Police reportedly prevented access to a venue where a group had planned to hold a news conference on alleged wrongdoings by British troops
Kenyan authorities on Monday blocked a news conference meant to air concerns about alleged British Army misconduct in the country, including issues of human rights and environmental abuses, according to Reuters.
The move came just hours before the arrival of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla for a four-day state visit to the East African country, which celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence from the UK this year. The visit from Tuesday will be used to recognize the “more painful aspects” of shared history, including the Mau Mau rebellion in the former British colony from 1952 to 1960, which killed thousands of Kenyans, the royal family said in an earlier statement.
Locals in the central town of Lolldaiga have accused the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) of causing a forest fire in 2021 that destroyed more than 12,000 acres of a nature reserve, and of being involved in the 2012 murder of a woman.
Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was stabbed to death and dumped in a septic tank at a hotel in Nanyuki, allegedly by UK forces, after a night of partying with soldiers. More than a decade after her murder, Wanjiru’s family said justice has yet to be served.
British authorities have promised to investigate the allegations against BATUK, one of the UK’s largest military training bases abroad, with about 100 permanent staff in Nanyuki, 200km north of the capital Nairobi.
The Kenyan government launched an investigation in August in response to a wave of protests from local communities near the army base in Laikipia County and renewed outrage over Wanjiru’s unresolved case, prompted by reports of a British soldier confessing to her murder. The findings of the probe are expected to be submitted to parliament by the end of the year.
However, locals continue to denounce the British Army’s presence, with some recently telling RT that the troops lack respect for Kenyans and believe they have immunity, which is why many of the “crimes” they commit go uninvestigated.
On Monday, James Mwangi, the head of a human rights group supporting victims of alleged environmental damage in Lolldaiga, told Reuters that police had warned the management of a Nairobi hotel booked to host the event against BATUK.
The outlet also claimed that before the news conference could take place, a vehicle carrying at least 20 police officers and two smaller trucks had blocked access to the venue.
Kenyan lawyer Tom Macharia, who represents the Lolldaiga community, is quoted by Reuters as saying the police actions were “bad optics... If the king is genuine about this restart and resetting the relationship with Kenya, he has gotten off on the wrong footing.”
The British High Commission in Nairobi has reportedly said the policing of protests in Kenya is the responsibility of the local authorities.
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October 31, 2023 at 12:37AM
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The figure reflects the impact of high interest rates on lending
British lenders approved 43,328 mortgages in September, the lowest number since January, the Bank of England reported on Monday, adding to concerns about the housing market.
The figure was down from 45,400 in August, marking the third consecutive monthly decline. Statistics also show that net approvals for remortgaging dropped to 20,600 in September, the lowest level since January 1999.
Net borrowing fell to just under £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) last month from £1.7 billion in August, according to the report.
“These dire mortgage approval figures from the Bank of England were always on the cards. The sentiment surrounding the mortgage and property market isn’t especially strong right now and these figures reflect that,” Gary Bush, a financial adviser at MortgageShop.com, told Sky News. “The remortgage numbers highlight very clearly how many people have no choice but to stay with their existing lender due to affordability reasons,” he said.
The Bank of England hiked interest rates for the 14th consecutive time on August 3, bringing the benchmark that underpins most mortgage lending rates to a 15-year high of 5.25%. The sharp increase in interest rates from an all-time low of 0.1% in November 2021 has been driving up the cost of mortgages, as the regulator sought to tackle high inflation. The central bank kept rates on hold in September and is widely expected to do so on Thursday.
A recent report by real estate firm Zoopla shows that home sales in the UK are on course to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade as a result of surging mortgage costs.
The economy may shrink more than 10% amid the conflict with Hamas
JPMorgan has sharply lowered its fourth quarter economic forecast for Israel. According to a research note made public on Friday, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) may shrink 11% from the previous three months amid the escalation of hostilities with the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
Earlier this month, the bank forecast a 1.5% downturn, but the initial projections were deemed “too optimistic,” analysts suggested.
“Gauging the impact of the war on Israel’s economy remains difficult, both due to still-very high uncertainty about the scale and duration of the conflict and the lack of high-frequency data at hand,” JPMorgan stated.
The bank also cut its initial projections for the country's yearly GDP growth to 2.5% instead of the previous 3.2%. Analysts, however, slightly raised the outlook for 2024, to 2% from the previous 1.9%.
JPMorgan noted that Israel’s previous conflicts, like the 2014 escalation of hostilities with Hamas or the 2006 conflict with the Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, “barely affected activity.” However, “the current war has had a much larger impact on domestic security and confidence,” analysts warned. For instance, the death toll estimated at around 1,400 Israelis as of Friday was already much higher than during the previous conflicts, while the number of mobilized reservists has already topped 350,000, the most in Israel’s history and more than 5% of the country’s labor force.
The most recent escalation of hostilities between Hamas, which controls much of Gaza, and the Israel Defense Forces started on October 7. It has since caused a global surge in the price of oil and safe haven assets, like gold and silver. Analysts fear the conflict could destabilize the Middle East, especially if it spreads to neighboring countries, which would in turn affect the entire global economy.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has defended New Delhi’s position on trade with Moscow despite Western pressure
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Sunday that New Delhi acted in its best interests when it decided to continue buying oil from Russia despite pressure from the West.
Speaking on the country’s foreign policy priorities, including its position on the ongoing Middle East crisis, Jaishankar emphasized the importance of “good governance” and having a “consistent position” on pressing issues such as terrorism.
“There was a lot of attention over our strong stance on our right to buy oil from Russia,” Jaishankar said in a speech in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. “Had we not exercised that option, think what difference it would have made to you, think how much higher your petroleum prices would have been, think how much inflation would have gone up in this country.”
“A strong government stands up for its people,” Jaishankar said, adding that just as “good governance” is required at home, “right judgements” are necessary abroad. “The same countries in Europe who asked us not to buy oil from Russia, were buying oil from Russia themselves,” he stated, noting that “every other country looks after the welfare of its people, its economic interests.”
His comments come as trade between Russia and India has hit an all-time high, with turnover for goods in January-August already surpassing the total for the previous year. According to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, total trade between the two countries in the first eight months of the year reached $43.8 billion.
India’s imports of Russian oil surged by 80% year-on-year to an average of 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) in September. Imports of Russian coking coal also jumped by 2.3 times year-on-year over the first eight months of 2023, reaching 4.3 million tons.
Jaishankar also weighed in on the Israel-Palestine conflict, without naming either country, stressing the need to be consistent in its stance against terrorism.
“We take a strong position [on terrorism] because we are big victims of terrorism,” Jaishankar said. He also warned that India would lose credibility if it said terrorism that affects other countries is “not so serious.”
New Delhi has been walking a diplomatic tightrope on the Israel-Palestine conflict since the Hamas attack on October 7 that killed at least 1,300 people. Israel’s retaliation for the attack has killed over 8,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the latest data from the Gaza Health Ministry.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first world leaders to condemn the Hamas attack. In a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi “unequivocally” condemned terrorism in all forms and manifestations.
The Indian Foreign Ministry, however, was quick to clarify New Delhi’s position on Palestine, reiterating its support for a two-state solution to resolve the dispute, while assuring continued assistance to Palestinians affected by war. Modi expressed “shock” after the bombing of the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza which killed several hundred people, saying “civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern.”
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October 29, 2023 at 11:09PM
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One diplomatic channel is being maintained by Qatar, with Doha describing it as “instrumental” in mediation efforts
Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas are continuing despite West Jerusalem’s decision to expand its ground operations in Gaza, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing sources.
According to a person familiar with the diplomatic process, the de-escalation talks mediated by Qatar, which has close ties to Hamas and hosts its political bureau in Doha, have not broken down but are now proceeding at a “much slower pace.”
Speaking to CNN on Saturday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari confirmed backchanneling, saying that “various sides” had pushed Doha to help maintain ties between the two belligerents. “This channel has been very instrumental in countering the escalations that took place,” he said, adding that “as long as this channel is useful in creating peace,”“we cannot afford to lose it.”
The official emphasized that it “is the only way that we are mediating the release of… hostages” held by Hamas. Still, he lamented that the escalation on the ground was making the situation “considerably more difficult.”
Since the beginning of the violence on October 7, the militant group has captured more than 200 people, including soldiers, civilians, and foreign nationals.
Qatar has previously played an instrumental role in securing the release of four Hamas hostages, including a mother and daughter from Chicago and two elderly Israeli women, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres applauding the country’s efforts on that front.
The Reuters report comes after Axios earlier claimed, citing sources, that Israel had moved to expand its ground and air operations in Gaza after negotiations with Hamas hit an impasse. However, a CNN report contradicted that assessment, with its sources saying that there had been “significant progress” on freeing hostages.
On Saturday, Yahya al-Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, said that the group was “ready to conduct an immediate prisoner swap deal” and release all captives in its custody on condition that the agreement include “the release of all Palestinian prisoners from the Israeli jails.”
On the same day, as representatives of the families of the hostages met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they urged him to agree to an “everyone for everyone” prisoner swap. The Israeli leader made no commitments but promised to “exhaust every possibility” to bring the captives home.
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October 28, 2023 at 11:04PM
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The body of Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in Maine, was found after a manhunt
The body of Robert Card, 40, a military-trained firearms instructor suspected of killing 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, was found on Friday night, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck has confirmed.
The official told a press conference in the city that Card’s body had been discovered near the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls after an intensive 48-hour manhunt. Sauschuck added that the suspect had “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” The time of his death was unclear and the investigation is ongoing.
The terrifying scenes took place Wednesday night in Lewiston, a city of about 36,000 people, when the gunman attacked a bowling alley. Authorities say 18 people were killed and 13 injured.
Police released pictures of the suspect, who was identified as Robert Card, a firearms instructor at the US Army Reserve training facility with a reported history of mental problems. The city of Lewiston was placed on lockdown and a massive search was launched. A vehicle allegedly used by Card was found in Lisbon, a town about eight miles (about 13km) southeast of Lewiston. Residents there were also advised to shelter in place.
In the White House statement on the massacre, US President Joe Biden said that “a shooting such as this reopens deep and painful wounds” for Americans who have survived gun violence and been traumatized by it. He noted, that “far too many” US citizens have now had a family member killed or injured as a result of gun violence.
In the wake of the tragedy, Biden urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and to enact universal background checks and other restrictions.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organization, as of October 26, at least 35,306 people have died as a result of gun violence in the US so far this year. This figure includes 1,160 teenagers and 246 children.
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October 28, 2023 at 01:11AM
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On Friday, the IDF announced an expansion of its ground operations in Gaza
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has demanded that Israel stop its attacks against Gaza. Earlier, Israel announced the expansion of its ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave.
In a message published on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Erdogan claimed that Israeli bombardments target civilians and only deepen the humanitarian crisis. “Israel must immediately get out of this state of madness and stop its attacks,” the Turkish president said. He also called on Palestine supporters to join him for a rally in Istanbul, to “shout that we stand with the Palestinian people against Israeli oppression.”
On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it is “expanding ground operations” against Hamas in Gaza, while the air force intensified its aerial bombardment. Later, the largest telecommunications provider in Gaza, Paltel, announced the “complete severance of all communications and Internet services” due to massive airstrikes.
Later, multiple media outlets shared a message from Hamas, which claimed that it had managed to stop an attempted ground operation, adding that Israel’s military sustained heavy losses. However, according to the IDF, no soldiers were hurt in the expanded ground operation in Gaza. “Infantry, armored, engineering and artillery forces [are] participating in the activity, accompanied by heavy [air] fire,” the IDF spokesman told the Times of Israel, adding that “the forces are still on the ground and continue the fighting.”
Three weeks ago, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over 1,400 people and taking scores of hostages. Israel responded with a massive wave of airstrikes on Gaza, which claimed over 7,000 lives.
Israel vowed to “obliterate” the Palestinian militant group and warned about an upcoming incursion into Gaza. However, according to a New York Times report published earlier this week, the ground operation became a point of contention between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military. According to the NYT, Netanyahu declined to approve an invasion plan that was finalized by the IDF. Sources told the outlet that the fate of the hostages was among the main concerns, as there was hope that negotiations mediated by Qatar might be successful.
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October 28, 2023 at 12:49AM
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The IDF has said it is broadening its ground operations in Gaza
Oil and metals markets reacted strongly on Friday to news from the Middle East, where Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced they were “expanding ground operations” in Gaza.
Oil prices climbed nearly 3% to a one-week high amid fears that the conflict between Israel and Palestine could spread to the broader Middle East, a crucial supplier of energy and a key oil shipping passageway. Global benchmark Brent futures rose $2.51, or 2.85%, to settle at $90.44 a barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude spiked $1.95, or 2.3%, to settle at $85.16 a barrel.
According to an earlier projection by Bloomberg Economics, oil prices could reach $150 per barrel if Iran joins the conflict.
Meanwhile, gold topped $2,000 an ounce for the first time since August as investors started stocking up on the haven asset, a traditional move in times of economic or geopolitical instability. Gold futures for December settled Friday’s official trading session at $1998.50 an ounce, but surged in post-settlement trade to $2,017.85, up $20.45, or 1.02%, on the day.
“We’re seeing this spike as Israel moves into Gaza, and there’s now a growing risk this might become a broader conflict,” Bart Melek, managing director and head of commodity strategy at TD Bank, told Bloomberg.
Gold has rallied approximately 9% since the Israel-Palestine conflict escalated after a surprise attack by Palestinian armed group Hamas on Israel on October 7. Experts and traders warn that the uncertainty in the region will continue driving bullion prices higher.
Silver, another wealth preservation asset, also edged higher on Friday, with futures for December delivery closing at $23.24, up 1.47%. The precious metal has rallied roughly 10% since October 7.
The American people “are demanding some real accountability” for billions allocated to Kiev, Mike Johnson has said
The Biden administration has not made clear exactly what it wants to achieve by providing billions of dollars in support to Ukraine, newly elected US House Speaker Mike Johnson has said, indicating that Republicans may want to handle that separately from financial help to Israel.
In an interview with Fox News released on Thursday, Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who is considered a Trump ally and a skeptic of Ukraine aid, said the American people “are demanding some real accountability” on the matter.
The speaker stressed that while Republicans are not opposed to helping Kiev in the conflict with Moscow, “we want to know what the object is there, what is the end game in Ukraine.”
“The White House has not provided that,” he explained, adding that he has made this position clear to top administration officials.
Johnson also said the consensus among House Republicans is that they “need to bifurcate” aid to Ukraine and Israel, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with the Palestinian armed group Hamas for several weeks now.
The speaker’s remarks came after the Biden administration asked Congress last Friday to approve a massive new $106 billion assistance package, with more than $60 billion of that sum earmarked for Kiev. The remainder is intended to address the security needs of Israel and Taiwan, as well as the turbulent situation on the southern US border.
However, a group of US Republican senators introduced a bill on Thursday seeking to decouple funding for Israel from that for Ukraine. One of its sponsors, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), stated it “is unreasonable for the administration to exploit an aid package for Israel to siphon off billions of taxpayer dollars in yet another blank check for Ukraine.”
The renewed pushback by Republicans opposed to Biden’s Ukraine strategy – who famously vowed to support the country “for as long as it takes” – comes as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned last week that the funding Congress had approved “has nearly run out.”
Meanwhile, CNN reported earlier this month, citing US officials, that the Pentagon has been growing increasingly concerned over depleting ammunition stockpiles needed to simultaneously support both Israel and Ukraine. The latter country has been engaged in a faltering counteroffensive against Russian defenses for several months now, struggling to gain any significant ground while suffering heavy casualties, according to Moscow.
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October 26, 2023 at 11:09PM
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Its ambassador suggested New Delhi should make the decision because it has also been “a victim of terrorism”
Israel has asked India to designate Hamas as a “terrorist” organization following the group’s unprecedented attack on October 7, which left at least 1,400 Israelis dead.
“We spoke to the relevant authorities here [in India],” said Israeli Ambassador to New Delhi Naor Gilon. “It is not the first time we spoke about it. I think we both understand the threat of terrorism. It is not something we are putting pressure on.”
He said India’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist group was “due” because of the countries’ shared “war on terror,” as quoted by the Hindustan Times.
Gilon said Israeli officials had made the request of their Indian counterparts following the attack on October 7, and “are still in dialogue.”“We are speaking to India. It is a friendly talk,” he added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first world leaders to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel as “terrorism,” although he didn’t name the group in his statement. Later, he condemned “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations” during a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Wednesday, the Israeli envoy said Modi’s comments “unequivocally condemning terrorism” had set a “very clear tone.” “When it comes to terrorism,” Gilon said, “India is also coming from the point of view of someone who knows what it is talking about, being itself a victim of terrorism.”
Commenting on Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, the ambassador described the operation as “a war of being able to survive in the Middle East.” “We live in a very tough neighborhood,” he remarked, adding that “if you are perceived to be weak, your life is going to be miserable.”
He alleged that Iran has been “financing, training and equipping Hamas.” However, in the aftermath of the attack, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denied any Iranian involvement.
While condemning “terrorism” following the attack by Hamas, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also emphasized that civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict were “a matter of serious and continuing concern.” New Delhi also reiterated its position in favor of “direct negotiations for establishing a two-state solution” to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Modi, during a conversation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last week, reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to continuing humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people.
Established in 1987, Hamas gained control over Gaza in 2007. The US, UK, Israel, Australia, Japan and the European Union are among the countries and regional blocs that have officially designated the group as a terrorist organization. Most of the major Western countries, in principle, have backed Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hamas in Gaza, which has now killed at least 6,546 Palestinians and wounded 17,439 others, according to the region’s health ministry.
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October 26, 2023 at 12:18AM
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Russian kamikaze drones are hunting for German-made armor on the frontline
A Russian military force specializing in using first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones to hunt down Ukrainian armored vehicles claims to have successfully engaged three German-made Leopard battle tanks in just two days.
An FPV drone, in the context of the Ukraine conflict, is a weaponized quadcopter piloted by an operator wearing a headset, displaying a live feed from the on-board camera. The arrangement reportedly improves piloting skills, allowing precision attacks on parts of the target where the weapon can inflict maximum damage. The drone normally carries an anti-tank rocket grenade for a regular shoulder-fired launcher, such as an RPG.
On Tuesday and Wednesday a Telegram channel released videos of three FPV drone hits on what appear to be Leopard tanks, showcasing the operations of BOBR. The abbreviation stands for “Unmanned Rapid Response Squad” in Russian, forming an acronym that means “beaver,” inspiring the force to use the rodent as its mascot.
The drone attacks were apparently conducted during two separate operations. During one on Tuesday, the first tank was attacked while moving forward, firing its main gun.
The second one seemed to be attempting a retreat, judging by the deployment of a smoke screen just before it was hit.
Wednesday’s video appears to show a surprise attack on a moving tank.
In all three cases, the operator was targeting the turret bustle rack, a compartment in the back of the turret where some of the tank’s ammo can be stored.
It is unclear where exactly the videos were filmed. According to Russian media, BOBR started out as a small experimental Defense Ministry unit in September 2022, which would swiftly redeploy to parts of the frontline where suitable targets could be found. It has since reportedly evolved into an entire program of mobile FPV drone squads.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky ordered his troops to advance “at least 500 meters” daily to improve the situation on the frontline. In previous months, Kiev had reportedly kept most of its Western-made armored vehicles in reserves, after its initial attempts to punch through Russian defensive lines in June failed.
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October 25, 2023 at 11:17PM
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Transport and logistics centers in the South Asian country are seen as a priority to increase trade
Moscow is considering the idea of localizing companies in industrial zones in India, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Wednesday.
According to the ministry, vigorous efforts are currently being taken to develop major transport and logistics corridors between Russia and India to increase supplies of Russian goods to export markets of friendly countries.
“The issue of localizing Russian companies on the territory of industrial zones in India is being considered, which affects the need to develop logistics routes and create the required infrastructure in the form of logistics centers,” the ministry press office said, as cited by RIA Novosti.
“In this regard, under the current geopolitical conditions, the creation of a transport and logistics center in India is seen as a priority for the subsequent increase in Russian exports and deepening trade and economic ties.”
The nations are cooperating within the framework of the International Transport Corridor (ITC) ‘North-South’ while the development of the eastern branch of the corridor continues.
Russian Railways Logistics, a subsidiary of the country’s state-owned rail corporation, has already begun transporting full-fledged container trains from Russia to India via the eastern branch of the North-South land corridor that uses transportation infrastructure in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and India.
Last month, Russia’s Fesco Transport Group said that it was considering creating a logistic hub in India along with a transport and logistics center in Africa.
Two Stryker IFVs were blown up in Zaporozhye Region by anti-tank missile strikes
A video unveiled on Tuesday, apparently created by the 100th Reconnaissance Brigade, shows the effective use of anti-tank missiles against US-made Stryker infantry fighting vehicles operated by Ukraine on the frontline in the Zaporozhye Region.
The video captures the destruction of two armored vehicles near the Kiev-controlled city of Orekhov. Anti-tank missiles reportedly struck both, although the footage only displays the second attack. The projectile appears to have triggered the detonation of munitions carried by the Stryker, as evident from the aftermath.
According to the video’s description, the effective strike was carried out by the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, which launched the missiles at the Ukrainian targets. For its part, the reconnaissance brigade provided “objective control” to confirm the neutralization of hostiles, presumably after sharing target-related intelligence.
The 100th, nicknamed the ‘Osman Army Spetsnaz,’ was initially created in 2009 as an experimental unit combining airborne and reconnaissance capabilities. Today, it is functionally close to the special operations units of the Russian military intelligence service, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).
Kiev is currently grappling with challenges securing ongoing military assistance from Western donors. These hurdles are compounded by political upheaval in the US House of Representatives, competition for aid with Israel, which is heavily involved in combating the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and a lack of clear successes on the battlefield.
Coking coal supplies to the South Asian country have reportedly more than doubled in annual terms
Exports of Russian coking coal to India jumped by 2.3 times year-on-year over the first eight months of 2023, reaching 4.3 million tons, Vedomosti reported on Monday, citing data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
According to the figures in the report, Russia’s contribution to India’s overall coking coal imports, primarily used in steel production, has climbed from 5% to 11.2% during this period.
Australia remains India’s primary source of imports, but these supplies decreased by 10% in the period from January to August, resulting in their share of Indian imports dropping from 58.2% to 51.7%, as reported.
New Delhi has significantly increased its purchases of both coking and thermal coal from Russia since the previous year. This shift in trade occurred after Moscow redirected exports from EU countries and offered substantial discounts to Asian buyers.
According to a recent report from consulting firm Yakov and Partners (formerly McKinsey Russia), India is expected to surpass China as the top buyer of Russian coal within the next decade.
Despite its efforts to expand renewable energy projects, India continues to rely heavily on coal as its primary source of power generation.
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October 24, 2023 at 12:25AM
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Washington’s efforts to preserve its hegemony risk starting a new global war, Vyacheslav Volodin has warned
Russia’s State Duma chairman has compared the US government to a company executive, who has run a business into the ground and now wants to try again with a new corporation.
Vyacheslav Volodin was reacting on Tuesday to remarks by US President Joe Biden, who said last week that a new international order was needed, and that Washington can “unite the world in ways that it never has been”.
The speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament said that just as a corporate manager with a bankruptcy on their hands would not be trusted with someone else’s money again, “nobody in the world will accept Biden and the US, who have destroyed the global security system, to build a new world order in their interests.”
The Russian official claimed the US has inflicted harm on the world “in attempting to save its hegemony,” causing a disruption of international commerce through trade wars, a deep crisis in the European Union, tensions over Taiwan, and hostilities in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“Attempts to reshape [the world] to fit the American mold will not lead to anything good and can only result in a global disaster,” Volodin warned, urging the US leader to be isolated “before he unleashes a world war”.
Biden’s “new world order” remark came on Friday, while he was meeting with donors as part of his re-election campaign. He touted the US as an indispensable nation and exemplified whipping up support of Washington-friendly governments for Ukraine as an example of his administration’s unifying endeavors.
He insisted that the US was up to the task of leading humanity, and that there has never been a crisis from which the country did not emerge stronger.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Biden was correct in saying that the old system of global governance has become obsolete, but that Moscow rejects the notion that another “American-centric world order” should replace it. Peskov stressed that Russia supports a multipolar world, in which the US would one stakeholder among many equals.
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October 23, 2023 at 11:20PM
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The Swiss People’s Party, which is also known for its anti-immigration stance, won 28.6% of the vote in Sunday’s general election
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which campaigned on a pro-neutrality and anti-immigration platform, emerged as the main winner in Switzerland’s general election on Sunday, garnering 28.6% of the vote.
Amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict, some politicians and officials in the country had been calling for closer alignment with NATO and the abandonment of strict neutrality.
The result represented an increase of three percentage points from the SVP’s showing in 2019. The Social Democrats trailed behind with 18%, with several other parties receiving less than 15% each. The Green Party appears to have been the main loser with a little over 9% – almost four percentage points less than in the previous election.
The right-wing SVP thus gained nine seats in the 200-seat National Council, bringing the number of its representatives to 62.
The SVP has been the most popular political force in Switzerland over the past two decades, but the result on Sunday is among its best on record.
The party wants to restrict immigration to keep the country’s population under a threshold of 10 million, citing overstretched infrastructure and a lack of housing.
The SVP also insists that Switzerland should remain neutral despite recent geopolitical tensions in Europe.
Back in August, a policy document released by the Swiss Army detailed plans to step up its military cooperation with NATO “as much as possible.” Swiss military leaders advocated bringing the army’s operations in line with NATO doctrine, as well as joining the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) defense framework and its European Sky Shield Initiative.
These measures were necessary due to the Ukraine conflict, the report said, claiming that an “epoch of peace in Europe is coming to an end.”
Switzerland has maintained a policy of neutrality since 1815, and did not take sides in either of the two world wars. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the country has imposed sanctions on Russia, taking its cue from the EU, and sent economic aid to Kiev, but has refused to supply weapons or allow other countries to send Swiss arms or ammunition to Ukraine.
However, some members of the Swiss government have been calling for the relaxation of this long-standing foreign policy. The Swiss People’s Party and the Social Democratic Party have been critical of such suggestions.
Speaking to the Russian media back in February, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia no longer viewed Switzerland as neutral after it joined the “West’s illegal unilateral sanctions.” The diplomat noted that this move disqualified Bern as a potential mediator in the conflict.
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October 23, 2023 at 12:24AM
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The Pentagon says it has dispatched additional THAAD and Patriot batteries to the region
The US has significantly ramped up its military footprint in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, sending additional air defense systems to the region, the Pentagon has announced.
In a statement on Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had “activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions” in several undisclosed locations in the Middle East to increase the protection of US forces.
THAAD systems have an operational range of about 200km and are designed to intercept various types of missiles. Patriots, which have recently seen action in Ukraine, have a range of up to 160km and can shoot down missiles, drones, and warplanes.
According to Austin, the decision was made after “detailed discussions” with US President Joe Biden “on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East,” with the overall effort meant to support Israel. The minister added that he had also ordered an unspecified amount of US forces to be ready to deploy “as part of prudent contingency planning.”
After the Palestinian military group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel earlier this month, the US deployed two aircraft carriers – the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – as well as support ships to the region.
On Tuesday, CNN reported that the Pentagon had sent 2,000 Marines and sailors to the waters off Israel’s coast to “send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.”
On Thursday, the Pentagon said its destroyer deployed in the Red Sea had shot down three missiles and several drones launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen. It noted at the time that it could not say what their intended target was, but did not rule out that the attack was meant to hit Israeli facilities.
While Biden has expressed support for Israel in the conflict with Hamas, he said he does not believe it is necessary to send American troops to fight in the region. Amid the violence in the Middle East, he also cautioned Iran “to be careful.”
Tehran has said it will not engage in hostilities “provided that the Israeli apartheid does not dare to attack Iran, its interests, and nationals.”
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October 22, 2023 at 01:58AM
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Samantha Woll’s death happened amid a recent rise in antisemitic crime in several nations
The president of a Detroit synagogue board, Samantha Woll, was found dead with multiple stab wounds outside her house on Saturday morning, local authorities have reported. While the investigation into her death is still at an early stage, it comes amid a recent rise in antisemitic incidents internationally following the latest escalation between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
According to the Detroit Police Department, its officers responded to a call about a person lying on the ground unresponsive at about 6:30 AM. On arrival, emergency services immediately pronounced Woll dead.
“While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred,” police corporal Dan Donakowski said.
The FBI confirmed to CNN and the Associated Press that it is assisting Detroit police in the investigation.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Detroit Police Chief James E. White called on the public to “remain patient while investigators carefully examine every aspect of the available evidence.”
The official warned against jumping to conclusions at this early stage.
Apart from serving as the president of the board of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, Woll was active in the local political scene as well. She had worked as an aide to Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin and as a campaign staffer for another Democrat, Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Last Sunday, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned fellow law enforcement officers at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in San Diego that the US was facing a heightened threat from “lone wolf” terrorists inspired by Hamas’ assault on Israel earlier this month.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that the country had witnessed a “very frightening rise in anti-Semitism” since the latest escalation in the Middle East.
Across the Atlantic, London Metropolitan Police reported on Friday that it had detected similar trends in the British capital, with the number of antisemitic hate crimes rising by 1,353% since the start of the month compared to the same period of last year.
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October 22, 2023 at 12:19AM
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Resuming energy flows from Russia will help stave off deindustrialization, Steffen Kotre says
Germany needs to bring the surviving branch of the Nord Stream pipeline online and resume gas imports from Russia, Bundestag MP Steffen Kotre told TASS news agency on Saturday. According to the lawmaker, abandoning Russian energy and replacing it with alternate gas supplies has been a mistake.
“What the Chancellor [Olaf Scholz] is happy about is devastating for companies and private consumers,” Kotre, who is also a member of the German parliamentary committee on energy and climate protection, said, referring to Scholz’s earlier praise of Germany’s efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
“The surge in gas prices leads to the deindustrialization of Germany. To ensure competitiveness, Germany should agree to purchase gas through the surviving branch of the Nord Stream pipeline,” Kotre stated.
Nord Stream is a gas route between Russia and Germany that runs through the Baltic Sea. It consists of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, each comprised of two separate branches. Germany once received Russian gas through Nord Stream 1, while Nord Stream 2 was never certified due to bureaucratic setbacks.
Both pipelines were damaged and shut down last year, in an incident widely considered to be sabotage. As a result, Germany lost direct access to Russian gas, which once covered around half of the country’s energy needs. One of the two branches of Nord Stream 2 survived, but the German authorities have not resumed the certification process due to political tensions with Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
According to Kotre, this needs to change, as Germany currently pays much more for gas from alternate sources than it used to pay for Russian gas.
“Russian gas is profitable and environmentally friendly, which is not the case with our current supplies – primarily liquefied natural gas from the US. Germany pays three to four times more for these supplies, but gas from the US produced by the fracking method does not meet our environmental standards,” he stated.
The ex-US president failed to comply with a demand to remove a post disparaging a court clerk, a New York judge has ruled
Former US President Donald Trump has been fined $5,000 for violating a gag order in his civil fraud trial, with a New York judge warning him of possible jail time if it happens again.
In a two-page document released on Friday, Justice Arthur Engoron said he had ordered Trump earlier this month to take down an “untrue [and] disparaging” post about his clerk while barring all sides in the trial from making public comments about any of his associates.
He was referring to a now-deleted post by Trump featuring a photo of the judge’s top clerk posing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat and long-time critic of the 45th president, calling him the senator’s “girlfriend.”
While Trump removed the post from social media, it remained on his campaign’s website for 17 days, Engoron said, noting that Trump’s defense argued that the violation of the order was inadvertent.
Acknowledging that this may be the case, the judge still fined Trump $5,000, warning the ex-president that “future violations, whether intentional or unintentional,” could lead to “far more severe sanctions,” including steeper financial penalties, holding Trump in contempt of court, and even possibly imprisoning him.
The former president, who is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, is embroiled in a number of legal battles, one of which is a civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The prosecution argues that Trump committed fraud by inflating the value of his properties by billions of dollars to secure loans on better terms. He has maintained his innocence and accused James of conducting a witch hunt, while also referring to her earlier this month as a “political animal.” Trump and his attorneys have also claimed that all of the loans in question were fully repaid and that there was no injured party.
The gag order imposed by Engoron is not the only one Trump must abide by. Earlier this week, a similar measure was slapped on him in a criminal election interference case in which he is accused of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to US President Joe Biden. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
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October 21, 2023 at 01:48AM
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The items could be included in the EU’s 12th package of Russia sanctions
Lithuania has suggested including exports of buttons, nails, and sewing appliances in a 12th round of sanctions on Russia, EUobserver reported on Friday.
According to the proposal, prohibiting the items is intended to “degrade Russian industrial capacities.” The list, among other things, is also said to include non-electric radiators for central heating and spare parts for them.
The EU has been crafting its next set of Ukraine-related sanctions for weeks. While the package is expected to concentrate on further hindering Russia’s capacity to circumvent previously imposed restrictions, a number of new large-scale measures are also on the table.
For instance, several member states have reportedly called for a ban on new deals with Russian nuclear giant Rosatom, as well as halting purchases of Russian uranium, liquified natural gas (LNG) and steel. Estonia has reportedly demanded a full trade embargo on Russia to stop sanctions evasion. Other proposals include blocking IT services for Russian firms and stopping exports of laser technology.
The Russian diamond industry is also in the crosshairs. The G7 has been working with Belgium, which hosts the world’s biggest diamond-trading hub in Antwerp, on traceability protocols which would be able to identify gems of Russian origin on retail markets. EUobserver cites an unnamed EU diplomat as saying the system is nearly ready and that Western states are set to impose a ban on Russian diamonds “in the very coming days.”
In addition, the EU Council has reportedly stepped up work on the potential use of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. Belgium earlier this month announced it would send tax revenue generated from Russian money kept it its Euroclear clearing house to Kiev, and proposed that other EU countries follow its lead.
According to EUObserver, the European Commission will start behind-closed-doors discussions on new sanctions with individual EU members this weekend or early next week. However, analysts note the process could take weeks to finalize, given the number of proposals and the fact that all member-states must agree on the measures to be included. Hungary, for instance, has adamantly opposed sanctioning the Russian nuclear industry due to its contracts with Rosatom for the construction of two new reactors at its Paks-2 nuclear power plant.
Since the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has implemented 11 sets of sanctions on Russia, targeting various sectors of the economy, the country’s financial institutions and trade, and blacklisting several hundred Russian individuals and businesses. The Kremlin has repeatedly labeled the sanctions illegal and warned they pose a threat to the world’s economic and trade relations.
The defense minister says the country will abandon all responsibility for the Palestinian enclave after a ground offensive
Israel will wash its hands of Gaza once it has completed its ground military operation and vanquished Hamas, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said. The Financial Times, citing an anonymous Israeli official, reported that the new approach means that Gazans will not be allowed to enter Israel or work there.
Addressing the Israeli Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Friday, Gallant told lawmakers that Israel will no longer have “responsibility for day-to-day life in the Gaza Strip” once the hostilities are over.
According to the minister, the Israeli military operation will consist of three phases – the first being heavy aerial bombardment, which is already underway. It will also include ground maneuvers “with the purpose of destroying operatives and damaging infrastructure in order to defeat and destroy Hamas.” The second phase will see lower-intensity fighting in the enclave, aimed at eliminating “pockets of resistance,” according to Gallant. The military action will end with the “creation of a new security regime” in Gaza.
The Financial Times quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that “Israel will not be part of the solution in terms of giving [Gazans] work.”
“We’ve disconnected the umbilical cord,” he added.
The official told the media outlet that all existing border crossings between Gaza and Israel will be closed.
Israel occupied and had settlements in Gaza from 1967 to 2005. Up until the latest escalation, the country continued to supply basic utilities such as water and electricity to the densely populated Palestinian territory. The movement of people and goods had been severely restricted by Israel for years.
On Saturday, Bloomberg claimed that US and Israeli officials were conducting secret talks on the post-Hamas future of Gaza. According to the media outlet, one scenario currently under consideration is the installation of an interim government backed by the UN and Arab nations. The report added that the discussions are still in the early stages, with no guarantee that neighboring countries will go along with the supposed plans.
The conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on October 7 after Palestinian militants launched a massive missile attack and surprise incursion. Israel retaliated with air strikes on Gaza.
According to local officials on both sides, the latest round of violence has left at least 4,100 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis dead, with thousands more wounded. The UN and human rights groups have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
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October 21, 2023 at 12:31AM
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A huge surplus of wine in the domestic market coupled with cheap imports from Spain pose the risk of bankruptcies
French winemakers staged a mass protest this week against Spanish wine imports, arguing that they create unfair competition in the local market, which is already suffering from a surplus.
According to a report from Le Parisien, around 500 protesters gathered on a highway near the French border town of Boulou on Thursday, stopped several trucks with Spanish products, and destroyed their cargoes. As a result, more than 240 hectoliters of Spanish rosé were poured on the road and 10,000 bottles of Spanish sparkling were smashed.
The demonstrators said they are suffering losses due to cheap Spanish wine entering the French market.
“The problem is the price,” Antoine, a 79-year-old French winegrower, told the news outlet.
“The Spanish have minimum charges, the right to put all the chemicals they want on their vines while we have the right to nothing… As a result, Spanish wine costs half as much as French wine. When their hectoliter costs €40, it is almost €80 with us,” he said.
Aude wine union leader Frederic Rouanet pledged to continue the protests, with a major mobilization of winemakers scheduled for the end of November.
“It is out of the question to accept the situation as it is. Starting from today, we are going to remove the possibility of buyers being able to get cheap wines from elsewhere... We are going to stop Spanish imports. This is the start of an economic war that we are going to wage,” Rouanet said.
Earlier this week, French wine growers gathered in Ferrals-des-Corbieres to discuss the crisis in the industry, which they consider the worst in around two decades. The union prepared a letter to be sent to French wine merchants and importers that called for “a total halt in buying wine from other regions or abroad until the [local] wines are sold at a fair price.”
Renowned for its centuries-old winemaking traditions, France has been suffering from a massive surplus of wine due to a strong harvest in 2022 and low consumption caused by soaring inflation. The French government introduced a drastic plan in August to allocate €200 million ($216 million) to destroy wine surpluses. Officials have also been offering financial incentives to growers to switch to other products.
The drop in the demand for wine has not been limited to France. The European Commission reported in June that wine consumption fell by 15% in France, but it also dropped by 7% in Italy, 10% in Spain, 22% in Germany, and 34% in Portugal. The EU’s wine exports have also been dropping. Between January and April 2023, cross-border sales fell by 8.5% compared to the same period last year.
Some analysts say the drop in EU wine exports partly stems from Ukraine-related sanctions that Brussels placed on Russia last year, banning wine sales that exceed €300 per bottle. As a result, while in 2022 Spain and Italy were among Russia’s top-three wine suppliers, this year they were replaced by Lithuania and Georgia.
The move comes after New Delhi told Ottawa it will remove diplomatic immunity by October 20
Canada has on Thursday confirmed that it is withdrawing 41 diplomats posted in India at the latter’s behest amid a deepening diplomatic row between the two countries over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader designated as a “terrorist” by India “on Canadian soil.”
According to an official statement, Ottawa was formally informed by New Delhi about its plans to remove immunities unilaterally for “all but 21 Canadian diplomats” by October 20. Following the move, Canada facilitated the departure of 41 diplomats and their families from India, “given the security implications of India’s actions.”
Calling the action taken by India “completely unreasonable and escalatory,” Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stated that the “unilateral revocation of diplomatic privileges and immunities is contrary to international law” and is a “clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
“Diplomatic immunities should be respected and cannot be unilaterally revoked by a host country. If we allow this norm to be broken, no diplomat anywhere would be safe. For this reason, we will not reciprocate,” Joly said at a news conference in Ottawa.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs reacted to the statement on Friday, rejecting “any attempt to portray the implementation of parity as a violation of international norms.” “The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa. We have been engaged with the Canadian side on this over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation,” the ministry said.
The development comes in the wake of Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linking the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a separatist leader designated as a “terrorist” by India, to “agents of the Indian government.” Nijjar was gunned down by unidentified gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver on June 18. India dismissed the allegation as “absurd” and both countries expelled a diplomat each.
Ottawa’s Thursday statement noted that the “mass expulsion” will impact the operations of the Canadian mission. “India’s decision will impact levels of services to citizens of both countries,” the statement asserted. All in-person services in Canadian consulates in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru will be temporarily suspended.
Following the withdrawal of the diplomats, the country would slash the number of embassy staff dealing with immigration, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller said. Since visa application centers in India are operated by third-party contractors, they would not be affected, Miller noted. However, the reduction in staff is anticipated to create a backlog of roughly 17,500 applications, Canadian officials added, which they hope to clear by early 2024, according to Canadian media. Around 2 million Canadians, or 5% of the overall population, have Indian ancestry. Additionally, Indians make up about 40% of all international students in Canada.
India has earlier claimed that the number of Canadian diplomats posted in India is significantly higher than the Indian presence in Canada and that it was looking for parity in terms of the diplomats’ strength. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, Canada’s “continued interference” in India’s internal affairs justifies its call for parity. India suspended its visa services to Canadian citizens in the early days of the diplomatic crisis, citing "security threats" to its staff at its consulates in Canada.
In its statement, Ottawa said it will continue its “legitimate investigation” into Nijjar’s killing, adding that “India’s decision” will not act as a “distraction.” “Canada’s priorities in this matter continue to be the pursuit of the truth, the protection of Canadians, and the defense of our sovereignty,” read the government’s statement. Despite making allegations against India in public, Trudeau’s government has not provided any evidence to back up its claims.
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October 20, 2023 at 12:04AM
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The experiment comes after Russia moved to withdraw from a 1996 test ban treaty
The US has conducted an underground explosion at a nuclear testing range in Nevada, just after Russian lawmakers approved the withdrawal from an international treaty that bans all nuclear tests.
The experiment at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) on Wednesday involved “chemical high-explosives and radiotracers,” a statement by the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said.
“These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of US nuclear nonproliferation goals,” Corey Hinderstein, the NNSA’s deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, stated. “They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.”
Several US laboratories collected data using various types of sensors, which will “help validate new predictive explosion models and detection algorithms,” the press release added.
The US experiment took place just hours after the Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of the parliament, passed a bill on withdrawing the ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The move is meant to achieve parity with the US, which did not ratify the international agreement.
Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian envoy to the UN in Vienna, reiterated Moscow’s commitment to maintaining an unofficial moratorium on testing once the withdrawal from the CTBT is finalized, unless its hand is forced.
“Never say never. Tests may resume under certain circumstances. I believe that such a development would be negative for the modern world, for maintaining stability,” he said in an interview with Russian media. “We have enough turbulence in international relations and wouldn’t want another powerful factor added.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that if the US resumes nuclear testing, which he believes it may do as part of the modernization of its arsenal, Moscow will follow suit. Neither nation has conducted live nuclear tests since the early 1990s. Moscow’s last test was in 1990, before the USSR collapsed.
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October 19, 2023 at 11:25PM
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RFE’s Alsu Kurmasheva is reportedly suspected of gathering sensitive military data
Russian law enforcement officers have detained Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist working for the US state-run media outlet Radio Free Europe, who has been charged with a failure to register as a foreign agent, the outlet has said.
According to both RFE/RL and the local news agency Tatar Inform, Kurmasheva was apprehended in the city of Kazan, central Russia, on Wednesday.
Tatar Info claimed in its report, citing sources familiar with the matter, that investigators believe that in September 2022, Kurmasheva, who holds Russian and US citizenships, was “deliberately gathering military data on Russia’s activities to further transfer it to foreign sources,” which could potentially undermine national security.
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October 19, 2023 at 12:35AM
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Samir Saied and President Kais Saied have been in conflicting positions over a stalled $1.9 billion bailout
Tunisian President Kais Saied has fired Economy and Planning Minister Samir Saied, who advocated for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund for the cash-strapped North African country.
“The President of the Republic, Kais Saied, decided to terminate the duties of Mr. Samir Saied, Minister of Economy and Planning, and also decided to assign Ms. Siham Al-Boughdiri Namsieh, Minister of Finance, to run the Ministry of Economy and Planning on a temporary basis,” the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.
The reason for the decision to fire Saied was not given.
His dismissal came just days after he represented Tunisia at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Marrakech, Morocco.
Tunisia has been grappling with economic difficulties for more than a decade, dating back to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Last year, the government reached a staff-level deal with the IMF for a $1.9 billion loan, but it has yet to meet key commitments required to secure the lender’s final approval.
The Tunisian president has repeatedly rejected the bailout terms, calling them unacceptable “foreign diktats” that will exacerbate poverty and cause social unrest.
The president had warned the minister, who took office in October 2021, over his opposing statements demanding an agreement with the IMF. Earlier this month, the Tunisian leader instructed the minister to base his economic planning on the country’s policies and to reject “diktats.”
However, just before his dismissal on Tuesday, Samir Saied told TAP news agency that “lenders are wondering about Tunisia’s talks with the IMF” and that “any deal would give a strong signal to the rest of the financiers.”
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October 19, 2023 at 12:21AM
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Standing up for Ukraine but not Palestine makes the US and its allies look like hypocrites, officials have told the outlet
Attempts by the US and its allies to “paint Moscow as a global pariah” have been “poisoned” by the rush to support Israeli retaliation against Hamas in Gaza, Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing more than a dozen officials.
“We have definitely lost the battle in the Global South,” one senior G7 diplomat was quoted as saying. “All the work we have done with the Global South [over Ukraine] has been lost… Forget about rules, forget about world order. They won’t ever listen to us again.”
“What we said about Ukraine has to apply to Gaza. Otherwise we lose all our credibility,” the official added. “The Brazilians, the South Africans, the Indonesians: why should they ever believe what we say about human rights?”
Western nations have framed the Ukraine conflict as an act of “unprovoked aggression” and blasted Moscow for the suffering of Ukrainian civilians.
The same nations appeared reluctant to condition their support for Israel on exercising restraint in the wake of a deadly incursion by the Palestinian militant group Hamas this month. Israel has cut off essential supplies to Gaza and subjected it to intense bombardment.
“If you describe cutting off water, food and electricity in Ukraine as a war crime, then you should say the same thing about Gaza,” an Arab official told the newspaper, explaining the apparent lack of consistency.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was confronted over the issue on CNN. Host Jack Tapper stressed that “civilians are civilians” regardless of where they reside. The official declined to say whether Washington was putting pressure on Israel to let supplies into Gaza.
According to The Huffington Post, the US State Department last week instructed high-level diplomats working in the Middle East not to use three specific phrases regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “de-escalation/ceasefire,”“end to violence/bloodshed,” and “restoring calm.”
This week, a Russian-proposed draft resolution denouncing violence against civilians and urging a ceasefire was rejected by the UN Security Council. Another one submitted by Brazil was later vetoed by the US, after 12 members voted for it.
Russia abstained on the second proposal, after its amendment to include a call for a truce was rejected.
“You, colleagues, will certainly come up with some formal justification citing ‘unbalanced language,’ but at this point they would sound pathetic. You have made your choice,” Moscow’s envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, said about the non-inclusion of the wording.
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October 19, 2023 at 12:01AM
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The path to the diplomatic milestone was paved by last month’s summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the foreign minister said
Relations between Russia and North Korea have now soared to new heights, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said during his landmark two-day trip to Pyongyang.
Speaking at a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on Thursday, Lavrov declared that the recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave grounds to say that the bilateral ties “had reached a completely new, strategic level.”
His comments were echoed by his North Korean counterpart, who stated that the partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang is developing into “the invincible relations of comrades-in-arms.”
Meanwhile, the Russian minister also expressed “serious concerns” about the military build-up by the US, Japan, and South Korea on the Korean Peninsula as well as Washington’s policy of deploying strategic infrastructure, including its nuclear assets, in the region.
This summer, the US sent a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea. In recent weeks, it has also staged several joint war games with Seoul’s military on the peninsula, sparking outrage in Pyongyang, which has conducted a flurry of missile tests in the region.
Commenting on the actions of the US and its regional allies, Lavrov pointed out that “we are countering this unconstructive and dangerous line with a policy of ensuring de-escalation here and preventing tensions.”
He added that Russia, North Korea, and China all support laying the groundwork for a “regular negotiation process on security issues on the Korean Peninsula” without any preconditions.
On Wednesday, Lavrov said that during his trip to North Korea, he planned to discuss the implementation of agreements that had been reached by Putin and Kim during their historic summit in Russia’s Far East in September. At the time, the North Korean leader spent almost a week in the neighboring country, touring the Vostochny Cosmodrome, meeting with high-ranking officials, and inspecting Russian advanced weaponry, including nuclear-capable strategic bombers and fighter jets.
Lavrov also praised North Korea for its “unwavering and principled support” of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, including its decision to recognize four formerly Ukrainian regions as part of Russia. The territories in question overwhelmingly voted to join Russia last autumn in public referendums. Earlier, North Korea recognized the results of the referendum in Crimea, which voted to become part of Russia after the 2014 coup in Kiev.
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October 18, 2023 at 11:08PM
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The bloc wants to cooperate with Egypt to prevent a refugee exodus amid the escalation in Gaza, Charles Michel has said
The violent conflict between Palestinian militant groups and Israel spells serious danger for the EU as it could trigger a new refugee influx, European Council President Charles Michel has warned.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Michel pointed out that the example of Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza and has to deal with “millions of refugees,” shows that “the situation can have… very serious consequences for this country and it can have direct consequences for us in Europe.”
With this in mind, the official continued, it is crucial that the EU engages with Egypt to establish a broad partnership on migration to facilitate access to Gaza. At the same time, he noted that Cairo has signaled that it does not want to open borders with the Palestinian enclave, adding that the border crossing area has been the target of frequent attacks.
“Egypt also sees it as a threat to maintaining the possibility of a two-state solution,” he said, referring to a concept that envisages the coexistence of the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.
Michel also stressed that the recent escalation in the region has sent shockwaves across the world, fomenting polarization among different groups. Against this backdrop, he called on EU leaders to cooperate in a bid to defuse tensions by fighting against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia alike.
Fears of a new refugee exodus from the Middle East to the EU were fueled when the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in hundreds of dead and injured.
As the Israeli military pushed back, it ordered 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to immediately leave their homes. This ultimatum was criticized by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who pointed out that travelling through a warzone “to a place with no food, water, or accommodation… is extremely dangerous – and in some cases, simply not possible.”
Amid the hostilities, Israel has also announced a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting of its access to food, water and electricity. Meanwhile, Egypt is still keeping the Rafah crossing, its only land corridor with Gaza, closed, with the Times of Israel reporting on Monday that the country is nevertheless bracing for a massive influx of refugees.
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October 18, 2023 at 12:28AM
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Muslim nations blame the attack on Israel, which says the building was hit by a misfired Palestinian rocket
An apparent missile strike on a hospital in Gaza has killed hundreds of civilians, including doctors, patients and people taking shelter, amid deadly hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian militant movement Hamas. Both sides have blamed each other for the incident.
The news has sparked riots in many Muslim nations, inflaming an already precarious situation in the region.
The strike
Al Ahli Arab Hospital is one of the oldest in Gaza, operating since the early 1880s. Initially it was a Christian medical mission and is known by many locals as the Baptist Hospital. It had been functioning as a free community clinic run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem of the Middle-Eastern branch of the Anglican Church.
On Tuesday night, the facility was destroyed by an explosion. The diocese condemned the “atrocious attack,” calling it a “crime against humanity” and evidence that “Gaza remains bereft of safe havens.”
Officials in Gaza put the preliminary death toll at over 500. It was the deadliest single incident in the Palestinian enclave since hostilities with Israel erupted earlier this month.
Trading accusations
The hospital has declined to blame the tragedy on either side in the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neranyahu has claimed that “a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity” to the building at the time it was hit. He cited military intelligence as indicating that Islamic Jihad, one of the militant groups operating in Gaza, was behind the purported launch.
A spokesman for the group has called the Israeli claim “completely incorrect” and accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “trying to cover for the horrifying crime and massacre they committed against civilians.”
Israeli officials have said they will release intercepted communications from Gaza militants confirming their analysis.
Outrage
Countries and international organizations have condemned the strike on Al Ahli Arab Hospital. Some, including Türkiye and Jordan, have directly blamed Israel.
Hours after the news broke, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry announced the scrapping a planned four-way meeting between King Abdullah II, US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, which was supposed to take place in Amman on Wednesday.
The statement cited the hospital tragedy as one of the reasons, and concluded that there was no chance that the canceled summit could have stopped the war.
Riots
The mass-fatality incident in Gaza has triggered riots in several Muslim-majority nations. In the Jordanian capital, thousands of protesters tried to storm the Israeli embassy, but were pushed back by police.
Similar scenes unfolded in Beirut, Lebanon, as angry crowds targeted the US embassy and the office of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), according to local reports.
In Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city, protesters launched fireworks at the Israeli consulate, while some tried to scale the security fence and set the compound on fire. Police intervened to disperse the rioters.
On Tuesday, the Israeli National Security Council urged citizens to leave Türkiye. The same advisory told Israelis to exercise caution in Morocco.
Iranians flocked to the embassies of France and the UK in Tehran to vent their outrage, but the demonstration reportedly passed peacefully.
Russian reaction
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the news from Gaza as “monstrous” in an interview on Wednesday morning.
“We unequivocally qualify this… as a crime, an act to dehumanize” Palestinians, she said.
Zakharova said Israel and the US should share detailed intelligence about the situation in Gaza at the time of the strike, if they want to convince others that the militants were responsible for the tragedy.
“There cannot and will not be implicit trust in their words,” she stressed.
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October 17, 2023 at 11:58PM
from RT - Daily news
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