A “safe zone” Turkey and the US are creating in Syria is an attempt by Ankara to stop Kurds from forming their own territory. HDP chairman Selahattin Demirtas said Turkey’s operation against Islamic State militants across the border was a cover to target PKK Kurdish rebels. Source BBC
Eskom said on Friday unplanned breakdowns at its plants were affecting just under 12,000 megawatt of generating capacity, forcing it to burn diesel and use water from pumped storage schemes to augment its base load. Source Iol
Strikes are continuing in France today (Friday December 13) with some unions threatening to carry on through Christmas, after Prime Minister Édouard Philippe spoke to a mixed response this week. Source Connextion
Turkey is close to sealing an agreement with Russia on joint missile production and securing know-how via a technology transfer to develop its own defense systems, Head of Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) İsmail Demir said Friday. Source Daily Sabah
