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Europe May Shift Back to Coal as Russia Turns Down Gas Flows

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the "Nord Stream 1" gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the "Nord Stream 1" gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)
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Europe May Shift Back to Coal as Russia Turns Down Gas Flows

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the "Nord Stream 1" gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the "Nord Stream 1" gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (Reuters)

Europe's biggest Russian gas buyers raced to find alternative fuel supplies on Monday and could burn more coal to cope with reduced gas flows from Russia that threaten an energy crisis in winter if stores are not refilled.

Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands have all signaled that coal-fired power plants could help see the continent through a crisis that has sent gas prices surging and added to the challenge facing policymakers battling inflation.

The Dutch government said on Monday it would remove a cap on production at coal-fired energy plants and will activate the first phase of an energy crisis plan.

Denmark has also initiated the first step of an emergency gas plan due to the Russian supply uncertainty.

Italy moved closer to declaring a state of alert on energy after oil company Eni said it was told by Russia's Gazprom that it would receive only part of its request for gas supplies on Monday.

Germany, which has also experienced lower Russian flows, has announced its latest plan to boost gas storage levels and said it could restart coal-fired power plants that it had aimed to phase out.

"That is painful, but it is a sheer necessity in this situation to reduce gas consumption," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a member of the Green party that has pushed for a faster exit from coal, which produces more greenhouse gases.

"But if we don't do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year towards the winter season. And then we are blackmailable on a political level," he said.

Russia on Monday repeated its earlier criticism that Europe had only itself to blame after the West imposed sanctions in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a gas transit route to Europe as well as a major wheat exporter.

The Dutch front-month gas contract, the European benchmark, was trading around 124 euros ($130) per megawatt hour (MWh) on Monday, down from this year's peak of 335 euros but still up more than 300% on its level a year ago.

Filling inventories slowly

Markus Krebber, CEO of Germany's largest power producer RWE , said power prices could take three to five years to fall back to lower levels.

Russian gas flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the main route supplying Europe's biggest economy, were still running at about 40% of capacity on Monday, even though they had edged up from the start of last week.

Ukraine said its pipelines could help to fill any gap in supply via Nord Stream 1. Moscow has previously said it could not pump more through the pipelines that Ukraine has not already shut off.

Eni and German utility Uniper were among European companies that said they were receiving less than contracted Russian gas volumes, although Europe's gas inventories are still filling - albeit more slowly.

They were about 54% full on Monday against a European Union target of 80% by October and 90% by November.

Germany's economy ministry said bringing back coal-fired power plants could add up to 10 gigawatts of capacity in case gas supply hit critical levels. A law related to the move goes to the upper house of parliament on July 8.

Alongside a shift back to coal, the latest German measures include an auction system to encourage industry to consume less gas, and financial help for Germany's gas market operator, via state lender KfW, to fill gas storage faster.

RWE said on Monday it could prolong the operation of three 300 megawatt (MW) brown coal power plants if needed.

Russia blames West

Austria's government agreed with utility Verbund on Sunday to convert a gas-fired power plant to coal should the country face an energy emergency. OMV said on Monday Austria was set to receive half the usual amount of gas for a second day.

The Netherlands will remove a production cap at coal-fired energy plants to preserve gas in the light of Gazprom's moves to cut supplies to Europe. Dutch energy minister Rob Jetten, who made the announcement on Monday, said the government had also activated the "early warning" phase of a three-part energy crisis plan.

Russia's state-controlled Gazprom cut capacity last week along Nord Stream 1, citing the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada.

"We have gas, it is ready to be delivered, but the Europeans must give back the equipment, which should be repaired under their obligations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

German and Italian officials have said Russia was using this as an excuse to reduce supplies.

Italy, whose technical committee for gas is expected to meet on Tuesday, has said it could declare a heightened state of alert on gas this week if Russia continues to curb supplies.

The move would trigger measures to reduce consumption, including rationing gas for selected industrial users, ramping up production at coal power plants and asking for more gas imports from other suppliers under existing contracts.

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World

Has Iran Built an Espionage Network in Israel?

People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
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Has Iran Built an Espionage Network in Israel?

People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

For the past year, Israel has arrested dozens of Israeli citizens on suspicion of spying for Iran, Yedioth Ahronoth has reported on.

The Hebrew newspaper revealed on Saturday that some of the recruits were asked to photograph sensitive facilities and to collect information including documentation of Israeli army bases, strategic sites and homes linked to senior Israeli officials.

The newspaper said that since September 2024, Israeli authorities have uncovered 35 serious Iranian espionage cases. In some, individuals acted alone; in others, they were part of organized cells, with a mission to sow chaos, burn vehicles and carry out failed assassination plots.

It said the youngest of their recruits is a 13-year-old boy from Tel Aviv. Others had served in the reserves and regular forces.

They leaked sensitive information, including documentation of sensitive military bases, strategic sites and homes linked to senior Israeli officials.

The recruits included Mordechai “Moti” Maman, 72, of Ashkelon. He entered Iran twice and discussed with the agents the possibility of carrying out terror attacks in Israel.

The Iranian handlers discussed with him the option of assassinating senior figures such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

After Maman told them the level of security surrounding senior officials made such attacks impractical, the sides discussed alternative terror and espionage activities, including possible attacks on former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett or mayors. Maman was arrested in September 2024.

In October 2024, four cells were arrested, including a couple who had been in contact with Iranian agents since 2021 and groups of five to eight people on suspicion of conducting espionage for Iran.

One of the cases involved seven Israelis who immigrated from Azerbaijan, including a father and son, suspected of maintaining ties for two years with operatives from Iran.

As part of that relationship, the suspects photographed military bases that later became targets in Iran’s ballistic missile attack last year. Some of the group were caught surveilling a senior Israeli official and his son, allegedly as part of an assassination plan.

Authorities also uncovered another case in which seven people aged 19 to 23 from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa were arrested on suspicion of conducting espionage for Iran for several months. Their main assignment was to assassinate an Israeli nuclear scientist and a mayor.

In early 2025, another espionage case was uncovered, and an indictment was filed against an Israeli from Petah Tikva, on charges including contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy.

According to the indictment, the recruit photographed the neighborhood of National Unity party leader Benny Gantz and a power station in Tel Aviv.

His handler contacted him via Telegram and offered payment through a digital wallet in exchange for carrying out security-related tasks. These included documenting security facilities, spraying political graffiti, arson attacks on vehicles and other acts.

During 2025, more than nine indictments have been filed against cells and individuals accused of spying for Iran, most of them Jews the newspaper said.
Investigations revealed that most of the spies had carried out various missions in exchange for payment.

The majority of the recruits had not travelled to Iran to complete their recruitment, but communicated with Iranians through social networks or during their presence in other countries.

World

Polls Open for Myanmar's 1st Election Since Military Seized Power

Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
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Polls Open for Myanmar's 1st Election Since Military Seized Power

Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

Voters went to the polls Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar ’s first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country.

Final results will not be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed later in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who has ruled the country with an iron hand since an army takeover in 2021, will then assume the presidency.

The military government has presented the vote as a return to electoral democracy, but its bid for legitimacy is marred by bans on formerly popular opposition parties and reports that soldiers have used threats to force voters to participate.

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in Parliament. The well-organized and funded Union Solidarity and Development Party, with its support from the military, is by far the strongest contender.

Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sunday’s first round being held in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The second phase will take place Jan. 11, and the third on Jan. 25. Final results are expected to be announced by February.

Critics call the election a sham to keep the army in power Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule that began when the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It blocked her National League for Democracy party from serving a second term despite winning a landslide victory in the 2020 election.

They argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression.

The expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a chimera, say opponents of military rule and independent analysts.

“An election organized by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalize all forms of dissent is not an election — it is a theater of the absurd performed at gunpoint,” Tom Andrews, the UN-appointed human rights expert for Myanmar, posted on X.

The United Nations also said Sunday that Myanmar needs free elections.

"It is critical that the future of Myanmar is determined through a free, fair, inclusive and credible process that reflects the will of its people," said the United Nations in Myanmar, adding the UN "stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their democratic aspirations.”

Holding the election may provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, claiming the election promotes stability.

Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar’s ruling generals due to their anti-democratic actions and the brutal war against their opponents.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, and opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

World

Report: North Korean Money Launderer Transfers Funds to IRGC

Revolutionary Guard commanders during a meeting with Iranian Supreme leader (Khamenei’s website)
Revolutionary Guard commanders during a meeting with Iranian Supreme leader (Khamenei’s website)
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Report: North Korean Money Launderer Transfers Funds to IRGC

Revolutionary Guard commanders during a meeting with Iranian Supreme leader (Khamenei’s website)
Revolutionary Guard commanders during a meeting with Iranian Supreme leader (Khamenei’s website)

A media report published in South Korea has revealed traces of financial transactions between Iran’s regime and North Korea, both US-sanctioned states, signaling the two countries’ increasing use of non-traditional financial tools to circumvent restrictions on their banking systems.

According to blockchain tracking sources, transactions between both countries were carried out through the money-laundering network of a North Korean operative using cryptocurrencies, with part of the funds transferred to entities affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper said in an article published last Friday.

It said investigations by TRM Labs show that dollars were transferred this year from a cryptocurrency wallet belonging to Sim Hyon-sop, a North Korean money launderer, to a wallet linked to the Revolutionary Guard.

According to the newspaper, Iran’s regime may have exchanged cryptocurrency to evade sanctions, convert funds into US dollars, or even pay for oil.

It said Iran and North Korea, both under severe US sanctions, have increasingly turned in recent years to opaque financial tools, mainly cryptocurrencies.

Analysts told the newspaper that these transactions are a sign of overlapping financial networks between the two countries aimed at circumventing the sanctions system.

Sim Hyon-sop, who is wanted by the FBI on charges of money laundering and sanctions evasion, has played a key role in this network.

According to the newspaper, Sim saw his bounty rise from $5 million to $7 million (approximately 10 billion Korean won) in July.

Born in Pyongyang in 1983, he is affiliated with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which has been on US sanctions lists.

He used aliases such as “Sim Ali” and “Sim Hajim” and posed as a representative of Kwangson Bank.

Chosun Ilbo said Sim’s laundering process was meticulous: North Korean “IT workers” sent him cryptocurrency stolen through hacking or received as wages, routing it through multiple digital wallets to obscure traces.

Sim then transferred the funds to pre-selected brokers in an Arab country or China, who converted them into US dollars.

Also, foreign currency earned by North Korean laborers in Russia, China, and Africa flowed into Sim’s accounts via similar laundering routes.

The newspaper showed that part of the earnings were not sent directly to North Korea but were instead spent on purchasing goods, equipment, and even weapons needed by Kim Jong Un’s regime.

Among the examples cited is the use of a company in Zimbabwe to purchase a $300,000 helicopter in Russia and deliver it to North Korea.

Additionally, the newspaper said about $800,000 were spent to procure raw materials for producing counterfeit cigarettes, one of Pyongyang’s main sources of income.

The Chosun Ilbo report stated that US banks, including Citibank, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo, failed to detect Sim’s money-laundering activities. It said at least 310 transactions totaling $74 million were processed through the US financial system.

Referring to data from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Chainalysis, the report said dozens of North Korean “shadow bankers” are active outside the country. Over several years, they have laundered more than $6 billion in stolen cryptocurrency for the regime.

Chosun Ilbo said that although the US federal court had issued an arrest warrant for Sim in March 2023, his capture remains nearly impossible.