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Syrian Army foils US-backed SDF offensive in Deir Ezzor: Sources

Al Mayadeen | December 3, 2024

The clashes initiated today by militants belonging to the Deir Ezzor Military Council, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), toward the seven peaceful villages in Deir Ezzor, have ended, and the militants have withdrawn to the positions from which they launched their attack in northern Deir Ezzor, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported on Tuesday.

The Deir Ezzor Military Council stands for armed groups supported by US occupation forces, operating under the SDF and controlling areas north of the Euphrates River, where several US military bases are located.

Our correspondent further reported the complete withdrawal of the SDF militants after their failed attempt to advance toward the seven peaceful villages in northern Deir Ezzor, after American artillery at the Conoco field provided heavy fire cover for their assault.

Earlier, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent confirmed that US occupation forces had instructed Deir Ezzor Military Council militants to launch an attack on Syrian Army positions in the seven villages in the Deir Ezzor countryside, coinciding with an offensive by the terrorist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and other opposition factions on Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama countrysides.

The seven villages are located on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, in the northern Deir Ezzor countryside. They are: al-Hussainiya, al-Salihiya, Hatla, Marrat, Mazloum, Khasham, and al-Tabiya, all of which are under the control of the Syrian Army.

Our correspondent added that Deir Ezzor Military Council militants had brought in mine-clearance vehicles and began removing the earthen berm on the Khasham front, northern Deir Ezzor.

Intense clashes were reported between Deir Ezzor Military Council militants and the Syrian Army on the outskirts of the towns of al-Salihiya, Marrat, and al-Tabiya in northern Deir Ezzor, where the US-backed militants shelled Khasham village in Deir Ezzor countryside with 12 mortar rounds.

Violent clashes were also reported between the militants and the Syrian Army on the al-Salihiya front in northern Deir Ezzor.

The Syrian Army units also captured 14 members of the SDF-affiliated Deir Ezzor Military Council during the attack that targeted the northeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, Sputnik reported.

Moreover, SANA reported that the Syrian army is engaged in violent clashes with armed groups north and west of the town of Khattab in the northwestern countryside of Hama, with dozens of terrorists killed and wounded in the vicinity of the towns of Deir Ezzor and the northern countryside of Hama.

SDF attack aims to stop Resistance attacks on US occupation base

Sources told Al Mayadeen that the Americans’ goal in supporting the SDF’s attack is to stop the Resistance attacks on the Conoco base due to its proximity to these villages.

The attack was carried out under American cover and was thwarted by the army, allied forces, and locals, the sources confirmed.

According to the sources, the SDF initiated the attack by firing rockets and shells, which inflicted damage on the residents’ property.

The sources mentioned that the Syrian Army and allied forces repelled an attack by the SDF on the seven villages, north of Deir Ezzor, and forced them to withdraw.

Syrian Army repelling attack on liberated villages

Meanwhile, Syrian state TV said earlier the army and its allied forces were repelling an attack by the Deir Ezzor Military Council on the liberated villages in the al-Jazira region.

The Syrian army, along with allied forces, is also repelling an attack launched by SDF forces in the Deir Ezzor countryside, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

On its part, the Syrian Ministry of Defense confirmed that Syrian and Russian airstrikes and missile strikes have targeted militant positions in the southern Idlib countryside and northern Hama, pointing out that the strikes resulted in dozens of fatalities and injuries among the militants, as well as the destruction of their vehicles and weapons.

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent later reported that the Syrian-Russian air forces destroyed a command center belonging to armed groups in the Khan Sheikhoun area in the southern Idlib countryside.

HTS militants launched a wide-scale offensive last Wednesday on areas in the countryside of Aleppo, Idlib, and Hama, managing to enter the city of Aleppo.

The Syrian Army subsequently established a defensive line in the northern Hama countryside and launched a counteroffensive against the militants, regaining control of villages and towns in the northern part of the province.

Qatar seeking solution

Commenting on the events, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari confirmed that “Doha is working with its partners in the region to find solutions to end the fighting in Syria.”

Qatari media quoted Al-Ansari as saying, “We emphasize that there should be a comprehensive solution in Syria based on international resolutions.”

Ensuing disagreements

In a related context, the sources told Al Mayadeen that disagreements erupted after HTS demanded that the so-called “National Army” militants evacuate the sites they had taken control of north of Aleppo.

The sources said that disagreements emerged between the HTS operations room and the “National Army’s” operations room over control positions in Aleppo and its countryside.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Wars for Israel | , | Leave a comment

Iran says it’s ready to send troops to Syria

RT | December 3, 2024

Tehran would consider a full military deployment to aid Syria if the government in Damascus requests it, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.

The comments came during an inteview that Araghchi gave to the Qatar-based outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on his way back from Türkiye on Monday evening.

“If the Syrian government asks Iran to send troops to Syria, we will consider the request,” Araghchi was quoted as saying.

Tehran is preparing “a series of steps to calm the situation in Syria and find an opportunity to present an initiative for a permanent solution,” he added.

Militants of al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) and other Islamist groups launched a large-scale offensive from Idlib province towards Aleppo, Hama and Homs last week. Idlib has been under Turkish protection since a ceasefire negotiated with Russia in 2020.

The expansion of these terrorist groups “may harm Syria’s neighboring countries such as Iraq, Jordan, and Türkiye more than Iran,” Araghchi told the Qatari outlet.

Tehran is willing to “consult and dialogue” with Ankara to bridge their differences, Araghchi noted, but said that Iran demands a withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria before any meeting between their presidents can take place. According to the Iranian foreign minister, this is a “reasonable” request.

Iran is “concerned about the collapse of the Astana process in Syria, because there is no easy alternative to it,” according to Araghchi. This was a reference to the deal signed in 2017 in the capital of Kazakhstan, in which the governments in Damascus, Ankara, Tehran, and Moscow pledged to work on resolving the Syrian conflict peacefully.

Araghchi also said he intended to visit Moscow to discuss the situation in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara supports “Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity” but that ending the conflict required a “consensus in line with the legitimate demands of the Syrian people.” His foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said on Monday that the hostilities resumed because Damascus ignored the “legitimate demands of the opposition.”

Meanwhile, Russia has reiterated its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad and the government in Damascus.

The Russian expeditionary force, deployed to Syria in 2015 to help Damascus fight against Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS) terrorists, has carried out a series of airstrikes against the attacking jihadists in support of the Syrian army.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | 1 Comment

Intercept exposes contradictions in Google’s Project Nimbus claims

Al Mayadeen | December 3, 2024

According to The Intercept, Google has defended its controversial cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, Project Nimbus, by stating it follows the company’s standard cloud computing terms of service, though internal documents reveal the agreement operates under an “adjusted” policy tailored by Google and “Israel,” the specifics of which remain unclear.

Despite widespread criticism, Google’s Project Nimbus—a $1.2 billion deal—provides the Israeli government and military with access to advanced cloud and AI technologies, and while Amazon has largely remained silent, Google continues to downplay the project’s military implications, despite Israeli statements highlighting its benefit to the “defense establishment.”

Google has sought to reassure critics concerned about its partnership with the Israeli government, which is under investigation by the International Criminal Court, by stating that the Project Nimbus contract adheres to the company’s standard cloud terms and regulations, which prohibit uses that violate legal rights or cause harm.

The Google Cloud terms of service, among other things, ban uses that “violate, or encourage the violation of, the legal rights of others,” any “invasive” purpose, or anything “that can cause death, serious harm, or injury to individuals or groups of individuals.”

However, critics argue that the terms of the contract remain non-negotiable and heavily favor the Israeli government.

A previously unpublished email from Google lawyer Edward du Boulay reveals concerns about the terms of the Project Nimbus contract, stating during the submission of Google’s bid that if the company wins the contract, it would have to accept a non-negotiable agreement with terms favorable to the Israeli government, including limited ability to sue “Israel” for breaches and unilateral rights for “Israel” to impose changes to the contract.

The Intercept’s analysis of Israeli government contract records reveals that the standard terms of service do not apply to Project Nimbus; instead, a modified set of terms has been implemented. The documents show that the Israeli occupation government has the authority to use the cloud services for any purpose, contradicting Google’s claims that Nimbus is not intended for sensitive or military uses.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | 1 Comment

UNESCO’s New Mission: Train Influencers About Combatting Online “Misinformation”

By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | December 2, 2024

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is now incorporating teaching influencers how to “fact check” into its activities.

UNESCO claims that influencers have become “primary sources of news and cultural information” around the world – which prompted it to carry out a survey into how these online personalities verify the “news” they present.

Citizens in UN member-countries may or may not be happy that this is how their taxpayer money funding the world organization is being spent these days. But UNESCO is not only conducting surveys; it is also developing a training course for said influencers (which are also interchangeably referred to as content creators in press releases).

It’s meant to teach them not only to “report misinformation, disinformation and hate speech” but also to collaborate with legacy media and these outlets’ journalists, in order to “amplify fact-based information.”

The survey, “Behind the screens,” was done together with researchers from the US Bowling Green State University. 500 influencers from 45 countries took part, and the key findings, UNESCO said, are that 63 percent of them “lack rigorous and systematic fact-checking protocols” – but also, that 73% said they “want to be trained.”

This UN agency also frames the results as showing that respondents are “struggling” with disinformation and hate speech and are “calling for more training.”

UNESCO is justifying its effort to teach influencers to “rigorously” check facts by referring to its media and information literacy mandate. The report laments that mainstream media has become “only the third most common source (36.9%) for content creators, after their own experience and their own research and interviews.”

It would seem content creators/influencers are driven by common sense, but UNESCO wants them to forge closer ties with journalists (specifically those from legacy, i.e., traditional media – UNESCO appears very eager to stress that multiple times.)

Under the guise of concern, the agency also essentially warns creators/influencers that they should be better aware of regulations and “international standards” that pertain to digital media – in order to avoid “legal uncertainty” that exposes them to “prosecution and conviction in some countries.”

And now, UNESCO and US-based Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas have launched a one-month course which is currently involving 9,000 people from 160 countries. The goal is to train them to “address disinformation and hate speech and provide them with a solid grounding in global human rights standards.”

The initiative looks like an attempt to get “traditional” journalists to influence the influencers, and try to prop up their outlets, that are experiencing an erosion in trust among their audiences.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | | Leave a comment

Soros, sanctions and propaganda: How the US secretly controls the ‘world’s largest investigative journalism organization’

RT | December 3, 2024

An investigation published on Monday by France’s Mediapart and its partners, including Drop Site News (US), Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy), and Reporters United (Greece), has uncovered that the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the world’s largest investigative journalism network, is secretly controlled by the US government.

The report reveals that Washington has provided around half of the organization’s funding and has significant sway over its leadership and editorial direction, raising questions about the independence of the network’s reporting.

US govt funds more than half of OCCRP budget

Since its founding in 2008, the OCCRP has received at least $47 million from American government sources. This accounts for approximately half of the organization’s overall funding, making the US state the largest donor by far.

The OCCRP’s financial dependence on the US government has led to concerns about the potential influence of Washington on the organization’s editorial stance, particularly given the US government’s strategic interests.

According to Drew Sullivan, the OCCRP’s co-founder and publisher, the US government remains the organization’s largest donor, providing crucial financial support for its operations. In an interview with German state broadcaster NDR, Sullivan acknowledged, “I’m very grateful to the US government” for its support.

While OCCRP officials insist that government grants come with “impenetrable guardrails” to protect journalistic integrity, critics will argue that such substantial funding creates a structural dependence that could affect editorial independence.

Washington has veto power over OCCRP leadership

In addition to providing substantial funding, the US government also wields significant influence over the OCCRP’s leadership. Washington has the right to veto key personnel appointments within the organization, including the nomination of its publisher, Sullivan. Under agreements with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other government bodies, the OCCRP must submit resumes of potential hires for senior roles to the American government for approval.

USAID’s Shannon Maguire confirmed this in a statement, saying the agency has the “right to have its say” on personnel decisions. Sullivan himself admitted in an interview that the US can use this veto power, although he maintained that it has never been exercised. “If they veto somebody, we can say we don’t take the money,” he said. The power to dictate appointments, however, underscores the US government’s influence over the OCCRP’s leadership.

Soros provides significant funding

In addition to the US government, the OCCRP has also relied on funding from private donors, including the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the pressure group founded by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros. While OSF’s contributions are significant, they have not raised the same concerns about influence as the US government’s donations, as far as the authors of the investigation are concerned.

Still, OSF’s role adds to the complex web of financial support that the OCCRP has received over the years.

OCCRP founded based on secret US govt grant

The OCCRP’s origins are tied directly to US government funding. In 2007, the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) provided the initial $1.7 million to establish the network. This secret funding, funneled through the Journalism Development Group (JDG) controlled by Sullivan, was key to the creation of the OCCRP.

Sullivan’s relationship with USAID and the US government dates back to the early 2000s, when he worked on a USAID-funded initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina to train local journalists. He later used his connections to secure funding from the US government to establish the OCCRP. The fact that such an influential journalistic network was born out of a covert US government grant raises concerns about the independence of its operations.

US govt funds investigations aimed at opponents such as Russia

One of the most striking revelations of the investigation is that the US government has directed the OCCRP to focus its investigations on specific countries, including Russia and Venezuela. The OCCRP received $2.2 million from the US to investigate Russian media in an effort dubbed ‘Balancing the Russian media sphere’.

Similarly, the organization was granted $2.3 million to investigate corruption in Cyprus and Malta, two locations where Russian business people have significant financial interests.

By funding investigations that target certain countries, the US government has influenced the scope of the OCCRP’s reporting, ensuring that its investigations align with American geopolitical interests. The OCCRP has worked on several high-profile international investigations, including ‘Cyprus Confidential’, which exposed Russian citizens allegedly using the island as a tax haven to bypass sanctions. These investigations are clearly in line with US foreign policy priorities.

OCCRP reports weaponized to justify US sanctions policy

The OCCRP’s investigative reports have also been used by the US government to justify its foreign policy, particularly sanctions. Through the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC), a program co-financed by the US State Department, OCCRP investigations have been directly linked to judicial actions and sanctions procedures.

The US government uses the OCCRP’s findings to push for greater sanctions on individuals and entities it frames as being associated with corruption, often targeting countries such as Russia and Venezuela.

Sullivan confirmed that the OCCRP works closely with governments, including the US, to apply the findings of its investigations in ways that support broader international policy goals. “We believe the GACC has proven to be highly successful,” Sullivan said. This program has been instrumental in lobbying for tougher anti-corruption and anti-money laundering legislation, he adds, often in countries that the US government sees as adversaries.

Propaganda tool designed to advise US foreign policy interests

The revelations of the OCCRP’s close ties to the US government will fuel criticism that the organization is not simply an independent journalistic entity, but rather a tool used by the US to promote its foreign policy interests. While the OCCRP maintains that it operates independently, its reliance on US funding and its role in advancing US political goals suggests that its reporting may be subject to external influence, particularly when it comes to issues that affect US geopolitical priorities.

As one director of a South American media outlet put it, “The OCCRP makes the US seem virtuous and allows them to set the agenda of what is defined as corruption.” While the OCCRP continues to investigate corruption in many parts of the world, its close financial relationship with the US government raises significant questions about the organization’s independence and the potential for its work to be used as a tool of American foreign policy.

In conclusion, the findings from Mediapart and its partners highlight the complex and often hidden relationship between the OCCRP and the US government. Despite its protestations, the scale of its financial dependence on the US government and the influence that Washington has over its operations will hardly be ignored.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Deception, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | , | Leave a comment

Return Funding for Reliable Energy to the World’s Poorest

By Brenda Shaffer | Real Clear Energy | November 25, 2024

A centerpiece of President Biden’s agenda was a government led effort to greatly reduce production and consumption of fossil fuels. One of the key policies Biden enacted to pursue this goal was ending of public finance for fossil fuel projects. This policy  attracted little public attention or scrutiny, since it had little impact on Americans. The policy mainly impacted the global poor, especially in Africa, which lost access to funding to develop electricity capacity. While ending public finance for fossil fuels provided a feel good moment for the Biden administration and governing elites in other wealthy countries, it hurt the world’s poorest, did not impact climate change and created an opportunity for China to increase its geopolitical influence in Africa and beyond. Cancellation of these restrictions on public finance for fossil fuels should be on the day one list of the incoming Trump administration.

States in the developing world have difficulty attracting commercial investments in their domestic energy sectors, especially for electricity provision. While rich countries that pay high prices for electricity can rely on the private market to develop power capacity, developing  countries  rely on loans and grants from public finance institutions, like the World Bank and regional development banks, and foreign aid to develop electricity for their populations.

In 2021, the United States together with the G-7, ended finance and loans for fossil fuel based energy projects, leaving the developing world with few finance options for electricity development, which is key to economic growth and poverty reduction. As part of Washington’s climate policies, in August 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced guidelines to Multilateral Development Banks stating that the “United States will promote ending international financing of carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy.” The U.S. has top influence at the multilateral banks, as the main donor thus frequently the World Bank adopts U.S. led policies. In 2019, the World Bank had already stopped funding for fossil fuel production. In December  2021, the G-7  member countries formally ended public finance for fossil fuel projects, including natural gas. At the UK sponsored COP26 in Glasgow, the signatories declared: “we will end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector within one year of signing this statement.

Through cutting finance to fossil fuels, the Biden administration and the G-7 states believed they could force the developing world to establish renewable projects instead of fossil fuel based electricity. However, most countries rejected this offer. Their energy professionals understood better than the bureaucrats sitting in Washington or Brussels, that today’s renewable energy cannot provide the stable and affordable power that will allow their publics to move up out of poverty. Moreover, wind and solar require baseload power from fossil fuels to provide constant power. Thus, even renewable projects require funding for fossil fuels.

Reducing access to fossil fuels does not mean that pollution and emissions will decrease. In fact, lack of access to stable and affordable electricity produced from fossil fuels, will likely lead to an increase in pollution, emissions and threats to public health. Humans need energy for basic functions, such as heating, cooking and purifying water. If energy is not available, humans will burn dung, lump coal, wood  and other biomass. This generates greater pollution, carbon emissions and health threats, than production of electricity from fossil fuels, especially natural gas.

There are several  geopolitical implications of the West’s halting of public finance. One, China can reap geopolitical influence through its role as the main funder for energy projects in the developing world.  Second, the West’s retreat from finance for fossil fuel projects  can generate antagonism in the developing world against the West, as indifferent to the suffering caused by energy poverty. Third, lack of reliable power in the developing world contributes to increased instability in many affected parts of the globe. Fourth, the cessation of public finance for fossil fuels can lead to a  slowdown in expanding electricity access in the developing world. For the first time in close to a  century, global electricity access declined in 2022 and in 2023 it remained close to flat. Today,  one in ten people on the globe do not have access to regular electricity.

The new administration  should overturn this prohibition and encourage the G-7 to do the same. The new administration should clarify to the World Bank its support for funding for natural gas and other fossil fuel projects that would benefit the world’s poor. Luckily, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright is passionate about extending energy access to the world’s poor and has been involved in philanthropy that enables clean cooking for many years.

Reversing this policy and many other Biden era energy policies will not be simple. While some energy policies can be eliminated through Congressional legislation  and executive orders, the ban on public finance for fossil fuels was adopted by multi-lateral frameworks, including the G-7, and international agencies, such as the World Bank. The Trump administration will encounter headwinds in attempting to change the policies. It is important to clarify widely that these policies have hurt the world’s poor and need to be reversed. Washington should consider withholding funding to agencies it funds that deny the world’s poor access to funding for electricity.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Malthusian Ideology, Phony Scarcity | , | Leave a comment

Cringe Diplomacy? Germany’s FM Unleashes Tirade of Threats & Accusations During China Trip

By Svetlana Ekimenko – Sputnik – 03.12.2024

During her September 2023 US tour, the top diplomat reaffirmed Berlin’s intent to back the Kiev regime “as long as it takes,” as she stated. Moreover, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stirred up some controversy when she called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” in an interview.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in China for discussions with her counterpart, Wang Yi, on December 2-3, wielding anything but the tools of diplomacy.

Baerbock plunged into a tirade of accusations, claiming that Russia was “destroying our European peace order” and that “increasing Chinese support” for Russia “has an impact on our relations,” according to a readout by the German foreign ministry.

“China is going against our core European interests by providing economic and military aid to Russia,” said Baerbock, and “this is not in China’s interests,” she argued.

Germany’s top diplomat, who made no bones about declaring that European countries were waging a war against Russia in 2023, urging that more weapons be sent to Ukraine, now claimed she was in China to advocate “a just peace process.”

Upon finishing her rant regarding NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine, security sprang into action and escorted members of the German media out of the room, reported Handelsblatt. There was also no joint press statement with her counterpart this time.

Striking a completely different tone, Wang Yi countered by saying that China and Germany should “overcome interference, remove obstacles […] and abandon the old mindset of cold war and confrontation.”

Beijing has consistently condemned the Western sanctions against Russia, calling for an end to these illegal measures. It has emphasized that its trade with Russia is conducted transparently and is “consistent with WTO rules and market principles.”

President Vladimir Putin has described the trust-based relationship between Russia and China as one of the key factors contributing to international stability.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Economics, Militarism, Progressive Hypocrite | , | Leave a comment

China strikes back against US ‘weaponizing’ of trade

RT | December 3, 2024

China has announced a ban on shipments to the US of several dual-use items and key raw materials used in semiconductor manufacturing and military applications. The move comes in response to the latest US sanctions.

On Monday, Washington unveiled restrictions on the export of a broad range of chipmaking tools and software to the Asian nation.

According to a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Tuesday, the retaliatory measures have been introduced in order to safeguard national security interests and fulfill international obligations.

Under the new regulation, China will prohibit the export of dual-use items to US military users or for military purposes. It will also strictly control the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials, as well as graphite-related dual-use items to the US.

The listed rare metals are used in the making of computer chips and a variety of other products, such as solar panels and advanced radar equipment. China is the world’s top producer of gallium and is a leading exporter of germanium.

The US hasn’t produced any gallium since 1987 and relied on China for 21% of its imports of the material between 2019-2022, according to the US Geological Survey. Imports more than halved when compared to previous years due to higher tariffs slapped on shipments to the US by Beijing.

The MOFCOM warned that any organization or individual from any country or region that violates new regulations will be held accountable in accordance with the law. The regulation comes into effect immediately.

The US Department of Commerce announced on Monday that it would ban the export of 24 types of chip manufacturing equipment, three software programs, and high bandwidth memory to China. Additionally, 140 Chinese entities – including toolmakers, chip fabricators, and investment firms – were added to the department’s blacklist over their role in developing China’s domestic semiconductor industry.

Commenting on the issue, a MOFCOM spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday that in recent years, the US “has overstretched the concept of national security, politicized and weaponized economic and technological issues, abused export control measures…”

Such practices seriously undermine international trade rules, the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, as well as the stability of global industrial and supply chains, the spokesperson said.

The world’s two largest economies, the US and China, have in recent years been jostling for domination in key technology areas, including semiconductors. Washington has repeatedly tightened export controls to prevent Chinese firms from buying certain American components, citing risks to national security.

Beijing has slammed the export curbs, claiming that they run counter to globally recognized market rules.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Economics | , | 2 Comments

EU has weakened ‘a lot’ amid Ukraine conflict – Hungarian FM

RT | December 3, 2024

The EU approach to the Ukraine conflict has ultimately weakened the bloc “a lot,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said, branding the decision to blindly follow Washington’s polices a “big mistake.”

The top diplomat made the remarks while speaking exclusively to RT’s Saskia Taylor in an interview on Monday. Comparisons between EU and US aid to Ukraine by the bloc’s leaders are a “very bad and harmful approach from the European perspective,” Szijjarto said. While the US is hardly affected by the enduring hostility between Moscow and Kiev, the conflict has taken a heavy toll on the EU, according to the minister.

“There is destruction taking place in Europe, and the European economy is faced with the impacts and the consequences of this war. So therefore, following the US policies without any kind of criticism, that’s a big mistake and I do believe that the strategy the European Union has been following in the recent 1000 days is a failed one,” Szijjarto said.

The EU has “weakened a lot” during the conflict, and the approach taken by the bloc has proven to be a wrong one, the diplomat stated.

I do believe that instead of globalizing the conflict, the right strategy would have been to localize it and to do everything in order to resolve it, to make peace, instead of pouring oil on the fire, which has been the case.

“There are many extremely pro-war politicians in Europe. When I sit on the meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council with other foreign ministers and listen to some, I’m so sad, that such kind of extreme pro-war positions are present,” Szijjarto stated.

Hungary itself has taken a different approach, remaining “the only country in Europe or European Union which has not delivered weapons to Ukraine,” he noted. “We are the only country in NATO, almost the only one, which speaks openly about the red lines which must be kept seriously. And we are the ones who speak openly about our assessment that NATO is a defense alliance and not an attack,” Szijjarto added.

The foreign minister also touched upon the situation in Georgia, which has been gripped by unrest over the past few days after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that he would freeze accession talks with the EU until 2028. The protests have been openly backed by the EU, with the stance taken by the bloc’s leadership hardly surprising given that Hungary has been “under attack for the last 15 years,” Szijjarto suggested.

“My problem is that this is very [common] in Europe. In the case, if it is not the liberals to win an election, the democratic nature of the whole country and the whole political system is being questioned immediately. If it is liberals to win, everything’s fine. If it’s patriots to win, if it is conservatives to win, if it is right-wing to win, the nature of democracy is immediately questioned. And this is totally unacceptable,” he said.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Progressive Hypocrite, Russophobia | , | 1 Comment

Rheinmetall CEO Vows Increase of German Military Spending on Ukraine to $10.5Bln

Sputnik – 03.12.2024

BERLIN – Germany should spend 10 billion euros ($10.5 billion) from its state budget annually on military aid to Ukraine, otherwise there is a risk of suspension of the Rheinmetall ammunition plant, the company’s CEO, Armin Papperger, said in an interview.

In July, even before the government crisis, the German cabinet announced that the German government, as part of the draft budget for 2025, intended to halve aid to Ukraine to 4 billion euros from 8 billion euros.

According to Papperger, Germany should lay down a much larger budget for military support for Kiev, which will exceed 8 billion in annual expenditures.

“At least ten billion must be approved as further aid,” he said.

In this context, Papperger expressed concern that he would not be able to maintain the full capacity of the new enterprise in the community of Unterlues in Lower Saxony, where, among other things, ammunition for Ukraine is produced, without state funding — if Rheinmetall does not order raw materials in advance, the plant may shut down in a year or a year and a half, he noted.

The head of Rheinmetall also said that an additional 350-400 billion euros would be needed to modernize the Bundeswehr.

Earlier, the concern reported an increase in sales in the first half of the year, increasing to 3.8 billion euros, which is 33% higher than the same figure last year. This is due, among other things, to arms supplies to Ukraine, as stated in a Rheinmetall press release.

In August, German media reported that Berlin was forced to reduce military aid to Ukraine, since, according to the current budget planning of the German government, new funds were no longer allocated for these purposes. It was specified that already approved deliveries would still be carried out, but additional requests from the German Defense Ministry would no longer have to be approved, according to the order of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who later assured that Germany would remain the largest donor of aid to Ukraine in Europe.

In November, Germany faced a serious government crisis after Finance Minister Christian Lindner was fired at the insistence of Scholz. Among the reasons for this decision, he named the latter’s reluctance to approve both an increase in spending on supporting Ukraine and investing in the future of Germany as part of the state budget planning.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Colombia wants to end avalanche of mercenaries fighting in Ukraine

By Ahmed Adel | December 3, 2024

The involvement of Colombian mercenaries in the Ukrainian conflict highlights the structural roots of the paramilitary phenomenon that has plagued the Latin American country for decades. In this context, Colombia and Russia agreed to create a working group to address the issue, especially since hundreds of Colombian mercenaries have died fighting in the Ukraine conflict.

The meeting, led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, took place amid growing concern about the participation of former Colombian military personnel in international conflicts. The decision, announced after the meeting in Moscow in November, seeks to establish joint mechanisms to mitigate the impact of this problem, which threatens Colombia’s internal politics and global security.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro tweeted on November 27 that “mercenary work must be banned in Colombia,” adding that to prevent recruitment by private contractors, raising the “standard of living” of soldiers was necessary. He also called for “criminal punishment” for those using mercenaries in foreign conflicts, thereby supporting the bill his government introduced to the Colombian Congress in August to approve the United Nation’s International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.

The creation of the Russian-Colombian working group reflects a necessary response to political pressure on Bogota due to increased military and ex-military personnel involved in conflicts abroad, especially in Ukraine. There is an alarming number of Colombian military and ex-military personnel captured or killed in combat against Russian military forces in Ukraine.

Nonetheless, the phenomenon is not limited to the crisis in Ukraine but is part of a broader trend in which former military personnel, paramilitaries, and guerrillas from the South American country are recruited to participate in conflicts in different parts of the world. Some media outlets, such as Cuestión Pública, estimate that around 4,000 former members of Colombia’s Public Force participate in foreign conflicts.

As mentioned, the bill will include measures to criminalize the use, hiring and training of mercenaries, an essential step considering the avalanche of Colombian mercenaries that affects not only Ukraine but also other countries in conflict, such as Libya and Sudan.

Another concern is, obviously, the ramifications in Latin America. For example, former members of the Colombian military are recruited by Mexican drug cartels not only for training but also for paramilitary operations on the ground.

Privatized war and military training in Colombia are rooted in the influence of Israel’s Mossad and American companies, such as Blackwater, and are linked to drug trafficking and extractive economies. In effect, Colombian mercenarism has been fueled by a system that perpetuates violence as a tool of control. The training that Colombian soldiers receive, based on American and British techniques, makes them ideal combatants for international conflicts and criminal activities.

Resolving the mercenary problem in Colombia lies in addressing both the structural causes and the regulations that allow its proliferation. Fully implementing the Peace Agreement signed in Havana in 2016 between the Colombian government and militant groups, which includes measures for substituting illicit crops and economic development in the areas most affected by the conflict, is critical.

The agreement between Colombia and Russia represents a significant step in controlling the export of mercenaries and their impacts. However, the problem transcends national borders. Colombia has a long tradition of internal conflict and a highly trained military that is poorly paid and vulnerable. The solution requires political will and a structural change in the power dynamics perpetuating violence. The only way to find peace is through dialogue and policies that dignify soldiers and deactivate patterns of war.

Until this occurs, though, Colombians will continue to be tempted to fight in Ukraine due to the promise of thousands of dollars a month. Although Colombians can earn more money fighting in Ukraine than having a conventional job at home, more than 300 of the 2,000 believed to have gone to the Eastern European warzone have been killed, while hundreds more have been wounded or deserted their positions.

Even if Colombian mercenaries survive unscathed, they still face other issues. Recently, two Colombian soldiers returning home were detained in Venezuela and sent to Russia, where they have been charged with mercenary activities.

With Colombian nationals exposed to financial rewards in Ukraine, caveated with a likelihood of imprisonment, injury or death, Murillo also confirmed that peace efforts were part of his discussions with Lavrov: “We delivered a message of peace regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine, encouraging political and diplomatic dialogue.” Only through peace will Colombian lives stop being wasted in far-off Ukraine, but as it appears, the Kiev regime is still holding out from any negotiations with Moscow.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Who is Massad Boulos, Tapped as Trump’s Advisor on Arab, Middle Eastern Affairs?

By Svetlana Ekimenko – Sputnik – 02.12.2024

Donald Trump lauded Massad Boulos as a “highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the International scene” in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday.

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced Massad Boulos as his pick for the position of senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

Who is Massad Boulos?

Boulos is a Lebanese American businessman who is also father-in-law to Trump’s daughter, Tiffany.

Boulos helped Trump win back the swing state of Michigan by flipping Arab American voters frustrated with Joe Biden’s policies supporting Israel in its war on Hamas in Gaza and on Hezbollah in Lebanon, campaign officials told Reuters.

He assured Arab Americans during the election campaign that Trump was committed to ending the wars in the Middle East.

“Let’s move to peace, and let’s move to rebuilding Gaza and rebuilding Lebanon,” Boulos told Sky News in October, adding:

“We want Gaza to be prosperous. We want the Palestinian people to be prosperous, to live in peace, to live in harmony, side by side with the Israelis and full security on both sides.”

Trump’s in-law has ties to various factions in Lebanese politics, including the Free Patriotic Movement (Christian party aligned with Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah), and the Lebanese Forces Party, according to media reports.

He is familiar with Suleiman Frangieh, leader of the Christian Marada Movement and a candidate for Hezbollah’s faction in the 2022-2024 Lebanese presidential election, Reuters noted.

Massad Boulos, who has acted as a go-between for Trump and Mahmoud Abbas in the past, met with the Palestinian leader on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, a senior Palestinian official told The Times of Israel. Abbas reportedly voiced willingness to work with Trump to reach a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Boulos has friends who are close to Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad, according to media reports.

December 3, 2024 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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