Prologue Journal – Page 32808 – Understanding current events through the lenses of the past and future.

Israeli Air Force could buy 20 new helicopters from US – report

Jerusalem Post The IDF will soon have to decide if to buy old “Delta” Apaches that were put out of order in the US and upgrade them, or buy new Apache helicopters of the “Echo” model. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-743874

Putin instructs Cabinet to update oil price indicators for taxation

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. Since April 1, the law is effective in Russia that updates the methodology of pricing for the Russian Urals oil export blend during calculations of the mineral extraction tax and the additional income tax https://tass.com/economy/1621379

Bill Gates says top AI agent poised to replace search, shopping businesses

Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-743887

Estonia, Latvia planning joint purchase of German IRIS-T air defense systems

Fox News Estonia and Latvia plan jointly to acquire German air defense systems for the protection of the two NATO nations’ airspace in what would be the biggest defense cooperation deal between the Baltic neighbors that border Russia, the Estonian and Latvian defense ministries said Sunday. According to the provisional deal, deliveries of the medium-range…

United Nations reports 2 million people were killed from extreme weather over the past half-century

Fox News The economic damage of weather- and climate-related disasters continues to rise, even as improvements in early warning have helped reduce the human toll, the U.N. weather agency said Monday. The World Meteorological Organization, in an updated report, tallied nearly 12,000 extreme weather, climate and water-related events over the past half-century around the globe…

Strategic partners Poland and Ukraine exchange remarks over violent past

Fox News Officials in Poland and Ukraine, staunch strategic partners, have unexpectedly exchanged bitter remarks regarding a painful mutual past that includes mass murder. This year is the 80th anniversary of the massacres of tens of thousands of Poles by Ukrainians that Poland calls genocide. In 1943-44, Ukrainian nationalists and others massacred about 100,000 Poles…

Berlin police investigate report of Russian exiles falling ill

Fox News German police are investigating reports that at least two Russian exiles fell ill around the time they attended a conference in Berlin last month linked to a Russian opposition figure. Berlin police confirmed their investigation in an email responding to a query by The Associated Press, but wouldn’t give any details. The probe…

IAEA chief emphasizes security of external power supply among principles to protect ZNPP

Disclaimer: TASS is Russian government propaganda, and not a reliable news source. The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant lost its external power supply on Monday and was switched to generators https://tass.com/defense/1621377

At Antwerp Art Weekend, Collectors Buy With Their Gut

New York Times The Belgian city doesn’t have a huge dealer base, nor is it home to as many artists as other major centers. But it has a tradition of art buying that goes back to Rubens and Breughel. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/arts/design/antwerp-art-weekend.html

Belarus opposition group urges EU to maintain sanctions on Belarusian fertilizer producer

Fox News A member of the Belarus opposition movement urged the European Union on Monday to keep sanctions against a Belarusian state fertilizer producer, warning that lifting them would generate a $1.5 billion windfall for Alexander Lukashenko’s regime as it supports Russia’s war on Ukraine. Pavel Latushka, a former Belarusian minister of culture who is…