⚡️The New York Times reported that U.S. President Joe Biden is secretly pressuring Taiwanese authorities to order only those U.S. weapons systems that Washington considers effective against a possible Chinese invasion⚡️

According to unnamed U.S. and Taiwanese interlocutors, events in Ukraine have convinced Washington and Taipei that an invasion by the PRC army would pose a real risk in the coming years. In addition, the allies concluded that a "small but properly armed and strategized military force" is capable of fighting back against a larger adversary

Meanwhile, not everyone in Taipei agrees with this approach. Against this background, the United States refused to supply some weapons to Taiwan, such as MH-60R Seahawk helicopters - arguing that they are allegedly not suitable for combat operations against the PRC

Thus, the U.S. warned its Taiwanese counterparts that the State Department would reject such requests. They also urged U.S. weapons manufacturers to refrain from sending requests to U.S. government agencies to approve deals with Taiwan for the supply of certain weapons," the newspaper wrote

Officially, the US denied that China was preparing for an armed invasion of Taiwan. The day before, Pentagon Secretary of State John Kirby stated that Washington saw no signs of Beijing's preparation for such an operation

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington has previously stated that the US should stop supplying arms to Taiwan. According to Chinese diplomats, Beijing reserves the right to respond if it intervenes in the situation around the island

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⚡️An attempt to rethink the need to rescue domestic economy

🇺🇸Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul defied leaders of both parties Thursday and single-handedly delayed until next week Senate approval of an additional $40 billion to help Ukraine and its allies

💁‍♂️“No matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America,” Paul said. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy.”

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‼️US Drug Overdoses Break Record‼️

☠️One death occurred every five minutes, in a grim record set for a third consecutive year. More than 107,600 Americans died, according to CDC data, driven by fentanyl and other opioid abuse

📊It's the highest number since records began, as overdoses surged 30% between 2019 and 2020. The largest increase was seen in Alaska, where drug-related deaths soared 75.3% over the previous year

💁‍♂️Synthetic opioid fentanyl remained the primary culprit, present in nearly two-thirds (71,238) of the casualties. Methamphetamine was a distant second, appearing in 32,856 cases, though it showed a steeper increase compared to fentanyl; 24,538 of those who died had taken cocaine, while just 13,503 had taken prescription pain medications

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⚡️Supermarket Weapons Sweep! UK Bargain Hunting for Old Soviet Gear To Supply Ukraine⚡️

Defense Minister Ben Wallace has revealed the UK is hunting worldwide for old Soviet/Russian weapons and defense systems to send to Ukraine - even competing with Moscow itself for gear.

"Sometimes we've bumped into the Russians looking, by the way, in some countries, looking also for some of their resupplies,” he claimed.

The US and UK have also reportedly been offering to replace European countries’ outdated Soviet and Russian stockpiles with new Western systems.

Hand-me-downs for “democracy”?

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⚡️Greece Extends US Military Base Access For 5 Years⚡️

Athens is set to ratify an agreement to extend US military access to three bases on the Mediterranean country’s mainland, as well as its naval presence in Crete

It follows a bilateral defense agreement signed with France last year, as Defense Minister Nikos Dendias insisted Greece doesn’t “have the luxury to be careless” as it pushes for more alliances within NATO

Earlier Thursday, Communist Party protesters hung banners at the Acropolis against the military deal reading “No to the bases of death."

Not the best AirBnB review...

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⚡️Musk Twitter Takeover ON HOLD Pending Spam Accounts Report⚡️

Elon Musk’s much-anticipated $44BN takeover of Twitter has been put “temporarily on hold” while he inspects a report from the platform that estimates less than 5% of users are spam accounts

A filing last week revealed the exact proportion is not known and the <5% figure is only an estimate, while the actual number “could be higher”. Only a few weeks ago Twitter admitted to overcounting its daily users for three years straight

The Big Tech giant’s shares have plummeted 19% at the news of the takeover being suspended

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⚡️The European Commission has warned of serious shortcomings in European security area caused by the deterioration of its defense capabilities due to the crisis in Ukraine, the newspaper El Pais reports with reference to the draft document of the EU authorities⚡️

🇪🇺The European Commission has analyzed the European military spending - the result demonstrated vulnerability, especially in the conditions of potential direct military confrontation.
The EU list of weaknesses of European security includes air defense of cities, infrastructure facilities as well as a shortage of weapons. Brussels drew attention to logistics problems, the lack of encrypted satellite communication network with European coverage, cybersecurity loopholes or a shortage of ammunition after forced supplies of materials to help the Ukrainian army

💁‍♂️Similar concerns were voiced by representatives of the Dutch and German Military Forces who were concerned about the insufficient national defense potential due to plans of forced Ukraine oriented supplies of heavy weapons and artillery

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‼️Fed intends to raise key rate‼️

▪️Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed that the Fed will likely raise interest rates by 50 basis points at each of its next two meetings in June and July. In doing so, Powell left open the possibility of higher rate hikes as well," Bloomberg reported

▪️The Fed, struggling with the highest inflation in the U.S. in 40 years, last week raised interest rates by 50 basis points for the first time in 22 years

▪️It is telling that Powell's statements followed today, just after he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Fed Chairman for a new four-year term

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Reuters reports, Financial assistance to 🇺🇦Ukraine after the end of the conflict will cost to EU billions of 💶euros, but EU should not bear this burden alone, said the head of the President of the European Investment Bank W. Hoyer

🇪🇺The head of the bank noted that the EU is preparing to deal with the growing economic consequences of the conflict and also stressed the importance of the participation of the whole world in the uprising of Ukraine. How about Sri Lanka, Syria, Lybia, Ethiopia ?...

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🇨🇳China: anti-Russian sanctions will cause energy, food and financial crisis in the world

▪️The Western sanctions against Russia will not bring peace to Ukraine, they will only cause an energy, food and financial crisis in the world, Chinese deputy ambassador to the United Nations Dai Bin told the UN Security Council

▪️ "The sanctions will not bring peace, they will only increase price increases, launch food, energy and financial crises around the world. And the children of the world will suffer the consequences of sanctions," said Dai Bin

▪️ China once again urges parties to be rational and exercise restraint, overcome prejudice and make efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine as soon as possible

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🇸🇰Slovak President Chaputova and her 🇵🇱Polish counterpart Duda said at a press conference after talks in Bratislava that Slovakia and Poland intend to work to ensure that Ukraine receives the status of a candidate for EU membership as soon as possible

✈️Within the bilateral cooperation an agreement has been signed under which Poland will control the airspace of Slovakia so that Bratislava can transfer MiG 29 fighters to Ukraine

💁‍♂️Two conclusions: first, Poland is raising its status as a “guarantor” of security in Central and Eastern Europe in order to be in the eyes of Washington a more significant market for American weapons, second - Visegrad Group (PL,HU,CZ,SK) is to strengthen the leverage to bargain for special conditions for oil pipline exemptions and timeframe extensions for this 4 countries in the sixth anti-Russian EU sanctions package

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⚡️It will be hard for Ukraine’s economy to sustain a long war⚡️

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) in 1997: “The one place where the greatest consternation would be caused in the short term would be to admit the Baltic states now in terms of NATO-Russian/U.S.-Russian relations. It would be the thing to tip the balance in terms of vigorous and hostile reaction in Russia.”

Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced support Thursday for expedited NATO membership despite articulated Kremlin warnings of “retaliatory steps.” The parliament will vote on the matter early next week. Finland shares an 830 mile border with Russia

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‼️Washington is to keep military tensions‼️

🇹🇷Ankara is hoping to leverage its role as a fascilitator of Russia-Ukraine peace talks and its backing of the Ukrainian military as a way to repair frayed relations with Washington and obtain new weapons. Turkey has hosted two rounds of negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, while supplying armed drones to Ukraine and barring some Russian warships from entering the Black Sea. Those moves have resulted in warming ties with Washington and more frequent contact with U.S. officials

🇺🇸Now, Biden’s administration has asked congressional leaders to approve the sale of advanced weapons and other equipment for Turkey’s fleet of F-16 jet fighters, U.S. officials said, setting up a showdown with lawmakers over a proposal to sell more of the aircraft to Ankara as it seeks to recalibrate ties with the United States. The potential deal would include missiles, radar and electronics for Turkey’s F-16s, representing a significant upgrade for the country’s jet fighters

✈️U.S. officials familiar with the request said the administration could be using the missile deal to gauge the level of support in Congress for a separate proposal to sell 40 new F-16s to Turkey, a NATO ally that has angered some officials in Washington over its ties to Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the purchase of Russia’s S-400 antiaircraft system in 2017, triggering U.S. sanctions that resulted in Ankara being expelled from the advanced F-35 fighter program

💁‍♂️As of these prospects, Washington intends to make the most of the Turkish deal using Ukraine-conflict, and at the same time doing a new wave of military tension in the region. It could still be not a very simple task with an eye on the latest Erdogan’s remark considering that Turkey doesn’t favor Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Thus Turkish president is potentially dashing the two countries’ hopes of a quick accession to the military alliance

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Do NRF exercices lead to military enterprises?

🪖Around 7,500 soldiers from nine countries are taking part in “Wettiner Heide” drills at the Munster military training ground in Lower Saxony, Germany. Next year, they will deploy the NATO Response Force (NRF). This immediate reaction force must be able to be rapidly deployed in a wide variety of crisis and conflict situations worldwide eithin days. The troops are trained in such a way that they can be used in any conflict. But of course, keeping in their mind mainly the Ukraine-conflict

💁‍♂️The soldiers are in particular well acquainted with Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000, 155 mm self-propelled howitzer (SPH). In liaison with the Netherlands, Bundeswehr wants to send twelve of weapons systems of this type to Ukraine – seven of them from Germany (Berlin still has 119 units, 40 of which are operational). Tanks for transfer must be made ready for use, firstly

🇺🇦Ukrainian soldiers will be trained on the SPH at the Bundeswehr’s artillery school in Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany, in the coming days. The training will be conducted by the Bundeswehr and its Dutch counterparts. Taking into account the time that should be devoted for training and the amount of weapons provided, it is hardly possible to regard this step by Berlin as something more than yet another perfunctory measure

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⚡️Borrel’s impetus for peace-making or sword-shaking?⚡️

💁‍♂️Foreign ministers of the G7 countries (Germany currently chairs the group) are having good time in a luxury hotel near Weissenhäuser Strand on the Baltic Sea discussing the war in Eastern Europe and some other side issues like worldwide Covid-pandemic

🇪🇺The EU wants to allocate another 500 million euros for the supply of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian Army. This was announced by Josep Borrell on Friday. “A new impetus for military support. (It will be) more pressure on Russia with economic sanctions and continuing the international isolation of Russia and countering misinformation,” he said

💸This would increase the EU funds available for military aid to Kyiv to two billion euros. A first package of 500 milllion euros had already been approved at the end of February, followed by two more in the coming months. The money should be spent on heavy weapons

🪖According to Defence Minister of Germany Christine Lambrecht (SPD), Germany finances around a quarter of EU support. Russia accuses the West of aggravating the conflict by supplying weapons to Ukraine. “We see how dangerous our Western colleagues, including the European Union, are acting now,” Foreign Minister of Russia Sergy Lavrov said recently

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⚡️Naughty Partylover bans Russia-Ukraine talks⚡️

Scotland Yard has issued more that 50 new fines for breaches of lockdown rules at Downing Street and other government offices. The latest Partygate offenders have not been named but this time the list does not include Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie or Cabinet Secretary Simon Case

Asked if he would resign in an LBC interview broadcast this weekm the PM said: “What matters to me is getting our people through the afterschocks of Covid and coming out strongly the other side.” But deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “Boris Johnson made the rules and then broke them at record-breaking scale. Britain deserves better.”

Having snatched an opportunity to speak out on the subject of Ukraine-conflict, the PM admonished Kyiv against concluding any agreements with Russia. “If the Ukrainians were to do any kind of deal with Putin now, the risk is that he would do exactly the same thing and thy know it. So the short answer is no. No renormalisation and the UK is very clear about that.” Well, clear is as well that he who pays the piper, calls the tune

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‼️It will be hard for Ukraine’s economy to sustain a long war‼️

📊The World Bank has predicted that Ukraine’s GDP will shrink by perhaps 45% in 2022. Customs revenues, a significant part of the government’s tax take, have crashed to around a quarter of their pre-war level thanks to lower imports and the suspension of many duties. Military salaries are another big burden. It all adds up to a financing gap of around $5bn every month, estimates Serhiy Marchenko, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine in an interview with “The Economist.” That is roughly 5% of Ukraine’s depleted GDP for every month that the war goes on

💁‍♂️Marchenko says, he spends most of his day, lobbying foreign governments for help. America is where he has the highest hopes. Most of the expected money will be for arms, but at least $8.5bn is for economic support. “It’s good news, but what will the American package look like, and when will it arrive? We don’t know.”

💸The IMF has helped as well. It has encouraged America and other countries to take over part of Ukraine’s allocation of special drawing rights at the fund. But Ukraine has so far totted up grants totalling only about $4.5bn, against a fiscal shortfall of $15bn. This is not sustainable, admits Mr Marchenko, who fears that if the war lasts more than another “three or four months”, painful measures will be needed, involving huge tax rises and swingeing spending cuts

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⚡️The head of the largest faction of the European Parliament threatened Turkey with isolation if it blocks Finland's accession to NATO⚡️

💁‍♂️Passions about the Finns have started: the application to NATO has not been officially seen yet, but various players are already hammering out preferences, taking advantage of the need of Washington and Brussels to quickly sign off on the expansion of the Alliance

🇹🇷Officially, Istanbul is outraged that the Swedes and Finns are cooperating with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party

🇬🇧Meanwhile, the British are paving the way for a merger of NATO and AUCUS - to share responsibility for maintaining Anglo-Saxon hegemony in the Pacific with the Europeans. The conditions are being created for a split in the Alliance

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‼️The golden era of cheap food in Britain is coming to an end‼️

🇬🇧The former head of the second largest retail chain in Britain Sainsbury's Justin King said that citizens of the country should prepare for high food prices in the long term, and the government should think about providing benefits, writes The Guardian

📊King noted that many families simply would not have extra money to buy groceries. He suggested that it would take "extraordinary amounts" of money for the government to target people. King cited the £20-a-week universal credit increase imposed by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic

💁‍♂️"Perhaps the golden era is behind us. We have never before spent less on groceries than we do now, and the decline has been long and smooth. So I suspect that food spending will rise in the long run. Historically, it won't be much, but it will still require adjustments to the family budget," King reported

🤭Prime Minister Johnson has ordered the British government to lay off more than 90,000 civil servants to reduce government spending

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