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[l] at 10/14/24 5:39pm
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck have reportedly “blocked” the deliveries of weapons to the Jewish state Germany has refused to deliver weapons to Israel unless West Jerusalem provides a written guarantee that they would not be used to strike civilians in Gaza, the media outlets owned by Germany’s Axel Springer publishing house have reported.  Berlin, which has not approved any arms sales to Israel since March, blocked the arms sales despite insisting that the Jewish state was not under an arms embargo, Politico magazine reported on Monday, confirming a story published over the weekend by the German tabloid Bild.   According to Bild, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck were the ones who “blocked new deliveries.” The high-ranking politicians from the Green party reportedly wanted Israel to promise that the weapons would not be used against civilians in Gaza.  “The Israeli government must give the German government a written assurance that arms exports from Germany will not be used for genocide,” Bild said, citing its sources in government and defense circles. West Jerusalem reportedly provided the necessary assurances on Thursday.  German law bans the delivery of weapons to countries where there is danger that they may be used against civilians. “Arms deliveries to Israel are about compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law,” a person familiar with the matter told Politico. “The reason for requesting such a commitment is that a German administrative court could otherwise put a stop to it.” Read more France’s Macron issues warning to Israel The revelations sparked criticism from the opposition and the ruling Free Democratic Party, with multiple politicians calling on the Greens and Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “clarify” the situation with weapons exports. “Scholz, as the chairman of the Federal Security Council, also bears responsibility here,” Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, told Bild. Baerbock has publicly backed Israel’s right to defend itself, but stressed in a speech last week that “international humanitarian law and Israel’s right to exist are inextricably linked.”  Israel has been accused of indiscriminately targeting civilians in Gaza, where more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting between Hamas and Israel erupted in October 2023. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has dismissed the allegations of committing a genocide as “absurd,” arguing that Hamas was using Palestinian civilians as human shields. 

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[l] at 10/14/24 4:01pm
The treaty signed in June includes a mutual defense pact Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally requested that the State Duma ratify the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The treaty was signed during Putin’s trip to Pyongyang in June and includes pledges by Russia and the DPRK to assist each other in case of foreign aggression. The Russian media reported on Monday that the ratification proposal had been registered in the legislature’s docket. According to the treaty signed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two countries would “cooperate with each other to ensure lasting regional and international peace and security.” The explanatory note attached to the bill said lawmakers that Russia and the DPRK are committed to establishing “global strategic stability and a fair multipolar international system,” and are basing their partnership on the “principles of mutual respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and other principles of international law.” The document includes an article that states that “if one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack by any state or several states and thus finds itself in a state of war, the other party will immediately provide military and other assistance by all means at its disposal in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter” and national legislation. Read more Claims about North Korean soldiers ‘a hoax’ – Kremlin Moscow and Pyongyang also pledged not to conclude any agreements “directed against the sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, the right to free choice and development of political, social, economic and cultural systems and other key interests of the other Party” with any third countries. Another article spells out the opposition of Russia and the DPRK to Western sanctions, describing them as the “application of unilateral coercive measures, including those of an extraterritorial nature,” illegal and contrary to international law and the UN Charter. Moscow and Pyongyang have pledged not to apply such sanctions against each other. Last week, South Korea claimed that the treaty was already in effect and that DPRK soldiers were “highly likely” already fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. The Kremlin has dismissed such claims as “another hoax.” Kiev and Seoul have made claims about DPRK troops on the ground before, which Putin called “complete nonsense” last month.

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[l] at 10/14/24 3:08pm
The required consensus for the program to continue is yet to be achieved, however The EU intends to extend its mission to train Ukraine’s military through 2026, though it has yet to secure Hungary’s consent for doing so, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said. The EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) was set up in 2022 with a two-year mandate, which expires in November. Rumors that it would be extended appeared in the media last week. However, such reports assumed agreement from Budapest, which does not appear to have materialized. “Ukrainian armed forces are under big pressure,” Borrell said at a press conference in Brussels on Monday, after the meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers. “We will extend the mandate of the EUMAM for the next two years. We hope we will find consensus to increase its mandate,” he added. The EU is also looking for a way to unblock the European Peace Facility (EPF) fund to reimburse members who have provided military aid to Ukraine, Borrell said. The EPF has also been held up by Hungary, which opposes the bloc’s unconditional support for Kiev and prefers peace talks to further fighting. Read more EU plans to extend training of Ukrainian troops – media “We are almost there,” Borrell told reporters. Mainly hosted by Germany and Poland, EUMAM has trained more than 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers over the past two years. It is currently commanded by Bundeswehr Colonel Niels Janeke, with 24 out of 27 members of the bloc participating. The EU’s foreign policy service, the EEAS, recommended the extension of EUMAM back in July, according to reports in German media. The mission has reportedly also worked out plans and agendas through the end of 2026. According to information leaked to the media, Brussels prefers to continue EUMAM to the alternative of sending NATO troops to set up training facilities in Ukraine itself. Some Ukrainian troops have questioned the quality of the training, telling journalists that the classes do not take into account the intense nature of the actual fighting against Russian forces.

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[l] at 10/14/24 3:04pm
Poland has accused Russia and Belarus of flooding its borders with migrants Poland will temporarily ban refugees from seeking asylum in the country, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced. Tusk accused Russia and Belarus of deliberately channeling tens of thousands of migrants across Poland’s borders and into the EU. In a speech in Warsaw on Saturday, Tusk said that he would present his new migration policy – which includes “the temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum” – to the EU after unveiling it at a government meeting on Tuesday. “I will demand this,” he said. “I will demand recognition in Europe for this decision.”  It is unclear how Tusk’s proposal will be received in Brussels. The EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees the right to asylum across the 27-nation bloc, while the Common European Asylum System aims to ensure that migrants are treated similarly no matter which EU country they first arrive in. Read more EU state could close border with Russian ally – FM The right to asylum, however, is being abused by “[Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, [and] by people smugglers [and] people traffickers,” Tusk claimed. The flow of migrants across the Belarus-Poland border has increased dramatically since 2021, with around 2,500 crossing over every month this year, despite the Polish authorities constructing a border fence and pushing back large groups of people. The Polish Foreign Ministry has claimed that Belarus is inviting asylum seekers in and instructing them to enter Poland, at the behest of the Russian security services. Moscow and Minsk have both denied any role in the migrant influx. Most of the people entering Poland travel on to western Europe, where benefits for asylum seekers are more generous. Last month, Germany reintroduced border checks at all land crossings to stem the flow, and earlier this year, German police were accused of “dumping” thousands of migrants back across the Polish border. A year earlier, Polish media reported that the country’s Foreign Ministry and consulates were engaged in the same scheme that they are now accusing Belarus and Russia of orchestrating. According to multiple reports, ministry employees sold up to 350,000 visas to migrants from Asia and Africa since 2021, knowing that most would travel on to Germany after entering the country.

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[l] at 10/14/24 2:56pm
The building was being used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians, according to media reports The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted a school serving as a refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday evening, killing at least 22 civilians, including 15 children, several media outlets reported on Monday, citing local emergency services. The Nuseirat camp, which is located at the center of the Palestinian enclave, had been housing hundreds of people, according to the news outlet Ahram. Some 80 people were also injured in the attack, according to the BBC, citing a civil defense spokesman. The IDF said it was looking into the reports of civilian casualties. It did not comment on the target of the shelling or the reasons for the strike. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the school building was going to be used to administer polio vaccines starting on Monday. The Israeli military also killed four people and injured dozens more in a separate strike targeting the al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza. The IDF stated its forces were targeting a “command-and-control center” of terrorists in a “precise strike.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the IDF’s actions and the large number of civilian casualties in the intensifying Israeli campaign. He “strongly urges all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law and emphasizes that civilians must be respected and protected at all times,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told journalists on Monday. Read more Gaza war persists due to US and Israeli ‘stubbornness’ – Moscow West Jerusalem recently declared the UN secretary-general persona non grata, accusing him of failing to “unequivocally condemn” Iran over its missile attack against Israel. Israel declared war on the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas last October, after fighters killed around 1,100 people and took roughly 250 hostages in a surprise attack on the Jewish state. After almost a year of Israeli air and ground operations in Gaza, nearly 42,000 people have been killed, the majority of them women and children, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. Israeli forces had also been waging a low-intensity operation against Lebanon-based Hezbollah organization. Last month, however, Israel launched a major air campaign in Lebanon that had been preceded by the apparent Israeli sabotage of thousands of Hezbollah communication devices. A ground invasion followed earlier this month and the death toll in Lebanon currently stands at over 2,000 people, including 127 children, according to the country’s Health Ministry. On Monday, at least 21 people were killed and eight injured in an Israeli air raid on northern Lebanon, the ministry said.

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[l] at 10/14/24 2:34pm
The group’s share of global GDP in PPP terms is expected to reach 38% by 2028, according to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin The share of the BRICS countries in global GDP, as measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), will continue to grow thanks to new members, and will reach around 38% by 2028, according to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Addressing the international export forum ‘Made in Russia’ on Monday, Mishustin said that the share of ‘friendly’ countries in Russia’s foreign trade turnover is constantly growing and this could also facilitate the rapid growth of the BRICS group as a whole. “This corresponds to objective changes in the global economy, first of all the growing importance of BRICS,” Mishustin said, noting that the G7 will continue declining in prominence. According to data from the IMF, the share of the G7 in global GDP in terms of PPP has been on a steady decline over the past several years, dropping from 50.42% in 1982 to 30.39% in 2022. The Washington-based institution expects the figure to edge lower to 29.44% this year. PPP is a metric popular with many economists that compares economic productivity and standards of living between countries by adjusting for the differences in the cost of goods and services. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last week that the BRICS countries are “the engine of global economic growth.” He pointed out that the average annual growth rate of the group’s economies is expected to outperform that of the G7. READ MORE: Cuba wants to be part of BRICS – FM BRICS was originally founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. This year, four more countries – Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates – officially became members. Saudi Arabia has also been invited to join the group and participates in BRICS meetings, but has not taken up full membership. More than 30 nations, including NATO member Türkiye, have applied to join. Russia will host the group’s annual summit later this month. The members are slated to approve a new status within the group – that of a BRICS partner country.

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[l] at 10/14/24 1:11pm
Laurent Vinatier pleaded guilty to two felony charges A French national has been found guilty of failing to register as a foreign agent by a Moscow court and sentenced to three years in prison. Laurent Vinatier worked for the Swiss NGO ‘Center for Humanitarian Dialogue’ as an adviser on Russia and Eurasia. He was arrested in June, after the Russian Ministry of Justice designated him a foreign agent. Addressing the Zamoskvoretsky Court on Monday, Vinatier recited verses from Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, which he said he learned in jail. “The heart lives in the future; The present is sad: Everything is momentary, everything will pass; What passes will be sweet,” he said, quoting from Pushkin’s poem ‘If Life Deceives You’. Prosecutors alleged that the 47-year-old Frenchman “purposefully collected information in the field of military and military-technical activities” in Russia, without registering as a foreign agent as the law required. Read more Frenchman charged with military spying in Russia According to the FSB, Vinatier contacted numerous political scientists, sociologists, economists, military experts and civil servants during his many visits to Moscow and collected information that could have been passed on to foreign intelligence agencies, to the detriment of Russia. However, the Frenchman was never charged with espionage. Vinatier eventually pleaded guilty to both collection of information and failure to submit the required foreign agent documentation “for several years.” Prosecutors requested a sentence of three years and three months, but the court settled on three years. The sentence has not yet gone into effect. Russia’s foreign agent law, first adopted in 2012 and expanded in 2022, requires anyone who receives support from abroad or is under the influence of entities from outside the country to register and be labeled as such. While such persons or entities are not banned from operating in Russia, they face a range of restrictions. Those found in violation of the law can face fines of up to 5 million rubles ($55,000) and up to six years in prison.

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[l] at 10/14/24 1:09pm
Admitting Kiev into the US-led bloc could trigger a nuclear war, Slovak MEP Lubos Blaha has told RT Ukrainian accession to NATO could result in nuclear war, Slovak MEP Lubos Blaha told RT on Monday during a visit to Moscow. Slovakia, a member of the US-led military bloc, previously vowed to stonewall Kiev’s candidacy over fears of a conflict with Russia. Blaha, a member of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Social Democratic SMER-SD party, visited Moscow over the weekend to thank Russia for liberating his country from fascism in World War II and to apologize for the “growing Russophobia” in the EU and the US. Speaking with RT, Blaha said he believes that the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and the West’s proxy war against Russia could turn into a nuclear war, stressing “we need to do everything to avoid this.” He cited Fico’s recent comments that Slovakia plans to veto Ukraine’s potential accession to NATO due to the threat of a world war posed by such a move. “It would be a suicide if we take Ukraine to NATO… if we want to have a nuclear war… then let’s do it,” Blaha said, adding “We will never allow the accession of Ukraine into NATO.” The Slovak MEP went on to say that he believes “one of the causes of the Ukraine conflict was that NATO expanded to the borders of Russia.” This is “just an empirical fact,” he said. “It was not the Russian Federation on the borders of the United States… It was NATO and the collective West spreading their influence and their military equipment towards the borders of Russia.”  He also accused the EU of hypocrisy and double standards, noting that when it talks about Israel’s right to defend itself in the war in Gaza, “doesn’t then Russia have the right to defend itself?” Asked about Western sanctions, Blaha said that Russia is a modern technologically-developed country. Sanctions are not working despite Western efforts, he said, explaining that on the contrary, they are hurting the EU’s own economy. “I think the sanctions are nonsense, and we just need to stop this as soon as possible.” By adopting “militarist, Russophobic, and radical” resolutions against Russia, the EU is supporting the war, he said. Asked about his visit to Moscow, Blaha said he wanted to apologize “for all this militarism and Russophobia in the West.” “I’m really fed up as an MEP and as a Slovak politician to hear all this hatred against Russia,” he said, comparing it to the “atmosphere of hatred” during the 1930s and 1940s in Nazi Germany. “This is very dangerous and terrible, and I will do everything for a dialogue with Russians and for the open-mindedness of Western politicians,” Blaha said.

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[l] at 10/14/24 12:32pm
The killing of a Sikh separatist leader last year sparked recriminations against New Delhi by the Trudeau-led government India has expelled six Canadian diplomats, including High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said in a statement on Monday. The diplomats have been asked to leave India by Saturday.   The announcement came hours after New Delhi summoned the Canadian envoy and said it is withdrawing its high commissioner and other diplomats from Canada, after the government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked them to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb last year.   New Delhi stated that it had received a diplomatic communication from Ottawa on Sunday suggesting that its officials, including the high commissioner, were “persons of interest” in the ongoing investigation. India termed Canada’s allegations “preposterous imputations,” suggesting it was part of Trudeau’s “political agenda” centered on “vote bank politics.” At the same time, Reuters, Canadian broadcaster CBC, and the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing government sources, that Canada had expelled six Indian diplomats. The reports appeared hours after Canadian police said that Indian officials had been part of a government “campaign of violence.”  Read more India claims Canadian government ‘smearing’ it for ‘political gain’ Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Michael Duheme stated at a press conference on Monday that Canadian investigations had revealed that “Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leverage their position to engage in clandestine activities such as collecting information for the government of India, either directly or through their agents and other individuals.”   The Canadian police claimed that this information was used to target “members of the South Asian community,” particularly in the Khalistan movement. Police officials also claimed that agents of the Indian government had been using elements of “organized crime” to target pro-Khalistan activists.    Canada is home to the world’s largest Sikh population outside India, but also has a large contingent of radical Sikhs, who press for the creation of a separate nation state carved out of India. Trudeau publicly accused New Delhi of involvement in the killing of Nijjar, a prominent member of the Khalistan movement, in September 2023. The issue stirred a massive diplomatic row and left ties strained. New Delhi has denied the allegations and asked Canada for proof to substantiate the claims. READ MORE: US court summons Indian officials in alleged assassination case  Duheme, meanwhile, said on Monday that an “extraordinary situation” had compelled it to publicly disclose information about ongoing investigations. Canadian police officials also suggested that their attempts to meet with their law enforcement counterparts in India to present evidence that Indian government agents were involved in criminal activity in Canada had been unsuccessful.  New Delhi on Monday, however, said that the Canadian government has not shared “a shred of evidence with India despite many requests.” Since Trudeau made the allegations last year, India vehemently denied the charges.

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[l] at 10/14/24 11:36am
The incident took place after Israel ordered UNIFIL troops to leave southern Lebanon Two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks destroyed the main gate of a UN peacekeeping base and illegally entered the facility on Sunday, the organization’s mission in Lebanon has claimed. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that UN troops would be in danger if they remained in Lebanon. The incident took place at a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in Ramyah, near the Israel-Lebanon border, on Sunday morning, UNIFIL said in a statement. ”At around 4:30 a.m., while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered the position,” the statement read. “They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights. The tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL protested through our liaison mechanism, saying that IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.” After the tanks left, several rounds were fired 100 meters north of the base. The shells emitted irritating smoke, which drifted into the camp and caused 15 peacekeepers to suffer “skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions,” despite their wearing of protective masks, UNIFIL said. Read more Netanyahu calls on UN to evacuate Lebanon peacekeepers In a statement released on Sunday night, the IDF said that the tanks accidentally backed into the base while evacuating two wounded Israeli soldiers, and that a smokescreen was then fired to aid their escape. UNIFIL was formed in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces to below the so-called ‘blue line’, which separates Lebanon from Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. Headquartered in the town of Naqoura, UNIFIL is currently composed of around 10,000 troops from around 50 countries, who are tasked with ensuring that neither Israel nor Hezbollah maintain a military presence between the blue line and the Litani River. Israel maintains that UNIFIL has done nothing to prevent Hezbollah entrenching itself in this region, while preventing its own forces from responding to the threat. IDF troops entered southern Lebanon late last month, in a dramatic escalation of Israel’s war against the Lebanese paramilitary group. In the weeks since, UNIFIL has accused the IDF of repeatedly firing on its bases and outposts. Five peacekeepers have been wounded, four of them by Israeli fire, according to recent statements from the UN mission. READ MORE: Israeli attacks on UN force has been ‘deliberate’ – peacekeepers spokesperson to RT Following Sunday’s incident at Ramyah, UNIFIL reminded Israel that “breaching and entering a UN position is a further flagrant violation of international law and Security Council resolution 1701.” This resolution, which ended the 2006 Lebanon War, stipulates that only UNIFIL troops and the regular Lebanese military are allowed to operate between the blue line and the Litani River. In a video message posted to social media on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to withdraw UNIFIL troops from southern Lebanon, accusing them of “providing a human shield to Hezbollah terrorists.” Netanyahu added that the UN troops’ lives would be “endangered” if they refuse to evacuate.

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[l] at 10/14/24 11:00am
Berlin could convince more people “that it is right to help” Kiev if coverage in the press were better, the chancellor has claimed The media in Germany is to blame for the lack of public support for military aid to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed in an interview published on Monday. News outlets fail to ask the right questions to help the government make its case to the people, he said. The chancellor noted that he is frequently asked by ordinary citizens whether the level of support Germany has been providing to Ukraine “is actually right.” However, in interviews with journalists, this question “is never asked” and therefore is rarely discussed in the newspapers and on TV and radio. “The question of whether this is the right [thing to do] is hardly ever asked [by journalists],” Scholz told the Schwaebische Zeitung, adding that because of this, he has not been able to explain “why it is important to support Ukraine while remaining level-headed.” Instead, according to Scholz, journalists focus on why Berlin is not sending even more weapons to Kiev. Read more 0% of Germans ‘very satisfied’ with government – poll If there had been more coverage on whether sending aid is the right course of action, “it would probably have been possible to convince more citizens that it is right to help,” he said. In June, Scholz acknowledged that many Germans were unhappy about the continued aid to Ukraine, after his Social Democratic Party suffered a major setback in the EU parliamentary elections, winning as little as 7% of the vote in some parts of eastern Germany. Read more Scholz admits many Germans are unhappy about Ukraine aid At the time, the chancellor said “many people do not agree” with Berlin’s Ukraine policy and sanctions on Russia, and this is “reflected in the election results.” Nevertheless, there is “no alternative” to supporting Ukraine, he claimed. In his interview on Monday, Scholz insisted that Russia should not expect support for Ukraine to wane, and that Berlin will remain one of Kiev’s biggest supporters. A poll in July suggested that zero percent of Germans were “fully satisfied” with the work of the ruling coalition, and over 81% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s work. Germany is the second-biggest donor of military aid to Ukraine, totaling over €10 billion ($11.19 billion) from January 2022 to June 2024, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Berlin has also provided Kiev with almost $5 billion in humanitarian and financial assistance over the same period, according to the think tank’s estimates. In April, a poll conducted on behalf of the German broadcaster ZDF found that 82% of those questioned did not believe Ukraine could prevail against Russia, even with Western military aid.

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[l] at 10/14/24 10:55am
Charles III is due to visit Australia as republican sentiments mount The heads of six Australian states will miss a reception for King Charles III when he arrives Down Under, while the British monarch has said he would not oppose the former prison colony declaring itself a republic. While Australia has been fully independent since 1986, its titular head of state is still the British monarch. A 1999 referendum to declare a republic failed, in part due to the popularity of Queen Elizabeth II at the time. Charles is due to arrive in Australia later this week. On Monday, the premiers of six federal states informed Canberra they would not be able to attend the reception for the monarch, citing prior commitments. “The failure of state premiers to attend the reception in Canberra is completely indefensible,” Bev McArthur, a Liberal MP and head of the Australian Monarchist League told the BBC. She accused the premiers of wearing “republican hats” and engaging in “gesture-led politics” to insult the king. Charles would be the second ruling British monarch to make an official visit to Australia, after his mother, who passed away in 2022. With Queen Elizabeth’s passing, the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) revived their agitation for declaring a republic, arguing that the country should stand on equal footing with other nations around the world. Read more UK admits colony deal was about US military base Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said that the country “should have an Australian as our head of state,” suggesting he would support another referendum. The 1999 vote saw 54.9% of Australians voting to keep the monarchy. Last week, the ARM wrote to Buckingham Palace to request a meeting with the king. While Charles III politely declined, his private secretary revealed that the monarch would not stand in the way of Australians electing a president instead. “His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his ministers and whether Australia becomes a republic is, therefore, a matter for the Australian public to decide,” Dr. Nathan Ross wrote to ARM, according to the Daily Mail. Ross also noted that ARM’s views “have been noted very carefully” and that Charles had “deep love and affection” for Australia. The group’s invitation was “politely declined,” ARM co-chairman Nathan Hansford told the Mail. He added that Australians are “such a wonderfully diverse nation” that many people feel is not properly represented by a monarch. There are 14 countries around the world that still consider the British sovereign their head of state. Barbados was the most recent to declare itself a republic, in 2021, but chose to remain in the Commonwealth and maintain cordial relations with London. Jamaica is set to hold a referendum on the issue later this year. Britain began to settle Australia in 1788, when New South Wales was established as a penal colony. Other colonies followed, and eventually became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Present-day Australia consists of six states: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, along with ten federal territories.

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[l] at 10/14/24 10:22am
Aleksandar Vucic made the gesture during a football match against Switzerland Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic unfurled a double Serbian-Russian flag during a football match on Saturday, according to a video circulating on social media. Vucic and Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska – one of the predominantly Serb regions within Bosnia and Herzegovina – attended a match between Switzerland and Serbia in the Serbian town of Leskovac.  According to a video clip shared by Dodik, the two leaders, along with numerous government officials attending the match, rose from their seats as the Serbian national anthem was played. Moments afterwards, Dodik took up a flag of Republika Srpska, while Vucic, who was seated next to him, promptly followed suit, pulling a short banner with a Serbian and Russian flag from his pocket. The two flags have the same colors, but in a different order. Вечерас смо срцем уз Србију. Напријед, "орлови".?? pic.twitter.com/qcurWGhX7b— Милорад Додик (@MiloradDodik) October 12, 2024 The match between Serbia and the Swiss team, which included several Kosovo-born players, ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts. Read more BRICS is real alternative to EU – Serbia Vucic’s gesture attracted some criticism on social media, with the leader of the Republican Party of Serbia Nikola Sandulovic describing it as a clear message to the Serbian people that Vucic is and will be an ally of Russia, “especially now that we are trying to be Russia’s ‘Trojan horse’ in the West.” While the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has not completely banned Russian flags from sports events, it made an exception for matches involving the Ukrainian national team due to concerns that the tricolor could be regarded as “provocative.” All Russian teams have been banned from UEFA events since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Serbia, which has close ties with Russia, has consistently defied Western pressure to join sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Vucic has also repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.

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[l] at 10/14/24 10:05am
The Russian foreign minister held consultations with the Vatican’s special envoy in Moscow about finding a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Pope Francis’ Special Envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry has reported.  According to a statement published on the ministry’s website, Lavrov met with the Vatican’s emissary as part of a working visit by the latter to the Russian capital. The two are said to have held in-depth discussions “on cooperation in the humanitarian sphere in the context of the conflict around Ukraine and touched upon a number of topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda.”  The sides noted the “constructive development of the Russia-Vatican dialogue” during their talks, according to the statement.   Since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the Vatican has been a vocal advocate for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Last year, Cardinal Zuppi was designated as the Holy See’s special envoy for peace in Ukraine and has since traveled to Kiev, Moscow, Washington, and Beijing in hopes of negotiating peace.  Meanwhile, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, also travelled to Ukraine this July and met with the country’s leadership. During that visit, Kiev once again tried to promote Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called ‘peace formula’, which calls for war reparations and a tribunal for Russian officials. After the meeting, Parolin said the formula was “not enough” and stressed that Russia must be included in any negotiations.  Read more Vatican and China talk Ukraine peace Moscow has welcomed the Vatican’s “neutral and balanced” position on the conflict and its efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Following Parolin’s comments about Zelensky’s peace formula, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova praised the Holy See representative, noting that he had voiced “what was obvious to any sensible person from the outset, [namely that] it is impossible to achieve a long-term and just peace without taking Moscow and its position into account.”  Russia has repeatedly stressed that it remains open to dialogue with Ukraine on ending the conflict. However, Moscow has also admitted that it is reluctant to trust Kiev’s words and expressed doubt that the Ukrainian leadership truly wants peace.  In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was ready to declare an immediate ceasefire and start peace negotiations if Ukraine withdrew its forces from Russia’s new territories and gave legally binding commitments to neutrality. However, after Kiev launched an incursion into Kursk Region in August, Putin said that no such peace talks could be held while Ukrainian troops were on Russian soil and indiscriminately attacking civilians.

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[l] at 10/14/24 10:01am
Any security talks should be broader in scope given the current state of affairs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Moscow considers talks on nuclear threat reduction vital, but any discussions by world powers should be broader in scope given the current state of affairs with regard to the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said. The US signaled earlier that it is open to dialogue with Russia, China, and North Korea on nuclear security issues. “In fact, our president has already spoken about this. Russia considers such contacts necessary and they cannot be postponed, but we must consider all security issues as a whole, taking into account the current state of affairs,” Peskov told a press briefing on Monday after being asked about the likelihood of Russia’s participation in talks. “In the conditions of the war that is being waged against Russia with the indirect and even direct involvement of nuclear powers such as the US, UK, and France, it is absolutely impossible to talk about this without contextualizing the topic to all other security aspects,” he said. On Sunday, US President Joe Biden called on global powers to continue taking steps to make the world safer by ridding it of nuclear weapons. “Reducing the nuclear threat is important not despite the dangers of today’s world but precisely because of them,” Biden said in a statement congratulating this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners, the Japanese anti-nuclear weapons organization Nihon Hidankyo. In August, the New York Times reported that Biden approved a US nuclear strategy to prepare for potential coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China, and North Korea. The newspaper cited the White House as saying the plan was approved in March and was not a response to a particular country or threat. Read more US ‘ready’ for talks on nuclear threat – Biden Moscow has always stressed that it has no wish to use nuclear weapons. However, Russian officials have warned that the West’s increasing involvement in the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow considers to be a proxy war waged by the West against Russia, could result in a direct confrontation. Last month, President Vladimir Putin announced the intention to make critical changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine. This came in response to deliberations by the US and its allies on whether to grant permission for Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia. The proposed changes would allow the Russian leadership to treat an attack by a non-nuclear nation backed by a nuclear nation as a joint threat when deciding whether to retaliate with nuclear weapons. The world is facing the growing threat of nuclear war as a result of the West’s “destructive policy,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned last week. She reiterated Moscow’s calls to consider the potential “catastrophic consequences” of these actions.

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[l] at 10/14/24 9:28am
The US vice president struggles to answer “even the easiest of questions,” her Republican rival has claimed Former US President Donald Trump has called on Vice President Kamala Harris to take a cognitive test, calling her “slow and lethargic.” Harris urged Trump to release his medical records over the weekend, questioning “whether he is fit to be president of the United States.” In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump declared that “it is very important that Kamala Harris pass a test on cognitive stamina and agility.” “Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her,” he continued. “Even 60 Minutes and CBS, in order to protect Lyin’ Kamala, illegally and unscrupulously replaced an answer she had given, which was totally ‘bonkers’, with another answer that had nothing to do with the question asked.” “Also, she is slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions,” Trump continued. “We just went through almost four years of that, we shouldn’t have to do it again!” Read more ‘Trump fan’ denies assassination plot Last week, CBS News broadcast an interview with Harris that had been heavily edited, with the vice president’s lengthy and rambling answers – seen in a preview released before the final broadcast – cut and replaced with completely different responses. Trump initially focused his anger on CBS, declaring that the network should be shut down and sold “to the highest bidder.” However, his latest attack on Harris came after the Democratic candidate questioned his physical and mental fitness. After releasing a statement from her doctor describing her health as “excellent,” Harris called on Trump to follow suit, claiming that his unwillingness to do so demonstrates that he does “not want the American people to see what he is doing and whether he is fit to be President of the United States.” At 78, Trump is 19 years Harris’ senior, and is currently the oldest nominee for president by a major party in US history. Trump released a letter from his doctor last November which stated that his “overall health is excellent” and that his “cognitive exams were exceptional.” READ MORE: Trump labels Harris ‘mentally impaired’ Dr. Bruce Aronwald, Trump’s personal physician since 2021, said his cancer screening tests were all negative, cardiovascular tests were normal, and he had reduced his weight through daily physical activity and an “improved diet.” Trump repeatedly attacked President Joe Biden over his mental and physical fortitude until July, when Biden suspended his reelection campaign after appearing confused during a debate with the former president. With Harris replacing Biden atop the Democratic ticket, Trump repurposed his repertoire of insults and jibes to fit his new opponent. ”Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way,” Trump said at a campaign rally last month. “She was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country,” he continued, going after Harris for her lax border security performance.

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[l] at 10/14/24 9:16am
The State Duma chairman was commenting on Serbia’s plans to join the group of emerging economies Countries in Europe are starting to realize that BRICS can ensure global multipolarity without blackmailing its members, unlike the US-led G7 or EU, State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin has said.   The top Russian MP was commenting on Serbia’s plans to explore the option of joining the group of emerging economies instead of the EU as announced by the country’s deputy prime minister, Aleksandar Vulin, on Sunday.   Serbia applied to join the EU in 2009 and has been a candidate for membership since 2012. However, Brussels has been making increasingly stiff demands while offering no progress toward membership in return, according to Vulin. He explained that while Belgrade sees the EU as a partner, “we are not entirely sure that the EU sees us as a partner.”  “Serbia intends to join BRICS. This option is being considered as an alternative to the European Union,” Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel on Monday, adding that “more and more countries understand that BRICS guarantees a multipolar world.”  Read more BRICS driving global economic growth – Russian finance minister Volodin pointed out that BRICS members and observers are not “blackmailed” or offered “absurd conditions for cooperation.” Likewise, their “sovereign affairs” are not interfered with, unlike EU members, he added.  According to Volodin, the meddling policies of Washington and Brussels have led to the “opposite effect” than intended and have helped facilitate the rapid growth of the BRICS economies. The group has grown from an acronym into an informal alliance that has overtaken the G7 in terms of share of global GDP.  “The European Union is stagnating: in Germany, Austria, Finland, Estonia GDP is declining and industry is suffering significant losses,” Volodin said.  With its current members, BRICS accounts for 45% of the world’s population, he said, adding that the “time for the hegemony of Washington and Brussels is running out.”   BRICS was originally founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. This year, four more countries – Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates – officially became members. Saudi Arabia has also been invited to join the group and participates in BRICS meetings, but has not taken up full membership.  Russia will host the bloc’s annual summit later this month. The members are slated to approve a new status within the group – that of a BRICS partner country.

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[l] at 10/14/24 9:02am
Washington has spent “millions of dollars” in an attempt to change the government in Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said The US has “invested heavily” in attempting to remove the current Hungarian government, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has claimed. According to the diplomat, US interference involved funding the opposition in a bid to defeat the Fidesz-Christian Democratic People’s Party (Fidesz-KDNP) alliance, led by Prime Minister Victor Orban, in the country’s 2022 election.     In an interview with RIA Novosti published on Monday, Szijjarto alleged that “there were very serious attempts to interfere in our elections [in 2022]… Very heavy interference, many millions of dollars spent to throw the government out.”    “Millions of dollars have been spent by American entities during the Hungarian elections, invested in our opposition, invested in opposition media. This is still going on,” Szijjarto said. Despite this, the political opposition lost the elections, the diplomat noted, expressing hope that future attempts to interfere in Hungarian policies would be similarly unsuccessful.   The Fidesz-KDNP alliance won 135 seats out of 199 in the Hungarian National Assembly in 2022, maintaining a constitutional majority for the third election in a row. The coalition of six opposition parties led by Peter Marki-Zay secured only 57 seats. After the vote, the Hungarian parliament reelected Orban as prime minister for a fifth term.   Read more Hungary blocking Ukraine aid to help Trump – Politico Hungarian media first reported on illicit foreign funding of opposition party campaigns in late 2022. Citing an intelligence report prepared by Hungarian secret services, reports claimed that the opposition had received as much as $8 million from foreign entities. Marki-Zay later publicly admitted to receiving funding from the US-based ‘Action for Democracy’ NGO in a podcast for the Magyar Hang newspaper.    The US government has denied claims it attempted to interfere in the Hungarian electoral process. In a speech in Budapest earlier this year, US Ambassador David Pressman attempted to deflect attention from alleged meddling, insisting that Hungary has no right to “decry foreign interference” when it “advocates for electoral candidates around the world from Poland to Brazil.”   Relations between the US and Hungary have soured significantly in recent years, including over the Ukraine conflict. Washington has supported Kiev with financial and military aid, while Budapest has called for a diplomatic solution. Hungary has also refused to cut ties with Russia and has blocked numerous sanctions initiatives proposed by the West to pressure Moscow agree to Ukraine’s peace terms.

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[l] at 10/14/24 8:52am
The crisis in Sudan has led to a 0.4 pp decrease in estimates for 2024 GDP The World Bank has lowered its economic growth forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), citing the collapse of Sudan’s economy due to its escalating civil war as one reason for the decision. According to the global financial institution’s latest regional economic outlook report, the Africa Pulse, published on Monday, the region will likely grow by 3% this year, down from 3.4% projected in April. “The downgrade is partly explained by the collapse of economic activity in Sudan caused by the armed conflict, which has destroyed physical and human capital as well as state capacity, with adverse impacts on food security and greater forced displacement,” the World Bank stated. Sudan’s economy is projected to decline by 15.1% in 2024 before recovering slightly the next year with 1.3% growth. The northeast African country has been embroiled in a violent conflict since April 2023, with UN estimates putting the death toll in the thousands. Around 11 million people have been displaced. READ MORE: Rival factions in conflict-torn African state end negotiations Ahead of the report’s release, the World Bank’s chief economist for Africa told reporters on Friday that without the Sudanese conflict, regional growth in 2024 would have been 3.5% higher and in line with the initial April estimate. “So that’s how much this is knocking off the regional growth rate,” Andrew Dabalen said, adding that “Sudan, the economy, has basically completely disappeared.” Regardless, the Washington-based lender expects economic growth in 1.24 billion-strong SSA to accelerate to 4% in 2025 and 2026. This will be driven by an expected boost in private consumption and investment, owing to lower interest rates as the region’s inflation rate falls to 4.8% this year from 7.1% in 2023. Read more How US policy is hindering peace in this war-torn African state The institution also expressed concern about the region’s per capita growth, claiming that it has not been sufficient to reduce extreme poverty. It stated that SSA’s real income per capita in 2024 is about 2% lower than it was in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. “The number of poor people increased from 448 million in 2022 to 464 million in 2024,” it stated. “The high cost of living, corruption, and, more broadly, weak governance have triggered protests and palpable anger among the youth in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda – unrest that could spread throughout the region,” the World Bank warned.

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[l] at 10/14/24 8:12am
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman has pledged to give concerts in the country when the conflict is over American actor and singer Jared Leto insulted Ukraine when he said that he hoped to perform in Moscow and Kiev during peacetime, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said. The frontman of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars gave a shout out to his Russian fans at a concert on Friday in the Serbian capital Belgrade, urging them to raise their hands in the air. Leto pledged to visit his Russian supporters in their homeland, saying that the group would go to St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as Kiev, once “all these problems are finished.” “I know we have people from all over the world here tonight. I thought I felt a little of that Russian energy. Did you miss us?” the artist said after he asked how many people in the audience were from Russia and heard a loud roar. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was unhappy with the comments, saying in a post on X on Sunday that Leto’s “wish to perform in Russia is an insult to those sacrificing lives to defend freedom.” The ministry called for “no appeasement for Russia” as long as Moscow is trying “to solve the ‘problem’ of Ukraine’s very existence.” The band is currently on tour promoting their latest album ‘It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day’. Leto won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2014 for his role in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ and used to perform in Russia before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Leto’s agent Alexandra Trustman refused to comment on the artist’s statement about a potential concert in Russia when reached by TASS, saying that she cannot “facilitate any correspondence” with the singer. Read more Jared Leto makes Russia and Ukraine vow Earlier this year, Ukrainian authorities slammed the US television network HBO, forcing the company to axe Serbian-born actor Milos Bikovic from its award-winning series ‘The White Lotus’ over his alleged relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In August, Kiev called on Ukraine’s Western backers to ban soprano Anna Netrebko from performing anywhere outside Russia. The call came after the Rome Opera announced that the singer would star in their production of ‘Tosca’ on the 125th anniversary of the premiere of Giacomo Puccini’s opera at the Costanzi Theatre. Last year, Kiev also lashed out at Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, who criticized the West for supplying Ukraine with arms in an address to the United Nations Security Council last year. Waters also angered Kiev by saying that the conflict between the neighboring states was “not unprovoked”.

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As of 10/14/24 6:30pm. Last new 10/14/24 6:00pm.

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