TOP NEWS

Russian influence on the outside world
Police raid on EU offices - suspected Russian influence

Police in Belgium and France on Wednesday raided offices in Strasbourg and Brussels belonging to an employee of the European Parliament, and in his private residence in Brussels, writes Politico.

It is linked to a suspected Russian influence attempt, where EU parliamentarians are said to have been offered money to spread Russian propaganda via the Voice of Europe site.

"There are indications that the parliamentary employee in question played a central role in this," the Belgian federal police said in a statement.

Euronews writes that it is about Guillaume Pradora, who previously worked for the German far-right party AFD and today is an assistant to the Dutch parliamentarian Marcel de Graaff, who also belongs to the far-right.

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The Russian invasion|Swedish reactions
Expert: "Could be the beginning of the end for the Gripen"

The announcement that Sweden is holding off on sending the Gripen to Ukraine caused Saab's share to fall on the stock market - and could be the beginning of the end of the fighter plane project. That's what Robert Dalsjö says to SvD.

Dalsjö is a defense and security policy expert at the Total Defense Research Institute (FOI). He is a diligent Gripen debater and clear that he speaks privately.

- How long the delay is is decisive. If we're talking about six months, it probably makes a difference, but if we're talking about a couple of years, or if it doesn't happen, maybe the race is over.

The announcement is due to the fact that the focus is now on introducing the F-16 system in Ukraine, and that the coalition countries see it as too complicated to introduce two combat aircraft systems at the same time, according to Dalsjö.

Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) tells SvD that he does not agree that the announcement means the nail in the coffin for the Gripen.

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The future of defence
The USA sells helicopters to Sweden for 9.6 billion

The US has approved the sale of Black Hawk helicopters to Sweden for a price tag of 900 million dollars, equivalent to 9.6 billion Swedish kronor. This is reported by Reuters.

Sweden decided in 2023 to replace the problematic helicopter 14 and instead invest in more helicopter 16 – internationally known as Black Hawk. In total, it is expected to cost around SEK 17 billion.
foreign

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The Israel-Hamas war|The reactions
Israel kicks Unrwa out of office in Jerusalem

Israeli authorities are giving UNRWA 30 days to vacate its office in East Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reports.

According to Israel, Unrwa owes the state the equivalent of more than SEK 70 million for having operated on Israeli soil for seven years without a permit.

Earlier in May, Unrwa closed the office after repeated attacks on the property, including stone throwing and fire attacks.

"This evening, Israeli residents started two fires on the grounds of the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem [...] a crowd accompanied by armed men was seen outside the building chanting 'burn the UN,'" wrote UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini on X.