NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: We (UK, Europe, NATO) could be at war within the next sixty months. Here are some snippets from a few news reports by British journalists published towards the end of last month.
- 'There's a 1939 feel to the world right now'.
- 'We are in a pre-war era’.
- Russia could attack NATO 'within five years', German defence minister warns.
- NATO now sees its chief adversaries as Russia and terrorist organisations.
- World War Three could be on the cards if global conflicts continue to escalate.
- British citizens should be "trained and equipped" to fight in a potential war with Russia - as Moscow plans on "defeating our system and way of life", the head of the British Army has said. UK General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff (CGS), said increasing army numbers in preparation for a potential conflict would need to be a "whole-of-nation undertaking". The comments, first reported by the UK's Daily Telegraph, are being read as a warning that British men and women should be ready for a call-up to the armed forces if NATO goes to war with Vladimir Putin.
- It comes after UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech last week that we are "moving from a post-war to pre-war world" and the UK must ensure its "entire defence ecosystem is ready" to defend its homeland.
- Tobias Ellwood, a former UK defence minister who has served alongside Sir Patrick, said the military chief should be "listened to carefully"."What's coming over the horizon should shock us. It should worry us and we are not prepared," he told Sky News. The MP for Bournemouth East said that following decades of post-Cold War peace, there was a growing sense authoritarian states could "exploit our timidity, perhaps our reluctance to really put fires out" - pointing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "So Patrick Sanders is saying prepare for what's coming over the horizon - there is a 1939 feel to the world right now," he said.
Source: Sky News & Agencies Wed 24 Jan 2024
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HERE is a reminder of wondrous natural beauty in our fragile world, compared to evil ugliness of man-made wars and man's inhumanity to man.
Published Wednesday, 7 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:
IMAGE SOURCE,
NIMA SARIKHANI/WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
A stunning image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep on an iceberg, by British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani, has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award.
"Sarikhani's breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet," Natural History Museum director Dr Douglas Gurr said.
"His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss."
Sarikhani made the image after three days searching for polar bears through thick fog off Norway's Svalbard archipelago.
Wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world were invited to vote from a short list of 25 images.
Four other outstanding finalists were "highly commended".
The Happy Turtle, by Tzahi Finkelstein
IMAGE SOURCE,
TZAHI FINKELSTEIN/WPY
Tzahi Finkelstein was in his hide, photographing shore birds, when he spotted a Balkan pond turtle walking in the shallow water.
The dragonfly unexpectedly landed on the turtle's nose.
Starling Murmuration, by Daniel Dencescu
IMAGE SOURCE,
DANIEL DENCESCU/WPY
Daniel Dencescu spent hours following the starlings around the city and suburbs of Rome, Italy.
Finally, on the cloudless winter's day, the flock, swirled into the shape of a giant bird.
Shared Parenting, by Mark Boyd
IMAGE SOURCE,
MARK BOYD/WPY
Two lionesses had gone hunting, leaving the pride's five cubs hidden overnight in dense bushes, in Kenya's Maasai Mara Mara.
Returning from their unsuccessful mission, they called the cubs out on to the open grassland and began grooming.
Aurora Jellies, by Audun Rikardsen
IMAGE SOURCE,
AUDUN RIKARDSEN/WPY
Sheltering his equipment in a self-made waterproof housing, Audun Rikardsen used his own system for adjusting the focus and aperture during a single exposure, as moon jellyfish swarmed in the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø, in northern Norway, illuminated by the aurora borealis.
The five images will be displayed online and at London's Natural History Museum until 30 June.
All photos copyright Wildlife Photographer of the Year
View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-68215592
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