OT subject but worth a main-stream read- OT News Feeds...

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"The U.S. refusal to endorse a joint G7 statement condemning Russia’s Palm Sunday attack on Ukraine has derailed its adoption, sources say. The United States said it would not support the measure as it is “working to preserve the space to negotiate peace” with the Kremlin, sources add. Russian strikes killed 35 and injured 119 in the attack, the conflict’s deadliest this year. Donato Paolo Mancini and Alberto Nardelli report for Bloomberg News.

The United States appears to have tempered its demands for an aid payback from Ukraine in rare earths deal talks from $300 billion to about $100 billion,closer to Kyiv’s own estimate of $90 billion, sources say. Volodymyr Verbianyi and Alberto Nardelli report for Bloomberg News.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its units destroyed 115 Ukrainian drones in an overnight attack.  The ministry also accused Kyiv of carrying out six attacks on Kremlin energy infrastructure in the past day, despite a mutually agreed 30-day moratorium on energy strikes.

Kyiv’s air force said Moscow attacked Ukraine with 52 drones and one missile overnight, out of which 26 drones were shot down. Nineteen drones reportedly failed to reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare measures.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, following a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, said the latter was open to a “permanent peace” deal with Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper that it was not easy to agree with the US on “key components” of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that political will exists to move in the direction of a possible US-Russia deal on Ukraine. However, he said there is no clear outline of what the deal would be like."

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Thursday Middle East update:

"Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in an interview published on Tuesday he hopes Iran-backed Hezbollah can be peacefully disarmed this year, adding that Hezbollah members who want to join the Lebanese army would be able to undergo “absorption courses.” Nadeen Ebrahim reports for CNN.

Qatar is sending 162 military vehicles and a $60 million donation to the Lebanese army to help it “preserve stability and control the border,” the two countries announced yesterday. Bassem Mroue reports for AP News.

The Lebanese army yesterday said it had detained several Palestinians and Lebanese suspected of involvement in the March rocket attacks on Israel. The army’s statement did not mention Hezbollah, which has denied any role in the attack. Reuters reports.

Israel had planned to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, potentially with U.S. assistance, as soon as next month, but military action plans were eventually waved off by President Trump in favor of negotiating a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program, according to administration officials. Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt, Maggie Haberman, and Ronen Bergman report for the New York Times. 

The mixed U.S. messaging on whether Washington wants Iran to dismantle its nuclear program completely is “not helpful,” Tehran’s foreign minister said yesterday, adding that Iranian officials will keep talking to U.S. officials and focus on what is said in private. Separately, Tehran’s foreign ministry confirmed the second round of talks would take place in Rome on Saturday. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.

The war in Gaza will soon escalate with “tremendous force” and an extended humanitarian blockade if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday. Lara Jakes reports for the New York Times.

Hamas is so low on cash it cannot pay its fighters, according to Arab, Israeli and Western officials, with distribution chains also affected by Israel’s killing of Hamas officials who oversaw the process. The liquidity crisis may signal a deepening organizational dysfunction in the militant group. Summer Said, Carrie Keller-Lynn, and Benoit Faucon report for the Wall Street Journal."

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russia is planning to use a U.S-owned canned food producer Glavprodukt seized by the Kremlin and placed under state control to supply food to the Russian army, a document seen by Reuters shows. Anna Hirtenstein and Alexander Marrow report.

Ukraine and the United States have made “substantial progress” in their minerals deal talks and will sign a provisional memorandum in the near future, Kyiv’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said yesterday. Reuters reports.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its units destroyed 26 Ukrainian drones overnight. Nine of the drones were shot down over the southern Voronezh region, while eight were taken down over the border region of Belgorod. The remaining drones were downed over the Kursk, Lipetsk and Moscow regions, as well as over the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, the ministry said.

Moscow’s military further reported that it repelled seven Ukrainian drones over Russia’s Ivanovo region, the location of one of two Russian missile units that Kyiv accuses of launching a deadly attack on the city of Sumy which caused dozens of casualties last weekend.

Kyiv’s air force said Russia launched almost 100 drones in overnight attacks on Ukraine, of which 57 were shot down and another 34 failed to reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare measures.

 President Donald Trump’s administration has reduced its estimate for the cost of US assistance provided to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion to about $100bn from $300bn, Bloomberg news reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

The US and Ukraine have made “substantial progress” in their talks on a minerals deal and will soon sign a memorandum, which would give Washington access to Ukraine’s rare earth deposits, Kyiv’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said."

lousubcap

Friday Middle East update:

"Suspected U.S. airstrikes on an oil port in western Yemen have killed at least 58 people and injured 126 others, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported today. The reported death toll would make the attack one of the deadliest since the escalation of the U.S. campaign against the group. The U.S. Central Command said the strikes were aimed at cutting off revenue to the Houthis. Reuters reports; Kareem El Damanhoury and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN.

A senior Hamas official yesterday formally rejected Israel's latest ceasefire offer, saying the group is prepared to negotiate a “comprehensive” deal to end the war in Gaza and swap all Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel. Hamas will no longer agree to interim deals, the official added. The rejection prompted far-right Israeli lawmakers to issue calls for an immediate escalation in Gaza. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Abeer Salman, Tamar Michaelis, and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN.

The United States has started drawing down troops from northeastern Syria, reducing troop levels to about 1,400 from 2,000, and will assess whether to make further cuts in 60 days, senior U.S. officials say. According to one of the officials, U.S. commanders have recommended keeping at least 500 troops in Syria. Eric Schmitt reports for the New York Times.

The White House in recent weeks issued policy guidance calling on Syria’s interim government to crack down on extremists, secure the country’s chemical-weapons stockpile, and expel Palestinian militants in return for a limited easing of sanctions, according to U.S. officials. Jared Malsin, Michael R. Gordon, and Nancy A. Youssef report for the Wall Street Journal."

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update:

"If peace in Ukraine is “not doable,” the United States needs to abandon its effort to broker a deal within “days” and move on, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today, asserting that the conflict is “not our war.” Alex Stambaugh, Max Saltman, Victoria Butenko, and Ross Adkin report for CNN.

Ukraine and the United States yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding as a “step toward a joint economic partnership agreement,” according to Kyiv’s economy minister. The memorandum states Kyiv and Washington aim to complete technical discussions on the terms of the deal by April 26, after the Ukrainian prime minister visits the United States next week. Andrew E. Kramer reports for the New York Times; Reuters reports.

The United States, Ukraine, and European officials held an “excellent exchange” in Paris yesterday, according to a source at France’s Elysée Palace. A State Department readout says a U.S.-penned outline of a peace deal had received an “encouraging reception” at the talks and that Secretary Rubio later conveyed the plan to the Russian foreign ministry. Christian Edwards, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Pierre Meilhan, and Caitlin Danaher report for CNN.

Russia has reduced the number of strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities but started targeting other civilian infrastructure instead, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday, adding that the total missile and drone attack numbers remained unchanged. Separately, Ukraine’s military said that the Russian army is trying out a new tactic of larger-scale assaults involving several hundred troops. Yuliia Dysa and Max Hunder report for Reuters; Reuters reports.

China’s foreign ministry today dismissed as “groundless” Zelenskyy’s allegation that Beijing had been supplying weapons to Russia and producing weapons on Russian territory. Reuters reports.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones over six Russian regions overnight, of which 49 were downed in the Kursk region.

Kyiv’s air force said Russia launched five missiles and 75 drones at Ukraine overnight, out of which 25 were shot down and another 30 did not reach their targets due to electronic warfare measures."

lousubcap

Saturday Russia-Ukraine update:

Russia launched eight missiles and 87 drones in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Saturday, causing damage in five regions across the country, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defence units shot down 33 Russian drones while another 36 were redirected by electronic warfare. Damage was recorded in five regions in the south, northeast and east.

Russia claimed it targeted Ukrainian drone production sites and warned of escalation if Germany sends Taurus long-range missiles, calling it a step towards direct involvement in the war.

The US has put forward a proposal to end the war in Ukraine that includes lifting sanctions on Russia, Bloomberg reported, quoting unnamed European officials. The US plan “would effectively freeze” the conflict, with invaded Ukrainian territory remaining under Russian control, according to the report.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed NATO chief Mark Rutte on the plan, but warned Washington will “move on” if a ceasefire deal doesn’t appear viable within days.  (Putin is "winning" these negotiations-my add).

President Donald Trump later warned that the US would “take a pass” on mediating peace if Moscow or Kyiv continue to hinder progress towards ending the war.

lousubcap

Come Saturday, We Should Reclaim the American Revolution

Today on TAP: The 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord is a good time to resist mad kings old and new.

by Harold Meyerson

"Today—April 19th— marks the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which began the American Revolution. On that day in 1775, armed farmers assembled on a town square to resist British troops come to make some arrests—minus guarantees of habeas corpus—of Bostonians (John Hancock in particular) who’d prominently opposed the forced billeting of British troops in Massachusetts homes and the suspension of laws enacted by colonial legislatures. A shot rang out, a battle ensued, a revolution began. It was, Ralph Waldo Emerson later wrote, “the shot heard round the world.”

Had there been no deep and novel cause behind that shot, it would never have reverberated so widely. But that cause was spelled out one year later in the Declaration of Independence, which argued both that “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and that King George, far from seeking the consent of the governed, was responsible for “a long train of abuses and usurpations” of power from the colonists’ governments. The king, it said, “has refused his Assent to Laws” (that is, refused to recognize laws passed by colonial legislatures). He was responsible, the Declaration continued, “For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.” These transfers of power from colonial legislatures to the Crown were at the center of the Founders’ case for revolution.

More from Harold Meyerson

When I wrote in February, it was already clear that Donald Trump was determined to exercise powers constitutionally vested in Congress, including those of establishing, abolishing, funding, and defunding government departments and agencies. He had not yet, as president again, ignored and flouted the federal courts, nor violated as many guarantees of liberty vouchsafed in the Bill of Rights as he has subsequently. It was already clear that he would treat his aides not as an administration but as a court, and the parallels to old King George were already clear. Today, he presides over the nation not just as Old George, but as Mad George, decreeing extrajudicial punishments on his critics, renaming pieces of geography, and using his tariffs to pressure world leaders, as he told a meeting of Republicans last week, to come before him “kissing my ass.”

So Saturday offers us an opportunity to celebrate the original patriots for their opposition to a mad monarch, for their belief, however fledgling and incomplete it may have been, in laws enacted democratically, by the consent of the governed. Following up on the thousands of local demonstrations of April 5th, building on the massive crowds that have turned out for the Bernie-AOC tour, it’s time for Americans to assemble again to resist the usurpations of power and the reign of not just a unitary, but also a monarchial, autocratic, and sociopathic executive.

Continuing his efforts to give chutzpah a bad name, Trump has been reported to be planning to visit Concord on Saturday. Today’s Minutemen and -women should turn out—a few three-cornered hats and fifes and drums would be in order—to oppose his rule. I gather some activists are holding these kinds of events around the country, one in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, another around the site of a Revolutionary War battle at Fort Stanwix in upstate New York. Nothing could be more American, in the best sense of the word, than to oppose this increasingly tyrannical tin-pot, and the more patriotic these demonstrations, the better. Tomorrow evening, bells will be sounded in Boston’s Old North Church (the one-if-by-land church where lanterns signaled Paul Revere to warn the Minutemen of the approaching troops) and in churches across the country, specifically to celebrate our democratic and anti-monarchial heritage. Continuing in that vein, some veterans’ groups are planning mass demonstrations for June 6th—the 81st anniversary of D-Day—to protest the massive cuts to veterans’ health care, which also will inherently (and, I hope, explicitly) celebrate those periods in our history in which our nation played a decisive role in defending democracy and defeating tyranny."

lousubcap

Sunday Russia-Ukraine update:

"In a surprise move, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral 30-hour Easter truce on Saturday. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted Russian “assault operations” and “artillery fire are ongoing”, adding that his country would abide by the truce.

Zelenskyy on Sunday said the Russian army was making a “pretence” of an Easter ceasefire, continuing overnight attempts to inflict front-line losses on Ukraine. He added that Ukraine’s proposal to extend the ceasefire with Russia for 30 days after Easter remains valid.

Despite the truce, early on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported 59 instances of shelling and five assault attempts along the front line.

The United Kingdom urged Russia to commit to a full ceasefire in Ukraine, “not just a one-day pause”, its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

The European Union has reacted cautiously to Putin’s declaration of the Easter truce in Ukraine, saying Moscow could stop the war immediately if it wanted to."

lousubcap

Monday Middle East update:

"U.S. airstrikes killed 12 people and wounded 30 others in Yemen’s capital overnight, the Houthi rebels said today. The U.S. military’s Central Command has declined to comment on the strike or discuss civilian casualties from its campaign. Jon Gambrell reports for the Associated Press.

The Israeli military said “professional failures,” including an “operational misunderstanding” and a “breach of orders,” led to the deaths of 15 emergency workers in Gaza last month. Israel originally said its troops opened fire because the convoy approached “suspiciously” without headlights, but it later said that account was “mistaken” after a video found on the phone of one of the killed medics showed the vehicles with their emergency signals flashing.The deputy commander of the IDF unit involved has been dismissed, the military said. Gary O’Donoghue reports for BBC News; Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times."

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"The Trump administration is ready to recognize Russian control of Crimea as part of the U.S. framework to end the war in Ukraine, a source told CNN on Friday. Kylie Atwood and Catherine Nicholls report. 

Ukraine’s military has reported Russian drone attacks overnight, hours after an unexpected 30-hour “Easter truce” declared by Russia expired. Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations of violating the temporary truce, with Moscow confirming fighting had resumed. BBC News reports. 

Zelenskyy said the Russian Army made attempts to “advance and inflict losses” on Kyiv’s army overnight despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of an Easter ceasefire. “Either Putin does not have full control over his army or the situation in Russia is that they have no intention of making a genuine move towards ending the war,” Zelenskyy said.

The United States Department of State said it would welcome the extension of the Easter ceasefire. However, the Kremlin said earlier there was no order for an extension.

Zelenskyy proposed suspending drone, cruise missile and rocket attacks on civilian targets for at least 30 days, after Russia revealed there were no orders to extend the ceasefire."

lousubcap

Tuesday Middle East update:

"Qatari and Egyptian mediators have proposed a new plan to end the war in Gaza that envisages a truce lasting between five and seven years, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a formal end to the war, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to a senior Palestinian official. Israel and Hamas have yet to comment on the mediators' newest plan. Rushdi Abualouf and Raffi Berg report for BBC News.

Israel today launched one of the biggest waves of strikes in Gaza in weeks,residents say. Israeli air strikes also killed 22 Palestinians across Gaza since Monday evening, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose spokesperson also warned the ministry anticipates a “real catastrophe” if Israel continues to block the supply of polio vaccines to the territory. Rushdi Abualouf and Raffi Berg report for BBC News; Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society yesterday rejected the findings of Israel’s probe into the killings of 15 medical workers last month, describing it as a “fabricated investigation.” The Israeli army announced the results of its investigation on Sunday, finding “professional failures.” AP News reports."

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he is open to the possibility of bilateral talks with Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia have not held direct talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s invasion in 2022. Separately, a Kremlin spokesperson said Russia is “satisfied” by hearing “from Washington … that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is out of the question.” Kyiv is expected to respond to the latest U.S. proposal during a meeting with U.S. and European officials in London later this week. Ross Adkin reports for CNN; Georgi Kantchev reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s comments, following the expiry of a 30-hour Easter truce – which each side accused the other of violating – meant he was open to direct talks.

“When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side,” said Peskov, quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not respond directly to Putin’s proposal, he signalled in his nightly video address that Ukraine was “ready for any conversation” about a ceasefire that would stop attacks on civilians.

Negotiators from the US, Ukraine, United Kingdom and France are due to meet in London on Wednesday for another round of talks on ending the war, Zelenskyy said.

The discussions are a follow-up to a similar meeting in Paris last week.

At that meeting, Europe expressed its red lines over Ukraine to the US, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.

He also suggested in an interview with francinfo radio that the Easter truce had been a marketing operation designed by Putin and aimed at defusing Trump’s growing impatience over Russia’s failure to agree a ceasefire.

Amid the push for an end to the fighting, in which Trump appears ready to accept many of Moscow’s demands and gains, Russia is eager to press home its military advantage on the battlefield."

lousubcap

Wednesday Middle East update:

"Israeli strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians and destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment supplied by mediators to clear rubble in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli army claimed Hamas was using the machinery for planting explosives, digging tunnels, and breaching fences. Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy report for AP News.

Syrian authorities have arrested two senior members of the Palestinian armed faction Islamic Jihad, the militant group said yesterday. The arrests mark a reversal from the former Assad regime’s policies, which tolerated the presence of Palestinian armed groups on Syrian territory. Euan Ward and Reham Mourshed report for the New York Times."

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped today’s round of Ukrainian peace talks in London after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s constitution prohibits it from accepting any deal that recognizes Moscow’s legal control of Crimea. Sources say the peace plan submitted by the United States proposes allowing Moscow to control nearly all areas occupied since the 2022 invasion, accompanied by a U.S. recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Mark Landler reports for the New York Times; Siobhán O'Grady, John Hudson, and Steve Hendrix report for the Washington Post; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.

Rubio’s U-turn “underscores tensions between the Trump team and its European allies over the fate of the Ukraine-Russia war,” POLITICO’s Robbie Gramer texts Playbook to say. “The Ukrainians were heading to London ready to talk about a 30-day interim ceasefire proposal. But the Trump administration only wants to talk about the president's peace deal plan, presented to Ukraine as a take-it-or-leave-it option last week. Since Ukraine didn't seem keen on taking the plan, the U.S. side downgraded its London plans, according to two people familiar with the matter.”

Sticking points: Axios’ Barak Ravid breaks down the massive concessions the U.S. wants from Ukraine, including official U.S. recognition of Crimea as Russian and de facto recognition as Russian of most other Ukrainian territory Moscow has invaded and occupied. In exchange, Ukraine would get security guarantees from Europe and various rebuilding programs. Russian President Vladimir Putin would — in theory — relinquish further claims on Ukraine.

There’s been no formal response from Russia, though the FT reported last night that Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine at the current front line as part of efforts to reach a peace deal. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already flat-out rejected any suggestion he could accept Russia’s occupation of Crimea, per the WSJ. He told POLITICO’s Veronika Melkozerova at a press conference in Kyiv yesterday that he’ll talk to the Russians directly only once a ceasefire is in place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that Moscow could halt its invasion of Ukraine at the current front lines as part of efforts to reach a peace deal, sources say. Max Seddon, Henry Foy, and Christopher Miller report for the Financial Times.

Ukraine would be ready to hold talks with Russia once a ceasefire deal is in place and the fighting has stopped, Zelenskyy said yesterday, noting that even in such a scenario, “it will not be possible to agree on everything quickly.” Reutersreports."

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:

"President Trump yesterday accused Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of prolonging the “killing field” and described Zelenskyy’s rejection of a peace deal that would involve ceding territory to Moscow as “inflammatory.” Trump added he thinks the proposal is on the verge of acceptance by Russian President Vladimir Putin and that "it’s harder” to “deal with Zelenskyy.” Vice President JD Vance called the U.S. deal “a very fair proposal” and warned the United States may “walk away” if Russia and Ukraine do not agree to it. Illia Novikov, Aamer Madhani, and Jill Lawless report for AP News; David E. Sanger, Michael D. Shear, and Mark Landler report for the New York Times.

Reports that the White House is debating lifting sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and other Russian assets in Europe are “totally fictitious” and “irresponsible,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement. POLITICO’s sources alleged such ideas formed part of discussions on how to approach the Ukraine peace negotiations. Ben Lefebvre and Felicia Schwartz report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the current front line, the Financial Times (FT) said.

According to the FT, Putin made the proposal during a meeting with United States envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg earlier this month. Putin indicated he would be willing to withdraw Moscow’s claims to parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, and in return, the US would recognise the Crimean peninsula as Russian and also block Ukraine from joining NATO."

lousubcap

Thursday Middle East update:

"Germany, France, and Britain yesterday urged the Israeli government to end its “intolerable” blockade on aid, pointing to Israel’s international law obligations and warning of “an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death” if Israel does not “immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid” to Gaza. Abbie Cheeseman reports for the Washington Post.

In an unprecedented set of remarks, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday called on Hamas to release the hostages to “block [Israel’s] justifications” for the “genocide that the Gaza Strip is being subjected to.” Abbas also called on Hamas to “refrain from carrying arms” and transform into “a political party that operates according to the laws of the Palestinian state.” Ibrahim Dahman, Pauline Lockwood, and Oren Liebermann report for CNN."

lousubcap

Friday Middle East update:

"The Israeli military yesterday acknowledged it was responsible for killing a U.N. aid worker in a strike on a U.N. guesthouse in Gaza last month, after previously describing the U.N.’s assertion that Israeli fire killed the staffer as “baseless slander.” Jeremy Diamond, Ibrahim Dahman, Abeer Salman, and Tamar Michaelis report for CNN.

The Houthis, and not the United States, are responsible for a deadly blast on Sunday near a UNESCO heritage site in Yemen’s capital, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson said yesterday. Vivian Nereim and Shuaib Almosawa report for the New York Times.

The Houthi militants successfully shot down at least seven multi-million-dollar U.S. drones in the past month, multiple U.S. officials say. Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, and Zachary Cohen report for CNN."

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update:

"The US will demand that Russia accept Ukraine’s right to have its own army and defense industry as part of a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, according to people familiar. Trump reiterated that Ukraine may need to cede some territory, though, echoing earlier comments from his vice president. In the meantime, a pullback in US aid has made Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian hacks.

Russia is “ready to reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview excerpt aired after Moscow’s strikes on Kyiv yesterday. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO.

President Trump yesterday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “STOP” Russia’s bombing of Ukraine and agree to a peace deal after Moscow’s deadliest attack on the city of Kyiv in nearly a year killed twelve people. Jonathan Swan reports for the New York Times.

United States’ European allies are highly alarmed by the framework to end the Ukraine war that would entail significant territorial concessions by Kyiv proposed by the Trump administration, diplomatic sources say. Trump yesterday claimed that Russia’s “not taking the whole country” is a “pretty big concession.” Jennifer Hansler, Alex Marquardt, and Kylie Atwood report for CNN.

President Zelenskyy said via social media that one of the ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv was made in North Korea. Earlier reports from the Reuters news agency identified it as a North Korea KN-23 (KN-23A) ballistic missile."

lousubcap

Definitely worth a read although the trend line does not bode well for the country's future:

Opinion

Fareed Zakaria

Trump is destroying 100 years of competitive advantage in 100 days

Cuts to research and attacks on universities are handing global leadership to China.

April 25, 2025 at 7:30 a.m. EDT
As the Trump administration floods the zone with one radical shift after another, its tariffs have gotten the most attention. But the policy that could end up costing the United States even more in the long run is the White House’s assault on universities and on research more broadly.

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The U.S. has led the world in science for so long that it’s easy to believe this has always been one of the country’s natural strengths. In fact, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the U.S. was more a follower than a leader. British industrialists often complained about American businesses stealing their technology and violating their patents. In the first decades of the 20th century, the country that walked away with the most Nobel Prizes in science was Germany — with one-third of all the awards. Next was Britain with almost 20 percent. The United States took just 6 percent of the Nobels in science.

Three powerful forces transformed the scientific landscape in the mid-20th century. The first was Adolf Hitler, who drove a generation of the best scientific minds in Europe — many of them Jewish — to seek refuge in America. (Of Germany’s Nobel Prizes in science won by 1932, about a quarter were won by Jews, who made up less than 1 percent of the German population.) Many of these scientists came to America and formed the backbone of its scientific establishment. After the 1965 immigration reform, the United States continued to attract the best minds in the world — many from China and India — who would come to study, then stay and build research labs and technology companies.

The second force was the two world wars. By 1945, Britain, France and, most of all, Germany had been devastated, with millions of citizens dead, cities reduced to rubble and governments crippled with mountains of debt. The Soviet Union came out of World War II victorious but lost around 24 million people in the conflict. The United States, by contrast, emerged from the conflict utterly dominant economically, technologically and militarily.

The third force that propelled the United States forward was the visionary decision by the U.S. government to become a massive funder of basic science. During the 1950s, total research and development spending in the U.S. reached nearly 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, the most of such spending on the planet. And it did so by creating an innovative model. Universities around the country, public and private, competed for government research funds. The federal government wrote the checks but did not try to run the programs itself. That competition and freedom created the modern American scientific establishment, the most successful in human history.

All three of these forces are now being reversed. The Trump administration is at war with the country’s leading universities, threatening them with hostile takeovers and withholding billions of dollars in research funding. America’s crown jewels of science, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, are being gutted.

The United States’ second advantage, towering over the rest of the world, has obviously ebbed since 1945. But it is worth pointing out that during the last decade, China has become the world leader in many key measures of science. China has a larger share than the U.S. of articles published in the leading 82 scientific journals that the Nature Index tracks. In engineering and technology articles, China is also now well ahead of the U.S. In patent applications, there is no longer any contest: China receives almost half of all applications in the world. And even in leading universities, China has gone from having 27 universities in the top 500 in 2010 to 76 in 2020 by one measure. The U.S. has gone in the other direction, from 154 to 133.

The final advantage that the United States has, and one that China could not match, is that it attracts the world’s best and brightest. Between 2000 and 2014, more than one-third of the Americans who won Nobel Prizes in science were immigrants. In 2019, almost 40 percent of all software developers were immigrants, and in the major cancer centers, in 2015 the percentage of immigrants ranged from around 30 percent (Fred Hutchinson) to 62 percent (MD Anderson.) But this is changing fast. Hundreds of visas are being revoked, students are being rounded up to be deported, and graduate students and researchers from China now face the prospect of constant FBI investigations. China has created generous incentives to welcome its best and brightest back home. Many others are choosing to go elsewhere — from Europe to Canada to Australia. Last month, Nature magazine asked its readers who are American researchers whether they were thinking of leaving the country. Of the more than 1,600 who responded, a stunning 75 percent said they were considering it.

These are the building blocks of America’s extraordinary strength, created over the last 100 years. They are now being dismantled in just 100 days."

Legume

Wait, so he's not making us great again?

lousubcap

Saturday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine’s position on the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula had not changed, as the United States was reported to be pressuring Kyiv to give up the territory as part of ceasefire talks with Moscow.  “Ukraine will not legally recognise any temporarily occupied territories. It seems to me that this is an absolutely fair position, it is legal not only from the point of view of the Constitution of Ukraine, first of all, but also from the point of view of international law,” Zelenskyy said.

“I agree with President Trump that Ukraine does not have enough weapons to regain control of the Crimean Peninsula with weapons. But we and the world have sanctions options,” he added.

Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions, Ukraine’s air force reported. Authorities in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties."

lousubcap

Sunday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Trump said on Saturday that he doubts Putin wants to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine, expressing scepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal”.

During the presidential campaign, Trump often boasted he could end the war in 24 hours, but reality has proved more difficult.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”, Trump wrote in a social media post as he flew back to the US after attending Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy briefly on Saturday. Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.

The Trump-Zelenskyy conversation on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral was the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February.

The two leaders, leaning in close to each other with no aides around them while seated in Saint Peter’s Basilica, spoke for about 15 minutes, according to Zelenskyy’s office, and images of the meeting released by Kyiv and Washington.

Zelenskyy said the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesperson called it “very productive”.


 Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that a peace deal needs to happen soon and that Washington is trying to determine whether it is worth continuing to serve as mediator.

“We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition,” Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press programme.

“The last week has really been about figuring out how close are these sides really, and are they close enough that this merits a continued investment of our time as a mediator,” he added."

lousubcap

The politics of the GWN-on stage Monday.
From Politico:

"OH, CANADA: Canada is set to hold its federal election tomorrow, and JMart has a fresh dispatch on our neighbors to the north . The election once seemed like it would boil down to a vote on who was best able to manage Trump, his tariffs and desire to annex Canada. But, as anything in the era of Trump, it isn’t quite that simple, Jonathan writes from Toronto. “Liberals are poised to hold power, and Prime Minister Mark Carney may even claim a majority of Canada’s 343 House of Commons seats, because [Conservative Party leader Pierre ] Poilievre never pivoted to accommodate a changed race and alienated crucial leaders and voters … and because Canada has momentarily imported two-party, tribal politics from America into their multi-party parliamentary democracy.

“It’s this final element that may prove most crucial — and could determine whether Liberals claim a majority or minority government — but is not easily grasped in the U.S. Canada has long had robust minor parties that play a pivotal role in both provincial and federal politics, most notably the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois, which advocates for Québécois nationalism in Canada’s Francophone province. Yet the effect of Trump’s existential threat has been to marginalize these parties, to render purity politics or domestic questions as a bit like the clogged sink disposal when the house is on fire. Particularly with the anticipated NDP collapse, this election may mark the highest percentage of votes for the two major center-right and center-left parties in generations.”

Paging @GrateEggspectations; @pacman, @Canugghead;@GlennM; @Mark_B_Good and apologies to those I have failed to list.

lousubcap

Monday Middle East update:

"Following a meeting with the head of Mossad on Thursday, Qatar’s prime minister said there has been “a bit of progress” in efforts to broker a new Israel-Hamas ceasefire, but added there remains “no answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war.” Meanwhile, a senior Hamas delegation left Cairo on Saturday following talks with Egyptian officials “for reaching a comprehensive deal that achieves a ceasefire, prisoner exchange, relief, and reconstruction,” Hamas said in a statement. Sebastian Usher and Jessica Rawnsley report for BBC News; Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Dana Karni, and Kaanita Iyer report for CNN.

The Israeli military yesterday struck a residential neighbourhood in the Dahiya district in southern Beirut, an area where Hezbollah maintains a stronghold. Hezbollah has not commented at the time of writing, while Lebanon’s president warned Israel’s actions would “escalate tensions,” raising concerns that the ceasefire which ended the Israel-Hezbollah war may be in jeopardy. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.

At least 68 people have been killed in a U.S. airstrike on a detention center housing African migrants in Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen, the rebel group’s TV channel said. The U.S. military has not commented on the reported strike, but it came hours after the U.S. Central Command announced its forces had hit over 800 targets since Trump ordered an escalation of its campaign against the Houthis on March 15. Jaroslav Lukiv and David Gritten report for BBC News."

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"North Korea confirmed for the first time today that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, showing the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship,” KCNA state media reported Pyongyang’s ruling party as saying. Russia confirmed the news Saturday, saying North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russians in the Kursk region. Jack Kim reports for Reuters; Hyung-Jin Kim reports for the Associated Press.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the Trump administration will decide this week whether to continue pursuing a negotiated resolution to the war in Ukraine or shift its focus elsewhere. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.

Russia claimed on Saturday to have retaken the final village in its Kursk region, though Ukrainian officials denied it had been pushed out and said that its military operations inside Russia were continuing. Ivan Nechepurenko, Paul Sonne, and Marc Santora report for the New York Times.

Russia launched nearly 150 drones and missiles at Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least four people. The Ukrainian Air Force said that 57 of the drones were intercepted and another 67 were jammed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his personal gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying, “Our Korean friends acted based on a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship”.

President Donald Trump appeared for the first time to suggest that he is reversing his previous trust in Putin. Trump said on Sunday that he is “very disappointed” over Russia’s ongoing missile strikes against Ukraine. “I want him to stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal,” the US leader told reporters.

However, Trump also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might be willing to “give up” Crimea to Russia, despite Kyiv’s consistent refusal to cede territory.

German Minister for Defence Boris Pistorius has warned Ukraine against accepting Trump’s ceasefire proposal involving land concessions to Russia, calling it “capitulation”."

lousubcap

Tuesday Middle East update:

Iran has proposed holding a meeting with the European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal — potentially in Rome this Friday — if negotiations with the United States resume, diplomats said yesterday, adding that the Europeans have not yet responded to the proposal. John Irish and Parisa Hafezi report for Reuters.

Israel yesterday boycotted the opening day of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on its decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Israel’s foreign minister said Israel had submitted its written position but would not participate in “this circus,” accusing UNRWA of being “infested with Hamas terrorists.” The hearings at The Hague, which are expected to last all week, follow a request by the U.N. General Assembly, with 40 countries, including the United States, set to speak as part of proceedings. Eugenia Yosef and Oren Libermann report for CNN; Shira Rubin and Clare Parker report for the Washington Post. 

Amid the U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen targeting the Houthis, a jet fighter yesterday fell off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and sank when the ship made a sharp turn, defense officials said. It marks the strike group’s third mishap during its Middle East deployment, although officials say it is unclear whether the intensified pace of operations was a factor in the lost aircraft. Nancy A. Youssef reports for the Wall Street Journal. 

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday announced a three-day unilateral ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, beginning on May 8 and ending on May 10, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. “Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” Putin said in a statement on the Kremlin website, adding, “In the event of violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will give an adequate and effective response.” Mary Ilyushima reports for the Washington Post; Thomas Mackintosh and Vitaliy Shevchenko report for BBC News.

Zelenskyy said the world did not want to wait until May 8 for a truce, and called for a “full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days” to provide “a basis for real diplomacy”.

The White House said President Donald Trump wants a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and that Putin and Zelenskyy needed to come to the negotiating table to end the war.  The statement came as the Trump administration hit its 100th day in power having failed to make good on a promise to bring an end to the war in Ukraine “shortly” after taking office.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on Monday that Western allies would “increase pressure on Russia” over the next 10 days, and that he had told the US to harden its stance against Moscow. Macron said the next 15 days would be “crucial” to implementing a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military said it shot down 40 of 166 drones launched by Russia in multiple attacks on Monday. It also said 74 drones were redirected by electronic warfare and that damage was recorded in four regions.

The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said it destroyed 51 Ukrainian drones in the space of less than three hours late on Monday, most of them over Russia’s western Kursk region.

A military analyst said that Ukraine’s decision to mount an incursion into Kursk was a strategy blunder that allowed Russia to claim additional territory inside Ukraine. “Essentially, Ukraine traded territory it values the most – its own – for territory it didn’t value and that it couldn’t hold forever,” Christopher McCallion, a fellow at Defense Priorities, a Washington, DC-based think tank, said."

lousubcap

Recent update regarding the Houti attacks:

"Operation Rough Rider: The Pentagon’s Yemen airstrike campaign, named for the country’s 26th president, has been ongoing for 45 days. The U.S. military on Sunday said it has “struck over 800 targets” since it began on March 15. “These strikes have killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV officials,” Central Command officials said while avoiding specific names.

“The Houthis have continued to attack our vessels, [but] our operations have degraded the pace and effectiveness of their attacks,” CENTCOM said Sunday. “Ballistic missile launches have dropped by 69%” since March 15, and “attacks from one way attack drones have decreased by 55%.”

It’s still not at all clear how long the campaign will continue, or how much it will eventually cost, or even if it will ultimately succeed. The first four weeks of bombing were estimated at more than a billion dollars, according to the New York Times. But there have been other costs as well: “So many precision munitions are being used, especially advanced long-range ones, that some Pentagon contingency planners are growing concerned about overall Navy stocks and implications for any situation in which the United States would have to ward off an attempted invasion of Taiwan by China.”

And if the loss of a Super Hornet sounds familiar, “In December, an F/A-18 Super Hornet flying from the aircraft carrier was shot down by the guided-missile cruiser Gettysburg, which was accompanying the Truman,” the New York Times reminded readers. "

lousubcap

Wednesday Middle East update:

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio is weighing the possibility of eliminating the U.S. security coordinator position for the West Bank and Gaza as part of a broader restructuring of diplomatic personnel, sources told Axios. The position, typically held by a three-star general, plays a key role in facilitating coordination between Israeli and Palestinian political and military leaders to manage and prevent security crises. Sources told Axios that removing the coordinator could risk further destabilizing the region, particularly as the conflict in Gaza continues. Barak Ravid reports. 

Britain’s military, in coordination with U.S. forces, carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen yesterday, marking the first publicly acknowledged joint operation since the Trump administration ramped up U.S. efforts against the rebel group. The strikes targeted “a cluster of buildings” south of Sanaa that the Houthis were reportedly using to produce drones, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement today. Jessie Yeung reports for CNN.

Trump is privately and publicly urging Egypt to compensate the United States for its efforts to protect shipping lanes leading to the Suez Canal from Houthi attacks. The push mirrors the administration’s broader strategy of seeking financial benefits from its foreign policy actions, as seen in Ukraine and Gaza. Summer Said reports for the Wall Street Journal. "

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Out of a total deployment of around 15,000, an estimated 600 North Korean troops have been killed so far on frontline fighting for Russia, with 4,700 suffering casualties, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said today. In exchange for deploying troops and weapons supply to Russia, Pyongyang appears to have received drones, anti-air missiles, and assistance on spy satellites, South Korean lawmakers added. Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park report for Reuters; Hyung-Jin Kim reports for the Associated Press.   

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it destroyed 91 Ukrainian drones overnight, with 40 of them downed over the border Kursk region.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the United States would step back as mediator unless Russia and Ukraine delivered “concrete proposals” on ending the three-year war.  A spokesperson for Rubio also said that Washington was seeking a “complete, durable ceasefire and an end to the conflict”, not a “three-day moment so you can celebrate something else”. The US has said that this week will be “critical” for peace efforts.

The comments came as Russia rejected Ukraine’s proposal to extend the three-day truce to 30 days, saying it would be “difficult to enter into a long-term ceasefire” without first clearing up a number of “questions”."