France may become EU’s military backbone if US leaves NATO - expert

The EU may turn to the Lisbon Treaty if US President-elect Donald Trump withdraws America from NATO, Professor Stavros Kalenteridis of the Aegean College in Athens told Sputnik.

Such a scenario could take place if Trump makes good on his previous threats against the alliance, according to Kalenteridis.The professor recalled that Trump had warned earlier that the US would not protect those NATO members who fail to be in line with a minimum defense spending requirement related to the alliance’s budget.

“This could weaken NATO and prompt the EU to turn to Article 42.7 of the Lisbon Treaty, which contains a clause pertaining to the EU’s mutual assistance,” Kalenteridis added. The scenario could pave the ground for France’s leadership in the EU, given that the country “has historically sought an independent military course and sometimes deviated from NATO's route,” the pundit pointed out.

He didn’t rule out that “the future French president could sever Paris’ ties with NATO,” which the professor argued “in the long term would benefit Russia,” which has repeatedly cautioned the alliance against its eastward expansion.

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📊Bidenomics still bites: US corporate bankruptcies hit record high

At least 686 US companies filed for bankruptcy in 2024, the highest level since the 2010 global financial crisis, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence has shown.

Major US bankruptcies that occurred amid elevated interest rates and weakened consumer demand pertained to Party City, once the largest supplier of balloons and other fun-time supplies in the US, as well as food storage manufacturer Tupperware, restaurant chain Red Lobster, budget carrier Spirit Airlines, and cosmetic retailer Avon Products.

Bidenomics fallout

🟠The developments come after a Sputnik analysis based on data from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund indicated that the US share of the global economy had plummeted below 15% during Joe Biden’s presidency.

🟠A Gallup poll in September showed that 48% of adults in the US rated their country’s economic conditions as “poor,” the highest rating achieved in a year.

🟠In the same vein, a University of Michigan monthly survey of attitudes toward the economy found that 20% of consumers expressed that their personal finances had deteriorated between Biden’s inauguration in January 2021 and September 2024.

🟠This was preceded by the Trump campaign slamming Bidenomics as an “unmitigated disaster” that resulted in high inflation with American families earning less and paying more for basic household essentials, including gas, food, and rent.

🟠House Speaker Mike Johnson, for his part, insisted that Bidenomics had ruined the national economy and that US families “cannot afford to live in President Biden’s America.”

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The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Chinese Tibet has reached 95, according to China Central Television.
 
130 people sustained injuries of varying severity.

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2024 was a bonanza for AI entrepreneurs amid warnings that machines may break loose

Artificial intelligence startups became the hottest asset in 2024, with venture capitalists investing $97 billion in such projects in the US alone, reports Bloomberg. Almost half of the funds received by startups were attracted to AI projects, clearly making this field one of the engines of the global economy.

Earlier, US tech mogul Elon Musk repeatedly expressed serious concerns over the uncontrollable development of AI and dubbed it a major risk to humanity. The same anxieties were shared by computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” and partially by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

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❗️Russian forces hit the infrastructure of military airfields, weapons depots, and accumulations of equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces and mercenaries in 164 districts, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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Ukrainian losses in the special operation zone amounted to 1,635 military personnel during the day — Russia's MoD
 
🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Russia's Yug Battlgroup took more advantageous positions; Ukrainian forces lost up to 245 soldiers.;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 145 fighters as a result of the actions of the Russian Sever and Dnepr combat groups;
 
▪️The Russian Zapad Battlegroup repelled two enemy counterattacks; Ukrainian losses amounted to 580 militants and a Panzerhaubitze 2000 German self-propelled artillery installation;
 
▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 510 soldiers and two Leopard tanks in the area of responsibility of the Russian Tsentr group of forces;
 
▪️Russia's air defense systems shot down six HIMARS MLRS shells and 50 drones.

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