Europe won’t be able to finance Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s invasion on its own if the US withdraws support under Donald Trump’s next presidency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday.

Orban said recent events vindicated the conclusions from his controversial July diplomatic mission to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing and showed Ukraine was losing the war.

“The Americans are going to get out of this war,” Orban, who is hosting a European Union summit in Budapest on Friday, said on public radio. “Europe can’t finance this war on its own.”

Archive link

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Argentina's President Javier Milei on Wednesday replaced Foreign Affairs Minister Diana Mondino after she voted in favor of lifting the U.S. embargo against Cuba at the United Nations.

Milei, a libertarian who took office in late 2023, is unabashedly pro-United States and has taken a cooler stance toward leftist trade partners in the region and overseas, including by taking steps to distance Argentina from Cuba and Venezuela.

Earlier on Wednesday, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly called on the United States to end its decades-long sanctions regime on Cuba, in a non-binding resolution opposed only by the U.S. and Israel.

Milei, who has said that he wants Argentina to be in line with the U.S. and Israel, shared a post on social media from a lower house lawmaker praising his government for "not supporting nor being an accomplice of dictators."

Israeli hooligans provoked clashes with Dutch youth in Amsterdam on Thursday after they chanted racist anti-Arab slogans, tore down Palestinian flags and ignored a minute of silence for the Spanish flood victims.

The attacks by some of the travelling Maccabi Tel Aviv fans occurred on Wednesday and Thursday in different parts of of the Dutch capital ahead of their Uefa Europa League match against Amsterdam club Ajax.

Hooligans were seen removing at least two Palestinian flags from what appeared to be the front of locals' homes a night before the match, according to the AD daily newspaper.

An Arab taxi driver was also attacked by mobs who appeared to be with the Israeli fans, although police said they couldn't identify the nationality of the attackers as no arrests were made.

A group of Israeli fans gathered in the Dam Square on Wednesday were filmed sparking confrontations with locals, shouting “Fuck you” at some of them and “Fuck you Palestine”.

Ahead of match on Thursday, fans heading to the Johan Cruyff Arena stadium were seen shouting: “Let the IDF (Israeli army) fuck the Arabs”.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof called the clashes “unacceptable antisemitic attacks” but failed to mention the assaults by the hooligans against Dutch citizens.

The European Union and China said they made some progress after a week of technical talks in Beijing aimed at scaling back or reversing tariffs that the bloc applied to electric vehicles made in China.

The EU and China have been seeking an agreement on so-called price undertakings — a complex mechanism to control prices and volumes of exports, used to avoid tariffs.

China’s invitation to negotiate in person was seen a sign of some momentum in the talks, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several rounds of talks didn’t yield a solution that meet the EU’s strict requirements, including alignment with WTO rules and compensating for the full effect of the duties. The 27-nation bloc also wants to ensure it can monitor compliance.

Negotiations will continue at a technical level next week, both sides said.

Archive link

Stronger Law Needed to Govern Weapon with Cruel Effects

Geneva - Countries concerned by the severe physical, psychological, socioeconomic, and environmental harm caused by incendiary weapons should work to strengthen the international law that governs them, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. States party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) should condemn the use of incendiary weapons and agree to assess the adequacy of the treaty’s Protocol III on Incendiary Weapons when they hold their annual meeting at the United Nations in Geneva from November 13 to 15, 2024.

“Governments should seize the moment to reiterate their concerns about incendiary weapons and discuss ways to strengthen the law to better protect civilians. A complete ban on incendiary weapons would undoubtedly have the greatest humanitarian benefits.”

Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House was not the surprise it was when he won his first term, Chinese officials have said, and this time, policy strategy and contingencies have been planned well in advance.

When Trump won the 2016 US presidential election, Beijing, like the rest of world, was caught off guard because attention had focused on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the country’s former top diplomat and a familiar face for Beijing.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Chinese officials told the Post that a mix of research and preparation was under way well before election day so that Beijing would be better prepared in the event of a second Trump term.

Discussions on how to prepare for the possibility of a second Trump term began in the spring, according to an official overseeing research.

A source familiar with the situation said advisers wrote reports on how to manage such an outcome.

The person added that he believed Chinese officials were also looking into the prominent role that the world’s richest person – Elon Musk – had played, as well as his ties with China.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss gave more than US$120 million to help fund Trump’s campaign. Musk has also had extensive dealings with top Chinese leaders due to his business in China, but it is unclear what role the billionaire will play in the new administration.

Trump’s victory will not affect China’s general economic direction; it has been set with all kinds of scenarios taken into consideration, according to a contact from a central level economic-related office.

“But when Trump comes back, the US may resume its strategy of pulling back and pushing for manufacturing to return home, escalating the trade war, and this could create barriers to exporting products and affect the real economy in China,” the person added.

Another source familiar with China’s Middle East foreign policy said China may have to adjust its diplomatic strategy in view of Trump’s steadfast support for Israel and his bold moves in his first term to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The possibility of an intensified arms race is also on Beijing’s radar, according to the source.

Trump’s stance on China may not differ much from his first term but “its indirect policies – those affecting areas outside China – and their impact would be very different [when they land on China]”, a contact with a trade-related office said.

The US approach to China has seen a major shift, and Trump in 2017 listed China, along with Russia, as America’s primary threats. Under Trump, tensions between the two countries spilled over from trade to technology, and from geopolitics to ideology.

Zhu said China’s approach to US policy was already set and remained consistent. “Even with its pressure on China, Beijing continues to emphasise that both countries should still work together,” he said.

“Still, there is no way that you can sufficiently prepare for it. Now with Republicans dominating the White House and the Senate, the Congress could push agendas much further than we have seen under Biden, such as on the removal of [most-favoured nation] status and on diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.”

Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Centre for China Analysis, said: “China is better prepared for Trump this time, and [Chinese President Xi Jinping] is likely to target his preference for deal-making to press for strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific.”

China would look to divide and rule US allies and partners by trumpeting Beijing’s support for economic globalisation and framing Washington as a disruptive force, he added.

The US and China have each built up their respective alliances over the past couple of years in economic, military and diplomatic fields.

China’s top challenge under Trump would be guiding its delicate economy through the bruising tariff war that he wanted to unleash, he said.

Archive link

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that the two nations should strengthen strategic ties and enhance mutual political trust in efforts to support their core interests.

China’s leader said the two countries should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly promote development in digital economy, artificial intelligence, new energy and other areas, state broadcaster China Central Television reported, citing their Thursday meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The Malaysian leader’s trip comes as the Muslim-majority country draws closer to Beijing, with Anwar openly criticizing the US over its support of Israel. Last month, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand became partner nations to the BRICS bloc that China and Russia hope becomes a counterweight to the US-led West.

China also welcomes more high-quality Malaysian imports and is willing to deepen cooperation in other areas including higher education, culture and tourism, Xi said.

The Malaysian government is committed to enhancing its strategic ties with China, Anwar was quoted as saying in the report.

Archive link

Donald Trump wants to remove US troops from northern Syria rather than leaving them as "cannon fodder" if fighting broke out between Turkey and Kurdish fighters, Robert F Kennedy Jr said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Tucker Carlson during a live broadcast covering the US presidential election result, the Trump ally, who is expected to play a major role in his government, said the president-elect had expressed his intentions for northern Syria during a plane journey.

"We were talking about the Middle East, and he took a piece of paper and he drew on it [a] map of the Middle East with all the nations on it, which most Americans couldn't do," he told the right-wing broadcaster.

The Knesset approved the second and third readings of the proposed law to expel the families of terrorists during the early hours of Thursday morning, Israeli media reported.

61 Knesset members reportedly supported the proposal, and 41 opposed it. The law grants the interior minister authority, following a hearing, to order the deportation of a terrorist’s family member—such as a father, mother, sibling, child, spouse, or common-law partner—to Gaza or another location.

https://xcancel.com/mossrobeson__/status/1854250694309794183#m

Some people clearly need this reality check 🤠

The Republican president-elect has threatened to relaunch a trade war with Europe, withdraw US support for Ukraine, and roll back America’s transatlantic security commitment.

Even as European leaders scrambled to congratulate Donald Trump and offered to work with him, some of their underlings were on the brink of despair.

“It is a disaster for us, there is no good to come from this,” said an EU diplomat, whose weary eyes betrayed an all-nighter watching the election results roll in.

Officials in the Belgian capital have spent months discussing how to “Trump-proof” the EU and Nato.

On Monday, its incoming trade chief Maros Sefcovic said that regardless of who won, the bloc would “put forward an offer of cooperation” but would “be ready to stand up for our interest if faced with a disruptive scenario”.

Archive link

Germany's ruling coalition government has finally agreed on a new antisemitism resolution after months of debate amongst German politicians and fears that it will silence critics of Israel.

The final draft of the resolution titled "Never Again is Now: Protecting, Preserving and Strengthening Jewish Life in Germany" was agreed upon last Friday by the coalition consisting of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Green Party and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), as well as the oppositional Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Its main features are the prioritisation of the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and the withholding of state funds for artistic and scientific endeavours from those who take part in boycotts of Israel.