Europe Entering Winter More Vulnerable Due to Low Gas Storage Levels

Europe Entering Winter More Vulnerable Due to Low Gas Storage Levels

Sputnik

Europe is entering the winter season more vulnerable than usual due to the lowest gas reserves in underground storage facilities in the last 15 years, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said on Monday. 

"The storage level in Europe is the lowest we have seen for the last 15 years meaning that Europe will enter into the winter season with a little bit more vulnerability than it used to do. Particularly, if we have cold weather," he said at the Adipec conference. 

According to Gas Infrastructure Europe data reviewed by Sputnik, the filling level of Europe's underground gas storage facilities reached only 74.68% at the end of October, remaining at the lowest level for this day in the entire history of observations since 2011. The current indicator is 15.09 percentage points lower than the average level for this date over the past five years.

Insufficient gas volumes in UGS facilities and high prices for gas by the heating season will create significant risks for reliable gas supply to European consumers this winter, according to Gazprom.

The European Commission has said that underground gas storage facilities play a key role in ensuring the reliability of gas supply in Europe, allowing up to a third of the EU's demand to be covered during the winter period.

Poland Launches Security Operation Along Kaliningrad Border, Fearing Russian 'Sabotage'

Poland Launches Security Operation Along Kaliningrad Border, Fearing Russian 'Sabotage'

TYLER DURDEN

More border tensions have emeged between Poland and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, at a moment tensions continue to soar related to the Ukraine war as well as Western accusations of Kremlin-orchestrated sabotage.

Polish police and security forces have launched a special operation to 'secure' the border area, having picked up intelligence concerning 'threats' emanating from Kaliningrad, or provocations set to unfold in the region in the coming days.

"The operation – which has involved sending additional officers, including counter-terrorism forces, to the northeastern Podlasie and Warmia-Masuria provinces – was first reported by broadcaster RMF and confirmed by the national police chief, Marek Boroń," one regional source describes.

“Police are putting security measures in place around the Kaliningrad region in anticipation of possible incidents that could lead to acts of sabotage,” Boroń told RMF. “This is based on information we also have from external security services.”

“We are responsible for ensuring the safety of the citizens living there, as well as for facilities and any situations that may pose a threat to society,” he added, also noting coordination with army and border guards.

A Ukrainian news source said while referencing Polish secuirty services, "they do not rule out attempts by armed groups to infiltrate Polish territory."

But no specific evidence of some kind of impending plot has been made public, and this could be yet another case of manufacturing Russian 'crimes' in Europe.

However, late last month there was a somewhat serious incident involving a Russian military helicopter making a brief incursion into Poland's sovereign airspace from the exclave of Kaliningrad.

Polish or NATO jets went immediately active as a result. "Fighter aircraft were scrambled, and ground-based forces and assets remained on standby. The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is once again testing the readiness of our air defense," a military statement said at the time.

Poland's military framed the incident as intentional and as part of Moscow's willingness to 'test' Western readiness and resolve.

US Attacks Iran's Qeshm Island On Election Eve

US Attacks Iran's Qeshm Island On Election Eve

TYLER DURDEN

Summary

• US bombs Qeshm Island on Monday: confirmation comes after a series of explosions were heard in the region.
• Trump Delays Iran Decision: Trump says he is in no rush to resume strikes, favoring more time for diplomacy despite Netanyahu's reported push for renewed military action.
• Ayatollah Signals Openness to Talks: Supreme Leader authorizes dialogue with Washington as Qatari mediation reportedly makes progress toward a draft agreement.
• Faster Hormuz Reopening on the Table: Iran says it could reopen the Strait within two days if Washington accepts its demands, including lifting the US blockade.
• Oil Prices Tumble: Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough send Brent toward $106 and WTI below $100, triggering a broader risk-on market rally.
• Supply Risks Persist: Nearly 1 billion barrels have reportedly been drained from global inventories, leaving oil and diesel markets vulnerable to renewed escalation.

Since Sunday into Monday, Iran headlines were driven by a return to 'peace talks imminent' claims, pushing down oil prices; however, late in the day we learn via official channels speaking to The Wall Street Journal that President Trump just bombed Qeshm Island earlier the same day.

This bold and risky act came right on the eve of the midterm elections, at a moment the war remains deeply unpopular with voters. But interestingly, Trump didn't openly announce the attack, like with some prior escalations and bombings.

"The U.S. attacked Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, U.S. officials said, in the latest of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against the country in recent weeks as President Trump touted the possibility of a diplomatic deal," WSJ writes. The paper further underscores that he spent the whole day signaling there won't be a renewed bombing campaign against Iran any time soon:

The assault follows comments by Trump playing down the possibility of a return to war with Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections. 

“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.”

But the U.S. has been engaged in smaller-scale strikes against Iran for several weeks, officials said, with explosions reported around Qeshm island on Monday on social media. Some of the officials described the assaults as defensive in nature to prevent Iran from having the freedom to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. .

So there's clearly a political reason for the administration not officially reporting such strikes. It would certainly negate any attempt to portray de-escalation in the conflict.

"The U.S. has been purposefully keeping the campaign quiet so as not to signal any intention of resuming major combat operations," one official speaking to the Journal says.

On midterm election eve, President Trump is seeking to appear confident and is trying to reassure voters. He told Axios in a phone interview published Monday afternoon that he's "in no rush" to decide whether to resume attacks on Iran.

There's lately been an avalanche of speculation saying that he's likely to order a new bombing campaign soon after the midterm vote on Tuesday. There are also reports saying that Israel's Netanyhu is strongly lobbying for renewing the war. Of course, Trump knows the war is deeply unpopular with the average voter (on both sides of the aisle) right now, and so the obvious attempts at 'calming' the populace...

Iran's Supreme Leader Floats More US Talks In Rare Overture

Oil is tumbling in the wake of a somewhat rare headline out of Tehran:

• Iranian President Pezeshkian says the Supreme Leader has granted the government some authority on dialogue, ISNA reports
• OIL FALLS TO INTRADAY LOW, BRENT TRADES NEAR $106/BBL
• Oil prices down 6% on hopes of US-Iran diplomacy

This marks some of the most significant confirmation yet that the Supreme Leader - who has been in hiding and not seen in public since the assassination of his father upon the opening of Operation Epic Fury - is still 'open' to a negotiated solution to the war. It has long been speculated that he and the more 'hardline' IRGC and affiliated officials are against talks and are preparing for war.

Meanwhile, more Monday reporting of 'breakthroughs' via regional sources - and the possibility that Washington might give up on insisting the nuclear enrichment issue be resolved...

A breakthrough in US-Iranian negotiations was seen after Qatari mediation successfully overcame procedural obstacles, reports Al Jadeed citing a diplomatic source

• The US is leaning towards not making the nuclear issue a priority and instead including it within the overall negotiation framework.
• Washington's priority is achieving a breakthrough in the nuclear file, which Trump would present to the American people, in exchange for concessions on other issues in favor of Iran.
• There are fears that Netanyahu will succeed in undermining the breakthroughs in the US-Iranian negotiations and pushing the region towards escalation and war.
• Any US-Iranian agreement will inevitably have repercussions for Lebanon, while any war on Tehran would be fateful and would push Hezbollah to enter it.
• Implementing any agreement on Lebanon requires Israel's conditional approval, which is contingent upon Hezbollah's disarmament and the dismantling of its military apparatus; otherwise, Israel will launch a war to achieve its objectives.

Presdient Trump too has signaled he wants to give diplomacy more time, amidreports that Israel's Netanyahu is lobbying for more military action.

Newsquawk notes of the immediate reaction in markets: Risk-on trade seen as reports Iran's Pezeshkian said the Supreme Leader has granted the government some authority on dialogue got wider airing; downside in oil and the Dollar, with upside in US equity futures, Treasuries and spot gold.

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As Governments Around The World Urge Their Citizens To Prepare, Here Are 3 Key Things To Watch This Week

As Governments Around The World Urge Their Citizens To Prepare, Here Are 3 Key Things To Watch This Week

Michael Snyder

There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the air, and it appears that things could be about to break loose all around us. On Friday, chaos erupted on Wall Street as tech stocks crashed really hard. Most people don’t realize this, but nearly five trillion dollars in tech stock wealth has already been wiped out on the Nasdaq 100 since October 6th. Meanwhile, there was more violent rioting in Europe this weekend, the upcoming midterm elections could spark similar rioting here in the United States, and on top of everything else the Middle East is bracing for renewed fighting with Iran. This could potentially be a week that we will remember for a long time to come.

Last week, social media was absolutely buzzing with speculation about why governments all over the world are suddenly urging their citizens to stockpile food, water and emergency supplies…

Governments across Europe and Asia are increasingly asking households to prepare for emergencies by keeping essential supplies at home, from drinking water and non-perishable food to medicines, batteries and cash. The guidance is drawing attention as officials warn that natural disasters, cyberattacks and hostile-state activity could disrupt everyday services sooner than expected. Times Now reported earlier that Japan is preparing a nationwide disaster-readiness appeal, while Britain launched its ‘Be Ready’ public campaign urging households to remain self-sufficient for at least 72 hours.

Now France has released official guidance for assembling a three-day emergency kit. The announcements have emerged amid heightened geopolitical tensions, leading to concerns worldwide. According to Daniel Aldrich, Dean’s Professor of Resilience at Northeastern University, “We are living through a polycrisis. Shocks no longer arrive one at a time. A storm knocks out power, the outage freezes payment systems, and a cyber intrusion lands on top of both.”

In most cases, people are being encouraged to have enough to survive for 72 hours.

But in Germany, officials are instructing citizens to have at least a 10 day supply…

Germany recommends that residents maintain enough food, water, and other necessities to sustain themselves for up to 10 days.

Its Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) acknowledges that not every household can immediately build a 10-day supply, making three days of preparedness a practical starting point.

The agency’s updated guidance addresses prolonged power outages, extreme weather, misinformation, and security emergencies, including situations involving armed conflict.

What do they think is going to happen?

Even as governments issue these ominous instructions, they are assuring us that everything is fine, but meanwhile the U.S. Army is preparing for a scenario in which the digging of “mass battlefield graves” will be necessary…

The U.S. Army has conducted military exercises involving the excavation of mass battlefield graves, preparing for a potential future war in which casualties could become so overwhelming that bringing fallen soldiers home promptly would no longer be possible.

The drills, dubbed Operation Dragon Covenant, were held in North Carolina earlier this month and brought together military engineers, chaplains, medical personnel, and fatality management specialists to practice burying large numbers of bodies in temporary battlefield trenches, Army Times reports.

Engineers reportedly used D6 bulldozers to excavate trenches capable of holding 20 bodies in roughly 75 minutes. Commanders calculated that a properly equipped engineering company could dig and cover trenches for 2,400 bodies in 24 hours of nonstop operations.

Without a doubt, I do believe that global events are reaching a critical turning point.

On Monday, we will want to watch the financial markets very closely, because last week ended very badly.

Stocks tend to fall a lot faster than they rise, and what we just witnessed was absolutely stunning.

On Friday, approximately 2 trillion dollars in stock market wealth was suddenly wiped out…

Some were calling it “Bloody Friday”, and Intel got hit particularly hard…

Over the past year, investors have engaged in an epic borrowing binge, and when margin debt increases so rapidly it almost always has a bad ending…

Investors are borrowing heavily against their portfolios to boost their returns. Over the past year, margin debt has increased by 49%. That’s a bad omen. According to Fundstrat Global Advisors, whenever margin debt has grown more than 45% year-over-year since 1960, the market has declined five out of six times (83%). That’s a signal worth watching.

Of course it isn’t just U.S. stocks that have been falling.

Last week, global investors lost a grand total of nearly 5 trillion dollars…

Now we will wait to see what happens on Monday.

If global markets bounce back, that will be a very good sign.

If they do not, that could be a harbinger of bad things to come.

On Tuesday, the focus will be on the midterm elections in the United States.

In the aftermath of the midterms, just about everyone is expecting the U.S. and Israel to bomb Iran.

In anticipation of that operation, cargo aircraft have been transporting air defense batteries to Israel…

The US has transferred 10 military cargo aircraft to Israeli air bases in the southern Negev region amid preparations for a possible military strike against Iran, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Thursday.

The broadcaster said the aircraft landed at Ovda and Nevatim air bases, while additional US military planes were reportedly dispatched to bases in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

According to KAN, the planes departed from Fort Bliss in the US state of Texas, which houses one of the US military’s largest air defense centers, including facilities associated with interceptor missiles and air defense batteries.

It has also been pointed out that at least 13 KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft are currently parked at Israel’s Ramon International Airport…

All of the military assets needed for the coming operation are either in place or will be in place shortly.

The Iranians know this, and they are threatening to respond with an “earth-shattering blow”…

Iran threatened an “earth-shattering blow” against the United States and Israel on Saturday, warning that “red lines are a thing of the past” if either resumes military strikes against the Islamic Republic, as President Donald Trump weighs renewed action amid escalating threats from Tehran.

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They Ruined Empires. They Will Do It to the USA Too

They Ruined Empires. They Will Do It to the USA Too

 Majid Rafizadeh

• The two countries I grew up in, Persia (Iran) and Syria were once part of great civilizations and empires. Just look at them now. The Persian Empire stood tall for thousands of years. It had depth, culture, resources, continuity. In just a few decades, however, after being taken over in 1979 by those identified with Islamic Sharia law, it was brought down into economic ruin, widespread suffering, and some of the most unspeakable human rights atrocities ever. Today, despite oil and other resources, Iran's economy is a disaster. People suffer. Women are subjected to forced covering and endless restrictions supposedly to "protect" them. Dissent is crushed. Basic freedoms are stripped. What took centuries to build was reversed overnight.

• It is not only Iran. Look at other countries where people identified with Islamist Sharia law gained control — Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan, to name just a few. The pattern repeats: Their economies rank among the weakest. Their human rights records are among the most repressive. The painful daily life of ordinary people shows a plummeting trajectory.

• Why? Because for those who identify with Islamist Sharia law, the economy does not matter. The livelihood of ordinary people does not matter. The prosperity of children, the quality of schools, opportunity, happiness or material progress do not matter. What matters is imposing their version of Sharia law. That is the ultimate and only goal.

• They will not, of course, announce this goal that way.... They conceal the endgame until they hold power. In Iran in 1979, they did not campaign by saying, "We will force the hijab on every woman." They used women's participation and broader grievances to gain support. Once in power, the compulsion begins: the scarf is forced. Opposition is met with imprisonment, torture, rape and execution. You either accept what they say or you are treated as an infidel. That is how we grew up. The method of imposing these views is not persuasion. It is force.

• Once Islamists hold power, the foundational American protections — freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the Second Amendment, an independent judiciary, property rights, women's and children's rights, due process and equal justice under the law — will become targets. They are not compatible with the enforced supremacy of Islamist Sharia law as these actors understand it. All your rights can be narrowed, redefined, or removed in the shortest time, just as they were elsewhere.

• Americans tend to be straightforward; unfortunately, many of those identified with the Islamist ideology are not. They will lie. They will use promises, concealment, and the doctrine of taqiyya (dissimulation in the service of Islam) when useful. They will say what is needed to gain votes and positions of influence. After their power is secured, the agenda hardens and the country is driven back to the seventh century, just as larger and older civilizations were.

• Once they control the levers of power, what follows is the same script that played out in Iran

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