The Director Rob Reiner Died 🕊
Rob Reiner, the director of beloved films including When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap, has died aged 78 in an apparent homicide, along with his 68-year-old wife Michele Singer Reiner.
Reports first began to emerge on Sunday afternoon that the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman had been found by authorities inside a home owned by Reiner in Brentwood, Los Angeles, after a medical aid request was made to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed detectives from the robbery homicide division were investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide”.
Both TMZ and People reported that the two had suffered wounds consistent with a knife attack.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed their deaths on Sunday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the family spokesperson said in a statement to media.
“We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Reiner had been married to photographer Singer Reiner since 1989.
The couple met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally, which he’d made with his friend Nora Ephron after 10 years of being single; inspired by their new romance, Reiner changed the film’s original downbeat ending so that Harry and Sally ended up together.
The son of the renowned comic actor Carl Reiner and the singer Estelle Lebost, Reiner was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1947.
He initially went into acting in the 1960s, landing his first big role as the countercultural Michael “Meathead” Stivic in all nine seasons of the sitcom All in the Family.
He won two of five Emmy nominations for his performance, and was also nominated for five Golden Globes in the role.
Reiner made his directorial film debut in 1984 with much loved mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which follows a dopey British heavy metal band. He followed it with a rapid run of hits including Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), which is often ranked among the best romantic comedies of all time, Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992), which was nominated for an Oscar for best picture.
Reiner was particularly proud of Stand By Me, as he felt it was the first thing he made outside of his father’s shadow.
“Spinal Tap was satire, and I love satire, but that was something my father had done.
And The Sure Thing was romantic comedy and he had done those. So Stand By Me was the first thing I did that was purely an extension of myself, and that meant a lot to me,” he told the Guardian in 2018.
Later films that Reiner directed included The American President (1995), The Bucket List (2007), and his final film, the 2025 sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
Over his career he was nominated for four Golden Globes for best director and three Directors Guild of America awards.
Reiner also cofounded Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind hits including The Shawshank Redemption, Seinfeld, In the Line of Fire, City Slickers, Lone Star and Miss Congeniality.
He would later say that it became harder to get funding for smaller films in the 2000s.
Reiner was a prominent political activist and critic of US president Donald Trump. He cofounded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court challenge that lifted the ban on same-sex marriage in California.
He also spearheaded campaigns against smoking, and considered running against the then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, but decided not to for personal reasons.
#director #rob #reiner #died
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Rob Reiner, the director of beloved films including When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap, has died aged 78 in an apparent homicide, along with his 68-year-old wife Michele Singer Reiner.
Reports first began to emerge on Sunday afternoon that the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman had been found by authorities inside a home owned by Reiner in Brentwood, Los Angeles, after a medical aid request was made to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed detectives from the robbery homicide division were investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide”.
Both TMZ and People reported that the two had suffered wounds consistent with a knife attack.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed their deaths on Sunday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the family spokesperson said in a statement to media.
“We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Reiner had been married to photographer Singer Reiner since 1989.
The couple met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally, which he’d made with his friend Nora Ephron after 10 years of being single; inspired by their new romance, Reiner changed the film’s original downbeat ending so that Harry and Sally ended up together.
The son of the renowned comic actor Carl Reiner and the singer Estelle Lebost, Reiner was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1947.
He initially went into acting in the 1960s, landing his first big role as the countercultural Michael “Meathead” Stivic in all nine seasons of the sitcom All in the Family.
He won two of five Emmy nominations for his performance, and was also nominated for five Golden Globes in the role.
Reiner made his directorial film debut in 1984 with much loved mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which follows a dopey British heavy metal band. He followed it with a rapid run of hits including Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), which is often ranked among the best romantic comedies of all time, Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992), which was nominated for an Oscar for best picture.
Reiner was particularly proud of Stand By Me, as he felt it was the first thing he made outside of his father’s shadow.
“Spinal Tap was satire, and I love satire, but that was something my father had done.
And The Sure Thing was romantic comedy and he had done those. So Stand By Me was the first thing I did that was purely an extension of myself, and that meant a lot to me,” he told the Guardian in 2018.
Later films that Reiner directed included The American President (1995), The Bucket List (2007), and his final film, the 2025 sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
Over his career he was nominated for four Golden Globes for best director and three Directors Guild of America awards.
Reiner also cofounded Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind hits including The Shawshank Redemption, Seinfeld, In the Line of Fire, City Slickers, Lone Star and Miss Congeniality.
He would later say that it became harder to get funding for smaller films in the 2000s.
Reiner was a prominent political activist and critic of US president Donald Trump. He cofounded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court challenge that lifted the ban on same-sex marriage in California.
He also spearheaded campaigns against smoking, and considered running against the then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, but decided not to for personal reasons.
#director #rob #reiner #died
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The Compromise Moment
Five hours of talks in Berlin. No details released. One massive concession rebranded as "progress."
Steve Witkoff announced that
—diplomatic code for: Zelensky has agreed to abandon Ukraine's NATO bid.
The deal on paper:
Ukraine gives up NATO membership. Russia gets what it invaded for. Ukraine gets security guarantees in return—meaning the US promises to help if Russia attacks again, assuming Congress agrees.
It's like trading insurance for a pinky swear.
Reality check:
Zelensky called this a "compromise." It's surrender dressed up in paperwork. He's swapping military alliance membership that means something for bilateral agreements that depend on American political mood swings and European committee meetings.
Trump's plan demands Ukraine cede more Donbas territory and cap its army at 600,000 troops. Merz and Starmer softened the edges—800,000 troops, ceasefire at current lines—but Moscow just said nope. Russia's already signaling those proposals aren't enough.
Meanwhile in reality:
Merz is hosting talks with Starmer, Macron, Zelensky, and various NATO brass. Germany's also got Ukraine's back on defense cooperation—so that's something. But Scholz (actual German Chancellor) has been sidelined from these conversations, which tells you everything about how seriously Berlin is taking Trump's diplomacy versus its own interests.
Putin wants three things: no NATO expansion, no NATO troops in Ukraine, and Kyiv to cede territory. Zelensky wants to keep the land he still holds. Trump wants a headline. Europe wants Ukraine not to disappear.
These don't reconcile. Everyone's just waiting for the next round.
The punchline: Zelensky's final comment. He said security guarantees must prevent "a third Russian invasion."
#war #fakepeace #oligarchy #zelensky #trump #berlin
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Five hours of talks in Berlin. No details released. One massive concession rebranded as "progress."
Steve Witkoff announced that
"a lot of progress was made"
—diplomatic code for: Zelensky has agreed to abandon Ukraine's NATO bid.
The deal on paper:
Ukraine gives up NATO membership. Russia gets what it invaded for. Ukraine gets security guarantees in return—meaning the US promises to help if Russia attacks again, assuming Congress agrees.
It's like trading insurance for a pinky swear.
Reality check:
Zelensky called this a "compromise." It's surrender dressed up in paperwork. He's swapping military alliance membership that means something for bilateral agreements that depend on American political mood swings and European committee meetings.
Trump's plan demands Ukraine cede more Donbas territory and cap its army at 600,000 troops. Merz and Starmer softened the edges—800,000 troops, ceasefire at current lines—but Moscow just said nope. Russia's already signaling those proposals aren't enough.
Meanwhile in reality:
Merz is hosting talks with Starmer, Macron, Zelensky, and various NATO brass. Germany's also got Ukraine's back on defense cooperation—so that's something. But Scholz (actual German Chancellor) has been sidelined from these conversations, which tells you everything about how seriously Berlin is taking Trump's diplomacy versus its own interests.
Putin wants three things: no NATO expansion, no NATO troops in Ukraine, and Kyiv to cede territory. Zelensky wants to keep the land he still holds. Trump wants a headline. Europe wants Ukraine not to disappear.
These don't reconcile. Everyone's just waiting for the next round.
The punchline: Zelensky's final comment. He said security guarantees must prevent "a third Russian invasion."
#war #fakepeace #oligarchy #zelensky #trump #berlin
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The Solidarity Illusion
The European Union has just indefinitely frozen €210 billion in Russian assets. Strong move. Locks out the Kremlin. Looks principled. One problem: nobody agrees on using the money.
Belgium doesn't want to touch it—afraid Russia will sue and it's their legal problem if they lose. Now Italy, one of the EU's big three, just sided with them.
The Commission wants a "reparations loan"—borrow against the frozen €210 billion to lend €90 billion to Ukraine for 2026-2027. Ukraine only repays once Russia settles war damages. Brussels claims it's airtight. Belgium says it's still their risk if Russia wins in court.
Belgium's Bart De Wever made the comparison:
Legal exposure never goes away.
Russia's already moving. Moscow just sued Euroclear for $230 billion in a Russian court—will lose, but it's the opening move in a longer game.
The Italy factor:
Here's where things get messy. Meloni publicly backs Ukraine. She meets Zelensky. Italy sends weapons. But her coalition is split. Matteo Salvini, her deputy PM and League party leader, is openly skeptical.
This month, Salvini said Italy can't send weapons "for another 50 years." Translation: he's done pretending this war has an endpoint worth funding.
Last week, Italy postponed renewing its military aid decree (expires Dec 31). This week, Italy drafted a secret memo with Belgium, Malta, and Bulgaria demanding the Commission find alternatives.
Italy's Defense Minister Crosetto said it would be "absurd" not to continue support. Salvini's League party—part of the same government—says it's financial suicide.
They're both right, depending on who's winning the internal argument that day.
The alternatives trap:
Plan B is joint EU debt: €90 billion in bonds backed by all 27 member states. Requires unanimity. Which means Orbán's Hungary can veto it.
So Europe's stuck. Use Russian assets (Belgium and now Italy block it). Issue joint debt (Hungary blocks it). Reduce Ukraine's funding. None of those work.
The real game:
This isn't incompetence. This is EU dysfunction in action. Announce solidarity, invoke emergency powers to indefinitely freeze Russian assets—very impressive. Then fracture on implementation. By the time the December 18-19 summit happens, the deal's already dead.
Brussels blames Belgium. Belgium blames legal risk. Italy gets to back Trump's peace push while appearing pro-Ukraine. Hungary maintains veto leverage. Salvini keeps his base energized saying no more money. Zelensky watches his 2026 budget disappear.
The indefinite freeze is theater. We locked this so Russia can't grab it back. Very strong. Now watch what doesn't happen: anybody actually using it.
Russia will lose its court case in Brussels. Russia will win the political one.
#eu #ukraine #oligarchy #frozenassets #italy #belgium #orbán
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The European Union has just indefinitely frozen €210 billion in Russian assets. Strong move. Locks out the Kremlin. Looks principled. One problem: nobody agrees on using the money.
Belgium doesn't want to touch it—afraid Russia will sue and it's their legal problem if they lose. Now Italy, one of the EU's big three, just sided with them.
The Commission wants a "reparations loan"—borrow against the frozen €210 billion to lend €90 billion to Ukraine for 2026-2027. Ukraine only repays once Russia settles war damages. Brussels claims it's airtight. Belgium says it's still their risk if Russia wins in court.
Belgium's Bart De Wever made the comparison:
"Breaking into an embassy, taking furniture, selling it."
Legal exposure never goes away.
Russia's already moving. Moscow just sued Euroclear for $230 billion in a Russian court—will lose, but it's the opening move in a longer game.
The Italy factor:
Here's where things get messy. Meloni publicly backs Ukraine. She meets Zelensky. Italy sends weapons. But her coalition is split. Matteo Salvini, her deputy PM and League party leader, is openly skeptical.
This month, Salvini said Italy can't send weapons "for another 50 years." Translation: he's done pretending this war has an endpoint worth funding.
Last week, Italy postponed renewing its military aid decree (expires Dec 31). This week, Italy drafted a secret memo with Belgium, Malta, and Bulgaria demanding the Commission find alternatives.
Italy's Defense Minister Crosetto said it would be "absurd" not to continue support. Salvini's League party—part of the same government—says it's financial suicide.
They're both right, depending on who's winning the internal argument that day.
The alternatives trap:
Plan B is joint EU debt: €90 billion in bonds backed by all 27 member states. Requires unanimity. Which means Orbán's Hungary can veto it.
So Europe's stuck. Use Russian assets (Belgium and now Italy block it). Issue joint debt (Hungary blocks it). Reduce Ukraine's funding. None of those work.
The real game:
This isn't incompetence. This is EU dysfunction in action. Announce solidarity, invoke emergency powers to indefinitely freeze Russian assets—very impressive. Then fracture on implementation. By the time the December 18-19 summit happens, the deal's already dead.
Brussels blames Belgium. Belgium blames legal risk. Italy gets to back Trump's peace push while appearing pro-Ukraine. Hungary maintains veto leverage. Salvini keeps his base energized saying no more money. Zelensky watches his 2026 budget disappear.
The indefinite freeze is theater. We locked this so Russia can't grab it back. Very strong. Now watch what doesn't happen: anybody actually using it.
Russia will lose its court case in Brussels. Russia will win the political one.
#eu #ukraine #oligarchy #frozenassets #italy #belgium #orbán
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The Platinum Guarantee Gambit
The U.S. is offering Ukraine Article 5-style security guarantees. No ground troops. No formal treaty. Senate "blessing." And—crucially—they're time-limited.
Translation: Trump wants Zelensky to sign a peace deal on the promise of American protection that depends entirely on Congressional approval and presidential goodwill.
What they're actually offering:
Monitoring, verification, weapons sales, intelligence support, maybe air power, possibly logistics. Not a legal obligation. Not a treaty. Not what Article 5 actually means.
The U.S. calls it the platinum standard. One official said this is "the most expansive set of protocols anyone's ever seen". Translation: it's more detailed than expected, but that doesn't make it binding.
Lindsey Graham—who's pushing Senate approval—clarified the pitch: it wouldn't be a treaty, just a "congressional blessing, statutory in nature." Something that survives Trump but doesn't legally require him to do anything when the moment comes.
The critical detail:
U.S. officials stressed:
Translation: sign now or the offer walks. The deadline will likely be extended, moved, or abandoned entirely once Trump's next priority comes along.
What Zelensky actually needs:
He wants Article 5-plus—binding protection if Russia attacks again. What he's getting is Article 5-lite. A promise that the Senate will vote to bless the deal, assuming Congress feels like it when the time comes.
Senate votes change with elections. Voting blocs fracture. Public opinion shifts. One president is replaced by another.
Meanwhile on territory:
U.S. officials are telling Ukraine to cede the Donbas. Not all of it—just the contested parts. The parts Ukraine still holds.
An official briefed on talks told AFP:
Translation: Washington's peace plan looks like Russia's negotiating position.
Zelensky wants a ceasefire at current lines. Trump's team wants Ukraine to withdraw. The gap is profound, which is why "90% consensus" mostly means: we agree you're losing and should settle now.
The gameplan:
Trump gets a headline: "Peace deal signed by year-end." Zelensky gets a signed piece of paper promising help. Congress gets to vote on something it can claim is bipartisan. Russia gets to see if American security guarantees hold up when the next crisis hits—probably in 2027, when Trump's term ends and a new president takes office.
Graham said: if Ukraine backs it, Europe backs it, you'll get Senate votes. But he didn't say those votes would have teeth.
Because they won't. These Senate votes can be symbolic. Article 5 is a treaty obligation. There's a difference between "we support this" and "we will die for this".
Ukraine's betting its survival on the hope that Congress will choose violence over diplomacy four years from now.
That's not a guarantee. That's a gamble dressed in legal language.
#war #fakepeace #zelensky #trump #security #donbas #guarantee
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The U.S. is offering Ukraine Article 5-style security guarantees. No ground troops. No formal treaty. Senate "blessing." And—crucially—they're time-limited.
Translation: Trump wants Zelensky to sign a peace deal on the promise of American protection that depends entirely on Congressional approval and presidential goodwill.
What they're actually offering:
Monitoring, verification, weapons sales, intelligence support, maybe air power, possibly logistics. Not a legal obligation. Not a treaty. Not what Article 5 actually means.
The U.S. calls it the platinum standard. One official said this is "the most expansive set of protocols anyone's ever seen". Translation: it's more detailed than expected, but that doesn't make it binding.
Lindsey Graham—who's pushing Senate approval—clarified the pitch: it wouldn't be a treaty, just a "congressional blessing, statutory in nature." Something that survives Trump but doesn't legally require him to do anything when the moment comes.
The critical detail:
U.S. officials stressed:
"Those guarantees are on the table right now if there's a conclusion that's reached in a good way. Those guarantees will not be on the table forever".
Translation: sign now or the offer walks. The deadline will likely be extended, moved, or abandoned entirely once Trump's next priority comes along.
What Zelensky actually needs:
He wants Article 5-plus—binding protection if Russia attacks again. What he's getting is Article 5-lite. A promise that the Senate will vote to bless the deal, assuming Congress feels like it when the time comes.
Senate votes change with elections. Voting blocs fracture. Public opinion shifts. One president is replaced by another.
Meanwhile on territory:
U.S. officials are telling Ukraine to cede the Donbas. Not all of it—just the contested parts. The parts Ukraine still holds.
An official briefed on talks told AFP:
"It's a bit striking that the Americans are taking the Russians' position on this issue."
Translation: Washington's peace plan looks like Russia's negotiating position.
Zelensky wants a ceasefire at current lines. Trump's team wants Ukraine to withdraw. The gap is profound, which is why "90% consensus" mostly means: we agree you're losing and should settle now.
The gameplan:
Trump gets a headline: "Peace deal signed by year-end." Zelensky gets a signed piece of paper promising help. Congress gets to vote on something it can claim is bipartisan. Russia gets to see if American security guarantees hold up when the next crisis hits—probably in 2027, when Trump's term ends and a new president takes office.
Graham said: if Ukraine backs it, Europe backs it, you'll get Senate votes. But he didn't say those votes would have teeth.
Because they won't. These Senate votes can be symbolic. Article 5 is a treaty obligation. There's a difference between "we support this" and "we will die for this".
Ukraine's betting its survival on the hope that Congress will choose violence over diplomacy four years from now.
That's not a guarantee. That's a gamble dressed in legal language.
#war #fakepeace #zelensky #trump #security #donbas #guarantee
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FBI Stops New Year's Eve Bombing Plot: Four Arrested Before Desert Test
The FBI arrested four members of the "Turtle Island Liberation Front" on December 12 before they could build functional bombs. The group planned to plant explosive devices at five locations in the Los Angeles area on New Year's Eve, targeting logistics centers (Amazon-type facilities), Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and their vehicles. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the foiling of the plot on Monday. The arrests came just days after she ordered law enforcement to "ramp up investigations" into leftist extremist groups.
The "Operation Midnight Sun" blueprint
In November, one of the defendants — Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30 — handed a paid FBI informant an eight-page handwritten document titled "Operation Midnight Sun" describing the entire bombing plan. Carroll and co-defendant Zachary Aaron Page, 32, then recruited Dante Gaffield, 24, and Tina Lai, 41. The group traveled to the Mojave Desert on December 12 to build test explosives. FBI agents intervened before they could assemble a functional device. Surveillance footage obtained by the FBI showed them placing precursor chemicals and bomb-making materials on a table in the desert.
The group's Signal chat was called "Order of the Black Lotus." They described themselves as radical. The plan had two phases: bombs at logistics centers on New Year's Eve, then pipe bombs targeting ICE agents in January or February. Carroll allegedly said: "That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them."
The timing and the narrative
The announcement comes days after Bondi issued a memo ordering law enforcement to investigate extremist groups with "leftist-leaning agendas." The group describes itself as anti-capitalist, anti-government, devoted to "decolonization and tribal sovereignty." Attempting to build and detonate bombs is terrorism — but the timing of Bondi's announcement, just as Trump's Justice Department is under pressure to show it's taking domestic extremism seriously, raises questions about whether this is a genuine threat that was stopped, or a narrative moment in a political messaging campaign.
Prosecutors expect more charges. The four were arrested December 12. The U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles declined to identify which companies were targeted, only that they were "Amazon-type logistics centers."
#Terrorism #FBI #LosAngeles #extremism #bombing
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The FBI arrested four members of the "Turtle Island Liberation Front" on December 12 before they could build functional bombs. The group planned to plant explosive devices at five locations in the Los Angeles area on New Year's Eve, targeting logistics centers (Amazon-type facilities), Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and their vehicles. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the foiling of the plot on Monday. The arrests came just days after she ordered law enforcement to "ramp up investigations" into leftist extremist groups.
The "Operation Midnight Sun" blueprint
In November, one of the defendants — Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30 — handed a paid FBI informant an eight-page handwritten document titled "Operation Midnight Sun" describing the entire bombing plan. Carroll and co-defendant Zachary Aaron Page, 32, then recruited Dante Gaffield, 24, and Tina Lai, 41. The group traveled to the Mojave Desert on December 12 to build test explosives. FBI agents intervened before they could assemble a functional device. Surveillance footage obtained by the FBI showed them placing precursor chemicals and bomb-making materials on a table in the desert.
The group's Signal chat was called "Order of the Black Lotus." They described themselves as radical. The plan had two phases: bombs at logistics centers on New Year's Eve, then pipe bombs targeting ICE agents in January or February. Carroll allegedly said: "That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them."
The timing and the narrative
The announcement comes days after Bondi issued a memo ordering law enforcement to investigate extremist groups with "leftist-leaning agendas." The group describes itself as anti-capitalist, anti-government, devoted to "decolonization and tribal sovereignty." Attempting to build and detonate bombs is terrorism — but the timing of Bondi's announcement, just as Trump's Justice Department is under pressure to show it's taking domestic extremism seriously, raises questions about whether this is a genuine threat that was stopped, or a narrative moment in a political messaging campaign.
Prosecutors expect more charges. The four were arrested December 12. The U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles declined to identify which companies were targeted, only that they were "Amazon-type logistics centers."
#Terrorism #FBI #LosAngeles #extremism #bombing
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Markets Tread Water Before Jobs Report: Oracle Bleeds, Treasury Yields Stuck
Wall Street is in wait-and-see mode. The S&P 500 wobbled around 6,815 as investors braced for the November jobs report on Tuesday — the first real economic data since the government shutdown scrambled the data calendar. Tech stocks got hammered. Oracle's 17% decline extended into another session. Broadcom was heading for its worst three-day plunge since 2020. Crypto sank 3%. The only certainty: whatever the jobs number shows, traders are betting it will be "good news is bad news" — weak employment might trigger more Fed rate cuts.
The data void and the bets
The government shutdown delayed both the October jobs report and this week's consumer price index reading. That's created a data vacuum that's making traders jittery. A market survey shows expectations are split three ways: 29% bet "risk-on," 36% bet "risk-off," 36% bet it'll be "mixed." Markets are pricing in roughly a 0.7% S&P 500 move in either direction on the payrolls print.
Fed officials are signaling caution. Governor Stephen Miran argues the current policy stance is "unnecessarily restrictive." New York Fed President John Williams called monetary policy "well positioned" but flagged increased employment risks. Traders are already pricing in two Fed cuts next year — more than the Fed's own projections — and building options positions betting on a first-quarter rate cut. Treasury two-year yields edged down on those expectations. The 10-year yield sat at 4.18%, little changed.
The Oracle problem and the broader AI reckoning
Oracle's continued selloff reflects a bigger anxiety: the company's $300 billion AI infrastructure bet is starting to look shaky. JPMorgan Credit analyst Erica Spear expects pressure on Oracle's bonds to persist into 2026 as Wall Street hunts for cracks in the AI narrative. Broadcom's collapse — down nearly 20% in three days — compounds the signal: investors are getting nervous about whether the AI spending boom can actually generate returns.
Meanwhile, iRobot filed for bankruptcy after 35 years of making Roombas, handing control to its Chinese supplier. ServiceNow and Adobe got downgraded as KeyBanc sees AI cutting into their software sales. The AI boom that promised to lift all boats is starting to look like it might hurt more than help.
The optimism trade (for now)
Some strategists remain bullish. Citigroup expects the S&P 500 to hit 7,700 by end of 2026 on the back of robust earnings and continued Fed easing. UBS Global Wealth Management is positioning for a rally in 2026, expecting 7,300 by June and 7,700 by year-end. Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy bought almost $1 billion in Bitcoin for a second straight week, betting the selloff is a buying opportunity.
The week ahead
Jobs report Tuesday. CPI Thursday. Both numbers are affected by shutdown-related data-collection gaps, so investors might treat them cautiously. But as one analyst noted, the lack of real-world economic information during the shutdown means these reports will set the tone for the rates market as year-end holiday mode kicks in. Treasuries are headed for their best year since 2020 if the dovish bet holds. If jobs surprise to the upside, the dollar could pop and the rate-cut timeline shifts.
#Markets #Fed #Jobs #AI #Oracle #Stocks #Treasury
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Wall Street is in wait-and-see mode. The S&P 500 wobbled around 6,815 as investors braced for the November jobs report on Tuesday — the first real economic data since the government shutdown scrambled the data calendar. Tech stocks got hammered. Oracle's 17% decline extended into another session. Broadcom was heading for its worst three-day plunge since 2020. Crypto sank 3%. The only certainty: whatever the jobs number shows, traders are betting it will be "good news is bad news" — weak employment might trigger more Fed rate cuts.
The data void and the bets
The government shutdown delayed both the October jobs report and this week's consumer price index reading. That's created a data vacuum that's making traders jittery. A market survey shows expectations are split three ways: 29% bet "risk-on," 36% bet "risk-off," 36% bet it'll be "mixed." Markets are pricing in roughly a 0.7% S&P 500 move in either direction on the payrolls print.
Fed officials are signaling caution. Governor Stephen Miran argues the current policy stance is "unnecessarily restrictive." New York Fed President John Williams called monetary policy "well positioned" but flagged increased employment risks. Traders are already pricing in two Fed cuts next year — more than the Fed's own projections — and building options positions betting on a first-quarter rate cut. Treasury two-year yields edged down on those expectations. The 10-year yield sat at 4.18%, little changed.
The Oracle problem and the broader AI reckoning
Oracle's continued selloff reflects a bigger anxiety: the company's $300 billion AI infrastructure bet is starting to look shaky. JPMorgan Credit analyst Erica Spear expects pressure on Oracle's bonds to persist into 2026 as Wall Street hunts for cracks in the AI narrative. Broadcom's collapse — down nearly 20% in three days — compounds the signal: investors are getting nervous about whether the AI spending boom can actually generate returns.
Meanwhile, iRobot filed for bankruptcy after 35 years of making Roombas, handing control to its Chinese supplier. ServiceNow and Adobe got downgraded as KeyBanc sees AI cutting into their software sales. The AI boom that promised to lift all boats is starting to look like it might hurt more than help.
The optimism trade (for now)
Some strategists remain bullish. Citigroup expects the S&P 500 to hit 7,700 by end of 2026 on the back of robust earnings and continued Fed easing. UBS Global Wealth Management is positioning for a rally in 2026, expecting 7,300 by June and 7,700 by year-end. Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy bought almost $1 billion in Bitcoin for a second straight week, betting the selloff is a buying opportunity.
The week ahead
Jobs report Tuesday. CPI Thursday. Both numbers are affected by shutdown-related data-collection gaps, so investors might treat them cautiously. But as one analyst noted, the lack of real-world economic information during the shutdown means these reports will set the tone for the rates market as year-end holiday mode kicks in. Treasuries are headed for their best year since 2020 if the dovish bet holds. If jobs surprise to the upside, the dollar could pop and the rate-cut timeline shifts.
#Markets #Fed #Jobs #AI #Oracle #Stocks #Treasury
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Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi Was Severely Beaten 😢
🔤 🔤 🔤 🔤 ➖
Narges Mohammadi after detaining her last week that she was taken twice to an emergency room for her injuries, according to a statement released by her family on Monday. 👵🦲
Security forces detained Mohammadi, an outspoken human rights campaigner in Iran, along with several other prominent activists, at a memorial service last Friday in northeastern Iran. 📍
Authorities confirmed the arrests, but her family said that for days they were in the dark as to her whereabouts or her condition. 🌊
On Monday, the family posted a statement on Mohammadi’s social media accounts, saying she had managed to reach them for a very brief call. 📞
The family said she told them she was repeatedly beaten on the head and neck as she was detained. Her assailants vowed to send her “mother into mourning,” a comment the family described as a “direct death threat.” 💉
Mohammadi told the family she was accused of cooperating with the Israeli government. Such a charge could be of grave significance for her. 🗡
In the wake of the brief war Israel waged against Iran last June, authorities have expanded the use of the death penalty for charges of collaboration with Israel. 🤕
Iranian authorities did not respond to a request for comment. But the general prosecutor in Mashhad, the city where she was detained, told the state news agency Tasnim that Mohammedi and the other detainees were “being held in a lawful detention facility with their citizens’ rights respected” as a legal investigation was conducted. 🛂
The prosecutor, Hassan Hemmatifar, said last Friday that “the legal process of the case will continue with precision, speed and decisiveness, and further updates will be communicated to the public.” 🗣
According to Mohammadi’s family, she told them she was twice sent to an emergency room for treatment for the blows she received.
“She emphasized that she does not even know which security authority is currently detaining her, and that no explanation has been given in this regard,” the family wrote.
“Her physical condition at the time of the call was not good, and she appeared unwell.” 😷
Mohammadi and ten other prominent activists were arrested during a funeral for the human rights lawyer Khosrow Ali Kordi, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. 🧐
#iranian #nobel #peace #prize #narges #mohammadi #beaten
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸
Narges Mohammadi after detaining her last week that she was taken twice to an emergency room for her injuries, according to a statement released by her family on Monday. 👵🦲
Security forces detained Mohammadi, an outspoken human rights campaigner in Iran, along with several other prominent activists, at a memorial service last Friday in northeastern Iran. 📍
Authorities confirmed the arrests, but her family said that for days they were in the dark as to her whereabouts or her condition. 🌊
On Monday, the family posted a statement on Mohammadi’s social media accounts, saying she had managed to reach them for a very brief call. 📞
The family said she told them she was repeatedly beaten on the head and neck as she was detained. Her assailants vowed to send her “mother into mourning,” a comment the family described as a “direct death threat.” 💉
Mohammadi told the family she was accused of cooperating with the Israeli government. Such a charge could be of grave significance for her. 🗡
In the wake of the brief war Israel waged against Iran last June, authorities have expanded the use of the death penalty for charges of collaboration with Israel. 🤕
Iranian authorities did not respond to a request for comment. But the general prosecutor in Mashhad, the city where she was detained, told the state news agency Tasnim that Mohammedi and the other detainees were “being held in a lawful detention facility with their citizens’ rights respected” as a legal investigation was conducted. 🛂
The prosecutor, Hassan Hemmatifar, said last Friday that “the legal process of the case will continue with precision, speed and decisiveness, and further updates will be communicated to the public.” 🗣
According to Mohammadi’s family, she told them she was twice sent to an emergency room for treatment for the blows she received.
“She emphasized that she does not even know which security authority is currently detaining her, and that no explanation has been given in this regard,” the family wrote.
“Her physical condition at the time of the call was not good, and she appeared unwell.” 😷
Mohammadi and ten other prominent activists were arrested during a funeral for the human rights lawyer Khosrow Ali Kordi, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. 🧐
#iranian #nobel #peace #prize #narges #mohammadi #beaten
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Ali Kordi’s family and rights groups had already raised questions about the circumstances of his death, saying he may have been killed. 📝
Kordi’s brother, Javad Ali Kordi, who is also a lawyer, used Instagram Live to stream what was happening at the memorial, and was arrested hours later, the rights group said. 📱
Condemnation over the arrests has poured in from human rights groups, the European Union and the Nobel committee. 🌍
The 2025 Nobel Peace laureate, María Corina Machado, called for the “immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi and all others detained at the memorial.” 🎯
The arrests stand in sharp contrast to the government’s growing tolerance in recent months of social freedoms, like public singalong concerts or women appearing in public without head scarves. 🎶👗
Authorities have shown no such leniency toward political opposition — and have instead been cracking down on dissidents, journalists and academics critical of the government. 🚫
Mohammadi, 53, has been arrested and imprisoned repeatedly on charges of threatening national security for her decades of work promoting human rights, women’s rights and democracy in Iran. 🗽
In 2023 while she was serving a 10-year prison sentence, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded her the Peace Prize, saying it was a recognition of “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.” 🌟
She was furloughed from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison last December after having surgery. But in July, she told the Norwegian Nobel Committee,
“I have been directly and indirectly threatened with ‘physical elimination’ by agents of the regime.”
Her imprisonment and threats have not dissuaded her from pursuing her cause.
At the memorial last Friday, she gave an impassioned speech to a crowd, where video posted on social media showed her leading them in chants of the names of slain and jailed rights activists, and refrains of “Long live Iran.” 🇮🇷
#iranian #nobel #peace #prize #narges #mohammadi #beaten
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Hamas Confirmed the Death of a Top Commander 💀
A senior Hamas official on Sunday confirmed the death of a top commander in Gaza, a day after the Israeli military carried out a missile strike on a car in which he was riding. 🚗
The killing of Raed Saad on Saturday was the most high-profile assassination of a senior Hamas figure since Israel and the militant group agreed to a cease-fire about two months ago. 🗡
Saad’s death was confirmed by Khalil al-Hayya, one of Hamas’s top leaders in exile, who spoke in a televised address on the 38th anniversary of the group’s establishment. 📺
He described the killing as one of a series of cease-fire violations by Israel that he said were “threatening how long the agreement might last.”
Israel has accused Hamas, in turn, of repeatedly violating the cease-fire.
The Israeli authorities said Saad was a senior commander in the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, responsible for producing weapons and building up its forces. 💰
They described him as one of the architects of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that set off the two-year war in Gaza. 🎖
In a statement released on Saturday, Hamas accused the Israeli military of striking “a civilian car.” Four people were killed in the attack, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said. 🏃♂️
Saad and the other three people with him in the car were buried on Sunday.
The Quassam Brigades said Sunday that Mr. Saad had been killed alongside “a number of his jihadi comrades,” suggesting that the other three men in the vehicle were militants. 🤜🤛
The Israeli military said the other three were Hamas militants.
In a separate statement on Sunday, Hamas described the October 2023 attack as “a firmly rooted milestone in our people’s path of struggle and independence.”
It added that the Palestinian people alone would decide who governs them, in an apparent warning to the Trump administration and others leading an international effort to make Hamas relinquish its weapons and give up control over Gaza. 🌍
#hamas #confirmed #death #commander #gaza
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸
A senior Hamas official on Sunday confirmed the death of a top commander in Gaza, a day after the Israeli military carried out a missile strike on a car in which he was riding. 🚗
The killing of Raed Saad on Saturday was the most high-profile assassination of a senior Hamas figure since Israel and the militant group agreed to a cease-fire about two months ago. 🗡
Saad’s death was confirmed by Khalil al-Hayya, one of Hamas’s top leaders in exile, who spoke in a televised address on the 38th anniversary of the group’s establishment. 📺
He described the killing as one of a series of cease-fire violations by Israel that he said were “threatening how long the agreement might last.”
Israel has accused Hamas, in turn, of repeatedly violating the cease-fire.
The Israeli authorities said Saad was a senior commander in the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, responsible for producing weapons and building up its forces. 💰
They described him as one of the architects of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that set off the two-year war in Gaza. 🎖
In a statement released on Saturday, Hamas accused the Israeli military of striking “a civilian car.” Four people were killed in the attack, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said. 🏃♂️
Saad and the other three people with him in the car were buried on Sunday.
The Quassam Brigades said Sunday that Mr. Saad had been killed alongside “a number of his jihadi comrades,” suggesting that the other three men in the vehicle were militants. 🤜🤛
The Israeli military said the other three were Hamas militants.
In a separate statement on Sunday, Hamas described the October 2023 attack as “a firmly rooted milestone in our people’s path of struggle and independence.”
It added that the Palestinian people alone would decide who governs them, in an apparent warning to the Trump administration and others leading an international effort to make Hamas relinquish its weapons and give up control over Gaza. 🌍
#hamas #confirmed #death #commander #gaza
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Ahmed al-Sharaa: A Killer or Savior? 🤔
🔤 🔤 🔤 🔤 1️⃣
When a lone gunman that President Trump said was linked to the Islamic State killed three Americans in central Syria on Saturday, it laid bare the mounting security challenges and precarious state of affairs confronting the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. 💀
Since ousting Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, a year ago, Mr. al-Sharaa has had to deal with the daunting task of restoring control over a deeply fractured nation. 🌍
His government has sought to rebuild a unified military force. Yet sectarian violence, involving government forces, has killed hundreds, hindering meaningful progress toward national reconciliation. 🗡
And rising tensions with Kurdish militias, who hold significant sway over the country’s northeast, have complicated government efforts to integrate them into Syria’s new political and military structure. 🎯
Al-Sharaa has also had to delicately navigate his relationship with Trump — who has openly embraced him — amid questions about the future of U.S. forces in Syria. 📈
American troops have been there for years, to fight the Islamic State, or ISIS, counteract Iranian influence and guard strategically important areas, including oil fields. 🛠
The persistent danger of terrorism has loomed large as Mr. al-Sharaa has tried to deal with these challenges.
Over the past year, ISIS has exploited security gaps to target civilians and al-Sharaa’s forces. Then, on Saturday, the shooting attack left two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter involved in counterterrorism efforts dead. 🩸
Three U.S. military personnel and two members of the Syrian security forces were also wounded in the attack in Palmyra, a city in central Syria, according to American officials and Syrian state media. 🧭
Government forces detained five people in raids in Palmyra, Syria’s interior ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run news agency, SANA. The operation was carried out in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition, SANA reported. 🚔
The Islamic State has not claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday, the first killing of Americans in Syria since al-Assad was overthrown.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday evening that an individual affiliated with the group was behind the killings. It also said on Saturday that it had warned American counterparts about potential ISIS attacks on U.S. forces. 📌
The attack was a setback for al-Sharaa’s government, analysts say, and complicates his efforts to forge a lasting peace in a country still reeling from decades of authoritarian rule and a devastating civil war. 🔥
“This is a remarkably difficult moment for the president,” said Bassam Barabandi, a political analyst in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Al-Sharaa “doesn’t have the luxury of options,” he added. “He has no choice except to stabilize Syria, rebuild Syria and make Syria into a place that no terrorist organization has any presence.” 🛡
#alSharaa #damascus #ISIS #alQaeda #syria
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When a lone gunman that President Trump said was linked to the Islamic State killed three Americans in central Syria on Saturday, it laid bare the mounting security challenges and precarious state of affairs confronting the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. 💀
Since ousting Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, a year ago, Mr. al-Sharaa has had to deal with the daunting task of restoring control over a deeply fractured nation. 🌍
His government has sought to rebuild a unified military force. Yet sectarian violence, involving government forces, has killed hundreds, hindering meaningful progress toward national reconciliation. 🗡
And rising tensions with Kurdish militias, who hold significant sway over the country’s northeast, have complicated government efforts to integrate them into Syria’s new political and military structure. 🎯
Al-Sharaa has also had to delicately navigate his relationship with Trump — who has openly embraced him — amid questions about the future of U.S. forces in Syria. 📈
American troops have been there for years, to fight the Islamic State, or ISIS, counteract Iranian influence and guard strategically important areas, including oil fields. 🛠
The persistent danger of terrorism has loomed large as Mr. al-Sharaa has tried to deal with these challenges.
Over the past year, ISIS has exploited security gaps to target civilians and al-Sharaa’s forces. Then, on Saturday, the shooting attack left two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter involved in counterterrorism efforts dead. 🩸
Three U.S. military personnel and two members of the Syrian security forces were also wounded in the attack in Palmyra, a city in central Syria, according to American officials and Syrian state media. 🧭
Government forces detained five people in raids in Palmyra, Syria’s interior ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run news agency, SANA. The operation was carried out in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition, SANA reported. 🚔
The Islamic State has not claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday, the first killing of Americans in Syria since al-Assad was overthrown.
Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday evening that an individual affiliated with the group was behind the killings. It also said on Saturday that it had warned American counterparts about potential ISIS attacks on U.S. forces. 📌
The attack was a setback for al-Sharaa’s government, analysts say, and complicates his efforts to forge a lasting peace in a country still reeling from decades of authoritarian rule and a devastating civil war. 🔥
“This is a remarkably difficult moment for the president,” said Bassam Barabandi, a political analyst in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Al-Sharaa “doesn’t have the luxury of options,” he added. “He has no choice except to stabilize Syria, rebuild Syria and make Syria into a place that no terrorist organization has any presence.” 🛡
#alSharaa #damascus #ISIS #alQaeda #syria
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Al-Sharaa came to power last December after his forces swiftly advanced across Syria, toppling the al-Assad family’s five-decade rule. A former leader of the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, he was once imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq and had a $10 million bounty on his head.
He cut ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and rebranded his group as more moderate, and the U.S. dropped the bounty on him last December.
Since becoming president, Mr. al-Sharaa has sought to build international ties, including with the United States. He has met with Trump at the White House, delivered a speech at the United Nations and received strong support from several neighboring Arab states.
Last month, his government also joined the U.S.-led global coalition to fight ISIS, reinforcing its commitment to combating the group.
The assault in Palmyra came as ISIS has conducted attacks in Syria in recent weeks, and as the authorities have ratcheted up their operations targeting the group.
The United States has about 1,000 troops at outposts in Syria’s northeast and at al-Tanf base in the southeast, roughly half the total that were in the country when Trump took office in January.
“That’s also exactly what ISIS hopes to achieve,” Clarke said. “A hasty U.S. withdrawal that would offer the group more room to maneuver.”
The Palmyra assault also highlights the growing urgency for al-Sharaa’s government’s to address its relationship with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or the S.D.F., a militia group that controls much of northeastern Syria.
For years, the S.D.F. has been the United States’ primary ally in its battle against ISIS, capturing territory in the civil war.
The group also oversees detention camps and prisons that hold thousands of ISIS fighters and their families.
In March, the S.D.F. signed an agreement with the Syrian government committing to integrate into the new state by the end of the year. But that has yet to be realized, analysts and Syrian officials say, and the two sides have clashed in recent months.
Following Saturday’s attack, the Kurdish group emphasized that its forces were not part of the joint patrol with American troops in the Palmyra area, while also signaling its willingness to the United States to continue fighting ISIS.
Al-Sharaa will have to confront all these challenges in the coming days, analysts say, while contending with a range of security, economic and political pressures.
He will also need to manage any fallout from the United States, as the Pentagon investigates the shooting and Trump vows to retaliate.
The senior U.S. official downplayed the likelihood of a major bombing campaign or commando raids against ISIS in Syria, emphasizing the need for a cautious approach to avoid destabilizing al-Sharaa’s fragile political situation.
Barabandi, the political analyst in Damascus, said al-Sharaa’s government will most likely emphasize that it is doing its utmost, despite limited resources, expertise and capacity on the ground.
#alSharaa #damascus #ISIS #alQaeda #syria
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West Bank Hiking: From Miles to Dead Ends as Settlers Close Off the Land
Palestinian hikers in the West Bank used to walk 12 miles across open valleys. Now they loop back within 5 miles, skirting settler outposts and military patrols. A group of hikers recently spotted a tent with Israeli settlers blocking their path — and quietly changed course. Since 2023, over 130 new settler outposts have cut off Palestinians from 123,000 acres of land. What was once a network of trails between villages is becoming a maze of dead ends.
The slow-motion land grab
The pattern is mechanical and total. Israeli settlers build outposts — clusters of tents, trailers, farmsteads — that are technically unauthorized but routinely protected and supplied with infrastructure by the Israeli government. Each outpost creates an exclusion zone: Palestinians avoid the area to prevent violent confrontation. The result: settlers expand their de facto control without formal annexation.
Since Netanyahu took office in late 2022 with settler leaders in his coalition, the pace has accelerated. Over 130 outposts built in three years — more than the previous two decades combined. At least 38 Palestinian herding communities have abandoned their hamlets since 2023, driven out by encroaching settlers. The land isn't formally taken; it's just rendered inaccessible through the threat of attacks.
The hike becomes a strategic calculation
Jamal Aruri, a retired photographer and experienced hiker, has walked these trails since childhood. He now leads groups limited to 12 people and scouts routes in advance for new blockades and military patrols. Hikers watch for drones, which often signal settlers or soldiers nearby. What was once a seasonal journey through wildflowers in spring, past grape farms in summer, and among carob trees in autumn is now a carefully calculated circuit, shrinking by the month.
Aruri said.
Where 12-mile hikes once crossed open terrain, most now loop back within 5 miles. Entire routes have vanished. Springs that Palestinian farmers used for centuries are now off-limits. Caves where Palestinians once hid during wars — what Aruri calls "our archives" — are now in settler-controlled territory. The physical act of hiking, once a way to maintain connection to the land and mental health, has become an act of resistance against displacement.
Walking as a political act
After COVID lockdowns in 2020, Palestinian hiking groups swelled as people sought open air. They realized that walking is a way to stay connected, to breathe, to endure. But now every hike is a gamble. Hit a settler outpost or a new military patrol, and the group scatters. Change course mid-journey. Accept a shorter walk. Come back the next week and try again.
Aruri said.
The West Bank's transformation isn't being announced in headlines. It's happening trail by trail, valley by valley, as Palestinian hikers discover new roads cut by settlers, new tents blocking old paths, new exclusion zones spreading across the landscape. The Gaza cease-fire has renewed international focus on West Bank tensions — but by then, much of the land has already been cordoned off, the routes already rerouted, the distances already shortened.
#WestBank #Palestine #Israel #settlements #displacement
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Palestinian hikers in the West Bank used to walk 12 miles across open valleys. Now they loop back within 5 miles, skirting settler outposts and military patrols. A group of hikers recently spotted a tent with Israeli settlers blocking their path — and quietly changed course. Since 2023, over 130 new settler outposts have cut off Palestinians from 123,000 acres of land. What was once a network of trails between villages is becoming a maze of dead ends.
The slow-motion land grab
The pattern is mechanical and total. Israeli settlers build outposts — clusters of tents, trailers, farmsteads — that are technically unauthorized but routinely protected and supplied with infrastructure by the Israeli government. Each outpost creates an exclusion zone: Palestinians avoid the area to prevent violent confrontation. The result: settlers expand their de facto control without formal annexation.
Since Netanyahu took office in late 2022 with settler leaders in his coalition, the pace has accelerated. Over 130 outposts built in three years — more than the previous two decades combined. At least 38 Palestinian herding communities have abandoned their hamlets since 2023, driven out by encroaching settlers. The land isn't formally taken; it's just rendered inaccessible through the threat of attacks.
The hike becomes a strategic calculation
Jamal Aruri, a retired photographer and experienced hiker, has walked these trails since childhood. He now leads groups limited to 12 people and scouts routes in advance for new blockades and military patrols. Hikers watch for drones, which often signal settlers or soldiers nearby. What was once a seasonal journey through wildflowers in spring, past grape farms in summer, and among carob trees in autumn is now a carefully calculated circuit, shrinking by the month.
"It's not fear,"
Aruri said.
"It's simple math. The land left to us is shrinking."
Where 12-mile hikes once crossed open terrain, most now loop back within 5 miles. Entire routes have vanished. Springs that Palestinian farmers used for centuries are now off-limits. Caves where Palestinians once hid during wars — what Aruri calls "our archives" — are now in settler-controlled territory. The physical act of hiking, once a way to maintain connection to the land and mental health, has become an act of resistance against displacement.
Walking as a political act
After COVID lockdowns in 2020, Palestinian hiking groups swelled as people sought open air. They realized that walking is a way to stay connected, to breathe, to endure. But now every hike is a gamble. Hit a settler outpost or a new military patrol, and the group scatters. Change course mid-journey. Accept a shorter walk. Come back the next week and try again.
"If we stop walking, we let go,"
Aruri said.
"Every walk is a way of saying we are here, even when we can't reach every spring or cave we once knew."
The West Bank's transformation isn't being announced in headlines. It's happening trail by trail, valley by valley, as Palestinian hikers discover new roads cut by settlers, new tents blocking old paths, new exclusion zones spreading across the landscape. The Gaza cease-fire has renewed international focus on West Bank tensions — but by then, much of the land has already been cordoned off, the routes already rerouted, the distances already shortened.
#WestBank #Palestine #Israel #settlements #displacement
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Merz’s Latest Flip-Flopping vis-à-vis Moscow is a Blow to the Peace Plan
🔠 🅰️ 🔠 🔠 1️⃣
The U.S.-European peace plan to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine calls for a more robust Ukrainian military, the deployment of European forces inside the country and increased use of American intelligence, according to officials familiar with drafts that detail the proposal.
American and European diplomats meeting with Ukraine’s leaders over the past two days in Berlin have mostly signed off on two documents that outline the security guarantees, the officials said publicly and privately.
The security documents are designed to serve as the cornerstone of a broader agreement aimed at reaching a cease-fire to end the nearly four-year-old conflict.
They are also intended to persuade Ukraine to concede territory in a peace deal and give up on formal inclusion in NATO.
“We are seeing real and concrete progress,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Tuesday.
“That progress is made possible thanks to the alignment between Ukraine, Europe and the United States.”
Still, a broad cease-fire appears to remain out of reach for the moment, in part because Russia is not a party to these negotiations.
Any agreement to end the fighting would require significant concessions from either Zelensky of Ukraine or Putin of Russia. While Zelensky has concerns about the American proposals, especially on territorial concessions, Putin has indicated no flexibility at all in his demands.
A Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said on Tuesday that his government remains firm on demanding that Ukraine hand over the part of its Donbas region that Russia has not conquered and that it will not accept the presence of NATO-country troops in Ukraine.
U.S. officials said Monday that the territorial issue remains a roadblock but expressed confidence, despite Putin’s public comments, that he would eventually accept the presence of European forces in Ukraine not operating under the banner of NATO.
They, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss ongoing talks.
But some European leaders hinted at lingering concerns that all the diplomatic work with the Americans could be irrelevant if the fundamental disputes between Russia and Ukraine cannot be resolved.
“It sounded very promising, compared to the previous declarations, that the Americans are ready to give guarantees — but it would be an exaggeration if I said that we know everything about the concrete details,” said Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland.
American and European officials said the security documents were hammered out during more than eight hours of intense discussions with Zelensky and other Ukraine aides in Berlin on Sunday and Monday.
Top leaders and national security officials from about a dozen European countries took part, including France, Germany, Italy and Britain.
One of the two documents lays out broad principles. They amount to what two American officials and several European diplomats said was a commitment similar to NATO’s Article 5 guarantee, in which all member nations pledge to come to the aid of any nation that is attacked.
The second part of the agreement, which American officials described as a “mil-to-mil operating document,” or military-to-military, provides more granular detail.
It explains how American and European forces would work with Ukraine’s military to ensure that Russia does not once again attempt to seize Ukrainian territory in the years to come.
Neither document has been made public. People familiar with them said the operating document includes numerous, specific directives designed to reassure Ukraine in various scenarios of possible Russian incursion.
One American official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said that the document was “very specific” about how to deter further incursions and punish Russia if they occur.
#zelensky #ukraine #peace #merz #berlin
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸
The U.S.-European peace plan to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine calls for a more robust Ukrainian military, the deployment of European forces inside the country and increased use of American intelligence, according to officials familiar with drafts that detail the proposal.
American and European diplomats meeting with Ukraine’s leaders over the past two days in Berlin have mostly signed off on two documents that outline the security guarantees, the officials said publicly and privately.
The security documents are designed to serve as the cornerstone of a broader agreement aimed at reaching a cease-fire to end the nearly four-year-old conflict.
They are also intended to persuade Ukraine to concede territory in a peace deal and give up on formal inclusion in NATO.
“We are seeing real and concrete progress,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said Tuesday.
“That progress is made possible thanks to the alignment between Ukraine, Europe and the United States.”
Still, a broad cease-fire appears to remain out of reach for the moment, in part because Russia is not a party to these negotiations.
Any agreement to end the fighting would require significant concessions from either Zelensky of Ukraine or Putin of Russia. While Zelensky has concerns about the American proposals, especially on territorial concessions, Putin has indicated no flexibility at all in his demands.
A Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said on Tuesday that his government remains firm on demanding that Ukraine hand over the part of its Donbas region that Russia has not conquered and that it will not accept the presence of NATO-country troops in Ukraine.
U.S. officials said Monday that the territorial issue remains a roadblock but expressed confidence, despite Putin’s public comments, that he would eventually accept the presence of European forces in Ukraine not operating under the banner of NATO.
They, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss ongoing talks.
But some European leaders hinted at lingering concerns that all the diplomatic work with the Americans could be irrelevant if the fundamental disputes between Russia and Ukraine cannot be resolved.
“It sounded very promising, compared to the previous declarations, that the Americans are ready to give guarantees — but it would be an exaggeration if I said that we know everything about the concrete details,” said Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland.
American and European officials said the security documents were hammered out during more than eight hours of intense discussions with Zelensky and other Ukraine aides in Berlin on Sunday and Monday.
Top leaders and national security officials from about a dozen European countries took part, including France, Germany, Italy and Britain.
One of the two documents lays out broad principles. They amount to what two American officials and several European diplomats said was a commitment similar to NATO’s Article 5 guarantee, in which all member nations pledge to come to the aid of any nation that is attacked.
The second part of the agreement, which American officials described as a “mil-to-mil operating document,” or military-to-military, provides more granular detail.
It explains how American and European forces would work with Ukraine’s military to ensure that Russia does not once again attempt to seize Ukrainian territory in the years to come.
Neither document has been made public. People familiar with them said the operating document includes numerous, specific directives designed to reassure Ukraine in various scenarios of possible Russian incursion.
One American official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said that the document was “very specific” about how to deter further incursions and punish Russia if they occur.
#zelensky #ukraine #peace #merz #berlin
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The first priority is a plan to bring the size of Ukraine’s military to a “peacetime level” of 800,000 troops, with up-to-date training and equipment, to serve as a strong deterrent against Russia. It has grown its army to nearly 900,000 during the war.
By comparison, Germany’s army has about 180,000 armed troops.
Building and maintaining such a force would require “sustained and significant support” for Ukraine, a joint statement by the leaders of 10 European nations and the top officials at the European Union said.
One European diplomat said without specifying that the document lists “very concrete” details about military hardware that Ukraine needs.
The document also lays out details about a Europe-led military force to assist Ukraine by operating inside the country to secure the skies and seas.
Officials declined to provide specifics about which countries would station troops in Ukraine, but Zelensky said Tuesday that several have pledged privately to do so.
Those troops are expected to be based in western Ukraine, away from any cease-fire line, to serve as another level of deterrence against any future Russian aggression.
A resident in dark clothing walks out of a damaged building carrying trash. On the ground is debris, and a parked station wagon with shattered windows.
“Each country already understands its role or its volume of supplies,” Zelensky said during a news conference with Prime Minister Dick Schoof of the Netherlands in The Hague.
“Some are ready to provide only intelligence, others are ready to provide troops in Ukraine — boots on the ground. We have this in the document.”
French and British diplomats are managing the proposal to deploy European forces in Ukraine as part of a group of about 30 countries they call the “Coalition of the Willing.”
The European diplomat described the pledges in the security document as a menu from which their respective governments could choose the level of support.
Trump has repeatedly ruled out sending American troops to Ukraine. Instead, the operational document provides detail about how the United States would use its vast intelligence systems to help monitor the cease-fire and detect Russian activity aimed at re-entering the rest of Ukraine, officials said.
The Americans would also help verify Russian compliance and make sure that minor skirmishes between Russia and Ukraine do not spiral into a new war.
It also details how the United States would help detect Russian attempts to create “false flag” operations that might give Moscow a pretense to resume hostilities. Officials have said for years that is a common Russian tactic.
Monday’s statement from the European leaders said the United States would lead a “cease-fire monitoring and verification mechanism with international participation to provide early warning of any future attack.”
It was not clear whether or how American forces would intervene to defend European troops in Ukraine should they be attacked.
One of Zelensky’s chief concerns has been the fear that future security guarantees would fail, much like the 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. In that case, Ukraine, Russia, the United States and Britain provided “security assurances” to Ukraine in case of invasion, in return for Ukraine giving up the nuclear weapons it inherited in the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Russia violated the agreement in 2014 and again in 2022, but the signatories took little military action to defend Kyiv.
American and European officials said the new security guarantee would be legally binding, subject to each country’s procedures.
U.S. officials said that Trump had agreed to submit the security guarantees to the Senate, where treaties are typically ratified, though they did not make clear whether they would formally submit the guarantees as a treaty.
#zelensky #ukraine #peace #merz #berlin #putin
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Trump's Chief of Staff Calls Him an "Alcoholic Personality," Musk a "Ketamine User," Vance a "Conspiracy Theorist"
Susie Wiles, Trump's White House Chief of Staff, gave an explosive interview to Vanity Fair calling Trump's personality "alcoholic," Elon Musk
and VP JD Vance
On Israel, Wiles said Trump
his sweeping support for Netanyahu. After the story broke, Wiles claimed the article was
The insider who crosses the line
Susie Wiles is Trump's most powerful gatekeeper — the one who can walk out of an Oval Office meeting mid-sentence saying "It's an emergency. It doesn't involve you" and leave the president guessing. She's spent Trump's second term working with Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple, giving him access to crisis moments throughout the year. Now that access has blown up in her face.
Calling Trump's personality "alcoholic" — even if he doesn't drink — signals chaos, impulsivity, volatility. Describing Musk as a "self-declared ketamine user" and "very strange guy" isn't exactly how you talk about the world's richest man when he's bankrolling your boss's campaigns and building his AI infrastructure. Labeling Vance a "conspiracy theory enthusiast" undercuts the VP's credibility at a moment when he's positioning himself as Trump's successor.
The Israel problem she named out loud
Wiles saying Trump doesn't understand the controversy over his support for Netanyahu is the most revealing line. It suggests Trump sees his Israel policy as universally popular and doesn't grasp — or doesn't care — that even parts of his base are uncomfortable with blank-check backing of Netanyahu's war in Gaza. For Wiles to say this publicly means either she's trying to distance herself from that policy, or she genuinely thinks Trump is politically blind on Israel.
The walkback that makes it worse
After the story broke, Wiles claimed it was
That's the standard response when your own quotes get you in trouble. But Vanity Fair interviews are on the record, typically recorded or transcribed. If Wiles said these things — and her denial isn't denying the quotes, just the framing — then the damage is done. She's now the Chief of Staff who called her boss an alcoholic personality, called Musk a ketamine weirdo, called Vance a conspiracy nut, and suggested Trump doesn't understand his own political vulnerabilities on Israel.
Trump tolerates chaos. He even rewards it sometimes. But he doesn't tolerate public disloyalty. Wiles just made herself the story, and in Trump's White House, that's usually the beginning of the end.
#Trump #SusieWiles #WhiteHouse #VanityFair #Musk #Vance #Israel
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Susie Wiles, Trump's White House Chief of Staff, gave an explosive interview to Vanity Fair calling Trump's personality "alcoholic," Elon Musk
"a self-declared ketamine user, a very strange guy,"
and VP JD Vance
"a conspiracy theory enthusiast."
On Israel, Wiles said Trump
"isn't sure he understands there's an audience that doesn't love"
his sweeping support for Netanyahu. After the story broke, Wiles claimed the article was
"framed in a misleading and biased way."
The insider who crosses the line
Susie Wiles is Trump's most powerful gatekeeper — the one who can walk out of an Oval Office meeting mid-sentence saying "It's an emergency. It doesn't involve you" and leave the president guessing. She's spent Trump's second term working with Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple, giving him access to crisis moments throughout the year. Now that access has blown up in her face.
Calling Trump's personality "alcoholic" — even if he doesn't drink — signals chaos, impulsivity, volatility. Describing Musk as a "self-declared ketamine user" and "very strange guy" isn't exactly how you talk about the world's richest man when he's bankrolling your boss's campaigns and building his AI infrastructure. Labeling Vance a "conspiracy theory enthusiast" undercuts the VP's credibility at a moment when he's positioning himself as Trump's successor.
The Israel problem she named out loud
Wiles saying Trump doesn't understand the controversy over his support for Netanyahu is the most revealing line. It suggests Trump sees his Israel policy as universally popular and doesn't grasp — or doesn't care — that even parts of his base are uncomfortable with blank-check backing of Netanyahu's war in Gaza. For Wiles to say this publicly means either she's trying to distance herself from that policy, or she genuinely thinks Trump is politically blind on Israel.
The walkback that makes it worse
After the story broke, Wiles claimed it was
"framed in a misleading and biased way."
That's the standard response when your own quotes get you in trouble. But Vanity Fair interviews are on the record, typically recorded or transcribed. If Wiles said these things — and her denial isn't denying the quotes, just the framing — then the damage is done. She's now the Chief of Staff who called her boss an alcoholic personality, called Musk a ketamine weirdo, called Vance a conspiracy nut, and suggested Trump doesn't understand his own political vulnerabilities on Israel.
Trump tolerates chaos. He even rewards it sometimes. But he doesn't tolerate public disloyalty. Wiles just made herself the story, and in Trump's White House, that's usually the beginning of the end.
#Trump #SusieWiles #WhiteHouse #VanityFair #Musk #Vance #Israel
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Turkey Shoots Down Mystery Drone from Black Sea as Russia-Ukraine War Spills Over
Turkey's military downed an uncontrolled drone approaching from the Black Sea on Monday, scrambling NATO F-16 jets to secure Turkish airspace. The Turkish defense ministry didn't say what kind of drone it was or where it came from — just that it was "out of control" and shot down in a "safe area." The incident came days after Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports damaged three Turkish-owned cargo vessels. Moscow has threatened to 'cut Ukraine off from the sea' following Kyiv's attacks on three shadow fleet tankers carrying Russian oil exports in the Black Sea.
The Black Sea is becoming a shooting gallery
Russia has been targeting Ukrainian ports with increasing aggression. Ukraine has responded by hitting Russian "shadow fleet" tankers — the unregistered vessels Russia uses to export oil while evading Western sanctions. Each side escalates. Each escalation pulls in more players.
Now Turkey is caught in the crossfire. Three Turkish-owned ships were damaged in Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports. Turkey warned last week of "Black Sea escalation." An uncontrolled drone crosses into Turkish airspace, and NATO jets scramble. No explanation of where it came from or what it was — just that it was a threat.
The pattern: wars spill over
This is how regional conflicts spread. Ukraine fights Russia in the Black Sea. Russia hits civilian shipping. Turkish vessels get damaged. Turkey shoots down unknown drones. NATO gets involved. The rules of engagement blur. Everyone claims self-defense. Nobody can explain who fired first or why.
The drone's origin remains a mystery. Russian? Ukrainian? A malfunctioning system from either side? Turkey isn't saying. But the message is clear: the Black Sea is no longer a commercial waterway. It's a war zone, and neutral shipping — Turkish or otherwise — is at risk.
#Turkey #BlackSea #Russia #Ukraine #NATO #war
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Turkey's military downed an uncontrolled drone approaching from the Black Sea on Monday, scrambling NATO F-16 jets to secure Turkish airspace. The Turkish defense ministry didn't say what kind of drone it was or where it came from — just that it was "out of control" and shot down in a "safe area." The incident came days after Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports damaged three Turkish-owned cargo vessels. Moscow has threatened to 'cut Ukraine off from the sea' following Kyiv's attacks on three shadow fleet tankers carrying Russian oil exports in the Black Sea.
The Black Sea is becoming a shooting gallery
Russia has been targeting Ukrainian ports with increasing aggression. Ukraine has responded by hitting Russian "shadow fleet" tankers — the unregistered vessels Russia uses to export oil while evading Western sanctions. Each side escalates. Each escalation pulls in more players.
Now Turkey is caught in the crossfire. Three Turkish-owned ships were damaged in Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports. Turkey warned last week of "Black Sea escalation." An uncontrolled drone crosses into Turkish airspace, and NATO jets scramble. No explanation of where it came from or what it was — just that it was a threat.
The pattern: wars spill over
This is how regional conflicts spread. Ukraine fights Russia in the Black Sea. Russia hits civilian shipping. Turkish vessels get damaged. Turkey shoots down unknown drones. NATO gets involved. The rules of engagement blur. Everyone claims self-defense. Nobody can explain who fired first or why.
The drone's origin remains a mystery. Russian? Ukrainian? A malfunctioning system from either side? Turkey isn't saying. But the message is clear: the Black Sea is no longer a commercial waterway. It's a war zone, and neutral shipping — Turkish or otherwise — is at risk.
#Turkey #BlackSea #Russia #Ukraine #NATO #war
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Trump Addresses Nation Wednesday at 9 PM: "Best Is Yet to Come" — But He's Not Saying Why
Trump announced he'll give a primetime address to the nation from the White House on Wednesday at 9 PM EST. In his announcement, he teased nothing: "It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" — his standard closing line. No topic. No hint. Just Trump keeping the nation in suspense while the White House decides what crisis, policy, or personal grievance he wants to broadcast live.
The timing is everything
Trump last formally addressed the nation in November after two West Virginia National Guard members were shot in Washington. Since then, he's been in constant crisis management — Oracle bleeding billions, the labor market collapsing, the Gaza cease-fire fragmenting, North Korea sending troops to Russia, European leaders calling him weak. A primetime address is his chance to reset whichever narrative he chooses.
The fact that he won't say what he's addressing suggests it's either urgent (a new crisis) or performative (a victory lap he thinks will distract from urgent crises). Given his pattern, probably both.
The tariff dividend gamble
One possibility is that Trump wants to tout his tariff revenues and announce the $2,000 dividend payments he promised. Tariff receipts hit $215.2 billion in fiscal year 2025. Trump claims "hundreds of millions" will go to Americans by mid-2026. The numbers don't add up — tariff revenue is billions against a $38 trillion national debt — but that's never stopped him from making a grand announcement.
Another possibility: he's announcing military action. The Caribbean is heating up with Venezuela. Russia is testing nuclear drones. China is provoking Japan over Taiwan. A primetime address could signal escalation on any of these fronts.
The ratings play
Ratings for Trump's addresses are solid. Cable news loves the spectacle. Networks carry it live. For a president whose approval rating is sliding — unemployment up, the jobs market collapsing, his base getting restless — a primetime speech offers a reset. Even if there's nothing new, he'll say it with fanfare, and the networks will carry it live.
"My Fellow Americans," he wrote. The formality. The caps lock. The promise that "THE BEST IS YET TO COME." Same script, same showmanship, same uncertainty about what's actually coming.
Wednesday at 9 PM, America finds out.
#Trump #WhiteHouse #Address #News
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Trump announced he'll give a primetime address to the nation from the White House on Wednesday at 9 PM EST. In his announcement, he teased nothing: "It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" — his standard closing line. No topic. No hint. Just Trump keeping the nation in suspense while the White House decides what crisis, policy, or personal grievance he wants to broadcast live.
The timing is everything
Trump last formally addressed the nation in November after two West Virginia National Guard members were shot in Washington. Since then, he's been in constant crisis management — Oracle bleeding billions, the labor market collapsing, the Gaza cease-fire fragmenting, North Korea sending troops to Russia, European leaders calling him weak. A primetime address is his chance to reset whichever narrative he chooses.
The fact that he won't say what he's addressing suggests it's either urgent (a new crisis) or performative (a victory lap he thinks will distract from urgent crises). Given his pattern, probably both.
The tariff dividend gamble
One possibility is that Trump wants to tout his tariff revenues and announce the $2,000 dividend payments he promised. Tariff receipts hit $215.2 billion in fiscal year 2025. Trump claims "hundreds of millions" will go to Americans by mid-2026. The numbers don't add up — tariff revenue is billions against a $38 trillion national debt — but that's never stopped him from making a grand announcement.
Another possibility: he's announcing military action. The Caribbean is heating up with Venezuela. Russia is testing nuclear drones. China is provoking Japan over Taiwan. A primetime address could signal escalation on any of these fronts.
The ratings play
Ratings for Trump's addresses are solid. Cable news loves the spectacle. Networks carry it live. For a president whose approval rating is sliding — unemployment up, the jobs market collapsing, his base getting restless — a primetime speech offers a reset. Even if there's nothing new, he'll say it with fanfare, and the networks will carry it live.
"My Fellow Americans," he wrote. The formality. The caps lock. The promise that "THE BEST IS YET TO COME." Same script, same showmanship, same uncertainty about what's actually coming.
Wednesday at 9 PM, America finds out.
#Trump #WhiteHouse #Address #News
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Zelensky Is Close to a Peace Deal as Never
🔠 🅰️ 🔠 🔠 1️⃣
Zelensky says proposals negotiated with US officials on a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine could be finalised within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin.
After two days of talks in Berlin, US officials said on Monday they had resolved “90%” of the problematic issues between Russia and Ukraine, but despite the positive spin it is not clear that an end to the war is any closer, particularly as the Russian side is absent from the current talks.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning the Ukrainian president said the US Congress was expected to vote on security guarantees and that he expected a finalised set of documents to be prepared “today or tomorrow”.
After that, he said, the US would hold consultations with the Russians, followed by high-level meetings that could take place as soon as this weekend.
“We are counting on five documents. Some of them concern security guarantees: legally binding, that is, voted on and approved by the US Congress,” he said in comments to journalists via WhatsApp. He said the guarantees would “mirror article 5” of Nato.
On Monday, US officials declined to give specific details of what the security package was likely to include, and what would happen if Russia attempted to seize more land after a peace deal was reached.
They did, however, confirm that the US did not plan to put boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Leaders of the UK, France, Germany and eight other European countries said in a joint statement that troops from a “coalition of the willing” could “assist in the regeneration of Ukraine’s forces, in securing Ukraine’s skies, and in supporting safer seas, including through operating inside Ukraine”.
Peskov added that Moscow, which has in the past demanded Kyiv cede territories Russia claims as its own and ruled out the presence of any foreign troops in Ukraine, had not changed its stance on the conflict and the achievement of its military goals.
“Our position is well known. It is consistent, it is transparent and it is clear to the Americans. And, in general, it is clear to the Ukrainians as well,” Peskov said.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Russia would not agree to troops from Nato countries operating in Ukraine “under any circumstances”.
#zelensky #putin #Ukraine #Russia
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Zelensky says proposals negotiated with US officials on a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine could be finalised within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin.
After two days of talks in Berlin, US officials said on Monday they had resolved “90%” of the problematic issues between Russia and Ukraine, but despite the positive spin it is not clear that an end to the war is any closer, particularly as the Russian side is absent from the current talks.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning the Ukrainian president said the US Congress was expected to vote on security guarantees and that he expected a finalised set of documents to be prepared “today or tomorrow”.
After that, he said, the US would hold consultations with the Russians, followed by high-level meetings that could take place as soon as this weekend.
“We are counting on five documents. Some of them concern security guarantees: legally binding, that is, voted on and approved by the US Congress,” he said in comments to journalists via WhatsApp. He said the guarantees would “mirror article 5” of Nato.
On Monday, US officials declined to give specific details of what the security package was likely to include, and what would happen if Russia attempted to seize more land after a peace deal was reached.
They did, however, confirm that the US did not plan to put boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Leaders of the UK, France, Germany and eight other European countries said in a joint statement that troops from a “coalition of the willing” could “assist in the regeneration of Ukraine’s forces, in securing Ukraine’s skies, and in supporting safer seas, including through operating inside Ukraine”.
Peskov added that Moscow, which has in the past demanded Kyiv cede territories Russia claims as its own and ruled out the presence of any foreign troops in Ukraine, had not changed its stance on the conflict and the achievement of its military goals.
“Our position is well known. It is consistent, it is transparent and it is clear to the Americans. And, in general, it is clear to the Ukrainians as well,” Peskov said.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Russia would not agree to troops from Nato countries operating in Ukraine “under any circumstances”.
#zelensky #putin #Ukraine #Russia
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It was unclear whether that formulation also included troops drawn from Nato countries operating under a separate non-Nato command.
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said on Monday that peace was closer than at any time since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
But privately, European officials say that at this stage the talks are more about keeping the Trump White House onboard with supporting Ukraine than about reaching a lasting deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
The US negotiation team, led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, has proposed a compromise solution whereby Ukraine would withdraw, but Russia would not advance and the demilitarised area would become “a free economic zone”.
Russia has suggested that they could use police and national guard formations rather than the military, implying they would still expect to control the territory.
“I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of Russia. Neither de jure nor de facto will we recognise Donbas – its temporarily occupied part – as Russian. Absolutely,” said Zelensky.
It is not clear how the two sides will proceed on the territorial issue, with Zelensky previously suggesting that a compromise solution such as a free economic zone could be theoretically possible if the Ukrainian people voted for it in a referendum.
The critical stumbling block is likely to be when the plans are put to Putin, who has given no sign he is willing to compromise on his war aims.
“If Putin rejects everything, we will end up with exactly what we are experiencing on our plane right now – turbulence,” said Zelenskyy, recording the comments after his plane took off from Berlin for the Netherlands for a series of meetings on Tuesday.
#zelensky #putin #Ukraine #Russia
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