Chief-Exec.com

Russian spy spacecraft have intercepted Europe’s key satellites, officials believe
European security officials believe two Russian space vehicles have intercepted the communications of at least a dozen key satellites over the continent. Officials believe that the likely interceptions, which have not previously been reported, risk not only compromising sensitive information transmitted by the satellites but could also allow Moscow to manipulate their trajectories or even crash them. Russian space vehicles have shadowed European satellites more intensively over the past three years, at a time of high tension between the Kremlin and the west following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For several years, military and civilian space authorities in the west have been tracking the activities of Luch-1 and Luch-2 - two Russian objects that have carried out repeated suspicious manoeuvres in orbit. Both vehicles have made risky close approaches to some of Europe’s most important geostationary satellites, which operate high above the Earth and service the continent, including the UK, as well as large parts of Africa and the Middle East. Financial Times, February 4

UK PM: Russian attacks on Ukraine energy sites 'particularly depraved'
Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy sector on Monday night - as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) - were "barbaric" and "particularly depraved", UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said. He made the comments after speaking to US President Donald Trump hours after Russia hit power plants and critical infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, and elsewhere. The attacks came at the end of a week-long pause that Trump had asked Russia's President Vladimir Putin to observe as a fierce cold swept Ukraine. Trump said on Tuesday that Putin had "kept his word" and that he would like him to end the war. Top US envoys are meeting negotiators from Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday. Asked by reporters whether he was disappointed with Russia's renewed attacks, Trump said, "it [the agreement] was on Sunday, and he [Putin] went from Sunday to Sunday. It's a lot, you know, one week, we'll take anything, because it's really, really cold over there." The damage from the strikes was extensive, with more than 1,000 tower blocks in Kyiv without heating and a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair. BBC news, February 4

Iran demands Oman venue for US talks amid rising regional tensions
Iran is demanding that talks with the US this week be held in Oman, not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way negotiations on nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, adding new complications to an already delicate diplomatic effort. Iran's move to change the venue and agenda for the talks, scheduled for Friday in Istanbul, comes amid heightened tensions as the US builds up forces in the Middle East. Regional players have pushed for a resolution of a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes and stirred fears of escalation into a wider war. The US military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters. France 24, February 4

Zero net migration would shrink UK economy by 3.6%, says thinktank
The UK economy would be 3.6 per cent smaller by 2040 if net migration fell to zero, forcing the government to raise taxes to combat a much bigger budget deficit, a thinktank has predicted. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said falling birthrates in the UK and a sharp decrease in net migration last year had led it to consider what would happen if this trend continued to the end of the decade. In this scenario the UK population would stop growing at about 70 million in 2030. The latest official figures showed the UK population was 69.3 million in 2024. Dr Benjamin Caswell, a senior economist at NIESR, said: “Net zero migration leaves the economy 3.6 per cent smaller by 2040 and this reflects slower employment growth and a smaller workforce.” The Guardian, February 4

UK diners ditch restaurants for chicken shops and fast-food chains
Britons are swapping sit-down restaurant meals for cheaper fast-food options as the squeeze on household finances reshapes how the country eats out. Data suggests that dinner or lunch at a restaurant or pub is losing ground to chicken shops, bakery chains and coffee houses. According to an analysis of more than 60,000 outlets across the country, visits to restaurants and pubs fell by 7 per cent last year while fast-food edged up by 1 per cent, indicating that some consumers are actively “trading down” from full-service dining to low-cost alternatives. Fast-food prices, however, rose 7.7 per cent in the year to December against wider food inflation of 4.5 per cent. The Times, February 4

Fortnightly talks agreed with the EU to thrash out Brexit ‘reset’
Britain and Brussels have agreed to intensify negotiations over Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit reset amid concerns that key elements of the deal are still far from being finalised. Ministers are hoping to unveil a deal on food standards, youth mobility and energy co-operation at talks between Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, due to be held by the end of May. However, discussions at an official level have become bogged down over controversial issues such as genetically modified food, the role of European courts in policing the agreement and ongoing disagreements over a cap on youth mobility. On Monday, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Europe minister, met his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic in London and the two agreed to hold fortnightly discussions in a bid to push the talks on at a political level and tackle key areas of difference between the two sides. The Times, February 2

Ukraine hails 'real results' after Musk restricts Russian Starlink use
Elon Musk's efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks have "delivered real results", a Ukrainian official said. Praising the SpaceX founder as "a true champion of freedom and a true friend of the Ukrainian people", defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Musk had swiftly responded when he was told Russian drones with Starlink connectivity were operating in the country. The drones have been linked to a number of recent deadly attacks by Russia on Ukraine, including one on a moving passenger train which left six people dead. "Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorised use of Starlink by Russia have worked," Musk wrote on X. "Let us know if more needs to be done." Starlink satellites operated by SpaceX provide high-speed internet around the world. It has worked in Ukraine since the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The Russian drones are difficult to shoot down, Fedorov said, as they fly at low altitudes, cannot be countered with electronic warfare, and are controlled by operators in real time from a distance. BBC news, February 2

SpaceX buys xAI in $1.25tn deal to unite crucial parts of Elon Musk’s empire
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has acquired xAI for $250bn, as the world’s richest man combines his two largest private ventures to pursue his ambition to win the AI race by developing data centres in space. SpaceX based the price for xAI on a recent $20bn funding round that valued the two-year-old start-up at $230bn, according to two people familiar with the matter. The deal valued the combined company at $1.25tn after Musk marked up the private valuation of SpaceX to $1tn, citing increases in revenue from its Starlink satellite broadband service, the people added. The rocket company was recently valued at $800bn in a secondary stock sale. SpaceX chief financial officer Bret Johnsen told investors on a call on Monday afternoon that shares in the combined entity would be priced at $527. Shares of xAI will be converted into SpaceX stock at an exchange rate of roughly seven to one. Financial Times, February 2

Ultra-processed foods should be treated more like cigarettes than food - study
Ultra-processed foods have more in common with cigarettes than with fruit or vegetables, and require far tighter regulation, according to a new report. UPFs and cigarettes are engineered to encourage addiction and consumption, researchers from three US universities said, pointing to the parallels in widespread health harms that link both. UPFs, which are widely available worldwide, are food products that have been industrially manufactured, often using emulsifiers or artificial colouring and flavours. The category includes soft drinks and packaged snacks such as crisps and biscuits. There are similarities in the production processes of UPFs and cigarettes, and in manufacturers’ efforts to optimise the “doses” of products and how quickly they act on reward pathways in the body, according to the paper from researchers at Harvard, the University of Michigan and Duke University. They draw on data from the fields of addiction science, nutrition and public health history to make their comparisons, published on 3 February in the healthcare journal the Milbank Quarterly. The Guardian, February 3

Britain unveils first national plan to curb ‘forever chemicals’ risks
Britain unveiled on Tuesday its first-ever plan to tackle "forever chemicals" and reduce the risks they pose to health and the environment. PFAs (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of some 10,000 human-manufactured chemicals used in everything from pizza boxes to cookware, to waterproof clothing. They take an extremely long time to break down - earning them their "forever" nickname - and instead build up in the environment. There is growing evidence their widespread use has created risks that "will likely remain for hundreds of years", according to the UK's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. It said in a statement the new government plan aims to "understand where these chemicals are coming from, how they spread and how to reduce public and environmental exposure". France 24, February 3