Author: Jourdain David

Berlin (29/1 – 66.67). The Federal Government protects freedom of expression and emphasises the outstanding importance of independent media and fact checks by civil society. However, the Federal Government takes a firm stance against the deliberate dissemination of false information. Below are examples of disinformation which the Russian government is continually spreading via various platforms, including in Germany, in connection with its war of aggression against Ukraine. The Federal Government provides the facts to confront this disinformation. The usual claims are debunked by the German government. The range from the incredible to the laughable. Here the top five examples: Claim:…

Morocco started imposing a 29.9% anti-dumping duty on Egyptian canned tomatoes to protect the local industry from unfair prices, the trade ministry and the customs administration said. The duty has been applied since May 31 and will be in place over the next five years to protect the local industry, they said in a statement. The duty was imposed following an investigation into the market at the request of the national agri-food federation Fenagri. Three main Moroccan industrial operators, representing 96% of the market, had complained to Fenagri, following the surge in imports of Egyptian canned tomatoes, Morocco and Egypt…

Washington (19/12 – 40). The Russian disinformation is centered on influencing U.S. corporation thru a network of former spies of the KGB or the FSB. One particularly interesting as this U.S. security consultancy firm consists of many of ex-Agency heads and FBI directors. Some of consultant’s work is based on Russian influence operations. Very little source confirmed the beltway bandit are peddling in pro-Russian narratives. The story started with a Russian defector was hired by the consultancies bringing a “Russian” perspective to the fledging beltway operator. Credibility, verification or cross checking of the information is non-existent. Russian narratives are peddled as…

For many years, Tajikistan has been gravely affected by drug trafficking. At least 15-20 tons of opium and between 75 and 80 metric tons of heroin are smuggled into the country each year from Afghanistan either for local consumption or for transfer to Russia and Europe. Despite an official Tajik government policy to fight illicit drug trafficking in cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations, trafficking continues to increase. The volume of drug transit through Tajikistan is now equivalent to 30 percent of the country’s GDP. So far, the success of domestic Tajik policies and international assistance has been minimal. Trafficking is a product of numerous complex…

Beijing, Dushanbe announced upgrading of diplomatic relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to defend the “territorial integrity” of Tajikistan as he announced a boost to diplomatic relations with the neighbouring country on a rare visit. Xi arrived in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, Thursday night from Kazakhstan following a gathering of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), during which he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged the bloc to “resist external interference”. Central Asia is a vital link in China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastructure project that Beijing has used to expand…

The successful phasing-out of gas imports from Russia risks making Europe dependent on liquified natural gas (LNG) imports, according to a report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) today (June 24). Between 2021 and 2022, LNG imports increased from 80 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 120 bcm — reflecting an increase from 22% to 34% of total gas imports including from Russia and pipeline — according to the ECA. By 2023, the largest LNG global exporters to the EU were Norway (30%), the US (19.4%) and North Africa (14.1%), Russia was still responsible for 6.1% of LNG imports alongside 8.7% via pipeline,…

NATO has only two to three years to prepare before Russia has regained its ability to launch a conventional attack on the alliance, Bloomberg reported on June 3, citing General Eirik Kristoffersen, Norway’s top general. Kristoffersen’s comments were the latest in a series of increasingly dire warnings from Western leaders and defense officials about the threat emanating from Russia and Europe’s current lack of preparedness. “At one point someone said it’ll take 10 years (before Russia reconstitutes its offensive capacity), but I think we’re back to less than 10 years because of the industrial base that is now running in Russia,” Kristoffersen said. “It…

Russia has reportedly lost a staggering amount of troops over the past 24 hours along with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles as bloody fighting takes its toll on Vladimir Putin’s men. Russia lost a staggering 1,740 troops in a single day, the highest tally of casualties for Moscow since the start of the invasion in 2022, according to Ukraine. In the previous 24 hours, Ukraine also claimed Russia had lost 30 tanks and 42 armoured vehicles. Death toll and military hardware statistics are difficult to assess with both sides giving different or little information. However, Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed Russia has so far lost an eye-watering…

The situation in and around Ocheretyne is desperate for Ukraine This weekend, Russian drones and scouts surveilling the front line just west of the ruins of Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, observed something strange. Ukrainian trenches just east of the village of Ocheretyne, previously manned by soldiers from the Ukrainian army’s elite 47th Mechanized Brigade, were empty. The village was undefended Seizing the opportunity, the Russian army’s 30th Motor Rifle Brigade raced several miles along the railroad threading west from Avdiivka and captured most of Ocheretyne—and potentially also Novobakhmutivka, the village south of Ocheretyne. It’s the fastest penetration into…

French MEP Valérie Hayer will become the new president of Renew Europe with “overwhelming consensus” after current interim President Malik Azmani failed to gather enough support following widespread worries about his party’s involvement with coalition talks with the far-right in the Netherlands. Though the formal election will be on Thursday (25 January) at 8 am, hers is the only official candidacy. As such, she will be elected by acclamation, just like her predecessor Stéphane Séjourné, who left the group’s presidency to become France’s new foreign affairs minister. The formal announcement of Hayer’s candidacy was confirmed to Euractiv by a Renew…