Egyik 19

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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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United States
Thursday, November 10, 2022  In comments provided during a press conference, Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Ryder explained how the United States is preparing to counter Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and prepare for anticipated aggression in Asia against Taiwan. Brigadier General Ryder explained that 'the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is participating in Exercise Silent Wolverine in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean along with six NATO ally nations in support of multi-domain carrier training and to enhance integrated NATO interoperability and deterrence.' 'Exercise participants include the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Spain,' the general explained. 'Silent Wolverine demonstrates the U.S. commitment to supporting regional stability and security through seamless interchangeability amongst participating NATO allies. The exercise will conclude on November 14th.' 'Opening ceremonies for Exercise Malabar 2022 commenced today, as well, and will be followed by scheduled at-sea exercises involving naval ships, aircraft, and personnel from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States in the Philippines Sea, off the coast of Japan.' Malabar 2022 is a multi-domain 'field training exercise' that involves the four members of the Quad, a loose cooperation between the United States, Japan, India, and Australia. The exercise aims to 'enhance interoperability between participating maritime forces, strengthen critical partnerships and further demonstrate DOD presence in the Indo-Pacific region.' 'Finally, the Department of Defense continues to consult closely with allies and partners on Ukraine's security assistance needs, in support of their fight to defend their country.  As you're aware, we announced additional security assistance for Ukraine on Friday under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative worth approximately $400 million.' (Source: TheNationalInterest)

November 10, 2022 3:44 AM GMT+1  U.S. Senate control hung in the balance while Republicans edged closer to securing a majority in the House of Representatives yesterday. The results suggested voters were punishing Biden for presiding over an economy hit by the steepest inflation in 40 years at 8.2 percent, while also lashing out against Republican efforts to ban abortion and cast doubt on the nation's vote-counting process. Thirty-five Senate seats, all 435 House seats and three dozen governors' races were on the ballot. The Senate contests in Nevada and Arizona, where Democratic incumbents were seeking to hold off Republican challengers, were as yet undecided, with thousands of uncounted ballots that could take days to tally. If the parties split those races, the Senate's fate would come down to a Georgia runoff election for the second time in two years, after Edison Research projected neither Democratic incumbent Warnock nor Republican Walker would reach the 50% necessary to avoid a Dec. 6 one-on-one rematch. Republicans were closing in on the 218 seats needed to wrest control of the House from Democrats, with 210 now in their column, Edison Research projected. But 21 of the 53 most competitive races were still pending as of yesterday evening, raising the prospect that the final outcome may not be known for some time. Even a slim House majority would let Republicans hem in Democratic President  Biden during his next two years in office, blocking legislation and launching potentially politically damaging investigations. Control of the Senate would give Republicans the power to block Biden's nominees for judicial and administrative posts. If the Republicans do take control of either chamber, they plan to seek cost savings in the Social Security and Medicare safety-net programs and make permanent tax cuts enacted in 2017 that are due to expire. Republicans also could engineer a showdown over the debt ceiling to extract major spending cuts, and could pare back aid to Ukraine. In a critical win for Democrats, Fetterman flipped a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, beating Trump-backed retired celebrity surgeon Oz and bolstering his party's chances of holding the chamber. Democrats also had their share of embarrassments, as New York Representative Maloney, the chairman of the committee charged with reelecting House Democrats, conceded he had lost his own race. Trump, who took an active role in recruiting Republican candidates, notched a victory in Ohio, where Vance won a Senate seat to keep it in Republican hands. But Mastriano, another Trump ally, was handily defeated in the Pennsylvania governor's race. Florida Governor DeSantis, who could challenge Trump in 2024, won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points, Edison projected. Poor performances by some candidates backed by Trump - including Walker - signaled exhaustiont, raising questions about the viability of his possible 2024 White House run. Biden has struggled with low public approval. Speaking at a White House news conference, he vowed to work with Republicans and said he understood voters are frustrated. 'The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,' Biden said. He also reiterated his intention to run for re-election in 2024 and said he would make a final decision early next year. "It was a good day, I think, for democracy," Biden said at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced Trump's claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. A number of election deniers who backed Trump's claims were elected to office on November 8, but many of those who sought positions to oversee elections at the state level were defeated. Easterly, head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said she saw no evidence any voting system was compromised. U.S. stock indexes fell yesterday as the uncertainty weighed on traders' mood. (Source: Reuters)

November 9, 2022, 11:49 AM  Democrats pushed back against historic trends in the 2022 midterms. Their competitiveness came down to a variety of factors - support for abortion rights, negative views of Trump, rejection of election denial, broad backing from young voters and surprising strength among independents among them. The hurdle for Democrats was high with 76% in ABC News exit poll results rating the economy negatively, 24 percentage points more than two years ago when Biden took office and 45 points more than in the last midterms four years ago. Additionally, 47% said their own finances have gotten worse in the last two years, the most dating to 1982 and just 44% approved of Biden’s work in office, among the lowest midterm presidential approval ratings in 40 years. All those typically produce deep losses for the party in power. Yet the Democrats bucked the trend. Even with several Senate seats and House control unsettled in the wee hours, it was clear they’d dodged the level of damage usually associated with this extent of discontent. Abortion was one factor. It ranked a strong second as the top issue - behind inflation – and voters who picked it went for Democratic candidates by 76-23%. Among all voters, the Democratic Party led by 53-42% in trust to handle abortion. In fact, women were 11 points more apt than men to cite abortion as their top issue, but women did not turn out, nor vote Democratic, in larger than usual numbers. Then there were young voters, age 18 to 29. Within this group, 44% picked abortion as their top issue, twice as many as those that picked inflation. Among voters age 30 and older, far fewer named abortion as their top issue – just 25%. While young people made up about 12% of voters - their typical midterm turnout - they voted Democratic by 63-35%, as in a winning Democratic year. Rejection of Trump was as broad as it was of Biden: 58% saw Trump unfavorably, with 56% feeling the same of Biden. Countering election denial, 79% of voters were confident in the fairness and accuracy of the elections in their state. A plurality, 47%, were very confident, and backed Democratic candidates by 70-28%. Further, voters by 61-35% said Biden was legitimately elected. The House vote among that majority was 74-24%, a 3-1 Democratic margin. Then there were independents. Nationally, in strong Republican years, they break for the Republican Party - by 7 points in 2016, 14 in 2014 and 19 in 2010. This year, independents split 49-47% between Democratic and Republican House candidates. While 93% of Democrats said Biden was legitimately elected, so did 64% of independents, while only 28% of Republicans felt this. And among independents who accepted Biden as legitimate, 68% voted Democratic for House - another result that helped stanch the party’s potential losses. State-by-state exit poll results in key races:     Arizona with no winner today morning. Democrat Hobbs was helped by a 17-point margin among college-educated whites, a group that split essentially evenly in 2018 when Republican Ducey won. Yet Republican and 2020 election-denier Lake struck back with a 95-point margin among the 35% who do not think Biden legitimately won the presidency in 2020. And the two were neck-and-neck in massive Maricopa County, 50-49%, Lake-Hobbs. Moderates, who made up 42% of Arizona voters, backed incumbent Democrat Kelly over Republican Masters, 63-33%. But 52% said Biden’s policies are mostly hurting the country, and they went for Masters, 87-9%. Kelly did well in his home Pima County, while Masters had a lead in the rest of the state. In one difference, 54% percent said political newcomer Masters’ views are too extreme; fewer, 43%, said the same of Kelly’s, though these exit poll results were still preliminary.      Florida: A growing Republican electorate may mark an end to Florida’s position as a swing state, with incumbent  Gov. DeSantis and Sen. Rubio securing decisive victories against their Democratic opponents. Florida Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 14 points, up from 8 points in 2020 and 4 points in 2018 to the widest GOP margin in exit polls since 1988. Notable swings among Hispanic voters, particularly non-Cuban Hispanic voters, also helped DeSantis and Rubio win. Hispanics voters overall broke for DeSantis by 15 points. By region, voters in Miami and the Gold Coast, the state’s most Democratic region, were evenly split in both the Senate and governor’s races.      Georgia: In the Senate race, Republican Walker, who was embroiled in a personal scandal, was seen by just a third of Georgia voters; half said the same about Democratic Sen. Warnock. Warnock was seen as having views that are “too extreme” by 49%, vs. 43% who said so for Walker. The winner on the gubernatorial side, incumbent Gov. Kemp, improved over his 2018 matchup with Democrat Abrams by shoring up support among key Republican groups, including conservatives (+80 points, vs. +67 in 2018), rural and small city residents  (+35 points, vs. +16 in 2018) and evangelical white Christians (+83 points, vs. +77 in 2018). Independents were voting 49-48%, Kemp-Abrams; they went 54-44%, Abrams-Kemp, in 2018.     Michigan: In the governor’s race, incumbent Democrat Whitmer was boosted by abortion on the ballot with 54% of voters voting yes on the proposition to establish the right to an abortion and 89% in this group backed Whitmer. 45% said abortion was one of the most important issues in their vote choice in Michigan, 18 points higher than seen in national exit poll results and easily outpacing inflation as the top concern. Among abortion voters, 75% supported Whitmer. She also won 51% of suburban voters, a group she lost by 3 points in her 2018 election.     Nevada: With no winner in Nevada’s Senate race projected as of today morning, exit poll data found Republican Laxalt eroding normally wide Democratic margins in Clark County, the home of Las Vegas and more than seven in 10 of the state’s voters. Democratic incumbent Cortez Masto led by 4 points there, vs. 12 points in 2016. While that typically would be a death knell for a Democrat in Nevada, Cortez Masto came back with a 12-point lead in Washoe County, the second most populous county in the state; it was decided by just 1 point in the past two Senate elections. Independent voters, who Cortez Masto lost by 10 points in 2018, split 48-45%, Cortez Masto-Laxalt. In another race with no winner projected as of today morning, Republican Lombardo was aided by the share of voters age 65 and older, 32%, up 10 points vs. 2018. He won older voters by 13 points over incumbent Democrat Sisolak. Lombardo won white men by a 24-point margin. Sisolak was helped by political moderates, 55-41%, and racial and ethnic minorities, 66-31%.      New Hampshire: Popular Republican Gov. Sununu rode to re-election with a 69% job approval rating. In a state that has two Democratic senators and has voted for Democratic presidents in five straight contests, his appeal as a moderate was key. He won among independents by 21 points, 59-38%, and was able to sway otherwise Democratic voters; in an impressive crossover, 21% of those who voted for Democratic Sen. Hassan also voted for Sununu. Hassan prevailed with support from moderates. She won by 27 points among this group, far outpacing her 6-point advantage among moderates in 2016. Abortion looked critical: 35% of voters identified it as the top issue in their vote, and Hassan won this group by 73 points with only 36% picking inflation as their top issue, but Republican challenger Bolduc won them by less of a margin, 42 points. While six years ago Hassan held a 7-point advantage among women, that margin expanded to 19 points in this election.     North Carolina: A total of 80% of North Carolina rated the nation’s economy negatively and 61% voted for Republican Senate candidate Budd. He also won 62% of white voters. Budd, who owns a gun store, won 65% of voters from gun-owning households, 68% of all voters in the state. Ohio: Incumbent Republican Gov. DeWine won another term with 65% job approval among Ohio voters. As in 2018, DeWine won big among non-college white men (+47 points), whites (+33), men (+31 points) and rural residents (+22). Political newcomer and Republican Vance was helped by Ohio’s recent red-state status: 36x% of Ohio voters were conservatives, compared with 21% liberals. He won by 64-36% among the 75% who rated the economy negatively, and won suburbanites by 13 points, 56 vs. 43%.     Pennsylvania:  Among key storylines in the state’s Senate race, projected winner Fetterman focused on Oz’s newcomer status and his longtime New Jersey residency. Just 43% of voters thought Oz had lived in Pennsylvania long enough to represent the state effectively in the U.S. Senate. Half thought Fetterman is in good enough health to represent the state effectively; questions over his health circulated since his stroke in May and his Oct. 25 debate performance. The winner in the governor’s race, Democrat Shapiro, was boosted by the strongest showing for a winning gubernatorial candidate in the state among moderates (+40 points) in available data since 1992 and among independents (+29 points) since 2006.     Texas: O’Rourke ran a closer race than Gov. Abbott’s Democratic challenger Valdez in 2018 - he was ultimately unable to gather the support he had in his last race for statewide office, one he lost by just 3 points in one of the closest Texas Senate races in decades. In 2018, O’Rourke won Hispanic and Latino voters by 29 points against Cruz; this year he won them by a slimmer 17-point margin. O’Rourke also was unable to mobilize Hispanic and Latino voters in the same way that he did in 2018, with turnout down 5 points among them, 26 vs. 21%. O’Rourke’s margins similarly slid among voters age 18-29, from +42 points against Cruz four years ago to +29 points; and among women, flipping from an 8-point win against Cruz to a 3-point loss against Abbott, who retained broad support among evangelical white Christian voters (+76 points),  conservatives (+82 points), voters in East (+52 points) and West (+49 points) Texas.     Wisconsin: Incumbent Gov. Evers edged out a narrow victory against Republican challenger Michels, almost exactly matching his margin against Republican incumbent Walker four years ago. Evers was aided by his popularity, with 53% percent approving of how he’s handling his job as governor. He also won by 19 points among moderates, who accounted for a plurality of voters in the state, 39%; and by a narrow 2 points among independents, who have backed the winning candidate in all Wisconsin governor races for which data are available since 1994. The Wisconsin Senate race has not been projected as of today morning with 47% saying Democrat Barnes’ views are too extreme, while  essentially as many, 48%, said the same about incumbent Republican Johnson. Mandela won by 81-19% among the 31% of voters who called abortion a top issue in their vote; Johnson, by 77-23% margin among the 35% citing inflation. In a notable shift among groups, young voters broke sharply for Barnes, 69-31%, compared with a narrow +3 points for Johnson in 2016. Still, they accounted for 11% of voters, vs. 14% six years ago. Those aged 65 and older, by contrast, were up from 24% of voters in 2016 to 33% this year, and broke 54-45% for Johnson. (Source: ABCNews)

November 9, 2022 10:25 AM.  Midterms full of firsts for female, LGBTQ, Black candidates. Serving as governors at least 12 women set to lead states. The U.S. has never had more than nine female governors in office at a time, a record set in 2004. Ten had already won their races; two other races had not been decided but featured women candidates in both parties. Sanders, a Republican who served as White House press secretary for former President Trump between 2017 and 2019, will become the first woman governor of Arkansas. Democrat Healey, is the first woman to be elected to Massachusetts′ office of governor and also the country's first openly lesbian candidate to be elected governor. If Democrat Kotek wins Oregon's gubernatorial race, she may join Healey as a  lesbian candidate elected governor. Vermont will send a woman to Congress, after being the only state never to have had female representation in the House.  Democrat Balint, president of the Vermont Senate, will also become the first openly gay person to fill the state’s single seat in the U.S. House. In Maryland, voters elected the state's first Black governor, Democrat Moore, a combat veteran, the third Black candidate in the country to be elected governor. He led one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations and campaigned on creating equal opportunity for his state residents. Florida is sending the first member of Gen Z - those born from 1997 to 2012 - to Congress, with the comfortable victory of Democrat Frost, a 25-year-old Black man with Cuban heritage who secured high-profile endorsements from U.S. Sens. Sanders and Warren. Ramirez, 39, a Democrat, who was the first Guatemalan American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly, defeated Republican Burau to represent Illinois’ 3rd District, in Chicago. Pennsylvania elects Democratic Lee, its first Black congresswoman state representative. In Minnesota, Finke - who decided to run after seeing growing anti-transgender sentiment across the country - became the first openly transgender person elected to the state’s Legislature. Voters in western Montana elected the state’s first out transgender lawmaker, Zephyr, and Howell, the first out nonbinary candidate to the state legislature. Both are Democrats. Democrat Roesener, 26, was elected as a state representative to New Hampshire's 400-member House, becoming the first trans man elected to a state legislature. (Source: fresnobee / AssociatedPress)

November 9, 2022 4:56am EST  Actor and director Penn yesterday gifted President Zelenskyy one of his Oscar awards and asked him to hold onto it until his country can defeat Russia. Penn has won two Oscars for Best Actor during his career, in 2003 and in 2008. Penn's visit to Ukraine yesterday was his third since the start of war with Russia. The Hollywood director was in Ukraine on February 24, as he was shooting footage for his documentary on the unfolding crisis that was already in the works. In the spring, he even considered taking up arms to defend the war-torn country. His last visit meeting with Zelenskyy was in June. In September, Moscow banned Penn and fellow actor Stiller from entering Russia. (Source: FoxNews)

November 9, 2022, 12:23  “President Biden's supporters are losing the US elections. Pelosi's visits to Taiwan and Armenia led to the loss of the Speaker's seat. The Democrats have lost their majority in the House of Representatives,” posted Chairman of the State Duma Volodin on his Telegram channel. He gave three reasons for the democrats’ failure in the US Congress elections: first of all, economic issues. Volodin recalled that the “Biden’ inflation” rates were the highest over the past 40 years, Washington’s sanctions policy had led to a world energy crisis. “Over the past two years, there had been printed more than 6 trillion USD backed by nothing. The uncontrolled rise in prices has affected ordinary US citizens. For the first time, the national debt has reached an exorbitant 31.2 trillion USD, that is 137% of the US GDP,” he stressed. The second reason is the internal split. “For many years, the White House has been trying to turn the US citizens against each other by dividing people by race, religion, and political preferences. LGBT propaganda, the imposition of same-sex marriages, the destruction of traditional values had turned into a deep split in the US society,” emphasized Volodin. The third reason is the crisis of power. The current two-party system in the USA only worsened the situation. “Early voting (from 4 to 45 days in advance) and voting by mail, the lack of control and transparency of the elections also worsen distrust of the authorities,” stressed Volodin. “If there are no drastic changes in Washington’s domestic and foreign policy, the crisis of power in the United States of America will be getting worse as the 2024 presidential election approaches,” emphasized the Chairman of the State Duma. (Source: Duma)

11/9/22 at 5:38 AM EST  China's media reacts to 'chaos' of U.S. midterm election results - Chinese newspapers were predicting a major setback for the Biden administration, a major midterm election upset for President Biden's Democratic Party yesterday in key races in the Senate and House, before early results appeared to contradict  forecasts of a "red wave." The state-owned press has taken a great interest in partisan shifts in Congress, which have the potential to influence U.S. foreign policy. With 35 seats in the Senate up for grabs on November 8, China Daily, among the country's most widely circulated English-language publications, called the midterms a "looming train wreck for Biden's presidency." With projections indicating the Republicans were likely to regain control of the House of Representatives, the paper said today that a GOP flip would undoubtedly impact Biden's domestic legislative agenda, while losing both chambers "would be a disaster" for his administration. The Democratic Party's looming electoral 'disaster' means that the latter part of the Biden presidency will be even more difficult, China Daily said. The Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party's nationalistic tabloid, predicted more "partisan strife" in the U.S. after the midterms. "The U.S. is bracing for further chaos and division, as Republicans are highly likely to trigger an impeachment process against U.S. President Biden if they wrest control of the House back," it said today, citing Diao, an associate professor at Renmin University in Beijing. The outcome of what it believed would be a major midterm setback for Biden would have implications for Beijing, too, according to the newspaper. Washington was likely to "continue to confront and pressure China after a frustration in Congress," it said. The Global Times anticipated Biden pursuing further "confrontational competition with China" to distract from unfavorable midterm results. GOP majorities in the House and Senate would also make U.S. foreign policy more hawkish toward Beijing, it suggested. The Senate race has become too close to call at the time of publication, with both Democrats and Republicans each requiring fewer than five seats to secure a majority. Candidates for the House were also still undecided - 218 seats would give one of the parties control. A number of hotly watched races have already been called, among them DeSantis's reelection to the Florida governorship. The Republican, who is tipped as a 2024 White House hopefully, defeated Democrat Crist. Elsewhere, Pennsylvania's Lt. Gov. Fetterman, a Democrat, claimed victory in the state's Senate race against Dr. Oz, the former Winfrey sidekick who was running for the GOP. In Georgia, the Democratic Party's lawyer and rights activist Abrams conceded to her Republican opponent Kemp in the state's gubernatorial race. (Source: NewsWeek)

11/8/2022 8:19:00 AM GMT  The US midterm elections have finally arrived. Economists at Deutsche Bank highlight that the S%P 500 Index has always been higher one year after the vote. There will be plenty of extrapolation onto the 2024 presidential election from the results. “It’s no exaggeration to say that midterm elections are one of the best historic buy signals for equities we have. In fact, in the 19 midterm elections since WWII, the S&P 500 has always been higher one year after the vote. Whether any of those cycles had to contend with the macro tsunami that's coming in the next 12 months is a moot point but it shows the underlying technicals.” “If the Republicans do end up retaking control of either chamber in Congress (or both), the result will likely be legislative gridlock for the next two years, and we do not see any major legislation on economic policy ahead of the 2024 election in this circumstance. If there is divided government, however, one area we might see more action again is the debt ceiling, since there’s a chance that a Republican-controlled Congress use the need to raise the ceiling as leverage to get some of their policy priorities through.” “Whatever ends up happening today, there’ll be plenty of extrapolation onto the 2024 presidential election from the results. However, it’s important to remember that 2 years is also a very long time in politics and a number of presidents have come back from very bad midterm results to win re-election.' (Source: FXStreet)

Nov. 7, 2022 7:26 am ET  Even as relations between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated, the U.S. has sought to preserve some areas of cooperation, especially on strategic arms control and the International Space Station. Washington and Moscow have adhered to the New START treaty, which limits long-range U.S. and Russian nuclear arms and is due to expire in 2026. U.S. and Russian officials are planning to hold meetings of the Bilateral Consultative Commission, which was established by the New START treaty to discuss its implementation, according to U.S. officials and a Russian media report. One aim is to discuss resuming inspections under New START that were suspended when the Covid-19 pandemic began, U.S. officials say. While Switzerland had been the traditional host nation for such talks, Moscow has said that it no longer considers it a neutral country because, like other European nations, it has imposed economic sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Western sanctions have also complicated the Russians’ travel arrangements, so plans are being made to hold the meeting in Cairo in late November. The meetings aren’t generally announced in advance. U.S. national-security adviser Sullivan has had confidential discussions with Russian counterparts - top aides to Russian President Putin - in recent months amid concerns over escalation, nuclear threats. He has been in contact with Ushakov, a foreign-policy adviser to Mr. Putin. Mr. Ushakov has served as an ambassador in Washington and is regarded by former  and current U.S. officials as a conduit to the Russian leader. “Anglo-Saxon newspapers have been publishing numerous hoaxes,” Kremlin spokesman Peskov said today when asked about the undisclosed communications. He deferred to the White House or The Wall Street Journal for additional comment. Mr. Sullivan spoke with Mr. Ushakov in December. Sullivan has spoken with his direct Russian counterpart in the Russian government, Patrushev, officials said. In his March conversation with Mr. Patrushev, which the White House described, Mr. Sullivan told the Russian official that Moscow’s forces should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns and warned the Kremlin not to use chemical or biological weapons. A Russian statement about the March conversation between Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Patrushev said that it took place at the initiative of the U.S., and that Mr. Patrushev has stressed “the need to stop Washington’s support of neo-Nazis and terrorists in Ukraine and facilitate the transfer of foreign mercenaries to the conflict zone, as well as refuse to continue supplying weapons to the Kiev regime.” Mr. Patrushev, director of the Federal Security Service from 1999 to 2008, is regarded by American officials as a hard-liner who shares many of Mr. Putin’s suspicions about the U.S. The White House hasn’t publicly acknowledged any calls between Mr. Sullivan and any senior Russian official since March, when he spoke with Mr. Patrushev. Officials didn’t provide the precise dates and number of the calls or say whether they had been productive. Mr. Sullivan has been involved in diplomatic efforts, including a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 4, to speak with president Zelensky, and Defense Minister Reznikov, meetings traditionally handled by the secretaries of state or defense. Mr. Sullivan has spoken to Ukraine’s leadership, urging them to publicly signal their willingness to resolve the conflict, a U.S. official said. The U.S. isn’t pushing Ukraine to negotiate, the official added, but rather to show allies that it is seeking a resolution to the war, which has affected world oil and food prices. Secretary of Defense Austin and several of his allied counterparts spoke this past month with Russian Defense Minister Shoigu as Moscow claimed Kyiv was preparing to use what is known as a dirty bomb against it, something Ukrainian and Western officials have denied. Mr. Austin initiated the initial call, which was their first discussion since May. (Source: TheWallStreetJournal)

Sun, November 6, 2022 at 5:05 PM  Russia reactivates its trolls and bots ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections. Last month, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert warning of the threat of disinformation spread by 'dark web media channels, online journals, messaging applications, spoofed websites, emails, text messages and fake online personas'. The disinformation could include claims that voting data or results had been hacked or compromised. The goal, as before, is to stoke anger among conservative voters and to undermine trust in the American electoral system. The agencies did not identify specific efforts, but urged people not to like, discuss or share posts online from unknown or distrustful sources. Social media platforms and researchers who track disinformation have recently uncovered a variety of campaigns by Russia, China and Iran. A recurring theme of the new Russian efforts is an argument that the United States under Biden is wasting money by supporting Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invasion. The user on Gab who identifies as Nora Berka resurfaced in August after a yearlong silence, reposting a handful of messages with sharply conservative political  themes before writing a stream of original vitriol. Nora Berka posted a doctored photograph in September that showed President Zelenskyy as a bikini-wearing pole dancer being showered with dollar bills by Biden. “As working class Americans struggle to afford food, gas, and find baby formula, Biden wants to spend $13.7 billion more in aid to Ukraine,' the account posted. The posts mostly denigrated President Biden and other prominent Democrats, sometimes obscenely and were depicting Ukraine’s president as a caricature straight out of Russian propaganda. The account was previously linked to the secretive Russian Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, according to the cybersecurity group Recorded Future. The campaign — using accounts that pose as enraged  Americans like Nora Berka - has specifically targeted Democratic candidates in the most contested races, including the Senate seats up for grabs in Ohio, Arizona and Pennsylvania, calculating that a Republican majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives could help the Russian war effort. The accounts started becoming active again in August and September, called to action like sleeper cells. Liston, a senior intelligence analyst with Recorded Future identified the Nora Berka account. According to Liston, the website domain was registered using Bitcoin accounts. Since September the account has repeatedly shared links to a previously unknown website - electiontruth.net - that Recorded Future said was almost certainly linked to the Russian campaign. Electiontruth.net’s earliest posts date only from Sept. 5; since then, it has posted articles almost daily ridiculing Biden and prominent Democratic candidates, while criticizing policies regarding race, crime and gender that it said were destroying the United States. The articles all have pseudonyms as bylines, like Andrew J, Truth4Ever and Laura. Recorded Future and two other social media research companies, Graphika and Mandiant, found a number of Russian campaigns that have turned to Gab, Parler, Getter, the discussion forum patriots.win and other newer platforms that pride themselves on creating unmoderated spaces in the name of free speech. Many of the accounts the researchers identified were previously used by a news outlet calling itself the Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has previously linked the news outlet to the Russian information campaigns centered around the Internet Research Agency. The campaigns show not only how vulnerable the American political system remains to foreign manipulation but also how purveyors of disinformation have evolved and adapted to efforts by the major social media platforms to remove or play down false or deceptive content. As before, it may be hard to measure the exact impact of these accounts on voters come Tuesday. They contribute to what Perez - a board member with the OSET Institute, a nonpartisan election security organization, who previously worked at Twitter - called “manufactured chaos” in the country’s body politic. (Source: Yahoo / TheNewYorkTimes)

Sunday, November 6, 2022 3:14 AM GMT+1  The Biden administration is privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless President Putin is removed from power, the Washington Post reported yesterday. The request by American officials was not aimed at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, but a calculated attempt to ensure Kyiv maintains the support of other nations facing constituencies wary of fueling a war for many years to come. U.S. officials shared the assessment of their Ukrainian counterparts that Putin is not for now serious about negotiations, but acknowledged that President Zelenskiy's ban on talks with him had generated concern in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America, where the war's effects on costs of food and fuel are felt most sharply. U.S. National Security Advisor Sullivan said during a visit to Kyiv on November 4, that Washington's support for Ukraine would remain 'unwavering and unflinching" following next Tuesday's midterm congressional elections. (Source: Reuters)

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Europe    Európa

European Political Community

Hungary
(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary. Arrivals at the Gala dinner and official welcome /Video, photo/ (Source: European Council)

7 Nov 2024  PM Keir Starmer and fellow European leaders have urged Trump to stand up to the “bully” Putin as they digest the potential consequences of the historic Republican election victory in the US. Zelensky made a desperate appeal at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Budapest for leaders to continue their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia amid fears that Mr Trump will try to force a deal involving concessions. It came as Sir Keir faces increasing pressure to prioritise a new post-Brexit defence pact with the EU, with concerns growing that Mr Trump may also dilute support for Nato and focus US military objectives elsewhere. Don’t be ‘herbivore surrounded by carnivores’ says Macron as EU faces up to second Trump term. 'We need to be able to defend ourselves,” the French president said. 'We cannot delegate our security to the Americans forever.” (Source: Independent - United Kingdom)

07/11/2024 - 22:31 GMT+1  The Hungarian premier, who acted as host of a European Political Community (EPC) summit, made a forceful endorsement of the need to secure a rapid "ceasefire" in Ukraine as a prelude to peace negotiations with Russia. "The precondition for every peace is communication. The condition of communication is a ceasefire," Orbán said. "It takes time to negotiate. But first, a ceasefire." "So what I'm arguing in favour is to have a ceasefire which can provide room and time for the warring parties to have communication and to start negotiating about the peace," he added. His language echoed that of Trump, who has described Zelenskyy as 'the greatest salesman' and promised to strike a deal to end the war "in 24 hours," stoking fears the Republican, whose inauguration for the White House will be held in January, will cut off aid altogether. "The people of Europe are less and less ready to finance a war that they don't understand exactly, that they don't understand exactly what is the purpose of that war, nobody can give a guarantee for how long it will take, nobody can guarantee when the sanctions will be effective," Orbán told reporters. "The American election closed the chapter and opened a new way. It's obvious (a) change of minds and ideas is going on as well. That's life." The premier admitted that the big meeting in Budapest, attended by most EU leaders alongside other heads of state and government from the wider European region, including those from Britain, Moldova, Albania, Serbia and Turkey, had produced 'no agreement" on the thorny issue. "There are still diverging opinions about the continuation of the war or a quick ceasefire and negotiation," he said. "But one thing is evident today: those who want peace are increasingly numerous and that, (after) the US elections, the camp of those who want peace increased manifold," he added. "This is a new situation and Europe must react." Zelenskyy, called it nonsense and disharmony. "A leader who is against Ukraine's NATO membership is the one offering a ceasefire. This is nonsense and disharmony. Why? Because a ceasefire happens when the victim knows they will have security guarantees,' Zelenskyy added, in a reference to Orbán's noted opposition to Ukraine's membership in the transatlantic alliance. 'This is what we now call 'armchair experts.' There's no other term for it,' Zelenskyy said. 'People who didn't live through war but have only seen it in books and movies. People who've spent years or months talking to Putin, hugging (him), but never fought (against) him. This is an analysis without a deep understanding of war, its consequences, its risks.' Asked if he believed the "pro-peace" camp described by Orbán was gaining followers, as the premier claimed, Zelenskky replied: 'Me? No.' (Source: Politico - U.S.)

(7 November 2024)  The UK's support for Ukraine 'iron-clad', PM Keir Starmer has assured President Zelensky. He said he had met President Zelensky for the sixth time since becoming PM. The two men met at a summit of the European Political Community in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. The US has been by far the largest single donor of military aid to Ukraine. But ’fears’ have been expressed that the return of Trump to the White House in January might slow, if not halt, the flow of American military aid to Kyiv. The prime minister said the summit was "not just about sovereignty of Ukraine", but also "our freedom, our democracy and our values". Following his talks Sir Keir sidestepped a question about whether Trump's presidential election victory was good for Europe and Ukraine. Earlier, summit host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Europe's leaders had agreed that they needed to take responsibility for their security and not just rely on the US for their defence. The Hungarian leader is a staunch Trump supporter and has close ties to Moscow. He has been reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia or to supply Ukraine with weapons. Trump has said he wants to end the Ukraine war "within a day", but has declined to set out how this would be achieved. Some commentators have suggested it could mean the new US administration putting pressure on Zelensky to give up some territory as part of a peace deal with Russian President Putin. Zelensky said he had yet to discuss the conflict with the US president-elect. Sir Keir urged Ukraine's allies to "step up" their backing. Nato Secretary General Rutte said Trump's first term had stimulated Europe to spend more on defence, but ’we need to do more’. He stressed in Budapest that the threat of Russia, and its alliance with North Korea, China and Iran, posed problems for the US as well as Europe. ’I worked with him very well for four years’, Rutte, who was Dutch prime minister during Mr Trump's first 2017-2021 presidency, added. "He is extremely clear about what he wants. He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that."Sir Keir dodged a question about a report Trump had privately described him as ’very left-wing’. The prime minister said their meeting in New York in September and their phone call on Wednesday after the US election result had been "very positive, very constructive". (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

November 7, 2024 9:26 pm CET  Today, in Budapest, where he was attending a gathering of European leaders, Zelenskyy rebuffed Trump’s proposal for rapid peace deal in Ukraine war. He poured cold water on a plan by U.S. President-elect Trump to strike a rapid peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, arguing it would amount to a “loss” for Ukraine. 'I believe that President Trump really wants a quick decision” to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, Zelenskyy told journalists in Budapest. “He wants that. It doesn’t mean that it will happen this way.' Trump, who was reelected U.S. president this week, said in 2023 that he would seek a quick deal to end the war, asserting: “I’ll have that done in 24 hours” after meeting Russian President Putin and Zelenskyy. He repeated the claim several times on the campaign trail. 'We all want to end this war, but a fair ending ... If it is very fast, it’s going to be a loss for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy, speaking to journalists in Budapest, said. (Source: Politico - U.S.)

Thu 7 Nov 2024 20.16 CET Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU’s 27 heads of state and government were joined today by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community. On the agenda were support for Ukraine, migration, trade and economic security. Trump’s victory brings unwanted further uncertainty to the continent at a time when it is already struggling to agree on common responses to its problems, including much-needed new funding tools, such as joint borrowing, for defence and economic innovation. The return of the former president raises the prospect of a halt to US support for Ukraine, fuels doubts over Washington’s future commitment to the Nato alliance, and could herald economically disastrous tariffs on European exports. It is also likely to bolster Europe’s advancing ’far-right’ parties at a time when the EU’s two biggest powers – Germany, whose coalition government collapsed yesterdayday, and France – are weakened by political crises at home. There was agreement that Europe should take more responsibility for its peace and security. „We cannot wait for the Americans to protect us,” Orbán said. There had been diverging opinions during the day-long talks. but also common ground on the need for Europe to respond to a “world-changing” US election result, he said. He added that he had celebrated Trump’s victory with vodka rather than champagne, because he was „in Kyrgyzstan, where they have different traditions”. The French president, Macron, said Europe must assert its independence from the US and defend its interests over those of geopolitical rivals at a “decisive moment in history”, adding that the bloc could not allow itself to be a weak ’herbivore’ surrounded by ’carnivores’. Europe must seize control of its history and could no longer ’delegate’ its security to the US, Macron said. ’Do we want to read the history written by others – the wars launched by Putin, the US election, China’s technological or trade choices – or do we want to write our own?” Orbán said that with the prospect of Trump returning to the White House, the camp of those who want peace in Ukraine has increased significantly. This was a new situation, and Europe must react by pushing for an early ceasefire, he said. Zelenskyy responded that talk of introducing a ceasefire without first obtaining security guarantees for Ukraine was dangerous. A ceasefire when there are no security guarantees … is preparation for the continuation of the occupation, he said. He had earlier insisted that an approach of peace through strength was needed, saying that concessions to Moscow were unacceptable for Ukraine. Heading into the talks, the European Council president, Michel, also acknowledged differences. Europe aimed to be a respected partner for the US, he said, adding that Washington ’knows it is in its interest to show firmness when we engage with authoritarian regimes’. Der Leyen, the president of the executive body - the European Commission - said the EU must maintain unity. ’We showed it during the pandemic and the energy crisis,’ she said, adding that she was looking forward to working with Trump ’again’. Nato’s new secretary general, Rutte, said he aimed to work closely with Trump, noting that it was pressure from Washington during the former president’s first term that had pushed alliance members to boost defence spending. Russia was ’delivering the latest [weapons] technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine’, a threat “not only to the European part of Nato, but also to the US’, he said, adding that he was looking forward to discussing with Trump ’how we face these threats collectively’. Others were more circumspect. Trump was known sometimes for a degree of unpredictability, a degree of volatility, so “We will seek dialogue, but won’t give up our principles, Luxembourg’s prime minister Luc Frieden, said. Finland’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, said he was alarmed at the prospect of a trade war. “Let’s now try to influence the US and Trump’s future policy so that he understands the risks involved, he said.’ Analysts have xpressed significant doubts about the extent to which Europe’s often-divided leaders will be able to rise collectively to the challenge of an ’isolationist’, “America first” presidency. Could galvanise Trump’s second presidency EU politics to action? Contrary to claims, Europe is not prepared for the economic impact of higher tariffs, the likely U-turn on Ukraine, and defence spending ultimatums, Eurointelligence analysts said. 'We expect the EU to divide on similar lines to the US itself.’ An informal summit of EU leaders alone will focus tomorrow on the bloc’s declining competitiveness, laid bare in a report by the former Italian leader Mario Draghi. (Source: The Guardian - United Kingdom)
by Henley

07/11/2024 - 18:07  European leaders make plea for Trump to support Ukraine and avoid trade wars. Leaders of the '27 EU member states met' in Budapest today to weigh transatlantic relations and chime in on Trump's victory in the US presidential election. Faced with uncertainty, they urged the president-elect to refrain from unsettling the global order, avoid trade wars and maintain support for Ukraine. (Source: France 24 - based in France)

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary. Roundtable opening remarks by Macron, French President /Video/ (Source: European Council) Translated to English
Duration: 00:13:28

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary. Roundtable opening remarks by Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister. Language: Interpretation in English /Video/ (Source: European Council)
Duration: 00:08:37

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary. Roundtable opening remarks by Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister. Language (Original): Hungarian /Video/ (Source: European Council)
Duration: 00:08:37

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary: Roundtable  /Video/ (Source: European Council)

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary: Family photo /Video/ (Source: European Council)

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary. Doorstep Michel, President of the European Council. /Video/ (Source: European Council) Language (Original): English
Duration: 00:05:40

(7 November 2024)  Meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest, Hungary: Compilation of all arrivals and welcome /Video/ (Source: European Council)
Duration: 00:33:25

Oroszország
2024. XI. 7. Putyin üzent a nyugati világ vezetőinek, akik épp Budapesten találkoznak. Az orosz elnök szerint „mélyen téves” az az „ellenséges irányvonal, amelyet számos nyugati ország az ukrajnai konfliktus eszkalálására és elhúzódására követ, azzal a céllal, hogy ’stratégiai vereséget’ okozzon Oroszországnak.. Putyin úgy véli, hogy 'ilyen illuzórikus számításokat csak azok végezhetnek, akik nem ismerik és nem is akarják ismerni Oroszország történelmét, akik nem veszik figyelembe az orosz nép egységét, lelkierejét és összetartását'. Putyin Moszkvában huszonnyolc állam nagykövetei előtt beszélt, akik átadták megbízóleveleiket az orosz elnöknek. Üzenetében értékelte a kazanyi BRICS-csúcs után megváltozott világrendet és szólt a közel-keleti konfliktusról is. A teljes beszéd magyarul. /Video/ (Forrás: Youtube / Kremlin / Hetek)
147 642 megtekintés

Asia

China
07.11.2024  Xi speaks with Trump, says China, US would ‘benefit from cooperation’ (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Turkey
November 7, 2024 at 5:17 pm  Turkiye is acting with a strategic perspective towards full EU membership, the country’s President, Erdogan, told his French counterpart today, in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, where he attended the European Political Community Summit. Erdogan also underlined the need to revitalise the candidate country’s accession process. He conveyed Ankara’s expectation for the EU to update its Customs Union with Turkiye and fulfil its promises to Ankara on visa liberalisation for Turkish nationals. The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues. (Source: Middle East Monitor - Location London, U.K.; financed by Qatar)

North America

United States
November 7, 2024 4:20 pm (EST)  How a second Trump administration could affect U.S. foreign policy? Experts answer on the 'pressing issues'..     Multilateralism and international bodies: It will be harmful. The first Trump administration withdrew from global organizations, thereby making space for China to further spread its own.     Indo-Pacific security partnerships: The Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) pact is likely to continue, not binding security alliances. AUKUS is a technology partnership, the Quad receive bipartisan support.     The war in the Gaza Strip: Trump wants the war over by Inauguration Day. That seems unlikely. Rather than encouraging a ceasefire it seems likely that he will give the Israelis political/diplomatic room and weapons to complete their military operations as soon as possible.     Should NATO make moves to be self-reliant and not dependent on the United States? 'European NATO members should do both: increase their own defense spending and military strength but try to keep the United States in the alliance as the most important member'. This will create a NATO with two pillars: a European and a U.S. pillar.     U.S.-Latin American relations? Trump will be pressuring countries with tariffs and other tools to get what he wants and agnostic towards democracy. He will pressure countries to harden or even close their borders to stop migrants, refugees, and fentanyl. He may have less interest in dislodging dictators in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. If he manages to deport millions of undocumented people, it will tank Central America’s smaller economies by dramatically shrinking remittances and contribute greatly to instability in that region.     Can therest of the world make climate progress without the United States? 'The vast majority of emissions will come from China and emerging economies. U.S. states and companies will pursue emissions reductions, even if the federal government does less'.     The war in Ukraine: "The Ukrainians had better prepare a gameplan for seeking a negotiated end to their fight against Russian aggression. That’s their best bet for winning Trump’s support and the continued flow of at least some U.S. aid". .     Trump’s China policies: President Trump's approach toward China during his first term was levying more than $360 billion of tariffs on Chinese products. He has vowed to impose 60 percent tariffs on all Chinese goods during a second term. But he has also expressed admiration for Chinese leader Xi.   Trump will likely raise tariffs, 'not just against China, but our allies.   How will China retaliate? With tariffs of their own. 'American farmers and ranchers are likely to be hardest hit from the trade war.     Africa? Washington is expected to continue strengthening old alliances and exploring new ones with a view to keeping Russia and China in check.     Defense of Taiwan from a potential Chinese invasion? Trump has declined to commit to defending Taiwan, saying instead that China will not invade when he is president 'but eventually they will.' 'Taiwan should pay us for defense . . . we’re no different than an insurance company,” he has also stated.     U.S.-Iran relations: The Trump administration is likely to increase economic pressure on Iran, effective in terms of draining the Iranian treasury and thus limiting its ability to fund its proxies and sustain its patronage networks at home. (Source: The Council on Foreign Relation - U.S.)

November 7, 2024  US Senate ‘firmly’ in Republican hands after flipping multiple seats. /Video/ (Source: Fox New - U.S.)
49 030 views

November 7, 2024  Harris concedes defeat to Trump in US presidential election. “Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory." “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign,’ she said. (Source: Premium Times – Nigeria)

NATO
07/11/2024 - 13:23 GMT+1  The deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia's aggression against Ukraine represents a serious threat not only to Europe but also to the United States, with potential ramifications across the Indo-Pacific region, NATO Secretary-General Rutte has said today speaking to reporters in Budapest in a direct appeal to Trump. (Source: Euronews - Headquarters Lyon, France)

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Europe

Germany
November 6, 2024 9:01 pm CET  Renewed political instability came in Germany just hours after Trump’s clear win in the U.S. election, a result that stunned German political leaders, ’who depend on American military might for their country’s defense’ and fear Trump’s tariff policies will hobble German industry. Germany’s chancellor Scholz sets stage for German snap election as three-party ruling coalition government collapsed today evening. He said a confidence vote will first take place on Jan. 15 after announcing he will fire his finance minister Lindner over persistent disagreements over persistent rifts on spending and economic reforms, a move that paves the way for a snap election. If, as is likely, Scholz loses that vote, a snap election is set to take place by March. Lindner and his FDP insisted that the German government stick to strict spending rules and cut taxes, even as his left-wing coalition partners wanted to maintain social spending and boost German industry through economic stimulus. “All too often, Minister Lindner has blocked laws in an inappropriate manner,’ said Scholz in a statement. “Too often he has engaged in petty party-political tactics. Too often he has broken my trust.” Scholz said he had asked Linder to ease spending rules to allow more Ukraine aid, but Lindner refused, saying such a move would have “violated my oath of office.” Linder also attacked Scholz’s response to Germany’s economic weakness. “ Scholz has long failed to recognise the need for a new economic awakening in our country,” said Lindner in a statement. “He has long played down the economic concerns of our citizens.” Central to the current coalition disagreements was the adoption of the 2025 budget by parliament - in which a gap of at least €2.4 billion, and potentially far more, needs to be filled - as well as an agreement on measures to revamp the country’s ailing economy. Crisis talks in the coalition came to a head after Lindner issued a policy paper with demands for liberal economic reforms that were difficult for the other two parties to accept, calling for tax cuts and a scaling back of climate policies in order to stimulate economic growth - both positions that put the party at odds with its coalition partners. The firing effectively ejects Lindner’s fiscally conservative Free Democratic Party (FDP) from the troubled coalition. It is now polling at only 4 percent — below the threshold needed to make it into the German parliament - meaning its leaders have been mulling a coalition break in order to save their political futures. By firing Lindner, Scholz appeared to be beating the FDP to the punch. A snap election would likely usher in a new government led by the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which currently leads in polls by a wide margin. CDU leaders have taken a ’sharp’ turn to the right on migration in recent years, while also advocating for ’more robust military aid for Ukraine’. Trump’s victory ’is expected to put heavy pressure on Europe’s largest economy. An analysis from the German Economic Institute (IW) estimates that a new trade war could cost Germany €180 billion over Trump’s four years in office’. Ultimately, however, not even the looming threat of Trump proved enough for the fractious parties to put aside their differences. ’Downright tragic on a day like this, when Germany has to show unity and the ability to act in Europe.” Habeck, the Green economy minister said. (Source: Politico - U.S.)
by von der Burchard, Nöstlinger and Buchsteiner

Russia
6 Nov, 2024 09:28 am  Russia denies interference. Russia’s embassy in the US has denied accusations that Moscow has interfered in the US election after authorities said hoax bomb threats to polling stations appeared to originate in Russia, CNN has reported. The Russian embassy in Washington said the US accusations were “slanderous and baseless.” 'All insinuations about ‘Russian machinations’ are malicious slander, invented for use in the domestic political struggle of the United States,' the embassy said as reported by state-run RIA Novosti news agency. (Source: The New Zealand Herald)

United Kingdom
November 6, 2024 8:44 am CET  Johnson was removed from Channel 4’s U.S. election night program 'for promoting his book too much". Former prime minister, providing analysis for the British broadcaster, repeatedly held up his recently published memoir 'Unleashed' and dropped references to it, despite being told off by the hosts for doing so slammed as ‘so cheap’ on Channel 4. As prime minister, Johnson allied himself with Republican nominee Trump, and has met him at least twice since leaving power to discuss the war in Ukraine, Johnson said he’d spoken to Trump 'quite recently.' However, Johnson dismissed accusations he modeled himself on Trump as 'complete and utter tripe.' (Source: Politico - U.S.)

North America

3:39 PM CET, November 6, 2024  Republican presidential nominee former President Trump has won the 2024 presidential election. Trump scored a decisive victory in a deeply divided nation. He exposed a fundamental weakness within the Democratic base. Trump beat back concerns about his moral failings, becoming the first U.S. president with a felony conviction. He won with bold promises that his fiery brand of America-first economic populism and conservative culture would make their lives better. There are reasons to believe his plans for mass deportations and huge tariffs ’may hurt the very people who enabled his victory’. He is set to enter the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. Trump made significant gains. His focus on immigration, economy and culture worked. Trump's support among Black voters, Latinos and young voters appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020. Collectively, those small gains yielded an outsize outcome. Slightly more than 4 in 10 young voters went for Trump, up from about one-third in 2020. His victory may have had as much to do with the fundamental challenges Harris faced all along. Trump ultimately won over voters with grand promises to improve the economy, block the flow of immigrants on the Southern border and his call to “make America great again.” Relentless repetition convinced voters. Overall, about half of Trump voters said inflation was the biggest issue factoring into their election decisions, about as many said that of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump is threatening to impose massive tariffs on key products from China and other American adversaries, which economists warn could dramatically boost prices for average Americans. He also appealed to religious voters in both parties by seizing on the Democrats’ support for the transgender community.     The results left Democrats facing with no obvious leader to unite the anti-Trump coalition and no clear plan to rebuild. Black voters - men and women - have been the bedrock of the Democratic Party. In recent years, Latinos and young voters have joined them. All three groups still preferred Democrat Harris. About 8 in 10 Black voters backed Harris, down from the roughly 9 in 10 who backed Biden. More than half of Hispanic voters supported Harris, but that was down slightly from the roughly 6 in 10 who backed Biden in 2020. About half voters under age 30 supported Harris. Black and Latino voters appeared slightly less likely to support her. Facing deep voter frustration over the direction of the country  - with Biden’s approval rating dismal - she never did distance herself from her party’s sitting president. About two-thirds of Harris voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor in their votes. Harris, by the end of the campaign, joined other critics describing the former president and now president-elect as a ’fascist.’ Slightly more than half of voters said Harris has the moral character to be president. It was the first presidential election after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended a woman’s national right to terminate a pregnancy. About half of women backed Harris. Just a few months ago, Harris generated incredible excitement across the party. She filled arenas. She raised more than a billion dollars seemingly overnight. The results shrink Democrats’ geographic footprint. Now Democrats are left to wonder how to reconnect with parts of the country and slices of the electorate that rejected them. Trump already succeeded in painting Democrats as out-of-touch culturally with middle America. Though Trump has now been the central figure in American politics for nine years, he convinced voters he represented change.     On the promise of the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history, Trump has not explained how such an operation would work. About a third of Trump voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor in their votes. He was repeatedly promising retribution to his political enemies. Trump refused to acknowledge his 2020 defeat. He labeled Harris a fascist and a communist. Trump’s criminal convictions, additional pending indictments and his most incendiary rhetoric were not a sufficient concern to keep tens of millions of Americans from voting for him. About 4 in 10 voters said that Trump has the moral character to be president. It’s quite possible, as Trump has said many times on the campaign trail, that his legal peril actually helped him. As it stands, Trump may never actually face sentencing in a New York business fraud case in which he was convicted of 34 felonies. For now, his sentencing is scheduled for later this month. He’s already had one federal indictment in Florida dismissed, sparing him from a trial on whether he flouted U.S. law on protecting national security secrets. And he’s made clear he would use his power as president to spike the federal case against him for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That would leave a Georgia racketeering case pending against Trump and others accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election result. It was the first time that a Republican presidential candidate overly courted males with a hypermasculine approach. About half of men went for Trump.     Republicans have claimed control of the Senate. The results will give Trump a significant advantage in pushing his agenda through Congress. Their hope is to win a House majority built mostly through key suburban districts in California and New York, but that was far from certain early today. (Source: Associated Press)
By Barrow

United States
6 Nov 2024  In Michigan, voters punished Harris for Middle East crisis. /Video/ (Source: Youtube / France 24)
Note: 1 583 views

Nov 6, 2024, 10:38 AM  Former President Trump secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House: The Hill. The former president won a convincing victory, flipping Georgia back into his column, holding North Carolina and shattering the 'blue wall.' The former president and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), capitalized on voter discontent with higher costs, a surge in migration at the southern border and instability abroad during the Biden administration to pitch voters on a return to his policies. (Source: Mehr - Iran)

6 Nov 2024  Abortion rights on the ballot in ten states and motivating voters across the US. Voters are deciding whether their state constitutions should guarantee a right to abortion, weighing ballot measures that are expected to spur turnout for a range of crucial races. Passing certain amendments in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota likely would lead to undoing bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access. The future legality and availability of abortion hinges not only on ballot measures, as policies could shift depending on who controls Congress and the presidency. (Source: France 24)

6 Nov 2024. Trump has won the battleground state of Georgia, the onetime Republican stronghold that had voted for Democrats four years ago. With his earlier win in North Carolina, Trump narrowed Harris’ pathways to victory and expanded his routes to reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to become the next president. /Video/ (Source: Youtube / France 24)
Note: 547 views

"Just now" (6 November 2024 10:14 CET)  Trump has declared victory over Harris in the US presidential election as he stands on the cusp of a historic White House political comeback. The Republican told his ecstatic supporters at a campaign party in Florida that they would usher in “a new golden age for America”. The BBC's US partner CBS projects Trump has vaulted to a commanding lead in the seven battleground states that will decide the winner of the election. Trump is projected to win the key swing states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. CBS says Wisconsin is leaning towards Trump and he is ahead in the other so-called Rust Belt state of Michigan. The results are not final. He also has a lead in Nevada, while the race remains tight in the other sun belt battleground of Arizona. As expected, Trump has swept conservative strongholds from Florida to Idaho, while Harris won liberal states from New York to California, CBS projects. He would be the first former president to return to the White House in more than 130 years. The Democrat had been expected to address a crowd on election night at Howard University in Washington DC, where she was an undergraduate, but it emerged after midnight that she would not appear. Following the announcement by campaign co-chairman Richmond, the crowd all but disappeared from Harris HQ at the historically black college. CBS exit poll data suggests Vice-President Harris – who was hoping to become America’s first woman president and campaigned heavily for abortion rights - may have under-performed with women. Some 54% of female voters cast their ballots for her. In more good news for Trump, his party is projected to win majority control of the Senate. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)
by "Sheerin"

6 Nov, 2024 08:50 AM  Trump, 78, has claimed a comprehensive victory over Harris in the 2024 US presidential election.and promises to return to the White House to deliver “the golden age of America”. Trump has won North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania and looks likely to make a clean sweep of all the vital swing states. Fox News has called the election for Trump, while CNN says he is 'poised to clinch' victory. Trump declared himself the 47th President in a speech to party faithful at an event at West Palm Beach in Florida, flanked by wife Melania and son Barron. “I want to tell you what a great honour this is … America’s future will be bigger, bolder than it ever has been before, Trump said, in his victory speech on stage at his home base of Mar-a-Lago. "We're going to try to unite ... success will bring us together. I saw that in the first term." “We had a great first term… I have a simple moto: Promises made, promises kept". “This is the most important job in the world". “I’ll never do a rally again, can you believe it?” Trump said, estimating he’d done 900 of them. “I will not rest until we have delivered the strong safe and prosperous America that we deserve”. He also addressed the July assassination attempt, telling supporters: “God spared my life for a reason, and that reason was to save this country.”  “We are the party of common sense,” Trump said. “We had everybody and it was beautiful,” Trump said of all the different groups and ethnicities that came together to support him. "We're going to help our country heal... we made history for a reason tonight," Trump says on stage for his victory speech at Mar-a-Lago. “Every citizen, I will fight for you … with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that we deserve. „I want to thank my beautiful wife Melania, first lady, who has the number one best-selling book in the country.” "She works very hard to help people." "I want to thank my amazing children." “Winning the popular vote was very nice I tell ya. A feeling of love with unbelievable people beside me… they’ve made the journey with me,” he says. Trump has thanked his running mate Vance and praised him as a “feisty guy”. “He goes in and absolutely obliterates” the media companies Trump says he has sent him to talk to. Vance, speaking, was describing Trump’s win as the greatest political comeback in American history. "He's turned out to be a good choice," Trump says of Vance.  "I took a little heat initially", but he has a "good brain", Trump was paying tribute to his friend and the boss of the UFC, White. And Trump pays tribute to Musk who endorsed him. “A star is born: Elon. He’s an amazing guy. We spent two weeks in Pennsylvania campaigning,” Trump said “He sent that rocket up. When it left, it was beautiful.” Trump is describing the catch-landing of Musk’s Space X rocket - not on the ground but caught by a launch tower. “This spaceship came down… it looked like it was over, the fire was coming out from the right side. And it came down so gently, those arms like holding a baby,” Trump said. Trump asked who else could land a rocket, and said Musk confirmed Russia or no one else could. “He’s a super genius, we have to protect them, we don’t have that many.” 'That's why I love you, Elon.' “These are hard-working people,” Trump said of his team and supporters. He thanked Kennedy Jr., who ran as an independent candidate before pulling out and supporting him. Trump said Kennedy was going to help “make America healthy again". Kennedy is a vocal opponent of vaccination. Trump on immigration: “We’re going to seal up those borders,” he said. “They [immigrants] have to come in legally.” Trump says he hopes his supporters will view voting for him as one of the great moments of their life. He is projecting he will win 315 electoral votes. World leaders have already congratulated Trump on his victory in the US presidential election: Australia: PM Albanese; France: President Macron; Israel: PM Netanyahu; New Zealand: PM Luxon; Ukraine: President Zelenskyy; United Kingdom: PM Starmer. (08:58 am): Fox News says it has no evidence there has been a phone call from Harris to Trump to concede the election. (Source: The New Zealand Herald)

6 November 2024 8:47 CET) ("27 minutes ago"):  Trump: "A political victory our country has never seen before. Watch Trump address his jubilant supporters as he claims victory in the US presidential election. /Video/ (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

November 6, 2024, Wednesday // 09:04 ("59 minutes ago"):  Trump defeats Harris in 2024 election, "Fox News projected Trump as the victor over Harris". In the end, the campaign pitted two markedly different visions for America’s future, with Harris and the Democrats casting Trump as a threat to democratic principles, while Trump maintained that he was best positioned to rectify perceived wrongs. His hard-hitting slogan, "Harris broke it, Trump will fix it," encapsulated his campaign’s message. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)

2024-11-06 08:41  Trump has claimed victory in the 2024 US presidential election, declaring himself the 47th president after securing 267 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win. With key battleground states such as Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin still in play, Trump’s lead continues to grow. As of now, he holds a commanding 64.7 million votes (51.2%) in the popular vote, while Harris has garnered 59.9 million votes (47.4%). Republicans are also poised to secure both chambers of Congress, strengthening the prospects for Trump’s legislative agenda. (Source: Shafaq News)

06/11/2024 - 7:22  'The Democratic candidate has won the New York race and secured the state’s 28 Electoral College votes'. The Associated Press declared Harris the winner at 3:00 am CET. /Video/ (Source: Euronews - Headquartered in Lyon, France)

(Wednesday), Nov 6, 2024 12:41 IST  Republican candidate Trump inches closer to victory against Democrat Harris. He has already won three of the seven swing states. Trump is heading to the Florida Convention Centre and will address his supporters. He will be visiting Palm Beach shortly after he cemented his victory in North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, four of the seven swing states that more or less sealed the victory for him in the US Presidential elections. Trump was spotted at Mar-a-Lago resort with Musk, White. Vice President was cancelling her speech at her ’lama mater’, Howard University. She was scheduled to speak at the university on Tuesday night, but will now speak tomorrow, said Harris campaign co-chair Richmond. The mood of the faculty and the students at the university became sombre as Trump's numbers continued to swell on Tuesday. According to the latest trends, Trump is leading the race with 248 electoral votes compared to Harris's 214. (Source: India Today)

Globalization

6th November 2024  Calling it a Trump victory, boost for bitcoin. Bitcoin has reacted swiftly to the results of the U.S. presidential election, with Trump clinching victory and reclaiming the Oval Office. Trump’s stance on Bitcoin has been a supportive one, and the crypto community is celebrating his win as a potential positive for digital assets. The price of Bitcoin touched a record $75,000, marking a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency that has spent much of the year trading below $70,000. As of today morning, the price of Bitcoin touched a record peak, trading at $74,392, up 7% after an overnight surge. The reaction is emblematic of how Bitcoin and financial markets often respond to major political events, with Bitcoin’s price volatility influenced by investor sentiment around potential policy changes. Bitcoin’s recent price rally is consistent with the cryptocurrency’s performance in past election years. In 2012, 2016, and 2020, Bitcoin saw returns of approximately 87%, 44%, and 145% in the 90 days following Election Day, respectively. These surges are not coincidental; election years often align with Bitcoin’s halving cycle - a process that reduces the rate at which new Bitcoin is created, effectively lowering the supply and increasing scarcity. The post-election surges in Bitcoin have also tended to coincide with shifts in Federal Reserve policy. With a newly elected government, investors often expect changes in monetary policy direction. The Bitcoin community has long had a favourable view of Trump due to his relatively open stance on decentralised finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrencies. He’s generally been less restrictive than other politicians. During his previous term, Trump showed a willingness to reduce regulatory constraints on the financial sector, a sentiment that extended to crypto. Now, the likelihood of regulatory clarity—without harsh restrictions - is seen as beneficial for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. In addition, with Republicans in control of the Senate, a more conservative fiscal policy could encourage the preservation of wealth in alternative assets like Bitcoin, especially given the growing concerns around the U.S. dollar. The U.S. government deficit has been a major concern for both parties, with the deficit rising 8% in the 2024 fiscal year to $1.8 trillion. Further tax cuts promised by Trump during his campaign could add to this deficit, potentially weakening the dollar over time. For many, Bitcoin is a hedge against currency devaluation and inflation, as it operates outside of traditional monetary policy constraints, and investors seek alternatives to the dollar. In the current scenario, market participants are eyeing the potential for further interest rate cuts from the Fed, which could further fuel Bitcoin’s appeal. Lower interest rates generally weaken the dollar. The Fed’s approach to interest rates will be a crucial factor in Bitcoin’s future performance. As inflation concerns continue, the Fed has signalled that it may be inclined to ease rates further but is moving cautiously to avoid making any policy errors. Market players widely expect a 25-basis-point rate cut in the near future. Reduced interest rates decrease the appeal of traditional savings, driving investors toward high-growth assets like Bitcoin. With its fixed supply and decentralized nature, Bitcoin fits this requirement well, and a dovish Fed only amplifies its attractiveness as a hedge. China’s economic health plays a critical role in markets, including Bitcoin. Recently, China’s services sector recorded its fastest growth in three months, with the Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index rising to 52.0 in October from 50.3 in September - a positive indicator for global demand. Any positive signals from China’s economy often spill over into global markets, indirectly supporting risk assets. Oil prices have shown a slight dip as markets prepare for the uncertain geopolitical landscape with Trump’s victory. OPEC+ recently delayed plans to increase production, reflecting concerns over weak demand and growing supply from non-OPEC sources. Libya’s resumed production has added supply, balancing out some of the cuts from OPEC members like Iraq. In addition, Iran has announced plans to increase its oil output by 250,000 barrels per day. Market dynamics, especially related to OPEC+ production decisions and the stability in the Middle East, will influence oil prices in the short term. The combination of Trump’s election win and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties creates a complex backdrop for oil prices. Trump’s stance on energy independence may favour U.S. oil producers, potentially leading to higher production domestically. (Source: Financial Mirror – Cyprus)
by Aslam, Chief Investment Officer  - Zaye Capital Markets.

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Europe

Hungary
Meeting of the European Political Community on 7 November 2024 in Budapest, Hungary will provide ample opportunities for bilateral or multilateral meetings during the day. The European Political Community aims to foster political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest, to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent. The global economy is heading towards fragmentation, impacting economic models. The fifth summit of the European Political Community will bring together leaders from across the continent to discuss the security challenges Europe is facing, issues related to Russia’s war against Ukraine, economic security and connectivity in terms of energy, transport, IT and global trade, all aspects of migration, including irregular migration and its instrumentalization, the ongoing escalation of deadly violence in the Middle East, conflicts and instability on the rise in Africa - all, that is putting peace, stability and prosperity at risk in our region. Discussions will begin with a morning plenary session on the security challenges, followed by four breakout sessions on the topics of migration and economic security. The chairs of each roundtable will report on the discussions at the second plenary session. The EU is represented by the President of the European Council, Michel. 47 heads of state and government were invited to take part in this fifth meeting. (Source: European Council)

November 7, 2024 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has hailed Trump's stunning comeback, as a "spectacular victory" and one of the "greatest comebacks in Western political history". Orbán was the first EU leader who openly endorsed Trump in 2016 and in the last two campaigns as well. Trump’s victory is expected to boost his ’radical’ rightwing agenda and widen his diplomatic room for manoeuvre. The Hungarian premier followed election night from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he was attending the summit of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS). Orbán was awarded this year’s Supreme Order of the Turkic World by Kyrgyz President Zhaparov. "Mar-a-Lago calling. Just had my first phone conversation with President @realDonaldTrump since the elections. We have big plans for the future," he tweeted. At the OTS summit, Orbán praised the Republican leader for overcoming significant challenges, from legal battles to media opposition, and viewed his win as a morale boost for those "who believe in will, struggle, and perseverance". He stated plans to strengthen US-Hungarian ties, anticipating that Trump’s administration will revive the "golden era" after the Republican leader's first victory. He expressed hope that Trump’s approach could shift the global balance towards peace efforts. At the summit, Orbán called for a new EU strategy on Ukraine, questioning Europe’s ability to support it independently. He suggested that today’s summit in Budapest, bringing together 47 European leaders, including President Zelenskyy, could address this issue. One major topic is expected to be the €50bn loan package designated for Ukraine, which may require reassessment in light of potential shifts in US policy. Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó also echoed Orbán’s optimism. He cited shared views on peace, immigration, and family policy, suggesting these alignments offer the best chance for peace in Ukraine after nearly three years of conflict. 'Despite the potential political advantages, Trump’s economic policies could prove detrimental to Hungary's interests, economists warned'. Concerns have been raised that Trump’s ’isolationist’ and protectionist measures could negatively impact Hungary’s export-dependent economy. 'Rising' US bond yields could have a major impact on monetary policy. The forint hit a new two-year low yesterday morning, trading at 412 against the euro, with bond yields rising and some analysts even believe that the Hungarian National Bank could be forced to raise rates if the currency slide continues. Yesterday, US Ambassador Pressman criticised Orbán’s actions, her frequent smear campaign targets, accusing him of treating the U.S. presidential election like a game of chance. ’Goodbye, Mr. Pressman, we will miss you!’ Fidesz faction leader Menczer wrote gleefully on social media. (Source: bne IntelliNews - Berlin)
by Csonka

The European Political Community

Thursday 7 November 2024 07:37, UK  The European Political Community - which holds summits of every six months - was set up as a chance for the EU27 to meet wider partners such as the UK, Turkey and Caucasus nations to discuss key security challenges including conflict and irregular migration. The summit is hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Trump on the agenda as European leaders convene in Budapest. Hungary holds the rotating Presidency of the Council on the European Union in 2024 and Mr Orbán is delighted by Mr Trump's victory. Mr Orbán is regarded with suspicion by the rest of the EU because of his ties to Mr Putin. He told journalists at the European Parliament last month, he would be opening "several bottles of champagne if Mr Trump comes back". Mr Orbán is also a supporter of a negotiated solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while most of the rest of the EU largely supports the integrity of Ukraine. The US result is likely to completely overshadow the discussions, as Mr Trump's approach to Ukraine - and whether he will try to force a peace plan in which the Ukrainians must give up territory - will dominate the agenda. We may get the first signals of how Europe will respond the events across the Atlantic. President Zelenskyy is attending. The migration session will be chairing by UK’s PM Mr Keir Starmer who will announce three new intelligence-sharing agreements with Balkan nations to crack down on people smuggling. But defence considerations are likely to be front and centre, with the prospect of the US disengaging from Europe, and pressure on NATO members who are not yet meeting the 2% defence spending target to step up. In a sign of the already changed atmosphere, the German defence minister, who met his French counterpart yesterday, said after Mr Trump's victory: "They'll be able to do less in Europe. We need to fill this gap to be more credible in terms of deterrence.’ A strategic debate on transatlantic relations will be held at a dinner set to be attended by European leaders today evening. (Source: Sky News)
by ’Cohen

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Europe

Hungary
November 05, 2024 08:33 GMT  One of the highlights of Hungary's rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year will come on November 7 as the Hungarian capital is hosting the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) - a political forum bringing together the leaders of almost all European states (bar Belarus, Russia, and the Vatican). Hungarian PM Orbán is getting his big moment: that evening and the next day, there will be a meeting of the 27 EU heads of government to mainly discuss how to make the bloc more competitive. Will Orbán unveil a big surprise? As the U.S. presidential race on November 5. is expected to be a tight affair, it's possible the winner may still not be known by the time the leaders gather on the morning of November 7        The formal part of the EPC will last just a few hours, with a short plenary dealing with security challenges. That will be followed by breakout sessions focusing on migration and economic security before concluding with a second plenary. What really matters at the summit is the chance for some diplomatic speed dating in an informal setting - something the leaders reportedly love about the EPC format.        A document, „devised by Michel’, called the Budapest Declaration On The New European Competitiveness Deal. The draft, which Michel is hoping the leaders will endorse, notes that the EU's share of world gross domestic product (GDP) has halved over the last two decades, that retail prices for industrial electricity in the EU are three times higher than for the other major world economies, and that "as a share of GDP, the EU spends one-third less on research and development than other major economies in the OECD." Some EU member states think the 10-page document is too long; some are furious that it mentions the next long-term EU budget (always a fraught discussion, as it concerns who pays how much); and others are peeved that it mentions convergence on taxation, another sensitive topic. Others are not happy about what the document has left out: for example, support for nuclear energy or more European defense spending. The age-old Brussels problem is agreeing on a way forward on anything. "We are in a hostile, global environment in which we rightly have identified that we need to become more competitive on every level, yet we get stuck arguing about commas and bullet points in a document few [people] will read,' one diplomat told.        An issue to be discussed at the EPC, and particularly the informal EU summit, will be the October 26 Georgian parliamentary elections. They were won by the ruling Georgian Dream party. The EU is divided on how to respond and whether or not the vote was free and fair. Even OSCE/ODIHR election observers hadn't pronounced whether or not the elections were free and fair. Who will represent Tbilisi at the EPC summit? At the last one, at Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom in July, it was Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze. It is Budapest that handles the invitations. Don't be surprised if Orbán wants his ally from Georgian Dream present. In last year's release of its annual enlargement report, the EU executive European Commission  for Georgia proposed granting candidate status. In this year’s report, presented by the European Commission on October 30, the EU executive prioritized a report on improving civilian and defense preparedness. It tells you quite a lot about how much importance the bloc’s executive gives to further enlargement at this point. How hard the EU executive would be on Georgia? Last time around, the EU executive gave Tbilisi nine conditions in various policy fields to complete in order to start accession talks. Here, Brussels simply concluded that the South Caucasus republic had made ’insignificant progress’ and noted ’a lack of sufficient political commitment of the authorities’ to undergo necessary reforms. Citing the recent adoption of the controversial "foreign influence" law, similar to Russia's "foreign agent" law, and anti-LGBT laws, as well as "strong anti-EU narratives from Georgian officials," the document concluded that the the EU executive 'will not be in a position to consider recommending opening negotiations with Georgia.’ The truth is that the bloc is unsure of how to read the Georgian elections on October 26. The EU is divided on this. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán raced down to Tbilisi to congratulate his political allies, while Europe ministers from 15 EU member states issued a statement at least questioning the fairness of the vote and underlining that Orbán wasn't speaking on behalf of the bloc. ’These divisions will make potential future sanctions’ on Georgia's current leadership hard to agree on. Hungary, and probably also Slovakia, will be vetoing them. ’And then there is the issue of actually finding some offense that is sanctionable, pinpointing it on high-enough officials, and then backing it up with evidence. Right now, that seems like a tall order for Brussels’ EU executive European Commission. What is left, ’apart from cutting more funds to Tbilisi, is to suspend visa liberalization’, which only requires a qualified majority of member states to back. The EU will be discussing this at the informal EU summit in Budapest next week and when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels later in November. But is there really an appetite to punish the entire population?!        So, what about the more positive aspects of the EU executive reports?     There was happy reading for Albania. Earlier in October, Tirana opened its first cluster of accession chapters, and in December the Eu executive hopes that member states will open yet another batch. It also endorses the country's highly ambitious goal to close accession negotiations by the end of 2027.    The seemingly hopeless case of Bosnia’s accession talks: It so far have failed with basic conditions such as appointing a chief negotiator to the EU talks, a team during those talks, and a national plan to transpose EU laws to the national legislation - reflecting Sarajevo's dysfunctional internal politics in which the country's entities can rarely agree on any way forward.    And the seemingly hopeless case of Pristina's EU application: It is languishing in the European Council, where member states still aren't too keen to send it over to the EU executive - the European Commission - for an opinion on membership feasibility; at least not before the February parliamentary elections in the country.    The EU executive hopes that Chisinau further steps up anti-corruption and "de-oligarchization".     There was also happy reading for Montenegro which has already opened all 30+ chapters. The EU executive hopes that some chapters actually can be closed by the end of the year, and that talks conclude at the end of 2026, a bridge too far.     And the seemingly hopeless case of North Macedonia which remains stuck as long as it doesn't change its constitution according to Bulgaria's wishes, something that doesn't look likely to happen anytime soon.    Serbia? For the third year running, the the EU executive recommends that Belgrade should be allowed to open more EU accession chapters. This is something that Hungary, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency of the European Council is keen on as well. Don't rule out that Budapest might want to trade a green light for Serbia moving ahead in late 2024 with giving its OK to Ukraine sometime in 2025.    And then there is President Zelenskiy, who is poised to make his first visit to Hungary since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Zelenskiy and Orbán have sparred on numerous occasions, notably on Hungary's reluctance to channel more EU funds to Kyiv and skepticism toward Ukraine's EU and NATO membership. The the EU executive hopes Kyiv needs to keep on fighting organized crime and continue to improve legislation for national minorities.        So the U.S. election isn't the only interesting news. And this week there are also the hearings in the European Parliament for the proposed new European commissioners. The hearing of the enlargement commissioner-designate, Kos, is taking place on November 7.         A discussion paper on migration ahead of the EPC meeting notes that the priority in this area will mainly be the fight against human smuggling and trafficking. The paper also notes that "we need to be extremely vigilant not to allow people in conflict areas to become tools in the hands of hostile regimes in a hybrid war. We must be equally determined to counter the phenomenon where nonstate actors willingly or not willingly become collaborators of criminal organizations." The document is underlining that "we should ensure solid mechanisms for effective returns, especially for the removal of those who pose a serious threat to public order or internal security. We should also continue to explore innovative solutions as possible ways forward, including the idea of developing return hubs outside Europe." (Source: Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty - U.S.)
by „Jozwiak, an Europe editor for RFE/RL, in Prague.

North America

United States
Tue 5 Nov 2024 10.25 CET  Reform UK leader Farage, a friend of Trump says ex-president should accept result, ‘go and play golf' at Turnberry in Scotland, if he loses to Harris’ but added that the Democratic candidate should pardon him. He said he hoped there would be no unrest after the result. Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts and is facing sentencing later in November for 'falsifying business records over payments to the adult' film star Daniels days before his victorious 2016 election. Farage, who has criticised Labour activists for travelling to campaign for Harris, said: 'If she gets in on Tuesday I hope she pardons him. She could look magnanimous and it would dampen down potential tensions. “It’s all hypothetical and I still think he is going to win,” he said. Farage attended Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania yesterday, a key swing state where both candidates held rallies the day before the election. “I just hope to God it’s a clear result. It is nearly a quarter of a century ago we had the hanging chads and dimpled chads and here we are 25 years on with huge questions about how Americans conduct elections. I find it incredible’, he told the Telegraph. Farage also said he hoped Trump would bring in Musk, the owner of X and Tesla, to make big cuts to US spending, saying that was aligned with Reform UK’s thinking in Britain. “This is the sexy bit: Elon comes in and takes a knife to the deep state. Just like when he bought Twitter he sacked 80% of the staff,” Farage said. “There are going to be mass layoffs, whole departments closing and I’m hoping and praying that’s the blueprint for what we then do on our side of the pond. “Because that’s what Reform UK believes in – that we’re overbureaucratised and none of it works. This assault on the bureaucratic state is the thing that’s really exciting.” Farage also attended the Republican national convention in Milwaukee in July. His entry in the MPs’ register of interests says the near-£33,000 costs for him and a staffer were paid for by a Thai-based British businessman, Harborne. Farage listed the purpose of the trip as “to support a friend who was almost killed and to represent Clacton [his constituency] on the world stage”. (The Guardian – United Kingdom)

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Europe

Spain
Monday, 4 November 2024, 4:35  King Felipe and Queen Letizia have issued a public thank you to all world leaders who expressed condolences and solidarity with Spain after the country was hit by massive floods. The King and Queen took to social media to send a message in Spanish and English. They said: “Our deep gratitude to all Heads of State, authorities and international leaders for their messages of condolence, consultation, support and solidarity with the Spanish people due to the devastating consequences of ’Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos’ (DANA). “Their words of affection and brotherhood make us feel accompanied in this terrible tragedy that is ravaging our country.” The UK’s King Charles was one of many royals and world leaders who sent supportive messages after the flooding that devastated Spain. “My wife and I were utterly heartbroken to learn of the destruction and devastation following the catastrophic flooding in Southern and Eastern Spain. So many in the United Kingdom have strong, personal ties to Spain, and our nations are bound by so much that we have in common,” he said. “We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of Spain for the tragic loss of so many lives. Our special thoughts, prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with all those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods this terrible week.” Valencia is the hardest hit region by what has been called one of the worst floods in European history. Towns are buried by mud and at least 217 people have died. Many more are still missing. Spain has sent tens of thousands of troops to help in the region. (Source: Royal Central)

Caspian Sea

Monday, November 4, 2024  Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan are conducting a two-day joint naval exercise named AZIREX 2024, hosted by Iran’s Navy in Bandar Anzali in northern Iran, focusing on search and rescue operations in the Caspian Sea. The exercise features various naval units from the Iranian and Azerbaijani navies, alongside units from the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy and the Iranian National Police Marine Command. The Azerbaijani Navy’s rescue vessels, G129 and A640, arrived in Iranian territorial waters today to participate. During a briefing session held after the Azerbaijani vessels docked, the Deputy Operations Officer of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Taj al-Dini, emphasized the importance of coordination in executing scenarios, combat organization, execution phases, support, communications, and safety. The exercise includes various drills, such as aiding distressed vessels, providing medical and emergency assistance, conducting search and rescue operations, and ensuring navigational safety. The primary objective of AZIREX 2024 is to strengthen sustainable collective security and cooperation among participating countries, demonstrate goodwill, and showcase capabilities in supporting peace, friendship, and maritime security, he added. (Source: Iran Gront Page – Iran)

North America

United States
4 November 2024  Two of the top issues that were said to have favoured Republicans going into this election cycle was the economy and immigration. While Vice President Harris promised to get tougher on that issue, former president Trump held a hardline stance promising mass deportations – the largest in US history he said – and an end to birthright citizenship if he takes the win. /Video/ (Source: Youtube / France24 - France)
Note: On 5 November 2024: 450 views

2024./11/4  Democratic campaigner producer Virji takes on Harris’s road to the election /Video/ (Source: Al Jazeera – Qatar): https://tinyurl.com/yc7eus6t

(Monday), November 4, 2024 6:40 AM CET  More than 160 million Americans are heading to the polls for Tuesday’s election. The result will be historic: ’either the maverick Trump will return to power, bent on “retribution” against his enemies after a four-year hiatus', or America will elect its first ’woman president’. The candidates are focused on seven critical swing-state contests: in a group of states - in the so-called Sun Belt such as Arizona and Nevada, and declining former industrial heartlands in the Rust Belt states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.    ’Senior Harris officials argued over the weekend that 'internal campaign data showed the vice president winning over late-deciding voters by a double-digit margin’. Harris for her part claimed at a rally in Michigan, a Rust Belt swing state, that ’her campaign was gathering ’momentum.’ ’ ’A New York Times/Siena College poll, released yesterday, also found’ those voters who had settled on their decisions recently backed Harris ’by a double-digit advantage’. ’A separate poll in the Des Moines Register over the weekend found Harris narrowly leading Trump in Iowa’, a state previously regarded as a safe bet for the Republican candidate. ’Research combining a 'mega poll' of 31,000 people with separate swing states surveys also indicated tentatively that Harris was best placed to win’.     Later on Sunday at a rally in North Carolina, another swing state, Trump suggested to the crowd that he was still in Pennsylvania. He also told a fictional story about the Al Capone, the Chicago gangster who died in 1947, and “MyPillow” CEO Lindell having dinner together, in which prominent Trump supporter Lindell offered Capone pillows. “If he didn’t sleep well because he didn’t like Mike’s pillows, Mike had almost no chance of living,” Trump said; Mike does not want to have dinner with Scarface. Pennsylvania, is perhaps the most vital of all, with 19 electoral college votes up for grabs - the largest number of any of the seven battleground states. On Sunday, Trump held a rally in Pennsylvania. He said he should “never have left” the White House, in a continuation of his claim that he won the 2020 election. He suggested someone should “shoot through” the “fake news” media’. (Source: Politico – U.S.)
'by Ross'

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Asia

China
On Nov 3, 2024  The skies above Zhuhai are set to host an unprecedented showcase featuring the Russian Su-57 fighter jet, the Chinese J-15, and the stealthy J-35A. This year’s Zhuhai Air Show, held in Guangdong Province, South China, has captured the keen interest of Chinese media, which highlights the significance of these three aircraft. /Video - China/ (Source: BulgarianMilitary - Bulgaria)
by Nikolov

Gaza
November 3, 2024, 9:07 AM  Palestinian officials say an Israeli drone strike on a clinic in northern Gaza where children were being vaccinated for polio wounded six people yesterday, including four children. The Israeli military denied responsibility. At least 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from areas of north Gaza toward Gaza City in the past few weeks, but around 15,000 children under the age of 10 remain in northern towns, including Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which are inaccessible, according to the U.N. The final phase of the polio vaccination campaign had aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children in the north with a second dose of oral polio vaccine, the agencies said, but “achieving this target is now unlikely due to access constraints.' They say 90% of children in every community must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease. (Source: ABC News U.S. / Associated Press - U:S.)

Iran
November 3, 2024  More than 3,000 Afghan migrants are being deported daily from Iran’s Dogharoun border crossing, according to Sharafi-Rad, the director of foreign nationals and migrants affairs in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan Province. This year’s deportations represent a 40 percent increase compared with last year. The official said that detaining, gathering, and deporting Afghan migrants remains a priority for the Iranian government through the end of this year. Iran’s crackdown on Afghan migrants is mirroring similar actions by Pakistan. Some Afghan refugees in both countries have reported mistreatment by local police, describing practices that they say violate basic protections for asylum seekers. (Source: Amu Tv - U.S.)

Israel
Nov 3, 2024, 9:00 AM  Channel 12 announced in a report that since October 7 last year, 26,360 rockets have been fired at occupied Palestine from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen. (Source: Mehr - Iran)

North America

United States
3 Nov 2024 US Election 2024 in 20 maps.  The maps offer an overview of the economy, demographics, geography and history of the country of 335 million people. (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)

(Sunday), Nov 3, 2024, 11:37 AM  The US flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan today in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland. North Korea on Thursday tested the newly developed Hwasong-19 ICBM, which flew higher and stayed in the air longer than any other missile it has fired. Today's drill mobilised the US’ B-1B nuclear bomber, South Korea’s F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, and Japan’s F-2 jets. South Korea and Japan’s jets escorted the US strategic bomber to a designated location south of the Korean peninsula. It was the fourth time this year the nuclear bomber was deployed to the Korean peninsula, and the second time for a trilateral aerial exercise to counter Pyongyang’s military threats. (Source: Mehr - Iran)

(Sunday), 3 Nov 2024  More than 73 million Americans have already cast ballots as of Saturday, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida. Harris and Trump are locked in a dead heat in several swing states. What polls say? FiveThirtyEight’s latest poll tracker showed Harris ahead by a very slim 1 point, within the margin of error. Harris’s average is 47.9 percent against Trump’s 46.9 percent. Campaigning in the city of Charlotte in North Carolina, Harris made a passionate appeal to young voters, a Democrat-leaning demographic, to head to the polls. Past elections, however, have shown that fewer of them showed up to vote compared with older voters. Trump used his evening rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, to take credit for declining trust in United States media. “The fake news back there, they were at 92 percent approval rating when we started this journey in 2015. And now they’re less than Congress, which is in the low 12s,” he said. “I’m very proud of that because I’ve exposed them as being fake.” (Source: Al Jazeera - Qatar)

Nov 03, 2024  U.S.-China relations are among the most consequential in the world, impacting global stability and growth. The two have a shared responsibility to navigate and strive to resolve the problems of climate, economic development and conflict. the international community looks to these two powers to foster a more balanced and cooperative relationship. What the U.S. election outcome means for China? If Trump wins: Higher tariffs but pragmatic cooperation. He says he will impose higher tariffs on imported goods, especially those from China. He has indicated that he considered imposing a comprehensive tariff of 10 to 20 percent on all imported goods and a 60 percent or higher tariff on Chinese goods. In addition, if he selects a hawkish team to dominate U.S. policy, his administration likely will not only force Chinese enterprises to reduce exports to the United States but may also reduce non-governmental contacts between the two countries, such as educational and academic exchanges, thus impacting public perceptions on both sides. Trump may have to seek cooperation with China. He has repeatedly claimed that he has the ability to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours - or even before his inauguration. He is also promising to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although this claim is suspicious given the complexity of the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump cannot fulfill his promises without China’s help. He previously sought help on the North Korea nuclear issue, and at the end of 2016 China voted in favor of sanctions against the DPRK at the United Nations, demonstrating its important influence in regional affairs. China is the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine. These close economic ties give China a unique opportunity to play a greater role in peace-making efforts. Similarly, in the Middle East, China is the region’s largest trading partner and has helped facilitate reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as the release of the Beijing Declaration by 14 Palestinian factions. China can potentially help Trump truly become a peace-making president. Trump is a pragmatic politician who focuses on solving specific problems. During his previous term, he completed the Phase One China-U.S. trade deal, showing a pragmatic attitude on economic issues such as the deficit problem and trade surplus. If Trump is re-elected, the two sides could further discuss subsidy policies, intellectual property protection, overcapacity issues, balance of trade and other things. This pragmatic strategy also means that Trump may value specific results over ideology. Therefore, in practice, Trump may choose to continue negotiations on economic issues to protect U.S. interests. Trump has a relatively open attitude toward Chinese investment in the United States and may take multiple measures to encourage or require Chinese enterprises to invest and set up factories there. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly stated that he hoped to encourage the return of the manufacturing industry through higher tariffs and welcomed foreign-funded enterprises to set up factories in the United States. Because of the China-U.S. trade war, a large number of Chinese enterprises that had wanted to enter the U.S. market set up factories in Mexico instead. Trump has said that if Chinese enterprises can adhere to U.S. requirements, he would welcome Chinese car manufacturers building factories in the United States. This would open up new space for China-U.S. economic cooperation. In contrast, the current administration’s policy in this regard is more conservative. It has even blocked investment by some Chinese enterprises. On the Taiwan issue, Trump may continue to maintain a pragmatic attitude, and the two sides may continue to communicate on the basis of maintaining the status quo. Trump has said that Taiwan should pay the United States for protection, explaining that it’s similar to buying insurance. If Trump comes to power, he may stick to the “one China” policy and reiterate the three communiques endorsed by all U.S. presidents in the past.    If Harris is elected, she will most likely inherit the policy of "competitive rivalry' established by the Biden administration and continue to adhere to the “investment, alliance, competition' trilogy, balancing China’s influence by strengthening relations with U.S. allies. Status quo with China and more certainty. Harris’s background in California and 'her knowledge of the Asian-American community gives her a certain understanding of the complexity of the China-U.S. relationship'. Harris came up in California, and China is California’s largest trading partner. The most economically developed state in the United States, California has more than 6 million Asian-Americans, of which about 2 million are Chinese-Americans. Her vice president, Walz, also has a rich knowledge of China. He previously worked as a teacher in China, knows the Chinese language, 'spent his honeymoon in China' and organized more than 30 study tours to China for American students. These experiences give Walz a direct understanding of Chinese culture and society, which may help the Harris administration to pay more attention to long-term communication and non-governmental sectors when managing the China-U.S. relationship. This may also help to avoid alienating Asian-Americans and other immigrant groups in the United States by imposing overly tough policies on China. (Source: China US Focus (published by the China-United States Exchange Foundation - Hong Kong)
by Wang, Founder, Center for China & Globalization

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Europe

Denmark
28.10.2024  Denmark's Danske Bank announced today that it will now allow investments in nuclear weapons production, citing 'geopolitical developments' as the primary reason, according to local media outlet Borsen. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Russia
(28 October 2024)  Sitrep for Oct. 25-28, 2024 (as of 8:30 a.m. UTC+3). Russian tactics focus on targeting the least defended sections of the frontline. (Source: The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) - Russia)

Asia

Israel
Oct 28, 2024 19:34 IST  Israel striked Iran. A total of 100 fighter jets carried out the attacks in three waves on 20 missile and drone facilities of Iran. For the strikes, Israel deployed its fifth generation F-35 Adir fighter jets, F-15I Ra'am ground attack jets, and F-16I Sufa air defence jets, which covered approximately 2,000 kilometres. Such long-distance strikes require refueling capabilities and a rescue unit was kept on high alert. The weapons of choice were the 'Rampage' long-range, supersonic missile and the 'Rocks' next generation extended stand-off air-to-surface missile. The Israeli army focused strictly on military targets and steered clear of targeting nuclear and oil facilities to prevent a wider conflict escalation. The first wave of attacks was on Iran's radar and air defence facilities, clearing the path for following strikes on military bases. Iran's missile and drone facilities were targeted in the second and third wave. The fighter jets carried out the strikes in groups of 25-30. While 10 jets conducted the coordinated missile strikes, the others provided cover and diversion. During the strikes, called 'Operation Days of Repentance', Israeli and US air defences were on high alert to handle retaliatory missile strikes. (Source: India Today)

NATO

(28/10/2024 16:50 PM)  'Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region,' NATO Secretary-General Rutte told reporters. NATO officials and diplomats received a briefing from a South Korean delegation. (Source: DW - Germany)

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Russia
Sunday 27 October 2024 10:22  Rapid Russian advances have continued in the past week along the roughly 640-mile frontline. Russian forces are making swift and significant tactical advances into the eastern city of Selydove, less than 10 miles south of their main target, the larger city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider Donetsk region’s defences. Western intelligence officials are estimating that Russia has suffered monthly military personnel losses averaging between 1000 and 1,200 a month. Moscow was capturing around 300 square miles of territory since seizing the city of Avdiivka in February. The attack towards Pokrovsk has widened towards Toretsk and Niu-York, Ukraine, to the north and towards Kurakhove to the south. (Source: Independent – United Kingdom)

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Europe

Georgia
(26 October 2024)  Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party claims victory. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

Asia

Israel
October 26, 2024 11:39  Israel launches airstrikes on Iran (2.30am Iran time), that hit military bases and missile sites, escalating tensions. (Source: Gulf News - United Arab Emirates)

North America

United States
10/26/2024  Over 36 million eligible Latino voters live in the US - more and more are currently turning their backs on the Democrats. /video/ (Source: DW - Germany)

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Europe

Hungary
(Friday), October 25, 2024, 11:32 AM  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has suggested that Poland’s government and its prime minister, Tusk, were installed by the European Union as part of a plot to remove the country’s previous right-wing leadership. The comments came two days after Orbán told supporters in a speech that the bloc seeks to topple his government and install a puppet regime in Hungary. Speaking to state radio today, Orbán lashed out at EU Commission President Der Leyen, and the leader of the bloc's largest political group, European People's Party president Weber, claiming they were seeking to replace his government as he said they had in Poland in 2023, when a coalition led by Tusk defeated the governing Law and Justice party in national elections. 'It’s not even a secret conspiracy against Hungary, it is an openly represented, announced plan,' Orbán said of the alleged plot against him. 'The same thing happened in Poland. The Poles also went their own way, they also took an independent Polish policy on migration, gender and the economy.” Der Leyen and Weber, he continued, 'did their best and openly announced that the conservative Polish government should go and be replaced with a new one. This is how our friend Tusk became prime minister in Poland. The same scenario is now happening in the case of Hungary.' 'They’re going to be working on this. They need a puppet government. Let’s speak plainly, every empire is like that. The Soviets were like that, weren’t they?” he said of the EU. (Source: ABC News - U.S. / Associated Press - U.S.)
by Spike

North America

Canada
25/10/2024 - 06:29  Canada is due to hold elections next year – it curtails immigration. Public support for immigration declines and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday announced cuts to Canada's immigration targets. amid Trudeau's dreary re-election prospects. "Even Justin Trudeau wants to close Canada's Borders," Trump, posted on Truth Social. Canada's population jumped 3.2 percent from 2023 to 2024, the biggest annual rise since 1957, and now stands at 41 million - a rise partly fueled by a wave of new arrivals. The country had previously planned to let 500,000 new permanent residents settle in the country in 2025 and 2026, revised down to 395,000 next year and 380,000 for 2026. It set the 2027 target at 365,000. In 2021, ’23 percent of Canada's population was foreign-born’. As of 2021 most immigrants were from Asia and the Middle East, but an increasing share were coming from Africa. Nearly one of five recent immigrants were born in India. Fifty-eight percent of Canadians believe the country takes in too many immigrants, up 14 percentage points from 2023, a September survey from the Environics Institute found. In figures released last week, Abacus Data found that one of every two Canadians say immigration is harming the country. Concern among Canadians about the impact of immigration is linked to unease over affordable housing. But the Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned immigration is Canada's "only source of workforce growth" given its ageing population, low fertility rates, and retirements from the baby-boomer generation. Opposition leader Poilievre, whose Conservative Party is trouncing Trudeau's Liberals in recent polling, said the prime minister was desperately trying to boost his popularity as he confronts a revolt inside his own party and declining support nationally. "We can't expect that Justin Trudeau will keep any of these frantic, panicked, last-minute promises," Poilievre told. (Source: france24 / AFP - France)

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 Ukraine
Thursday 24 October 2024 10:52 BST  Yesterday evening, President Zelensky taunted President Putin by wearing a ’make russia small again’ T-shirt during a video address to the nation. He gave the video briefing on America’s $20 billion support provision on X. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded promptly. “Small as what? The USSR? The Russian Empire?” the department’s spokesperson Zakharova said on X. (Source: Independent – United Kingdom)

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Europe

Spain
02.11.2024  At least 211 dead, areas still isolated after an intense storm system triggered devastating floods hitting the province of Valencia the hardest  /Photo/ (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

Asia

Israel
(Saturday), November 2, 2024 /8:00 AM CET)  Three projectiles crossed into Israel from Lebanon, Israel's military said, and some were intercepted. Israel's emergency services said seven people were injured before dawn today in attack in the central town of Tira. Israel launched dozens of intense airstrikes across Lebanon's northeastern farming villages yesterday, in Bekaa Valley, where small villages, olive groves and wineries nestled between the country's mountain ranges, killing at least 52 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported. The bombardment left 72 people wounded. Intensified Israeli airstrikes were on and around the northeastern city of Baalbek after Israel issued evacuation warnings have prompted 60,000 people to flee, emptying nearby villages. In Lebanon's capital Beirut Israeli planes pounded the southern suburb of Dahiyeh overnight and early yesterday. The Israeli military, which warned residents to evacuate at least nine locations in Dahiyeh, said it hit Hezbollah weapons manufacturing sites and command centers. Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023, more than 2,897 people have been killed and 13,150 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reports, not including Friday's rising toll. Health authorities say that a quarter of those killed were women and children. United Nations agencies estimate that Israel's ground invasion and bombardment of Lebanon has displaced 1.4 million people. Residents of Israel's northern communities near Lebanon, roughly 60,000 people, have also been displaced for more than a year. Israel has stepped up its offensive against Hamas' remaining fighters in Gaza, pulverizing areas in the north and raising fears of worsening humanitarian conditions for civilians still there. Israeli airstrikes have repeatedly hindered an emergency polio vaccination campaign, which the World Health Organization announced it planned to finally resume on Saturday - but only in Gaza City. Towns further north, like Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, remain inaccessible as Israel tightens its siege. The UN and other humanitarian organizations warned Friday that 'the situation unfolding in north Gaza is apocalyptic,' citing Israel's denial of humanitarian aid to the area, military raids on hospitals, airstrikes on shelters and obstruction of Palestinian rescue teams who struggle to help survivors after Israeli attacks. Yesterday, a barrage of airstrikes hit central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Palestinians recovered the bodies of 25 people killed in aerial attacks that began Thursday, hospital officials said. Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023. Health officials inside Hamas-run Gaza say more than half of the dead in the enclave are women and children. As American diplomats left the region after a flurry of meetings with Israeli officials, there were no signs of a breakthrough on a cease-fire in either Lebanon or Gaza. (Source: Gulf Today - United Arab Emirates / Associated Press - U.S.)

Lebanon
(Saturday), November 02 2024 10:02:54  A Turkish vessel carrying 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid docked at Beirut's port yesterday, providing critical support to Lebanon amid ongoing Israeli attacks in the region. The shipment, organized by Turkish NGOs operating in Lebanon, includes food supplies, medical equipment, and essential goods for vulnerable citizens. Turkish lawmaker Turan and Murad, head of the Lebanon-Türkiye Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, were present to receive the aid. Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Ulusoy and Khair, Secretary-General of the Lebanese Higher Relief Commission, also attended the welcoming ceremony. The delivery follows a previous shipment of 300 tons of humanitarian supplies from Türkiye on Oct. 9.  The aid arrives as Lebanon grapples with the impact of escalating cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah. The conflict intensified when Israel initiated an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1. (Source: Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey)

North America

United States
November 02, 2024 12:38 IST  With just three days to go for polls, earlier on Saturday morning (Friday night in the US), swing state Wisconsin witnessed a war of words between the Democratic and Republican rallies.    MC Lyte, GloRilla, and Flo Milli performed at the Vice President Harris’s rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Comedian Key took to the stage with an speech, which was anything but humorous. He went on to stress how serious he was in this election, but then towed same line of Trump ’pitting’ people against one another as the central argument. The New York-based rapper-songwriter musician Cardi B went on to echo her similarities with the Democratic presidential candidate. “Just like Harris, I too have been the underdog. I’ve been underestimated. My success belittled and discredited,” said. The crowd cheered on as she exclaimed, “Women have to work 10 times harder, perform 10 time better, and still, people question us how we got to the top!” Shortly after, US Vice President Harris took to the stage, and declared, 'Make no mistake, we will win.’ She added that it was time for a new generation of leadership in America. Harris attacked her rival Trump, 'The man is out for unchecked power. In 90 days, it is going to be either him or me, in the Oval office.' ’You know I can fight!’ Harris said, adding, ’if you give me this chance, there is nothing that will stand in my way.' “Freedom” banners floated in the background.    Former US President and businessman Trump powered through his speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans,” hinting at President Biden’s recent comments calling Trump supporters ’garbage.’ Even when talking about his reforms, Trump attacked the economic agenda under Harris. He focused on the African Americans, stating that migrants took away their jobs and will soon gun for Hispanic ones. Wisconsin is home to a significant population of many ethnicities, but the Trump rally visuals rarely featured any of them. “No tax on tips,” declared Trump in a bid to get popular working class votes. Wisconsin is a decisive swing state with 10 electoral votes, making it quite the battleground. Back in 2016, Trump won narrowly and Biden barely clawed it back in 2020. Michigan had Wisconsin voted Trump to presidency before. (Source: The Week – India)
/ + 2 videos/

Nov 2, 2024  In the Middle East, the U.S. has ramped up its military presence, deploying B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft, and destroyers to the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is slated to leave the region by mid-November, creating a temporary gap in U.S. aircraft carrier presence. To mitigate this void, the Pentagon plans to send additional destroyers either from the Indo-Pacific or Europe. Iran and its allies remain on high alert, prepared for possible retaliatory strikes that experts warn could target both Israeli and American interests in the region which could provoke a counter-response from the U.S. and its allies, spiraling into widespread violence. Such an escalation could create conditions ripe for the emergence of new terrorist groups eager to exploit the chaos and target local or international objectives. Given the current dynamics, it seems likely that peace negotiations will remain sidelined, with conflicts deepening. (Source: BulgarianMilitary)
by Nikolov

Pacific Ocean

3:32pm, 2 Nov 2024  US finds a new use for old Patriots to counter China’s missile advancements. One of the biggest challenges face by modern navies has been the growing threat to surface vessels posed by cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as low-cost drones. In the high-stakes arena of Pacific military power the US Navy is moving to arm its warships with repurposed Patriot missiles. It plans to equip its ships with Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors – originally a staple of the US Army’s defence arsenal – in acknowledgement of the evolving threats posed by Chinese hypersonic weapons. These new interceptors feature improved engines and guidance systems, making them invaluable for maritime defence, complementing the US Navy’s primary defensive missiles, the SM-2 and SM-6 surface-to-air systems that are used for long-range air defence against threats like anti-ship missiles and high-altitude aircraft. The new PAC-3 MSE variant, which has proven effective on land in Europe, offers US forces an additional tool to counter these maritime threats. Spain announced in July its acquisition of comparable missiles and support equipment, part of a broader effort to enhance its air and missile defence inventory. Japan agreed to co-produce PAC-3 MSE systems, as well as Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, during the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting held in Tokyo on July 28. In August, the US approved the sale of 600 PAC-3 MSE missiles, worth an estimated US$5 billion, to Germany, which has heavily invested in its Patriot air and missile defence capabilities this year, some of which have been sent to Ukraine. Switzerland signed a contract in October last year to modernise its air defence with the PAC-3 MSE. The PAC-3 MSE innovation, combining a traditionally land-based capability with the navy’s pre-existing air defences and radar architecture, would help mitigate China’s ballistic and cruise missile threat to US ships in the region, including hypersonic varieties. Future solutions may include lasers or other technologies that could be developed or deployed. ’Previously, the US military had worked to transfer the vessel-based Tomahawk cruise missile system to land, enhancing its missile strike capabilities against other countries,’ Chinese military expert Zhang was quoted as saying.’Now, it is attempting to deploy land-based missile systems at sea to improve missile air defence capabilities’. Chinese military experts cited in the nationalistic Global Times tabloid on Sunday argued that the US is exploiting the perceived threat of Chinese missiles as a pretext to pursue ’absolute military superiority’. (Source: South China Morning Post - China; „Additional reporting by Reuters”)
by Siow

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Europe

Russia
October 23, 2024  "The process of forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process," Putin told gathered leaders from countries, including India and China, at the official opening a BRICS summit in the central Russian city of Kazan. (Source: Barron's - U.S. / Agence France Presse)

Space

(Wednesday), October 23, 2024 / 9:21 AM EDT /  The U.S. Space Force is tracking debris in space after a satellite manufactured by Boeing exploded earlier this week. The Intelsat 33e satellite was launched in 2016 and provided communications across Europe, Asia and Africa. It experienced ’an anomaly’ on Saturday, the satellite's operator Intelsat said. Attempts were made to work with Boeing and repair the satellite, but on Monday, the U.S. Space Force confirmed that the satellite had exploded. Intelsat said it is working with third-party providers to limit service interruptions, and is in communication with customers. The U.S. Space Force is now tracking ’around 20 associated pieces’ of the satellite in space. The agency said that there are ’no immediate threats’ routine assessments to ensure safety are ongoing. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said it had recorded ’more than 80 fragments’ of the destroyed satellite. The destruction of the satellite was ’instantaneous and high-energy,’ Roscosmos said. The incident comes as Boeing remains under scrutiny for its manufacturing processes, federal investigations and multiple issues on flights conducted by Boeing planes made headlines earlier this year. Two astronauts have been stranded on the International Space Station for months after an issue on the company's Starliner left the craft unable to transport people. Those astronauts are slated to come home in early 2025. The manufacturer has also faced whistleblower complaints. Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion today morning. Earlier in October, newly-installed CEO Ortberg said about 10% of the company's workforce would be cut. Tens of thousands of manufacturing employees are currently on strike. (Source: CBS News – U.S.)

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Europe

Vojvodina
1.11.2024  The concrete outdoor roof above the entrance of the Novi Sad train station collapsed today. At least 14 people were killed. The Novi Sad railway station was reopened in July after renovation work. (Source: DW - Germany)

Spain
November 1, 2024  The death toll from floods has climbed to 205; 202 of them in the eastern Valencia region (Source: Barron’s – U.S.)

1.11.2024 /00:27/  Where the deluge hit, emergency crews search for bodies after Valencia region floods. /Video/ (Source: DW - Germany)

Russia
November 01, 2024  Moscow says it destroyed 83 Ukrainian drones over six regions. Kiyv told it shot down 31 Russian drones and one missile; a Russian missile hits Odesa. (Source: RFE/RL - U.S.)

01, 2024, 03:33 PM  A drone fell on the Svetlograd oil depot in Russia's southern Stavropol region today. Yesterday, several fuel and energy facilities controlled by Rosneft were targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack on the central Russian region of Bashkortostan. The European Union aims to restore 2.5 GW of capacity of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, about 15% of the country's needs, European Commission President Der Leyen said in September, referring to proposed EU-funded repairs. (Source: The Straits Times - Singapore)

Asia

India
(1/11/2024)  India's capital, home to 33 million people is the world's most-polluted city after revelers celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which celebrates the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. In recent years, authorities in New Delhi have outlawed the use and sale of traditional firecrackers during Diwali. Police in New Delhi seized nearly two tons of fireworks in the leadup to this year's Diwali, but revelers could still travel to neighboring states to buy them. Fumes from the traffic-clogged streets and factories only add to the problem. Authorities say the ban aims to save lives but it has proven difficult to enforce and is often flouted. Diwali also often coincides with the burning of crop residues on farms in neighboring states at the beginning of winter, with cooler temperatures trapping smoke. /video/ ( Source: DW - Germany)

Iraq
Nov 1, 2024, 10:42 AM  The Iraq-based 'Islamic Resistance' carried out four drone attacks on vital targets in Israel today, three of which were in the south of occupied Palestine and one in the Golan Heights - Al Jazeera reported - and has been hitting American military bases in Iraq and neighboring Syria in retaliation 'for Washington’s support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza'. (Source: Mehr - Iran)

North America

United States
01.11.2024  In talks with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant US Secretary of Defense Austin reassured his Israeli counterpart of Washington's readiness to defend U.S. personnel, Israel, and partners across the region against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxy groups, the Pentagon said yesterday. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)

November 1, 2024, 11:18  Musk is doing a couple of other things, Kennedy wants to look at the pesticides, vaccines. It’s great, He can do anything he wants: Trump Source: (Source: Public Radio of Armenia)

1 November 2024 08:40 AM  US secretary of state Blinken claimed that about 8,000 of the Korean soldiers are positioned in Kursk, Russia. 'We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,' he said. “Even if everything that’s being said about the cooperation between Russia and North Korea by our Western colleagues is true, why is it that the United States and allies are trying to impose on everyone the flawed logic that they have the right to help the Zelensky regime, why Moscow’s allies like North Korea cannot help it when Western countries claim the right to help Kyiv, and Russian allies have no right to do a similar thing?," Nebenzia, the Russian envoy to the UN, questioned on 30 October, asked. The US has already supplied more than $59bn in military assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. US defence secretary Austin said the US will announce new military assistance for Ukraine in the coming days. He said Ukraine could hold on to the Russian territory in Kursk (Source: Independent - United Kingdom)

November 1, 2024 6:01 am  The Democrat candidate had to take much of the responsibility for failing to convert Biden’s inflation bill into votes. Since President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was implemented, billions of dollars have been invested in clean energy, especially across southern – largely Republican-held – states including Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina, which are becoming known as the “battery belt.” Policies Kamala has done and supports will encourage people to come illegally in towns all over the United States where they’re increasing the population by 15 to 20 per cent. Those towns don’t have the jobs to support that kind of population increase and taxes are gonna have to go up to fund increased spending But "a Republican state governor, local town administrators and God are winning the praise for renewed prosperity throughout the battery belt". (Source: i - United Kingdom)

01.11.2024  Trump filing lawsuits against mainstream news outlets, now against CBS. (Source: Anadolu Agency -Turkey)

(Friday), 11/1/2024  Trump’s latest attack on Cheney came late yesterday during a live interview with Carlson, the former Fox News host. 'She’s a radical war hawk,' Trump said of Cheney, following a tangent about his pardon in 2018 of Libby, a former top aide to Vice President Cheney, her father. “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.” The former president’s campaign reacted by criticizing media coverage that interpreted his remark to imagine putting Cheney in front of a firing squad rather than sending her into combat. Trump campaign spokeswoman Leavitt defended Trump’s remarks. “President Trump is 100 percent correct that warmongers like Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves,” she said. “This is the continuation of the latest fake media outrage days before the election in a blatant attempt to interfere on behalf of Harris.” Trump on Thursday also attacked several other Republicans who have criticized him. He called his former national security adviser Bolton a “nut job” and a “moron.” (Source: msn / The Washington Post)

Nov. 1, 2024  Trump is chewing up Harris' campaign: Gutfeld /video/ (Source: Youtube / Fox News Channel – U.S.)
Note: Within six hours 237 460 views

South America

Argentina
November 1, 2024  Asset regularization scheme: Declarations up to $100,000 are exempt from taxes. 280,000 Argentinians declare hidden assets - country nets $18 billion in just two months: (Source: The Rio Times - Brazil)

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Europe

Russia
10/22/2024  Two dozen world leaders were invited to the southwestern Russian city of Kazan at a three-day BRICS summit. The original acronym BRICS stands for the five countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Russia's major international partners like Chinese leader Xi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Erdogan are joining the summit which is the first since the BRICS grouping expanded in 2023. Greeting Xi upon his arrival on Tuesday morning, Putin told the Chinese premier: "Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilizing factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order." "The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is chaotic and intertwined," Xi responded, praising what he called a "profound friendship" between their two countries. China and Russia, Xi said, have continuously deepened and expanded comprehensive strategic coordination and practical cooperation. The closer ties have "injected strong impetus into the development, revitalization and modernization of the two countries." Russia and China's partnership, more broadly, seeks to counter what Beijing and Moscow see as the US-dominated world order. China stands ready to work with other parties to strive for the steady and sustained development of greater BRICS cooperation, open a new era for the Global South to seek strength through solidarity and jointly promote world peace and development”, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin told. While receiving Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin spoke of Moscow's "strategic relationship" with India. "Russian-Indian relations have the character of a particularly privileged strategic partnership and continue to actively develop," Putin told Modi, after the pair were shaking hands and embracing. Modi said that he wanted a return to peace in Ukraine and supported efforts for that during talks with Putin. "We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Modi said, and added: "We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability." Both India and China have provided Russia with economic support since Moscow’s invasion in Ukraine in February 2022. "We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning: from the days of our struggle against Apartheid, right through to now," South African President Ramaphosa said during talks with Russian President Putin. South Africa has abstained from UN resolutions condemning Russia's invasion of Ukriane but has called for an end to the conflict. Putin said Russia's relations with South Africa were centered around "strategic partnership, equality, and mutual respect." "And, of course, Russia attatches particular importance to strengthening relations with the countries of the African continent," Putin added. The BRICS group decided at its 2023 summit to try to expand its ranks. Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were all invited to join, although Argentine President Milei declined after winning the election, saying he wanted to take more of a pro-Western course. Putin's foreign policy aide Ushakov said 36 countries had confirmed participation, and that more than 20 would send heads of state. Putin is expected to hold some 20 bilateral meetings, Ushakov said, and the summit could turn into "the largest foreign policy event ever held" on Russian soil. UN Secretary-General Guterres has plans to attend the summit. The UN chief had told Foreign Minister Lavrov that he would be in Kazan. Guterres had declined its invitation to a ’peace summit’ in Switzerland. (Source: DW – Germany; „AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters”)

North America

United States
Tuesday 22 October 2024 20:21  Latino leaders pray for God to help former president ‘make America godly again’, Latino voters backing former President Trump lay their hands on ex-commander-in-chief and pray in support for Republican presidential nominee Trump during Miami visit. “God’s hand is on this man,” one pastor said, before praying for Trump to win the election. “Today, Lord, we lift up the man that we believe you've put your hand upon to help restore America and bring America back to the place that honors you, to a place where we will not be kicked out for saying, Christ the King or Jesus is Lord,” one of the speakers said. “So we ask for that covering over him, that he would continue to hear your voice, that you would continue to order his steps, and that he would help us to make America godly again,” he added. Former president Trump prays during the roundtable discussion with Latino community leaders at Trump National Doral Miami resort. They also showered Trump with gifts during the event. Trump was presented with a piece of art by Mexican actor Verástegui that depicts the Virgin Mary. A separate speaker said the election “is not a war between the left and the right. This is a war between good and evil ... we need spiritual weapons to fight it. So prayer is one of them.” When the prayer came to an end, YMCA began to play as supporters shouted “Si Se Puede!” Goya Foods CEO Unanue argued that Vice President Harris is the “root cause” for the issues at the border with Mexico. He appeared to mispronounce Harris’s name on several occasions, calling her “Que Mala” – Spanish meaning “so bad” – something Latino backers of Trump have called her during the campaign.  /Video/ (Source: Independent – United Kingdom)

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Europe

Greenland
(21 October 2024 1:37 AM) Making the Arctic territory more accessible than ever before, a new international airport will open in Greenland’s capital Nuuk from the end of November, allowing larger aircraft to land for the first time - paving the way for direct flights from the US and Europe. From 28 November, direct flights to Nuuk will operate from Copenhagen, Denmark, carrying more than 300 passengers. And next summer, United Airlines will begin flying from New York, as Nuuk becomes Greenland’s main travel hub. In 2026, a second international airport will open in the town of Ilulissat, 350 miles north of Nuuk. A new regional airport, in Qaqartoq, the biggest town in the south of Greenland, will then follow. The three airports are together costing more than $800m. More than 140,000 foreign visitors came to Greenland last year. A flight from Europe to Nuuk is a little more than four hours. From the US East Coast is also four hours. A new tourism law will be introduced this autumn. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

Russia
(21 October 2024 1:25 AM)  Navalnaya (in exile) intends to be president of Russia. (Source: BBC - United Kingdom)

(Monday), 2024.10.21.  Russian President Putin reportedly submitted a bill to the lower house of parliament on Monday to ratify a treaty to raise its relationship with North Korea to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was agreed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim on June 19 in Pyongyang after summit talks during the Russian president’s state visit. The new partnership includes a mutual defense assistance clause that would apply in the case of “aggression” against one of the signatories. South Korea said the North had dispatched 1,500 special forces troops to eastern Russia for training. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service says North Korean personnel were gathered within Russia’s Ussuriysk military facility, pictured on Oct. 16, 2024. U.S. Defense Secretary Austin said Saturday he could not confirm reports that North Korea had sent troops to Russia ahead of a possible deployment. NATO chief Rutte said Friday the alliance could not confirm the South Korean intelligence agency’s report. (Source: Radio Free Asia - U.S.)

North America

United States
(Monday), 10/21/24 10:11 AM ET  Musk on Sunday accused the media in a post on his social platform X of encouraging the assassination of him and former President Trump with 'relentless hit pieces.' The post was accompanied by a screenshot of an article from the German news outlet Der Spiegel labeling the Tesla and SpaceX CEO 'enemy number two,' alongside a photo that combined Musk’s and Trump’s faces. Musk also linked to a clip of similar comments he made at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend. (Source: The Hill - U.S.)

October 21, 2024 8:00 am  Control over the media ecosystem. In a 3-2 vote sending shockwaves throughout the Republican Party, the Federal Communications Commission in September allowed a nonprofit group funded by Soros to take control over radio giant Audacy after the company went bankrupt. Audacy is the second-largest radio broadcaster in the U.S. after iHeartMedia. It is based in Philadelphia and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas in January to cut its debt by 80%, a product of slower advertising. Soros Fund Management, his New York-based hedge fund, acquired over $400 million in Audacy’s top-tier debt - which is borrowed money a company must repay first should it go out of business. What that means is Soros Fund Management emerged as the largest shareholder in Audacy overnight. The FCC, an independent agency that regulates interstate and international communications by television, radio, wire, cable, and satellite must oversee the Audacy transaction, and in September, it signed off on it. Soros’s ties to the Audacy transaction are raising concerns among Republicans. The deal places the Soros family, namely Alex, the 38-year-old son of George, at the top of a media empire that houses more than 200 radio stations. Alex sits on the board of the Fund for Policy Reform, the group now overseeing Audacy through a labyrinth of corporations. The four-person board of trustees also includes Soros spokesman Vachon, attorney Canfield at Soros Fund Management (the firm that bought Audacy’s debt), and Benardo, a top staffer for the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations philanthropy empire. Along with other left-wing billionaires, Soros, with his money, helps keep the lights on at groups plausibly accused of censoring conservative voices online. Audacy’s portfolio includes right-leaning programs, such as Miami’s Radio Libre, a Spanish-language AM radio station, and Missouri’s KFTK-FM, FCC documents show. The goal: to control as much of the airwaves as possible. According to Republicans, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “fast-tracked” it by bypassing standard procedure. The purported 'fast-track' is under investigation by GOP members of Congress, including House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer (R-KY), Rep. Roy (R-TX), Sen. Cruz (R-TX), and other lawmakers. The FCC’s has a rule against transferring licenses to entities with over 25% foreign ownership. Audacy filed a petition with the FCC, noting that as it was calculated at the time, the company would emerge from bankruptcy with 25% or more in foreign ownership, according to FCC documents. The national security review should have been conducted before the FCC’s granting of the Audacy licenses. In a September letter on Audacy to FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel, a Democrat, Comer and Rep. Langworthy (R-NY) said they were looking into the agency’s 'apparent attempt … to interfere in the 2024 election and politicize the work of the FCC.'Some Republicans argue the 'Soros shortcut' deal will fuel a 'censorship machine.' Funding efforts to suppress disfavored speech, Soros and the U.S. government have both backed the Global Disinformation Index, a British group pressuring advertisers to defund right-of-center news outlets. They did it before the election because they want to affect the election. One of the stations acquired is the old WCAU, which is now WPHT in Philadelphia - one of the original radio stations that got a license in all of the United States. Two years ago, the Soros-backed Latino Media Network purchased Spanish-language radio stations from TelevisaUnivision for tens of millions of dollars. In 2022, Soros Fund Management invested in Crooked Media, a company founded by ex-Obama aides that distributes the popular left-wing Pod Save America podcast. There are four places where you can have a voice in today’s marketplace: internet, radio, TV, and newspaper. left-wing philanthropy built or took over enormous infrastructure to control various cultural chokepoints - especially media, entertainment, higher education, and corporate America. Conservative donors largely do not invest in “culture-shaping” institutions - media chief among them. (Source: Washington Examiner - U.S.)

21 October 2024  Letter from Michigan: No one I know is voting for Harris. Will Trump win the struggling swing state? (Source: New Statesman – U.S.)
by Maçães, a New Statesman foreign correspondent, a former Portuguese Europe minister from 2013 to 2015, the author of “Geopolitics for the End Time: From the Pandemic to the Climate Crisis”.

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Europe

Poland
Oct 31, 2024  Poland is gearing up to start negotiations with Lockheed Martin for more than 100 HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems, General Kuptel, head of Poland’s Armament Agency, confirmed. Under a pre-existing framework agreement, Poland has the option to purchase up to 486 HIMARS systems. HIMARS excels in targeting critical enemy assets such as radar systems, command centers, armored units, and other strategic points. HIMARS systems are compatible with a range of missiles, including the GPS-guided M31 GMLRS rockets, which have a reach of up to 80 kilometers, and the longer-range ATACMS missiles, capable of striking targets up to 300 kilometers away. Each HIMARS unit can carry either a pod of six GMLRS missiles or a single ATACMS missile. In April, Poland also signed a contract for 72 K239 Chunmoo missile systems from South Korea, with initial deliveries slated for 2026. Ammunition production for these missile systems will be established locally through collaboration between Polish defense firm WB and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace. Poland’s Armament Agency has been busy this year, securing around 100 contracts to date. (Source: bulgarianmilitary)
by Nikolov

Spain
31.10.2024  Search for missing people underway after devastating storm kills 104 in Spain. 101 victims were in Valencia (Source: aa *)
* Anadolu Agency (Turkey)

Russia
(31 October 2024)  Authorities in the Russian-controlled town of Horlivka, located close to the front lines, have installed jamming devices on some of the local buses to protect them from drone strikes. At least one bus driving around the town, located near the Russian-held city of Donetsk, was attacked by a Ukrainian drone this month, and three people were wounded in the incident. Jammers work by disrupting a drone's communications with its operator. (Source: trtworld) Turkey

North America

United States
10/31/2024 05:00 AM EDT  The S&P 500’s performance in the run-up to Election Day has historically been a strong indicator of whether the incumbent party’s candidate will retain control of the White House - correctly forecasting all but four presidential races over the last 96 years. If the index is falling, the theory goes, investors are bracing for more uncertainty from a new administration. But a climb in the S&P 500 signals that the market is expecting the current president’s party to win. And the index’s recent rise is suggesting that Vice President Harris, who took over the Democratic ticket from President Biden this summer, could be bound for victory. The S&P 500 is not a perfect forecasting tool. The index’s movements in 2020 indicated that Trump was likely to win a second term over President Biden. And this year, there are plenty of doubters on Wall Street about the S&P 500’s predictive power - many are once again wagering that he will soon return to power. The S&P steadily climbed throughout the year, often from gains recorded by a handful of tech giants or news on the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation - and not likely on election developments. Trump, for his part, has regularly claimed credit for the stock market’s gains, saying investors believe that his return to power would boost share prices even more. Wall Street executives, political gamblers and cryptocurrency traders are piling up their bets that former President Trump is returning to the White House. Election-betting markets are leaning toward Trump. And stocks that could get a boost from a Trump presidency are climbing, too. In a recent research report, Morgan Stanley noted that a basket of investment products tracking industries that may see a windfall from a Republican win had outperformed the Democratic basket by 10 percent over the year. The Republican basket tracks energy companies, banks and crypto firms, among others. Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said the former president “continues to dominate in poll after poll.”“Voters know that Harris has destroyed our country, but President Trump will fix it - and that is why he is well-positioned for victory on November 5.” Spokespeople for the Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment. With voters’ views of the economy splintered heading into Election Day, the stock market and the S&P 500 may not be the most useful in deciphering who will ultimately be elected, Stanford’s Grimmer said. (Source: politico *)
* Politico, an American political digital newspaper company acquired in 2021 by Axel Springer SE, a German news publisher and media company. Headquarters Arlington county, Virginia, U.S.

(Thursday, 31 10 2024)  The Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, saw its share price decrease by 22.3 percent yesterday. That’s the company’s worst one-day loss since it went public in March, The stock closed at above $51 on Tuesday, with Trump’s stake in the company valued at $5.9bn. That figure had dropped to $4.6bn by the end of Wednesday, a drop of $1.3bn. It remains unclear what caused the share price to drop, The share price has become a barometer for how some traders think the election will turn out. A number of traders blamed the nosedive on technical issues and a decrease in momentum for the meme stock. The stock doesn’t require official corporate announcements to see spikes or downturns. From September 23 until the closing of the markets on Tuesday, the stock had quadrupled in value, pushed on by Wall Street bets that Trump will win Tuesday’s election. The increase saw Trump Media’s evaluation shoot up to $10.3bn before closing on Tuesday. Truth Social has 698,000 monthly active US users. Fundamentally the valuation is a head-scratcher but it has seen other meme stock narratives like GameStop on similar paths the last few years. (Source: independent ) United Kingdom

.4 10 31 22:04

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Europe

Spain
15:03 ET, Oct 30 2024  At least 95 people have been found dead after the extreme weather - which saw enormous rainfall, storms, hail and lightning - battered the country. Valencia has been hit the hardest with 92 of the 95 tragic deaths being recorded in the region. (Source: the-sun *)
* The U.S. Sun

Oct. 30 (2024)  At least 72 dead in 'unprecedented' flooding in southeast Spain. (Source: upi *)
* United Press International, an American international news agency. Headquarters Boca Raton, Florida.

(30/10/2024)  Cold drop' phenomenon brings deadly flash floods to Spain. /video/ (Source: dw)

European Commission
Wed 30 October 2024 at 7:02 pm CET  'Georgia must change course' to open EU membership talks, says European Commission. (Source: yahoo / The Guardian)

North America

United States
Oct 30, 2024 13:31 IST  Walz's love affair leaves communist leader's daughter suicidal? Race for the White House Ep 62.    Hundreds of U.S. election ballots were ruined after three drop boxes were destroyed in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. Authorities believe these incidents are connected. Counting paper ballots takes more time. The 2020 presidential election wasn’t called until four days after Election Day. But then why does the US rely on paper ballots? /video/ (Source: indiatoday)

Oct 30, 2024 09:30 PM IST  Trump has launched fresh attacks on Harris and Biden, accusing the vice president of ’running a campaign of hate.’ and blasting the president for calling Trump supporters ’garbage.’ “While I am running a campaign of positive solutions to save America, Harris is running a campaign of hate. She has spent all week comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history. Now, on top of everything, Biden calls our supporters ’garbage.’ You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added, “ Harris and Biden have shown they are both unfit to be President of the United States. I am proud to lead the biggest, broadest, and most important political coalition in American history. We are welcoming historic numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. It is my desire to be the President of all the people”. What did Biden say? Responding to comic Hinchcliffe, who came under fire for calling Puerto Rico an ’island of garbage’ during a Trump rally during the weekend, Biden said: ’The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.’ The White House later issued a 'clarification': It said Biden was actually talking about Hinchcliffe’s words. ’The only garbage I see floating out there is (Trump's) supporter’s… his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American, the transcript reads, according to BBC. (Source: hindustantimes)

October 30, 2024  "Trump vs. Harris: Ukraine’s future could depend on America’s 2024 election.'   Trump ’praised Putin’s actions as “savvy” and “genius.” He has mocked President Zelensky as “the world’s greatest salesman’ and blamed Ukraine for having ’let the war start. Trump „used his allies in Congress to hold up that aid for six months as Ukrainian forces ran out of ammunition. His running mate Vance ’has said “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine.”   Harris ’understands the difference between right and wrong in this terrible war. 'She has praised Ukraine’s leaders and people for their courage. 'She ’has done everything in her power to help Ukraine. 'She fought for Congress to approve billions of dollars in military and economic aid to produce weapons in American factories that brave Ukrainians have used to destroy half of Russia’s land army’.   Trump „has repeatedly refused to say that he wants Ukraine to win. He „suggested that Ukraine should simply give in to Russia because he believes ('falsely') that Russia always wins its wars. He ”endorsed a plan to force Ukraine to surrender territory and give up NATO membership forever, promising he’ll try to end the war on what are essentially Putin’s terms' even before he’s sworn in.   Harris’ supports a just end to the war that vindicates the sacrifices Ukrainians have made. She ’rightly condemned proposals for Ukraine to give up its sovereign territory or its right to join NATO. Harris ’knows that other dictatorships, including China, would be emboldened to attack their neighbors if Russia prevails'.   Trump „has said - and these are his actual words - that he would “encourage” the Russians to do “whatever the hell they want” to our allies’.   ’From the day Putin started this war, we have urged the Biden administration to send even more aid faster to Ukraine, and pressed members of Congress of both parties to fund that aid’. ’The ballots Americans cast on November 5 will determine if Ukrainians have bullets to fire tomorrow’. (Source: nationalinterest)
by retired military leaders: Lt. General Hodges III, served as commanding general, United States Army Europe and also serves as NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics; and Brigadier General Zwack, deployed world-wide as a military intelligence officer and later as a diplomat in the Army Foreign Area Officer corps who also served in multiple NATO staff and leadership positions in West Germany, Afghanistan, South Korea and Kosovo before becoming the US Senior Defense Attache to Russia from 2012-2014.

South America

Argentina
October 30, 2024  Together with Bolivia and Chile, Argentina forms part of the so-called “Lithium Triangle”, the area hosting 53% of the world’s identified lithium resources. Argentina is the fourth largest lithium producer globally, behind Australia, Chile and China, but its reserve potential is even greater. Stirred by rising global demand, lithium projects multiply in Argentina - it has some 40 projects in preliminary stages that could reach production in the short term. Livent's - a mining company now known as Arcadium Mining - Fénix project at the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt flat in northern Argentina is currently the country’s largest lithium mine. Last year, it generated 22,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate, almost half of the 50,000 tonnes produced in the country. The US-owned company merged in early 2024 with Australia’s Allkem to create Arcadium Lithium, which was itself bought out by British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto this October. Rio Tinto is now set to rank as the world’s third largest lithium producer. The marks left here by mining may offer a warning for the future over the industry’s environmental impact. More than 25 years of lithium extraction is said to have contributed to the drying up of a nearby river. Darkened patches of dead vegetation are the first thing that can be seen upon a dry plain where just a few years ago the Trapiche River used to flow. In 2023, Argentina exported USD 835 million of lithium, representing 20.8% of the country’s mining exports. Over 40% of this lithium is sold to China, where it is used to produce the batteries that power electric cars, but also mobile phones and computers. Atacameños del Altiplano is one of the Indigenous community groups that have organised to protect other rivers in northern Argentina from risks linked to lithium mining. A few months ago they won a victory in that battle: the Supreme Court of Catamarca ruled that lithium mining had damaged the river and halted the industry’s expansion close to another stream in the province, Los Patos, until it can be verified that it will not suffer the same fate as the Trapiche. 'The estimated timeframe for recovery to pre-development conditions is 10 years after the cessation of mining,' Livent said in its sustainability report from 2022, when it oversaw the facility. In its 2022 sustainability report, Livent reported revenues of USD 813.2 million and a gross profit of USD 366.7 million. /photo/ (Source: dialogue.earth)

4 10 30 .22:36

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Globalization

October 10, 2024  ’The age of depopulation’.  UN Population Division (UNPD) has reported that by 2022, every population in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan was shrinking. By 2023, fertility levels were 40 percent below replacement in Japan, over 50 percent below replacement in China, almost 60 percent below replacement in Taiwan, and  65 percent below replacement in South Korea.    The Southeast Asian region as a whole fell below the replacement level around 2018. South Asia dropped below replacement before the pandemic.    The UNPD has calculated overall fertility for the region of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024 at 1.8 births per woman - 14 percent below the replacement rate.    In North Africa and the greater Middle East demographers have long assumed that the Islamic faith served as a bulwark against precipitous fertility declines. Despite of this, Iran has been a sub-replacement society for about a quarter century. Tunisia, Turkey has also dipped below replacement.    For half a century, Europe’s overall fertility rates have been continuously sub-replacement. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has witnessed 17 million more deaths than births. The 27 countries of the current European Union are about 30 percent below replacement today. Together, they reported just under 3.7 million births in 2023 - down from 6.8 million in 1964. The EU has been a net-mortality zone since 2012, and in 2022 it registered four deaths for every three births. The UNPD has estimated that in 2020, the continent entered what will become a long-term population decline.    The sub-Saharan Africa, with its roughly 1.2 billion people and a UNPD-projected average fertility rate of 4.3 births per woman today, is the planet’s last consequential redoubt of the fertility patterns that characterized low-income countries during the population explosion of the middle half of the twentieth century. The UNPD has estimated that fertility levels in sub-Saharan Africa have fallen by over 35 percent since the late 1970s, when the subcontinent’s overall level was an astonishing 6.8 births per woman    The United States remains the main outlier among developed countries, with relatively high fertility levels for a rich country (although far below replacement - just over 1.6 births per woman in 2023) and steady inflows of immigrants.    In 1994, the economist  Pritchett discovered  that the most powerful national fertility predictor ever detected is what women want.    While the overall population growth slumps, the number of seniors (defined here as people aged 65 or older) will surge exponentially - everywhere. South Korea provides the most stunning vision of a depopulating society just a generation away. Current projections have suggested that South Korea will mark three deaths for every birth by 2050. In some UNPD projections, the median age in South Korea will approach 60. More than 40 percent of the country’s population will be senior citizens; more than one in six South Koreans will be over the age of 80. South Korea will have just a fifth as many babies in 2050 as it did in 1961. It will have barely 1.2 working-age people for every senior citizen.    The lack of desire for children is why the extinction of every family line could be only one generation away.     Tomorrow’s world will be much more African. Although about a seventh of the world’s population today lives in sub-Saharan Africa, the region accounts for nearly a third of all births; its share of the world’s workforce and population are thus set to grow immensely over the coming generation. Human capital - not just population totals - matters greatly to national power, and the outlook for human capital in sub-Saharan Africa remains disappointing. Standardized tests indicate that a stunning 94 percent of youth in the region lack even basic skills. As huge as the region’s 2050 pool of workers promises to be, the number of workers with basic skills may not be much larger there than it will be in Russia alone in 2050. India is now the world’s most populous country and on track to continue to grow for at least another few decades. Its demographics virtually assure that the country will be a leading power in 2050. But India’s rise is compromised by human resource vulnerabilities. India has a world-class cadre of scientists, technicians, and elite graduates. But ordinary Indians receive poor education. A shocking seven out of eight young people in India today lack even basic skills - a consequence of both low enrollment and the generally poor quality of the primary and secondary schools available to those lucky enough to get schooling. The skills profile for China’s youth is decades, maybe generations, ahead of India’s youth today. India is unlikely to surpass a depopulating China in per capita output or even in total GDP for a very long time. Russia’s shrinking numbers and its seemingly intractable difficulties with public health and knowledge production have been reducing the country’s relative economic power for decades, with no turnaround in sight. China’s birth crash - the next generation is on track to be only half as large as the preceding one - will unavoidably slash the workforce and turbocharge population aging, even as the Chinese extended family, heretofore the country’s main social safety net, atrophies and disintegrates. These impending realities presage unimagined new social welfare burdens for a no longer dazzling Chinese economy and may end up hamstringing the funding for Beijing’s international ambitions. As for the United States, the demographic fundamentals look fairly sound - at least when compared with the competition. Demographic trends are on course to augment American power over the coming decades, lending support for continued U.S. global preeminence. Given the domestic tensions and social strains that Americans are living through today, these long-term American advantages may come as a surprise. But they are already beginning to be taken into account by observers and actors abroad. Thanks in large measure to immigration, the United States is on track to account for a growing share of the rich world’s labor force, youth, and highly educated talent. Continuing inflows of skilled immigrants also give the country a great advantage. 'No other population on the planet is better placed to translate population potential into national power' - and it looks as if that demographic edge will be at least as great in 2050. Compared with other contenders, 'U.S. demographics look great today - and may look even better tomorrow - pending, it must be underscored, continued public support for immigration'. The United States remains the most important geopolitical exception to the coming depopulation. (Source: foreignaffairs)
by  Eberstadt, a Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute.

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Asia

Gaza
(Sunday, 20 October 2024)  At least 87 people were killed or remain missing after Israeli strikes on northern Gaza overnight and today. An additional 40 people were wounded in strikes on Beit Lahiya. (Source: france24)

Iran
20 October 2024 11:59 (UTC+04:00)  Iran has started building walls across its eastern borders to strengthen measures against smuggling of fuel, goods, and particularly drugs, securing the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, which account for 80% of drug trafficking into Iran and to address illegal immigration, Brigadier General Goudarzi said. The construction of the border walls has already kicked off in southern Sistan and Baluchestan and in Khorasan Razavi provinces. The next phase will extend to Ilam, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan provinces all situated in the western frontiers of the country. (Source: azernews)
//Photo/ (Source: mehrnews *)
* Mehr News Agency, a semi-official news agency of the government of Iran.

North America

United States
Sunday, 20 Oct 2024 2:17 PM MYT  Billionaire Musk promised yesterrday to give away $1 million each day until November’s election to someone who signs his online petition supporting the U.S. Constitution. The petition Musk is asking people to sign reads: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.” (Source: malaymail)

.4 10 31 20:45

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European Parliament
Wednesday, 9 October 2024 10:24:22 - 10:42:17 Plenary Session. After presentation of the programme of activities of the Hungarian Presidency: debate. Current speaker Viktor Orbán, Hungary /video/ The interpretation in English - Duration 00:17:55
See also / Lásd még:
2024. X. 9. European Parliament ... Wednesday, 9 October 2024 09:09:49 - 09:36:43 Plenary Session. Presentation of the programme of activities of the Hungarian Presidency. Current speaker Viktor Orbán, Hungary. /video/

Európai Parlament
Oct 9, 2024  10:24:22 - 10:42:17  Orbán Viktor, a Tanács soros elnöke: Tisztelt Elnök Asszony! Talán az a helyes, ha legelőször is köszönetet mondok az elnök asszonynak, amiért ezt a heves vitát is sikerült levezetnie. Köszönöm szépen az Elnökség részéről a korrekt ülésvezetést. Sajnos a vita túllépett az észszerűség határain, és messze túllépett a tények világán. Hallgattam Önöket, és leggyakrabban csak abszurd pártpolitikai vádaskodásokat hallottam, ami a jól ismert propaganda. Szívesen folytattam volna a magyar elnökségi programon kívül más kérdésekről is értelmes és elfogulatlan vitát, jogállamiságról vagy éppen korrupcióról, de sajnos az Önök propagandája ezt nem teszi lehetővé. Pedig szívesen elmondtam volna, hogy az Európai Bizottság jelentése szerint Magyarország az igazságszolgáltatással kapcsolatban minden követelésnek, igénynek eleget tett, amit a Bizottság támasztott. Szívesen elmondtam volna, hogy ha nem a Soros által finanszírozott korrupciós jelentéseket olvassák, hanem mondjuk a Világbank adatait, akkor láthatják, hogy Magyarország korrupció tekintetében állja a sarat, egyáltalán nem lóg ki az Önök országainak sorából. Ha lett volna értelmes vita, akkor elmondtam volna szívesen azt is, hogy a magyar közbeszerzési rendszer a Bizottság véleménye szerint is mindenben megfelel azoknak az elvárásoknak, amelyeket itt támasztanak. Szívesen elmondtam volna azt is, hogy a legutóbbi Pew Research kutatások szerint Magyarországon a demokráciával elégedettek aránya magasabb, mint a legtöbb európai uniós országban. Talán nem véletlen, hogy a magyar választópolgárok a választásokon rendszeresen ki szoktak bennünket tüntetni a bizalmukkal. Ezeket én mind mind szívesen elmondtam volna, de a vita túllépett a tényeken. Sajnálom, hogy ócska propaganda terepévé vált a Parlament. Valaki kérdezte, hogy mit vált ki belőlem, hogy hazámat meg engem is korrupciós vádakkal illetnek? Hát hozzászoktam, tisztelt képviselő úr! 35 éve megy ez így, 35 éve. Mindenki tudja, hogy ebből semmi sem igaz, egy baloldali propaganda, úgyhogy jól viselem. Köszönöm az érdeklődését! Tisztelt Elnök Asszony! Azonban volt néhány olyan erős politikai megjegyzés, amit nem hagyhatok kommentálás nélkül. Szerintem Freund képviselő úr, aki korrupcióval vádolja Magyarországot, valójában maga a legkorruptabb ember, mert Soros fizeti. Soros fizeti azokat a jelentéseket, hogy lejárassa Magyarországot. Ennél nagyobb korrupciót még sohasem láttam. Egy holland képviselő azt találta mondani itt, hogy ők hollandok, finanszíroznak bennünket. Gondolom, nem csak Hollandiára gondolt, hanem a befizető államokra. Ezt Magyarország nevében szeretném visszautasítani. Önök sokkal több pénzt visznek ki Magyarországról, mint amennyit odaküldenek. Önök mind nyernek rajtunk, sok pénzt nyernek rajtunk, nem tesznek nekünk szívességet, amikor az európai uniós támogatásokat eljuttatják Magyarországra, mind az Önök zsebében köt ki. Nézzék meg Magyarországnak a statisztikáit! A külföldi befektetők profitjai messze meghaladják azt az összeget, mint amit Önök egyébként Magyarországnak adnak. Önök keresnek rajtunk, nem támogatják Magyarországot, keresnek rajtunk. Visszataszítónak találom, hogy egyes gazdag országok képviselői úgy tesznek, mintha ők önérdek nélkül, európai értékek miatt támogatnának bennünket. Erről szó sincsen. Egyszerűen keresni akarnak a magyarokon. Ajánljanak jó "deal"-t, ami jó Magyarországnak, és akkor tudunk együttműködni.    Abszurdnak tartom, hogy itt, az Európai Parlament plenáris ülésén meg kell hallgatnunk mindannyiunknak együtt egy jogállamiságról szóló hozzászólást, amit Salis képviselő asszonytól hallottunk, aki vasrudakkal vert békés embereket Budapest utcáin. És itt nekünk előadást tart a jogállamról. Ez nem abszurd? Abszurdnak tartom azt is, tisztelt elnök asszony, hogy fölszólal egy belga képviselő, Wilmers asszony, kioktatja Magyarországot jogállamból, és amikor Brüsszelben egy jogállamisági konferenciát akarunk tartani, akkor betiltják a rendezvényünket. De ez nem vicc? Nem abszurd? Ezt lehet? A hipokráciába még ez is belefér? Tisztelt hölgyeim és uraim! Sajnos azt is meg kellett hallgatnom magyar képviselőktől, hogy mi nem foglalkozunk az emberek problémáival, de ezt egy olyan képviselőtől hallottam, olyan magyar képviselőtől, akinek a pártja a legutóbbi európai választáson 8%-ot kapott, a mi pártunk 45-öt. Akkor ki foglalkozik az emberek problémáival, tisztelt hölgyeim és uraim? Azzal vádol az európai szocialisták képviselője, hogy túlságosan jó viszonyt ápolunk Putyin elnök úrral. De hát tisztelt Dobrev  képviselő asszony, az ön férje még miniszterelnök volt, Putyin elnök úr ott ült az Önök konyhájában. Akkor még erre büszkék voltak, és erről szóló képekkel elárasztották a magyar médiát. És Ön vádol bennünket? Ugyan! Általában is azt kell mondanom, és elnézést kérek az európai képviselőktől, hogy akaratukon kívül belevonódtak egy magyar belpolitikai vitába, ami itt, az Önök szeme előtt zajlott le. Erről gondolhatnak sok mindent, de egy dolgot biztosan láthatnak, a magyar demokrácia köszöni szépen, jól van, vérbő és erőteljes. Sajnálom, hogy a magyar képviselők belpolitikai viták tárgyává és alkalmává tették ezt a mai találkozót. Nem helyes szerintem, hogy ez így történt, de nincs mit tennem, egy-két reakciót itt is el kell, hogy mondjak. Meggyőződésem, hogy nem helyes, ha egy magyar képviselő az Európai Parlamentben a saját hazáját támadja. Milyen ember az ilyen, aki arra használja a nemzetközi fórumot, hogy a saját hazáját támadja? Azt kell mondanom, hogy abszurdnak tartom azt is, amit az EPP-ben ülő Magyar képviselőről mondanom kell, hiszen Magyar képviselőtársuk nemrégen azt mondta a magyar nyilvánosság előtt – ezt Önök mind elolvashatják – hogy az EP-képviselőség a legnagyobb kamu állás, ami csak arra való, hogy az ember jól keressen. És most őt támogatják? Tisztelt Hölgyeim és Uraim! Kirívónak tartom, hogy valaki magyarként itt visszaélésről beszél, miközben otthon köztörvényes lopás miatti büntetőeljárás folyik ellene, és nyilvánvaló, csak azért vette fel a parlamenti mandátumát, hogy a mentelmi joga mögé bújhasson. Ezeket támogatja Ön, ezt támogatja Ön, tisztelt Weber Úr! Ez az Ön morális felelőssége. Összességében, Elnök asszony, azt kell megállapítanom, hogy a baloldal számára csak akkor van demokrácia, hogyha ők – a baloldal – nyernek. Ha a jobboldal nyer, véget ér a demokrácia. Ennek a vitának, az a tapasztalata a számomra, hogy teljesen nyilvánvaló, hogy Európát valójában Önöktől, az európai baloldaltól kell megvédeni. Több tiszteletet Magyarországnak, több tiszteletet a magyaroknak! Ha a valóságos Magyarországot akarják látni, tisztelt baloldaliak, jöjjenek el Magyarországra! Meghívom Önöket. Ha nem is értünk egyet, szívesen látjuk mindannyiukat. Köszönöm, elnök asszony, hogy ma itt lehettem. (Forrás: europarl)

European Parliament
(Wednesday ), October 9, 2024  Hungary's leader Viktor Orbán made his case for "change" in Europe today, in an address to the bloc's hostile parliament. "The European Union needs to change, and I would like to convince you about that today," said the ’hard-right’ prime minister, in Strasbourg to present the priorities of Hungary's norm-defying EU presidency. Orbán called it the "most serious period" in EU history, with the Ukraine war on its doorsteps, escalating conflict in the Middle East and a ’migration crisis’ he said could cause the Schengen open border system to fall apart. "Our union needs to change, and the presidency wants to be the catalyst for this change," he said. Orbán has pointed at 'hard-right' electoral gains from Italy to the Netherlands and Austria - and the rising influence of a Hungarian-led new group in the EU parliament, the Patriots for Europe - as evidence the political climate in Europe is slowly but surely shifting. Lawmakers listened respectfully to his address - with occasional applause from sympathetic members. Orbán's parliament debate, attended by Commission chief Der Leyen, is now taking place midway through Budapest's mandate. Since returning to lead his country in 2010, Orbán repeatedly was clashing with Brussels over rule-of-law issues. Orbán's government is at loggerheads with its partners on a host of issues - from stalling aid for Kyiv, to enacting a host of laws the bloc sees as democratic backsliding. Hungary assumed the EU's rotating six-month presidency in July. Then Orbán went off script: embarking on an Ukraine "peace mission" to Kyiv, Moscow Beijing ((and U.S.)). ’In response’, Der Leyen ’ordered top officials to skip a series of meetings organised by the Hungarian presidency’- an unprecedented de facto boycott. (Source: barrons * / Agence France-Presse)
* Barron's, an American weekly magazine and newspaper based in New York City, U.S.
by Florin

4 10 31.11:56