.
Europe
Poland
02.02.2025 On Jan. 27, a commemoration was held to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where multiple world leaders were in attendance, including Germany's chancellor and the French, Polish, and Ukrainian presidents. Russia has not been invited to take part in the annual events commemorating Auschwitz's liberation. The Auschwitz concentration camp, established by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland, was liberated by Soviet forces on Jan. 27, 1945. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
Russia
02/01/2025 Russia said it captured the strategic hilltop city of Toretsk in Donetsk region. It unleashed another large barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine yesterday. /Photo/ (Source: DW - Germany ; "Reuters - United Kingdom, AP - United States")
Ukraine
February 2, 2025 A Russian missile attack on Odesa severely damaged multiple historic sites, including the Bristol Hotel. A Chabad-affiliated Jewish educational center adjacent to the Bristol Hotel was also impacted. The university serves for Jewish students from across Ukraine - more than 100 students, many of whom are graduates of Chabad’s Or Avner schools or the Mishpacha orphanage in Odesa. The institution sustained structural damage significant enough to prompt the temporary closure of its facilities. The strike, which left at least seven people wounded, also impacted the Odesa Philharmonic Theater and several UNESCO-protected buildings in the city center. (Source: The Jerusalem Post - Israel)
Asia
Afghanistan
(February 2, 2025) Iran has deported approximately 1.1 million Afghan migrants since the start of this Persian calendar year, but nearly half of them have since returned, according to Iran’s Interior Minister Momeni. Pakistan’s prime minister ordered the expulsion of Afghan refugees holding ACC (Afghan Citizen Card) and PoR (Proof of Registration) cards. He also warned that all Afghans awaiting resettlement to third countries must leave Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31. (Source: Amu Television, a satellite television channel. Headquarters Virginia, U.S.)
India
Feb 02, 2025 China, Mexico, and Canada are the top contributors of US trade deficit, with China at 30.2 per cent, Mexico at 19 per cent, and Canada at 14 per cent, while India, contributing just 3.2 per cent is the ninth-largest contributor. “We have big deficits with all three of them. And in one case, they’re sending massive amounts of fentanyl, killing hundreds of thousands of people a year with fentanyl. And in the other two cases, they’re making it possible for this poison to get in. We have about a $200 billion deficit with Canada… and a $250 billion trade deficit with Mexico,” Trump said. In its report on January 17, the Peterson Institute for International Economics warned that a 10 percent tariff imposed by the US on China, followed by a Chinese retaliation, would result in a $55 billion reduction in US GDP over four years, and a $128 billion loss for China. “Inflation would increase by 20 basis points in the US, and after an initial dip, by 30 basis points in China. The initial fall in inflation in China is caused by a temporary tightening of Chinese monetary policy aimed at offsetting the depreciation of the Chinese currency. Trade policies under US President-elect Trump could lead to a potential economic boom for India, driven by major trade diversions in global trade. (Source: Hindustan Times - India)
Southeast Asia (ASEAN)
02 February 2025 Southeast Asia’s development has been a product of its successful integration into the global economy, made possible with confidence in a well-functioning rules-based multilateral trading system. That system is under threat. Southeast Asian nations need to develop a joint and common response. Trade between China and ASEAN has more than doubled since 2010, making China ASEAN’s largest trading partner. China’s 2024 trade surplus was reaching a record US$992 billion. Southeast Asian domestic markets are about to be hit by a tsunami of cheap Chinese goods, unable to enter the United States. Without a decisive response, the risks for ASEAN are high. (Source: East Asia Forum, an international policy forum, based at the Australian National University's Crawford School of Public Policy).
by Pangestu, Professor of International Economics at the University of Indonesia; Armstrong, Professor of Economics at The Australian National University.
North America
United States
(2 February 2025) Parts of the US, including the Pacific Northwest and Northeast US, are deeply reliant on electricity or gas flows from Canada. Energy imports from Canada, including oil and electricity, will be spared from the full 25% levy and will face a 10% tariff. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country will impose 25% tariffs against C$155 billion (€103 billion) of US goods. Mexican President Sheinbaum pledged retaliatory tariffs. China vowed corresponding countermeasures, China’s Commerce Ministry pledged to file legal proceedings to the World Trade Organisation. Trump’s actions also closed a loophole that exempted parcels worth less than $800 from tariffs. (Source: Luxembourg Times)
NATO
02/01/2025 'Germany has to increase defense spending, that will be necessary,' NATO Secretary General Rutte told Germany's Bild's Sunday papers. (Source: DW - Germany)
.5 2 2 18:03
