Your Friday Briefing

NATO’s European logistics chief is calling for the establishment of a “military Schengen zone” - a reference to the zone which allows essentially free movement of citizens between most EU countries - to allow troops and equipment to quickly move in the event of war with Russia. Moving large quantities of equipment and ammo currently requires special permits and advance notice and there is insufficient transport capacity to enable rapid movement of forces, some countries have different railway gauges, some roads and bridges in Poland and Romania cannot support the weight of European tanks, and the Deutsche Bahn can only move one and a half armored brigades at any one time.

There have been riots by far-right anti-immigrant protestors in Dublin after a knife attack left five people, including three young children, injured. Riot police were deployed. edit: Good summary of the situation here by @Moss@hexbear.net.

Italy and Germany want to construct a hydrogen pipeline across the Alps from Bavaria to Tunisia, expanding the existing South Central Corridor to create a European hydrogen network.

Escalating strikes in Sweden by a group of unions - including car mechanics, car dealers, dockworkers, and postal workers - has been called “insane” by Elon Musk, after Tesla denied their request for collective bargaining.

The Russian Ambassador-at-Large, Miroshnik, has said that Russia cannot co-exist with the Ukrainian regime.

Beijing has, for the seventh time in a row, ranked first in the global science city rankings, which tracks the authorship of articles in high-quality research journals. Beijing is followed by New York, Shanghai, Boston, and San Francisco. Chinese cities comprise 10 of the top 20, while American cities comprise 6.

Northern China is experiencing a large outbreak of respiratory illnesses in children, including influenza, pneumonia, RSV, and coronavirus.

The foreign ministers of China, Japan, and US-occupied Korea are meeting on Sunday for the first time in 4 years.

The leader of Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, has met with the leader of Mali, Assimi Goita, in his first international visit since the coup earlier this year - thanking him for the support. He will next visit Burkina Faso.

A town, Mweso, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has apparently been seized by the M23 rebel group after several days of fighting with the government. This town is 100 kilometers from the North Kivu provincial capital of Goma.

According to an internal document, Milei’s VP, Victoria Villarruel, and economist and likely chancellor Diana Mondino, have made discreet contacts with Brazil to affirm that their relations are of central importance, despite Milei calling Lula a radical communist with which he wanted no official state business done with.

Donald Trump is to meet with Milei in Buenos Aires. The meeting was facilitated by one of Bolsonaro’s large adult sons. On social media, Trump said: “Congratulations to Javier Milei for a great election as the President of Argentina. The whole world was watching you! I’m very proud of you. You will turn your country around and make Argentina great again!”

Ecuador’s new president, Daniel Noboa, has been sworn in after winning the election last month. He is the youngest ever leader of Ecuador.