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Europe
Baltics
February 05 2025 Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are to disconnect from the Russian power grid at 07:00 GMT on Feb. 8. After, the three countries will operate in so-called "isolated mode" for about 24 hours to test their frequency, or power levels. The states join the western European power grid via Poland. A total of 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion) has been invested in the synchronization project across the Baltic states and Poland. Sales of generators have shot up in Estonia as some consumers worry about power cuts. (Source: Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey)
Bulgaria
(5 February 2025) Bulgaria’s President Radev criticised the bloc’s leaders for encouraging Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russia. “Why, instead of building solid defense lines to preserve its potential and territory, was Ukraine encouraged by many leaders to launch a counteroffensive with the utopian assurance of defeating Russia?” asked Radev at a conference in the Bulgarian capital, calling for leaders to “take responsibility” for the outcome. The president is the most popular political figure in Bulgaria, which has been led by a series of unstable governments in recent years. Radev has repeatedly called for a quick ceasefire and opposed providing weaponry to Ukraine and won two consecutive elections since 2016. “Why have we been constantly convinced that the collapse of the Russian economy is in a matter of months?” he asked, pointing to Ukraine’s loss of manpower and Europe’s lagging competitiveness as reasons for pessimism. Europe should insist on a “visible place” at the negotiating table in potential peace talks over Ukraine. It is time for the bloc’s leaders to “switch off the autopilot and take control” into their own hands, said Radev, a US-trained former air force commander. (Source: Luxembourg Times / Bloomberg – U.S.)
France
5 February 2025 Support for the two-state solution. France reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement of Gaza’s Palestinian population, France will continue to express its opposition to settlement activity – which is contrary to international law – and to any hint of the unilateral annexation of the West Bank. (Source: Le ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - France)
European Commission
5 February 2025 Around 70% of Europeans regularly shop online, including on non-EU e-commerce platforms. In 2024, around 4.6 billion low-value consignments (worth €150 or less) entered the EU market. Many of these products were non-compliant with EU laws, raising concerns over harmful products entering the EU, unfair competition for compliant EU sellers, and the environmental impact of mass shipping. The Commission has proposed actions for safe and sustainable e-commerce: Customs reform; Reinforcing measures for imported goods; Protecting consumers on online marketplaces; Using digital tools; Enhancing environmental measures: Raising awareness; Boosting international cooperation and trade. The new initiatives aim to balance consumer protection, fair competition, and sustainability, while fostering a safe and high-quality e-commerce market in the EU. Within a year, the Commission will evaluate the effectiveness of these actions and may propose further measures if necessary. (Source: European Commission - Headquarters Brussels, Belgium)
European Union
05/02/2025 The EU's military mobility budget funded 95 projects in 21 member states and the EU allocated the entire €1.7 billion budget for the 2021-27 period by the end of 2023. The Commission has identified four military mobility corridors across the EU. (Source: Euronews - Headquarters Lyon, France)
(5 February 2025) The EU is planning to hit Silicon Valley with retaliatory measures if President Trump follows through on threats to impose tariffs on the bloc. (Source: Financial Times - headquarters London, England)
Georgia
05.02.2025 At a plenary session, Georgia’s parliament voted to strip 49 opposition MPs of their mandates. The parliament, which was originally supposed to have 150 members, is now reduced to 101. Georgian Parliament Speaker Papuashvili defended the decision as a fair, constitutional, and lawful response and claimed that opposition MPs in the previous parliament had not worked a single day in office. (Source: JAMnews - a project of Go Group, based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Its major donor is the European Endowment for Democracy which receives funding mainly from the European Commission).
Ukraine
05/02/2025 Russia's defence ministry said it had swapped 150 captured Ukrainian troops for the return of 150 Russians held by Kyiv. Its troops were undergoing medical checks in allied Belarus before returning to Russia, it said. (Source: France24 / AFP - France)
Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo
Feb 05, 2025 Rwanda-backed M23 rebels last week captured regional capital Goma. On January 27 morning hundreds of female inmates were attacked in their wing inside Goma’s Munzenze prison. The area for women was set on fire. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)
Egypt
February 5, 2025 Arab foreign ministers from Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt issued a statement rejecting US President Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan during a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo on February 3. The foreign ministers along with the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, met in Cairo, released a joint statement outlining key agreements as Isreali Prime Minister met with Trump in Washington. (Source: bne IntelliNews - Germany)
Asia
Syria
Wednesday, 5 February 2025 Turkish president Erdoğan and Syrian interim president Jolani met in Ankara. The central topic was the democratic autonomous administration of North-East Syria, which Erdoğan wants to see dismantled. Erdoğan has offered Jolani cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Turkey is occupying large areas near the Syrian-Turkish border together with jihadist militia. /Source: Firat News Agency (ANF) - a Kurdish news agency. Headquarters Amsterdam, Netherlands/
North America
United States
February 5, 2025 The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce yesterday, citing an aim to bring the agency in line with U.S. President Trump's priorities. It is in line with a massive makeover of the U.S. government embarked on by the Trump administration, which has fired and sidelined hundreds of civil servants in first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing loyalists. Ratcliffe, a former member of the House of Representatives who served as Director of National Intelligence during Trump's first term, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as director of the CIA days after Trump took office for his second term. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)
February 5, 2025 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met with US President Trump to discuss post-war Gaza real estate development. Trump announced plans for American control and redevelopment of the Gaza Strip, potentially changing the face of the region. “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too," Trump declared at the White House. “I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump explained. “This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.” The proposal includes American oversight of unexploded ordnance removal and reconstruction efforts. When questioned about potential US military deployment to fill any security vacuum, Trump left the possibility open. His vision for transforming the area into what he called a new “Riviera,” come as Israeli architecture firm Harey Zahav's "Golden Mountains" previously mockingly announced plans to redevelop the Gaza coastline, uploading pictures onto their social media in 2024. President Trump addressed the potential resettlement of Gaza's approximately 1.8mn residents, expressing his belief that Egypt and Jordan “won’t tell him no.” "I want to remove all the residents of Gaza," he stated. “It will happen.” “Look, the Gaza thing has not worked. It's never worked. And I feel very differently about Gaza than a lot of people. I think they should get a good, fresh, beautiful piece of land, and we get some people to put up the money to build it and make it nice and make it habitable and enjoyable,” Trump had previously stated regarding the living conditions of Gazans following the war with Israel. He added that they appear to have no feasible alternative living arrangement aside from relocation, adding: “What do they have? It is a big pile of rubble right now. I mean, have you seen the pictures of it? Have you been there? It's terrible to live. Who can live like that?” Trump then outlined his vision for a complete transformation of the territory, stating that he wants to “resettle people permanently in nice homes and where they can be happy and not be shot, not be killed.” “I don't think people should be going back to Gaza,” he continued, describing current living conditions as “hell.” While he later suggested that Palestinians could be among future residents, he claimed that this would not be a permanent arrangement. On the hot-button issue of West Bank annexation, the US president stated: “I'm not going to talk about that”. Still, he addressed the relatively small size of Israel, explaining: “It certainly is a small, it’s a small country in terms of land.” He then picked up a pen and displayed it to the journalists present, stating: “See this pen? This wonderful pen on my desk is the Middle East, and the top of the pen, that’s Israel.” (Source: bne IntelliNews - Germany)
Feb 5, 2025 Amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the US, President Trump has refuted reports suggesting that Washington is working in cahoots with the Jewish nation to 'blow Iran into smithereens'. Trump clarified that such speculation is "greatly exaggerated". "I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper," he said. Netanyahu visited the White House yesterday. Trump reiterated that he wants "Iran to be a great and successful country, but one that can't have a nuclear weapon". "Think of it like two kids fighting in the schoolyard. Sometimes you have to just let it go a little bit, we'll see what happens," the Republican had said last year. President Trump said yesterday that he’s given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him. (Source: India Today)
Earth
05 Feb 2025 Musk’s SpaceX’s Starship rocket in mid-January may have released significant amounts of harmful air-pollution into the Earth’s atmosphere. The rocket’s upper stage blew up at an altitude of around 90 miles and rained scorching fragments of metal across the Caribbean. This was SpaceX’s seventh test flight. The uncrewed test flight was destroyed less than ten minutes after its launch from Texas on January 16. It was intended to soar across the Gulf of Mexico on a near loop around the world. However, instead it plunged back to Earth through the atmosphere and may have generated 45 metric tons of metal oxides and 40 metric tons of nitrogen oxides. In particular, nitrogen oxides are known for their potential to damage Earth’s protective ozone layer. (Source: Daily Star - United Kingdom)
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