Tag: United Kingdom

  • Daily Briefing 

    01/21/2024

    Good afternoon. This is the return of the GCR Daily Briefing. For those who are new this is a daily article I used to do where I pick a couple headlines from around the world and I do a little write up on it. The world is increasingly turbulent  and it’s more important than ever to stay up to date in the events taking place in our world. 


     

    US President Trump orders 1000 national guard to the border. 

    The Pentagon-on the orders of President Donald Trump, has ordered 1,500 troops to join the already 2,500 soldiers to the US and Mexican border.These forces are ordered to “to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control” and provide troops and supplies. The soldiers will also help build border fortifications and walls. These troops are apart of a larger force of 10,000 that will eventually make it to the border to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) according to a leaked CBP memo being reported in the press. 

    This is all apart of a larger immigration policy put in place on the Trumps administrations first day in office. Surging troops to the border as well as using DoD bases as makeshift “holding facilities” until ICE can build more facilities. The above mentioned memos show that ICE will be drastically increasing the number of ICE holding facilities. 

    Trumps plan is to use the military to completely seal the border from migrants and asylum seekers. Migrants, who have long come to the U.S. to work in the farm industry will be picked up crossing into the US and deported before being able to ask for asylum or any sort of hearing. 

    At this point the southern border is effectively closed. Even those trying to enter the country legally have been turned away. This policy is likely to affect food prices for a time as the USDA Economic Research Service reported that in agriculture the number of migrant laborers was 59 percent and another 45% in the animal farm industry. 


    //UK

    UK navy shadows Russian spy ship through the English Channel. 

    HMS Somerset shadows Russian Spy ship Yantar.

    This week a Russia Spy ship (technically an oceanography ship),Yantar (also know as Cruys) has been shadowed by the UK Navy this week as the ship made its way through the English Channel. 

    In November this ship had been loitering above the area where several undersea cables were but was surprised by a Royal Navy Submarine when it surfaced near them to let the Yantar crew know that they were being closely monitored and warned them off. The ship left the area for the Mediterranean but returned this week and has been shadowed by the HMS Somerset(F82), a Type 23 Frigate.

    The Russian Spy Zship Yantar.

    Russian ships have even connected to sabotage of undersea cables in the recent past in the Baltic so no chances are being given in in the English Channel.. The Yantar is equipped with a small submersible that can be used to go down to the ocean floor and tamper with communications and power cables, potentially adding devices to the cables so Russia can access the data. 

    The UK has taken a lead role in countering the threat of Russian attacks on critical undersea infrastructure in the European seas and oceans. They have announced they will send several P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft for the Baltic Sentry activity announced after the damage to the ESTLINK2 cable. Baltic Sentry is a NATO mission that aims to bring different maritime and aerial assets into the Baltic area and integrate them into the protection of the area.