Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
IT APPEARS that the Biden administration, shortly before its departure, has instructed an escalation of tensions in the Baltic Sea with the potential for direct military confrontation with Russia.
Over the past years, the behaviour of European states suggests that all such action was directed by Washington. What is currently being orchestrated in the Baltic Sea can only be described as irrational and therefore highly dangerous.
Let us summarise what is happening. Under the pretext that the EU has the authority to impose sanctions on deliveries of Russian oil and gas that do not even enter the territorial waters of EU member states but merely pass through international shipping lanes, ordinary oil tankers from various owners and origins are labelled as a “shadow fleet.”
In Washington, the willingness to accept an open war with Russia is growing — at Europe’s expense. While Nato states are being drawn into confrontation, Europe risks becoming the battlefield of a potential world war, warns SEVIM DAGDELEN
While Trump praises the ‘successful’ attack on Iranian nuclear sites, the question arises as to the real motives behind this escalation. MARC VANDEPITTE explores the issues


