Thursday, March 27

Amid rising tensions between the European Union and Russia, the EU has urged citizens to stockpile enough supplies to keep them sustained for at least 72 hours in case of a crisis, spiking fears of war even more.

In recent times, Europe is facing a growing danger of war from its neighbor Russia, who have already launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine. After the United States, led by President Donald Trump, decided to scale back its "unwavering" support for NATO and the EU, European countries have begun a race to militarize themselves. Germany just passed a bill extending their defense spending substantially, and Sweden has announced that they will sharply raise their spending on their military to 3.5% of the country's GDP.

The announcement, which came from the European Union Commission, was an 18-page document, known as the EU Preparedness Union Strategy, outlining the action needed to prepare Europe for the future. The document maintained that Europe faces a host of major risks in the near future, including events like sabotage of resources, cyberattacks, geopolitical crises, and possibly even an attack from a neighboring country like Russia.

It states that citizens should have at least 72 hours' worth of supplies to sustain them in case of an emergency, and they should be prepared and ready for any situation. Several government officials gave examples on what should be in an emergency preparedness bag, including identification documents in a sealed waterproof compartment, food, water, matches, cash, a Swiss-army knife, and more.

It also instructs schools to begin teaching children certain lessons to prepare them for a possible war, including how to fight against the spread of misinformation.

However, the document doesn't just address political emergencies. Natural disasters will also play a big role in shaping our world in the near future, and equally deadly emergencies could be caused by climate-change driven factors.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The longest mountain range in the world is actually underwater. The Mid-Ocean Ridge, as it is called, stretches over 40,000 miles-- it runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean before moving east into the Indian Ocean and back up north through the Pacific. By comparison, the world's longest continental mountain range, the Andes, is only 4,350 miles long.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. (Dalai Lama)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Flippant (adj, FLIP-unt) - Something described as flippant, such as behavior or a comment, is lacking in proper respect or seriousness.

In a Sentence: The celebrity made a flippant remark when questioned about the scandal.