Published date: 20 October 2026 09:01 BST|Last update:5 hours 51 mins ago
As Washington limits its exposure, Cairo risks committing military power without defining its objectives or exit strategy
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo on 15 September 2026 (Ahmed Nureldine/Saudi Press Agency/AFP)
Ships approaching the Suez Canal, the Sumed pipeline, energy terminals and fuel storage facilities: these are among the assets Egypt must consider potentially exposed if it enters direct combat against Yemen’s Houthis.
The consequences could reach far beyond the forces Cairo deploys, threatening the infrastructure through which Egypt earns foreign currency and supplies its economy.
The Houthis would not need to strike the canal itself to undermine its revenues. Threats farther south can deter shipping, raise costs and force vessels onto longer routes. Navigation can remain technically possible while the traffic that gives the waterway its economic value moves elsewhere.
But Cairo must also consider a more serious scenario: direct attacks on vessels or infrastructure serving the canal, potentially forcing a complete suspension of navigation.
This is a risk to assess, rather than an established Houthi plan or a prediction that such an operation would succeed. This could benefit the Houthis and Iran by blocking US and Israeli naval movements from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Getty Images)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said while visiting Iran that the country’s fight against the United States was a “just cause.”
Lavrov made the remarks while flanked by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran at a joint press conference.
Lavrov called the U.S. war with Iran an “unprovoked military campaign” and said Russia was committed to supporting the Iranian government.”
He added that Russia was committed to finding an end to the war.
This was Lavrov’s first visit to Iran since the conflict began in February.
“We once again expressed our country’s readiness to assist in finding mutually acceptable solutions to overcome this man-made crisis,” Lavrov said at the press conference, according to Kremlin media.
Lavrov said he visited the country to prevent the return of a large-scale war between the U.S. and Iran and added that Russia would never stop supporting Iran.
“Despite the difficult circumstances, Russia does not intend to abandon the implementation of agreements with Iran in the economic and investment spheres,” Lavrov said.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week waiving sanctions on Russia that were set to take effect under legislation Congress approved with overwhelming bipartisan support
Trump defended the measure as a way to help end Russa’s war with Ukraine and to keep it from assisting Iran.
Posted about 1h agoabout 1 hours ago, updated 48m ago48 minutes ago
Google says its London-based data centre is experiencing “service disruption”. (Reuters: Andrew Kelly)
In short:
Google says a “power event” at a London data centre has disrupted cloud services across Europe.
The outage has affected banks, websites and court live streams.
The technology giant says its engineers are working to fix the problem.
Google Cloud services have failed across Europe aftera “power event” at a data centre based in London, according to the tech giant’s website.
The issue has reportedly affected banks and other websites across the continent.
The Google Cloud website is not reporting serious issues in any other region, but said that services in parts of Europe could experience “elevated errors and intermittent network issues”.
“Due to a power event we had suffered an outage within europe-west2-b zone,” the Google Cloud website said.
Google said the incident began shortly after 6am UK time and that its engineering teams were investigating.
Customers of major UK banks were reporting issues accessing their accounts. (Reuters: Phil Noble)
Banking giant Revolut is among the institutions believed to have been affected by the outage.
“We are currently experiencing a service disruption affecting multiple services,” the bank said in a statement on social media.
“We can confirm that all our customers’ money and data are safe.”
Another major British bank, Halifax, wrote on X that customers were “having issues with our app and online”.
Brand trial live stream affected
Court live streams, including that of the ongoing trial of comedian Russell Brand, were also reportedly down as a result.
“We’re aware of an issue affecting Cloud Video Platform (CVP), used for some remote hearings,” the UK’s Courts and Tribunals Service said on X.
British media outlets reported that other major companies, including Royal Mail, Microsoft and delivery company DPD were also experiencing issues.
On 19 October, Inna Mariukhna and her one-year-old daughter Anhelina were killed in a Russian attack on Nova Vodolaha in Kharkiv Oblast. Inna taught primary school pupils at the local school
Monday afternoon, around 4:30 local time, families in Nova Vodolaha in the Kharkiv region were out in the central park because it was a nice day, and that’s what people do in parks. A Russian Geran-3 drone, the Iranian Shahed with a Russian name tag, found them there. Six people died. Three women aged 28, 34 and 36. A man around 40. An 11-year-old girl. And a baby in a stroller, 14 months old, named Anhelina, whose mother, Inna, made it to the hospital but didn’t survive. Fifteen more were wounded, seven of them children, pulling shrapnel out of their legs on a Monday afternoon in October.
A few hours later, a reporter asked the President of the United States about Russia. Donald Trump, a man who has never once in his life been asked a question and answered the question, said this: “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven’t been doing much.”
Source:Dean Blundell, Substack
And now a war zone:
Nova Vodolaha
Ukraine, Europe
Nova Vodolaha is a small city in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine, roughly 40 km southwest of Kharkiv. Founded in the 17th century as a Cossack settlement, it later developed around agriculture and light industry. The city is known for its historic wooden churches, including the 19th-century St. Nicholas Church, and serves as a local trade hub. Its proximity to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, provides transport links via regional roads and rail. Trawellino tip: A quiet stop for those tracing Ukraine’s rural Cossack heritage.
Yes—recent national reporting shows ICE detaining children and separating families, including cases where young children became seriously ill in custody and where federal courts intervened. Pediatric and child-development research consistently warns that separation and detention instability can cause toxic stress, school disruption, and long-term mental health harm related to the ICE detention of children. Legally, these cases raise recurring red flags: due process failures, inadequate medical care, and detention practices that conflict with the Flores framework and child-welfare standards.
Recent reports highlight the alarming frequency of ICE detention of children across various states, raising concerns among child welfare advocates.
The increase in ICE detention of children has sparked protests and calls for reforms from numerous organizations.
1) A detained toddler was hospitalized; lawsuit alleges ICE returned her to detention and denied prescribed medication
A Reuters report (Feb. 8, 2026) describes a Texas federal lawsuit alleging an 18-month-old was hospitalized with life-threatening respiratory illness and then returned to ICE custody without necessary medication.
2) Data reporting shows children in ICE detention surging
Statistics reveal that the rate of ICE detention of children has surged, prompting discussions about the implications for their mental health.
The Marshall Project reported (Jan. 29, 2026) that the daily number of children in ICE detention jumped sixfold, citing analysis of enforcement datasets and documenting that thousands of minors have been booked into ICE detention since the current administration began.
3) Minnesota cases spotlight kids detained far from home; schools report fear and disruption
The effects of ICE detention of children extend beyond immediate safety concerns, affecting their long-term emotional well-being.
Recent reporting describes children detained after enforcement activity in Minnesota and transferred to family detention in Texas, with schools and communities scrambling to locate children and support families.
25 Babies and Toddlers Are in ICE Custody on an Average Day
ICE has dramatically increased detentions of children aged 3 and under, holding 25 of them in custody on an average day between January 2025 and March of this year, according to a new analysis by The Marshall Project and MS NOW of records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, a group of academics and lawyers who collect and share federal immigration data. That number is 10 times higher than it was in the previous 12 months under former President Joe Biden. Back then, on an average day, fewer than three babies and toddlers were held at facilities across the country.
Parents in ICE detention have complained of substandard conditions that frequently left their young children sick, isolated and regressing in their physical and intellectual development.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment about the dramatic increase in the number of young children in detention; but, in an emailed statement, an agency spokesperson said families with children receive appropriate food, water and medical care. In a separate statement, CoreCivic –– the private company that operates the primary ICE facility used to detain families –– echoed that its facilities were safe for infants and toddlers
2026 Trafficking Report: PH maintains Tier 1 ranking with ban on offshore gaming operations, conviction
By GMA News
Published October 12, 2026 11:50pm Updated October 13, 2026 12:06am
The Philippines retained its Tier 1 ranking in the US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, taking note of the government ban on offshore gaming operations and the conviction of a former mayor in connection with a scam center.
“The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore, the Philippines remained on Tier 1,” according to the Report.
“These efforts included enacting legislation banning offshore gaming operations and prescribing criminal liability for traffickers who recruit workers for such operations and convicting a former mayor accused of trafficking in connection with a scam center,” it added.
The report also took note of other government efforts including, adopting a nationwide mandatory victim identification system and an enhanced NRM; increased the number of victims assisted; launch of a centralized interagency trafficking database; and expansion of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking’s (IACAT) prosecutorial task forces and prevention budget.
Sexual exploitation tops Philippine trafficking cases
While the rise of technology has worsened the exploitation of children and facilitated labour trafficking through fake job offers, holding online platforms accountable remains a major challenge.
Jane Bautista
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Sex trafficking victims accounted for the majority at 545 (311 women and 167 girls, 46 men and 21 boys), followed by labor trafficking victims at 345 (158 women and 23 girls, 147 men and 17 boys). COMPOSITE PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
July 21, 2025
MANILA – Sexual exploitation remains the most common form of human trafficking in the Philippines, followed by labor trafficking and illegal adoption, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The most prevalent here in terms of cases and detection is really sex trafficking—especially online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (Osaec),” Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty told the Inquirer in a recent interview.
Based on data from the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat), a total of 153 individuals were found guilty and penalized for trafficking-related offenses in 2024.
Of the convictions, 110 were for sex trafficking—including 43 involving Osaec—while 38 others were for labor trafficking and five for illegal adoption.
Damning CHR Report Exposes Torture, Mistreatment, Neglect of Children in Government Facilities
By Rights Report Philippines·April 9, 2026·14 min read·SHARE THIS
A report by the Commission on Human Rights accuses the Philippine government of violating laws meant to protect children. It documents a pattern of abuse against children in conflict with the law that begins at arrest, continues inside government facilities such as Bahay Pag-asa, and is sustained by a justice system too broken and too slow to protect them.
A CHILD in Mindanao was not just arrested. He was abducted, blindfolded, and tortured by police officers. While they worked on him, he told investigators later, he overheard them discussing whether to kill him and bury the body.
In Luzon. a boy recalled the moment a police officer punched him in the stomach during his apprehension. In another facility, children who complained of stomach pain, fever, or toothaches were given no medication. Instead, staff forced them to drink large amounts of water, a practice known inside the center as “water therapy.” When children repeatedly asked for actual medicine, they were told to drink more water.
Ukraine intends to continue striking Russian oil refineries despite Donald Trump’s efforts to secure increased diesel supplies from Moscow, exposing a sharp divergence between Washington’s energy priorities and Kyiv’s strategy of degrading the infrastructure sustaining Russia’s war economy.
The Times: EU increases Russian gas purchases despite promises to abandon it
Europe paid €7.88 billion for Russian LNG in the first nine months of the year alone. The bulk of the supplies are under long-term contracts that are still allowed
South Korea’s imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in September reached their highest level in about five years.
On the 16th (local time), Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported that an analysis of Korea Customs Service data showed South Korea imported a total of 3.56 million metric tons of LNG last month, worth approximately $3 billion.
Australia was the largest supplier, with 1.33 million metric tons, followed by the United States with 436,000 metric tons and Canada with 426,000 metric tons. South Korea imported 326,000 metric tons of Russian LNG, worth approximately $250 million, the agency reported. This was the largest volume of Russian LNG imports since November 2021.
The agency cited disruptions to Qatar’s supply as the reason for the increase in South Korea’s imports of Russian LNG. Qatar, one of South Korea’s major LNG suppliers, halted LNG production in early March following Iranian airstrikes. State-owned QatarEnergy subsequently declared force majeure on its LNG supply contracts, leaving supplies to South Korea suspended, the agency explained.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom plan to completely ban the provision of services related to the transport and insurance of Russian LNG starting in January 2027, as part of sanctions against Russia. However, Russian LNG imported by South Korea and Japan under existing long-term supply contracts will be exempt from the sanctions until March 2028.
Jet fuel starts as crude oil, extracted from oilfields around the world. Unlike road fuels, Jet A-1 is produced to exceptionally tight specifications: it must meet strict requirements on flash point*, freezing point, viscosity, and energy density to perform reliably at cruising altitudes where temperatures can drop below -50°C.
European airports draw their supply from a broad and deliberately diversified range of origins. Domestic European refineries, including major facilities in France and the Netherlands, provide a significant share of the continent’s needs, supported by imports. Before the crisis, around 25% of jet fuel consumption in Europe was imported from the Middle East. New logistics routes, namely from North America and West Africa, are now in place to increase supply from these regions to Europe.
While recent tensions in the Middle East have put upward pressure on prices, the multitude of supply routes and the depth of storage infrastructure in Europe strengthen the resilience of Air France-KLM’s supply chain in the face of any regional disruptions.
On May 27, Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, had a telephone conversation with Maria Teresa Lazaro, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines.
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Russian-Philippine diplomatic relations, celebrated on June 2, the parties expressed their intention to deepen constructive dialogue and practical cooperation between the two countries.
Compared to other Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam or Thailand, Russia and the Philippines are only forming stable trade and logistics ties. The volume of bilateral trade between Russia and the Philippines remains modest: in January–July 2025, it amounted to $54 million. Exports from Russia to the Philippines totaled about $24 million, while imports from the Philippines to Russia totaled $30 million.
In recent years, bilateral relations between Russia and the Philippines have been undergoing an active renewal. Work is underway to improve the legal framework, expand trade, and launch joint projects in the energy sector, agro-industrial complex, pharmaceuticals, and digital technologies.
According to Artem Tsinamdzgvrishvili, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Republic of the Philippines, energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and digital technologies remain the priority areas of bilateral cooperation.
Energy industry
The Philippines is interested in Russian supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Rosatom’s small modular reactor (SMR) technologies. Russian LNG can help strengthen the energy security of the country’s island regions and smooth out seasonal load peaks. At the same time, Russian SMRs are seen as a competitive solution for decentralized energy systems, which opens up opportunities for long-term technological cooperation. The prospects for cooperation between the parties cover a wide range of areas, from renewable energy and nuclear energy to digital and infrastructural solutions that ensure the sustainable development of the energy sector.
Agricultural industry
In April of this year, an official Philippine delegation from several competent departments of the country visited Russia. It included Acting Director of the Bureau of Animal Husbandry of the Ministry of Agriculture of the country Christian Paduit Dakigan, Acting Executive Director of the National Meat Inspection Service Lontok Nuestro Fernando, and Director of the Philippine Meat Processors Association Cesar Buhai Ambalada. The Russian side was represented by Sergey Dankvert, head of the Rosselkhoznadzor, and Sergey Yushin, head of the National Meat Association. The parties outlined important vectors of cooperation in trade, the veterinary industry, and attracting new personnel.
One of the main topics of the meetings was the issue of Russian meat supplies to the Philippine market, in particular pork. According to Cesar Ambalada’s calculations, Russian exporters of this meat can become key suppliers of pork to the Philippine market and import about 100-120 thousand tons annually. Ambalada clarified that this is 10% of the total supplies to the Asian country. The head of the National Meat Association, Sergey Yushin, said that the Russian Federation could reach such volumes of supplies within 2-3 years. This year, he estimates shipments at no less than 30-40 thousand tons.
Sergey Dankvert recalled that the Philippines annually buys over 1.5 million tons of various types of meat. For its part, the Philippines proposed to use a systematic certification model to facilitate sales, that is, the accreditation of the entire product control system without inspection of each individual plant. As Cesar Ambalada explained, this will allow all Russian exporters to be accredited automatically.
In addition to meat products, the export of Russian wheat and other grains remains a promising area, which can strengthen the food security of the Philippines.
Pharmaceuticals
In recent years, the supply of Russian medical products and equipment to the Philippines has been actively growing. In 2022-2024, 13 Russian drugs were registered on the country’s market, mainly anticancer drugs and immunomodulators.
Interdepartmental consultations are underway between the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Philippines and the State Institute of Medicines and Medical Devices to accelerate the registration and mutual recognition of GMP standards. This will create conditions for expanding the presence of Russian manufacturers in the Philippine market, including the supply of radioactive pharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Digital technologies and innovations
A significant step in the development of technological cooperation between Russia and the Philippines was the signing on September 17, 2025, on the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Commission, of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Skolkovo Foundation and the National Development Corporation of the Republic of the Philippines (NDC).
The document became the first interstate agreement in the field of high technologies and laid the foundation for the formation of a permanent platform for interaction between the innovative ecosystems of the two countries.
The Philippine Innovation Hub, which is being created, will become a platform for Russian ICT companies to enter the Philippine market and promote solutions in the fields of fintech, logistics, education, agricultural technology, cybersecurity, and smart cities.
The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Philippines coincides with the Philippines’ chairmanship in ASEAN, which creates unique opportunities for expanding economic dialogue and strengthening cooperation between the two countries.
Trump will participate in the summit in Manila on Nov. 16 before going to China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, which will take place from Nov. 17-19, the White House said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been inviting Trump to visit his country for some time, a US official said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., here with President Trump at the White House in July 2025, has extended an invite to the commander in chief to visit his country for some time.The Washington Post via Getty Images
US embassies across the entire Middle East issued identical security alerts on Monday, warning their citizens in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, Yemen and Iran to exercise heightened vigilance.
The alerts warn all US citizens of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions due to the risk of military escalation linked to Yemen’s Houthis and Iran.
The warning covering 12 countries states that “the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area” and to “develop contingency plans in advance.”
“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world, including US businesses and other institutions,” the alert said.
In Saudi Arabia, the embassy warned of a “complex security environment,” as “Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions.”
The alert also states that “Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world, including US businesses and other institutions.”
In Qatar, the US embassy urged its citizens on Sunday to monitor official alerts and local media, avoid demonstrations and large gatherings, and follow instructions from local authorities.
Qatar Airways announced on Monday that it will suspend its Saudi-bound flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam until 24 October and reduce flights to Jeddah from seven to four per day.
Theoretically, the article builds upon the recent use of interactionist approaches to explain the emergence of violence during protests and other forms of contention (Bramsen, 2018; Nassauer, 2018, 2019, 2021; Tiratelli, 2018). Grounded in Collins’ (2008) micro-sociological work on violence, such research focuses on the emotional dynamics of situational encounters and how specific patterns of interaction enable actors to overcome the tension and fear that otherwise inhibits the onset or persistence of violence. It has highlighted that situational encounters can acquire their own violence-favouring logics, distinct from the wider struggles of which they are a part (Nassauer, 2018, 2022), and proved effective at predicting the occurrence of violence (Nassauer, 2019).
This article also addresses questions that interactionist approaches address less well, however, about: (a) how such violence-favouring situations arise, (b) what can inhibit their emergence, and (c) why some violence-favouring situations do not give rise to violence. To do this, the article brings situational analysis into dialogue with three intersecting strands of political violence research: on the relational dynamics of conflict escalation and de-escalation (Alimi, 2024; Alimi et al., 2015), on processual approaches to conflict (Malthaner, 2017), and on the restraints on violence within radical milieus (Busher & Bjørgo, 2020). This approach follows calls to explore how we can augment interactionist approaches by integrating “upstream” structural and contextual factors (Nassauer, 2022; Tiratelli, 2018; Unverdorben, 2023; Whitehead et al., 2018) and reflects a long tradition of research on political violence and civil unrest that emphasises the value of integrating macro-, meso-, and micro-level analyses (Della Porta, 1995; Waddington et al., 1989). It also reflects a practical intent: our aim is to enhance the ability of state and civil society actors not just to manage far-right violence as it unfolds, but to anticipate and inhibit its emergence.
Our focus on far-right protest reflects the recognition that assertive far-right protests across the Global North and beyond represent a social issue that warrants attention. Such protest is also of particular theoretical interest. It remains relatively under-studied in comparison with other forms of protest (Gattinara & Pirro, 2019); is imbued with a deep logic of violence against perceived out-groups (Karapin, 2002), making variance in violence use particularly interesting; and is often characterised by the co-presence of counter-protestors.
Hundreds of thousands are protesting in France against the high cost of living and poor schools. Violent groups are looting stores and attacking public buildings. Riots also broke out in Milan over two days. Seven answers about the weekend.
S. Ziegler, F. Berner, N. Agostini
Today at 09:18•Today at 09:27
Here’s what it’s all about
In France, more than half a million people demonstrated on Saturday, mostly peacefully.
At the same time, serious riots broke out—including in Italy. In Milan on Sunday, more than 200 young people were taken to police stations, about 80 percent of whom were minors.
Behind the protests are a variety of causes and groups.
Summary created with
Smashed storefronts in Paris, a burned-out city hall in Limoges, and looted stores in Milan: Social protests over the weekend were marred by serious riots.
But who is protesting, and why? And who is using the rallies as an opportunity to commit acts of violence and theft? blue News provides the key questions and answers about the weekend.
The unrest has sharpened the political confrontation between the radical Left and the nationalists. Marine Le Pen accused Jean-Luc Melenchon’s movement of having “legitimised the violence” and said sh…
One of child-rapist Jeffrey Epstein’s many roles was as a powerbroker and connector of far-right and fascist individuals globally. Messages now show how former Trump advisor Steve Bannon sought the sex-trafficker and paedophile’s help to support the European far-right.
The messages mostly date from 2018 and 2019, when Bannon, after being sacked by Trump, regularly visited Europe in his quest to forge a movement in the European Parliament uniting ultra-right wing and Eurosceptic forces from several countries including Italy, Germany, France, Hungary, Poland, Sweden and Austria.
Italy’s Matteo Salvini and France’s Marine Le Pen, both leaders of far-right and fascist-adjacent political parties, were among those Bannon wanted to see flourish:
Bannon especially set his sights on Matteo Salvini, the Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League party, who at the time was at the height of his political power.
Opposition parties in Italy have called for investigations:
to clarify whether Epstein influenced the rise of the League after Salvini’s name was cited several times in messages exchanged between Bannon and Epstein.
Then, at around 1:30 p.m. Eastern, No Kings’ Instagram account was taken offline. It left the organization without its biggest megaphone during the height of the protests.
Look back to emergence of ‘black clad rioters’ on May 1st 2018 in Paris:
Politics Fascism. pic: April 1934. Sir Oswald Mosley walks down an avenue of saluting Blackshirts as he arrives at the Albert Hall for a meeting. Sir Oswald Mosley, (1896-1980), was founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930’s. Politics, Fascism, pic: April 1934, Sir Oswald Mosley walks down an avenue of saluting Blackshirts as he arrives at the Albert Hall for a meeting, Sir Oswald Mosley, (1896-1980), was founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930’s (Photo by Bentley Archive/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Gett
Frozen Russian Assets: Europe Rejects US Control Plan – FT
In brief: The Trump administration proposed placing part of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets in Europe under Washington’s oversight to help revive peace negotiations, according to the Financial Times. European representatives rejected the idea. US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner raised the proposal during talks involving Ukrainian and European officials in Miami, where control of the funds became another point of disagreement.
A Russian national tricolor flag flies atop the Russian Central Bank headquarters in downtown Moscow on February 13, 2026. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)
Report: Arab states poured nearly $15 billion into US universities
New data show Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have funneled billions into American higher education over five decades, much of it undisclosed, raising concerns of foreign influence
Daniel Edelson, New York | published: 09.05.25 | 08:51
Witkoff and Kushner keep their teams small when negotiating major business deals and approach the world stage in a similar way. One of the administration officials noted that real estate deals begin at the top with a select few who have a vision.
“Then after that comes constructive managers and coordinating with engineers and architects and so forth,” the first official continued. “So I just think that we’re very good at understanding what the complicating features of a deal are. We talk about it, we address it, then we figure out how we’re going to solve it.”
Global negotiations, like development deals, have “similar rhythms for transactions,” said the second administration official.
“Some of these conflicts, they all move the same way,” said the first administration official, noting that the “game plan” receives input from Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and chief of staff Susie Wiles. There is also a working relationship with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine.
“We’ve had people say, ‘How can you have such a small team?’ Well the beginning of the decision-making here on the game plan doesn’t require a big group,” the first administration official said.
Witkoff and Kushner’s one-size-fits-all approach was most evident last month in Geneva when the duo met with the Ukrainians, the Russians and the Iranians in one day, attempting to secure separate deals to end the four-year war in Ukraine and halt Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
President Trump with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office, May 10, 2017. Alexander Shcherbak/TASS/via Getty Images.caption…
See Ruth Ben-Ghiat Substack, Oct 19th:
Just months after his inauguration, Trump hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office, with only a Russian state photographer from TASS present. This told the world that the White House would be a Russian-friendly space with Trump in power, with Kremlin views of politics and the world amplified by Washington.
And now, as the mid-terms approch;
Of course, Trump of all people should know that in fact his debt will never be repaid, that for autocrats loyalty is earned every hour of every day. The more autocrats fear losing power and influence, the more volatile they become, and while we know Trump is growing desperate to avoid the rout of the midterms, this essay reminds us that he is also under pressure from abroad. This is why he is escalating his assistance to Russia and his attempts to make America submit to his will, with much more to come before his time in power ends.
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