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Europe
Russia
February 6, 2025 Russian musician Stroykin, 58, was accused of donating money to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He potentially faced 20 years in prison if convicted of supporting the Ukrainian army, which is considered a terrorist organisation in Russia. Stroykin reportedly threw himself out of a 10th story window in St.Petersburg moments after police raided his home. Russian Telegram channels with links to the Kremlin reported his death, and said that, during the police raid on his house, Stroykin ‘went into a spare room, hastily opened a window and committed an irreversible act’. (Source: Metro - United Kingdom)
Asia
China
Feb 06, 2025 Today China has named combative diplomat and ex-ambassador to France, Mr Lu, 60, as Special Representative for European Affairs. He was making frequent combative statements during his five-year tenure as Beijing's envoy to Paris, which ended in December. Mr Lu will promote dialogue and cooperation with Europe and "contribute to the stable and healthy development of China-EU relations", ministry spokesperson Guo told. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he publicly called French analyst Bondaz a "crazed hyena" and "little rascal", while his embassy published an article falsely claiming that French nursing home staff abandoned patients to die of the coronavirus. In 2022, Mr Lu suggested during a television interview that Taiwanese people would undergo re-education after China takes over the democratic self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own. His 2023 claim that ex-Soviet states had no effective status in international law, angered numerous European Union member states. So far, there has been no sign of Mr Lu being publicly disciplined by Beijing for his remarks. Mr Lu’s appointment comes when China-Europe relations are at an inflection point, after US President Trump slapped 10 per cent tariffs on China and threatened tariffs on Europe last week as part of his 'isolationist' agenda. China hawks such as European Commission President Der Leyen are showing signs of willingness to rethink the relationship between Beijing and Brussels, a bond that had badly deteriorated over trade tensions and China's ties with Russia. In response, China's foreign ministry yesterday said it is willing to work with Brussels to respond to global challenges after Dr Der Leyen said on Feb 4 at Davos that both sides should find solutions of mutual interest - a marked shift in tone on China. Previously China's embassy in Paris said that Mr Lu’s comments on ex-Soviet states were "an expression of personal views", while the foreign ministry later distanced itself by saying that China respects the sovereign status of all ex-Soviet countries. (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore)
Israel
February 6, 2025 Israel’s defence minister ordered the army today to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of residents from Gaza, Israeli media said. The instruction followed Trump’s announcement that the United States plans to take over Gaza, resettle the Palestinians living there and transform the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. “Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Israel’s Channel 12 quoted Katz as saying. When asked who will take in the Palestinians, Israeli Defence Minister Katz said it should be countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza. “Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said. “Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse to do so. There are countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, that have previously expressed a willingness to accept Gaza residents.” Since Jan. 25, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Palestinians in Gaza should be taken in by regional Arab nations such as Egypt and Jordan, an idea rejected by both the Arab states and Palestinian leaders. He has given no specifics of his proposal to take over Gaza. (Source: Business Recorder – Headquarters Karachi, Pakistan / Reuters - United ingdom)
February 06, 2025 Israel’s defence minister Katz says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump’s proposal. The plan “will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air”. Mr Gatz did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza. US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary. Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return. US Secretary of State Rubio, on his first foreign trip as secretary of state, described Mr Trump’s proposal as a “very generous” offer to help with debris removal and reconstruction of the enclave following 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas. “In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it,” Mr Rubio said. “The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza,” White House press secretary Leavitt said, calling it currently “an uninhabitable place for human beings” and saying it would be “evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions”. Their comments contradicted Mr Trump, who earlier in the week had said: “If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.” He added that he envisioned “long-term” US ownership of a redevelopment of the territory, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea. In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon yesterday, Defence Secretary Hegseth said the military is “prepared to look at all options” for rebuilding Gaza. “We look forward to working with our allies, our counterparts, both diplomatically and militarily, to look at all options,” Mr Hegseth said. Mr Netanyahu also reiterated his praise for Trump: “It’s a remarkable idea and I think it should be really pursued. Examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone.” (Source: Irish News / Associated Press - Ireland)
Kashmir
Feb 6, 2025 Hamas representatives get VIP welcome in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir /Video/ (Source: India Today)
West Bank
February 6, 2025 The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least 70 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, including 10 children. The Israeli army’s ongoing assault on the occupied West Bank has displaced at least 26,000 Palestinians from their homes in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps since last month. (Source: Days of Palestine - ?)
North America
United States
February 5, 2025 The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) lays off staff, bracing for massive cuts programs - as much as 50% this year - after reductions in U.S. foreign assistance ordered by the Trump administration. CRS is the top recipient of funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID, which supplies about half of the Catholic organization's $1.5 billion budget. CRS received $4.6 billion in funding from USAID over a nine-year period (2013-2022 fiscal years), primarily for disaster assistance. In fiscal year 2023, per a 2024 audit, $521 million - came from U.S. government grants and agreements. CRS reaches more than 200 million people in 121 countries on five continents, according to its website. "We anticipate that we will be a much smaller overall organization by the end of this fiscal year," Callahan, president and CEO of CRS wrote. CRS received $493 million in donated non-financial assets (e.g., agricultural commodities, bed nets, pharmaceuticals, non-food items) at no cost from the U.S. government along with other partners like United Nations World Food Program and The Global Fund. CRS received $284 million in private support through donations, foundations and other means. It has already received notifications that some projects for which it is subrecipient have already been terminated and that more are coming. "It is not a thoughtful or humane way to go about treating programs that help the poorest of the poor all over the world," said Colecchi, director of the Office of International Justice and Peace for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2004 to 2018. In fiscal year 2024, USAID received more than $44 billion, which accounted for 0.4% of the entire federal budget, according to USAspending.gov. Church and faith-based organizations received less than 6% of USAID funding for nonprofit organizations, with more than half of those funds going to Catholic Relief Services, according to the Congressional Research Service. "A blanket freeze, even for a short period of time, means staff will have to be let go, programs will get interrupted and supply chains will be disrupted," Colecchi added. Among the programs and services provided by CRS: water and sanitation, education, agriculture, health, microfinancing, climate change resilience, as well as justice and peace-building programs in addition to emergency and disaster assistance. CRS had 7,000 employees worldwide as of 2018 when it marked its 75th anniversary. (Source: National Catholic Reporter, a progressive national newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.. NCR 'operates outside the authority of the Catholic Church')
February 6, 2025 The government had been paying news media outlets to generate positive coverage of Democrats, President Trump said on his Truth Social site. White House press secretary, Leavitt, yesterday was saying that more than $8 million had gone to buying Politico subscriptions. “The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now,” she said. “We are going line by line when it comes to the federal government’s books.” Musk, the head of the team seeking to cut government spending, said yesterday that the payments were “not an efficient use of taxpayer funds.” Mr. Musk was responding to a user who noted a $517,855 payment in 2020 from the Food and Drug Administration for Politico Pro subscriptions. “This wasteful expenditure will be deleted,” he added. Mr Trump questioned if The New York Times and other outlets had also received payments as Politico, a “left wing rag”.“ „Billions of dollars” from U.S.A.I.D. and other agencies had improperly gone to the “fake news media.” In his all-caps post today, Mr. Trump wrote that this could be the biggest scandal of them all. (Source: Dnyuz – Armenia (?) / New York Times – U.S.)
06 February, 2025 US Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate have introduced bills to prohibit using the term "West Bank" in official US government documents, replacing it with "Judea and Samaria," to legitimise Israeli terminology in US politics. (Source: The New Arab - Headquarters London, United Kingdom. Owned by a Qatari company)
Feb 06, 2025 Yesterday United States Secretary of State Rubio has decided to skip the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa. Rubio has publicly criticized South Africa for "expropriating private property" and promoting "solidarity, equality, & sustainability." He equated these concepts with diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and climate change initiatives. In a post on X , Rubio stated that his role is to "advance America's national interests," not waste taxpayer money or "coddle anti-Americanism." (Source: Newsbytes News Network - U.S.)
(Thursday), Feb. 6, 2025 'Last Thursday', Trump gathered his “whole confirmed team” of advisers and cabinet members focused on national security - from Vice President Vance to Treasury Secretary Bessent - in the Oval Office, where US envoy to Ukraine Kellogg said they discussed how to use all elements of national power to end the war. “We got the national security team talking about it - the president, vice president, national security adviser, secretaries of State [and] Treasury, National Security Council, working all together.” Sanctions enforcement on Russia are “only about a three” on a scale of one to 10 on how painful the economic pressure can be, Kellogg said. The US sanctions themselves - such as those targeting Russia’s lucrative energy sector - are nominally twice as high, but there is still room to ratchet them up. He lambasted former President Biden’s strategy of promising to provide Ukraine aid 'as long as it takes, as much as it takes' without cranking up the pressure on other elements of national power. “If you look at history, you’d never want to get into an attrition fight with the Russians, because that’s how they fight. They’re used to it. I mean, this is a country that was willing to lose - and did - 700,000 in the Battle of Stalingrad in six months, and they didn’t blink an eye.” “And so the pressure just can’t be military. You have to put economic pressure, you have to put diplomatic pressure, some type of military pressures and levers that you’re going to use underneath those to make sure [this goes] where we want it to go,” he explained. (Source: The New York Post - U.S.)
Oceania
Papua New Guinea
2025.02.06 Papua New Guinea farewells one of its founding fathers, former PM Sir Julius Chan (29 August 1939 – 30 January 2025)
/Photo/ (Source: BenarNews, an online news service affiliated with Radio Free Asia, which headquarters in Washington D.C., U.S.)
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