Author: 5amResearch

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting the country to fight off the Russian invasion. It seems that only a coward can fear nuclear conflict, in Macron’s view. Are all political ‘leaders’ losing their minds? Maybe. Or maybe it is only the insecure ones who need to put forth such grand (verbal) gestures of strength in the face of rapidly declining public approval. Macron appears desperate to create a ‘stong man’ image…

NEW DELHI: Elon Musk on Tuesday in a social media post on X bashed President Joe Biden referring to a news report which says “Biden administration ADMITS flying 320,000 migrants secretly into US to reduce the number of crossing at the border has nation security vulnerability.” Elon musk said “This administration is both importing voters and creating a national security threat from unvetted illegal immigrants.It is highly probable that the groundwork is being laid for something far worse than 9/11….

According to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a growing number of US adults have doubts about President Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s ability to effectively perform the duties required of a US president. Source: https://apnorc.org/projects/many-are-concerned-about-bidens-mental-fitness-and-job-performance/

washington —  Civil liberties declined globally for the 18th consecutive year in 2023, with conflict and flawed elections the biggest factors, a new report has found. Political rights and civil liberties deteriorated for more than one-fifth of the population, the non-profit group Freedom House found. And only one-fifth of the 210 countries and territories the research group analyzed was found to be “free.” Released on Thursday, the Freedom in the World report assesses political rights and civil liberties, then ranks…

  STOCKHOLM – Two of Sweden’s largest property companies on Feb 27 announced multi-billion-crown write-downs in their 2023 results, dealing fresh blows to their beaten-down shares, even though both voiced hopes the worst is over for Europe’s property rout. Heimstaden’s preferential shares dropped more than 30 per cent after Fitch cut its credit rating deeper into so-called “junk” territory and the company said it would defer hybrid bond interest payments. SBB shares fell more than 4 per cent. For years,…

Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab has agreed to sell about $1.1 billion of credit card debt in the United States to Blackstone. Banks globally have been making greater use of credit risk transfers to shed risk from loan portfolios, Reuters has reported, with investors sharing the risk of losses. (See Corporate home buyouts: homelessness, mortgage & rent crisis rising) Barclays’ investment bank acted as an advisor to Blackstone on the transaction. (Reuters)  Blackstone’s investment has been made through insurance accounts managed…

The Pentagon’s inspector general said its criminal investigators have opened more than 50 cases related to aid provided to Ukraine, including some involving contractors, but have yet to firm up any allegations. The investigations, which are at different stages, are looking at issues including “procurement fraud, product substitution, theft, fraud or corruption, and diversion,” the inspector general, Robert Storch, said in a briefing Thursday. “We have not substantiated any such allegations, though that may well change in the future,” he…

Madrid — There was a time when activists and journalists who wanted to evade the ever-listening ear of the Cuban government spoke in code or had to meet in European embassies. The arrival of internet and encrypted messaging services offered some respite. But as quickly as technological advances made communicating and reporting on Cuba’s government easier, Havana found ways to disrupt or block messages. Cuba’s independent journalists run a cat-and-mouse game with the government to make sure their phones do…

  Thermal battery maker Antora Energy on Feb 22 said it has raised US$150 million (S$201.5 million) in a funding round led by a tie-up between the world’s biggest asset manager BlackRock and Singapore state investment firm Temasek. The BlackRock-Temasek partnership, called, Decarbonization Partners, led an investor group including Emerson Collective, GS Futures, The Nature Conservancy, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and top global miner BHP’s venture capital unit. The fresh financing for the start-up will underpin an increase in…

In a significant legal move, authorities in the United States have brought charges against the head of a prominent Japanese criminal organization, accusing him of orchestrating a scheme to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar, with the intended destination being Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Takeshi Ebisawa, aged 60, stands accused alongside his associate, Somphop Singhasiri, aged 61, of engaging in a range of illicit activities, including drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and the illicit trade of nuclear substances. Anne Milgram, Director of…

The Marine Corps now has its first F-35B squadron on the East Coast that has achieved initial operational capability. That is one of many steps in the Corps’ pursuit of a fully fielded and operational F-35 fleet of aircraft by 2030. Initial operational capability means that Marine Fighter Attack Squadron, VMFA 542, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, has enough operational F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, pilots, maintainers and equipment to…

Under a repressive new act, British nationals could face prison for undermining London’s national security line. Intended to destroy WikiLeaks and others exposing war crimes, the law is a direct threat to critical national security journalism. It was the afternoon of May 17 2023 and I had just arrived at London’s Luton Airport. I was on my way to the city of birth to visit my family. Before landing, the pilot instructed all passengers to have their passports ready for…

The first set of A-10 Warthogs from the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, have moved to the boneyard after nearly a half-century of flight. Both of the aircraft, which belonged to the 354th Fighter Squadron, didn’t have to go far to retire, according to an announcement Thursday. The second of the two aircraft taxied to its final resting place on Tuesday at the 309th Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group, otherwise known as the boneyard. Davis-Monthan retired its…

JERUSALEM: Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the main UN agency providing aid in the Gaza Strip, a measure which prevented a shipment of food for 1.1 million Palestinians from reaching the war-battered enclave, the agency’s director said Friday. The restrictions deepened a crisis between Israel and UNRWA, whose operations have been threatened following Israeli accusations that some of its workers participated in the October 7 attack that triggered Israel’s war in Gaza. Those accusations have led major donor nations,…

ISLAMABAD: Independents backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan won the most seats in Pakistan’s election on Friday after results from over half the constituencies were announced, leaving political parties trailing. Almost 24 hours have passed since the close of polls and the results have been unusually delayed, which the government ascribed to the suspension of mobile phone services – a security measure ahead of Thursday’s election. Of the 136 seats counted by 1045 GMT from 235 contested, independent…

A leaked recording obtained by investigator and writer Sasha Latypova features an executive at the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca stating the following: It wasn’t a surprise to me when I got a call on February 4th from the Defense Department here in the US saying that the newly discovered Sars-2 virus posed a national security threat. This is an astonishing, major-newspaper headline-worthy revelation. But here’s what was happening on February 4, 2020: Virus Activity in the US According to CNN, on…