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Europe
Bulgaria
(Saturday), 22/02/2025 Bulgarian consumers boycott major food retail chains and supermarkets in the country over discontent with rising grocery prices. Shoppers are demanding a law to regulate prices and asking supermarkets to limit their profit margins on foodstuffs to less than 30%. Last Thursday's boycott, the second of this year, led to a nearly 30% drop in the turnover of the stores, according to local media. Many consumers in the country say they hope the boycott will bring about a change in prices. For many small grocery store owners, the boycott has led to a favourable increase in sales, with regular customers purchasing more foodstuffs at their shops. Organisers of the boycott are demanding supermarkets limit their profit margins on foodstuffs to less than 30% and want parliament to pass a law to regulate prices. They have called for a fresh boycott on 27 February and urged the authorities to act. Consumer protests and boycotts over rising food inflation and high prices began sweeping across the Balkan region in January, starting in Croatia. A similar boycott has taken place in Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Greece. (Source: Euronews - Headquarters Lyon, France)
February 22, 2025 Bulgaria's new government, which was approved last month after October's snap election, the seventh in four years, has reaffirmed the country's commitment to joining the euro zone next year. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has said the 2025 state budget will set a deficit of about 3%, paving the way for the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2026. However, the country still needs to meet an extended inflation target before an examination of the country's bid. Bulgarians are divided over the introduction of the euro, with many worrying that it will cause prices to skyrocket, as happened in Croatia in 2023. Bulgaria's Revival party, which has accused the central bank and the national statistics agency of "fabricating data" to enable the introduction of the euro, has called for a wide public debate on the economic effects of its introduction. Several thousand supporters of Revival party scuffled with police today. while trying to storm the building of a European Union mission during a protest against the country's plans to adopt the euro next year. The anti-government protesters, chanting "Resignation" and "No to the Euro", threw red paint, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at the EU building in the capital Sofia, setting the front door on fire before the police pushed them away. Around 10 police officers sustained minor injuries and about six people were detained. The protests began in front of the European Union country's central bank, with protesters setting effigies of European Central Bank President Lagarde and other officials on fire. Some waved Bulgarian, Soviet Union or East German flags, while others carried placards reading "We don't Want the Euro". "We don't want Bulgarian financial independence to be destroyed". „We want to keep the Bulgarian lev." Kostadinov, the Revival party chairman, told media: "We are here to defend our freedom." ’Economists say that Bulgaria, where the lev has been long pegged to the euro, would attract more foreign investment if it adopted the single currency and secure credit ratings upgrades that could cut its debt financing costs’. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)
Germany
Feb 22, 2025 The Trump administration’s apparent intent to decouple U.S. foreign policy from the NATO alliance and cozy up to Putin has rattled Germany in advance of elections tomorrow. Politico reported early yesterday that conservative candidate Merz 'said Germany needed to discuss nuclear sharing options with the U.K. and France, a move that represents a drastic turn in German policy - away from the U.S. and toward ‘strategic autonomy’ with its allies in Europe.' /Source: SpyTalk, a U.S. newsletter/
Russia
Feb 22, 2025 Russia may be willing to use a portion of its $300 billion in frozen assets to help rebuild Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal but insist that some of the funds be allocated to occupied territories. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, over $300 billion in Russian central bank reserves were frozen, with most - 191 billion euros ($198 billion) - held in Belgium's Euroclear depository. The discussions reportedly come amid negotiations between US and Russian officials following their Feb. 18 meeting in Saudi Arabia. The G7 has previously announced that these funds will remain frozen until Russia pays for the destruction it has caused in Ukraine. The EU has already begun leveraging proceeds from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. In January, Ukraine received 3 billion euros ($3.09 billion) as part of the EU's Ukraine Facility, funded through interest earned on the frozen reserves. The US and G7 partners have pledged nearly $50 billion in loans to Ukraine, backed by revenue from Russian assets. According to Reuters, one of the sources said Russia could agree to allocate up to two-thirds of frozen assets for Ukraine's reconstruction, provided accountability guarantees. The remaining funds, Moscow reportedly insists, would go toward rebuilding Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, which the Kremlin claims as part of Russia. The distribution of funds and the allocation of reconstruction contracts remain key points of contention. It is unclear whether the frozen assets were discussed during the talks. A separate Kremlin-linked source, not directly involved in negotiations, said Russia still demands a gradual easing of sanctions and the full release of its frozen assets. (Source: MEHR News Agency – Iran)
Feb 22, 2025 Russian intelligence has established a new unit that is behind a spate of attempted killings, sabotage, and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Special Tasks is based out of the headquarters of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, on the outskirts of Moscow. The Journal reports that the department was stood up in 2023 in response to Western support for Ukraine, and it “includes veterans of some of Russia’s most daring clandestine operations in recent years.” Known to Western intelligence officials by its Russian acronym SSD, the unit has absorbed other units, including GRU Unit 29155, which has been blamed for everything from assassinations abroad to bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the so-called Havana Syndrome anomalous health incidents that have plagued U.S. diplomats, intelligence officers, and others. The department also runs an elite special operations center known as Senezh, where Russia trains some of its special forces. /Source: SpyTalk, a U.S. newsletter/
Ukraine
Feb 22, 2025 Ukraine's access to SpaceX's Starlink internet service may be at risk due to a disagreement over critical minerals with the United States. Last fall, Ukraine suggested opening its critical minerals sector to allied investments as part of a 'victory plan' to strengthen its hand in negotiations. Trump backed the move, seeking rare earths and other minerals from Ukraine in return for financial support during the conflict. The Trump administration has demanded $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine as repayment for wartime aid, without offering specific security guarantees in return. The proposed deal would have entitled Washington and American companies to 50% of Ukraine's critical minerals, including graphite, uranium, titanium, and lithium. The conflict erupted after President Zelenskyy rejected a US proposal for shared ownership of Ukraine's key minerals. The mineral dispute was a major issue during talks between US special envoy Kellogg and Zelenskiy. Ukraine was warned that Starlink services could be terminated if no agreement on mineral access was reached. Haring from the Atlantic Council emphasized the strategic importance of Starlink for Ukraine's military operations, particularly its drone capabilities. "Losing Starlink would be a game changer," she said. (Source: NewsBytes – India)
22 February 2025 Between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians, most of whom are elderly or disabled, remain in Pokrovsk from a pre-war population of 60,000. They survive in freezing, unlit basements with no electricity, living off humanitarian aid, at the mercy of relentless Russian glide-bomb and drone attacks. They do not want to leave, because their whole lives are in Pokrovsk. A mass exodus began last summer when, in one month, the population dropped from 48,000 to just 16,000. Last month, the Russians began marching up the city’s left flank, taking the town of Kotlyne just a few miles away. It is the last stop on the railway line connecting the city to the unoccupied regions to the west. Its capture amounted to the loss of a key supply line. The Russians have begun attempting to advance along the railway line. The capture of Kotlyne also brought the Russians closer to one of the last remaining highways into Pokrovsk – the E50, a couple of miles to the north. Its loss would significantly complicate Ukrainian logistics. Any vehicles coming into Pokrovsk, whether military or civilian, are being targeted by Russian drones. Only a Ukrainian police unit called the White Angels, a specialist evacuation unit, is still entering the city to rescue the remaining citizens. When Bondarenko, an aid worker for the International Rescue Committee asks civilians why they do not leave the towns and villages around Pokrovsk, their answer is often the same: home is home, even if it’s bombed. Some have even come back after initially fleeing. Every second person he sees breaks down when they receive their financial aid, he said and they have to be calmed down and given water. As the Russians inch closer to Pokrovsk, civilians well behind the front line are now evacuating in greater numbers. “If we were discussing this topic a few months ago, most internally displaced people (IDP ) would have been coming from the Donetsk region, from Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, the neighbouring city,” he says. “Now, we are even talking about IDPs from Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, the areas bordering the combat zones.” (Source: Independent – United Kingdom)
Asia
Iran
Feb 22, 2025 Tensions in the Middle East have reached a boiling point after a tit-for-tat exchange of threats between Iran and Israel. ’Operation True Promise 3 will be carried out at the right time, with precision, and on a scale sufficient to destroy Israel and raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground,' Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Jabbari warned. In response to these threats, Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar said, "If the Jewish people have learned anything from history, it is this: if your enemy says his goal is to annihilate you - believe him. We are ready." This is the third threat from top IRGC officials in a week. Brigadier General Fadavi and Brigadier General Hajizadeh had also made similar statements pledging to destroy Israel as part of Operation True Promise 3. The increased rhetoric comes with the IRGC simultaneously ramping up missile production. Iran recently received a 1,000-ton shipment of rocket fuel precursor chemicals from China claimed a report published by The Jerusalem Post. The IRGC also unveiled a new underground ’missile city’, an underground missile base ’designed to target destroyers in strategic southern waters’. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has warned that any Israeli or American attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would lead to an ’all-out war’ in the region. This comes as reports suggest Israel might launch a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear program by midyear. (Source: NewsBytes – India)
North America
United States
Feb 22, 2025 With Russia set to restore its diplomatic missions in the United States, it’s worth remembering why they were shut down in the first place: Russia waged a startlingly open and aggressive intelligence effort inside the United States. One example was Russia’s effort to map America’s underground communication nodes by dispatching intelligence officers to beaches, deserts, and Middle America. What FBI agents found especially unnerving was the Russians’ focus on communication nodes near military bases. 'According to multiple sources, U.S. officials eventually concluded that Moscow’s ultimate goal was to have the capacity to sever communications, paralyzing the U.S. military’s command and control systems, in case of a confrontation between the two powers,' Dorfman reported in Foreign Policy. /Source: SpyTalk, a U.S. newsletter/
Feb 22, 2025 A group of 200 U.S. intelligence community veterans, former ambassadors, Congressional staffers, and others calling themselves The Steady State have banded together to warn of the dangers of President Trump’s “capitulation to Russian interests.” Giving in to Russian demands undermines the foundational principles of U.S. foreign policy, signals weakness, and invites further aggression, the Steady State wrote in a letter to Congress. 'As veterans of national security policy, we understand that Ukraine’s struggle is not merely a regional conflict but a frontline battle in the broader contest between democracy and authoritarianism,' the group wrote in a letter to Congress. /Source: SpyTalk, a U.S. newsletter/
22/02/2025 US President Trump has announced a new phase of Ukraine war ceasefire negotiations between American and Russian delegations in the Saudi capital Riyadh on 25 February. (Source: Euronews - Headquarters Lyon, France)
22.02.25 US President Trump has once again raised USAID’s funding efforts purported $21-million grant to promote ‘voter turnout’. Trump, as usual, also questioned why such a significant amount was spent abroad when a similar sum could have been used to boost voter turnout in the US. „I want voter turnout too," Trump said at the Governors Working Session. '$29 million to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh went to a firm that nobody ever heard of. Got 29 million. They got a check. Can you imagine? You have a little firm, you get 10,000 here, 10,000 there, and then you get 29 million from the United States government. There are two people working in that firm. Two people. I think they're very happy, they're very rich. They'll be on the cover of a very good business magazine pretty soon for being great," he added. (Source: Telegraph India)
(Saturday), Feb 22, 2025 FBI Director Patel takes over the bureau that he spent eight years criticizing. 1,000 staff and special agents at the Pennsylvania Ave. headquarters were ordered into field offices around the country - and another 500 employees will be relocating to the FBI’s facility in Huntsville, Ala. The biggest changes came hours before Patel took his oath of office. Before he arrived all the support employees on the seventh floor where the director's office is - executive assistants and people who move the paper around, the bureaucracy - they were all told to pack their desks …They were being reassigned, and they were to be removed from the seventh floor and then when he arrived with his own team the director's suite was sealed off, and no one else saw him essentially assuming command. Patel, finally confirmed by the narrowest-ever margin for an FBI nominee by far - 51-49 - may be getting advice from a group of ex-FBI agents who call themselves “The Suspendables.” The Washington Post reported that these self-described victims of the FBI’s “weaponization” against conservatives have forged bonds with Patel, in some cases accepting financial help from his nonprofit foundation, and have been in contact with him since his nomination. Some of the “Suspendables” have singled out two senior FBI officials - Perkins and Veltri - for punishing political conservatives. Veltri and Perkins were among the eight high-level officials forced out of the bureau shortly after Trump’s inauguration at the request of acting deputy attorney general Bove. A federal judge temporarily blocked the CIA and the Office of Director of National Intelligence from firing 11 people whose jobs were eliminated to comply with President Trump’s executive order seeking to end federal diversity programs. A total of 51 officers working in diversity and recruiting were placed on paid administrative leave and may be fired. That would be the largest mass dismissal in nearly a half-century. The CIA’s diversity office was closed, and office staff, including Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Laurienti, were placed on administrative leave. CIA Director Ratcliffe issued a memorandum Tuesday stating that Laurienti and other employees in the agency’s now-shuttered Diversity and Inclusion Office needed to go and gave them a choice: take retirement, resign and be paid through September, or be fired. A Facebook account purportedly belonging to a former Soviet intelligence officer made the startling claim that the KGB recruited Trump under the code name “Krasnov” in 1987. The Daily Beast ran a story, which mysteriously vanished a few hours later. Maybe that’s because it’s not true? The Facebook account’s alleged owner is Mussayev, who served as chairman of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan in the 1990s and is now living in exile in Vienna. The post claimed that in 1987, Mussayev learned about Trump’s recruitment while serving in the KGB’s Sixth Directorate, which he said was responsible for recruiting businessmen from capitalist countries. The report raced around social media, exciting anti-Trump partisans. One problem: the KGB’s First Directorate handled foreign intelligence and recruited Americans; the Sixth Directorate was responsible for economic counterintelligence and industrial security. Another problem: Online biographies reveal that in 1987, Mussayev, then 23, worked in the central office of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the KGB. He fled Kazakhstan in 2007 amid a corruption scandal. In 2015, he faced charges in Austria for the abduction and murder of two Kazakh bankers but was acquitted. How come such an explosive allegation is popping up just now, nearly a decade after such allegations reached a fever pitch during Trump’s first term? Could it be that the Facebook 'Mussayev' is a fake, a sophisticated disinfo op? And why use Facebook, a playground for fake personas and foreign disinformation, to air such a charge (instead of a carefully arranged press conference with documents and the backing of experts)? And to what end? One possibility is that it was designed by enemies of Trump - pick a name, any name - to boost the anti-Trump fury while he’s on a roll in Washington. Another, far more devious, ploy, but much in the Russian disinfo DNA, could be that it was actually designed by Moscow to be unmasked in order to embarrass and discredit the legions of people who believe that Putin has some sort of direct leverage over Trump, It’s real wilderness of mirrors stuff. /Source: SpyTalk, a U.S. newsletter/
22/02/2025 President Trump today said he would appoint retired Air Force Lt. Gen. “Razin” Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Air Force Gen. Brown Jr., a Biden appointee. Caine worked for three years at the Central Intelligence Agency until December 2024 as associate director for military affairs. Before, he was director of special-access programs at the Pentagon from 2019 to 2021 and a deputy commanding general in the fight against the islamic state, based in Baghdad in 2018 and 2019. Caine, was commissioned in 1990 and served in various roles in the Air Force over more than two decades, including as a fighter pilot. He has also served in the National Guard. Caine has also worked in the private sector as a serial entrepreneur and investor, has held varied private-sector roles, including advising the security and space technology company Voyager and co-founding a Texas-based private airline that was later acquired. He retired from the military last year. Every previous appointee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 1949 has been either a four-star general or an admiral. This requirement can be waived, however, if the president “determines such action is necessary in the national interest,” according to the law. If confirmed, Caine would be promoted to general. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the highest-ranking military officer in the Pentagon while holding the position and the principal military adviser to the president. The chairman heads the body consisting of top-level leaders of the main branches of the military. The role does not have executive authority to command combatant forces, and its primary purpose is to provide advice and opinions to the presidential administration. Six years ago at Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) the president described a “perfect” man named “Raisin Caine” whom he had spoken to while visiting troops in Iraq. Trump recounted a conversation in which Caine told him their mission could be “totally finished” in one week if they could use more force. “Why didn’t my other generals tell me that?” Trump said he responded. (Source: MSN / The Washington Post = U.S.)
22 February 2025 President Trump yesterday fired the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen Brown, and pushed out five other admirals and generals. The president will also replace the head of the US Navy, a position held by Adm Franchetti, as well as the air force vice chief of staff. He is also removing the judge advocates-general for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Pentagon was already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff, an overhaul of its budget and a shift in military deployments under Trump's new America First foreign policy. While the Pentagon's civilian leadership changes from one administration to the next, the uniformed members of the US armed forces are meant to be apolitical. Brown, the president's top uniformed military adviser, was serving a four-year term meant to end in September 2027. He was relieved with immediate effect, before the Senate confirms his successor. During last year's presidential campaign, Trump spoke of firing “woke” generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan. „I want to thank Gen Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family, Trump wrote. Brown, a former fighter pilot who has held commands in the Middle East and Asia, recounted experiencing discrimination in the military in an emotional video posted online after the 2020 killing of Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests for racial justice. Defence secretary Hegseth had been sceptical of Brown before taking the helm of the Pentagon with a broad agenda that includes eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military. In his most recent book, Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and military veteran, asked whether Brown would have got the job if he were not Black. “Was it because of his skin colour? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt - which on its face seems unfair to Brown. But since he has made the racecard one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn't really much matter, he wrote in his 2024 book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free. Trump said in a post on Truth Social he would nominate former Lt-Gen Dan “Razin” Caine to succeed Brown, breaking with tradition by pulling someone out of retirement for the first time to become the top military officer. Franchetti was the first woman to command the US Navy. Her 2023 nomination by then-president Biden had been a surprise. Pentagon officials had widely expected the nomination to go to Adm Paparo, who at the time led the navy in the Pacific. Paparo was instead promoted to lead the US military's Indo Pacific Command. On his first day in office, Trump fired Adm Fagan as head of the US Coast Guard. She had been its first female commanding officer. It is unclear whom Trump administration will pick to become the new judge advocates-general for the Army, Navy and Air Force. In his 2024 book, Hegseth was highly critical of military lawyers, saying most “spend more time prosecuting our troops than putting away bad guys”. (Source: Time – South Africa / Reuters – United Kingdom)
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