TOP NEWS

The winter weather  

The cold makes the world's media shiver: "Sweden is freezing" 

 

"1,000 vehicles stuck in Swedish snow chaos", writes the BBC. AP writes that "extreme cold leaves thousands without power", and The Guardian writes that "the snowstorm forces schools in Scandinavia to close". The cold snap has caused the world's media to turn their attention to the Nordic region.  

 

"Sweden is freezing," notes the German Der Spiegel and reports on how the temperature in several places has dropped to minus 40 degrees or lower.  

 

The French TV channel BFM points out that it was minus 43.6 degrees in Kvikkjokk on the night of Wednesday, and that it is the coldest temperature measured in Sweden in 25 years.  

 

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The global challenges  

Farmers: Eco-friendly food risks becoming a luxury item  

 

As regulations on UK agriculture tighten, climate-friendly food risks becoming an unaffordable luxury. It warns British farmers, The Guardian reports.  

 

The farmers believe that they have received too little support in the work to reach the climate and environmental goals, which makes it difficult for them to compete with imported food from countries that do not make the same demands on sustainability. 

  

- It is incredibly frustrating and very disappointing, says dairy farmer James Robinson, who runs a family farm in Cumbria. 

 

British politicians are debating a new labeling system that will enable consumers to make informed choices about food and animal husbandry. On Thursday, the government also presented a new support package that encourages farmers and ranchers to change. How well it succeeds in calming the frustration among farmers remains to be seen. 

 

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Russian hackers under the radar in the Ukrainian telecom system 

 

Russian hackers had penetrated Ukrainian telecom giant Kyivstar's systems long before the December 12 hacker attack, when services for 24 million users were knocked out. This is reported by the Reuters news agency. The attackers had access to the systems from at least May of last year, according to Illia Vitiuk, head of the cyber security department at the intelligence service SBU.  

 

Vitiuk told Reuters that the attack led to "catastrophic" destruction and that the purpose of the attack was, among other things, to gather information and to make a psychological mark. 

 

- The attack is a big message, a big warning, not only to Ukraine but to the entire Western world that no one is unreachable, he says. According to Vitiuk, "almost everything" was knocked out in the attack. It was probably the first example in the world of how a cyber attack can destroy the heart of a telecom operator, he says.  

 

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Major GPS disturbances during Christmas - Russia is singled out  

 

Sweden and several other countries around the Baltic Sea were affected by major GPS disturbances during the Christmas holiday, reports SVT. Satellite navigation for civil aviation and shipping must have been phased out.  

 

The Swedish Transport Agency must have received a first report on December 18, which was the start of disruptions that increased in scope to what is said to be the largest disruption of its kind around the Baltic Sea. 

 

Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi believes it is an effect of Russian hybrid warfare. - This means that you are constantly at a level lower than conflict.  

 

According to SVT, Russia has not admitted any sabotage. However, the country has stated that it had exercises to "undermine the enemy's navigation and radio communication".  

 

The Norwegian Defense Radio Agency, FRA, does not want to comment. The Swedish Transport Agency says nothing more than that they are following the situation. 

 

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IS claims attack - believed to be suicide  

 

The terrorist group IS claims responsibility for the bombing in Iran, reports Reuters.  

 

According to the state news agency Irna, Iranian investigators suspect that suicide bombers were behind the attack, which killed nearly 100 people in the city of Kerman on Wednesday.  

 

Iran's leaders have promised a strong response to the attack. President Ebrahim Raisi has condemned the incident as "heinous and inhumane", while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge.