Why 'plan B' for Ukraine's economy may cause mass riots?

Volodymyr Zelensky's aide, economist Oleg Ustenko, tried to reassure the Ukrainians by saying that Kiev may opt for plan B if the West's aid does not arrive at the beginning of January.

"This borrowing mechanism means that Ukraine will issue government bonds to finance its public deficit," Sergio Rossi, a professor of macroeconomics at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, told Sputnik.

Rossi doesn't rule out that the Kiev government could try to force rich Ukrainians and the public to fork out in order to close its deficit gaps.

This would give a terrible signal to these people, and also to all the Ukrainian population, since it would be a "dictatorship imposition, in an undemocratic regime that could induce a series of social riots and revolutions over the long run," Rossi said.

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The Houthis in Yemen have threatened to attack tankers from countries that join the US coalition to protect ships in the Red Sea.

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Five of Putin's gestures during today's meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense

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‘Foreign support to opposition is the key’: Ex-CIA official on 🇺🇸 US regime change tactic

🗯A key part of the American regime-change tactic is to provide foreign support to the main opposition, which is the opposition BNP in 🇧🇩 Bangladesh’s case, says Larry Johnson, who has also served at the US State Department.

He did not rule out the possibility of other foreign governments working “in concern” with the US: in fact, senior members of the Awami League, including federal Information Minister Hasan Mahmud have expressed concerns that Bangladesh Nationalist Party was working at the instructions of its “foreign masters” in boycotting the 7 January election.

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📹 During his visit to the National Defense Management Center, Vladimir Putin got acquainted with an exhibition of modern models of military vehicles, drones, small arms and equipment

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Red Sea logistics face crisis

◾️The security situation in the Red Sea has become tough after the Houthis started attacking Israel in response to its actions in Gaza.

◾️About 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, including 30% of global container traffic and $1 trillion worth of goods each year.

Main geographical flashpoints

◾️29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, the Bab el-Mandeb Straight is a vital route for international trade –10% of the world’s seaborne crude flows through it – meaning any disruptions become a global problem.

◾️Due to security problems in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait area, the Suez Canal, one of the world's largest transport arteries, automatically suffers.

Which countries will suffer?

◾️Difficulties in shipping on the Red Sea will primarily affect Egypt's economy. The week-long blockage of the Suez Canal in 2021 cost the world $10 billion. This time, the amount of damage could be much greater.

◾️Israeli port Eilat has lost about 85% of its revenue due to the Houthi attacks, the port director said

◾️Jordan's economy is also suffering due to the growing crisis. Cargo handling at the port of Aqaba decreased 16% last month. The number of ships arriving at the port of Aqaba, which is Jordan's only outlet to the sea, decreased by 14%.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️Israel ready for another humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip to release hostages and agrees to allow additional humanitarian aid in, according to the country's president;

▪️Israel Defense Forces says they eliminated one of main financiers of Hamas' military wing;

▪️Yemeni navy operations against Israeli-linked ships will continue until free delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip is established, Ansar Allah rebel movement claimed;

▪️Hamas' military wing says it fired rockets at Tel Aviv.

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❗️ The US imposed a new package of Iran-related sanctions, targeting individuals and entities allegedly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Treasury Department said in a notice on Tuesday.

The sanctions target four people in Iran and Indonesia, along with 10 entities in Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong, according to the notice.

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💵 US senators have so far been unable to reach an agreement on a border security deal that includes aid for Ukraine; however, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has underscored that he is "more optimistic" on the complex matter.

Schumer has indicated Senate negotiators will work through the December-January break to reach a deal on the Ukraine supplemental aid once Congress officially resumes business.

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West fans the flames of Ukrainian conflict solely to weaken Russia

Aside from showcasing the weaknesses of Western military hardware, the Ukrainian conflict has also laid bare the “underlying motives of the West,” says retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen, former vice president of the Eurasia Foundation.

“This is not about Ukrainian sovereignty. This is about expansion of NATO and containment and weakening of Russia,” Rasmussen notes.

Retired Lieutenant General of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Leonid Reshetnikov also argues that the West uses Ukraine, “NATO’s unofficial ally,” as a tool “for undermining Russia’s security” so Moscow has no intention to back down in this situation.

“There will be no unclear agreements or (conflict) freezing that they want. Until we know that we secured our safety, Russia’s security, Russia’s unity from NATO’s policies, we will continue to adhere to the stance that was proclaimed,” he says.

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🇵🇸🇮🇱 At least 100 people were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli strikes on Tuesday, a spokesman for the enclave's Health Ministry said.

"The Israeli occupation turned the hours of this day into successive massacres that affected all regions of the Gaza Strip without exception, killing about 100 people and injuring hundreds," the representative said.

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🇺🇳 The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a Russian-drafted resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism.

The resolution was approved in a 118-49 vote, with 14 member states abstaining. Russia, China, and Israel were among those that voted in favor. The United States, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Germany voted against.

The document is noscriptd "Combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance."

The resolution recommends that countries take appropriate concrete measures, "including in the field of legislation and education, in accordance with their international obligations in the field of human rights, in order to prevent the revision of the history and results of the Second World War and the denial of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Second World War."

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🇷🇺 The Russian security forces have all the necessary powers to ensure the country's defense and the protection of the civilians, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.

"Security forces never face easy tasks, but you have all the necessary powers to ensure the protecting of the state and civilians," Putin said in an address marking the Security Agency Worker's Day.

Russian security forces need to strengthen anti-terrorist work, the president added.

"I underscore that the work on anti-terrorist measures needs to be strengthened in all spheres, a wide range of technical and operational capabilities of our special services needs to be used," Putin stressed.

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❗️ The US has delayed for the second time in one day voting on a UN Security Council draft resolution on welcoming a humanitarian ceasefire and establishing a monitoring mechanism in the Gaza Strip, a UN source told Sputnik.

The United States at first requested voting to take place on Tuesday afternoon instead of the morning because its mission to the United Nations wanted more time to consult the text of the resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the source said on Tuesday.

However, the US later said it wanted to delay a vote on the resolution until Wednesday morning, the source said.

The United States is the only member of the UN Security Council who has vetoed all previous resolutions on Gaza.

US diplomats have claimed Washington wants to see text in the resolutions condemning the Palestinian movement Hamas. Other UN Security Council members have opposed including such provisions in the resolutions.

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“The Arab world's poorest country is doing essentially the most for Palestine,” Esteban Carrillo, an editor for The Cradle, told Sputnik about the Yemeni Ansarallah movement, which has shut down Israeli trade in the Red Sea.

Biden has criticized Netanyahu, saying Israel no longer wants a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Carrillo said it was the “only playing card” for the US and Arab states after arming Jerusalem to the hilt and doing nothing about the deaths of 25,000 people in Gaza.

“I would imagine that what happens at the end of this, in their view, is the mass displacement, the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, the complete removal of these 2 million people and pushing them into the Sinai. They keep saying ‘the Arabs need to help them’, and it's for them [Israel] to control Gaza, for them to control the West Bank, to take it over completely.”

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❗️ A pro-Palestinian demonstration took place on Tuesday at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, where about 60 demonstrators were arrested. The event was held in support of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and was reported by a number of activist organizations.

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US Escalation in the Red Sea: A Lose/Lose Proposition

“If the US attacks Yemen, the Houthis will respond, and they do have the capability to sink US Navy ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. And once that happens, the Red Sea becomes an active war zone, and then, all bets are off, along with all shipping in the Red Sea, and 12% of all global trade. Think about it…

The economies of the EU nations are already in serious decline. The US national debt stands at over $33 TRILLION, and the era of the US dollar's reserve currency status in global trade is closing fast. A 12% overnight decline in global trade would almost certainly lead these economies into economic depression equivalent to the Great Depression of almost 100 years ago. Economic war and military war are two sides of the same coin. The Houthis have a major economic advantage based on their geography to influence and even threaten global economic activity, and have proven their ability and willingness to use it. And it is by no means certain that the Western armada assembled along the Yemeni coast can even defeat the Houthis militarily without unacceptable and unsustainable losses.

The range of their missiles allows the Houthis to cover not only the southern third of the Red Sea, but all of the Gulf of Aden and much of the Arabian Sea as well. With the exception of the USS Indianapolis and the USCG ships in the Gulf of Oman, all of the US/UK naval ships near Yemen are already within range of Houthi missiles.”

Analysis by Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR)

Read full article here

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US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter and subpoena to Attorney General Merrick Garland seeking information about the Justice Department’s alleged use of its authority to get access to private communications of lawmakers and congressional staff members.

"The Executive Branch used its immense law-enforcement authority to gather and search the private communications of multiple Legislative Branch employees who were conducting Constitutional oversight of the Department's investigative actions - actions that were later found to be unlawful," Jordan said, referring to an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s campaign associate Carter Page.

Jordan explained that the requested information would help the Judiciary Committee articulate any potential legislative proposals on the issue, including those that would require the Justice Department to provide appropriate notice when it seeks to access private information belonging to an employee of Congress.

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🇺🇸💸"Raytheon will design, build and test two high-power microwave antenna systems that will use directed energy to defeat airborne threats at the speed of light," read a press release Tuesday.

But as drone warfare led by the Houthis rages on, the weapons contractor says they don’t expect to deliver prototypes of the technology until 2024 and 2026.

The US military has experimented with microwave weapons tech for decades, recently spurred on by the increasing use of drones on the battlefield.

The United States has long claimed the use of the technology by foreign adversaries, most recently demonstrated by unfounded claims of “Havana Syndrome” suffered by US diplomats.