First US deportation flights have taken off – White House

Energy News Beatdeportation flights

 

Those entering the US illegally will “face severe consequences,” President Donald Trump’s press secretary has said

First deportation flights taking off – White House

The US has begun flying hundreds of illegal immigrants back to their home countries after a nationwide wave of arrests, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Friday.

”Deportation flights have begun,” Leavitt wrote on X, adding that “President [Donald] Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.”

Leavitt posted two photos showing lines of men being led onto military transport aircraft. According to Fox News, one of the pictures was taken at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The airplane pictured took 80 people to Guatemala, the network’s sources said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents launched a series of raids across the US this week, arresting more than 500 people and detaining 373 for removal on Thursday alone, according to the agency.

The cities they targeted included Boston, New York, Newark, and San Francisco, and agents focused on arresting immigrants who had committed subsequent crimes after entering the US illegally, ICE said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka bitterly condemned an ICE raid on a fish market in the city, accusing agents of violating the US Constitution by entering the business without a warrant. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” he said, adding that he is “ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights.”

Agents arrested people from dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela, Fox News reported. More than a dozen gang members and multiple child molesters were reportedly among those detained.

Trump promised on the campaign trail that, if elected, he would lead “the largest deportation operation in American history.” In an interview with MSNBC last month, he said that he would start by deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes inside the US, before moving on to “people outside of criminals.”

There are thought to be anywhere between 11 million and 35 million illegal immigrants currently living in the US.

Immediately after his inauguration earlier this week, Trump signed a slew of executive orders aimed at ramping up border security. The president declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico frontier, designated drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and ended automatic birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are neither US citizens nor lawful permanent residents.

The Pentagon sent 1,500 soldiers and Marines to the border to assist in building barriers and flying detained migrants out of the country this week, acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement on Wednesday.

”As commander-in-chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do,” Trump stated during his inaugural address.

Source: Rt.com

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Russia and the Trump Doctrine: Adapting to the ‘Rules of the Strong’

Energy News BeatTrump

The Kommersant columnist outlines what Donald Trump’s return means for Russia and the world

Russia and the Trump Doctrine: Adapting to the ‘Rules of the Strong’

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States is this week’s main news story, not only in America but also in domestic Russian politics. Though all eyes on that day were fixed on Trump, it is telling that he also became the subject of intense discussions in this country, ranging from political circles to ordinary kitchen conversations. This is no anomaly — it is entirely logical.

For Russia, Joe Biden was not just another departing American president. He was the leader who, following Moscow’s launch of its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, built a global framework of confrontation against the country. By the time Biden left the White House, this structure was visibly fraying.

The once-unshakable international coalition supporting Ukraine faced growing cracks, while the West’s resolve to maintain unconditional support for Kiev was visibly waning.

Enter Donald Trump. In Russia, both politicians and the general public are consumed with the question: will Trump dismantle Biden’s anti-Russian framework, allow it to collapse under its own weight, or paradoxically, tighten its screws?

The future of Biden’s hostile construction hinges on whether Moscow and Washington can chart a path out of the Ukraine conflict that enables both sides to save face without feeling like losers. For the incoming Trump administration, it is critical that any resolution does not appear as an unconditional surrender — not necessarily for Ukraine, which the new president is largely indifferent to, but for Trump himself. Allowing Putin to emerge as the winner in a psychological and geopolitical duel is inconceivable for Washington. For Trump, the optics of a personal defeat would be absolutely unacceptable.

How the Ukrainian crisis is ultimately resolved depends largely on the interpretation of the terms “victory” and “defeat.” Both sides must align their definitions and find political will to declare a solution where “nobody has lost to anybody.” This is where the room for negotiation lies—if the desire exists.

But while the Ukraine crisis has dominated Russian politics and perceptions of the US since February 2022, it is critical to recognize that, for Trump’s America, Russia and Ukraine are far from the central concern. Many in Moscow find this difficult to comprehend.

Those who frame Trump’s presidency as a grand chess match with Russia are succumbing to naïve delusions. Trump has already signaled that his administration’s primary focus will not be resolving the Ukraine crisis. Instead, Trump envisions a bold session of simultaneous play on multiple geopolitical boards, stretching across continents.

Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal — the list goes on. Trump’s approach reflects both an audacious attempt to reshape the global order and a rejection of the so-called “rules-based order” promoted by Joe Biden. Trump seeks to replace this outline with his own — “Trump’s rules” — which also remain unwritten but are already beginning to take shape.

What are these rules? They are rooted in a classic “right of the strong” framework, where the sovereignty of one country is not inherently equal to another’s. Strength, rather than norms or equality, will define the balance of power in Trump’s vision of the world. For Russia, understanding and adapting to this will be essential in its relations with America, which remains the preeminent global superpower.

Yet, for Trump’s rules to succeed, America must also learn to respect Russia’s strength — something Biden repeatedly failed to do. Trump, who prides himself on being a dealmaker, may attempt to strike a balance where power is acknowledged on both sides.

That said, Russia must not mistake Trump’s rhetoric for a singular focus on Ukraine. For the Trump administration, the Ukrainian crisis is just one of many pieces on a sprawling global chessboard. Trump’s geopolitical ambitions extend far beyond Eastern Europe. His focus lies on rewriting the international order in ways that consolidate America’s primacy while renegotiating the terms of engagement for allies and adversaries alike.

Trump’s return, therefore, represents a profound challenge for Moscow. His presidency will not be defined by any one conflict, but rather by his attempts to rewrite the rules of the international order itself. Whether this results in stability or chaos remains to be seen. For Russia, this is both an opportunity and a challenge — a chance to assert its sovereignty and strength, but also a test of its ability to navigate a world where the rules are constantly being rewritten.

Source: Rt.com

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Kiev to allow convicted officials serve in ‘specialized units’ – media

Energy News Beatspecialized units

Former Ukrainian ministers, MPs, and judges will be reportedly allowed to swap prison time for military service

Kiev to allow convicted officials serve in ‘specialized units’ – media

Former top Ukrainian officials convicted of crimes will be allowed to apply for military service in exchange for parole, the Judicial and Law Newspaper reported on Friday, citing a government decree. Anyone who takes up take the offer will have to serve with “specialized units,” it added.

The measure expands a Ukrainian law adopted in May 2024 that allows convicts to join the military instead of doing time in prison. According to the decree, former officials who occupied “sensitive positions” before their convictions can now apply to join the army. The document also covers high-ranking officials in pre-trial detention and those currently under investigation. They can reportedly apply to serve as privates, sergeants, or even officers.

The list of “sensitive positions” includes government ministers and their deputies, as well as MPs and high-ranking judges. According to the decree, they will only be allowed to serve in specially reserved units.

Ukrainian law allows most convicts, including those found guilty of grave offenses, to apply for parole in exchange for military service. The few exceptions include anyone who has committed crimes against “the national security of Ukraine” and certain aggravated murder crimes, according to the media.

The Ukrainian media reported in November 2024, citing a source in the General Staff, that a total of 7,000 inmates had expressed “willingness” to join the army, and that more than 6,000 of them had already served with the military or were serving at that time.

Ukraine cannot replenish its military forces and its mobilization efforts have been blighted by widespread draft evasion, corruption, and desertion. Kiev reduced the draft age from 27 to 25 last spring, streamlined the conscription process, and increased the authority of enlistment officers.

Kiev’s Western backers, including former US Secretry of State Anthony Blinken, demanded Kiev lowers its conscription age to 18. While Vladmir Zelensky has expressed skepticism about such a decision, the Ukrainian presidential administration’s deputy head, Colonel Pavel Palisa has also mooted the move, AP reported on Friday.

Ukraine’s mobilization effort has grown increasingly violent and lawless over the course of the conflict with Russia, with numerous videos circulating online showing enlistment officers chasing potential recruits in the streets, fighting with them, and subjecting them to abuse.

To address troop shortages, the government recently introduced pardons for deserters willing to return to the front and eased penalties for soldiers who go AWOL.

Source: Rt.com

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The Brief – On life support

Energy News BeatGermany

 

It’s no secret that Germany’s economy is in crisis.

What’s less obvious, and far more concerning, is why none of the major German parties are prepared to address what ails it.

Just today, the economy ministry revised its economic outlook again. We’re now down to 0.3% growth in 2025 from the already low 1.1% forecast expected three months ago, Handelsblatt reports.

Germany’s GDP has been stagnating for five years.

At this point, the slump is structural. Not just the usual ups and downs of economic cycles.

High energy prices, an ageing workforce, a lack of innovation, and a changing world economy put a question mark behind Germany’s once-mighty export model.

And what do the mainstream parties have to say about it? Not much.

The governing Social Democrats and Greens focus on calling for more public spending, which is undoubtedly part of the solution.

But their pet projects, such as artificially reducing energy prices through subsidies, only risk wasting money on energy-intensive industries that have – anyway – no future in Germany.

Subsidies are a crutch, not a cure, for long-term competitiveness.

The main solution of conservative election frontrunners CDU/CSU, meanwhile, is corporate tax cuts. Although there is no convincing financing plan.

Even CDU/CSU Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz isn’t quite sure. He recently said in an interview these tax cuts are meant to be phased in until 2029 and will have to be “earned” through good economic performance.

But if the tax cuts can only be implemented if the economy is growing again, how can they be the recipe to bring growth back in the first place?

The answer is bleak.

So, Merz’s main instrument for bringing back growth seems to be good vibes.

“Economic policy is 50% psychology,” he has said, exposing that part of the CDU’s economic agenda is to spread optimism and hope that this, in itself, will give companies confidence to invest.

But businesses weighing up whether to invest in Germany aren’t really looking for vibes. They want stability, clarity, a plan.

The conservatives, the SPD, and the Greens all seem equally unwilling to face the real problems for fear of alienating a key electorate.

One elephant in the room? The looming baby boomers’ retirement will drown public finances.

Germany’s politicians, however, still hope to get elected without answering the inconvenient questions.

A reckoning awaits.


Exclusive – The European Commission will call for an “unprecedented” reduction of red tape to boost the bloc’s faltering economy over the coming five years, according to a draft of the EU executive’s much-vaunted Competitiveness Compass, seen by Euractiv.

Tech – Here is everything the new Competitiveness Compass has in mind for tech, from regulating space and quantum industries to AI and European cloud services.

Health – Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, has proposed a bill to withdraw Italy from the WHO, following Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday.

Agrifood – A one-month suspension of fishing in the Bay of Biscay to avoid accidental catches of cetaceans kicked off this week, prompting heightened controversy and ramping up pressure for monetary compensation.

Across Europe 

Czechia – A Czech working document outlining proposals to deepen the EU integration of Ukraine and Moldova is gaining support among other member states.

Germany – German election frontrunner Friedrich Merz on Thursday outlined his future foreign policy in stark contrast to the current government, promising a focus on fighting an axis of autocracies in a new era of systemic conflict.

Greenland – If the chronically online MAGA disciples who descended upon Nuuk last week knew anything about Greenland before they landed, it was likely from Qupanuk Olsen’s TikTok videos.

(MM)

Source: Euractiv.com

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Trump’s tariffying threat

Energy News BeatTrump

 

Donald Trump’s characteristically rambling speech at Davos yesterday touched upon many familiar themes: Europeans must ramp up defence spending; the EU and China should address their “unfair” trade surpluses with the US; and Russia’s “horrible” war in Ukraine needs to end.

But one comment, in particular, stood out from the new US president’s speech.

“[If] you don’t make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff, differing amounts, but a tariff, which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even trillions of dollars into our treasury to strengthen our economy and pay down debt.”

The remark is revealing for three reasons.

The first is that it definitively settles an ongoing debate among economists – and, most likely, among Trump’s own cabinet members – about how “Tariff Man’s” repeated threats to impose duties on US imports should be understood.

According to one view – endorsed by, among others, Vice President JD Vance – tariffs are simply good economics. By implementing them, the US will boost its tax revenue, raise citizens’ wages, and turbocharge its economy.

“Anything that you lose on the tariff from the perspective of the consumer, you gain in higher wages, so you’re ultimately much better off,” as Vance put it in an interview last year.

A second interpretation – supported by, among others, Trump’s pick for US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent – is that the tariff threats are fundamentally not grounded in economic concerns. Rather, they “can be used for negotiations” – a strategy designed to win concessions from, or gain leverage over, other countries.

Trump’s Davos speech conclusively demonstrates that the US leader aligns with the ‘Bessent’ rather than the ‘Vance’ interpretation.

For Trump is not, after all, primarily making an economic argument for tariffs – although, admittedly, he does note that tariffs do have certain economic benefits, such as boosting tax revenue.

To him, tariffs are ultimately a ploy – a way for the self-proclaimed “deal maker” to get what he wants.

Manufactured concerns

A second reason why Trump’s remark is worth dwelling upon is more subtle – namely, the reference to foreign firms making products in the US.

In other words, Trump is not merely using tariffs as a threat to, for instance, force other countries’ to purchase more US oil and gas. His goal is wield the threat specifically to boost domestic manufacturing.

This particular use of tariffs, as it turns out, has a long and storied history. Indeed, it is one that has been pursued by none other than the very first US Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton.

In his “Report on the Subject of Manufactures” delivered to the US House of Representatives in 1791, Hamilton noted that the “superiority enjoyed by nations, who have preoccupied and perfected a branch of industry” typically can only be addressed through “the extraordinary aid and protection of government” – including through the introduction of “protecting duties”, i.e. tariffs.

Interestingly, Hamilton, like Trump, also noted that such levies have “the additional recommendation of being a source of revenue”.

Hamilton’s main cause of concern was, of course, Britain, which at the time was the world’s manufacturing powerhouse.

Trump’s, on the other hand, is China – a country which has become the “the world’s sole manufacturing superpower” largely, although not exclusively, due to Beijing’s economic protectionism – and, arguably, Washington’s lack thereof.

Tariffically American

Such historical links illustrate a third, more uncomfortable truth about Trump: namely, that he is – historically, culturally, and economically – a uniquely American phenomenon.

Indeed, his Davos remarks suggest that, both in terms of his ultimate ambitions and his hubris, he is as American as Jay Gatsby:

“Can’t repeat the past?” he cries incredulously. “Why, of course you can!”

Economic Policy Roundup

The European Commission will call for an “unprecedented” reduction of red tape to boost the bloc’s faltering economy over the coming five years, according to a draft of the EU executive’s much-vaunted Competitiveness Compass, seen by Euractiv. The plan, whose release has been delayed until next Wednesday after Commission President von der Leyen fell ill during the Christmas holidays, also calls for deeper economic “coordination” between EU institutions, member states, and private firms. Read more.

The only constituency in Germany’s national election that matters. With over 40% of eligible voters 60 or older, up from 34% twelve years ago, Germany’s election is largely a race to win the elderly. They are a group with one big priority: pensions. With their backs against the wall, the Social Democrats have resorted to outright pension alarmism, accusing the rival Christian Democrats (now polling at about 30%, compared to the SPD’s 15%) of planning to cut pensions, while casting themselves as defenders of the elderly. Read more.

Donald Trump accuses the European Union of treating the United States “very, very unfairly”. In a wide-ranging speech delivered via video link to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, the US president criticised the EU’s “large” corporate tax and VAT rates and condemned the bloc’s failure to address its significant trade surplus in goods with the US. “From the standpoint of America, the EU treats us very, very unfairly, very badly,” said Trump. “They have a large tax… They don’t take our farm products, and they don’t take our cars, yet they send cars to us by the millions.” Read more.

Germany’s central bank pushes for a U-turn on debt rules. Germany’s usually hawkish central bank President, Joachim Nagel, is getting more serious about reforming the country’s constitutional deficit rule, pushing beyond technical changes. “We have to work on the overall concept of the debt brake,” Nagel said at a side event of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Read more.

Europeans’ “laziness” and inherent aversion to risk-taking are responsible for Europe’s economic decline, says European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. The ECB chief told Davos attendees that the re-election of Donald Trump as US President should also serve as a “wake-up call” for EU leaders to deepen the EU’s single market by removing internal barriers to trade and investment. “We can do more than a decent job if we were to remove fast – fast – some of the barriers that we have just let history, you know, laziness, bureaucracy build and stand in the way of what we have,” Lagarde said. Read more.

Donald Trump’s protectionist policies will likely increase eurozone borrowing costs and inflict further damage on the bloc’s anaemic economy, warns eurozone financial rescue fund chief. Speaking just minutes after Trump’s second presidential inauguration on Monday, Pierre Gramegna, Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), said that rising global borrowing costs indicate that investors “are already pricing in” the economic impact of Trump’s “America First” policies. “Europe’s growth will likely suffer from the expected new course of the US administration,” Gramegna said. Read more.

The European Commission reiterates its refusal to rule out confiscating frozen Russian assets despite Belgium’s warnings. European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday that while “all economic and legal risks” associated with the confiscation of Russian sovereign assets held in the EU should be “duly considered”, the Kremlin must nevertheless be made to “pay” for the harm inflicted on Ukraine during its nearly three-year-long war. Dombrovskis’ remarks came just minutes after Belgium’s Finance Minister, Vincent Van Peteghem, said that confiscating the assets poses serious “legal” and “economic risks” to the eurozone. Read more.

Source: Euractiv.com

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Israelis and Palestinians Both Lost Their Futures

Energy News BeatIsraelis and Palestinians

As the war’s smoke clears, both societies are moving backward.

When the cease-fire in Gaza went into effect earlier this week, the joy across the conflict line was palpable from 6,000 miles away. Although it is unlikely that complicated three-phase deal will ever be fully implemented, it will save lives, bring hostages home, and provide Palestinians in Gaza with much-needed humanitarian aid. The initial hostage and prisoner release also provides a moment to reflect on the broader consequences of the war. Among the most striking is how the conflict has not just altered the trajectories of Israeli and Palestinian societies but in important ways forced them into reverse.

No doubt, Hamas has notched a number of notable achievements since it launched the onslaught it called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7, 2023. The group drew the IDF into a ferocious fight in the Gaza Strip that has compromised the international legitimacy of Israel’s military and the state it defends. And not since the announcement of the Clinton Parameters and the effort to rescue the Oslo process at the Egyptian resort town of Taba in early 2001 has the Palestinian question been front and center in Middle Eastern and international politics.

At the same time, when Hamas sent its fighters over and through the fence that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, they set the Palestinian search for justice back at least a generation, if not more. There was a time, not long ago, when it was possible for people to imagine a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the years since the peace process irretrievably faltered, some observers had come to believe that the present “one-state reality,” encompassing the Palestinian areas plus Israel, would likely lead to a “one-state solution” in which Palestinians and Israelis live together. Regardless of the real-world prospects of either outcome, Hamas’s genocidal fever dream of liberating Palestine—from Metula to Eilat and from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea—which the group sought to make reality 15 months ago, has rendered both the one-state and two-state solutions impossible.

Add to Hamas’s bloodlust the international outcry over what Israelis regard to be righteous self-defense, and fewer and fewer of them are now willing to believe that Palestinian nationalism and Zionism can be reconciled. Palestinians may have a right to a state, but given the asymmetries of power that exist, Israelis have the capacity to prevent them from exercising it. After Oct. 7, that seems likelier than ever.

Even while Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are filled with joy over the cease-fire, they remain adrift, confronted with two unenviable political choices: the Palestinian Authority (PA)—a corrupt, repressive, and illegitimate vessel of another era that is irrelevant to the current predicaments of the people whom it is supposed to represent—or Hamas. Even with their limited mandate, the PA’s leaders seem incapable of accomplishing pretty much anything other than remaining in power. Hamas is an undesirable alternative. Its popularity waxes during conflict with Israel and wanes when the reality of life under the boot of the group’s cadres becomes clear to the Palestinians who must endure it. It is hard not to conclude from the last two decades that Hamas’s sacralized claims to resistance has brought Palestinians nothing but more pain and more grief. Yes, there is renewed international sympathy for the Palestinian cause, but the world has long recognized the importance of justice for Palestinians with little tangibly to show for it.

There may actually be other, better options for Palestinians. In distinct contrast to the PA and Hamas, there is a vibrant grassroots movement of Palestinians that is seeking new means of representation and leveraging the past 15 months of bloodshed to deepen the connections between the Palestinian struggle and international networks of progressives, NGOs, humanitarians, and academics. It is an interesting phenomenon, and perhaps an alternative to the PA and Hamas will emerge from this activism. But a significant amount of energy of these groups seems devoted more to Israel’s delegitimization than to any actual effort to forge a new Palestinian political reality. It is also an elite game. Average Palestinians have no such privilege or choice. They are forced between two factions that claim to be the expressions of the Palestinian nationalism but have done little to advance their cause, at times even profiting from their people’s suffering.

Given the destruction of Gaza and the existential nature of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that Hamas’s onslaught and the Israeli response to it highlighted, the lasting and most tangible achievement of that attack may very well be the permanent statelessness of the Palestinian people.

For Israelis, the days of “bourgeois Israel” are over. The Israel of the Nike Store, fancy bicycle studios, Maseratis prowling the Ayalon Freeway, and glass towers built on the power of Silicon Wadi IPOs will, of course, remain, but there has been a vibe shift among Jewish citizens of Israel. The attacks on southern kibbutzim and towns 15 months ago vaulted Israel back to another time—one of vulnerability and uncertainty. The incomprehensible hostility of the world around Israelis and beyond, especially among governments and publics in the West, added to the collective shock.

Israelis believed that they had overcome their isolation of the past. Yet so strong and striking was the negative sentiment of the global elite toward a wounded Israel that it was as if U.N. Resolution 3379, which determined Zionism to be a form of racism, had never been repealed. In the coming years, Israel will confront even more hostility from influential—but not necessarily powerful—actors within the U.N. system and the NGO world who have demonstrated themselves to be part of a broad anti-Zionist front. Even though Israel enjoys diplomatic relations with most of the world, the war in Gaza has reopened the question of its global acceptance and legitimacy.

Uncomfortable as it may be, there are more discernible consequences of the war than the hostility of U.N. bureaucrats, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and governments from Ireland to Spain. It seems likely that Israel is too well integrated into the global economy—especially its high-tech and health sectors—for the call to boycott, divest, and sanction to succeed. But Israelis, whose security has been ensured and economic development boosted with the help of U.S. subventions, will have to grapple with higher defense budgets and the hostility of a not insignificant segment of the Democratic Party whose lawmakers will be asked to continue security assistance for Israel. That will not matter when Republicans control the executive branch and Congress, but Democrats will not be in the wilderness forever, and the IDF operations in Gaza that over the last 15 months killed more than 47,000 Palestinians (according to Palestinian health authorities in Gaza) have made an impression on Capitol Hill. The bipartisan consensus around support for Israeli security was already weakening when Hamas attacked; Israel’s ferocious reaction to Oct. 7 may very well have broken it.

What does this say about the future for Israelis and Palestinians? Almost nothing. There were more than a few sages who declared at the outset of the war “from crisis comes opportunity.” That sounds nice, but those are just words. The most likely outcome of the war was always going to be something closer to the status quo that existed on Oct. 6, 2023, than some promising change that improved the prospects for peace. As the release of Gonen, Damari, and Steinbrecher made abundantly clear, Hamas remains very much in power in Gaza, which portends a tighter Israeli blockade on the territory and periodic spasms of great violence. All the while, Palestinians and Israelis will remain further away from their national goals than they have been in decades.

Source: Foreignpolicy.com

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Nuclear reduction, ending the Ukraine conflict and massive tax cuts: Key takeaways from Donald Trump’s Davos speech – Full Video and Repsonce

Energy News Beat

The new US leader has outlined his foreign and domestic priorities to the World Economic Forum

US President Donald Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos via teleconference on Thursday, just days after taking office. He used his speech to promise a “revolution of common sense,” telling the audience of business leaders, policymakers, academics and innovators that he was acting “with unprecedented speed” to reverse the policies of the his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Here are some key takeaways from his speech.

Stopping inflation

Trump began by promising to confront the “economic chaos” caused by Biden’s “failed policies.”

“Over the past four years, our government racked up $8 trillion in wasteful deficit spending and inflicted nation-wrecking energy restrictions, crippling regulations and hidden taxes like never before,” Trump said.

He stated that he has directed his cabinet to “marshal all powers at their disposal” to defeat inflation and reduce the cost of living. He also promised to pass “the largest tax cut in American history,” including “massive” reliefs for workers and families, as well as domestic producers and manufacturers.

Ending the Ukraine conflict, meeting Putin

Efforts to secure a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine are underway, Trump said, claiming that Kiev is “ready to make a deal.” He called the Ukraine conflict “an absolute killing field,” declaring it’s “time to end it.”

Trump also reiterated that he is willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon” to discuss the situation.

The US president pointed to China as being able to help end the conflict. “They have a great deal of power over that situation,” Trump told the forum, saying he envisioned a good relationship with Beijing.

He also urged Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down global oil prices. “If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” he said.

Nuclear reduction talks

Trump said he would also hold talks with China and Russia on reducing nuclear stockpiles.

“We want to see if we can denuclearize, and I think that’s very possible,” he said, adding that it would be “an unbelievable thing for the planet.”

Trump claimed that he spoke with Putin about reducing nuclear stockpiles during his first term and China “would have come along.”

Low taxes or high tariffs

Trump issued a warning to businesses around the world; either make your product in the US or face tariffs.

“My message to every business in the world is very simple. Come make your product in America, and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth,” he said. He vowed that taxes for businesses will be brought even lower than during his first term as president.

If businesses choose not to manufacture their products in America, “then very simply you will have to pay a tariff,” Trump said. Tariffs on such products will “direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even trillions of dollars into our treasury to strengthen our economy and pay down debt,” he added.

Energy emergency

Trump said his declaration of a “national energy emergency” would help “unlock the liquid gold” of oil under Americans’ feet.

He pointed to his termination of the “ridiculous and incredibly wasteful” Green New Deal, the US withdrawal from the “one-sided” Paris Climate Accord, as well as the end of the electric vehicle mandate, as necessary steps to achieve his goals.

Border security

Trump hailed his executive order declaring a “national border emergency” aimed at pushing back against illegal immigration.

Active duty US military and National Guard troops have already been deployed to the border and are “repelling the invasion,” he noted.

“We will not allow our territory to be violated,” he declared.

Two genders and no censorship

“No longer will our government label the speech of our own citizens as misinformation or disinformation,” Trump said, declaring that his executive order on censorship “saved free speech in America.”

At the same time, Trump praised his order to “abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense.” He reiterated comments from his inauguration speech that it is official US policy that “there are only two genders, male and female.”

“We will have no men participating in women’s sports, and transgender operations, which became the rage, will occur very rarely,” he said.

 

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Mexico Responds to Trump’s First Moves

Energy News BeatMexico

President Claudia Sheinbaum has diversified Mexico’s trading partners and held regional talks on migration.

By , the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly Latin America Brief.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.


Mexico Girds Against Trump’s Threats

True to his campaign rhetoric, the first days of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term have featured Latin America prominently. Trump mentioned Panama six times in his inaugural address, echoing his previous threats to try to regain control of the Panama Canal. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take his first foreign trip to Panama and other Central American and Caribbean countries next week.

Most of Trump’s initial concrete actions toward the region came in the form of U.S. immigration policy, especially at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The administration lifted a restriction on arresting migrants at churches and schools, shut down an app that allowed certain asylum-seekers to book appointments, and ordered the resumption of the “remain in Mexico” policy, under which some asylum-seekers were required to wait in Mexico for their U.S. immigration court hearings.

Another Trump administration directive this week aimed to completely shut down the right to asylum at the U.S. border. Agents were told to immediately expel migrants even if they sought asylum, CBS reported on Wednesday, with very few exceptions for “life-threatening” situations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has pushed back against some of the new U.S. migration plans. But she has signaled cooperation with others—perhaps an acknowledgement of Trump’s 25 percent tariff threat on Mexican goods.

The United States cannot deport people to a country if it does not agree to take them back. Sheinbaum has said that Mexico will accept deported Mexican citizens and even those of other nationalities, aiming to eventually repatriate them. That group could include migrants from countries that have strained diplomatic relations with the United States, such as Cuba and Venezuela.

Sheinbaum, however, stopped short of agreeing to accept foreign asylum-seekers as part of the resumption of “remain in Mexico,” she told reporters on Wednesday. Mexico’s foreign minister had spoken to Rubio the day before.

In a sign that Latin American countries are seeking to coordinate their stances on immigration policy, envoys from 10 countries met in Mexico City last week and released a joint declaration calling for the respect of international law and pledging “close communication.” Without naming the United States, the declaration called for a “humanistic approach … in the face of the threat of mass deportations.”

Mexico has also staffed its U.S. consulates with immigration lawyers and launched an app for both documented and undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States. It details their rights and allows them to alert emergency contacts and consular staff if they think that they might be detained by U.S. authorities.

Beyond immigration, Mexico agreed last Friday to expand its existing free trade deal with the European Union. The new agreement will remove tariffs on agricultural products and ease companies’ abilities to bid on public contracts in partner countries. It also facilitates trade in services, while the previous deal was focused on industrial goods.

As with last December’s Mercosur-EU deal, Trump’s protectionist threats were a key factor in pushing the Mexico-EU deal across the finish line. Mexico is also seeking to expand its trade relationships with the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, the country’s economy minister and foreign minister said recently.

Like the deal with Mercosur, the revamped Mexico-EU agreement still needs to be approved by legislatures on both sides. For now, it stands as a symbol that Mexico is diversifying its partners as its northern neighbor grows more unpredictable.


Upcoming Events

Week of Jan. 27: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins a trip to Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

Saturday, Feb. 1: U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that he might impose 25 percent tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada on this date.


Source: Foreignpolicy.com

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Atlantic LNG shipping rates dip below $10,000 per day, European prices up

Energy News BeatAtlantic

“Global LNG freight rates hit record lows this week, with the Spark30S (Atlantic) assessment dropping $11,000 to $9,000 per day – the lowest rates on record for a 174 2-stroke vessel,” Qasim Afghan, Spark’s commercial analyst, told LNG Prime on Friday.

Atlantic LNG shipping rates dip below $10,000 per day

“This has largely been driven by increased vessel availability, due to the increased influx of newbuilds entering the market, as well as US spot cargoes heavily incentivized to deliver to Europe, and thus stay within the Atlantic basin, after the recent TTF rally,” he said.

He said Pacific freight routes have largely followed suit, with the Spark25S (Pacific) assessment dropping $3,250 to reach a record low of $15,500 per day.

In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG increased compared to $13.664/MMBtu last week.

“The SparkNWE DES LNG front month price for February delivery rose by $0.930 to $14.594/MMBtu this week,” Afghan said.

He said this was driven by the recent TTF rally which saw the SparkNWE DES LNG price reach its highest point of $14.909 earlier this week.

“The discount to the TTF widened for a fourth consecutive week, widening by $0.08 to -$0.375/MMBtu and indicating increased demand for LNG delivery slots in NW-Europe,” Afghan said.

Moreover, “the US arb to NE-Asia (via the Cape of Good Hope) for February widened by $0.517 to -$1.368/MMBtu, strongly signaling that US cargos are incentivized to deliver to Europe instead of Asia,” he said.

“The Qatar front month arb to NE-Asia has closed out for the first time in almost 2 years, pricing in at -$0.076/MMBtu and indicating that yet another major global LNG supplier is incentivized to direct their cargos to Europe instead of Asia,” Afghan said.

Atlantic LNG shipping rates dip below $10,000 per day, European prices up
Image: Spark

Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU declined considerably from last week and were 57.60 percent full on January 22.

Gas storages were 63.64 percent full on January 15, and 73.78 percent full on January 22, 2024.

In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in March 2025 settled at $13.975/MMBtu on Thursday.

Last week, JKM for February settled at 13.780/MMBtu on Friday, January 17.

Front-month JKM rose to 14.410/MMBtu on Tuesday, and it dropped to 14.115/MMBtu on Wednesday.

State-run Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) said in a report earlier this week that JKM rose to the low-$14s in the first half of the week (January 13-17) due to rising supply uncertainties in Europe, including strengthening US sanctions against Russia, but turned lower in the middle of the week with no change in sluggish demand in Northeast Asia.

US LNG plants shipped 22 cargoes during the week ending January 22, seven fewer shipments compared to the week before.

The US EIA said in its weekly report that inclement weather led to temporary closures of major waterways serving LNG export terminals, which may have contributed to lower LNG exports this week compared with last week.

Moreover, Freeport LNG’s liquefaction production operations have been taken offline due to intermittent Centerpoint Energy power interruptions beginning early Tuesday morning.

“Our liquefaction production operations will remain offline until power transmission conditions stabilize,” a Freeport LNG spokeswoman told LNG Prime on Thursday.

Source: Lngprime.com

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Dems Blame Calif. Fires On Climate Change To Excuse Epic Incompetence, Avoid Recalls

Energy News BeatCalif. Fires

Democrats excuse their epic incompetence by blaming Calif. fires on a sinful mankind that’s changing the climate.

calif fire ocean
Apocalyptic global warming predictions of doom have long been fashionable, quasi-religious beliefs of 21st-century liberalism. But after the recent wildfires that have devastated the state, some California Democrats will be clinging to climate change as a matter of political survival. [emphasis, links added]

The epic incompetence demonstrated both by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during the crisis isn’t just a matter of bad optics and some excruciatingly embarrassing moments for two career politicians.

It has also created the possibility that even in a one-party state completely dominated by the Democrats, they might be held accountable for their egregious lack of leadership and terrible decisions that turned a natural disaster into an unprecedented catastrophe that has cost dozens of lives and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and buildings.

While the notion that this might be a turning point to reverse the overwhelming advantage possessed by Democrats in California might be fanciful, the two are highly vulnerable to recall elections that, especially in the case of Bass, might actually force her from office.

That’s only if the voters of the fire-ravaged state are ready to think seriously about the glaring evidence of bungling that left some reservoirs empty, fire departments not fully budgeted, as well as neglect of proper water, land, and forest management practices that could have, at the very least mitigated the suffering and the billions in damage inflicted on the state’s people.

Newsom and Bass have not gotten off scot-free when it comes to critical scrutiny from the media for their poor crisis management skills and for decisions that helped turn the fire from a bad problem into something much worse.

But the response from most of the liberal chorus in newspapers like the Los Angeles Times has been to defend both of them.

LA Columnists like Mark Barabak and Steve Lopez have both decried what they call the “politicization” of the fires by President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

They prefer to blame “Mother Nature” and climate change.

Liberal pundits can be relied upon to demonstrate loyalty to their party despite the sorry performance of the people in charge. But the party line about the disaster isn’t so much a function of opinion slingers.

Rather, it is a concerted effort throughout legacy media to shift the public’s attention away from the evidence of ineptitude, often rooted in liberal ideologies like DEI policies and extreme environmentalism.

Instead, the coverage of the fires in major outlets like The LA TimesThe New York Times, and The Washington Post have been peppered with a steady stream of articles insisting that the fires were in part or principally the result of global warming.

As journalist Michael Shellenberger pointed out, most of these articles are based on “junk science” rooted in assumptions about warming rainfall and temperature that are not backed up by empirical evidence.

Like so much of left-wing commentary, these pieces seem to be primarily a form of virtue signaling that takes it as a given that even the mildest skepticism about claims that climate change is producing more extreme weather than in the past is “denial” that must be dismissed rather than examined or debated.

This is backed up by the way leftist-controlled search engines like Google treat the subject.

Searches about Newsom and Bass and the fires or how prioritizing DEI over life-saving skills or environmentalist-based management decisions impacted the fire produced page after page of articles solely devoted to “debunking” any claims about their mistakes.

Readers are instructed that what has happened is merely “Mother Nature” taking its revenge on humanity for having the nerve to build houses in a dry climate.

But even left-wing outlets are starting to notice that, as with their efforts to instruct Americans how to vote in the 2024 presidential election, not all Californians are ready to parrot the propaganda the media is throwing at them.

As one Politico columnist noted with dismay, even in those areas of LA where Trump lost to Kamala Harris by more than 60 points, most people aren’t blaming their losses on the climate change mantra, preferring instead to focus on the more immediate causes of the problem, including the failures of Democrat politicians.

That’s a huge potential problem for Newsom and Bass.

Government by plebiscite, including recall votes, is the last vestige of the political progressives who held sway in California in the early 1900s.

Read rest at The Federalist

Top image via NBC News/YouTube screencap

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