Military spending in the European Union increased by 6% to a record €240 billion ($261.4 billion) in 2022, according to figures published on Thursday by the European Defense Agency.

Some 20 of the EU’s 28 member states increased their defense budgets last year, with six countries implementing hikes of more than 10%. Sweden – which applied to join NATO last July – led the pack with an increase of 30%, the tiny kingdom of Luxembourg followed at 28%, the vocally anti-Russia government of Lithuania boosted spending by 27.6%, and Spain’s ruling socialists oversaw an increase of 19%. @LauraRuHK https://swentr.site/news/588364-eu-record-military-spending/

#BREAKING

Israel bombed #Damascus

Israel is currently bombing 3 Arab countries simultaneously, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.

So, 🤬 your #ClimateAction leaders of the world meeting at #COP28   

Sincerely,

Natives of the Levant.

The long queue of lorries waiting at the border between Poland and Ukraine due to the ongoing strike by Polish hauliers is disrupting the German automotive industry, entire supply chains are affected, the Bild newspaper has reported citing sources.

According to the newspaper, industry circles in Germany complained that the supply of electric cables, in particular, was at risk. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry told Bild that "due to the blockade, it is difficult for companies in the automotive industry to supply components to customers in Germany and other EU countries in a timely manner". The Ukrainian side also fears disruptions in the supply of fuel to its Armed Forces. https://t.me/bbbreaking/170690

Qualcosa non torna. Secondo i media il sabotatore Ruslan Sidiki, arrestato dall'FSB a Mosca, avrebbe doppia nazionalita', russa e italiana. Eppure sui suoi profili social non appare neppure una parola in italiano e nessun riferimento all'Italia. Ha invece molti contatti ucraini e zero amici/contatti italiani. Piuttosto strano per un "italo-russo". @LauraRuHK

They never give up. Over the years i have been doxxed, threatened, stalked, blacklisted, my face was splashed on the pages of a newspaper and all my social media and email accounts have been hacked. This is just the latest example. Obviously they won't find any information that isn't already public and by now they should know that i don't trust digital communication. So, what are they after? Probably the list of people i have corresponded with. Good luck with that. I use telepathy. 😎

<On the one hand, you have a party that is seen releasing its captives with smiles, hugs, and warm goodbyes, while, on the other, nothing is allowed or made available for the masses to see. Did “Israel” ever document a video showing how it treats Palestinian prisoners or any footage of it releasing one Palestinian prisoner? This never happened. Why? Because “Israel” is infamous for torturing and depriving Palestinian prisoners of their most basic rights.

Activists on social media started to question why “Israel” holds so many children in its jails with many of them held without any charge. Not only does “Israel” kill Palestinian children, but it also keeps a large number of them in its infamous jails without any charges. > https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hugs--smiles-were-enough-to-take-israeli-propaganda-down

Zinc Network, the London-based PR and communications contractor that receives millions of dollars to create and spread Western propaganda, attack and censor critics of that propaganda, is currently hiring in South Africa, Kenya, Indonesia and Brazil, besides of course expanding its operations in Ukraine and Georgia. Given that it works hand-in-hand with the US Army, USAID, Western intelligence agencies, NGOs etc, to destabilize countries, expect psyops and more disinformation campaigns in these countries. @LauraRuHK

Grazie alle sanzioni contro la Russia gli Stati Uniti hanno guadagnato 52,2 miliardi di euro sulle forniture di gas all'UE.

Dallo scorso febbraio gli USA hanno fornito all'UE gas naturale liquefatto (GNL) per un valore pari quasi a 66,7 miliardi di euro.

Ma senza le sanzioni contro la Russia le imprese statunitensi avrebbero ricevuto 52,2 miliardi di euro in meno, secondo i dati Eurostat.

Da febbraio 2022 a settembre 2023 l'UE ha acquistato dalle aziende statunitensi circa 61 miliardi di metri cubi di gas per un valore di 66,7 miliardi di euro.

La media è di 3,1 miliardi di metri cubi per 3,3 miliardi di euro al mese.

Tuttavia, nel 2021 gli Stati Uniti avevano fornito in media 1,25 miliardi di metri cubi di gas per un valore di soli 725 milioni di euro al mese. https://t.me/multipolarmarket/7126

The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance has published the Top 10 international financial donors of Ukraine

By early December, aid from Washington in 2023 had decreased by about $1 billion compared to 2022.

@ukr_leaks_eng

Israeli warplanes wipe out an entire residential square in the Shujaeya neighborhood of Gaza City.

#StopGazaGenocide

The 2023 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou), which concluded on Sunday, has become a major platform to address a significant "understanding deficit" between different countries and civilizations and to help fostering mutual trust. Cui Tiankai, former Chinese ambassador to the US, said at the conference on Saturday that understanding involves addressing issues of perception. Some of the current narratives about China in the world, especially in some Western countries, are misunderstandings or intentional distortions. These misrepresentations hinder people's accurate recognition of China's development strategies and domestic and foreign policies, Cui said.

There are four types of misrepresentations including China's strategic intention in the world, China's multilateral diplomatic policies, the Taiwan question and our diplomatic styles, Cui explained. However, some experts believe that it's difficult to address the understanding deficit between the US and China, especially when the US is deliberately creating and orchestrating hostility toward China among American people.

"The key action China can take in response is to recognize that the political and media audience in the US is not listening," Ferguson said, suggesting that China should shift its focus to engage with a more receptive audience - ordinary people in the US.

"China talks too much to an abstract and general American. China needs to talk to ordinary people, engaging with them on a human level by telling them stories and by explaining to the ordinary people in the US that China isn't their enemy," he said. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1302930.shtml

🇮🇩🇺🇸🇨🇳Indonesia will hold presidential elections on February 14. With a population of 270 million, Indonesia is the largest and most populous country in South-East Asia, very rich in natural resources and the world’s largest producer of nickel, the critical mineral underpinning new technologies such as electric vehicles and batteries. Though Indonesia is a stalwart of the old non-aligned movement, it hasn't applied to join BRICS yet, seeking to maintain a pragmatic equidistance with both the US and China despite a strong anti-American sentiment among its predominantly Muslim population. Actually, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, and in recent weeks large demonstrations were held in the country in outrage over Israel’s assault on Gaza. The US is seen as an enabler of Israel's genocidal policy.

▪️Against this backdrop the US faces an uphill battle to strengthen its relationship with Indonesia, a major player in the critical Asia-Pacific region, and so i expect an increase in US meddling and disinformation campaigns in the run-up to the elections (Zinc Network is hiring more staff in Indonesia https://t.me/LauraRuHK/6968) ▪️The US has been actively courting the leading candidate and current defense minister Prabowo Subianto who visited the US in August, finalizing agreements to purchase fighter jets and helicopters, meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other officials. During his trip, Prabowo witnessed the signing of an agreement with Boeing to purchase 24 F-15EX fighter jets and was on hand in Washington for a sales agreement for up to 24 Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky S-70M Black Hawk helicopters. Washington hopes that these acquisitions will deepen interoperability with the US. ▪️The former governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, appears to be the US preferred candidate. Interestingly, on 15 February 2023, US Ambassador Kim visited PKS headquarters in Jakarta, saying that he wanted to get information on human rights and democracy in Indonesia. Notably, the Islamist PKS has been critical of the US’ policy in the Middle East and on Islam. Ten days after this meeting, PKS officially endorsed Anies as its presidential candidate. @LauraRuHK

🇺🇸 US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned Israel that it's heading towards a "strategic defeat"

"In this kind of a fight the center of gravity is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat," Lloyd Austin said.

He added that he has repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a "moral responsibility and a strategic imperative."

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✖️L'Ucraina rischia di non ricevere i 50 miliardi di euro promessi dall'UE a causa della crisi di bilancio in Germania e del rafforzamento della posizione dei partiti di estrema destra in Europa, ha dichiarato il Financial Times citando funzionari anonimi.

"Gli Stati membri dell'UE sono lontani dal raggiungere un accordo per ricostituire il bilancio comune del blocco, compresi 50 miliardi di euro per l'Ucraina, in vista del vertice che si terrà a Bruxelles il 14-15 dicembre", hanno dichiarato al quotidiano fonti coinvolte nelle discussioni.

@tutti_i_fatti

The Scythian in me is a bit concerned she won't be able to buy any gold for the time being. 😏

La nuova Fiat Panda sarà prodotta in Serbia - E vedi gli Elkann? A loro il gas russo non gli fa poi cosi' schifo se serve a mantenere bassi i costi di produzione. E' grazie al gas russo che lo stabilimento di Kragujevac in Serbia produrra' la nuova Panda elettrica. La mossa di Stellantis è stata resa nota dal presidente serbo Aleksandar Vucic durante l’incontro con Giorgia Meloni. Gli italiani invece il gas russo se lo sognano. Cose che capitano a chi vive in una colonia. E la FIOM, che ha sostenuto l'Ucraina e le sanzioni contro la Russia, fingera' di stracciarsi le vesti per lo stabilimento di Pomigliano. @LauraRuHK