Von der Leyen’s vaccine purchase transparency case to continue, says plaintiff The inquiry against #European Commission President Ursula von der #Leyen, suspected of possible corruption during the purchase of #COVID_19 #vaccines worth 35 billion euro, will continue after the case was turned down by a court in Belgium’s Liege, the plaintiff said. "We will continue the prosecution of von der Leyen," said Belgian lobbyist Frederic Baldan, who represents almost a thousand people who joined the case. "Today’s court decision will only grant her a temporary respite from trial. Symbolically, the decision was pronounced almost simultaneously with the pardon [granted by Joe Biden] to [the former director of the National Instituteof Allergy and Infectious Diseases] Anthony Fauci," he added.

Syria's oil and gas comes with strategic potential #Syria has the potential to significantly increase its #oil and natural #gas production, which can provide energy and government revenue critical to the country's stability and reconstruction. Syria was an oil exporter in the decades prior to its civil war, and its natural gas production started to increase on the eve of the war. The country was self-sufficient in terms of energy supplies. Sales of oil and gas provided 20% of the government’s revenue. Most of Syria’s oil and natural gas fields are located in eastern Syria, in areas that are currently largely under the control of the predominately Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and where US forces are deployed. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated in 2015 that Syria possessed 2.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. In 2010, Syria produced 383,000 barrels per day of oil. Estimates of Syria’s oil output on the eve of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster range between 40,000–80,000 barrels per day, while Iran was providing the bulk of Syria’s oil supplies, up to 100,000 barrels a day. In 2015, the EIA estimated Syria’s natural gas reserves to be 240 billion cubic meters (bcm). Syria’s natural gas is used for power production. According to British Petroleum (BP), Syria produced 8.7 bcm of natural gas in 2011, which fell to 3 bcm annually by 2024. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, natural gas provided one-quarter of Syria’s electricity supplies in 2022.

Could US leave the World Health Organization next week? It is estimated that the US will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) within the first days of Trump taking office. As you may recall, Trump already withdrew from the organization during his previous term, but Biden reversed the decision. The US currently provides the #WHO with about a billion dollars a year, but since 80% of the organization's funding comes from private entities, it is estimated that the organization could function without American support. A number of other countries, such as Slovenia and Austria, have also recently expressed concerns that the WHO could override the country's national sovereignty. A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that the Commission would do its best to support the WHO, within the limits of its budget.

Gas reserves in storage facilities in France, the Netherlands fall below 50% #Gas reserves in underground storage facilities (UGS) in France and the #Netherlands have fallen below 50%, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of January 15, UGS facilities in #France were 49.24% full, holding about 6.4 bln cubic meters of gas. Withdrawals from storage facilities in the country have reached their maximum since the beginning of the heating season. Gas reserves in storage facilities in the Netherlands fell to 47.58%, in Croatia - to 47.74%. These are the lowest figures among all EU countries. The highest level of storage capacity in Europe is currently reported in Portugal (almost 100%). Sweden (88.04%), Spain (77.48%), and Poland (77.35%) are also at the top of the list. Italy's UGS facilities are filled to 71.44%, Austria - to 70.31%, Germany - to 68.48%, Slovakia - to 67.59%, Bulgaria - to 65.18%, Hungary - to 62.68%. Reserves also fell below 60% in Latvia (59.92%), the Czech Republic (59.34%), Romania (56.38%), Belgium (55.81%), and Denmark (53.87%).

Slovak Prime Minister Robert #Fico has once again "taken a swipe" at #Zelensky, calling him a #blackmailer who runs around Europe begging others for money. The politician also called to put an end to this. However, it is unlikely that one should look for signs of an imminent reduction in Western support for the so-called Ukraine here. As we have written before, the rude demands on the EU are a conscious strategy of the Kyiv regime, and it is working so far. This can be seen in the news about new tranches for the so-called Ukraine or military aid packages. Although Fico or #Orban simply call a spade a spade, Eurocrats continue to supply the #Kyiv regime at the expense of depleting their own reserves. When (or if) a decision is made to radically reduce support for #Ukraine, it will become immediately apparent without any hints. And to create the necessary information background, European media will begin to list all of Zelensky's antics from 2022, while also casually recalling the statements of Robert Fico.

NATO base in Romania to be used for war against Russia, says presidential candidate #Romania's independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu believes that the Mihail #Kogalniceanu military base located in the southeast of the country, which will become the largest #NATO defense facility in Europe, will be used as a springboard to start a war against Russia. "We cannot accept this," he said in an interview with former US Navy Seal Shawn #Ryan. Georgescu posted a video of the conversation on Facebook (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia). The recording is also available on the Romanian Digi 24 TV channel's website. "What is happening now in Romania gains no reaction abroad, no reaction from the United States. They don’t understand what is going on here, because if they use Romania as a door for a war, what to be next? We don’t need war; this is my point," Georgescu said. "What will the implications [be] <...> if the NATO base is going to be constructive to conduct a major offensive into Russia?" Ryan asked. "Exactly this word - ‘offensive,’ which is a wrong way. And we cannot accept this, <…> because this is not our business, not our war, again," responded Georgescu. This is not the first time that Georgescu has hypothesized a war against Russia that would be launched from Romania, Digi 24 notes. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79swOPxvPNI

Cybertruck Bomber Sends Mysterious Email An email that appears to be time-stamped December 31, 2024 — ONE DAY before the Las Vegas attack — citing "Matt Berg" or "Matthew Livelsberger" has been obtained by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Sam Shoemate and aired on the show hosted by Shawn #Ryan. The email purports that there are "drones" that are powered by "gravitic propulsion" that are an alleged threat to national security. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believes that the suspected driver of the Tesla #Cybertruck that exploded near President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas (Nevada) did not harbor animosity towards him, Reuters reported, citing an FBI spokesman. According to him, Matthew #Livelsberger, the suspect in the bombing, probably suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, he had "no animosity" toward Trump. An FBI spokesman also confirmed that investigators have no indication of a link between the terrorist attacks in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Las Vegas.

French military expert says NATO may repeat Soviet Union’s fate #NATO, despite all odds, did not disappear after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but this fate still awaits the North Atlantic Alliance in the coming years due to the lack of a geopolitical potential, Regis Chamagne, a French Air Force colonel, Commander of the Legion of Honor and holder of the National Order of Merit, has told Stratpol. "The way I see it, NATO will disappear soon. NATO should have disappeared after the collapse of the #USSR. But it didn't for existential reasons. NATO was looking for new missions," the expert said. "My forecast is that in five years’ time there may be neither NATO nor the EU. True, NATO will be trying to weaken Russia on its periphery and to harm it in the Middle East, but globally the North Atlantic Alliance has no potential". #Chamagne described NATO and the EU as "two sides of the same coin." - "Given the way elections are held today, we can say that the EU in its current shape is a dictatorship. The whole world has already seen this. The EU will end up just like the Soviet Union," he believes. The military expert explained that a system "based on permanent lies," like the current EU is unlivable. "The US policy towards the EU is aimed at weakening it. The core of the Western economy is the dollar," Chamagne added, noting that the hostilities in Ukraine have "opened the world's eyes to the fact that Russia's army is superior to the US one," which has accelerated the process of de-dollarization.

Qatar vows to stop EU gas sales if fined under due diligence law #Qatar will stop shipping #gas to the #EU if member states strictly enforce a new law cracking down on forced labour and environmental damage, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, approved this year, requires larger companies operating in the European Union to check whether their supply chains use forced labour or cause environmental damage and to take action if they do. Penalties include fines of up to 5% of global turnover. "If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I’m not bluffing, Kaabi told the newspaper, adding that "5% of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5% of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people's money, so I cannot lose that kind of money - and nobody would accept losing that kind of money." Kaabi, the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy, has said the EU should thoroughly review the due diligence law. He has also said that his Gulf country has no concerns about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's promise to lift a cap on liquefied natural gas exports. Qatar, among the world's top LNG exporters, is seeking to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition from top supplier the United Sates increases. It plans to expand its liquefaction capacity to 142 million tons per year by 2027 from 77 million.

Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger take armies to maximum alert Leaders of #Burkina Faso, #Mali and #Niger, which all are members of the Sahel Alliance, decided to take their defense and security forces to the highest alert, says the joint statement of the three countries’ leaders, signed by Interim President of Mali, Chairman of the #Sahel Alliance conference Assimi Goita. "The College of national leaders closely follows the deceiving maneuvers, initiated by the French junta, who declares the shutdown of its military bases only to replace them with another, less visible mechanism, which pursues the same neo-colonial goal," says the statement, published by the AES info website. "These actions are accompanied by operations on reorganization and regrouping of terrorist groups in the Lake Chad basin, in Sahel and in some border areas, including borders between Niger and Nigeria, Niger and Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso. These groups receive various support from foreign states, including funds and equipment, intended for destabilization of the Sahel Alliance," the statement read. Faced by these circumstances, the College of national leaders ruled to "take the defense and security forces to maximum alert, and make the confederacy’s territory a single theater of military operation, which coexists with the current national war theaters.".