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Europe
Germany
20 December 2024 Two people have been killed, including a child, and dozens injured after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. Authorities said 68 people had been injured, 15 of whom seriously. The suspect - who has been arrested - was a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor. A preliminary investigation suggested the ’alleged’ attack was acting as a lone wolf. More deaths are possible due to the number of injured. /Video/ (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)
12/20/24 AT 11:06 AM EST A post from Musk on his platform X claiming that only the far-right AfD party can save Germany sparked accusations today that he was seeking to interfere in the country's upcoming election. The billionaire posted the message over a video commentary about the leader of Germany's centre-right CDU party Merz. The video criticised Merz, on course to become the next chancellor after February elections according to polls, for his refusal to work with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), currently polling in second place. (Source: International Business Times - U.S.)
Italy
20/12/2024 - 20:12 A Sicilian court today acquitted Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard the Open Arms rescue ship in 2019, when he was interior minister. Salvini has always defended himself, saying he acted to protect Italy’s borders. (Source: France 24 / AP - U.S.)
European Commission
December 20, 2024 The European Commission has adopted a decision which finds that a Hungarian law notified to the Commission on 2 December 2024 'is not sufficient to address risks of conflicts of interests in the boards of so-called public interest trusts'. 'No Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) disbursement following a payment request is possible until Hungary addresses all rule of law concerns under the conditionality regime'. (Source: EU Reporter, headquartered Brussel, Belgium, owned by a company in Ireland)
European Council
20.12.2024 20:12 The EU is already engaging with actors on the ground, the new authorities, and other regional actors, and will increase its diplomatic presence in the capital Damascus, European Council head Costa told a yesterday news conference after an EU Council meeting in Brussels. In the conclusion declaration of the summit, the EU Council stressed the historic opportunity to reunite and rebuild the country, and underlined the importance of an inclusive and Syrian-led political process that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. It highlighted the importance of respecting Syria’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity… in accordance with international law. The European Council also emphasises the importance of the fight against terrorism, of the prevention of re-emergence of terrorist groups, and of the destruction of Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles, the declaration read. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
European Union
December 20, 2024 'The Commission welcomes the Council’s adoption of the 15th sanctions package against Russia. The focus of this package is to keep cracking down on Russia’s shadow fleet, as well as combating sanctions’ circumvention. It also includes substantial individual and entity listings related to the Russian military-industrial complex and increases the legal protection of EU Central Securities Depositories (EU CSDs). With this package, the EU has, for the first time, imposed ‘fully-fledged’ sanctions (travel ban, asset freeze and prohibition to make economic resources available) on various Chinese actors'. (Source: EU Reporter, headquartered Brussel, Belgium, owned by a company in Ireland)
Russia
(Friday), 20.12.2024 Russia today said it conducted a retaliatory strike using high-precision, long-range weapons targeting facilities of Ukraine's Luch Design Bureau, which is involved in missile production and maintenance of US-supplied Patriot air defense systems. The Defense Ministry said the strike was in response to a Wednesday attack using six American-made ATACMS tactical missiles and four Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Russia's Kamensky plant in the Rostov region. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Ukraine
December 20, 2024, 9:24 AM A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv killed one person and wounded nine others early today morning. Several high-rise buildings were damaged. Debris had fallen in at least four districts in the city, Kyiv Mayor Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. The strike damaged a heating main in the city's southwestern Holosiivskyi District, he said. (Source: ABC News - U.S.)
Asia
Pakistan
December 20, 2024 Under Executive Order 13382, the US State Department announced a new round of sanctions related to Pakistan’s ballistic missile development programme, against the National Development Complex (NDC) and three Karachi-based companies - Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, Affiliates International, and Rockside Enterprise. A day after, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Deputy National Security Adviser Finer accused the country of developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that could eventually allow it to strike targets outside of South Asia, including in the United States. Earlier yesterday, the Foreign Office denounced the US sanctions as discriminatory, warning they could exacerbate the regional power imbalance. Pakistan is concerned by the growing US defence partnership with India. The FO statement criticised what it termed the US’ double standards, citing past waivers of advanced military technology transfers to other countries - a reference to India. 'Insiders say that Pakistan’s position is quite clear in that it is primarily focused on threats from its eastern border, and has no designs to look westward'. (Source: Dawn - Pakistan)
Syria
2024-12-20 09:21 Senior US diplomats have arrived in Syria. The State Department's top Middle East diplomat Leaf, Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Carstens and newly appointed Senior Advisor Rubinstein - tasked with leading the Department's Syria engagement - will be the first American diplomats to travel to Damascus since the Syrian opposition ousted President Assad. During their meetings with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) representatives, the US officials will discuss principles such as inclusivity and minority rights, which Washington aims to integrate into Syria’s political transition. The delegation will also seek new information about American journalist Tice, who was abducted during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, and other US citizens missing under the Al-Assad regime. (Source: Shafaq News - Iraq)
Dec. 20, 2024 Yesterday, U.S. Central Command Forces conducted a precision airstrike targeting isis leader Yusif aka Mahmud in the Dayr az Zawr Province, Syria resulting in two isis operatives killed, including Yusif. Isis has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 isis operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria. "We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria," said Gen. Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. (Source: U.S. Central Command)
Turkey
9:24 am, December 20, 2024 The U.S. has granted Turkey an exemption from sanctions imposed on Gazprombank, Bloomberg reported today, citing Turkish Energy Minister Bayraktar. The exemption allows Turkey to pay for Russian gas through the sanctioned bank. Yesterday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó also announced that the United States had granted Hungary an exemption from sanctions on Gazprombank for payments related to Russian gas. Since March 2022, Gazprombank had been the sole bank authorized to process such payments. However, after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the bank on November 21, Russian President Putin signed a decree allowing foreign buyers of Russian gas to use other Russian banks for payments until April 2025. Hungary and Turkey had both lobbied for exemptions from the sanctions on Gazprombank. Bloomberg reported that E.U. officials had also urged Washington to ease the restrictions. (Source: Meduza)
North America
United States
Friday 20 December 2024 19:21 GMT The E.U. and U.S. have deep-rooted economic ties with more than $1 trillion in goods and services exchanged. In recent years, the U.S.’s trade deficit with Europe has increased as it imported more than it exported. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil producer, accounting for 22 percent of global supply. Europe is the largest importer of American gas, in part, due to Europe trying 'to phase out its energy imports from Russia'. After announcing a 25 percent tariff on the U.S. largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, and threatening to increase tariffs on China, Trump has now targeted the E.U. 'I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is tariffs all the way!!!,' Trump wrote on Truth Social around today. (Source: The Independent - United Kingdom)
December 20, 2024 14:13 IST A report has detailed how the White House and Presidential aides hid President Biden's mental decline from the public by rearranging his schedule and cutting off public appearances. The walls around the President were so high that restrictions were placed on who he spoke to and what information reached him. This was revealed in an exclusive report published by The Wall Street Journal yesterday. Biden was shielded from his own cabinet secretaries, congressional committee chairs and other high-ranking officials to such an extent that the President held just nine full cabinet meetings - three in 2021, two in 2022, three in 2023 and one in 2024. Even his closest appointees including Defense Secretary Austin and Treasury Secretary Yellen grew increasingly distant, even during key events like the Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021. When one-on-one meetings were scheduled, they were typically virtual rather than in-person. Biden also had a close aide by his side during public events who repeated basic instructions to him such as where to enter or exit a stage. Biden’s team even tasked campaign co-chairman and Hollywood mogul Katzenberg to find a voice coach to improve his raspy whisper. The report also mentions the President’s sit-down with Hur, the special counsel investigating Mr Biden’s handling of classified documents. During the three-hour meetings in the week leading up to the interview, Biden couldn't recall lines his team had previously discussed with him. He also made multiple blunders and was unable to remember key dates, including when he served as Vice President or the year his son Beau died. (Source: The Week - India)
December 20, 2024 Between September and November 2024, over thirty-five experts and officials from the United States, EU, Western Europe, Central Europe, and frontline countries, including Ukraine, deliberated to identify post-war security concerns and discover commonalities and differences. The U.S. experts prioritized the following issues as concerns in the post-war environment: preventing nuclear war with Russia in the medium to long term; reducing Russian support for and relationships with North Korea, Iran, and China, and limiting hybrid attacks on U.S. infrastructure domestically and internationally. The concern over nuclear escalation explains the low tolerance for risk-taking demonstrated repeatedly the Biden administration. The U.S. concerns towards Russia post-war did not include any threats in Europe. They will shape the form and scale of any future American engagement in post-war security in Europe. For U.S. allies, the support for Ukraine so far has demonstrated what the United States is willing to do for a non-ally under attack, signaling a baseline for its future commitments to formal allies. Both American and European experts did not anticipate a full-scale Russian invasion of NATO territory, as such an action would be both costly and risky for Russia, which is expected to be cautious about repeating the failures experienced in Ukraine. Russia potentially assembling a small force to seize a limited area of the Baltics - such an event was deemed unlikely in the short term, but it was not dismissed as entirely implausible in the medium to long term. The Western and Central European groups expressed concerns about potential war fatigue undermining long-term commitments to credible deterrence and sustained support for Ukraine in the post-war period. The only overlapping concern toward Russia within the West was the continuation of hybrid attacks, such as sabotage and cyberwarfare - concern for both the United States and Europe. The nature and intensity of these attacks are likely to vary between Americans and Europeans. The United States and Europe can find common ground, cooperation on key issues such as preventing the collapse of Ukraine, protecting NATO’s front-line countries from future aggression, mitigating hybrid destabilization activities, and curbing Russian support for Iran and North Korea. at a time when gaps in values and institutional approaches are widening. Even if negotiations start, both the United States and Europe would be interested in preventing a Ukrainian military collapse Ukraine. ’Europe could propose plans urgently increasing Ukraine’s supplies from European stockpiles. While this carries political risks, it is less costly than the financial and political catastrophe of a Ukrainian collapse and the mass exodus of 6 million Ukrainians to Europe and other countries abroad'. Trump’s approach to the world is a reflection of genuine U.S. priorities, which do not always align with those of Europe and Ukraine. In post-war arrangements, ’Europe will bear a higher share of the burden’, ’for instance, increasing European defense spending to 2.5-3 percent of GDP’. ’Collaboration with U.S. military producers on replenishing stockpiles’ would ’align U.S. interests with long-term European security’. Given the current level of distrust, ’no agreement with Russia, regardless of the details, will secure Europe if its post-war deterrence is not credible’. Risk reduction measures and potential „arms control agreements with Russia could help stabilize the situation and communicate intentions clearly”. If Russia engages in good-faith discussions with the West, it could shape the future security framework. Europe should not be surprised if Washington pursues its own agenda with Moscow. This will require both managing expectations and preparing for times when U.S. interests diverge from Europe’s. The challenge for Europe is to compartmentalize the issues and establish new rules for the relationship to minimize damage. The inevitable will be for Europe to take care of its own business and become more independent. (Source: The National Interest – United States)
by Ibrahim, a Senior Researcher at the Centre on Conflict Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
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