship Torpedo Defense System; Sylena MK 2 Decoy Launching System with CANTO torpedo countermeasure; Elta Electronic Warfare suite with counterunmanned aerial system capability; Compact Low Frequency Active Passive Variable Depth Sonar-2 (CAPTAS-2); Low Frequency Active Towed Sonar (LFATS); SQQ-89; AN/ARC-210 (RT-2036(C)) radios; Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Equipment; Infrared Search and Track/EO director; Naval Laser Warning System; chemical, biological and radiological threat detectors; and 7 meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB).

Also included are support and test equipment; spare and repair parts; communications equipment, including Link 16 communications equipment; Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES); AN/SRQ-4 Tactical Common Datalink; Global Command and Control System-Joint (GCCS-J); Air Defense Systems Integrator (ADSI); cryptographic equipment including SY-150, SY-117G, and KYV-5M; Defense Advance GPS Receiver (DAGR); software delivery and support; facilities and construction support; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services; test and trials support; studies and surveys; and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated total cost is $6.9 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally, which is an important partner for political stability and economic progress in Europe.

The proposed sale will improve Greece’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing an effective combatant deterrent capability to protect maritime interests and infrastructure in support of its strategic location on NATO’s southern flank. This acquisition, which will be awarded to the winner of an international competition for Hellenic Navy (HN) frigate modernization, will enhance stability and maritime security in the Eastern Mediterranean region and contribute to security and strategic objectives of NATO and the United States. Greece contributes to NATO operations in Kosovo, as well as to counterterrorism and counter-piracy maritime efforts. Greece will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, MD. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of approximately 8 additional U.S. Government and 22 U.S. contractor representatives to Greece to support engineering and logistics support for the production and integration of Hellenic Future Frigates into the Hellenic Navy Fleet.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This notice of a potential sale is required by law. The description and dollar value is for the highest estimated quantity and dollar value based on initial requirements. Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded. All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

 

[Plain Jane]

See post 14. Apparently the intelligence officers arrested in Denmark were leaking intelligence to the US.

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Arrest Of Surveillance Officers Shows Denmark Is Washington's Lead Eye Into Spying On Other EU Allies

BY TYLER DURDEN
MONDAY, DEC 13, 2021 - 02:00 AM
Authored by Ron Ridenour via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
Danish military intelligence has been systematically spying upon its own citizens for United States economic profit and political interests.


Two former or current secret surveillance officers for Denmark’s Military Intelligence Service (Forsvars Efterretningstjeneste FE) and two current or former Police Secret Service (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste PET) were arrested for leaking “deeply confidential information”. Three of them appeared before Copenhagen’s City Court yesterday. To fængslet i hemmeligt grundlovsforhør: Medarbejdere anholdt for lækager fra FE og PET | Indland | DR

The court forbad media coverage in court. The nine-hour indictment hearing was held behind double locked doors. Denmarks Radio (DR), the public service radio-television-online medium, learned only that three of the four were heard in court, one was released and two remanded in custody. There is no information about the fourth person arrested.

FE is the equivalent to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. While the FE jurisdiction also covers military intelligence, they must not spy on Danish people—only foreigners and those in other countries. The Police Intelligence Service (PET) surveils Danes, as the FBI surveils people within the U.S. The constitution forbids blanket spying on any Danish resident without court approval.

Trine Maria Ilsoee, DR legal reporter, wrote that there is “nearly no precedence” that there is an “internal investigation in PET and FE.” If found guilty they could end up in prison for 12 years.

As of now, the public does not know what the leaking is about. Ilsoee mentions two possibilities. One of those is Denmark’s biggest spying scandal to date.

Last May, Denmarks Radio (DR) published information provided by at least one FE whistleblower exposing how Danish governments (right and so-called left) have been violating its own constitution by spying upon all its inhabitants and upon its closest neighbor leaders. Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste lod USA spionere mod Angela Merkel, franske, norske og svenske toppolitikere gennem danske internetkabler | Indland | DR (2) (See France and Germany ‘seeking full clarity’ from US and Denmark on spying report – CNN )
Ironically, it may be that the state prosecutor in the current case is contending that those charged have violated Denmark’s constitution by revealing secrets. This may well be associated with the US’s Espionage Act, and Britain’s Official Secrets Act.

FE has been illegally and systematically spying upon its own citizens for United States economic profit and political interests. This has nothing to do with spying upon their “enemies” (Russia, China, Iran, et al.).

Operation Dunhammer is the codename for a FE internal investigation of how the US’s National Security Agency (NSA) was sucking all surveillance out of its spy network with the Danish military secret service.

For several months DR has been working with journalists from Sweden (SVT), Norway, Germany (Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, WDR) and France (Le Monde) on these new developments. Their work forced some of 35 national leaders known to be spied upon by the U.S. to come forth.

“We demand to be fully informed about matters concerning Swedish citizens, companies and interests. And then we have to see how the answer sounds from the political side in Denmark,” Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told national broadcaster SVT.

Norway, Sweden Demand Answers on Espionage After Report of Denmark Helping NSA Spy on EU Politicians – Sputnik International (sputniknews.com)

PM Emmanuel Macron said such behavior is “unacceptable among allies”.


Danish Defense Minister Trine Bramsen said the government “cannot and will not enter into speculation about intelligence matters”, yet she emphasized that she views the systematic wiretapping of close allies as “unacceptable”.

The information of long-standing illegalities, which the understaffed and weak Danish Intelligence Oversight Committee (TET) presented to the public last August, includes:

1. Withholding “key and crucial information to government authorities” and the oversight committee between 2014 and today;
2. Illegal activities even before 2014;
3. Telling “lies” to policy makers;
4. Illegal surveillance on Danish citizens, including a member of the oversight committee. (Some of this illegal spying had been shared with unnamed sources [perhaps the U.S.?]);
5. Unauthorized activities have been shelved and;
6. The FE failed to follow up on indications of espionage within areas of the Ministry of Defense.

When DR first exposed some of this spying, Defense Minister Bramsen suspended five FE leaders responsible. Under pressure from several political parties, and most likely the U.S., she reinstated them in different jobs.

Bramsen said that a secret internal investigation into the reports by TET would begin in December and last one year. Results will be shown only to a select few in government and to only five parliamentarians, who must not share information with anyone else.

What is to be and not be investigated will not be revealed either. That was made clear by the government to DR when it first published the whistleblower’s revelations. Reporter Trine Marie Ilsøee wrote:


“We cannot expect that most of the possible illegalities committed will be made public.” She added that Denmark’s intelligence services are connected to and dependent upon foreign powers [i.e. U.S. and not Europe]. Denmark could be compromised if secrets were revealed. “After all, intelligence services operate in secrecy.”

Edward Snowden first revealed some of this spying, XKEYSCORE, in 2013, which also involves spying within the “international community”. XKEYSCORE: NSA’s Google for the World’s Private Communications (theintercept.com) and Portrait of the NSA: no detail too small in quest for total surveillance | NSA | The Guardian.

Denmark is one of the US’s closest Eyes, part of “9 Eyes” (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand—5 Eyes—plus the Netherlands, Norway and France, and “14 Eyes”, which includes Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Italy and Spain).

What is unravelling seems to show that Denmark is US’s lead Eye into spying on other European allies. The Nordic countries share the same original language and cultural roots, including having been the warring Vikings. Sweden and especially Norway were also under Danish colonial control for centuries. Outposts of the U.S. Surveillance Empire: Denmark and Beyond – CovertAction Magazine.

 

[northern watch]

Marathon talks to form next Dutch coalition near finish line
Officials say the four parties negotiating to form the next Dutch coalition government have agreed on a policy blueprint
By MIKE CORDER Associated Press
13 December 2021, 11:40

The Associated Press
FILE - In this file photo dated Friday, April 2, 2021, caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte leaves after surviving a no-confidence motion in parliament in The Hague, Netherlands. The four parties negotiating to form the next ruling Dutch coalition in The Hague, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, plan to send a policy blueprint for the next term of government to lawmakers this week, marking another step toward the end of marathon talks that followed a March election. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, FILE)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The four parties negotiating to form the next Dutch coalition government agreed Monday on a policy blueprint, officials overseeing the talks announced, a major step toward the end of their marathon talks.

The deal, details of which were not yet released, was finally nailed down 271 days after the March 17 election — making it the longest coalition-building effort in Dutch history. It is now expected to reviewed by the four parties' parliamentary blocs before being sent to Parliament for debate.

The two officials steering the talks announced earlier that they were planning to send the blueprint, known as a coalition accord, to Parliament on Wednesday. Once lawmakers have debated the plan, the coalition formation process advances to the next stage — selecting ministers to make up the next Cabinet.

The March election was won by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. If these talks produce a new coalition, Rutte is poised to begin a fourth term as prime minister after leading a caretaker administration since the election.

The four parties hammering out policies are the same four that made up the last Dutch coalition. That government, made up of Rutte’s conservative VVD, the pro-European D66, the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal and centrist Christian Union resigned weeks ahead of the March election to take political responsibility for a scandal in which thousands of parents were plunged into debt after being wrongly identified as fraudsters by tax authorities.

But despite that and other scandals that hit Rutte, the four parties now look set to return for what remains of the next four-year term in office.

Marathon talks to form next Dutch coalition near finish line - ABC News (go.com)

 

[Plain Jane]

Lithuania: Taking a stand against China – DW – 12/13/2021

Few countries have dared to challenge China like Lithuania. Vilnius has left an economic forum with Beijing, advised people to throw away Chinese smartphones and opened diplomatic ties with Taiwan. What are its motives?

www.dw.com

Lithuania: Taking a stand against China
Few countries have dared to challenge China like Lithuania. Vilnius has left an economic forum with Beijing, advised people to throw away Chinese smartphones and opened diplomatic ties with Taiwan. What are its motives?




Lithuania's president Gitanas Nauseda is shaping the country's foreign and security policies

The building at the heart of the row is a rather inconspicuous office block in the Lithuanian capital. Behind its shiny glass facade you can find law firms, consultancies and other companies. But, at the end of November, new tenants moved into 16b J. Jasinskio Street in Vilnius — and that was when the trouble really started.

It's the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania — and that has unleashed a furious response more than 6,500 km further east in Beijing.

The inconspicuous office at the heart of a rift between China and Lithuania

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and views any diplomatic relationship with Taiwan as an attack on its One China policy. That's why, of late, it has been putting more and more pressure on countries to break off their ties with Taiwan.

There are few countries left in the world that represent Taiwan under its official name. And those that dare to do so tend to be small and of little economic significance: the Marshall Islands, for example, Guatemala, St. Lucia and Eswatini, the African state formerly known as Swaziland.

But tiny Lithuania is an EU member state. It has permitted Taiwan to open its first de facto embassy on European soil for 18 years.

Lithuania's decision to allow Taipei to open a de facto embassy has angered China

Repeated tensions with China
This is not the first time that Lithuania has shown China the cold shoulder.
In September, the Lithuanian defense ministry officially advised consumers not to buy Chinese smartphones — and suggested that people who had already bought these cellphones should throw them away. The national cybersecurity body had found that the phones contained a censorship feature that could be activated at any time.

Lithuania also plans to expand its 5G telecommunications network without the participation of any Chinese companies — for "safety reasons." And at the beginning of 2020 it became the only country, so far, to leave the so-called 17+1 economic cooperation forum between China and many central and eastern European countries.

"We believe that the economic relations established with democratic states are more sustainable and long-lasting, they are more based on the principle of the rule of law, therefore they are more in line with Lithuania's interests," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in mid-November.

Beijing is increasingly incensed by the approach being taken in Vilnius. At the end of November, the Global Times — the English-language mouthpiece of the Chinese communist party — expressed its fury at the audacity of a country with a "population [that] is not even as large as that of Chaoyang district in Beijing." It added that Lithuania was "just a mouse, or even a flea, under the feet of a fighting elephant."

China has stopped the export of goods to Lithuania in retaliation

The elephant strikes back
And the elephant swiftly retaliated. At the end of November, China downgraded diplomatic relations with the tiny Baltic state, permanently recalling its own ambassador from Vilnius and declaring his Lithuanian counterpart persona non grata.

"The tone in Chinese state media was very sharp," according to Kai-Olaf Lang, specialist for Baltic affairs at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). "Lithuania perceived that accordingly." But, he says, it left the government feeling that it had taken the right course regarding Taiwan. "The line is: We cannot give in now," according to Lang.

The expert believes that Vilnius can afford to act like this because only 1.1% of Lithuania's exports in 2020 went to China. And even though the proportion of Chinese imports over the same period was slightly higher, Lang says that this is "nothing that would plunge the country into more major problems."

Ethics-driven foreign policy
Unlike many other states, Lithuania does not have to worry about its economic interests in its foreign policy towards China. In addition, Lithuanians are particularly skeptical when it comes to communist regimes because of their own history.

In 1990, Lithuania was the first country to actively declare its independence from the Soviet Union, successfully opposing the much mightier Moscow. The SWP expert says that freedom, democracy and human rights have been values that politicians in Lithuania have been strongly advocating ever since.

According to Kai-Olaf Lang, that trend has become more pronounced since autumn 2020 when there was a change of government in Vilnius. This came at the height of pro-democratic protests against Alexander Lukashenko in neighboring Belarus.

Lithuania has also given asylum to dissidents from Belarus

"Many Lithuanians were reminded of their own fight for freedom," says Lang. The new center-right government also agreed in their coalition treaty that they would "actively oppose every violation of human rights and democratic liberties and defend all those who are fighting for freedom in the world — from Belarus to Taiwan."

In the intervening period, the country has offered refuge to many politically persecuted dissidents from its southeastern neighbor, including Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskay.

Backing from Washington
Lithuania's relations with Beijing, Minsk and Moscow are traditionally tense. The country's insurance policy in terms of national security is its alliance with the United States via its NATO membership, for instance.

While Washington has its problems with the foreign policy adopted towards China or Russia by other European countries, the Baltics expert says that Lithuania has shown itself to be "a loyal partner of the United States by trying to push back against Russia, while, at the same time, signaling to Washington: "We are going in the same direction when it comes to containing China," says Lang.

Lithuania relies chiefly on NATO and the US in terms of foreign policy

Knowing the US has its back, Lithuania is pushing for a stricter, common European policy towards China. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said earlier this year that it was time to drop the 17+1 format in favor of the "much more efficient 27+1," calling for unity among the 27 EU member states when it came to relations with China. "The EU is strongest when all 27 member states act together along with EU institutions," he said.

The escalation of tensions between Vilnius and Beijing does seem to be stirring some movement within the European Union with respect to this one point at least. "The EU is ready to stand up against all types of political pressure and coercive measures applied against any member state," said the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on December 8, in a warning to Beijing.

Brussels is signaling its resolve to Beijing. It looks as if the tenants in 16b J. Jasinskio Street in Vilnius are set to stay.
This article was originally written in German

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Ukraine Lashes Out At Germany For Blocking NATO Weapons Supply

BY TYLER DURDEN
TUESDAY, DEC 14, 2021 - 02:45 AM
Ukraine is angrily pointing the finger at Germany for blocking NATO weapons sales to the country as Kiev officials continue sounding the alarm over preparations for a possible Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov lashed out at Berlin during a fresh Financial Times interview: "They continue to build the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and at the same time block our [purchases of] defensive weapons. This is very unfair," he said.


He pinpointed that it was Germany blocking the NATO transfer, describing also that last month Germany vetoed Ukraine's purchase of anti-drone weapons and other defensive military gear through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA). But German leaders have recently signaled they believe only a "political" solution can resolve the crisis and ensure lasting peace in the Donbass region, a policy of the Merkel government.

Reznikov said that Ukraine will now seek to ink outside bilateral deals individually with supportive nations like the US, UK, France, and Lithuania. But the Biden administration, which appears to be seeking ways to quickly climb down from the current drastically heightened tensions with Russia, is unlikely to pump more arms to Kiev anytime soon, in order to avoid unnecessarily provoking Putin.

On Friday Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement urging that NATO immediately rescind a 2008 promise that it would "eventually" admit Ukraine and Georgia - both which border Russia and are former Soviet satellite states. "In the fundamental interests of European security, it is necessary to formally disavow the decision of the 2008 NATO Bucharest summit that 'Ukraine and Georgia will become NATO members,'" statement said.

Many analysts have observed the likelihood that more West-supplied weapons for Ukraine would only ensure Russia positions itself for directly in the conflict in Donbass...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1468632473932230661

View: https://twitter.com/reason/status/1468632473932230661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1468632473932230661%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fukraine-lashes-out-germany-blocking-nato-weapons-supply

As we earlier detailed, just before that State Dept. officials said it's unlikely that Ukraine would receive NATO membership for at least the next decade.

"Biden also will have to finesse Ukraine’s desire to join NATO. The US and NATO reject Putin’s demands that they guarantee Ukraine won’t be admitted to the Western military alliance," the Associated Press reported late last week. "But senior State Department officials have told Ukraine that NATO membership is unlikely to be approved in the next decade, according to a person familiar with those private talks who spoke on condition of anonymity."


Yet hawks on both side of the aisles in Congress are continuing to pressure Biden into some kind of more muscular action on the Ukraine-Russia issue, either through more robust weapons packages, or through some firmer level of commitment of a path to NATO membership.

 

[Plain Jane]

UK lawmakers OK virus restrictions but Johnson faces dissent

British lawmakers have voted to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant.

apnews.com

UK lawmakers OK virus restrictions but Johnson faces dissent
By JILL LAWLESSyesterday



1 of 2
FILE- Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a press conference in London, Saturday Nov. 27, 2021, after cases of the new COVID-19 variant were confirmed in the UK. British lawmakers will vote Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2921 on whether to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus — and many will have more than public health on their minds when they say yes or no. (Hollie Adams/Pool via AP, File)

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a major revolt by lawmakers in his own Conservative Party who are opposed to the regulations.

The result was a blow to the authority of the embattled prime minister, whose approval ratings — both with voters and inside the party — have plunged amid ethics scandals and allegations that his government breached its own pandemic restrictions.

The House of Commons voted on measures that take effect this week, ordering masks to be worn in most indoor settings in England, changing rules on self-isolation and — most contentiously — requiring proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to enter nightclubs and large crowded events.

All passed comfortably because of opposition party support, but 97 Conservatives voted against the nightclub rules, according to a House of Commons tally — by far the biggest rebellion of Johnson’s premiership. It came despite Johnson imploring Tory legislators to back the measures in a private meeting just before the vote.


Lawmaker Charles Walker, one of the rebels, called the vote “a cry of pain from the Conservative Party” that the prime minister must heed.
https://apnews.com/article/business...-chris-cuomo-50800620a987de4d30f167aa65fd2945

Vaccine passes have become commonplace in many European countries, but Johnson’s government has resisted introducing them in England, although the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set their own health rules, have done so.

The British government argues that the highly transmissible omicron strain has changed the argument, and COVID passes for some venues are now a sensible measure, alongside booster vaccinations for all adults.

“Omicron is a grave threat,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers, saying the strain was already estimated to be infecting 200,000 people a day in the U.K.

He said the nightclub rule was “not a vaccine passport” because people could also use a negative virus test to enter venues.

Many Conservative legislators, however, argued that the new requirements were economically damaging and restricted individual freedoms.

Former government minister Andrea Leadsom called the regulations “a slippery slope.” Conservative lawmaker Greg Smith argued that vaccine passes and mandatory vaccinations for health workers — another government policy — marked “a fundamental change in the relationship between citizen and state, and one to be resisted.”

Other Conservatives argued vaccine passes would not slow the spread of the virus, because omicron appears more resistant to vaccines, while some accused the government of exaggerating the threat from the new variant.

The opposition Labour Party, meanwhile, backed the rules. Labour health spokesman West Streeting said they were “a necessary response to the omicron threat.”

“We can’t be sure about the severity of the omicron variant, but we can be certain that it’s spreading and spreading fast,” he said. “When people invoke the story of the boy who cried wolf — the warnings that came before but never materialized — people should remember that in the end there was a wolf.”

As if to underscore omicron’s rapid spread, a handful of lawmakers missed the vote because they have COVID-19 and are in quarantine.

The rebellion was a sign of growing discontent with Johnson in Conservative ranks. The party picked him to be leader in 2019 because he promised to “get Brexit done” after three years of gridlock over Britain’s departure from the European Union under Prime Minister Theresa May. The same promise helped Johnson win a December 2019 election with an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons, the biggest for any Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Since then the pandemic and a series of scandals have chipped away at the support for Johnson and his government. Johnson’s initial reluctance to impose a nationwide lockdown in early 2020 helped give the U.K. the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe apart from Russia, with more than 146,000 deaths.

A successful vaccination program helped Johnson recover some of his authority, but his government has faced damaging allegations that it flouted the coronavirus rules it imposed on everyone else, including claims staff in Johnson’s 10 Downing St. office held lockdown-breaching Christmas parties last year. Johnson has ordered an inquiry, but insists he personally broke no rules.

The government also faced charges of cronyism when it tried to block the suspension of a Conservative lawmaker found to have broken lobbying rules by advocating on behalf of two companies who were paying him. The government changed tack after an outcry and the lawmaker, Owen Paterson, resigned.

A special election on Thursday to replace Paterson could add to Johnson’s woes. Polls suggest the opposition Liberal Democrats may take the seat from the Conservatives. Nationally, the Labour Party has opened up a lead in opinion polls.

Since a national election is not scheduled until 2024, the danger for Johnson comes largely from his own party. The Conservatives have a long history of dumping leaders when they become unpopular.

“Clearly, he is in trouble,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “The question is whether that trouble is terminal or not.

“I doubt whether he is in any immediate danger — he will still be there by Christmas. But I think the new year will be an interesting few months.”
___
Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at Coronavirus Pandemic: COVID-19 Pandemic News | AP News.

 

[danielboon]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1471118394493743109

View: https://twitter.com/theragex/status/1471118394493743109

 

[Plain Jane]

Denmark to ship prisoners off to Kosovo – DW – 12/15/2021

The Danish government will rent prison cells in Kosovo to house 300 inmates in a bid to reduce overcrowding. The measure will be limited to prisoners who were already set to be deported out of Denmark.

www.dw.com

Denmark to ship prisoners off to Kosovo
The Danish government will rent prison cells in Kosovo to house 300 inmates in a bid to reduce overcrowding. The measure will be limited to prisoners who were already set to be deported out of Denmark.




Denmark is also constructing a new high-security prison

Denmark is reforming its prison system with a 4-billion-Danish-krone ($607 million, €538 million) funding boost for "new initiatives," the country's government announced on Wednesday.

One of the initiatives will see the Scandinavian country pay Kosovo to house 300 prison inmates. The Danish government said the measure targets "foreigners sentenced to deportation" who were due to be expelled out of Denmark once they complete their sentences. The agreement was backed by several parties across the political spectrum before being announced by the Danish Justice Ministry on Twitter.

Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup described the funding hike as "historic" but only a first step in "a long, hard struggle" to rebalance the Danish prison service.

"At the same time, we are ensuring better working conditions for our prison officers, who have been carrying a very heavy burden for a number of years," he said.

Denmark to get tough with new prison
The wealthy EU nation struggles with overpopulated prisons, with its prison population growing 19% since 2015. It currently houses over 4,000 prisoners in the nation of 5.8 million people. At the same time, the number of prison wardens is shrinking, and the country is expected to have a shortfall of 1,000 places by 2025.

On Wednesday, Danish government said it was constructing a new high-security prison for hardened criminals. The reforms will also see badly behaved prisoners suffer harsher consequences if they assault or threaten prison staff or other prisoners.

Most prisoners in Denmark currently serve their sentences in the so-called open prisons. These facilities house people sentenced to five years or less, and allow inmates to wear their own clothes and cook their own meals. Many of the prisons do not have a classic security perimeter comprised of fences and turrets. The inmates also get frequent visits and can request a temporary leave.

The AFP news agency contributed to this report.
Edited by: Farah Bahgat

 

[northern watch]

UK inflation hits decade high, pressuring Bank of England
Consumer prices in the United Kingdom are rising at their highest rate in over a decade as a result of soaring energy costs and blockages in the supply chain
By PAN PYLAS Associated Press
15 December 2021, 04:31

LONDON -- Consumer prices in the United Kingdom are rising at their highest rate in over a decade as a result of soaring energy costs and blockages in the supply chain, official figures showed Wednesday, a day before a highly anticipated interest rate decision from the Bank of England.

The Office for National Statistics found that inflation rose by 5.1% in the year to November, up dramatically from October's 4.2% with widespread surging prices across a raft of goods and services, including for fuel, energy, cars, clothing and food,

The increase was more than the 4.8% consensus of economists' forecasts and takes inflation to its highest level since September 2011. Around the world, countries are recording multiyear high levels of inflation. The United States saw its inflation rate spike to 6.8% in the year to November, the highest level in nearly 40 years. In the 19 countries that use the euro currency, the rate hit 4.9%, the highest since recordkeeping began in 1997.

The latest spike in the U.K. is likely to ramp up pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates Thursday, with inflation running at more than double the bank's target of 2%.

Economists are split as to whether there will be a majority among the bank's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee to raise the benchmark rate from a record low of 0.1%. If it were to do so, it would be the first central bank within the Group of Seven industrial economies to raise borrowing rates since the coronavirus pandemic began nearly two years ago.

Two members backed a rate increase to 0.25% at the last meeting in early November, and it would take another three to join. But the recent emergence and spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus has increased speculation that the panel will wait.

With infections widely anticipated to hit levels not seen before during the pandemic and new restrictions imposed, there are worries over the already muted economic recovery in the U.K.

“Inflation is close to being further above the target than at any point since the U.K. started targeting inflation in October 1992,” said Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics. “This makes tomorrow’s interest rate decision look closer, but on balance we think the Bank of England is more likely to keep rates at 0.1% until it learns more about the omicron situation.”

An interest rate increase, however modest, would increase many loans and mortgages. For households juggling their Christmas budgets, it's the last thing they need.

UK inflation hits decade high, pressuring Bank of England - ABC News (go.com)

 

[northern watch]

Norway's central bank raises key policy interest rate
Norway’s central bank has raised its key policy interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, citing the upswing in the economy that it said likely will continue

By The Associated Press
16 December 2021, 02:44

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Norway’s central bank on Thursday raised its key policy interest rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, citing the upswing in the economy that it said was likely to continue.

If the growth continues, the bank is expected to make more rate increases next year, officials said.

“There is considerable uncertainty about the evolution of the pandemic and its effects on the economy. But if economic developments evolve broadly in line with the projections, the policy rate will most likely be raised in March,” Norges Bank Governor Oeystein Olsen said.

It comes as consumer prices rose 5.1% over the past year, according to Statistics Norway.

Olsen noted that in recent weeks, the number of new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have reached a new peak since the beginning of the pandemic. That, along with restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, were expected to hurt economic activity in the short term, Olsen said.

“When infection rates subside further out and containment measures are eased, the economic upswing will likely continue,” he said. “Rising wage growth and higher imported goods inflation is expected to push up underlying inflation ahead.”

The interest rate increase, which takes effect Friday, comes the same day other central banks — including the European Central Bank and Bank of England — issue decisions amid high inflation and worries about the new omicron variant of the virus.

Oil-rich Norway is not part of the European Union, though it has a close economic relationship with the bloc.

Norway's central bank raises key policy interest rate - ABC News (go.com)

 

[northern watch]

Europe faces tough call on stimulus amid omicron fears
The European Central Bank is facing a tough decision Thursday
By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer
16 December 2021, 01:30

The Associated Press
FILE - President of European Central Bank Christine Lagarde speaks during a press conference following the meeting of the governing council in Frankfurt, Oct. 28, 2021. The European Central Bank is being pulled two ways: It's caught between a scheduled end of its pandemic stimulus and growing alarm about the new omicron variant of the coronavirus even as other banks around the world decide to take steps to combat soaring consumer prices. The dilemma faced by the bank and President Christine Lagarde at their meeting Thursday Dec. 16, 2021 in Frankfurt is compounded by an wave of infections caused by the delta variant. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FRANKFURT, Germany -- The European Central Bank is being pulled two ways: It's caught between a scheduled end of its pandemic stimulus and growing alarm about the new omicron variant of the coronavirus even as other central banks around the world decide to take steps to combat soaring consumer prices.

The dilemma faced by the bank and President Christine Lagarde at their meeting Thursday in Frankfurt is compounded by an wave of infections caused by the earlier delta variant. On top of that, persistent shortages of parts and raw materials also are contributing to a late-year slowdown of the recovery in the 19 European Union countries that use the euro.

Many questions are unanswered about the fast-spreading omicron variant, including whether it can evade vaccines and the likelihood of severe illness. That makes the outcome of Thursday's European Central Bank meeting harder to predict than usual, analysts say.

“Rarely has the backdrop for a major ECB decision been as uncomfortable and as uncertain as it is now,” analysts at Berenberg bank said.

With the eurozone economy within 0.3% of its pre-pandemic level and inflation at a record high of 4.9%, there are factors pushing “in favor of reducing the monetary stimulus significantly and fast," the Berenberg analysts said. “However, the recent surge in infections in core Europe and the rapid spread of the omicron variant ... are casting a dark shadow over the near-term outlook for the eurozone.”

Analysts say the bank's governing council will probably confirm that a 1.85 trillion euro ($2.08 trillion) bond purchase stimulus will end as scheduled in March 2022. But the bank could decide to maintain part of the pandemic stimulus by moving some of the bond purchases to a preexisting program. It could also promise to restart the pandemic program if needed.

The bond purchases drive down longer-term borrowing rates and aim to keep financing affordable so businesses can get through the pandemic slowdown.

The Bank of England faces a similar tough decision Thursday between higher inflation and worries about omicron. Analysts say an increase in the bank’s benchmark rate is possible. If it were to raise rates, it would be the first central bank within the world’s leading advanced economies to do so since the pandemic began.

Analysts don't expect a first European Central Bank interest rate increase from record lows until well into 2023, a year or more behind expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate liftoff.

The Fed has decided to speed up its exit from pandemic crisis support, saying Wednesday it would reduce its monthly bond purchases at twice the pace it had previously set and will likely end them in March. That puts the Fed on a path to start raising rates as early as the first half of next year.

In the eurozone, inflation is well above the European bank's goal of 2%, but bank officials and many economists say the spike in consumer prices is temporary and will likely ease next year. The bank's most recent staff projections foresee inflation of only 1.5% in 2023. New forecasts, including the first inflation outlook for 2024, are due at Thursday's meeting.

It’s a different situation than that faced by the Fed, where U.S. stimulus and infrastructure spending on top of a robust rebound in growth have resulted in stronger inflation pressures.

The eurozone economy grew 2.2% in the third quarter from the previous quarter, but economists say that pace has already slowed significantly due to parts shortages and higher virus cases that discourage face-to-face indoor activity and add burdens on travel.

Europe faces tough call on stimulus amid omicron fears - ABC News (go.com)

 

[northern watch]

Bank of England raises interest rates to combat inflation
The Bank of England has raised interest rates to combat surging consumer prices
By PAN PYLAS Associated Press
16 December 2021, 04:17

The Associated Press
FILE - A woman wears a face mask while walking crossing a road outside the Bank of England, in the financial district, known as The City, in London, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. With prices rising at the fastest pace in a decade in the run-up to Christmas, households up and down the United Kingdom could do without an increase in their loans and mortgages if the Bank of England decides to raise interest rates Thursday Dec. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

LONDON -- The Bank of England raised interest rates in the United Kingdom on Thursday to combat surging consumer prices, becoming the first central bank among the world’s leading economies to do so since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The increase in the bank's main rate to 0.25% from the record low of 0.1% was a surprise given the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus across the country, which is already hurting many businesses, particularly those in the hospitality sector.

But with consumer price inflation running at 5.1%, more than double the bank's target of 2%, the vast majority on the bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee decided action was needed now. For many households struggling with rising prices, it's likely to be another hit to their incomes, at least in the short-term, with mortgages and loans set to increase, too.

The Bank of England’s decision comes a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would speed up its tightening of credit as inflation reached a 40-year high in November. In contrast, the European Central Bank is expected to sound a note of caution as it also meets Thursday.

Minutes of the Bank of England's decision showed that eight of the nine members of the rate-setting panel backed the increase.

It sent the pound soaring in currency markets. Soon after the decision, it was trading 0.7% higher at $1.3355.

Bank of England raises interest rates to combat inflation - ABC News (go.com)

 

[northern watch]

UK lawmakers OK virus restrictions but Johnson faces dissent

British lawmakers have voted to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant.

apnews.com

UK lawmakers OK virus restrictions but Johnson faces dissent
By JILL LAWLESSyesterday



1 of 2
FILE- Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a press conference in London, Saturday Nov. 27, 2021, after cases of the new COVID-19 variant were confirmed in the UK. British lawmakers will vote Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2921 on whether to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus — and many will have more than public health on their minds when they say yes or no. (Hollie Adams/Pool via AP, File)
LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a major revolt by lawmakers in his own Conservative Party who are opposed to the regulations.

The result was a blow to the authority of the embattled prime minister, whose approval ratings — both with voters and inside the party — have plunged amid ethics scandals and allegations that his government breached its own pandemic restrictions.

The House of Commons voted on measures that take effect this week, ordering masks to be worn in most indoor settings in England, changing rules on self-isolation and — most contentiously — requiring proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to enter nightclubs and large crowded events.

All passed comfortably because of opposition party support, but 97 Conservatives voted against the nightclub rules, according to a House of Commons tally — by far the biggest rebellion of Johnson’s premiership. It came despite Johnson imploring Tory legislators to back the measures in a private meeting just before the vote.


Lawmaker Charles Walker, one of the rebels, called the vote “a cry of pain from the Conservative Party” that the prime minister must heed.
Publisher scraps plans to release book by Chris Cuomo | AP News

Vaccine passes have become commonplace in many European countries, but Johnson’s government has resisted introducing them in England, although the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set their own health rules, have done so.

The British government argues that the highly transmissible omicron strain has changed the argument, and COVID passes for some venues are now a sensible measure, alongside booster vaccinations for all adults.

“Omicron is a grave threat,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers, saying the strain was already estimated to be infecting 200,000 people a day in the U.K.

He said the nightclub rule was “not a vaccine passport” because people could also use a negative virus test to enter venues.

Many Conservative legislators, however, argued that the new requirements were economically damaging and restricted individual freedoms.

Former government minister Andrea Leadsom called the regulations “a slippery slope.” Conservative lawmaker Greg Smith argued that vaccine passes and mandatory vaccinations for health workers — another government policy — marked “a fundamental change in the relationship between citizen and state, and one to be resisted.”

Other Conservatives argued vaccine passes would not slow the spread of the virus, because omicron appears more resistant to vaccines, while some accused the government of exaggerating the threat from the new variant.

The opposition Labour Party, meanwhile, backed the rules. Labour health spokesman West Streeting said they were “a necessary response to the omicron threat.”

“We can’t be sure about the severity of the omicron variant, but we can be certain that it’s spreading and spreading fast,” he said. “When people invoke the story of the boy who cried wolf — the warnings that came before but never materialized — people should remember that in the end there was a wolf.”

As if to underscore omicron’s rapid spread, a handful of lawmakers missed the vote because they have COVID-19 and are in quarantine.

The rebellion was a sign of growing discontent with Johnson in Conservative ranks. The party picked him to be leader in 2019 because he promised to “get Brexit done” after three years of gridlock over Britain’s departure from the European Union under Prime Minister Theresa May. The same promise helped Johnson win a December 2019 election with an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons, the biggest for any Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Since then the pandemic and a series of scandals have chipped away at the support for Johnson and his government. Johnson’s initial reluctance to impose a nationwide lockdown in early 2020 helped give the U.K. the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe apart from Russia, with more than 146,000 deaths.

A successful vaccination program helped Johnson recover some of his authority, but his government has faced damaging allegations that it flouted the coronavirus rules it imposed on everyone else, including claims staff in Johnson’s 10 Downing St. office held lockdown-breaching Christmas parties last year. Johnson has ordered an inquiry, but insists he personally broke no rules.

The government also faced charges of cronyism when it tried to block the suspension of a Conservative lawmaker found to have broken lobbying rules by advocating on behalf of two companies who were paying him. The government changed tack after an outcry and the lawmaker, Owen Paterson, resigned.

A special election on Thursday to replace Paterson could add to Johnson’s woes. Polls suggest the opposition Liberal Democrats may take the seat from the Conservatives. Nationally, the Labour Party has opened up a lead in opinion polls.

Since a national election is not scheduled until 2024, the danger for Johnson comes largely from his own party. The Conservatives have a long history of dumping leaders when they become unpopular.

“Clearly, he is in trouble,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. “The question is whether that trouble is terminal or not.

“I doubt whether he is in any immediate danger — he will still be there by Christmas. But I think the new year will be an interesting few months.”
___
Follow all AP stories on the pandemic at Coronavirus Pandemic: COVID-19 Pandemic News | AP News.

There is a UK By-election today, North Shropshire normally a safe conservative seat, but not now.

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Russia Puts The Blame On Europe As Energy Crisis Worsens

BY TYLER DURDEN
FRIDAY, DEC 17, 2021 - 02:00 AM
Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

• The EU is reconsidering its position on extending long-term natural gas contracts.
• Russia has maintained that the contracts are beneficial for Europe and moving away from them would be a mistake.
• Russia even went as far as suggesting that Europe’s current energy crisis is its own fault.

The European Union (EU) is reportedly reconsidering its position on extending long-term natural gas contracts beyond 2049 as part of reforms in its natural gas market to meet the net-zero by 2050 goal. Should the European Commission’s proposal be endorsed by EU heads of state and government this week, putting a timeline to the end of long-term gas contracts would open another rift with Russia, which provides one-third of Europe’s gas supply via pipelines under long-term deals.


The measure, if approved by the EU, would run against Russia’s position that long-term deals are beneficial for Europe and moving away from them and increasing reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) was and will be a mistake.

Some EU member states are wary of what they perceive as Moscow using gas as a political tool to influence geopolitics.

However, as it stands, especially with the low levels of gas in storage and surging gas and energy prices, supply from Russia and Russia’s willingness to provide additional volumes to Europe on top of its contractual commitments has been and will be a key driver of the gas market and prices at European hubs this winter.

Despite the current crisis, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, is reportedly drafting plans to quit long-term gas supply contracts by 2049. At the same time, it plans to enhance the security of its gas supply, Bloomberg reported this week, citing a draft document prepared by the Commission.

The EU has struggled with insufficient gas supply for months now, and the situation is not about to change as Russia continues to supply precisely what it had committed to deliver under long-term contracts. This has earned it accusations of using gas as a political weapon and increased the EU’s determination to reduce its reliance on Russian gas.

Russia, for its part, denies any accusations about using gas for geopolitics and reaffirms it supplies the volumes of gas to its customers in Europe as per long-term contracts.

And it says Europe’s decisions to move away from long-term deals are one of the reasons for the current gas crisis.

“[T]he practices of our European partners [are to blame]. These practices have reaffirmed that, properly speaking, they have made mistakes. We were talking with the former European Commission; all of its activities were aimed at curtailing the so-called long-term contracts and at transitioning to gas exchange trading,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in early October during a meeting to discuss Russia’s energy industry.
“It turned out – and today this is absolutely obvious – that this policy is erroneous, erroneous for the reason that it fails to take into account the gas market specifics dependent on a large number of uncertainty factors,” Putin said, per the Kremlin’s website, just as Europe’s gas prices hit record highs.

Weather and Russian gas flows will be the drivers of Europe’s gas market and prices this winter. Limited supply from Russia—which is sending all the gas volumes per the long-term contracts but is not shipping too much extra supply—and a cold winter could leave European gas storage at very low levels, or even deplete the storage sites, analysts say.

With the potential in-service date for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline still in limbo, the EU is scrambling to ensure both its supply and to possibly reduce, in the future, its dependence on Russia.

The leaders of the European Union member states are also expected to discuss this week a new system to jointly buy natural gas in order to create strategic reserves to protect the countries and consumers from gas shortages and soaring energy prices.

Despite the green agenda of the EU, gas will still play an important role in the energy markets on the continent.

At the onset of the gas and electricity crisis in Europe this autumn, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said:

“The links between electricity and gas markets are not going to go away anytime soon. Gas remains an important tool for balancing electricity markets in many regions today.”

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Turkey Halts All Stock Trading As Currency Disintegrates, Central Bank Powerless To Halt Collapse

BY TYLER DURDEN
FRIDAY, DEC 17, 2021 - 01:22 PM
Another day, another collapse in the Turkish lira, only this time there was a twist: as the hyperinflating currency implodes, Erdogan has finally had enough of the relentless pummeling, and is starting to shut down Turkey's markets.

But first, let's back up: heading into Friday, the lira accelerated its historic descent, weakening past the 16 per-dollar mark for the first time ever, as the central bank's pledge to end a four-month cycle of interest rate cuts on Thursday failed to convince investors that inflation can be brought to heel. That was just the start however, and the currency plunge only accelerated crashing as low as 17.14 just hours later, bringing declines this week to 17%. YTD the currency has lost more than half of its value!

As a reminder, the central bank yesterday cut its benchmark one-week repo rate by a further 100 basis points to 14%, its fourth reduction since September spurred by demands from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lower borrowing costs in the face of surging consumer prices as part of his batshit insane monetary policy Erdoganomics whose only possible outcome is the collapse of Turkey's economy and hyperinflation. The resulting sell-off accelerated a 54% plunge in the currency so far this year as real rates fall further below zero with inflation now standing at an annual 21.3%.

Erdogan then responded to the economic pain caused by rising prices by ordering a 50% increase in the minimum wage next year, guaranteeing even more inflation as it will increase production costs that will see inflation accelerate by a further 2% to 8% next year, Erkin Isik, chief economist at QNB Finansbank, wrote in a note to clients.

In any case, once the lira plunged to 17, the central bank spent another billion or so intervening, its 5th intervention just in December. Needless to say, this intervention like all those preceding it, had a half-life of just a few minutes, and shortly after the USDTRY was trading back at just shy of all time highs.

And then, a stunning new development: as Bloomberg reports, all trades on Turkey’s benchmark stock index Borsa Istanbul 100 were halted after a sudden plunge in stocks - which until now were trading gingerly higher as one would expect in a time of runaway inflation - triggering a market-wide circuit breaker.

Trading of equities, equity derivatives and debt repo transactions were “halted temporarily” at 4:24 p.m. in Istanbul after the index reversed gains and fell as much as 5%, according to a public filing. Trading was scheduled to restart at 4:54 p.m, however we are confident it will only lead to more selling.

And this is what the realization that hyperinflation has arrived and may not be good for stocks looks like:


Of course, such attempts to halt a panic only make it worse, and sure enough, the furious selling only accelerate after the reopen, leading to another halt...

... and headlines such as these:

• HSBC MSCI TURKEY UCITS ETF SINKS TO RECORD LOW

• TURKISH STOCK INDEX CRASHES 9%, MOST SINCE MARCH

And this is where Turkey stocks closed on Friday ahead of what is sure to be a very long weekend: session lows.

The bottom line, as Delphine Arrighi from Guardcap Asset Management, said “Turkey has entered some uncharted territories here by responding to rampant inflation with rate cuts. As long as real rates remain negative, dollarization will continue to add pressure on the currency.”

For what it's worth, our view is clear and what is happening is very much charted: it is our view that Erdogan is purposefully hoping to spark economic collapse and hyperinflation...

... to deflect from the historic pillaging he and his cronies have done over the years. And the only way to do that is with a broad economic collapse that he can pin on "foreign intervention" and in the ensuing chaos, quietly sneak out of the country. A few coup or two should help.

 

[northern watch]

Notre Dame restoration kicking off in France
Officials are planning to reopen the church to the public in 2024.
ByIbtissem Guenfoud
17 December 2021, 13:41

Notre Dame stable enough to begin rebuilding
More than two years after a shocking fire gutted the historic building, France’s Notre Dame Cathedral is finally secure enough for artisans to rebuild.
Benoit Tessier/Pool/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

PARIS -- After 2 1/2 years of cleaning and consolidating -- and a pandemic that halted French workers for a few months -- the restoration phase of the Notre Dame cathedral is set to kick off this winter.

The night of April 15, 2019, a massive fire tore through the roof of world famous cathedral in Paris, collapsing the spire. The first block of wood to be used in the new spire -- at the very base of a structure that should rise 255 feet above ground -- was produced in a lumbermill in the western France town of Craon on Thursday.

Rebuilding Notre Dame is a colossal national project. Mickael Renaud, owner of a lumbermill called The Giants, told ABC News, he was proud to play a part, adding that his lumber mill had to expand storage capacity simply to house the huge blocks of wood required.

Benoit Tessier/Pool/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
A person stands on the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral ahead of a visit of French President two years after the blaze that made the spire collapsed and destroyed much of the roof, in Paris on April 15, 2021.

French President Emmanuel Macron promised in July 2020 that everything lost in the fire would be rebuilt in its original form -- over 1,000 centennial trees were carefully selected from French forests and sent to sawmills across the country.

According to the head of the establishment for the conservation and the restoration of Notre Dame, Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the plan is to reopen the church to the public in 2024.

Jean-francois Monier/AFP via Getty Images
Workers check the thickness of a trunk to be used for the construction of the "stool" supporting the spire of Notre Dame de Paris, in Craon, north-western France, on Dec. 16, 2021.

Adrienne Surprenant/AP
Competitors steer their Stand Up Paddle boards past Notre Dame cathedral during a race on the Seine river in Paris, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021.

While hundreds of artisans are focused on reproducing an exact replica of the cathedral, there also are plans to change the interior lighting and liturgic design. Those plans include a different entrance for the public, adding holograms of biblical phrases in several languages and integrating contemporary art, changes that are causing a stir among some critics. The plan was partially validated by the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture on Dec. 9.

Ian Langsdon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Construction plans lay out under the vault of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral ahead of a visit of French President two years after the blaze that made the spire collapsed and destroyed much of the roof, in Paris on April 15, 2021.

Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Rubble sits around the cross at the altar inside the the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral after it sustained major fire damage, May 15, 2019.

For Monseigneur Aumônier, the bishop in charge of the interior design of the cathedral on behalf of the Catholic Church, the updates are part of an effort to recognize the building's value not just for France but the whole world.

"The Catholic liturgy will be celebrated in Notre Dame as ever," he told ABC News. "But, naturally with the new visibility of Notre Dame, it's very helpful for us to guide people who will visit."

Art Historian Didier Rykner told ABC News that such major changes threatened the integrity of the medieval structure.

"Nobody wants this -- we want Notre Dame back as before," he said. Tourists "will want to see Notre-Dame like it was before, not like it will be now."


Notre Dame restoration kicking off in France - ABC News

 

[northern watch]

Turkey's lira sinks to new low, prompting bank to intervene
Turkey’s currency has crashed to an new all-time low against the dollar a day after the Central Bank again lowered a key interest rate despite surging consumer prices
By The Associated Press
17 December 2021, 07:27

The Associated Press
A roast chestnut seller talks to customers in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021. Turkey's Central Bank again cut a key interest rate Thursday despite soaring consumer prices that are making it difficult for people to buy food and other basic goods, sending the country's currency to record lows against the U.S. dollar. The bank's monetary policy committee said it is cutting the rate from 15% to 14%, though inflation is running at 21%, according to official data. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey’s currency crashed to an new all-time low against the dollar Friday, a day after the Central Bank again lowered a key interest rate despite surging consumer prices, a move in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unconventional economic policy.

The lira’s fall prompted the Central Bank to intervene by selling off more foreign currency. It was the bank’s fifth intervention in recent weeks to attempt to prop up the lira.

The lira hit a new record low of 17.14 against the dollar before the bank intervened and the currency recovered some of its losses Friday. Still, it was around 5% weaker against the U.S. currency from Thursday’s close.

Turkey's beleaguered currency has lost 55% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year.

The Central Bank announced Thursday announced that it was cutting the key interest rate from 15% to 14% even though inflation is running at a staggering 21%. The bank has now slashed rates by 5 percentage points since September even as most other national banks have raised interest rates to ease high inflation.

Erdogan, who has long argued that high interest rates cause inflation, has pushed for low borrowing costs to stimulate the Turkish economy, boost growth, exports and employment.

Meanwhile, the Turkish stock exchange Borsa Istanbul's benchmark index saw a sharp decline Friday, triggering automatic circuit-breakers that temporarily halted transactions, Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media reported. The index was some 8% down from Thursday's close.

The weakened lira is driving prices higher, making imports, fuel and everyday goods more expensive. Many people in the country of more than 83 million are struggling to buy food and to provide for other basic needs.

Turkey's lira sinks to new low, prompting bank to intervene - ABC News (go.com)

 

[Plain Jane]

Pressure on PM Johnson after UK Tories suffer election upset

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has suffered a stunning defeat in a parliamentary by-election that was viewed as a referendum on his government amid weeks of scandal and soaring COVID-19 infections.

apnews.com

Pressure on PM Johnson after UK Tories suffer election upset
By DANICA KIRKAyesterday



1 of 6
Helen Morgan of the Liberal Democrats makes a speech after being declared the winner in the North Shropshire by-election in Shrewsbury, England early Friday Dec. 17, 2021. The Liberal Democrats overturned an almost 23,000 Conservative majority to win the special election that was sparked by the resignation of Owen Paterson, a result that heaps further pressure on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has suffered a stunning defeat in a parliamentary by-election that was viewed as a referendum on his government amid weeks of scandal and soaring COVID-19 infections.

Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan overturned a Conservative majority of almost 23,000 votes from the last election to win Thursday’s contest in North Shropshire, a rural area of northwest England that has been represented by a Conservative almost continuously since 1832. The election was called after the former Conservative member of Parliament resigned following allegations of improper lobbying.

The result will heap pressure on Johnson just two years after he was reelected with a seemingly unassailable 80-seat majority in the House of Commons. His authority has been dented in recent weeks by allegations that he and his staff attended Christmas parties last year while the country was in lockdown, efforts to shield his ally in the lobbying scandal and suggestions that he improperly accepted donations to fund the lavish refurbishment of his official residence.

Against this backdrop, supporters and opponents are questioning Johnson’s handling of the pandemic after coronavirus infections soared to records this week as the highly transmissible omicron variant swept through the U.K.
https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-nfl-nhl-nba-sports-4ad12ff681f55ae94a001cacba58437b

“Tonight the people of North Shropshire have spoken on behalf of the British people,” Morgan said in her victory speech. “They said loudly and clearly, ‘Boris Johnson, the party is over. Your government, run on lies and bluster, will be held accountable. It will be scrutinized, it will be challenged, and it can and will be defeated.’”

Thursday’s result is the second by-election defeat for the Conservatives this year. The Liberal Democrats, England’s third-biggest party, in June won a by-election in Chesham and Amersham, a constituency northwest of London that had also been a traditional Conservative stronghold.

John Curtice, a pollster and professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said the Conservative defeat in North Shropshire was “pretty spectacular by historical standards,” noting that the party’s support plunged 34% from the previous election in 2019.

The only time the party suffered a bigger drop during a by-election was in 1993, when it was riven by internal division, he said. The Conservatives lost power to the Labour Party during the next general election in 1997.

“There is no doubting the size of this rebuff to the Conservatives and further evidence that the party has indeed now hit something of an electoral hole in the wake of those various scandals,” Curtice told GB News.

But whether this decline in Conservative support will spell the end of Johnson’s government is still unclear. Johnson is unlikely to resign any time soon, and ousting him would require support from Conservative lawmakers who want to hold on to their own seats in Parliament.
Johnson on Friday took responsibility for the defeat, saying the government’s work in bolstering the National Health Service and rolling out booster vaccines had been obscured by headlines about “politics and politicians” that have little to do with everyday life.

“I totally understand people’s frustrations ...” Johnson said at a vaccination center n London. “In all humility, I have got to accept that verdict. I understand that what voters want us as the government to be doing at all times is to focus on them and their priorities.”

The U.K.’s next general election isn’t scheduled to take place until May 2, 2024.

Johnson became prime minister almost 2½ years ago, riding his support for Brexit and his carefully curated image as a bumbling but likable politician.

He solidified his position by calling a snap election just five months later after Parliament rejected the withdrawal agreement he negotiated with the European Union. The Conservatives won 365 seats in the election, 80 more than all the other parties combined.
But Brexit is no longer the central issue in British politics.

Many voters are frustrated after two years of a pandemic that has claimed more than 145,000 lives, triggered a series of lockdowns and battered the economy.

Conservative lawmakers rebelled earlier this week, with 99 members of Johnson’s party voting against his proposal to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter nightclubs and large events. The measure passed only because the opposition Labour Party supported it.

Then there are the scandals and missteps that have made Johnson look more like someone who has lost control than his preferred persona of a slightly disheveled leader who’s so busy he can’t be bothered to comb his hair.

He was forced to apologize last month after trying to change parliamentary rules to avoid censure for Conservative lawmaker Owen Paterson who lobbied government agencies on behalf of companies he worked for. Paterson eventually resigned, triggering the by-election in North Shropshire.

Since then Johnson has been buffeted by a series of news reports alleging that he and his staff attended Christmas parties last November and December at a time when COVID-19 restrictions barred everyone else from visiting friends or even comforting dying relatives in the hospital.

Johnson initially stonewalled, saying that there were no parties and no rules had been broken. After a video surfaced in which staff members appeared to make light of the violations Johnson was forced to call for an investigation.

Even some members of his own party have now had enough.

Roger Gale, a Conservative lawmaker since 1983, said the result in North Shropshire was a clear indication that the public is dissatisfied with the way Johnson is running the government.

“I think this has to be seen as a referendum on the prime minister’s performance, and I think that the prime minister is now in last orders time,” Gale told the BBC. He has “two strikes already. One earlier this week in the vote in the Commons, now this. One more strike and he’s out.”

 

[northern watch]