🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu will visit China on a working visit on November 11-14 and hold meetings with China's top political leadership on strategic security issues, the Russian Security Council reported

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📹 In the Kharkov region, the Russian Army destroyed a concentration of Ukrainian soldiers with a strike from thermobaric munitions of the Solntsepyok system

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Why does Trump not want to work with Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley?

While much about Trump’s upcoming presidency remains unclear at this point, it is already given that Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley are not going to be a part of it.

Though both Pompeo and Haley were members of the previous Trump administration –secretary of the state and ambassador to the UN, respectively – the president-elect stated on social media that he isn’t going to invite either to his new government.

It is not immediately clear what Trump’s motives are, though some media outlets alleged that it may be a matter of trust.

▪️Haley, for one, was a vocal critic of Trump when she competed with him for the Republican presidential nomination. Though she did end up endorsing Trump after withdrawing her bid, Hailey also mentioned that she had no interest in a position in Trump’s admin.

▪️Meanwhile, Pompeo in 2023 slammed Trump over the latter’s alleged handling of classified documents, which the former claimed was “inconsistent with protecting America’s soldiers.”

▪️Both Pompeo and Haley have a reputation of being hawks who espouse strong anti-Russian and anti-Chinese sentiments. Both are also strong proponents of Washington’s de facto proxy war against Russia in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

It remains to be seen whether Trump snubbing them could be a hint of the 47th POTUS adopting a less antagonistic stance towards Moscow and/or Beijing.

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Democratic governors to use 'blue wall' to oppose Trump’s policies

Governors of the Democratic blue states are going to oppose the new Trump administration after the 45th US president’s decisive election win on November 5, the Hill reports.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signaled his readiness “to fight” and to “Trump-proof” the state’s “values and fundamental laws.” He called a special section of the state legislature after Trump’s win.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey vowed she would “absolutely not” assist the future Trump administration in its pledge to implement mass deportation plans.

She was echoed by her colleague in New Jersey, Phil Murphy, who insisted that mass deportations are “contrary to our [the state’s] values, [so] we will fight to the death.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker pledged that if “you come for my people, you come through me,” while in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul has convened a team of experts to develop strategies to protect her state from policy threats that allegedly could emanate from the Trump team.

They spoke as leaders of the crucial swing states, which are part of the “blue wall”, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, brace for power transition following Kamala Harris’ defeat.

Trump has meanwhile lashed out at the California governor, insisting that Newsom “is trying to kill” the Golden State and “using the term ‘Trump-proof’ as a way of stopping all of the great things that can be done.”

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❗️A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Cuba, 64 km southeast of the city of Manzanillo, seismologists report. A magnitude 5.9 quake was recorded in the same area a few hours earlier.

There were no reports of casualties or damage.

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❗️Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time the country's involvement in the pager attack in Lebanon, confirming that he approved the September operation on the Lebanese Hezbollah movement that detonated hundreds of communication devices across Lebanon, The Times of Israel reported, referring to "quotes leaked to Hebrew media."

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▪️Netanyahu acknowledges for the first time his country's involvement in the Lebanon pager attacks

▪️New Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon leave at least 27 people dead

▪️Not up to the job? Why Haley and Pompeo won’t become part of Team Trump

▪️What to expect from ‘lame duck’ Biden after Trump’s win?

▪️‘Father of the AK-47 rifle’: Russia marks 105 years since the birth of Mikhail Kalashnikov

▪️Check out Russia's Kalashnikov concern's top-5 masterpieces

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Donald Trump allegedly called Vladimir Putin on Thursday – report

The US President-elect and the Russian president purportedly discussed the Ukraine crisis and expressed interest in further talks on the issue, The Washington Post claimed.

“The two men discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss 'the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon,'” the outlet noted, citing several sources familiar with the matter.

The Kremlin has not yet confirmed the call.

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