Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defense secretary who was the main architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has died at the age of 88, his family said on Wednesday.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico,” the family said in a statement. Source Deutsche Welle
OPEC+ headed for a clash with the U.S. as more members rejected President Joe Biden’s call for the group to raise oil production faster and help reduce gasoline prices. On Monday, Kuwait said the cartel should stick with its plan to increase output gradually because oil markets were well-balanced. That followed similar statements from other key members in recent days, including Iraq, Algeria, Angola and Nigeria. Source Al Jazeera
“If a state buys (weaponry) from us, it’s no longer a Turkish product. It might be manufactured in Turkey, but it belongs to Ukraine,” Cavusoglu told reporters after meeting his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome. “Turkey cannot be blamed for this,” he said. Source The Defence Post
Bulgaria has sent 350 additional military personnel to its border with Turkey amid rising migration levels. Defense Minister Georgi Panayotov told Bulgarian media that the troops were arriving to “support the border police”. Source EuroNews
Gefira tracks the global players in Europe, the USA, Russia and China and anticipates the consequences of their policies
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Europe's geopolitical situation resembles that of 1913.
The enlargement of the European Union to the east, Germany's Ostpolitik, economic power and its reluctance to align its policy with France's and Italy's make the break-up of the Union unavoidable. While Germany is gaining a status of a financial superstar, German society is starting to disintegrate.
Nobody dares to ask, but the ECB board is bracing itself for the upcoming break-up of the euro. The Gefira team explains why France or Italy will leave the euro and we investigate how the ECB is preparing for the looming euro collapse.
