🇵🇾❌🇨🇳 — The Paraguayan government canceled the visa of a Chinese delegation member participating in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, citing "interference in internal affairs." The official, Xu Wei, was part of an 11-member delegation accredited by China for the event held in Luque.

🇹🇼 Paraguayan Vice Minister of Administration and Technical Affairs Juan Baiardi stated that Xu Wei had entered the country with a courtesy visa. However, controversy arose after Xu met with local congress members and commented on Paraguay's relationship with Taiwan.

💬 Speaking to local media after the meeting, Xu highlighted the "practical advantages" of a relationship between Paraguay and China. He also emphasized that the "One China Principle" is a "political" matter and "non-negotiable."

🌐 Taiwan currently maintains official diplomatic ties with only 12 nations, seven of which are in Latin America and the Caribbean: Paraguay, Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Source 🖇

🇺🇸🤝💸 — President-elect Donald Trump has appointed the African-American Former CEO of Yammer David Sacks as White House cryptocurrency and AI czar.

🇪🇺🇧🇷🇺🇾🇵🇾🇦🇷🇧🇴 President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has arrived in Uruguay, to sign the EU-MERCOSUR free trade agreement.

The agreement is strongly desired by Germany who wants cheap grains and other agricultural products but it is hotly contested by France who legitimately fears its farmers will be outcompeted by those in Latin America.

The signing of the deal has the potential cause the worst and biggest farmers protests Europe has seen, bigger than the ones caused by unfair competition from Ukraine.

It will also cause the latest crisis which will rock the EU to its core, will likely result in the overthrow of French president, Emmanuel Macron, for failing to prevent the signing of the deal, will serve to consolidate anti-EU beliefs in France and elsewhere in Europe.

Every EU member state with a significant portion of their population working in agriculture, like Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Romania will see euroscepticism rise in popularity and will result in mass civil unrest and protests against national governments and the EU as a whole.

This free trade agreement has the potential to become the worst mistake the EU has made in its history and can very well lead to the fall of the union as a whole, as countries will become more incentivised to adopt nationalist policies rather than obey EU regulations.

🔗 https://www.politico.eu/article/von-der-leyen-jets-in-to-seal-controversial-latin-america-trade-deal/

🇷🇴 The Romanian Constitutional Court cancelled the results of the Romanian presidential elections after polls showed the pro-Russian candidate was going to win by as much as 10% in the 2nd round which was supposed to be held this Sunday.

🔗 https://www.antena3.ro/politica/alegeri-prezidentiale-2024/decizie-fara-precedent-curtea-constitutionala-a-anulat-alegerile-prezidentiale-surse-729835.html

🇪🇺🇧🇷🇺🇾🇵🇾🇦🇷🇧🇴 EU seals long-stalled Mercosur trade deal

The EU-Mercosur agreement will create one of the largest free-trade areas in the world, with tariffs removed for key EU exporting industries.

Kicked off in 1999, negotiations for the EU-Mercosur deal yielded a first 'political agreement' in 2019. Its ratification by member states was, however, withheld due to widespread farmers' discontent and continued concerns over the discrepancies of environmental standards between the EU and the South American bloc.

The agreement is meant to create one of the largest free-trade areas in the world, with tariffs removed for key EU exporting industries, such as cars, machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

In total, the deal will eliminate import duties on 91% of EU exports to Mercosur countries, as well as 92% of Mercosur exports to the EU, according to Commission data.

In the agri-food sector, the agreement will gradually eliminate 93% of tariffs on EU exports to Mercosur countries, including on wine, spirits, olive oil and canned peaches, while also liberalising 82% of agricultural imports.

Critics of the agreement, including the governments of France and Poland, have warned against increased cheap food imports from the Mercosur bloc, which they argue create unfair competition for European farmers due to differences in environmental standards.

Seeking to assuage ongoing concerns, in 2019, the Commission proposed a financial support package of up to €1 billion in the event of market disturbance. However, von der Leyen did not refer to this package during Friday's press conference.

Meanwhile, over the last few weeks, France was aiming to build a so-called “blocking minority” against the deal – consisting of at least four countries representing at least 35% of the EU population. While only Poland explicitly spoke out against the deal, other countries are also said to have reservations, including Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

🔗 https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/eu-seals-long-stalled-mercosur-trade-deal/

🇸🇾 A little about the negotiating background (Russia + Türkiye + Iran) about Syria.

1. The Iranians are now pushing for the issue of preserving the Seyyidat Zeynab quarter for themselves.

2. Iranian diplomatic missions have already taken the majority of their workers either to Iraq or to the so-called Alavistan (Syria and Tartus).

3. Russia maintains a presence in Latakia and Tartus, and their transformation into separate state entities with a Shiite population is likely. Russia remains the guarantor of peace in these territories and takes direct control.

4. Iraqi and IRGC forces left Al-Bukamal and withdrew from Deir ez-Zor province.

5. The government of Bashar al-Assad will fall within 72 hours at the most.

🔗 https://news.1rj.ru/str/ne_rybar/3545

🇸🇾🇸🇾🪖 ❗️ — Known Mapper and Military Analyst Alexander Soyanov says that Assad's Regime control has completely collapsed east of Palmyra!

➡️The pro-US New Syrian Army (Magwer al Tawra), the Revolutionary Commando Army, are advancing on the city as we speak, fighting the remnants of Assad's forces.

➡️ The Southern Operation Room of FSA that oversees the rebel self-rule in the Dara'a province has began taking full control of Daraa and Suwayda provinces, and will probably soon move toward Qunaytra.

➡️ There are news that Assad is pulling his forces from Homs to defend Damascus but this is still uncertain.

➡️ The SDF have meanwhile taken control of the whole Euphrates valley, capturing Deir ez Zor, Mayadin and Al Bukamal. ISIS are also re-surging, taking ground in the desert and setting foot on the Euphrates.

🔗 Alexander Stoyanov (@Al_Stoyanov)

➡️ The New Syrian Army (Magwer al Tawra) is very small in size (~500 fighters at most)

➡️ Palmyra has one of the biggest weapons stockpiles in Syria

➡️ If the Islamic State, which has 11,000 fighters at current predictions, tries to overrun it....

Things won't go well.

🇺🇸❌📱 Appeals court upholds law ordering China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok or face U.S. ban

A federal appeals court on Friday cited national security concerns as it upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell the popular social media app TikTok next month or face an effective ban in the United States.

TikTok said later Friday that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court decision.

If ByteDance fails to sell TikTok by Jan. 19, the law would require app store companies, such as Apple and Google, and internet hosting providers to stop supporting TikTok, which would effectively ban the app.

🔗 https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/06/tiktok-divestment-law-upheld-by-federal-appeals-court.html