Category: World

Elon Musk, an American billionaire and ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, has ridiculed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement that Ukraine is an independent country that cannot be forced to "sit down and listen" at the negotiating table.

Source: Musk on social network X (Twitter)

Details: Musk reposted a modified quote from Zelenskyy's interview with Ukrainian Radio. The tweet reposted by the billionaire read as follows: "The US cannot force us to "sit and listen" at the negotiating table. We are an independent country".

He sense of humor is amazing 😂https://t.co/4BL4rTXaZS https://t.co/pacq5vNkza

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2024

Previously: In an interview with Ukrainian Radio, Zelenskyy replied to a clarifying question about whether Trump had demanded that Ukraine participate in negotiations with Russia: "We are an independent country. And we have proved during this war – our people as much as I personally in conversations with the US, and Trump, and Biden, and European leaders – that with us, the ‘sit down and listen’ approach does not work."

Background:

• Elon Musk played a key role in Donald Trump's victorious US presidential election campaign, investing tens of millions of dollars in it and promoting Trump on his social media.
• Trump made it clear that he would reward Musk as his supporter by promising in a September speech to create a government efficiency commission headed by Musk if he won the election.
• Later, it became known that the billionaire took part in a telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• On 13 November, Trump's transition team announced that businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would head the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) under the new Donald Trump administration.
• On 15 November, it became known that Musk had met with Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations, to "defuse tensions" between Iran and the United States.

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At Dallas Love Field Airport, a bullet hits a Southwest Airlines passenger plane near the cockpit during departure preparations. Flight 2494 was canceled, passengers were transferred to another flight, and no one was injured.

At the Dallas airport (Texas, USA), a passenger plane was hit by a bullet near the cockpit as it was preparing for takeoff. This was reported by SkyNews, according to UNN.

Details

Police in the US city of Dallas are investigating after a Southwest Airlines plane was hit by a bullet as it was preparing to take off from Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas on November 15 in the evening. Flight 2494 was canceled and the aircraft was taken out of service.

According to local authorities, there was no information on casualties.

Southwest Airlines will accommodate our customers on another flight,” the airline said. Law enforcement agencies were notified and the aircraft was taken out of service,

– the message says.

According to the newspaper, it is unclear where the shooting came from and whether the plane was the intended target. As of early Saturday, no arrests had been announced.

Haiti's main airport closed due to a surge in banditryNov 12 2024, 03:16 AM • 33818 views

The Financial Times has reported that North Korea has sent Russia around 50 M1989 Koksan self-propelled howitzers and 20 multiple-launch rocket systems, some of which have been deployed to Kursk Oblast.

Source: Financial Times with reference to Ukrainian intelligence

Details: The newspaper said, citing a Ukrainian intelligence report, that in recent weeks the DPRK has provided Russia with about 50 North Korean-made 170mm M1989 self-propelled howitzers and 20 upgraded 240mm multiple-launch rocket systems that can fire both standard and guided rockets.

It said Ukrainian officials provided information about the weapons after a photo showing North Korean howitzers began circulating on social media this week. The photograph, which open-source analysts were able to georeference to the Krasnoyarsk Krai in central Russia, showed several howitzers covered in camouflage netting being transported by rail westward.

These heavy weapons systems can fire projectiles up to 60 km away. The M1989 howitzers, produced in 1989, are slightly upgraded versions of the original M1979 models, first produced in the late 1970s, which Pyongyang supplied to Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War.

The upgraded rocket system is based on the Soviet BM-27 Uragan (Hurricane) system, a self-propelled 220mm multiple-launch rocket system designed to deliver cluster munitions. In May, North Korea said it had successfully tested an updated system with precision-guided munitions.

A senior Ukrainian official told the FT that Pyongyang now wants to test the weapon in combat. Kyiv expects it to be used against Ukrainian forces, which currently hold about 600 sq km of territory in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Background: In a report on 14 November, the Institute for the Study of War reported, citing Russian sources, that North Korea may have provided Russia with North Korean-made M1989 Koksan 170mm self-propelled howitzers. Russian bloggers posted photos of a train carrying what is believed to be North Korean 170mm M1989 Koksan self-propelled howitzers in Krasnoyarsk.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone conversation with Putin about the war in Ukraine. The conversation turned out to be beneficial for both sides, but the Russian dictator benefited the most.

On Friday, November 15, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a telephone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. These talks were beneficial to the representatives of both countries. This is stated in the publication of the newspaper Zeit, reports UNN.

Details

It is noted that one of the topics of conversation was the war in Ukraine. In particular, the German chancellor called on the Russian dictator to finally start negotiations to establish a “lasting and just peace.” In addition, Scholz condemned Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and called on Putin to withdraw his troops.

According to the newspaper, the very fact that a conversation took place between them benefits both leaders.

According to Moscow, Scholz had been asking for a phone call for a long time. Now that the talks with Putin are finally over, the German politician can start campaigning as a caring “chancellor of peace.

This is Pandora's box: Zelensky on Scholz's call to Russian dictator PutinNov 15 2024, 05:16 PM • 28389 views

The newspaper notes that the Sarah Wagenkohnet Union (BSW) has long denied the status of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) as a party of peace. However, Scholz can now tell Wagenknecht that while she is just talking, he is talking to Putin.

Scholz can also signal to Friedrich Merz that while Merz wants to deliver Taurus missiles, he is already negotiating.

But as Zeit emphasizes, despite the whole situation, Putin himself benefits greatly from this conversation.

In particular, for two and a half years, the Russian dictator has been disrupting possible negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but at the same time his troops continued to advance. He claimed that he was generally ready to negotiate, but only on his own terms.

Now, according to the newspaper, Putin can present the conversation with Scholz as proof of his willingness to negotiate. In addition, other European politicians will also have to make the call. Before that, talks with US President-elect Donald Trump are expected.

Thus, almost three years into the war, Putin is seeking a ceasefire on his own terms.

Conversations give Putin hope for easing international isolation: Foreign Ministry reacts to Scholz's conversation with Russian dictatorNov 15 2024, 06:24 PM • 32831 view

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz consulted with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy several months ago about a possible call to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

Source: Kuleba on social network X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to the former foreign minister, several months ago, Scholz asked Zelenskyy if a call to Putin would be appropriate.

"Zelensky opposed the idea, and Scholz refrained," he said.

However, according to Kuleba, after the US election, despite Zelenskyy's previous objections to the advisability of negotiations with Putin, Scholz decided to call the Kremlin leader.

"Zelensky publicly but gently criticised him for it," he said.

Kuleba added that the German chancellor's decision has several implications, including the fact that Putin "broke out of European isolation, and Germany paved the way. Right after Hungary."

"Putin showcased to the world that his strategy is working – the West will eventually bow its head under the cover of urging him to stop the war which he is not going to do," he said.

Kuleba also drew attention to the fact that with this step, Scholz had damaged Germany's reputation among Ukrainians.

The former minister is also confident that the German chancellor's decision will not strengthen his image among German voters.

At the same time, the former foreign minister admitted that he may not know "all the arguments in favour of the call", but he "struggles to see how it was justified".

Background:

• On 15 November, it was revealed that Olaf Scholz had spoken with the Kremlin leader for the first time in two years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Scholz’s call with Putin as a "Pandora’s box".
• Jürgen Hardt, a member of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) opposition bloc in Germany, believes that Putin will see Scholz's move as "a sign of weakness, not strength".
• At the same time, Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) Matthias Miersch defended the chancellor's decision.

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While patrolling in Marak, five armored vehicles of Finnish UNIFIL peacekeepers came under fire. As a result of the incident, the rear window of one of the vehicles was damaged, and there were no casualties.

On November 16, Finnish peacekeepers came under fire in southern Lebanon. This was reported by Yle with reference to the information of the ground forces, UNN reports.

Details

The publication notes that Finnish peacekeepers of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were carrying out a planned patrol mission in Marakah, using five armored vehicles. However, on that day, the vehicles were shot at several times with pistols. As a result of the shelling, the rear window of one of the patrol vehicles was smashed.

At the time of the incident, the peacekeepers were wearing protective gear in their armored vehicles. They reportedly immediately went to their base. The causes of the incident are currently unknown, the military added.

Recall

The UN Security Council condemned the attacks on UNIFIL peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon in late October and early November. The UN Security Council called on all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety of peacekeepers.

Russian troops attacked Mykolaiv on Saturday evening.

Source: Air Force of Ukraine; Oleksandr Sienkevych, Mayor of Mykolaiv; Vitalii Kim, Head of Mykolaiv Oblast State Administration, on Telegram

Details: At 19:22, the Air Force of Ukraine warned of the threat of ballistic missile attacks from the south.

Sienkevych reported at 19:24 that an explosion had been heard in Mykolaiv.

Quote from Vitalii Kim at 19:49: "We clearly understand where [it hit]. So far, there have been no calls for an ambulance. I hope that won’t change."

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Billionaire Friedrich Knapp, creator of the New Yorker clothing chain, has died after a long illness. His company has more than 1,200 branches in 47 countries and about 23,000 employees.

Billionaire Friedrich Knapp, the founder and head of the German chain of clothing stores New Yorker, has passed away. He was left with three children and a life partner, reports UNN with reference to Bild.

Details

Knapp turned New Yorker, founded in Lower Saxony, into a global fashion empire. Today, the company has more than 1,200 branches in 47 countries and about 23,000 employees. Branches can be found in almost every major city in Germany.

Knapp, who rarely appeared in public, died on the island of Sylt, where he arrived last week after long treatment in Switzerland. According to the Braunschweiger Zeitung newspaper, he had fallen seriously ill about a year ago.

Braunschweig Mayor Thorsten Kornblum expressed his condolences on the death of the entrepreneur and noted his contribution to the development of the city, especially in the field of sports and culture.

The Russian energy giant Gazprom has stopped gas supplies for Austrian energy company OMV, just hours after Vienna revealed that Russia had issued a warning about the cut-off.

Source: Reuters

Details: Austria announced on Friday that Moscow had notified it of a gas cutoff, effective Saturday, 16 November. This followed an arbitration ruling in favour of OMV, Austria's largest energy supplier, due to Gazprom's failure to meet its obligations to supply gas to its German subsidiary.

The Austrian energy regulator E-Control reported on Saturday that Gazprom's supplies to OMV had stopped at 06:00 local time, adding that prices and supplies to Austrian customers remained stable.

OMV is seeking to recover €230 million in damages from Gazprom, as awarded in arbitration.

Gazprom claimed it would send 42.4 million cubic metres (MCM) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday, the same volume as on Friday.

According to data from gas transmission system operator Eustream, flows from Ukraine to Slovakia remained stable, but nominations for flows from Slovakia to Austria were approximately 16% below this month's average.

OMV typically accounts for around 40% of Russian gas flows through Ukraine, equating to approximately 17 mcm per day.

One of Russia's remaining major gas routes to Europe, the Soviet-era Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline through Ukraine, is set to close at the end of this year. This is because Kyiv has decided not to renew a five-year transit agreement that delivers North Siberian gas to Slovakia, Czechia and Austria.

Without Austria, only two European countries will receive significant volumes of Russian gas: Hungary and Slovakia. In Hungary's case, the gas is delivered via a pipeline that primarily runs through Türkiye.

Reuters reported that in 2023, Russia transported approximately 15 billion cubic metres of gas through Ukraine, accounting for about 8% of the peak Russian gas flows to Europe via various routes in 2018-2019.

The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2023, the Ukrainian transit route supplied 65% of the gas demand in Austria and its eastern neighbours, Hungary and Slovakia.

Background: The European Commission has raised its expectations for gas prices in Europe by 9.7% this year and by 14.4% in 2025.

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In a restaurant in the French town of Issy-Le-Moulineau, the owner is holding back several employees of the establishment. The area is cordoned off by a large police force, firefighters arrived on the scene.

At a restaurant in the French town of Issy-Le-Moulineau, near Paris, a man is “holding back several employees”. Police headed to the site, the area is cordoned off. This UNN reports with reference to BFMTV.

On Saturday, November 16, there was a hostage situation at a restaurant in Issy-les-Moulineaux.

The owner of a restaurant in Issy-les-Moulineaux is reportedly “keeping a few employees.

The owner of the establishment has “established a foothold there” and “retains several employees.

“Large police forces surround the restaurant a few dozen meters from the Paris ring road,” the report said.

Police and firefighters were dispatched at noon.