One dead after two reported explosions near Brazil’s Supreme Court
Brazil’s Supreme Court has been evacuated as federal police swarm the area to investigate the evening attack. Federal police in Brazil are investigating after a pair of explosions rocked the heart of the country’s capital Brasilia, just steps away from the Federal Supreme Court (STF). At least one person was reported dead. The court itself was evacuated, as plumes of smoke and fire were visible from the air. “At the end of the [Supreme Court] session on Wednesday, two loud bangs were heard, and the ministers were safely removed from the building,” the court said in a press release. In a separate statement, the federal police indicated it had deployed a rapid intervention group and a bomb control squad to the area, known as Brasilia’s Three Powers Plaza. Those units, it explained, were in charge of “carrying out initial security actions and analysing the site”. “A police inquiry will be opened to investigate the attack,” the federal police added. The Three Powers Plaza is the seat of Brazil’s federal government: It contains the presidential palace, buildings for both chambers of Congress and the Supreme Court. The area has also been the target of political violence in recent years. On January 8, 2023, for instance, thousands of protesters descended on the Three Powers Plaza, ransacking the government buildings and clashing with law enforcement. The riot was largely seen as an attack on democracy, as it came just days after the inauguration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula himself described the incident as a “coup” and blamed his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, for spreading false claims of election interference before his defeat. No motive has been released yet in Wednesday’s bombing incident. But local media have reported that the explosions took place near the Supreme Court and along a street near an annex building. Adblock test (Why?)
Who is Pete Hegseth, the pro-Israel Fox News host picked to head Pentagon?
United States President-elect Donald Trump has picked Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth, a pro-Israel and Iran hawk, to serve as his defence secretary, lauding him as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First”. The 44-year-old’s nomination to lead the world’s most powerful military has come in for criticism from the Democrats, who pointed out his “lack of experience” on the global stage. “The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position,” Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, posted on X. So, who is Hegseth and will his inexperience come in the way of discharging his duty as the Pentagon chief? Who is Pete Hegseth? Hegseth, who served Afghanistan and Iraq, joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 and now co-hosts Fox and Friends Weekend as well as serves as a host for Fox Nation. He has also authored multiple books, including The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, which have come in for praise from Trump. The War on Warriors, a bestseller, “reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence”, the president-elect wrote, according to the AFP news agency. Hegseth defended service members accused of war crimes and in 2019, he urged Trump to pardon US service members who had been accused of war crimes. According to The Washington Post, Hegseth’s lobbying of Trump in 2019 resulted in the pardon of two service members who were accused of murder, and the reinstatement of rank of a third who was found guilty of posing with a body in Iraq. The 44-year-old developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on his Fox News show. He also unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in Minnesota in 2012. According to his Fox News bio, he has a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He also did a graduation from Princeton University. Hegseth lives with his wife and seven children in the southern state of Tennessee. What was his role in the military? After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, serving overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as at Guantanamo Bay. He was awarded two Bronze Star Medals for his military service, according to his official website. The 44-year-old veteran was formerly head of the Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch. What challenges lie ahead of him? Hegseth has served in the military, although he lacks senior military or national security experience. The Department of Defense has a budget exceeding $800bn, with about 1.3 million active-duty soldiers and another 1.4 million in the National Guard, the Army Reserve and civilian employees worldwide. If confirmed, Hegseth would face the daunting task of tackling an array of global conflicts – from the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon to the Russia-Ukraine war – and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the rise of China. Smith, the Democrat, said while Hegseth’s combat experience is a plus, running the Pentagon requires a lot of other skill sets. “What’s your plan? What are you going to do? … How can you assure us that that lack of experience, you know, isn’t going to make it impossible for you to do the job?” Smith said. “I think those are questions that need to be answered over the next couple of months.” While heading the Pentagon is considered a key job in any administration, the post of defence secretary saw a tumultuous period during Trump’s first term between 2016-2020. Five men held the job during Trump’s four years. What’s his stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict and Iran? Hegseth has been pro-Israel in his coverage of war on Gaza and dubbed the two-state solution a “lip service”. He did a series – Battle in the Holy Land: Israel at War – about the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March. “My interview with Israeli PM @netanyahu today. Israel needs our support!” he posted on X in March. As an evangelical Christian, he views the Israel-Palestine conflict through a biblical lens. “This is not some mystical land that can be dismissed. It’s the story of God’s chosen people. That story didn’t end in 1776 or in 1948 or with the founding of the UN. All of these things still resonate and matter today,” Hegseth said in a 2016 interview with the Jewish Press. Hegseth has also been hawkish towards Iran, calling Tehran “an evil regime” in the wake of the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, in 2020. Will he launch a culture war? Hegseth’s choice could bring sweeping changes to the military, as he has made it clear on his show and in interviews that, like Trump, he is stridently opposed to “woke” programmes that promote equity and inclusion. Trump told Fox News in June he would fire generals he described as “woke”, a term for those focused on racial and social justice but which is used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies. In June, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump encouraged his supporters to buy Hegseth’s book after saying, if he won, “the woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you.” Hegseth wrote in the book released in June: “For the past three years — after President Barack Obama poured the social justice foundation — the Pentagon, across all branches, has embraced the social justice messages of gender equity, racial diversity, climate stupidity, and the LGBTQA+ alphabet soup in their recruiting pushes.” His conservative agenda could put him on a collision course with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown. Hegseth has accused Brown of “pursuing the radical positions
A new deterrence for Lebanon is needed to avoid a long war with Israel
Following the re-election of former US President Donald Trump, efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel have seemingly gained momentum. On Monday, US special envoy Amos Hochstein and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer met in Washington to discuss the matter. In October, Hochstein traveled to Beirut, but his visit bore no fruit, as he made clear that for the US, “both sides simply committing to [United Nations Security Council Resolution] 1701 is not enough” and that there needs to be a new “formula that brings an end to this conflict once and for all”. Casting aside UN decisions appears to have become commonplace among US officials of late, with disastrous consequences. In their latest offer, Israel and the US are demanding that Lebanon accept a new arrangement in which Israeli troops can engage in “active enforcement” of demilitarisation in southern Lebanon. In other words, Israel would have effective military control over Lebanese territory. No sovereign nation – or non-state actor – would ever agree to such terms. Neither Lebanon nor Hezbollah would give up their military deterrence. Therefore, US and Israeli insistence on these new conditions will only prolong the war. Building a new consensus around Resolution 1701 remains the only viable path towards peace. The resolution brought to an end Israel’s last war with Lebanon in 2006, acting as a mechanism to stop the hostilities and outlining measures to clear the border area of armed group presence. Although there were issues with its full implementation – which both sides were aware would happen – it effectively put an end to the fighting. Commitment to its implementation can stop hostilities this time as well. And Hezbollah must make the first move. The grim prospect of a long war On Sunday, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that after 40 days of intense fighting, Hezbollah has been defeated. “Now it is our job to continue to put pressure in order to bring about the fruits of that victory,” he reportedly said during an official ceremony. Israel seems to be convinced that it can bring Hezbollah to capitulation by force. However, going for a military solution in Lebanon means war that will not be anything like the 2006 conflict. Back then, Israel’s ground offensive faltered, and public support eroded as losses mounted. Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu has the Israeli public’s backing, buoyed by military successes that have eliminated Hezbollah’s leadership and disrupted its communications networks. Despite these losses, Hezbollah is also better prepared, better equipped, and arguably more disciplined than in 2006. It’s little wonder that Israel has not managed to gain more than a few miles of ground in since its land incursions began and the daily rocket salvoes directed at northern and central Israel continue. Barring some major change or diplomatic shift under the incoming Trump administration that would put pressure on Israel, all of this means that we are in for a very long war. An essential deterrent Hezbollah restarted hostilities with Israel in support of its ally Hamas and, up until recently, made a ceasefire with Israel contingent on a ceasefire in Gaza. The group knows that while many Lebanese understand its ongoing intervention, many are also dissatisfied, to say the least, with its actions over the past two decades. By propping the Syrian regime in the 2010s, helping maintain the rule of the corrupt Lebanese elite when the economy collapsed in 2019, and blocking the investigation into the 2020 Beirut port blast, Hezbollah has made a lot of enemies at home and abroad and has had to rely almost completely on Iran for diplomatic leverage and military prowess. Its refusal to integrate into a national defence strategy by maintaining its weapons outside of the command and control of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has also led to a colossal mismanagement of national security and left the country vulnerable to Israel’s far superior military. The devastation Israel is wreaking across Lebanon is also a major cause for concern. The longer the huge displacement from the south and east of the country continues, the more social tensions and anger towards Hezbollah will grow. At the same time, Hezbollah’s deterrent arsenal of missiles and fighters is Lebanon’s only real bargaining chip. Without Hezbollah, Israel’s Merkava tanks would almost certainly roll into Beirut and install a puppet regime, facing little resistance along the way. The Lebanese calling for Hezbollah to give up its arms for peace are either living in a fantasy world or are just terrible negotiators. That said, if Hezbollah wants to salvage any semblance of Lebanese unity, the onus is on it to come to the table with a political plan for the implementation of Resolution 1701. It also needs to prove it can work within a national framework, not just act as an Iranian proxy. Given the distrust among its detractors, for these initiatives to work they would need to happen in phases. For starters, Hezbollah would need to explain how it will formally coordinate with the LAF to form a joint deterrent force, just like it did in 2017 when they fought together against ISIL (ISIS). In addition, Hezbollah will need to accept that the national army and government speak on its behalf and that it needs to take its place in such a configuration without the threat of arms or veto power over political decisions. From there, the party will need to elaborate on Lebanon’s national defence strategy, which can’t rely solely on the woefully under-resourced LAF. That strategy needs Hezbollah’s arms – but with a clear roadmap for integration. New deterrence framework Any new defence strategy that leaves Lebanon without a deterrent against Israel’s war machine is bound to fail and reinforce the justification for Iran and Hezbollah to maintain a non-state deterrent. Talk of a new national security framework and support for the LAF at conferences like the one organised by France in late October remains irrelevant, as it comes without concrete security guarantees for Lebanon. If French
EU court rules Ukraine cannot trademark Russian warship insult
Ukraine wants to use defenders’ profane defiance on merchandise; court says political slogan does not qualify. A European Union court has ruled that Ukraine cannot trademark a profane phrase directed by border guard troops at a Russian warship in the early days of Moscow’s invasion. The European Union’s General Court said on Wednesday that the phrase: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself” cannot be trademarked on European territory because it is a political slogan. A response to threats issued by the ship, the words have become a sign of defiance and unity for Ukrainians during the war, and have featured on a variety of merchandise. “The phrase in question has been used very intensively in a non-commercial context” linked to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, the court said in a statement. “It will therefore not be perceived by the relevant public as an indication of the commercial origin of the goods and services which it designates,” the judge added. National heroes The slogan was famously directed by a Ukrainian border guard to the Russian cruiser Moskva, which wished to capture Snake Island, a tiny islet in the Black Sea. An audio clip circulated by Ukrainian authorities featured the Russian forces aboard demanding that the soldiers on the island surrender or face destruction. Ukraine has since declared the 13 soldiers it said were killed in the incident to be national heroes. Russian forces abandoned the island several months after seizing it, saying it was a “goodwill gesture”. Ukraine said that heavy losses incurred while trying to defend the island made the Russians leave. ‘Political message’ The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has been trying to claim commercial rights for the phrase since 2022, in order to use it on merchandise, including bags and clothing. But the EU Intellectual Property Office, which is responsible for registering EU-wide trademarks, has also rejected the request multiple times since 2022. It has argued that the phrase does not meet the bloc’s requirements to be granted the request. The slogan has become a point of national pride, and has been repeated many times in public demonstrations, as well as adorning billboards and even a postage stamp. The EU General Court on Wednesday said it “observed that a sign is incapable of fulfilling the essential function of a trademark if the average consumer does not perceive, in its presence, the indication of the origin of the goods or services, but only a political message”. Adblock test (Why?)
Canada orders binding arbitration to end port lockout
With the lockouts, $930m of goods are being affected daily, affecting supply chains and local economy, the government says. Canada’s labour minister is intervening to end the lockouts of workers at the country’s two biggest ports. Minister of Labour Steven Mackinnon said on Tuesday that the negotiations had reached an impasse and he was directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations at the ports of Vancouver and Montreal and move the talks to binding arbitration. Port of Montreal’s workers were locked out on Sunday and workers in Vancouver on the Pacific Coast have been locked out since November 4. “There is a limit to the economic self-destruction that Canadians are prepared to accept,” MacKinnon said. “In the face of economic self-destruction, there is an obligation to intervene. As minister of labour, that responsibility falls to me.” MacKinnon said 1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($930m) of goods is affected every day. He said it was affecting supply chains, the economy and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. Business groups have been calling for government intervention to get the flow of goods moving again. MacKinnon says he hopes operations can be restored in a matter of days. The Maritime Employers Association locked out 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday after workers voted to reject what employers called a final contract offer. The workers were seeking increases of 20 percent over four years. The job action came after port workers in British Columbia were locked out amid a labour dispute involving more than 700 longshore supervisors, resulting in a paralysis of container cargo traffic at terminals on the West Coast. International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, which represents supervisory longshore workers at the heart of the British Columbia dispute, said it will file a legal challenge to the minister’s orders. “We will fight this order in the courts,” said Frank Morena, ILWU Local 514 president, in a statement. “And we will not forget how these employers and this federal Liberal government have attacked not only the ILWU but all of labour.” Forced to intervene It was the second time in a few months that the Liberal government has stepped in to halt a dispute. In August, it ordered an end to work stoppages at the country’s two largest railway companies. The left-leaning government has previously stated its preference for resolving labour disputes through collective bargaining. MacKinnon said he had been forced to intervene after federal mediators reported that the talks at Montreal and Vancouver were at an impasse. The left-of-centre opposition New Democrats, a pro-union party which is propping up the minority Liberal government, accused Ottawa of caving in to employers. “Back-to-work orders suppress wages for all Canadians, so billionaires get richer and the rest of Canadians fall further behind,” leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement but made no mention of withdrawing support from the Liberals. The Teamsters union, which represents employees at the two main rail companies that were embroiled in a labour dispute in August, has filed court challenges against rulings by the labour board that forced them back to work. Meanwhile, the Canadian Labour Congress said in a statement, “The government is sending a dangerous message: Employers can bypass meaningful negotiations, lock out their workers, and wait for political intervention to secure a more favourable deal,” Adblock test (Why?)
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison
Prosecutors sought 17 years imprisonment for ‘significant’ violations of the Espionage Act. Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, has been jailed for 15 years for leaking classified documents about the war in Ukraine and other military secrets. A federal judge in Boston, United States, on Tuesday sentenced the 22-year-old after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of wilful retention and transmission of national defence information under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors had argued for a 17-year sentence for Teixeira, saying he “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history”. “The defendant took an oath to defend the United States and to protect its secrets – secrets that are vital to US national security and the physical safety of Americans serving overseas,” prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for over a year.” Breach raised questions about US ability to protect secrets Teixeira, from North Dighton, Massachusetts, was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, located on Cape Cod. He worked as a cyber-transport systems specialist – essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. Authorities said he shared the classified documents on the messaging app Discord. Teixeira began by typing out copies that he then published online. Later, he photographed the files, some of which bore “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” markings. The documents included information about allies and adversaries including troop movements in Ukraine and top secret information about Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a US adversary’s plans to harm US forces serving overseas. The breach raised questions about the US’s ability to protect its secrets and embarrassed the administration of President Joe Biden, which scrambled to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. Teixeira’s lawyers asked for a lighter sentence of 11 years, arguing their client had no political goal and was not working as a spy for a foreign government. In their sentencing document, they acknowledged their client had “made a terrible decision which he repeated over 14 months”. “Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to make certain they were not misled by misinformation,” the lawyers wrote. “To Jack, the Ukraine war was his generation’s World War II or Iraq, and he needed someone to share the experience with.” They noted that Teixeira had never been convicted of a crime before. But prosecutors countered that Teixeira did not suffer from any intellectual disability that would prevent him from knowing right from wrong, adding that his post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism was of “questionable relevance” to the case. ‘I wanted to say, ‘I am sorry” Teixeira apologised to the court for his actions before he was sentenced by the US District Judge Indira Talwani. “I wanted to say, ‘I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused’,” Texeira said referring to the “maelstrom” he caused family and friends. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring,” he said. Teixeira hugged one of his lawyers and looked towards his family and smiled before being led out of court. He cannot be charged with any further Espionage Act violations under the terms of his guilty plea. Adblock test (Why?)
UN aid chief warns of ‘gravest crimes’ committed in Israel’s war on Gaza
The United Nations’s humanitarian aid chief told a meeting of the Security Council (UNSC) that “acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes” are being committed in Gaza where Israel’s military continues to bombard, besiege and prevent aid from reaching the civilian population. Addressing the UNSC on Tuesday, Joyce Msuya, the interim chief of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described Israel’s monthlong ground offensive and ongoing siege of northern Gaza as an “intensified, extreme, and accelerated version of the horrors of the past year” in the Palestinian territory. Palestinian civilians have been driven from their homes by Israel’s military and “forced to witness their family members killed, burned and buried alive” in Gaza, which Msuya described as “a wasteland of rubble”. “We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes,” she warned the council meeting. “The daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits,” she said, firmly pointing the finger of blame at Israel for blocking aid from entering Gaza’s besieged north. “As I brief you, Israeli authorities are blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continues and around 75,000 people remain with dwindling water and food supplies,” she said. Msuya also called out the indiscriminate destruction of Gaza after more than a year of Israeli attacks. “What distinction was made and what precautions were taken, if more than 70 percent of civilian housing is either damaged or destroyed?” The meeting of the UNSC was called by Guyana, Switzerland, Algeria and Slovenia following a report by international food security experts on Friday who said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating” and warned of an imminent famine in parts of the north. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon called the reports of possible famine in northern Gaza “baseless and slanderous”. He told reporters before the UNSC meeting that the situation in Gaza, including the north, has shown improvement since October. Earlier on Tuesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said October saw the lowest amount of humanitarian aid enter Gaza this year, and the war-torn enclave had received “nowhere near what we need to support more than two million Palestinians”. Dujarric said that for a second month, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was only able to reach half the people who rely on UN assistance in Gaza, and only with reduced rations. A convoy of 14 trucks had planned to deliver humanitarian supplies to shelters for displaced people in north Gaza’s Beit Hanoon and the Indonesian Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp on Monday, but only two trucks with ready-to-eat meals, wheat flour and one carrying water made it to two shelters. The other trucks in the aid convoy were unable to make their deliveries because of delays in receiving authorisation from Israeli authorities as well as due to crowds of desperately hungry people waiting along the convoy’s route, Dujarric said. The delivery was the first time in more than a month that people in Beit Hanoon had received any food assistance, he said. The WFP had planned another mission to Beit Hanoon to reach the rest of the shelters and the hospital on Tuesday, but he said that “those missions have been denied” by Israel. “We continue to call for the immediate opening of more land routes into Gaza and for the lifting of administrative and physical restrictions within Gaza to efficiently reach the most vulnerable people and areas,” Dujarric said. Palestine’s UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, told the UNSC meeting that Israel has chosen to perpetrate “famine as a method of war” in a process of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. “Everything we warned against, everything Israel denied, is happening before our eyes,” he said. “We are at the last stages of an orchestrated plan to empty wide areas of Gaza from its Palestinian population.” Adblock test (Why?)
Houthis launch missile, drone attacks on US warships off Yemen’s coast
The Iran-backed group launched drones and fired missiles at two US warships in an hours-long attack, the Pentagon confirms. US warships came under sustained missile and drone attack from Houthi fighters as they sailed off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon has confirmed, with the armed group claiming it attacked the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two US destroyers. Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that the United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) forces “successfully repelled multiple Iranian backed Houthi attacks during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait”, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Ryder told reporters at a news conference that two US-guided missile destroyers – the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance – were attacked by at least eight one-way attack drones, five antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles. All the Houthi drones and missiles “were successfully engaged and defeated”, and neither of the US Navy ships were damaged or personnel hurt, he said. Ryder added that he was not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and US Air Force the B-52H Stratofortress conduct joint exercises in the Arabian Sea in 2019 [File: Handout/US Navy via AP] Earlier on Tuesday, Houthi fighters announced that they had carried out two “specific military operations” against the US Navy in an assault lasting eight hours. “The first operation targeted the American aircraft carrier (Abraham) located in the Arabian Sea with a number of cruise missiles and drones,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement. “The other operation targeted two American destroyers in the Red Sea with a number of ballistic missiles and drones,” he said, adding that the operation had “successfully achieved its objectives”. #معركة_الفتح_الموعود_والجهاد_المقدس pic.twitter.com/sREqpe2Oq5 — العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) November 12, 2024 The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have been carrying out attacks on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians. The armed group, however, has also been accused of attacking commercial ships with no obvious connection to Israel or its war on Gaza. The Houthis have targeted more than 90 vessels with missiles and drones, killing four sailors and sinking two ships. The crew of one vessel – the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated carrier, hijacked last November – remain detained in Yemen. The Yemeni group has demanded that Israel end its war on Gaza as a condition for stopping the attacks, which have severely disrupted trade in one of the world’s busiest maritime routes. Explosions take place on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea on August 29, 2024 [Handout/Houthi Military Media via Reuters] The US, with support from the United Kingdom, has carried out repeated strikes on targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response to the Red Sea shipping attacks. On Sunday, the US and UK launched air strikes on Sanaa and the northern Amran governorate, with the Pentagon saying it had targeted Houthi advanced weapons storage facilities. The attacks came just weeks after intensive US raids on Houthi targets in which B-2 strategic bombers participated for the first time, carrying out strikes against five underground weapons storage locations. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump names Musk and Ramaswamy to head new government efficiency department
United States President-elect Donald Trump has named tech magnate Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as his picks to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a new body he plans to establish once he returns to the White House. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. “Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending.” Trump added that, under his plan, Musk and Ramaswamy would conclude their work by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. “A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America,” Trump said. A campaign promise The proposed department appears to have been inspired by a conversation Trump had on the campaign trail with Musk, one of his most prominent supporters. On August 13, the two men sat down for a two-hour live broadcast on Musk’s social media platform X, where the billionaire pitched Trump on the idea of forming a new “commission” to crack down on government waste. “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump replied. “I need an Elon Musk. I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts.” Trump later revisited the idea on the campaign trail, including at a September appearance before the New York Economic Club. “I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said at the time. It is unclear how the new department will function once it is established. Tuesday’s statement indicated that Ramaswamy and Musk would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government”. Critics note that independent nonpartisan watchdogs already exist within the government to ensure efficiency and conduct audits, including the Government Accountability Office. Rewarding Trump’s supporters Trump’s announcement on Tuesday, however, seems poised to reward two of his most prominent supporters from the private sector. Musk, a billionaire originally from South Africa, is the founder of the electric car company Tesla, the owner of X and the leader of SpaceX, a rocket-building company. Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is the founder of a pharmaceutical company. Earlier this year, he competed against Trump in the Republican primary season, only to drop out after finishing fourth in January’s Iowa caucus. He immediately endorsed Trump after suspending his campaign. Musk’s endorsement came months later, after Trump faced an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Posting a video of a blood-streaked Trump, Musk wrote in the aftermath, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.” Musk has since donated millions of dollars to Trump’s election campaign and made public appearances with him, including at a follow-up rally in Butler. Since Trump won the November 5 presidential election, Musk has also been a constant presence at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. DOGE, the acronym for the newly created department, is also the name of the cryptocurrency that Musk promotes. Drastic change Since his first successful presidential bid in 2016, Trump has pledged to slim down the government and “drain the swamp” – his catchphrase for ridding Washington, DC, of unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption. In Tuesday’s announcement, Trump teased “drastic change” in his second term. He has already pledged to shut down the Department of Education, which distributes federal aid, cracks down on discrimination in schools and publishes research about educational attainment. A future Department of Government Efficiency, Trump explained, would partner with the White House to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings if given the power to review federal functions – a sum equivalent to nearly a third of the government’s total annual spending. To illustrate the scale and importance of his proposed department, Trump drew a comparison between the new body and a World War II-era programme that developed the atomic bomb. “It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump said on Tuesday. Musk was quoted in Trump’s press release celebrating the department’s imminent creation. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 992
As the war enters its 992nd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Wednesday, November 13: Fighting Ukraine shot down 46 of 110 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. An additional 60 Russian drones were lost in Ukrainian airspace and two travelled towards Belarus. Russian forces also launched three missiles during the overnight attack, in addition to guided aerial bombs, the Air Force said. Russian air defence systems destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight in regions bordering Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said. North Korean troops have begun engaging in combat alongside Russian forces, the United States State Department said. Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that more than “10,000 DPRK [North Korean] soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia”, the vast majority to the Kursk region, where they have “begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces”. International affairs Russia’s growing economic and military cooperation with China, North Korea and Iran “is not only threatening Europe”, it is also “threatening peace and security” in the Asia Pacific and North America, according to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu has told China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing that strong relations between Moscow and Beijing are a stabilising influence on the world. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Brussels to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with NATO and European Union counterparts, the State Department said. Ukraine is close to setting up three new joint ventures with European weapons producers to boost arms output, according to Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko. She said five joint ventures had already been set up with Western weapons producers, including German and Lithuanian companies. China needs to feel a “higher cost” for its support for Russia, which enables Moscow to pursue its war in Ukraine, Estonia’s ex-Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said at her confirmation hearing at the European Parliament to become the EU’s next foreign policy chief. The deputy chief of Russia’s Security Council and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused European leaders of seeking to dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict and push it “into an irreversible phase”, following the re-election of former US President Donald Trump. Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking highly classified US military documents to a group of gamers on the Discord messaging app. The leaks included information concerning the use of US equipment in Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. Russian affairs Russia’s estimates for this year’s grain harvest, as well as for the winter grain seeded area, will include data from Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s control, Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture said. Following months of bad weather, the ministry forecasts this year’s grain harvest at 130 million tonnes – a 12 percent decrease from 2023’s 148 million tonnes and an 18 percent reduction from the record 158 million tonnes in 2022. The city of Helsinki will initiate a forced takeover of the Finnish capital’s biggest sport and events stadium, the Helsinki Arena, from its sanctions-hit Russian owners, the city’s executive governing board said. A Russian Navy frigate equipped with new-generation hypersonic cruise missiles conducted drills in the English Channel and is carrying out tasks in the Atlantic Ocean, Russian media reported. Russia’s lower house of parliament unanimously voted to ban “propaganda” promoting a child-free way of life, as it hopes to boost the faltering birthrate while death rates are up due to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. A Russian court sentenced a Moscow paediatrician to five and a half years in a penal colony after the mother of one of her patients publicly denounced her over negative comments she allegedly made about Russia’s war in Ukraine. Nadezhda Buyanova, a 68-year-old paediatrician denounced by a patient’s mother for an alleged unpatriotic statement about Russia’s army, stands inside an enclosure during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia on November 12 [Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)