🛰 Sweden and 17 NATO countries have signed a declaration of intention on the joint use of satellite networks to improve surveillance from space at NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, the UK Defense Ministry said.

Besides the United Kingdom, the document was also signed by Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Sweden.

The countries plan to explore the potential of sharing data from national surveillance satellites, processing, exploration and dissemination of data from within national capabilities, as well as means to purchase data from commercial companies.

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Rising Inflation: How New CPI and Retail Sales Data Backfired on Biden After SOTU Bragging

US conservatives have seized the opportunity to lambast President Joe Biden over the latest Consumer Price Index report, which indicated that inflation has still not been tamed, contrary to what the US president bragged about in his State of the Union speech.

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Misty Winston, political activist, speaks about the consequences people have to face after the train derailment that took place in East Palestine, Ohio. She says that residents in the immediate area and miles away complain about headaches, smelling chemicals and chlorine in the air, burning in the eyes and difficulty breathing. The activist also mentions pictures from netizens showing car surfaces damaged by the toxic fallout in the air.

🎧 Listen to more of Winston’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines: Train Derailment in Ohio City Leads to Fears of Environmental Disaster

Russian Kornet anti-tank missile system destroys a Ukrainian observation post in the Avdeevka direction

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🇮🇩 Indonesia's commodity exports will be keeping the country's economy strong in 2023, according to recent analysis by ASEAN Briefing.

The country is expected to expand its policy of banning the export of raw mineral ores - a measure, which is designed to give boost to foreign investment in the downstream mining sector. In 2023 Jakarta may impose a ban of bauxite exports.

ℹ️ Apparently, such policies are a problem for the EU and the Netherlands, as Jakarta is currently in a legal battle against WTO's ruling on nickel ore exports. It's unclear how Indonesian authorities will react if they lose the appeal, but imposing a heavy tax on raw nickel exports is reportedly one of the options.

📈 Despite challenges, as per ASEAN Briefing analysis, Indonesia's economy is expected to grow at between 4.5-5.3 percent in 2023 – one of the highest among G20 members.

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🗣 US State Secretary Antony Blinken said in a video call with experts Wednesday the United States is not actively encouraging Ukraine to retake control of Crimea, but the decision is Kiev’s alone, Politico reported citing four sources.

▪️ According to the report, the US administration’s main focus is to assist Ukraine in Donbas.

▪️ After someone on the call asked if Washington was willing to assist Ukraine in realizing its goal to seize Russia's Crimea, Blinken said it would be a red line for Russian President Vladimir Putin that could provoke a wider response from Moscow.

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🇲🇩 Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that the abolition of the country's neutral status is not currently being discussed, but the authorities plan to strengthen the defense sector.

🗣 "The question of abolition of neutrality is not being raised now. Since this is written in the constitution, the majority of Moldovan citizens believe neutrality must be maintained. At the same time, it is necessary to refute the lie that neutrality does not allow strengthening the defense system. We need to continue talking about whether we ourselves can ensure peace and security," Sandu said on public TV channel's air.

▪️ She said several EU countries have offered Moldova assistance in strengthening its defense capability.

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Poll: Half of Americans Believe the Media Intentionally Misleads Them

A survey released by Gallup and the Knight Foundation on Wednesday has revealed that 50% of Americans disagreed with the statement that “news organizations do not intend to mislead” them. By comparison, only 25% agreed with the statement.

Slightly more, 52%, said they do not believe the national news cares about what is in the best interests of their audience.

More Democrats trust the national news compared to Republicans, which has been a consistent trend since the Knight Foundation started the survey in 2017. However, even among Democrats, the trust level is lower than it has been in previous years.

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Israeli Hacker Group Reportedly Carried Out Election Interference Ops in More Than 30 Countries

A team of contractors were recently discovered to be behind more than 30 election interference operations that were carried out for more than 20 countries, it was recently revealed by a group of journalists.

Some of the interference operations were carried out in Britain, the US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Mexico, among other nations.

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Russia Will Not Allow Silencing Issue of Nord Stream Explosions: Embassy in US

"The Russian side will not allow to simply turn the page on blowing up the critical energy infrastructure. Especially given the fact that nothing is known about the several remaining explosives, apparently located on the bottom of the sea," the Russian embassy in the US said on Thursday.

Embassy spokesman Igor Girenko added that Moscow qualified the incident as "an act of international terrorism" that requires a "comprehensive and independent investigation."

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Chinese Balloon Downed by US Air Force Reportedly Aimed For Guam & Hawaii, But Was Blown Off Course

The Chinese balloon brought down by a US Air Force F-22 fighter jet over American territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina on February 4 had been on a flight trajectory taking it over Guam and Hawaii, according to US media reports.

However, strong winds from a cold front had factored in, and blew the alleged spy balloon way off course, across Alaska's Aleutian Islands, Canada and, subsequently, the central United States, said a US official cited by the media.

Thus, US analysts are believed to be considering the possibility that the errant craft's flight over American territory might not have been intentional.

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❗️ Turkiye's earthquake death toll has risen to 36,187 with 108,068 injured, the country's Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) says

Sweden's Top Cop Has 'No Explanation' Why Country Is Overrun With Crime

As once-peaceful Sweden is grappling with a major crime wave that includes murder, gun violence and bombings, at a level unwitnessed by its peers and neighbors, the country's police chief Anders Thornberg admitted that "this is a society we don't want".

According to the Nordic country's top cop, the reason for such a drastic decline is impossible o fathom. Nevertheless, he cautiously admitted that "there are those who claim" that immigration could have a hand in the game.

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🇨🇳 It is necessary to conduct an impartial investigation into the Nord Stream explosions and bring those responsible to justice, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

▪️ The Nord Stream gas pipelines are an important transnational infrastructure, and their bombing has raised international concern regarding the security of transnational infrastructure in large countries, the diplomat said.

🗣 "It is imperative to conduct an objective, impartial and professional investigation into this incident with explosions and bring [those responsible] to justice," Wang told reporters.

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