Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges allies to act before N Korean troops reach front
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged its allies to stop “watching” and take steps before North Korean troops deployed in Russia reach the battlefield, and the country’s army chief warned that his troops are facing “one of the most powerful offensives” by Moscow since the all-out war started more than two years ago. Zelenskyy raised the prospect of a preemptive Ukrainian strike on camps where the North Korean troops are being trained and said Kyiv knows their location. But he said Ukraine cannot do it without permission from allies to use Western-made long-range weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia. “But instead … America is watching, Britain is watching, Germany is watching. Everyone is just waiting for the North Korean military to start attacking Ukrainians as well,” Zelenskyy said in a post late Friday on the Telegram messaging app. The Biden administration said on Thursday that some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia’s Kursk region near Ukraine’s border and are preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days. On Saturday, Ukraine’s military intelligence said that more than 7,000 North Koreans equipped with Russian gear and weapons had been transported to areas near Ukraine. The agency, known by its acronym GUR, said that North Korean troops were being trained at five locations in Russia’s Far East. It did not specify its source of information. Western leaders have described the North Korean troop deployment as a significant escalation that could also jolt relations in the Asia Pacific region, and open the door to technology transfers from Moscow to Pyongyang that could advance the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met with her Russian counterpart in Moscow on Friday. Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly said they need permission to use Western weapons to strike arms depots, airfields and military bases far from the border to motivate Russia to seek peace. In response, US defence officials have argued that the missiles are limited in number, and that Ukraine is already using its own long-range drones to hit targets farther into Russia. Moscow has also consistently signalled that it would view any such strikes as a major escalation. President Vladimir Putin warned on September 12 that Russia would be “at war” with the US and NATO states if they approve them. Firefighters work at a site of an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters] Ukraine facing ‘powerful’ Russian offensive Zelenskyy’s call came shortly before Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskii, said on Saturday that his troops are struggling to stem “one of the most powerful offensives” by Russia since its all-out invasion of its southern neighbour in February 2022. Writing on Telegram following a call with a top Czech military official, Syrskii hinted that Ukrainian units are taking heavy losses in the fighting, which he said “require constant renewal of resources.” While Syrskii did not specify where the heavy fighting took place, Russia has for months been conducting a ferocious campaign along the eastern front in Ukraine, gradually compelling Kyiv to surrender ground. But Moscow has struggled to push Ukrainian forces out of its Kursk border region following an incursion almost three months ago. Dozens injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight into Saturday, killing a policeman and injuring dozens, local Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. According to Syniehubov and Ukraine’s national police force, one missile slammed into a spot where a large group of police were gathered, killing a 40-year-old serviceman and injuring 36 more. In Ukraine’s southern Kherson province, Russian shelling on Saturday killed a 40-year-old woman and wounded three others, including two children, local Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. Another Kherson resident was wounded in a drone attack later that day, according to local Ukrainian authorities. Five more civilians, including two children, were injured after Russia struck Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said. In Kyiv, air raid sirens wailed for more than five hours early Saturday morning as Russian drones rained on the capital, sparking a fire in an office block downtown and injuring two people, according to the city’s military administration. Overall, Russian forces overnight attacked Ukraine with more than 70 Iranian-made Shahed drones, the Ukrainian air force reported Saturday. It said most were shot down or sent off-course using GPS jamming. Falling debris damaged power networks and residential buildings in multiple provinces and injured an elderly woman near Kyiv, officials said. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry hinted that Russia’s drone campaign was slowing down, saying Moscow launched just more than half as many in October as the month before. Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry reported that its forces overnight shot down 24 Ukrainian drones over four Russian regions and occupied Crimea. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Adblock test (Why?)
How significant is North Korea’s support for Russia?
Pyongyang says it will stand by Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The United States says thousands of North Korean soldiers are now on Russian soil, preparing to enter the war against Ukraine. Most are in Russia’s Kursk region – where Ukraine launched a counter-invasion almost three months ago. Fighting there has been intense, and some analysts say the addition of North Korean troops could change the dynamics of the conflict. As the Kremlin struggles to lure new recruits, Pyongyang has pledged unwavering support for Moscow. Does Vladimir Putin’s reach for North Korean troops reveal a military stretched to the breaking point? Or is this a sign of Russian strength, as it builds new alliances? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests: Graham Ong-Webb – Adjunct fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Pavel Felgenhauer – Military analyst and political commentator Craig Mark – Adjunct lecturer at Hosei University, Tokyo Adblock test (Why?)
Donald Trump targets Liz Cheney as he courts Arab, Muslim voters
NewsFeed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump again attacked Republican ex-lawmaker Liz Cheney, who has campaigned with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, saying she “always wants war” and suggesting she would be a coward on a battlefield. Trump has been courting Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan. Published On 2 Nov 20242 Nov 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
The Gaza factor in the US election
Voters distraught over the war in Gaza are torn between Harris and Trump. With the United States presidential election just days away, the race for the White House is too close to call. Given the Biden administration’s support for the war in Gaza, many Arab American voters who normally vote Democrat are now leaning towards Trump, creating panic in the Democratic Party’s electoral machine. Contributors:Shadi Hamid – Columnist, The Washington PostSamraa Luqman – Trump supporterWa’el Alzayat – CEO, EmgageYumna Patel – Editor-in-Chief, Mondoweiss On our radar: As US media outlets brace for a possible Trump victory, major publications like The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times have chosen to withhold presidential endorsements. Meenakshi Ravi breaks down the implications of this. More than three years after a military coup halted Myanmar’s democratic progress, journalists continue to report – often covertly or from abroad. Among them, the Mizzima network has become a symbol of the nation’s enduring struggle against military rule. Featuring:Mu Philista – Journalist, Kantarawaddy TimesSein Win – Managing Editor, MizzimaSoe Myint – Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief, Mizzima Adblock test (Why?)
In Context: What Trump said about Cheney facing a firing squad
EXPLAINER With widespread interpretations of Trump’s remarks, we review his comments in their original context. So what did he say — and what did he likely mean? By Amy Sherman | PolitiFact Published On 2 Nov 20242 Nov 2024 Former US President Donald Trump called former US Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney a “radical war hawk” and said she should see how it feels to face guns “trained on her face”. Trump made the comments to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at an October 31 campaign event in Glendale, Arizona. Carlson asked Trump whether it was “weird” for him to see Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, campaigning against him. Liz Cheney has vocally supported Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and her father also said he would vote for Harris. With widespread interpretations of Trump’s remarks, we review his comments in their original context. So what did he say – and what did he likely mean? Trump’s answer to Carlson’s question lasted several minutes and covered his feelings about former President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney; the pardon of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was a former Dick Cheney aide; and the US House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol. Trump’s comments about Liz Cheney and a firing squad drew the most public attention. When asked about Liz Cheney campaigning for Harris, Trump said, “Well, I think it hurts Kamala a lot. Actually. Look, [Cheney is] a deranged person. The reason she doesn’t like me is that she wanted to stay in Iraq.” Trump covered many other topics, then said, “I don’t want to go to war. [Liz Cheney] wanted to go, she wanted to stay in Syria. I took [troops] out. She wanted to stay in Iraq. I took them out. I mean, if it were up to her, we’d be in 50 different countries. And you know, number one, it’s very dangerous. Number two, a lot of people get killed. And number three, I mean, it’s very, very expensive.” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a fireside chat with Tucker Carlson at ‘Tucker Carlson Live on Tour’ at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on October 31, 2024 [Brendan McDermid/Reuters] Later, Trump added, “I don’t blame [Dick Cheney] for sticking with his daughter, but his daughter is a very dumb individual, very dumb. She is a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.” Liz Cheney replied on November 1 on X: “This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death. We cannot entrust our country and our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant.” Her post included the hashtags #Womenwillnotbesilenced and #VoteKamala. Some people, including former Republican presidential candidate and Illinois representative Joe Walsh, a Trump critic, said Trump’s main point was about Liz Cheney’s stance on war. Trump’s campaign defended his remarks, publishing multiple statements: Campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt wrote on November 1 on X: “To every FAKE NEWS reporter taking President Trump’s words out of context: President Trump was CLEARLY explaining that warmongers like Liz Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves. In a November 1 statement to the press, the Trump campaign wrote, “The press has been disgracefully covering these remarks by saying that President Trump suggested that Liz Cheney should be put in front of a ‘firing squad’. Are these reporters malicious or dumb? President Trump was clearly describing a combat zone.” In another November 1 statement to the press, the campaign wrote, “Nowhere did President Trump suggest War Hawk Liz Cheney be put in front of a ‘firing squad’, be ‘executed’, or be ‘shot’ — he was making the point that War Hawks are quick to start endless foreign wars and send other Americans to fight, with zero regard for the human cost.” In 2002, Dick Cheney made the George W. Bush administration’s case for preemptive military action against Iraq based on allegations about weapons of mass destruction. In 2007, the Institute for Defense Analyses, a nonprofit research branch of the Pentagon’s Joint Forces Command, completed an assessment of the Bush administration’s rationale, basing its conclusions on more than half a million captured Iraqi documents. That study “found no ‘smoking gun’ (i.e., direct connection) between Saddam’s Iraq and al-Qaida”. When Liz Cheney represented Wyoming as a Republican in Congress, she supported Trump’s legislative agenda while he was president but broke with him after the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. She dismissed Trump’s false claims of a fraudulent 2020 election and has blamed him for inciting the Capitol riot. Cheney served on the US House January 6 select committee that held public hearings about the riot. She lost her reelection bid in 2022. Adblock test (Why?)
Armed group in Bolivia takes over military post in latest flare-up
The takeover is latest chapter in standoff between the Arce government and supporters of ex-president Evo Morales. An armed group in Bolivia has taken over a military post outside the city of Cochabamba while holding some soldiers captive, the armed forces said in a statement, ramping up tensions in the already restive Andean nation. Cochabamba, located in central Bolivia, is home to many supporters of former President Evo Morales. Friday’s standoff over the military post, located about 100 miles (160 km) east of Cochabamba, marks the latest escalation in Bolivia’s increasingly volatile and often violent politics. The military’s statement described the armed group as “irregular”, noting it had also taken control of firearms and ammunition, and stressed that such actions amounted to treason. Authorities urge group to disperse ‘immediately and peacefully’ It urged those responsible for the takeover to “immediately and peacefully” abandon the facility. “The lives of my instructors and soldiers are in danger,” warned an unnamed military official in a recording broadcast on local media. Televised images showed a row of uniformed soldiers with their hands behind their backs, possibly tied, surrounded by members of the armed group. Earlier on Friday, some soldiers stationed in the area as well as their families fled their homes, as police stations shut down to prevent further confrontations. After police and military units sought to remove a key highway blockade that connects Cochabamba with the city of Oruro, some protesters retaliated by launching dynamite at them from nearby hills. Police then hurled tear gas canisters at them. The seizure of the military outpost is seen as a response to efforts earlier this week by security forces under the control of President Luis Arce to dislodge highway blockades organised by supporters of Morales since mid-October. The two leftist leaders, both with roots in Bolivia’s ruling socialist party, have gone from close allies to bitter rivals in recent months as they jockey for position ahead of next year’s presidential election. In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Arce called for an end to the blockades, estimating that the disruptions to key transport routes have already cost the impoverished South American country’s economy over $1.7bn. Adblock test (Why?)
Supreme Court rejects bid by GOP not to count some Pennsylvania ballots
Republicans wanted some so-called provisional ballots to be rejected. The United States Supreme Court has dismissed an effort by Republicans to prevent the counting of provisional ballots in Pennsylvania – a move that would have meant thousands of votes were not tallied. Republicans in the state, which Joe Biden and the Democrats narrowly won in the 2020 US presidential election on their way to victory, had argued that “tens of thousands of votes” could be at stake and ought to have been rejected. Reports suggested that as of late this week, somewhere close to 9,000 ballots out of more than 1.6 million were returned, as they had arrived at election offices around Pennsylvania lacking a secrecy envelope, a signature or a date. The ruling is a victory for voting-rights advocates, who had tried to force various counties, especially Republican-controlled counties, to allow voters to cast a provisional ballot on Election Day if they had realised their mail-in ballot was to be rejected for any of a variety of errors. Provisional ballots generally protect voters from being excluded from the voting process if their eligibility is uncertain on Election Day. The vote is counted once officials confirm eligibility. The Associated Press said the court ruling could apply to thousands of ballots, and possibly more, according to elections experts. ‘The right to vote means the right to have your vote counted’ The Supreme Court justices left in place a decision by Pennsylvania’s top court that elections officials must count provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected. Democrats had intervened on the side of the activists, arguing that if a defective mail-in ballot could not be counted, that person had not yet voted and a provisional ballot must be counted. Harris campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler and Democratic National Committee spokesperson Rosemary Boeglin said in a joint statement after the Supreme Court acted: “In Pennsylvania and across the country, Trump and his allies are trying to make it harder for your vote to count, but our institutions are stronger than his shameful attacks. [This] decision confirms that, for every eligible voter, the right to vote means the right to have your vote counted.” Adblock test (Why?)
Arizona top prosecutor investigating Trump’s comments about ‘gunfire’
Arizona’s top prosecutor is investigating whether Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump violated state laws for suggesting that one of his most prominent critics should face “gunfire” in combat. Trump has been widely criticised for comments he made about former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney at a campaign event in Arizona on Thursday. “She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump said of Cheney. “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there, with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face.” On Friday, speaking to a local TV station, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said Trump might have violated state laws that prohibit death threats. “I have already asked my criminal division chief to start looking at that statement, analysing it for whether it qualifies as a death threat under Arizona’s laws,” Mayes told 12News. Mayes said it was not yet clear if Trump’s comment amounted to protected free speech or a criminal threat. “That’s the question, whether it did cross the line. It’s deeply troubling,” Mayes said. “It is the kind of thing that riles people up, and that makes our situation in Arizona and other states more dangerous.” Cheney endorsed Democrats Cheney, a former top Republican in the US House of Representatives, has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and called the former president “a danger”. Harris told reporters the comments were a sign Trump has become increasingly unhinged. “Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president,” she said in Madison, Wisconsin. Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said his remarks were misinterpreted. “President Trump is 100 percent correct that warmongers like Liz Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves,” she said. Trump goes after former VP At a rally in Warren, Michigan, earlier in the day, Trump attacked Harris and Cheney again, and this time his comments included her father – former Vice President Dick Cheney. “They want the Arab American vote. They want to get the Muslim votes, so she picks Liz Cheney whose father virtually destroyed the Middle East,” he said. He added: “It’s easy for her to say she wants to start wars from the comfort of her nice home, or her father’s lavish home, that he got from killing a big portion of the Middle East. You know that, right? You know he headed up a company, that was a big company, a big beneficiary of the wars.” Cheney was vice president under President George W Bush and played a key role in the so-called “war on terror” – the US response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Before he served as vice president, Cheney was the former CEO of Halliburton, a multinational oil services company that won multibillion-dollar contracts with the US military in Iraq. Cheney has also refused to back Trump’s third presidential run and has endorsed Harris. Both Harris and Trump held evening campaigns in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Friday as part of a final push for votes in the crucial swing state. Adblock test (Why?)
Jailed Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi freed after presidential pardon
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardons 4,000 detainees to mark 70th anniversary of the independence war with France. Prominent Algerian journalist Ihsane El Kadi has been freed by a presidential pardon, his lawyers say, after being imprisoned for taking foreign funding for his media outlets and “threatening state security”. El Kadi, 65, was released on Friday after President Abdelmadjid Tebboune signed two decrees pardoning more than 4,000 detainees to mark the anniversary of the 1956-1962 conflict with France that led to the North African country’s independence. His lawyer Noureddine Ahmine posted on Facebook: “What joy! Ihsane El Kadi is free!” alongside a picture of the journalist at home with his family. Another lawyer, Nabila Smail, posted: “At last Ihsane El Kadi is back home with his loved ones. Freed on November 1. The end of a nightmare.” El Kadi, who heads Interface Medias, which includes the Maghreb Emergent news website and Radio M, had served a year and four months of the seven-year sentence he received in June 2023. Seven years is the maximum penalty under an article in the penal code that criminalises anyone who receives “funds, a grant or otherwise … to carry out acts capable of undermining state security”. He was first arrested in December 2022 and held under a state security law. In addition to his imprisonment, the court ordered the two media entities dissolved and ruled the two companies and El Kadi pay a total of 11.7 million dinars ($86,200) in fines. The two media projects were key outlets during the Hirak protest movement, which led to the resignation of octogenarian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019 after 20 years in power. Among the Hirak movement prisoners freed was Mohamed Tadjadit, 29, dubbed the “poet of the Hirak” for his recitations during the mass protests and for his posts on Facebook. El Kadi was sentenced to seven years after he appealed an initial five-year term for “foreign financing of his business”. His lawyers had argued that the funds had been sent by his London-based daughter Tin Hinane, a shareholder in his media group, to settle debts. El Kadi’s arrest sparked a wave of solidarity among his colleagues and rights activists in both Algeria and Europe. A petition by Reporters Without Borders, known by its French initials RSF, a media rights watchdog, attracted more than 10,000 signatures. RSF on Friday expressed “immense relief” at El Kadi’s release, saying it hoped this would “also signal a lifting of restrictions on press freedom”. Algeria ranks 139 of 180 countries and territories on RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index. Adblock test (Why?)
Conservative Christians, Israel and the US vote
Trump and the Republican party continue to connect with several segments of Christian voters, a diverse group of denominations that spans racial identities and political perspectives. A Pew Research poll released in September found Trump commanded 82 percent of white evangelical Protestant voters, 58 percent of white non-evangelical Protestant voters, and 52 percent of Catholics. Harris, meanwhile, had 86 percent of support among Black Protestants, a group that has long skewed heavily Democratic. Those numbers are especially significant in a swing state like Georgia, which carries 16 Electoral votes and went to US President Joe Biden in 2020 by less than 12,000 votes. It was the first time the state had gone to a Democratic presidential candidate in 18 years. White evangelical Protestants – themselves divided into several sub-denominations – account for 38 percent of Georgia’s population. That is by far the largest segment of any religious group, followed by Black Protestants at 17 percent. Cindye and Stan Coates say they do not agree with the emphasis on Israel support from Republicans ahead of the vote [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera] Evangelicals remain some of the staunchest supporters of Israel, according to a recent analysis of polling by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The entrenched support is rooted, in part, in some segments of the denomination that believe that Jewish people must be in control of Jerusalem for the second coming of Jesus, which will beckon in the Rapture, when living and dead Christians alike will rise to heaven. Polls have shown that up to 82 percent of white evangelical Protestants believe that Israel was given to the Jewish people by God, according to the analysis. The group is the most supportive of Israel out of all Christian denominations – at least 60 percent say they fully oppose putting any arms restrictions on Israel, while 64 percent believe that Israel’s actions in Gaza are justified. But the polls also show a more complicated story: Thirty-three percent of White evangelicals say they support some form of restrictions on aid to Israel, with another 11 percent reporting that they feel Israel has gone too far in the war on Gaza. That may be a reflection of wider trends within the Republican party, with a Data for Progress poll in October showing 52 percent of Republicans aged 18 to 29 supported an arms embargo on Israel. Speaking to Al Jazeera after buying a black “Make America Great Again” bucket hat in Austell, 20-year-old voter Troy said he was among those who were uncomfortable with continued aid to Israel, which he broadly categorised with other forms of foreign assistance, including large transfers to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. “I don’t really understand why Israel is that big of an issue in this election cycle,” said Troy, who declined to give his last name, but identified himself as an Anabaptist Protestant. “I don’t think the United States should be so involved in anything overseas like that. We keep sending billions to Ukraine, there are still people reeling from the hurricane that came through,” he said, referring to Hurricane Helene, which ravaged Georgia in September. For his part, Trump has framed himself as a “protector” of Israel, even as he has broadly claimed that the October 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed at least 1,139 people, and the war that has spiralled since would not have happened on his watch. Still, speaking during a debate in July, he said US President Joe Biden should allow Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza, and has also claimed to speak to Netanyahu on a near daily basis. Adblock test (Why?)