Morning bird: In Berlin, electricity is running everywhere again. Pavel does not appoint Turk as a minister, despite Babiš.
In Berlin, electricity supplies were restored after an extensive outage caused by frost, snow, and an arson attack by extremists. President Petr Pavel refused to appoint Filip Turk to the position of Minister of the Environment, despite a direct proposal from Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
Electricity is working again in Berlin
On Wednesday, power was restored to thousands of households in Berlin, which had been without electricity for four days in freezing temperatures following a suspected attack by the far left on high-voltage power lines, authorities said.
On Saturday morning, about 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses lost their power supply after a fire broke out on a bridge carrying high-voltage cables over the Teltow canal in the southwestern part of the German capital. The incident affected an estimated 100,000 people. The damage repair took several days, reported Euronews.
President Pavel refused the proposal to appoint Filip Turek as president
Although Peter Pavel had previously expressed objections towards the neo-Nazi expressions of Filip Turek, which he described as incompatible with the minister's role, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) nevertheless brought the proposal of his appointment to the position of Minister of Environment to the President. Andrej Babiš will not file a claim of power against the President, so Turek will not become the minister, reports CTK.
USA to leave 66 international organizations
The Trump administration will step down from dozens of international organizations, including the UN agency for population and a UN treaty dealing with international climate negotiations. Thus, the USA continues to retreat from global cooperation. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday, suspending the support of the USA for 66 organizations, agencies and commissions, based on a review of participation and funding of all international organizations, including those that are affiliated with the UN, as reported by the AP agency according to a press release from the White House.
Americans detained two tankers of the Russian shadow fleet near Venezuela
The United States announced that as part of "successive" operations in the North Atlantic and Caribbean, they detained two tankers associated with Venezuelan oil exports. After nearly two weeks of pursuit, American forces boarded the Mariner ship sailing under the Russian flag, which was located in the waters between Iceland and Scotland. The British Royal Navy provided logistical support from the air and sea.
The second tanker - M/T Sophia - was accused by the USA of "engaging in illegal activities" and was detained in the Caribbean. Russia protested against the detention of the ship and appealed for the Russians on board to be returned to their homeland, the BBC reported.
Trump criticises NATO and complains about Norway for not awarding the Nobel Prize
"Russia and China are not afraid of NATO without the United States at all, and I doubt that NATO would be there for us if we really needed them. We will always be there for NATO, even if they are not there for us," Donald Trump said on social media according to CTK.
Article 5 on collective defense within the pact has only been activated once in history at the request of the USA, when allies responded to the call after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Donald Trump also complained about Norway because it is a NATO member and this is where the Nobel Prizes are awarded, which the American president vainly demands,
Sources: AP, ČTK, BBC, Euronews
