EUROPE - Whether many of us in Russia are prepared to admit it or not, the European Union’s place in international politics will inevitably become an important issue of both theoretical and practical significance. For the great powers, the urgency of this question is determined by what they associate with Western Europe in their own plans and, consequently, where they are likely to be disappointed. In the case of the US, the bloc’s strategic importance is determined by its ability to contain Russia with at least partial self-reliance.

GERMANY - Germany is growing so concerned about the state of its armed forces, known as the Bundeswehr, that some politicians have been calling for mandatory military service to be reinstated there to address its shortcomings as the conflict in Ukraine enters its third year. The German Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, described the sorry state of the country’s military, saying: “Unfortunately, I have to say that the Bundeswehr still has too little of everything. There is a lack of ammunition, spare parts, radio equipment, tanks, ships and aircraft. But, ladies and gentlemen, progress is being made.” She added that their forces are dwindling and getting older: “On the subject of personnel, I have no good news and no good messages, because the Bundeswehr is aging and shrinking.” One solution to this problem is compulsory military service. Germany has had a conscription system in place for male citizens since 1956, although it was put on pause in 2011. Now, it’s back on the table as they deal with a lack of staffing.

UK - Britain and other NATO allies should consider military conscription to counter the supposed threat from Russia, the Latvian foreign minister told The Telegraph in an interview published on Saturday. Latvia reintroduced compulsory military service earlier this year, in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to increase the size of its “active and ready reserve.” The updated rules oblige all male Latvian citizens aged 18 to 27 to complete one year of service, including those living abroad. When asked whether the UK and other countries should follow suit, Krisjanis Karins said: “We would strongly recommend this. We are developing and fleshing out a system of what we call a total defense involving all parts of civil society.”

UK - The UK’s Chief of General Staff, Patrick Sanders, has said that civilians should be “trained and equipped” for a potential call-up to fight Russia. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, however, insisted that there are no plans to introduce conscription and rebuked the general for his comments. In a speech at the International Armored Vehicles conference in London, Sanders said that the UK must urgently expand the size of the army to around 120,000 within three years, almost doubling the force from its current strength of just under 76,000.

SWITZERLAND - The World Health Organisation (WHO) will present two new texts for adoption by its governing body, the World Health Assembly comprising delegates from 194 member states, in Geneva on 27 May–1 June. The new pandemic treaty needs a two-thirds majority for approval and, if and once adopted, will come into effect after 40 ratifications. The amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) can be adopted by a simple majority and will be binding on all states unless they recorded reservations by the end of last year. Because they will be changes to an existing agreement that states have already signed, the amendments do not require any follow-up ratification. The WHO describes the IHR as ‘an instrument of international law that is legally-binding’ on its 196 states parties, including the 194 WHO member states, even if they voted against it. Therein lies its promise and its threat.

USA - During a hail storm last week, several solar farms in Needville, Texas were destroyed in an area spanning more than 10,000 acres. Nearby residents have expressed concerns about the envirnmental impact of the solar farms. …Nick showed us emails he sent to Fort Bend County Commissioners, the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, and the owners of Fighting J’s Solar Farm asking for the environmental impact report. “We’ve asked for the same studies, and we’ve been treated the same way,” said Mikes Fugua who also lives near the solar farms. “We got nothing out of them.” “My concern is the hail damage that came through and busted these panels we now have some highly toxic chemicals [cadmium, lead and polyvinyl fluoride] that could be potentially leaking into our water tables,” said Kaminski.

UK - It’s been hard to watch the effects of forced diversity, multiculturalism, and mass immigration on the tiny island of Great Britain — the most densely populated nation in Europe. At least in America we still have so much land area that most people are not yet feeling the effects of large-scale population displacement stemming from all forms of immigration. In the UK, however, every day feels like an episode of “Survivor” as people who are being crammed in like sardines are increasingly made to fear that they’ll be voted off the island. Recently, protests surrounding the Israel–Hamas war have exposed the fragility of a British culture — and nation — on the verge of capsizing from the weight of immigration and cultural divides.

USA - What started last summer as a social media challenge has morphed into a major challenge for California shop owners, police, and teens. Hundreds or even thousands of teens descended on one mall and milled about, blocking access to stores, getting into fights and generally raising holy hell. One 16-year-old kid was shot during a disturbance involving hundreds of teens at the Pike Outlets in Long Beach. Another teen was stabbed in the Bay area as a mob of teens descended on a mall in Emeryville. The sheer number of teens who show up at these "takeovers" is alarming. Thousands of teens confronted police at a fashion mall in Torrance, closing streets for hours. They planned to repeat the event this weekend.

USA - Leprosy is on the rise again in the United States, particularly in Florida, concerning disease specialists. According to the World Health Organization, about 200,000 cases of the disease occur every year in 120 countries worldwide and are often associated with contact with armadillos. The US is experiencing cases creep upwards, with the number of infections across the country more than doubling over the past decade, both in people exposed to armadillos and those who aren't. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year, there were 159 new cases of leprosy in the US in 2020, around a fifth of which were in Florida. Of the Florida cases, 81 percent were found in central Florida. Cases in the southeastern states have nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the report.

USA - The major Beltway Bridge over the Patapsco River has collapsed after being hit by a large cargo ship, sending vehicles travelling on the bridge tumbling into the water. This effectively shuts down the Port of Baltimore completely. A four-lane bridge carrying the Interstate-695 over the mouth of Baltimore harbour collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Baltimore Mayor Brandon M Scott has said he is aware of an “incident at the Key Bridge” and that emergency services are on scene. The Baltimore Fire Department says the collision, which saw several vehicles which were travelling on the bridge plunge into the Patapsco River, is a “mass casualty event”, per the BBC.

USA - If America is heading in the right direction, why have so many of our major cities become cesspools of violence, drugs, theft, trash and homelessness? Once upon a time, millions of young people from all over America flocked to our rapidly growing metropolitan areas. Today, there is a mass exodus out of our largest metropolitan areas due to the absolutely deplorable conditions. If you are not yet convinced that we are a nation in decline, spend some time wandering around our core urban areas. The shiny new cities that previous generations of Americans built for us are degenerating at a pace that is absolutely stunning.

EUROPE - European members of NATO are €56 billion ($61 billion) short of meeting the US-led bloc’s minimum defense spending target, research for the Financial Times by Germany’s Ifo Institute has suggested. Washington accounted for two-thirds of NATO’s $1.3 trillion total spending in 2023, more than double the $393 billion jointly contributed by EU countries and the UK and Norway, the newspaper outlined on Saturday. According to the research, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Belgium were the furthest from meeting the bloc’s goal of investing 2% of GDP in defense, which NATO members agreed in 2014 following the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine and Crimea’s reunification with Russia.

INDIA - Known as India’s Silicon Valley, with 67,000 registered information technology (IT) companies and counting, Bengaluru, once called “the air-conditioned city” for its salubrious climate and widespread gardens, is facing an unprecedented water crisis, forcing over five million IT workers to either work from home or leave the city altogether. Still called Bangalore, too, the city is home to multinational companies such as Capgemini, WalMart, IBM, Deloitte, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, SAP and HewlettPackard, in addition to global Indian companies like Infosys and TCS. It is also India’s start-up capital and its healthcare capital, with a multitude of state-of-the-art medical facilities.

MYANMAR/BURMA - Americans are sick of solving the world’s problems, and many are fed up with funding Ukraine. However, the war in Myanmar/Burma is a just cause, and the locals are willing to do all the fighting if America would give them some surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) like the FIM-92 Stinger to counter Russian and Chinese helicopters and aircraft.

USA - There’s more bad news for Boeing. The aircraft manufacturer is either having a run of bad luck or is suffering from internal rot like so many once-iconic corporations. Maybe it’s a combination of both. Whatever the case, passengers who rely on Boeing aircraft to get from one place to another in a world where air travel often is a necessity have a right to feel reasonably safe when they board a plane. But that’s not what happened when passengers got on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in Portland, Oregon, on January 5, according to The Seattle Times.