Month: November 2024

The US president-elect will work to hammer out a deal between Hamas and Israel, a top Republican senator said

US President-elect Donald Trump wants to see Israel and Hamas reach a deal on the ceasefire deal in Gaza and the release of remaining Israeli hostages, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Axios in an interview published on Friday.

More than 44,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza since the fighting broke out between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces more than a year ago. The IDF operation in the Palestinian enclave was triggered by a surprise Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which left some 1,200 Israelis dead. The group took more than 250 hostages, around 100 of whom are believed to still be held in Gaza.

“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham told Axios. He traveled to the Middle East earlier this month and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to Axios, Graham frequently speaks to Trump and advises him on the issues related to foreign policy and the Middle East. The senator said that the president-elect wants to reach a deal on Gaza so he could then focus on other issues, including the normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations and consolidating a regional coalition against Tehran.

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War fatigue growing in Israel – WaPo

Graham expressed hope that “Trump and the [outgoing] Biden administration will work together during the transition period to release the hostages and get a ceasefire.”

Earlier this week, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the armed group was ready for a ceasefire with Israel. According to Zuhri, Hamas demonstrated “high flexibility” and remains “interested in reaching an agreement that ends the war in Gaza.” He also accused Netanyahu of showing no interest in reaching a truce.

Netanyahu told Israeli Channel 14 on Thursday that he was “ready for a ceasefire at any time” but only if West Jerusalem “can achieve the release of the hostages.” At that same time, he maintained that a ceasefire would not mean an end to the war against Hamas.

According to AFP, Hamas informed Egypt, Türkiye and Qatar it is “ready for a ceasefire” and a “serious” prisoner exchange.

On November 27, Israel and the Lebanese-based pro-Palestinian group Hezbollah agreed to ceasefire mediated by the US and France. The truce entered force on Wednesday morning. Both sides have since accused each other of violations.

The family of a couple missing after a tourist boat sank are anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.

The Princess of Wales writes of the need for mutual support ahead of her carol concert next week.

Protesters gathered across Georgia on Saturday night in a third straight night of demonstrations against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union. Masked police in riot gear fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons at protesters as clashes broke out outside parliament in Tbilisi.

Anyone looking to replace the US dollar can “wave goodbye to America,” the president-elect has declared

The BRICS nations will be hit with 100% tariffs on their goods if they try to introduce a reserve currency to rival the dollar, US President-elect Donald Trump has warned. Trump has repeatedly threatened to use tariffs to achieve his geopolitical goals.

”The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

Trump went on to say that he would ask the BRICS nations to promise not to create a common currency, “nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar,” or they will face 100% tariffs.

”They can go find another ‘sucker!’” he continued. “There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the US Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”

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BRICS works in full consensus – South African diplomat

BRICS previously comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and was expanded in January to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Around 30 other nations have expressed interest in joining the group of emerging economies.

Russia, which currently holds the group’s rotating presidency, floated the idea of introducing a BRICS currency in 2022. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva echoed Moscow’s proposal last year, arguing that having the option of trading in another reserve currency would reduce the BRICS countries’ “vulnerability” to fluctuations in the dollar’s exchange rate.

BRICS leaders stopped short of announcing plans for such a currency at their summit in the Russian city of Kazan last month. Instead, the group pledged to set up a cross-border payment system to function alongside the Western SWIFT network, and to increase their use of local currencies in international trade.

”Cooperation within BRICS is not directed against anyone or anything – neither against the dollar nor against other currencies,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated in October. “It pursues the main goal of ensuring the interests of those countries that participate in this format.”

READ MORE: China could devalue yuan to spite Trump – JP Morgan

Using local currencies to settle bilateral trade bills “helps to keep economic development free from politics,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time.

Trump has vowed to use tariffs to settle US trade deficits, force offshore manufacturers to return, and achieve a range of geopolitical goals. In addition to proposing a blanket tariff of 20% on all incoming goods, Trump has threatened Canada and Mexico with additional 25% tariffs if they fail to reduce the flow of migrants and drugs into the US. Trump also declared this week that “we will be charging China an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs,” until Beijing “follows through” on punishing the producers and smugglers of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

The nation’s president has said his forces and allies are capable of holding back the jihadist advance

Syrian President Bashar Assad has vowed to defeat the jihadists currently rampaging through the north of his country, “no matter how intense their terrorist attacks are.” His comments came as the Syrian Army geared up to defend the city of Hama from the attackers.

In a phone call with Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on Saturday, Assad stressed that “Syria continues to defend its stability and territorial integrity in the face of all terrorists,” according to a readout published by his office. 

Syria “is capable, with the help of its allies and friends, of defeating and eliminating them no matter how intense their terrorist attacks are,” Assad added, according to the statement.

The Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group – formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra – and a collection of allied militias attacked government-controlled territory in northern Syria on Wednesday, breaking a fragile truce established by Russia and Türkiye in 2020. By Friday, HTS fighters had entered Aleppo, which had been under Syrian government control since 2016.

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Terrorists attack Iranian consulate in Syria – Tehran

In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian General Command said that the attack was “supported by thousands of foreign terrorists, heavy weapons, and a large number of drones,” and that dozens of Syrian Army personnel had been killed defending Aleppo. 

Syrian government forces succeeded in preventing the total loss of Aleppo, and have withdrawn from the city to prepare a counterattack, the General Command said. According to unconfirmed reports on social media, Syrian forces have started arriving in the city of Hama – around 80km south of Aleppo – in preparation for this counteroffensive.

Sporadic clashes have broken out on the outskirts of Hama as the jihadists advance on the city, Turkish media reported on Saturday. Iranian military advisers and volunteers have arrived in Hama to assist the Syrian military, according to both pro- and anti-Assad Telegram news groups.

Sheikh Mohammed told Assad that the UAE “stands with the Syrian state and supports it in combating terrorism and extending its sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability,” according the Syrian leader’s office.

READ MORE: Syrian jets strike jihadist targets (VIDEO)

Iran has vowed to issue a “serious” response to HTS, after the group attacked its consulate in Aleppo and killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Kiyumars Pourhashemi earlier this week. Russia, which has maintained a military presence in Syria since 2015, has been carrying out airstrikes against the jihadists, killing at least 600 militants since Thursday, according to Colonel Oleg Ignasyuk, the deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria.

Pro-EU critic of ruling Georgian Dream party says she won’t leave office next month as parliament elected fraudulently.

Over 300 people have been killed since rebels launched an offensive against the government this week.

Georgia Maidan. Aleppo fog of war. Elensky 16% support. MI6 covert action to defeat Putin

Georgia Maidan. Aleppo fog of war. Elensky 16% support.

Nobody will have to work during extreme weather, Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz has declared

Spain’s left-wing government has passed legislation guaranteeing up to four paid days off for people who can’t travel to work due to “climate emergencies.” The law was passed less than a month after more than 200 people were killed in flash floods in Valencia.

The law was enacted on Friday, a day after it was approved by the country’s Council of Ministers, which is dominated by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Workers’ Party.

The paid days will apply when civil protection and meteorological organizations issue extreme weather warnings, Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz explained on Thursday, declaring that “no worker will have to run any risk.”

Should a weather emergency persist beyond four days, employers will be able to extend their workers’ “climate leave,” with the government covering their lost earnings.

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Spanish king pelted with mud by furious flood responders (VIDEOS)

At least 229 people were killed last month when torrential downpours caused flash flooding that inundated several towns in Spain’s eastern province of Valencia. Locals have accused regional president Carlos Mazon of failing to issue an alert urging workers to stay at home on the day of the disaster.

Mazon has defied public anger and refused to resign, arguing that he was not notified of the seriousness of the situation by the government’s water monitoring body.

Sanchez and Spanish King Felipe VI have also been condemned by angry survivors of the tragedy, although in her speech on Thursday, Diaz attempted to pin as much of the blame as possible on Mazon, who is a member of the conservative People’s Party.

“In the face of climate denialism from the right, the Spanish government is committed to green policies,” she said, before announcing additional economic aid for survivors of the disaster. To date, the government has approved €16.6 billion ($17.5 billion) in assistance for the region.