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Europe
The Netherlands
Saturday, 9 November 2024, 3:34 King Willem-Alexander released a statement on 8 November after Israelis in Amsterdam for a soccer match were brutally attacked after a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Dutch team Ajax. “I just spoke to President Herzog about the events last night in Amsterdam. I told him how shocked my wife and I are by the violence against Israeli supporters who are guests in our country. We cannot turn a blind eye to anti-Semitic behaviour in our streets. Our history has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse, with horrific consequences. Jews must feel safe in the Netherlands, everywhere and at all times. We put our arms around them and will not let them go,” the King revealed in the statement. During his call with the President, he told him: 'We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.' Israel sent government planes to evacuate the Israelis from the Netherlands after the attack in which five people were hospitalised and another 20-30 people were injured. Dutch police arrested at least 62 people. (Source: Royal Central)
Russia
(Saturday), November 09, 2024 10:14 PM Russia and the U.S. have had contact on the subject of the war in Ukraine via "closed channels" at the military and political levels, according to a top Russian foreign relations official. "As for the situation in Ukraine, the exchange of signals via closed channels is periodically carried out," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said in an interview with the Interfax news service published today. "This is done with varying degrees of intensity depending on the need, but all of this is in working order." "It cannot be said that the communication lines are cut off and that there is no dial tone," he said. His comments underscore that Washington and Moscow maintain at least some interaction centered around Russia's almost three-year-long war in Ukraine, even as relations between the two countries are at their lowest ebb since the end of the Cold War. One of the few remaining areas of diplomatic cooperation has been prisoner exchanges. Ryabkov said that topic remains on the agenda for relations between Russia and the U.S. "The last exchange showed that we can find effective solutions to even the most complex, complicated, multifaceted, problematic situations," Ryabkov said. "But there remains no clarity" for how that will work or the schedule for such an exchange going forward. Ryabkov reiterated that diplomatic relations with the U.S. could still be completely severed if Russia's frozen assets are confiscated, or if the war in Ukraine escalates. The diplomat also said there was currently no basis to resume negotiations on strategic stability or arms control. On U.S. President-elect Trump's promises to quickly end the war in Ukraine, Ryabkov said they amounted to campaign rhetoric. Still, Moscow is ready to listen to the Republican's proposals to stop the conflict, he said, echoing an earlier statement from Russian President Putin. On Thursday, Putin congratulated Trump on his win in the U.S. presidential election, "and said he was ready to hold discussions with the incoming American leader". He gave no indication that he's ready to make concessions to secure an end to the war he started in February 2022. Putin has repeatedly said he's willing to hold talks, while insisting that any negotiations take account of the realities on the ground since his forces invaded Ukraine and occupied large swathes of the country's south and east. (Source: The Herald - South Carolina , U.S.)
Europe
November 9, 2024 ’Deeply concerning.’ Many of Europe’s leaders may have been regretting their previous criticisms of Trump, from Tusk to Lammy, the ’bloc’ ’s liberals rushed to offer their stiff congratulations to the newly anointed President-elect. Meanwhile, the leaders of Italy and Hungary ’raced to kiss the ring of America’s godfather of populism. ’Yet if there is one thing that unites Trump sycophants and sceptics in Europe, it’s the desire to boost European defence spending and security cooperation’. In a nervy display of Franco-German solidarity, the leaders of France and Germany announced that they would work to build ’a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe in this context, with an emphasis on enhancing European defence’. In Britain, there have been calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to draw closer to Europe on security, deepening a Brexit betrayal initiated by Boris Johnson. ’For liberals, strengthening the EU and Nato will insure against Trump either withdrawing from the defence alignment - whose European members he views as parasitical free-riders - or giving up on the Ukraine war effort. ’For populists, greater defence spending is an act of fealty, symbolising their devotion to Trump’s new world order. „Either way, Europeans would be mistaken to respond to Trump 2.0 by doubling down either on the transatlantic alliance or European integration. What Trump’s victory shows is that the globalist strategy of pursuing transnational integration against the wishes of voters has failed. With his America First agenda, the President-elect has now bet twice on America’s voters over its globalist elites - and won bothtimes. In light of this, Europe’s leaders would commit a grave error in choosing Nato over their own people”. „There was once a time when European economic and security integration may have had a strategic rationale: in the post-Cold War unipolar world, globalisation was underpinned by American hegemony and economic strength. Back then, American globalism provided the cover for European integration, allowing Europe’s elites to detach themselves from their voters. Workers were promised all the glories of globalisation in return for retreating from politics into lives of cosy consumption. This process opened up the void between citizens and political elites that has bedevilled European states ever since”. That world is now long gone. The high-tide of economic globalisation has receded, and political globalism is ebbing with it. Today, China is the industrial workshop of the world, and America is no longer its hegemon. This means that „further European or transatlantic integration through Nato has become a losing strategy”. Rather than uniting against Trump or sucking up to him, „Europe should seek to replicate his domestic political model. As Trump did in the US, European nations should build electoral coalitions for national renewal, and use this as a basis to forge new international relationships in place of the old transnational ones”. There are plenty of reasons to avoid further European integration, whether it’s via the EU or Nato, but several stand out. Trump’s foreign policy focus will be on China and the Asia-Pacific more than Europe, which will increasingly take second place in Washington’s political calculations. „A push to further European integration in response to US strategic retreat from Europe will not strengthen the Continent. Quite the opposite: it will bolster the transnational structures that weaken the nations of Europe”. The EU functions by leaching power from the nation-state without suborning it to any greater political authority. With no institutional core, the EU functions as a political pinball machine, ricocheting responsibility from one supranational agency to another, from one country to another. This structure admittedly worked for a time, but only with the US hovering in the background, throughout the era of unipolar globalisation. Today, with Trump looking east, America will be less willing to lend a hand. „Nor will strengthening Nato be of much use in Trump World, as this will only reinforce Europe’s geopolitical divide - from which the US ultimately profits. Just consider the war in Ukraine. As long as the EU and Russia are at odds, the EU will remain dependent on importing more expensive US liquid natural gas, which will act as a drag on European industry and growth. Meanwhile, Russia will remain focused on supplying energy markets outside of Europe, relying ever more heavily on Chinese imports to supply its industrial equipment. That is a world that favours Chinese and American firms over European ones”. „If Trump’s foreign policy follows the direction of his first administration, then we can expect a renewed focus on building a more transactional international order. Bilateral bargaining and regional orders are more likely than starry-eyed globalist compacts. To bargain effectively in such a world, European nations must develop a clear sense of their own national interests. And identifying those national interests means looking inward, not outward. This means turning away from the faded promises of globalism”. „For this reason, renewed calls for transnational integration - whether of the European or Atlantic variety - miss the mark. The alarmed response of European liberals to Trump’s victory reveals a fear not only of Trump, but of their own voters. The reason they fear Trump is because they know that he has something they lack: national democratic legitimacy, built on the wishes of the marginalised and the politically excluded. Europe’s liberal elite feel trapped between a mercurial Trump and their own left-behind ’deplorables’„. „By contrast, Europe’s populists have embraced Trump as the leader of their global movement. Yet this is also ill-advised. Rather than turning to Washington for leadership, populist leaders would be better off learning from the Trump playbook: appealing to their fellow citizens rather than parading around with Nato banners or jockeying for international position. This is the paradox of Trump World: the only way to build a new era of international cooperation is to start from within, through a project of national renewal”. (Source: UnHerd - United Kingdom)
by Cunliffe an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London; author or editor of eight books, as well as a co-author of Taking Control: Sovereignty and Democracy After Brexit (2023).
Asia
Iran
Nov 9, 2024, 10:52 AM On Oct 14, 2024, the European Union approved new sanctions against three Iranian airlines over alleged transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. The sanctions have left a direct impact on air transportation, creating problems for the import and supply of medicines and medical equipment. Using special air corridors, expanding cooperation with international companies and support of domestic production are among the solutions being pursued to deal with these challenge. (Source: IRNA - Iran)
Lebanon
November 9, 2024 11:13 PM GMT+1 Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon over the last day have killed at least 40 people including several children, Lebanese authorities said today, after heavy Israeli bombardment pounded the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut overnight. At least seven people were killed in the coastal city of Tyre late yesterday. At least 20 more people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday across the eastern plains around the city of Baalbek. The Lebanese health ministry said Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,136 people and wounded 13,979 in Lebanon over the last year. The toll includes 619 women and 194 children. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group announced more than 20 operations today, as well as one that it said fighters carried out the previous day against a military factory south of Tel Aviv. (Source: Reuters - United Kingdom)
South Korea
5:50 AM CET, (Saturday), November 9, 2024 South Korea’s military said North Korea disrupted GPS signals from border areas for the second-straight day today, affecting an unspecified number of flights and vessel operations. GPS interference can endanger commercial airlines flying in poor visibility, and it is a violation of international conventions on navigational safety. In 2024, North Korean trash balloons halted the airport’s runway operations 12 different times for a total of 265 minutes. North Korea’s GPS signal disruptions and balloon campaigns highlight the vulnerability of South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, its main transportation gateway. The airport, which carries 56 million people and 3.6 million tons of cargo annually, is less than 100 kilometers from North Korea. No major aviation incidents have resulted to date. (Source: Associated Press - U.S.)
Qatar
09.11.2024 Qatar says Hamas 'no longer welcome' in Gulf state. US Republicans sent letter to Biden administration to reverse policy on Qatar. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
North America
United States
November 9, 2024 ’Trump talked on the campaign trail about using military forces to quell protests in cities and said that one of his first actions upon entering the White House again would be to begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants. ’During his campaign he characterized protesters as enemies from within who may have to be handled by the National Guard or military. He later also included his Democratic critics, such as former House Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Schiff, as the enemy from within and somehow more dangerous than China or Russia. ’Of particular concern is Trump issuing an unlawful order’.’America’s military leaders are engaging in informal discussions about how they would respond 'if’ President-elect Trump issued orders to use active-duty U.S. troops against civilians and aid his mass deportation plans, according to a report’. American troops could be deployed in cities to help carry out Trump’s plan for mass deportations, a former defense official told. Local law enforcement departments don’t have the manpower, they don’t have the helicopters, the trucks, the expeditionary capabilities that the military brings, the official said. But a decision to send active-duty troops into American cities must be looked at seriously. It is a big deal, the official said. But it’s the only way to address issues at scale. (Source: dnyuz – (Armenia ? / International Business Times – U.S.)
09.11.2024 As Americans headed to polls on election day, social media was already rife with unfounded claims of voter fraud, stoking doubts about election’s legitimacy. Online claims of election fraud surge, then subside as Trump wins. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
(Saturday), 09 November 2024 12:32pm GMT Yesterday, the Department of Justice revealed charges against an Afghan immigrant to the US, Shakeri, who was allegedly tasked by the The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to murder the then US presidential candidate. "Prior to the recent Israeli response to Iran’s October missile attacks on its territory, Biden pronounced targeting of Tehran’s nuclear capabilities off-limits". Conversely, Trump said that Israel should 'hit the nuclear first and worry about everything else later'. Whatever action Trump decides the US should directly take against Iran, he should remove all the shackles Biden has clapped on Israel. Not only should he unequivocally support whatever action Jerusalem needs to take to defend itself from this threat, he should equip it with whatever military resources it needs to effectively destroy the Iranian nuclear programme. 'Such a move should be fully backed by the West', including the UK. Sir Keir Starmer, whose government has ground to make up in its relations with the future Trump administration, could secure an easy win now by proscribing as a terrorist organisation the IRGC, would-be assassins of its number one ally’s president-elect. (Source: The Telegraph - United Kingdom)
by Kemp
Note: The headline: 'Iran wants war with the United States'.
Some comments: 'Kemp the war monger'; 'What a ludicrous headline'.
(Saturday), November 09, 2024 3:10 PM Retired admiral former NATO Commander Stavridis predicted on CNN today that the Russia-Ukraine war will end with Russian President Putin taking 20 percent of Ukraine. Now that Trump won this year's presidential election against Harris, the world will be looking to see how he handles the war. Stavridis, who frequents TV networks to give his expertise on foreign affairs, told that if Trump can end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours, "I'll be the first one voting for his Nobel Peace Prize." "What I hope he does, and I think he will, is put pressure on both sides to get to the negotiating table, and it comes out kind of like the end of the Korean War, which is to say, Putin, unfortunately, but in a real world, will end up with about 20 percent of Ukraine, the chunk that he currently holds, but the rest of Ukraine, the 80 percent, all those resources, vast majority of the population, they stay democratic, free," Stavridis said. He added that Ukraine will also get a 'path to NATO, probably three to five years, realistically. It's not the worst outcome in the world." Stavridis added that Ukraine 'might also get membership in the European Union (EU)', which has put billions of dollars into helping Ukraine fight against Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022. "Putin will hate that part of it, just like the Ukrainians will hate the part of Putin holding onto 20 percent of their country. But it's a negotiation," the retired admiral told. Stavridis also said that the deal would probably include "some kind of demilitarized zone between the two parties, just like Korea". 'And maybe you patrol it with NATO soldiers, for example, not U.S., Europeans." Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Zelensky congratulated Trump in a post to X, formerly Twitter. 'Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on his impressive election victory! I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine,' he wrote. 'I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.' Putin on Thursday congratulated Trump on his election victory during an international forum conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president of the United States of America," the Russian leader said, adding that what Trump has said "about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least." (Source: The Herald - South Carolina, U.S. / Newsweek - U.S.)
9.11.2024 The Pentagon will allow a select number of private US defense contractors to deploy into Ukraine, US officials said yesterday. The contractors will be stationed far away from the frontlines and will not take part in combat, officials said. Their safety will be their own companies' responsibility. 'The easing of restrictions aims to allow the contractors to help with equipment maintenance and repair. This will help with repairing equipment which requires high expertise, including F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems. 'There is an existing number of US companies which the State Department has contracted to work in Ukraine, 'including on the energy grid". 'Meanwhile, workers from a number of American companies are available in the country, under contracts with the Ukrainian government. (Source: DW - Germany)
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