Good Morning,
German Coup Plot
Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss wanted to set up a monarchy in Germany using German extremist members, that including a law maker, and members of the military.
More than 50 people including Heinrich have been arrested now and more arrests are expected. It’s a crazy and far right extremist plot in the heart of Europe.
Nostalgic for the pre-1918 German empire, when his ancestors reigned over a state in eastern Germany, Heinrich had openly embraced a conspiracy theory that has gained momentum in far-right circles, that Germany’s postwar republic is not a sovereign country but a corporation set up by the Allies after World War II.
Followers of this conspiracy theory call themselves Reichsburger and there are a lot of them in southeastern Thuringia, the state where the Nazis first won power locally more than 90 years ago, before going on to establish the Third Reich.
There are reportedly 23000 members of the group, and there are links to QAnon.
Ukraine Russia War
EU Leaders will meet again today to discuss another 2 billion dollars in military aid for Ukraine and more sanctions against Russia for launching a war that has widely targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Hungary has vetoed the aid package before and my again, as Budapest uses a policy of so called “blackmail diplomacy”, demanding EU money be released to Hungary.
The U.S. President held a telephone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky Sunday. Biden promised Ukraine more military aid focusing on air defence and funds for Ukraines electrical grid, of which 50% has been destroyed said Zelensky.
Ukraine has attacked a barracks in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol with some Ukrainian sources claiming dozens of Russian casualties with some claiming the site was being used by the Wagner mercenary group. Videos posted on social media show a fire and charred bodies.
The UK’s foreign secretary James Cleverly has said that there needed to be “accountability” for Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine. He said he has seen evidence of forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and illegal adoptions.
Human rights groups have also spoken of hundreds of children from Ukraine transferred to Russia and placed for adoption.
Other News…
-Elon Musk stirred a storm of controversy Sunday tweeting prosecute Fauci, a call to arrest Anthony Fauci who led the U.S. pandemic response including lockdowns. Early in the pandemic, Musk tweeted that concern over the virus was "dumb" and since taking over Twitter has removed its policy targeting Covid misinformation. Musk's tweet quickly went viral, receiving over 800,000 likes within some 11 hours but also sparking swift criticism.
-Three women including a friend of Italy's new prime minister were killed when a man opened fire at a cafe in Rome, injuring four other people. Those inside were meeting as part of a local block's residents' committee.
-Britain is in the the middle of a winter cold snap that has closed airports including London’s Stansted, and created hazardous conditions on roads and frozen lakes. Four children fell in an icy lake near Birmingham and are in critical condition in hospital. Temperatures may hit minus 15 C (5 F) in Scotland. Here in London even the river in Hyde Park partially froze over the weekend with snow falls across the UK.
-A key suspect in 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, is in U.S. custody, officials confirmed Sunday. “The United States has taken custody of alleged Pan Am flight 103 bombmaker Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al-Marimi," A Justice Department spokesman said. The majority of those killed were American. The flight had taken off from Heathrow bound for the JFK in the U.S. According to investigators, a possible motive for the attack was retaliation against a 1986 US bombing of Libya's capital, Tripoli.
*****If you haven’t already listened to the most recent Back Story podcast on Nuclear threats from Russia you have to! Amazing content and a great interview with former UK Commander in charge of nuclear forces, Rear Admiral John Gower (Ret).
Cut and past the link into your browser.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/11836381
Have a good day everyone!
Dana Lewis