Europe Watch

Blurb:

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Beijing, the first British leader to make an official trip to China since 2018, after he said he believes he can unlock business opportunities there despite security concerns.

A chartered British Airways jet carried the Prime Minister to Beijing overnight — allegedly to keep Chinese spies away from the Prime Minister’s own government plane — for the first of a three-day trip to China, which the Labour leader hopes will thaw relations after what he called an “ice age”.

The hurried trip was only officially announced by China on Tuesday and seems to be something of a reward for Starmer after the British government forced through permission for Beijing to build a new “mega-embassy” in London just last week. The new complex, which will be the largest embassy in Western Europe once completed, has been the subject of intense criticism over spying and national security fears, but was signed off on nevertheless by one of Starmer’s government ministers.

Blurb:

We also know have a video of Macron’s remarks at his press conference with the Danish and Greenlandic prime ministers earlier today.

Macron said that a recent standoff with the US over Greenland was “a strategic wake-up call for all of Europe”, repeating his call for Europe to assert its “sovereignty” in relation to other global powers.

He even said a few things in Greenlandic, stressing: “Greenland is not for sale,” before switching to Danish to express his solidarity with Denmark.

Blurb:

For average wage earners in Russia, it’s a big payday. For criminals seeking to escape the harsh conditions and abuse in prison, it’s a chance at freedom. For immigrants hoping for a better life, it’s a simplified path to citizenship.

All they have to do is sign a contract to fight in Ukraine.

As Russia seeks to replenish its forces in nearly four years of war — and avoid an unpopular nationwide mobilization — it’s pulling out all the stops to find new troops to send into the battlefield.

Blurb:

A senior Russian politician has sparked fresh World War Three fears after claiming Europe is effectively “defenceless” against Moscow’s latest hypersonic weapons. The warning was posted on Telegram by Aleksey Aleksandrovich Zhuravlyov, a hardline nationalist MP and chairman of the Rodina party, who shared a German media report about a recent Russian missile strike in Ukraine.

Zhuravlyov referenced an article published by Berliner Zeitung reporting on the alleged deployment of Russia’s so-called “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile during strikes on Ukraine’s Lviv region. He claimed the attack had sent shockwaves through political and military circles across Europe. In his commentary, the Kremlin ally alleged the strike was a “clear signal” to the EU and NATO, insisting that Russia had demonstrated its ability to hit targets in “Western capitals” and at NATO military bases.

Blurb:

China reportedly hacked and surveilled the mobile phones of top officials in Downing Street for years as a part of a global espionage dragnet.

A report from London’s Daily Telegraph has claimed that a Chinese spying operation saw the communications of senior officials in the administrations of prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak monitored between 2021 and 2024.

Although it is unclear if the phones of prime ministers were caught up in the surveillance scheme, a source is quoted by the broadsheet as saying that the Chinese infiltration reached “right into the heart of Downing Street”.

Blurb:

PARIS: French lawmakers on Monday (Jan 26) were set to vote on draft legislation to ban social media for under-15s, an effort championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to protect children from excessive screen time.

The legislation, which also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools, follows Australia banning social media for under-16s in December, a world first.

As social media has grown around the world, so has concern that too much screen time is arresting child development and contributing to declining mental health in minors.

“The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms,” Macron said in a video broadcast on Saturday.

Blurb:

Marine Le Pen spent more than ten hours at the stand on Wednesday, for a second consecutive day of questioning before a Paris court, as part of a crucial appeal trial that will determine whether she can run in next year’s presidential election.

As on the previous day, she repeatedly defended her position and said she “formally” contests the existence of any generalised fraudulent system set up by the party to siphon EU funds between 2004 and 2016.

Prosecutors accuse Le Pen and ten other defendants of employing parliamentary assistants who were paid with EU money even though their actual work primarily benefited the French National Front party (renamed the National Rally in 2018).

Blurb:

Around 422,000 people signed contracts with the Russian military last year, a 6% drop from 2024, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council said Friday.

The exact reasons for the slight decrease are unclear, although some Russian regions are reported to have cut the size of their military sign-up bonuses last year due to economic strain.

“A couple of words about the results from last year. The supreme commander-in-chief’s goal has been met: 422,704 people signed military contracts,” Dmitry Medvedev said in a video posted on his social media account.

The figure he gave for 2024 was around 450,000.

Blurb:

Not so long ago, Sweden used to be leftists’ favorite example of effective government: It had a generous welfare system, boasted a highly educated population, and just seemed a little classier and cleaner than most parts of the United States. True, it then had a small, homogenous population of law-abiding, productive citizens, but most admirers conveniently ignored this key detail.

In more recent years, far fewer people mention Sweden. If anyone mentions the country, it is usually to cite their soaring crime rates and terrorist attacks and the obvious connection with Sweden’s large number of unassimilated migrants from the Third World. Not only does this situation now threaten the livelihood for native Swedes, but also their reputable public entitlement system.

Blurb:

The socialist UK government is mulling plans to ban the social media giant X, owned by Elon Musk, over supposed online safety concerns.

UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has voiced support for regulator Ofcom to potentially restrict access to X if the platform fails to comply with national online safety laws.

The nation’s censors are specifically citing the use of X’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok, which has been used to manipulate digital images.

The government argues that it is a crime to create AI-generated images of people without their consent.

Blurb:

European nations are sending small numbers of troops to Greenland after President Donald Trump labeled anything less that having Greenland under U.S. control “unacceptable.”

Germany, Sweden, France, and Norway are sending troops, according to CNN.

Canada and France have indicated they will open consulates in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

“At Denmark’s request, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organised by Denmark in Greenland, Operation Arctic Endurance,” French President Emmanuel Macron posted Wednesday on X.

“The first French military elements are already en route. Others will follow,” he posted.

Blurb:

The political heavyweight is seeking to overturn a five-year ban on holding office

Veteran French politician Marine Le Pen appeared in court on Tuesday to appeal a ruling that bars her from holding office for five years, effectively sidelining her from the 2027 presidential race, where she had long been seen as the leading candidate.

Le Pen, who was convicted last year of misappropriating EU funds, told the court that she had done nothing wrong.

RT examines what is at stake.

Blurb:

Kyiv, Ukraine – A Russian officer in the Moscow-occupied part of the Donetsk region in southeastern Ukraine has reportedly become unusually lenient towards one new soldier.

As the tale goes, the officer lets him spend several days in the administrative capital, also named Donetsk, and – knowing that the serviceman is single and childless – gives him the phone number of a “nice woman”. Overwhelmed by the war, the serviceman craves intimacy, and within days, the woman persuades him to get married.

Blurb:

Ukraine has accused Vladimir Putin of another ‘war crime’ after Russia fired a devastating new hypersonic weapon during overnight strikes.

At least four people died in a Russian barrage on Kyiv last night, while strikes also rained down on civilian areas in Lviv region, close to the border with Poland.

Today, Ukraine‘s SBU security service released images of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile found among the debris in Lviv – and confirmed it was treating the use of the weapon as a war crime.

Among the fragments displayed by Ukrainian investigators are components described as the “brains” of the missile – its so-called stabilisation and guidance block.

Blurb:

On Saturday morning, around 45,000 homes and 90,000 people in southwest Berlin were without electricity after perpetrators set a fire on a power line supplying a gas power plant in the Lichterfelde district.

During the cold and snowy weather in Berlin, many households were without power and heating for days. According to BILD, the 97-year-old Ingeborg Esser was among those who had to sleep in a heated gym because her apartment was too cold.

In a letter published online on Sunday, the left-wing extremist “Vulkangruppe” (Volcano group) confessed to carrying out the attack in the name of saving the climate.

Blurb:

The UK government says Elon Musk’s platform X limiting Grok AI image edits to paid users is “insulting” to victims of misogyny and sexual violence.

Speaking on Friday, Downing Street said the move “simply turns an AI feature that allows the creation of unlawful images into a premium service”.

It follows significant backlash after Grok digitally altered images of others by undressing them – something it says it now can only do for those who pay a monthly fee.

But the prime minister’s official spokesperson told reporters on Friday it showed X – which has not yet commented – “can move swiftly when it wants to do so”.

Blurb:

VLADIMIR Putin has lost at least 19 generals since launching Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This staggering toll has ripped through the upper ranks of his military and laid bare the brutal cost of war at the very top.

Putin has lost huge number of his senior military officials in the war with UkraineCredit: AFP
Andrey Averyanov is heavily linked to the Salisbury – he is rumoured to be deadCredit: East2West
The death of Oleg Tsokov highlighted Ukraine’s improving long-range strike capabilityCredit: East2West

The unprecedented losses have hollowed out Russia’s senior command, exposing a leadership crisis rarely seen in any modern conflict.