Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to Nato, has fiercely defended the US against criticism that the US administration’s shift in thinking about its global policies posed a challenge to the liberal international order, insisting Washington was still committed to Nato and free trade – but wanted to “balance” the historical arrangements (12:47).
A report by the Munich Security Conference, set to take place this weekend, warned that “most of Europe is watching the United States’ descent into ‘competitive authoritarianism’ with rising concern or even horror, wondering how resilient US democracy really is” and forcing Europe to get more assertive and militarily independent from the US (11:54).
The study also warned that the continent was entering “a prolonged era of confrontation, as Russia’s full-scale war of aggression and expanding hybrid campaign dismantle the remnants of the post-cold war cooperative security order,” with Europe no longer able to blindly rely on the US protection (12:01).
Whitaker said that the US administration expects European allies “to be stronger and to share the burden of European security with the United States and ultimately take over the conventional defence of the European continent” (13:17).
But Whitaker dismissed the suggestion, first floated by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the US has set a new deadline for peace talks on Ukraine (13:23).
The conference taking place this weekend will see some 70 heads of state and government, more than 140 government ministers, and more than 40 heads of international organisations, the organisers said (12:18, 13:40).
In other news,
The European Union, the UK, the UN, and rights groups have condemned the sentencing of the pro-democracy activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, a British citizen who has been jailed for 20 years in Hong Kong for national security convictions that critics say are politically motivated (9:42, 10:21).
US secretary of state Marco Rubio also called for Lai to be granted “humanitarian parole” as he protested against the sentence (15:57).
Elsewhere,
Europe is making slow progress towards reviving its weak economy, a thinktank has reported ahead of an EU summit focused on the waning economic power of the continent (16:18).
Nato is expected to launch a mission in the coming days that could boost its surveillance and military assets in the Arctic, following tensions between US president Donald Trump and European allies over Greenland, Reuters reported (15:05, 15:07).
The moderate socialist António José Seguro won a resounding victory in the second round of the Portuguese presidential election on Sunday, triumphing over his far-right opponent, André Ventura, whose Chega party still managed to take a record share of the vote (10:38).
Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi has warned this morning that Ukraine faces “one of the most challenging electricity situations in the past four years” as it nears the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian aggression later this month (9:42).
Russia’s military is scrambling to find alternatives to Starlink satellite internet after access to the network was curtailed, disrupting a key communications system that its forces had been using illicitly on the battlefield in Ukraine (14:29).
Nine officers from the French riot police have gone on trial in Paris accused of beating peaceful protesters who were sheltering from teargas during the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) anti-government demonstrations in 2018.
Meanwhile, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has visited a Wine Paris trade show, telling producers there that their business was a part of “France’s way of life,” as he posed with a bottle labelled “For Sure,” a reference to his recent viral moment at the World Economic Forum in Davos (16:51).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Norway police investigate diplomat couple over suspected Epstein corruption
Finally, Norwegian police are investigating two high-profile diplomats in a corruption probe announced today as part of a widening scandal over prominent figures’ ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Reuters reported.
Mona Juul, who resigned as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq on Sunday (11:37), is suspected of gross corruption and her husband, former government minister Terje Roed-Larsen, is suspected of complicity in gross corruption, police said.
“A new investigation has been opened in connection with the Epstein files ... We are facing a comprehensive and, by all accounts, long-term investigation,” Norway’s financial crimes squad, Økokrim, said in a statement.
Juul and Roed-Larsen are cooperating with the investigation and see no merit in the accusations against them, their lawyers said, as reported by Reuters.
