Ukraine Weapon Smuggling To Poland Spikes
The black market trade of weapons, ammunition and false documents from Ukraine to Poland has risen sharply over the past year according to Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, citing deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Maciej Wasik.
According to the border service, police seized more than 8,300 units of illegal weapons in 2022, compared to only 1,400 in 2021.
The publication notes that the value of confiscated goods in Q1 2023 has almost doubled to 73 million zlotys (about $17.4mn) from 37 million zlotys ($8.82mn) in the same period last year.
The black market trade of weapons, ammunition and false documents from Ukraine to Poland has risen sharply over the past year according to Polish outlet Rzeczpospolita, citing deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Maciej Wasik.
According to the border service, police seized more than 8,300 units of illegal weapons in 2022, compared to only 1,400 in 2021.
The publication notes that the value of confiscated goods in Q1 2023 has almost doubled to 73 million zlotys (about $17.4mn) from 37 million zlotys ($8.82mn) in the same period last year.
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Forwarded from The Paradigm Shift Channel ⏳ (Jonathan Mohan)
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🔹Germany 🇩🇪 , is confirmed to be in a recession. GDP fell by 0.3% in Q1 '23 when adjusted for price & calendar effects, following a decline of 0.5% in Q4 '22. Household consumption was down 1.2% quarter on quarter after adjustments.
🔹Inflation reached 7.2% 📈 in April, which has been fuelled by the increased cost of energy. R. Habeck, Germany's economy minister, blames previous high dependency on Russian🇷🇺 energy for the recession. Analysts hoped that mild winter temperatures, a rebound in China 🇨🇳 , easing supply chain problems would get the economy out of the recessionary danger zone.
🔹Germany had some of the highest electricity💡costs in Europe. The number of new startups is declining due to excess bureaucracy & financing difficulty. Patent data shows that Germany’s ability to stay at the forefront is fading. Escalating signs of economic malaise in Europe sent the euro 💶 to multi-month lows against the US dollar 💵.
🔹Germany's🇩🇪 economic decline is heavily related to energy, which include:
🔸Blowing up of the Nordstream 1 & 2 gas pipelines.
🔸 Implementing sanctions on Russian🇷🇺 energy companies and cutting off oil & gas supplies from Russia. Paying higher prices for pipeline gas from Norway & much more expensive LNG from the US.
🔸Shutting down all nuclear power plants 🏭, pushing "green solutions" such as wind & solar despite Germany's limitations by its relatively small coastline and lack of sun.
🔸Cascading shutdown of carbon based industry leading to losing investment capital to other countries.
💠 Check out my 7-part series of posts thus far on the de-industrialisation of Germany🇩🇪 .
Video source - Bloomberg
🔹Inflation reached 7.2% 📈 in April, which has been fuelled by the increased cost of energy. R. Habeck, Germany's economy minister, blames previous high dependency on Russian
🔹Germany had some of the highest electricity💡costs in Europe. The number of new startups is declining due to excess bureaucracy & financing difficulty. Patent data shows that Germany’s ability to stay at the forefront is fading. Escalating signs of economic malaise in Europe sent the euro 💶 to multi-month lows against the US dollar 💵.
🔹Germany's
🔸Blowing up of the Nordstream 1 & 2 gas pipelines.
🔸 Implementing sanctions on Russian
🔸Shutting down all nuclear power plants 🏭, pushing "green solutions" such as wind & solar despite Germany's limitations by its relatively small coastline and lack of sun.
🔸Cascading shutdown of carbon based industry leading to losing investment capital to other countries.
💠 Check out my 7-part series of posts thus far on the de-industrialisation of Germany
Video source - Bloomberg
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Forwarded from Rerum Novarum // Intel, Breaking News, and Alerts 🇺🇸
🇹🇷⚡️ - With 55% of ballots counted, Erdoğan has obtained 55.7% of the votes - a number far above his total at this point in the first round. It appears as if he will secure another term.
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Forwarded from The Cradle
BDS forces security giant G4S to leave Israel
Activists accused the British multinational private security company of complicity in Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians
Activists accused the British multinational private security company of complicity in Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians
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Forwarded from Disclose.tv
NEW - OPEC has barred Reuters, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and Dow Jones from Vienna meeting this weekend — FT
@disclosetv
@disclosetv
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Just letting everyone know, with my apologies, I have been less active here, and in producing content the last several days, and will likely be less active for a little while, as I am quite busy with work at the moment. Just FYI
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Forwarded from Multipolar Market
Eurozone in recession, showing output falling for two quarters
The 20 countries that use the euro began the year in recession as high inflation hampered consumer spending and governments tightened their purse strings.
Economic output in the eurozone fell 0.1% in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, according to revised official data released Thursday. Output also fell 0.1% in Q4 of 2022, the data showed.
A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
That said, the broader European economy is also close to a downturn. In the European Union, Gross domestic product across the bloc rose just 0.1% in Q1 after falling 0.2% late last year.
Inflation in the eurozone jumped last year, following the imposition of sweeping sanctions against Russia and the subsequent surge in energy prices. Despite easing, they still remain high, with overall consumer prices in May 6.1% higher than a year ago.
The eurozone recession will make it difficult for the European Central Bank when it meets next week to set interest rates. Inflation is still more than three times the bank's target, but further rate hikes to lower it could hurt the economy.
Nonetheless, the US economy, unlike Europe, is still doing fairly well. According to the OECD, GDP across the Atlantic rose 0.3% in Q1 after rising 0.6% at the end of last year. On an annualized basis, the US economy grew by 1.3% in January-March compared to the previous quarter.
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The 20 countries that use the euro began the year in recession as high inflation hampered consumer spending and governments tightened their purse strings.
Economic output in the eurozone fell 0.1% in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, according to revised official data released Thursday. Output also fell 0.1% in Q4 of 2022, the data showed.
A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
That said, the broader European economy is also close to a downturn. In the European Union, Gross domestic product across the bloc rose just 0.1% in Q1 after falling 0.2% late last year.
Inflation in the eurozone jumped last year, following the imposition of sweeping sanctions against Russia and the subsequent surge in energy prices. Despite easing, they still remain high, with overall consumer prices in May 6.1% higher than a year ago.
The eurozone recession will make it difficult for the European Central Bank when it meets next week to set interest rates. Inflation is still more than three times the bank's target, but further rate hikes to lower it could hurt the economy.
Nonetheless, the US economy, unlike Europe, is still doing fairly well. According to the OECD, GDP across the Atlantic rose 0.3% in Q1 after rising 0.6% at the end of last year. On an annualized basis, the US economy grew by 1.3% in January-March compared to the previous quarter.
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Forwarded from Edward Slavsquat
Military Review (Voyennoye obozreniye), Russia’s most popular national security news portal (edited by patriotic pro-military hardliners), has published a scathing op-ed blaming the country’s “demographic catastrophe” on thirty years of neoliberal “optimization”:
“Russia over the past three decades has become a dying region of the planet … Liberal reforms have led to the ‘optimization’ of Russia: thousands of villages died out, villages, towns and small towns were depopulated, and big cities became even larger … We have adopted the Western model: a society of consumption and essentially self-destruction … [our] exploitative oligarchs [and] liberal pro-Western bureaucracy act in the interests of the masters of the West.”
“Russia over the past three decades has become a dying region of the planet … Liberal reforms have led to the ‘optimization’ of Russia: thousands of villages died out, villages, towns and small towns were depopulated, and big cities became even larger … We have adopted the Western model: a society of consumption and essentially self-destruction … [our] exploitative oligarchs [and] liberal pro-Western bureaucracy act in the interests of the masters of the West.”
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🇪🇺💸 📉 — 📰 CNN: Eurozone slips into recession as revised data shows two quarters of falling output
— "The 20 countries that use the euro fell into a mild recession around the turn of the year, as high inflation discouraged consumer spending and governments tightened the purse strings.
In the first three months of the year, economic output in the eurozone dropped 0.1% compared with the previous quarter, according to revised official data published Thursday. In the fourth quarter of 2022, output also dipped 0.1%, the figures showed.
A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction."
Link
https://archive.is/BLziR
https://archive.is/s7x8X
— "The 20 countries that use the euro fell into a mild recession around the turn of the year, as high inflation discouraged consumer spending and governments tightened the purse strings.
In the first three months of the year, economic output in the eurozone dropped 0.1% compared with the previous quarter, according to revised official data published Thursday. In the fourth quarter of 2022, output also dipped 0.1%, the figures showed.
A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction."
Link
https://archive.is/BLziR
https://archive.is/s7x8X
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CNN
Eurozone slips into recession as revised data shows two quarters of falling output
The 20 countries that use the euro fell into a mild recession around the turn of the year, as high inflation discouraged consumer spending and governments tightened the purse strings.
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Forwarded from Africa Intel
🇺🇸🌍 The US military influence in Africa
Part 1 – Military bases
Recently we’ve covered the theme of the UK’s influence in Africa. But it would be wrong not to talk about the ever-growing US military presence on the continent, which already exceeds that of Britain and France.
🔻After the end of the World War 2 the USA were quick to replace the UK and France as leaders not only in the western world, but also in Africa. However, up until the end of Cold War the continent was mostly viewed as a field for proxy wars with the USSR, and the United States policy was to support the pro-Western forces.
▪️After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the overall interest towards Africa lowered, because the only influential enemy just disappeared. But the 9/11 changed the situation drastically. The theme of terrorism became one of the main in the US international strategy. Whether it is true concern or just a mean to satisfy interests in certain regions, the fact remains that the US military presence greatly increased, and Africa was not an exception.
🔻Since 9/11, the US military has built a sprawling network of outposts in more than a dozen African countries. Officially, it is done so to battle the terrorism. Unofficially, goals also involve suppressing the growing influence of foreign nations, like Russia and China, and influencing African nations to make them more controllable to satisfy political and economic interests.
▪️The full footprint of the United States AFRICOM bases is hard to grasp, since some military facilities the US government tries not to reveal. However, as of now there are 26 active military bases (another one is planned to be established in the Kingdom of Morocco) and also US military personnel is present in 4 UN peacekeeping operations’ bases.
▪️The highest concentrations of the AFRICOM bases are in the Sahelian states on the west side of the continent, as well as in the Horn of Africa in the east. The AFRICOM is actively seeking to enhance its presence and is primed for expansion in the future. Some African states are positive about these bases, since the United States still provide some security to the states and help battle terrorism, like in Somalia, although not so actively.
🔻Despite some improvements, the situation in many countries that host US military personnel remains harsh. At the same time, the USA successfully preserves its influence and interest on the continent, although encountering competition from Russia, China and Turkey. The United States interests in Africa are growing, as the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit 2022 indicated, and in trying to satisfy them they will continue to increase military presence
However, having only military bases does not mean a full projection of military power on region. For that special operations are also needed, which is a topic for another post, so stay tuned for part 2.
High-res
#USA #Africa #Map
@africaintel
Part 1 – Military bases
Recently we’ve covered the theme of the UK’s influence in Africa. But it would be wrong not to talk about the ever-growing US military presence on the continent, which already exceeds that of Britain and France.
🔻After the end of the World War 2 the USA were quick to replace the UK and France as leaders not only in the western world, but also in Africa. However, up until the end of Cold War the continent was mostly viewed as a field for proxy wars with the USSR, and the United States policy was to support the pro-Western forces.
▪️After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the overall interest towards Africa lowered, because the only influential enemy just disappeared. But the 9/11 changed the situation drastically. The theme of terrorism became one of the main in the US international strategy. Whether it is true concern or just a mean to satisfy interests in certain regions, the fact remains that the US military presence greatly increased, and Africa was not an exception.
🔻Since 9/11, the US military has built a sprawling network of outposts in more than a dozen African countries. Officially, it is done so to battle the terrorism. Unofficially, goals also involve suppressing the growing influence of foreign nations, like Russia and China, and influencing African nations to make them more controllable to satisfy political and economic interests.
▪️The full footprint of the United States AFRICOM bases is hard to grasp, since some military facilities the US government tries not to reveal. However, as of now there are 26 active military bases (another one is planned to be established in the Kingdom of Morocco) and also US military personnel is present in 4 UN peacekeeping operations’ bases.
▪️The highest concentrations of the AFRICOM bases are in the Sahelian states on the west side of the continent, as well as in the Horn of Africa in the east. The AFRICOM is actively seeking to enhance its presence and is primed for expansion in the future. Some African states are positive about these bases, since the United States still provide some security to the states and help battle terrorism, like in Somalia, although not so actively.
🔻Despite some improvements, the situation in many countries that host US military personnel remains harsh. At the same time, the USA successfully preserves its influence and interest on the continent, although encountering competition from Russia, China and Turkey. The United States interests in Africa are growing, as the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit 2022 indicated, and in trying to satisfy them they will continue to increase military presence
However, having only military bases does not mean a full projection of military power on region. For that special operations are also needed, which is a topic for another post, so stay tuned for part 2.
High-res
#USA #Africa #Map
@africaintel
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