Ukraine war: Russia uses winter as a weapon of war and could even contemplate using chemical weapons

Biden administration officials have assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may use chemical weapons in Ukraine first before resorting to a nuclear confrontation with NATO if his troops continue to lose ground..

Read more at:https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/23/russia-chemical-weapons-ukraine-00070743

NATO: The Atlantic military a. lliance strengthens its presence on its eastern European border

ROMANIA, where the foreign ministers of the 30 NATO countries are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. They are there at the invitation of Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu to show support for the countries on NATO's eastern flank and in the Black Sea region. The area has become the new focus of NATO activity since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine on February 24.

Back in the spring, the alliance decided to establish four new battlegroups in Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania to combat the threat from Russia. Battlegroups have already been in place in the three Baltic states and Poland since 2017 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Read more at: https//www.dw.com

China: popular uprising against Covid restrictions increase and now also include protests against lack of democracy in China

A protest poster showing a Friedmann equation was purportedly held up by students in Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University - a play on the word "Friedmann", which sounds similar to "free 的 man" - quite literally translated to "a man who is free".

Friedmann is a Russian physicist and mathematician best-known for his work on the theory of relativity and for introducing the possibility of an expanding universe - a concept that may not have been lost on the protesting students.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com 

Iran - flag: world soccer championship

The U.S. Soccer Federation briefly displayed Iran’s national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying the move supported protesters in Iran ahead of the two nations’ World Cup match Tuesday.

Iran’s government reacted by accusing America of removing the name of God from its national flag. 

Read more at: https://www.metro.us/us-soccer-displays-iran-flag-minus-islamic-republic-emblem/

Ukraine war : Don't underestimate Russia's Putins determination to get out of the trap he is presently in.

Celebrations of Ukraine’s recent military successes are both premature and greatly overdone. Indeed, the cheering could prove to be entirely misplaced and inappropriate. NATO leaders and the Western news media need to realize that they may be celebrating the prelude to a prolonged, extremely bloody war or even an impending nuclear catastrophe.

Read more at: https://www.cato.org/commentary/west-wont-russias-next-move-ukraine#

EU and US trade relations: European trade ministers gathered in Brussels today re: "discriminatory" US Inflation Reduction A'ct,

European trade ministers gathered in Brussels on Friday to discuss the "discriminatory" US Inflation Reduction Act but with just over a month to go before the legislation comes into force, there appears to be no concrete solution on the table yet.

The main issue for Europe is to ensure it doesn't enter into a trade war with the US which could splinter western unity in the face of Russia's illegal war on Ukraine.

"The Inflation Reduction Act as it stands now is quite worrisome, very worrisome, to be honest," Liesje Schreinemacher, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, said upon her arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

Canada - US relations: Secret and classifued documents found in Trump's possession at his Florida residence, set off alarm bells in Canada

Vincent Rigby saw a lot over his 30-year career in public service, much of it working with some of the most sensitive and secret intelligence issues in Canada.

But for all that experience, the former national security adviser to the prime minister found himself in a state of disbelief in August when he saw the FBI search the home of former U.S. president Donald Trump and leave with boxes of highly sensitive, classified information.

Read more at: https://www.cbc.com

Ukraine war: EU Parliament - Votes and agrees on naming Russia a State sponsor of terrorism

The deliberate attacks and atrocities carried out by the Russian Federation against the civilian population of Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law amount to acts of terror against the Ukrainian population and constitute war crimes," MEPs said in a non-binding but highly symbolic resolution.

"In the light of the above, (the European Parliament) recognises Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state which uses means of terrorism."

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

Ukraine War: Kiyiv orthodox monastery raided by Ukraine security forces

The 11th century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, located in the south of the Ukrainian capital, cut its ties with the Kremlin soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine in February. The seat of a branch of Ukraine's Orthodox Church was formerly under Moscow's jurisdiction.

In a statement, the SBU said "counter-intelligence measures" had been conducted as in order to "counter the subversive activities of the Russian security services in Ukraine."

Read more at: https://www.dw.com

Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince appointment by King as PM, provides him with diplomatic immunity, before visit to US, in relation to his involvement, planning and excecution of journalist Jamal Khashoggi murder

Many experts in international law agreed with the administration — but only because of the king's late September title boost for the crown prince, ahead of a scheduled U.S. decision.

“It would have been just as remarkable for the United States to deny MBS’s head-of-state immunity after his appointment as Prime Minister as it would have been for the United States to recognize MBS’s head-of-state immunity before his appointment,” William S. Dodge, a professor at the University of California-Davis School of Law, wrote, using the prince's initials.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

Turkey Bombing; Bulgaria charges 5 persons in connection with Istanbul deadly bombing

Five suspects have been indicted in Bulgaria in connection with a deadly bomb blast in Istanbul on 13 November, which Turkish authorities blamed on Kurdish PKK fighters and their allies in Syria.

"Five people have been charged with helping one of the alleged perpetrators of the attack to flee," said Siyka Mileva, spokeswoman for the Sofia prosecutor general.

Their role was "logistical", she said, adding that the prosecutor's office had requested detention for four of them.

According to local TV stations, three were from Moldova and one from an unspecified Arab country.

Read more at : https://www.euronews.com

:

Suriname: interview with Sutiname's new President Santokhi

President Chandrikapersad Santokhi entered office in July 2020 after a historic campaign. That election pitted Santokhi, a longtime police officer and former justice minister between 2005 to 2010, against Suriname’s then-most powerful person: convicted drug trafficker, alleged murderer, and two-time president between 2010 and 2020, Desiré “Dési” Bouterse.

Bouterse had ruled Suriname on and off for 40 years, including as a military dictator (1980-1987). In 1982, he allegedly ordered the murder of 15 political opponents. In 1983, he hosted Pablo Escobar in his presidential palace. In 1999, he was convicted in absentia by a Dutch court for leading the “Suri Cartel,” a cocaine-trafficking organization.

Read more at: https://www.insightcrime.com

COP27: US shamed as the colossal fossil of the climate summit

The US has been named the “colossal fossil” of the Cop27 climate talks by campaigners who criticised the country for its intransigence in providing support to developing countries hit hardest by the climate crisis.

The “award”, unveiled at a ceremony featuring a person dressed as a dinosaur, is an annual event staged by Climate Action Network International to shame the countries deemed to be blocking climate progress.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com

USA- US Unions regain strengh as Starbucks werkers strike in mo re then 100 stores

Members of the Starbucks Workers Union are picketing outside more than a hundred stores across the country on what they say is the group's largest single-day strike. The walkout falls on what's known as Red Cup Day, when the coffee giant hands out limited-edition holiday reusable cups. They're considered collector's items and customers line up at the crack of dawn to get their hands on a decorated cup. It's one of the coffee giant's most profitable days on the calendar. 

Read more at: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/17/1137296597/starbucks-strike-red-cup-day

Global population: There are now 8 billion people living on our planet, but they are not the cause of global warming

With Earth's population hitting a projected eight billion, it's easy to draw the conclusion that climate change is the result of too many people consuming energy.

But scientists say it's not that simple. Climate change, they say, is more a matter of overconsumption than overpopulation. And there isn't a neat correlation between between the two.

Read more at:https://www.cbc.com

USA: Donald Trump announces he will enter 2024 US Presidental elections

Former U.S. president Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will mount a third White House campaign, launching an early start to the 2024 contest. The announcement comes just a week after an underwhelming midterm showing for his fellow Republicans and will force the party to decide whether to embrace a candidate whose refusal to accept defeat in 2020 pushed American democracy to the brink.

Read more at: https://www.cbc.com

China US relations - G20: Following a three hour meeting with Xi, Biden says he does'nt believe China will invade Taiwan

Speaking after they met on Monday at a luxury resort hotel in Bali, Indonesia, where they are attending the G20 summit, Biden said he and the Chinese leader had been “candid and clear” with each other on subjects ranging from Taiwan to trade.

The meeting, which lasted more than three hours, was seen as an attempt to reduce tensions that have brought US-China relations to their lowest ebb in decades.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com

China and US relations: Xi and Biden meet face to face for the first time, experts say the meeting is aimed at preventing competition from spiraling out of contral

As Biden and Xi prepare to meet in person as top leaders for the first time, experts say the meeting is aimed at preventing competition from spiraling and predict there may be no breakthrough in the relationship.

More than two years after he became president of the United States, Joe Biden will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in Bali on the sideline of the G20 Summit next Monday, as Beijing and Washington try to "build a floor" for their bilateral relationship amid rising tensions.

Read more at: https://www.dw.com

US mid-term elections: Democrats stay in control of the Senate with a win of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

Democrats will stay in control of the U.S. Senate next year after Democratic U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto won re-election in Nevada, Edison Research projected on Saturday, handing a major victory to President Joe Biden.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com

Ukraine Russian Invasion: Ukraine flag flying in center of Kherson

Moscow still considers the entire Kherson region, including its capital, to be part of Russia despite the withdrawal of the Russian army, the Kremlin said on Friday.

Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions were declared to belong to Russia after local "referendums" were held in September – votes that were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive.

The Kherson region "is a subject of the Russian Federation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

USA; Donald Trump - what now, after very poor showing midterm elections of his promoted candidates

Donald Trump's own-party rivals have tossed every rebuke imaginable at him and it's never stuck: Crazy, a kook, a race-baiting bigot, a Russian plant, a narcissist, amoral, a pathological liar, a threat to the republic.

It's never made a dent

Read more at: http://www.cbc.com

 

Ukraine War: Russia orders its troops to withdraw from Kherson

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday ordered Russian troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the face of Ukrainian attacks near the southern city of Kherson.

The announcement marks one of Russia's most significant retreats and a potential turning point in the war, now nearing the end of its ninth month. But it has brought a sceptical response from Ukraine's government.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

Suriname: US Multi-National aluminum corporation Alcoa which operated in multi-cultural Suriname since 1916, caused economic crises in the country when they left

In a country just north of the equator that would fit within a combined Pennsylvania and West Virginia — a country that’s already in a downturn locals call “the crisis” — Alcoa’s decision to permanently end mining and refining has delivered a resonating blow.

 A typical example of multi-national corporate power, and domination, not only at its home base, but also on the economies of small countries, like in this case Suriname. Specially when in their ruthless quest for profits, Alcoa suddenly decided to leave that country after exploiting their natural resources since 1916, to go for other locations in Australia and Africa, leaving behind thousands of unemployed poverty stricken people, a  ruined environment, as a result of their open pit bauxite mining and refining, with caustic filled tailing ponds, poisoning local ground water levels.

Read more at: https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/suriname/overview/

Egypt: the world is on a highway to hell when it comes to global warming, if it does not take serious action says UN chief

World leaders and diplomats framed the fight against global warming as a battle for human survival during opening speeches at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt on Monday, with the head of the United Nations declaring a lack of progress so far had the world speeding down a "highway to hell".

Read more at: https://www.cbc.com

US Midterm Elections: Florida Republicans call Democrats Socialists, and the global inflation a Biden created inflation -- How stupid can you get ?

On the eve of an election that Republicans believe will affirm their growing popularity in Miami-Dade County, Spanish-language social-media influencer Alex Otaola led another of his patented caravans across the county on Saturday, rallying Republicans on behalf of GOP candidates and against Democrats. Otaola, whose Cubanos por el Mundo YouTube channel has 253,000 subscribers, live-streamed the event, held on the final weekend of early voting before the Nov. 8 election. 

He stood halfway through a sunroof at times, shouting “¡Vamos!” through a bullhorn as a parade of cars adorned with American flags and Trump 2024 banners trailed behind him, blaring their horns in the eastbound lanes of Southwest Eighth Street. Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, running for reelection against Colombian-American state Sen. Annette Taddeo, was among the participants. 

She rode inside a brightly colored Colombian Chiva bus and encouraged her supporters to go out to vote early rather than wait for Election Day to cast a ballot. TOP VIDEOS × “It’s very important that people get out to vote,” she said. “It’s the only way ... to cut off the head of the political class that isn’t doing what you need” to address problems like inflation or the rising cost of housing and gasoline.

Monitoring misinformation: What’s being said on Spanish radio in Miami before election? Otaola, whose caravans became fodder for national news during the pandemic and 2020 election — a contest in which former President Donald Trump significantly improved his standing in Miami-Dade County, particularly in majority-Hispanic neighborhoods — called on his viewers during recent shows to participate in what he described as an effort to “save America from communism and socialism.” 

“Say no to negotiations with dictatorships. Say no to open-border policies implemented by the Biden administration and all the insecurities that are all over the American nation,” Otaola said during a brief interview outside the early voting center at the former museum of science in Coconut Grove, where he stopped to take photos with fans at the caravan’s endpoint. 

Social media, influencers are Cuban Americans’ main source of Cuba news, FIU poll finds Critics have blamed Otaola and politicians like Salazar for exaggerating the influence of socialism on the Democratic party. Otaola has accused Democrats of  spreading hateful rhetoric — a charge often lobbed at him by his own detractors, who accuse him of frequently promoting misinformation. Saturday afternoon’s caravan took place one day before Trump is set to rally with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and other Republican officials at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition in west Miami-Dade. Republicans believe they’ll continue to improve their performance this year in Miami-Dade County, which has in recent history been a Democratic stronghold for top-of-ticket candidates.

 Hundreds of South Florida Residents joined influencer Alex Otaola on a ”Salvemos America” (Let’s save America) caravan along the streets of Miami from Krome Avenue to Coconut Grove, in support of all Republican candidates On Saturday, November 05, 2022. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com As of Saturday morning, state data showed that Republican voters had cast several thousand more votes than Democrats in Miami-Dade County, due to a strong showing at early voting centers. This article is part of a project on misinformation in Spanish-language media by the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and researchers at Florida International University. It is funded by Journalism Funding Partners, which received support from the Knight Disinformation Fund at The Miami Foundation. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of the content.

Read the full Miami Herald report at:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article268307547.html

 

EU in crises mode?: Turkish author tells audience at Bruxelles conference that Europe is experiencing similar problems, as the US in safe-guarding democracy

Russia's war in Ukraine and the economic impact it is having on Europe have underscored an ongoing "crisis of democracy" that won't be fixed with small changes, a renowned Turkish political author has warned. 

"There is real panic in Europe and I feel it everywhere I go," Ece Temelkuran, author of "How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship", told Euronews.

She was speaking on the margin of a conference in Brussels organised by think tank Friends of Europe and entitled "Making sense of transitions in an age of crises: a Renewed Social Contract for a new era."

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

US - midterm elections; Obama tells Democrats, stop moping, go out and vote on Tuesday

Barack Obama warned Democrats on Saturday that abortion rights, Social Security and even democracy itself is at risk should Republicans seize congressional majorities next week. "Sulking and moping is not an option," the former president said in Pennsylvania.

"On Tuesday, let's make sure our country doesn't get set back 50 years," Obama told hundreds of voters on a blustery day in Pittsburgh. "The only way to save democracy is if we, together, fight for it."

He was the opening speaker in a clash of presidents past and present in the battleground state as each party's biggest stars worked to energize voters on the final weekend of campaigning before election day on Tuesday.

Read more at : https//www.cbc.com

US Midterm Elections 2022: will American Democracy be able to survive the onslaught of radical right-wing political forces

With the United States midterm elections just around the corner, three University of Rochester political science professors consider what’s at stake. Through the lens of their respective research focuses, Gerald Gamm, Gretchen Helmke, and James Johnson discuss political hyperpolarization, what happens when losers don’t concede elections, the likelihood of civil war, and the outlook for US democracy.

Read more at:    https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/2022-midterm-elections-us-democracy-539632/    

Britain: major and long recession expected

The Bank of England warned Thursday that the U.K. is facing its longest recession since records began, with the economic downturn expected to extend well into 2024.

The central bank described the outlook for Britain’s economy as “very challenging,” noting that unemployment would likely double to 6.5% during the country’s two-year slump.

Read more at: https;//www.cnbc.com

US Economy repair: and its not comunism or socialism - just realism

If we truly want to stop inflation and corporate greed, Governments should nationalize Healthcare, including the Pharmaceutical industry, and the Energy industry. The Educational sector should be liberalized, and subsidized by the government, making all education free, based on student qualification proficency tests. Putting all of the  above in the hands of the private sector has not worked, and will never work. This is not Communism, or Socialism, this is pure logic.

" 

Read more at: https://www.eu-digest.blogspot.com

China: Canadian broadcasting corporation closes down their offices in China

CBC says it ‘can’t get visas for journalists’ to work in China as permanent correspondents, prompting bureau closure.

Read more at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/2/canadas-public-broadcaster-shutting-beijing-bureau

Russian invasion Ukraine: Russia rejoins UN grain deal

Russia has performed an abrupt U-turn and again agreed to allow the safe shipment of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu told his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday that Moscow has agreed to return to the Turkish and UN-brokered deal.

In a statement, the ministry later confirmed that Ukraine had pledged not to use a designated Black Sea corridor to attack Russian forces.

Read  more at: https;//www.euronews.com

Ukraine Russian invasion:Russia recruits US trained Afghan special forces to fight in Ukraine

Russia is trying to recruit Afghan special forces to fight in Ukraine, reports AP. 

Moscow wants to attract the elite Afghan soldiers, who fought alongside US troops during their 20-year occupation, to join a "foreign legion". 

It is offering lucrative salaries of €1,500 a month and promises safe havens for the ex-servicemen and their families. 

Most of the men fled Afghanistan to neighbouring Iran, following the US's chaotic withdrawal last year. They cannot return home as they risk death at the hands of the Taliban.

Read more at:  https://www.euronews.com