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Europe
Russia
February 08, 2025 Putin has dismissed the head of Roscosmos, after serving for two-and-half years. Borisov, who was put in charge of the space agency in July 2022, has been replaced by the former deputy transportation minister, Bakanov, who led the state-backed Gonets satellite communications system between 2011 and 2019. Russian space expert Yegorov told that Borisov had stopped the collapse of the country's space sector which had been hit hard by sanctions. Telegram channel Cheka OGPU, which is linked to Russian security agencies and often reports government insider sources, said that Putin had been angered at the problems. In August 2023, Borisov presided over the failure of Luna 25, the first moon mission in modern Russian history. In September (21), 2024, satellite imagery appeared to show a launch failure of an RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The missile is central to Putin's plans to modernize Moscow's nuclear arsenal. Business news outlet RBC reported how the change in Roscosmos's leadership comes amid uncertainty over the construction of the National Space Center in Moscow - Bakanov will audit the agency and that his main priority will be developing Russia's Sphere satellite program. (Source: Miami Herald / Newsweek = U.S.)
United Kingdom
8 February 2025 China wants to turn 20,000 sq metres of land at the historic Royal Mint Court which it bought in 2018 into a ‘mega-embassy’ in the heart of the capital, right near the Tower of London. If China builds its embassy on the site, it would become the largest embassy in Europe - but it still hasn’t secured permission from the UK to go ahead. Protesters spilled across the pedestrian crossings on Tower Bridge Road holding signs that said "CCP is watching you, Stop the mega embassy" and "Space for free speech". The rally, organised by local residents and attended by groups of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Chinese dissidents and Hong Kongers, started today morning and quickly attracted thousands of protesters. (Source: LBC - United Kingdom)
8 February 2025 There are serious questions about how to handle a US president who is ’openly hostile to the postwar international order’, dismissive of international institutions, and openly says the EU is worse than China, and Nato is a scam. ’The US has been the guarantor of our security’, the protective shield concealing European frailties and inadequacies. The moment has now arrived where Europe must look after itself. ’The most controversial policy’ of Trump’s second term may turn out to be his proposed mass expulsion of 10.5 million undocumented migrants. But the policies which will impact most on the UK and Europe are likely to be around tariffs, Ukraine, Nato and the Middle East. Tariffs are Trump’s preferred instrument of coercion and were always bound to be deployed early on. Next, Trump will take action against the EU because “they treat us very unfairly”. This is already prompting retaliatory tariffs, threatening a trade war which damages everyone. The likelihood is that this will result in reduced global economic growth, job losses, higher inflation and disrupted supply chains. Can the UK avoid this tariff carnage? Trump has said “the UK is out of line” but “Starmer has been very nice” and something “can be worked out”. Unlike Germany, with its huge surplus, our trade is in rough balance with the US and we buy billions of dollars of US military equipment, from F-35s to Apache helicopters. So, damage the UK economy and there’ll be less money to spend on defence. Even if the UK manages to escape tariffs, trade wars with others will hurt our economy significantly. The threat of US tariffs will hang over us for the next four years. When Trump says “we can work something out”, he means there will be a price to pay; perhaps the UK opening its markets to US agricultural exports – a disaster-in-waiting for British farmers. On Ukraine, Trump has unsurprisingly stepped back from his claims of an instant ceasefire. But it’s hard to see why Putin should do any deal that doesn’t amount to Ukrainian capitulation. He must think that Russia is now winning this war. ’It is hard to see Zelensky accepting a deal that gives territory over to Russia and stops them from joining Nato’. If a ceasefire is within grasp, ’Trump will expect Europe, not the US, to provide any security guarantees needed to get Ukraine over the line’. Regardless, all scenarios look exceptionally difficult for the Europeans. As for Nato, Trump has criticised Nato allies for falling short of their commitments on defence spending. Trump can take a victory lap in the first Nato summit of his second term: 23 of Nato’s 32 members are now at two per cent of GDP. But to think that this is problem solved is to misread Trump. It’s not just about the money: Trump fundamentally disagrees with the Article 5 commitment to collective defence – something Moscow will have noticed. Finally, the Middle East. It’s a mixed picture. Trump’s pre-inauguration urging of Benjamin Netanyahu to commit to an immediate Gaza ceasefire was pivotal – without it, the fighting might still be happening. But to now suggest that Gazans should be forced to leave the territory is seriously destabilising and risks more extremism and conflict. The certainties of the postwar decades have gone. 'The United States is not the ally it was'. Europe must be able to do more for itself. (Source: Politics Home - based in London, United Kingdom. It is the sister outlet of The House magazine, published weekly when Parliament is sitting)
by Lord Darroch, crossbench peer and former UK ambassador to the US
Africa
South Africa
Saturday, February 8, 2025 Groups representing some of South Africa’s white minority responded today to a plan by President Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks. The Trump administration accused the South African government of allowing violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers and introducing a land expropriation law that enables it to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.” Together, whites make up around 7% of South Africa’s population of 62 million. “Our members work here, and want to stay here, and they are going to stay here,” said Hermann, chief executive of the Afrikaner trade union Solidarity, which says it represents around 2 million people. “We are committed to build a future here. We are not going anywhere.” Solidarity, AfriForum and others are strongly opposed to the new land expropriation law, saying it will target land owned by whites who have worked to develop that land for years. They also say an equally contentious language law that’s recently been passed seeks to remove or limit their Afrikaans language in schools, while they have often criticized South Africa’s affirmative action policies in business that promote the interests of Blacks as racist laws. “This government is allowing a certain section of the population to be targeted,' said AfriForum’s Kriel, who thanked Trump for raising the case of Afrikaners. (Source: The Washington Times / The Associated Press = U.S.)
Central America
Panama
08.02.2025 China protests: the Central American nation announced its formal withdrawal from the Belt and Road Initiative. Panama's withdrawal from the BRI was officially confirmed by President Mulino. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
North America
Canada
Feb 08, 2025 A meeting was convened as Canada braces for the potential impact of Trump’s proposed 25% tariff on all Canadian imports. “I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly told attendees. “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” he added. Canada holds significant reserves of essential minerals crucial for the green energy sector, including lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, and cobalt. Trump first proposed the idea of absorbing Canada at a dinner with Trudeau in December. A January Ipsos poll shows that the majority of Canadians (80%) oppose their country becoming part of the US and would never vote ‘yes’. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)
United States
8 February 2025 Defense Secretary Hegseth yesterday criticized past celebrations of diversity within the U.S. military and pledged a more stringent approach to NATO burden-sharing and accountability for the war in Afghanistan. “I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,’” Hegseth said during a speech to Pentagon staff, addressing an audience of several hundred in the Pentagon auditorium. “Under my watch, we will treat everyone with fairness.” Hegseth has moved swiftly to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Defense Department, arguing that such programs are divisive. He cited the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel as events that, in his view, have eroded perceptions of American strength. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen events that created the perception - reality or perception, but I would argue more perception - of American weakness,” Hegseth said. “Chaos happens when the perception of American strength is not complete. ’And so we aim to reestablish that deterrence.’ Hegseth said he would travel next week to a NATO meeting in Brussels, where he planned to urge allied nations to increase military spending and expand their industrial bases. He also pledged an inquiry into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “We are going to look back at what happened in Afghanistan and hold people accountable - not to be retrospective, not for retribution, but to understand what went wrong and why there was no accountability for it,” he said. Hegseth suggested that the Trump administration would seek to restore deterrence by focusing on securing the U.S.-Mexico border. He also pledged that “at a bare minimum,” the Pentagon would pass a full financial audit by the end of a second Trump term in early 2029. Since taking office, Hegseth has also eliminated commemorations of heritage months, including Black History Month and Women’s History Month, issuing guidance that such observances “erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.” DEI programs were intended to promote opportunities for women, racial minorities, and other historically underrepresented groups. Conservatives have criticized such initiatives, contending they prioritize identity over merit. (Source: Amu TV, a satellite television channel with the primary mission to inform Afghan society. Headquarters: Virginia, U.S.)
08.02.2025 US President Trump cuts US aid to South Africa citing land seizures, International Court of Justice case against Israel. The order also includes a provision for assisting "Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination." The US allocated nearly $440 million in aid to South Africa in 2023, according to government data. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
February 08, 2025 The United States yesterday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza. (Source: Voice of America - U.S.)
Feb 8, 2025 United States President Trump has announced that he is revoking former President Biden’s access to intelligence briefings. “He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump also suggested that Biden could not be trusted with sensitive information after special counsel Hur’s report on his predecessor’s handling of classified information described the Democrat’s memory as 'fuzzy' and having “significant limitations”. (Source: MEHR News Agency - Iran)
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