Trump Gets Wise to Putin

Donald Trump seems to have finally realised Vladimir Putin never meant business. Or perhaps the US president’s disappointment in his Russian counterpart is only part of a new pressure tactic. And yet, given that he has overruled the group of advisers that’s come to be called the “restrainers” to “send some more weapons” to Kyiv, could mean Trump has had a serious rethink and sided with those who believe American security is fundamentally tied up with helping Ukraine. The restrainers’ argument has been the low US stockpile which would leave Washington without sufficient ammunition to take on China someday soon. “We get a lot of bulls*** thrown at us by Putin…,” Trump told his cabinet on July 8. Well, tapes this week revealed he had told a private gathering of donors last year that he would “bomb the s*** out of Moscow” if Putin invaded Ukraine. He can still make Putin reconsider continuation of the war if Kyiv’s renewed firepower imposes fresh costs on
Russia. But what will Trump do about Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth who had suspended arms supplies to Kyiv without informing the White House, thereby causing all-round embarrassment?

The Protocols of the Elders of Hebron

It’s not the biggest anti-Semitic myth. The Oslo Accords of the 1990s brought false promises and a corrupt Palestinian Authority (PA) that caused an economic catastrophe. Wadee al-Jaabari, leader of the most influential Hebron clan, has been joined by four other senior Hebron sheikhs in singing a letter pledging peace with Israel and recognising it as a Jewish state. The sheikhs will break away from the PA as the Emirate of Hebron and join the Abraham Accords. Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat, to whom the letter is addressed is dealing with the sheikhs while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is waiting and watching. Al-Jaabari has underscored the economic impact of such a development, with thousands of workers from Hebron being able to work in Israel, a vital source of income for the Palestinian economy and largely suspended since October 7, 2023. The sheikhs would guarantee total intolerance of terror. When the Gaza ceasefire talks are stalling again and again, and the two-state roadmap is dead, the Elders of Hebron have a plan. But they need to watch their backs. Al-Jaabari’s car was set ablaze immediately after the proposal was made public.

China Recalls Its Pandas

In 1994 China began lending pandas to the Japanese town of Shirahama. Now, it wants the four remaining pandas—Rauhin, 24, and her kids Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4—back. They were born in Shirahama but China has refused to extend the loan. Tearful residents turned up to bid the animals farewell. Three generations of panda fans are wondering what Japan’s ‘panda capital’ will do now without the bears. Known as Panda Town, Shirahama’s local economy is built around panda-themed vacations. The departure of the pandas isn’t just cause for heartbreak but a question of livelihood for the resort town.

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Sudeep Paul

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