Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the UN, stated this at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
[...]
Robert Wood reminded that the UN's revised winterization plan calls for $435 million in funding to help keep more than 1.7 million civilians in Ukraine warm, dry, and fed during the winter season.

"We call on the international community to ensure the UN's funding appeals are met," the U.S. diplomat said.

In a phone call, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Jake Sullivan agreed on the need to hold an additional consultative meeting of national security advisors from the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France. The relevant statement was made by the Office of the President of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

..."Such a visit would send an important message," Education Minister Yoav Kisch says.

Zelensk*'s arrival, and his photograph with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and other Israeli leaders, will "send a message of the enlightened world under attack, standing against the less-enlightened world, attacking," the TV report suggests.

"It would indicate something of a unified front of Israel, Ukraine, Europe, and the US against the < wipes tears > Russia-Iran axis," Channel 12 says, adding that Israel recognizes that the visit would boost its legitimacy in the war against Hamas Palestinians....

...The Israeli network [Channel 12] claimed that Zelensk*'s photograph with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog would "send a message of the < wipes tears > enlightened world under attack, standing against the < wipes tears > less-enlightened world, attacking."

Kiev officials have used similar language to describe the majority of the world that does not align with the US and NATO's position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Most recently, Zelensk*'s top adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, angered Beijing by declaring that India and China—both of which have remained neutral in the conflict—have "low intellectual potential." Previously, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council chief Aleksey Danilov stated that Russians are "Asians," and therefore lack "humanity."...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk* does not think the situation on the front in Ukraine is a stalemate and has said that Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia.
Source: President Zelensk* during a press conference with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine

bloomberg | EU's Von der Leyen Lauds Kyiv's 'Excellent Progress' on Reforms (04.11.23)
...on her sixth visit to Kyiv since Russia's 2022 invasion, told a news conference on Saturday....

Details: A recent article in The Economist quoted Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Valerii Zaluzhnyi as saying that the situation on the front is at a stalemate. Zelensk* responded to this by saying there was no stalemate.
[....]
Background:
• Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said in an interview with The Economist this week that the situation at the front has reached a stalemate when neither side can advance because they are technologically equipped at the same level. The general says the situation reminds him of the First World War.
• John Kirby, White House National Security Council Coordinator, described ...
• The Kremlin has also commented...
• Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, commenting...
• NBC News reported that officials from the US and the EU had started discussing with Ukraine the possibility of holding peace talks with Russia.

Sun Tzu said: After crossing a river, you should get far away from it. When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack. If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross. Moor your craft higher up than the enemy, and facing the sun. Do not move up-stream to meet the enemy. So much for river warfare.

A promotional video is circulating on YouTube, showing a soldier in the uniform of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who calls on Ukrainian warriors to join the IDF. He claims that he was allegedly a Ukrainian artilleryman who had just returned from the front and joined the IDF because of the higher salary and the Israeli citizenship. It is a fake video. The original video can be found on the official TikTok page of the IDF. It shows a military man explaining which phone numbers the IDF reservists should contact for mobilization and their families for psychological assistance....

The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

...According to a source in Ukraine's security and defense sector, an operation is currently ongoing to "clean up the Wagner PMC, their local terrorists and the Russian Federation's special services" in the African country. Speaking to Kyiv Post, the source added: "The footage probably shows the work of special units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR)." He declined to give details citing security concerns. The source said the footage had been filmed "in the last two weeks", in an unnamed Sudanese urban location. Kyiv Post has not independently verified either video.
[...]
The Ukrainian government has neither officially acknowledged deployment of field operators to Sudan nor conduct of operations targeting Wagner fighters in the country. Last month CNN reported a series of drone strikes targeting Wagner-backed rebels near Sudan's capital were "characteristic" of Kyiv's special forces. Ukrainian news portal RBC-Ukraine contacted Ukraine's HUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov at the time for clarification on the situation in Sudan, to which he replied: "We can neither confirm nor deny this."

Why is Ukraine operating in Sudan?
"You can also recall the words of General Budanov that Ukraine will destroy Russian war criminals anywhere in the world, wherever they are," Yusov also said....

"I had a phone conversation with Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio," Zelensk* said in a post on Telegram. He noted he is glad to resume contact between the states at the highest level following a 20-year pause. The President of Ukraine also congratulated Sierra Leone on its election to the UN Security Council for the years 2024-2025, noting that he anticipates that it will continue to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity....

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, following a meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba and South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor in Pretoria, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
[...]
The parties paid special attention to Ukraine's grain exports and food security in Africa. Kuleba proposed the South African side to join the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian initiative. In addition, Ukrainian and South African representatives discussed the intensification of cooperation in the digitalization of public services. Kuleba expressed Ukraine's willingness to share its experience of the 'state in a smartphone'. The Ukrainian side also offered to hold a business forum in Kyiv in the near future, involving Ukrainian and South African businesses, in order to increase trade turnover and implement mutually beneficial economic projects.

David Arakhamia, head of the parliamentary faction of the Servant of the People party, said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

progress on the political and diplomatic fronts—while also supporting Ukraine militarily and imposing sanctions on Russia—so that the country moves towards Nato membership and greater protection, sooner rather than later.

"This is the valuable experience of the smooth development of China-Germany relations over the past decades, which should be cherished and passed on by both sides," Xi said, describing China-Germany cooperation as open and pragmatic, which has been continuously enriched and developed.

He said that more than 130 German companies will participate in the sixth China International Import Expo [CIIE], which has shown the confidence of German companies in China's development. It is hoped that the German side will also adhere to a high level of openness toward Chinese enterprises seeking cooperation opportunities in Germany, Xi said.

Scholz introduced the views of the German side on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukraine crisis, and expressed the hope to keep close communication with China....

The 9th Sino-German Agricultural Week kicks off on Tuesday in Bengbu City, east China's Anhui Province. People from agricultural circles from China and Germany have gathered to discuss challenges facing the global food system. Discussions include how China has prioritized... pic.twitter.com/rJywfBeFQB

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) November 1, 2023

... Speaking virtually with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, Xi launched a thinly veiled attack on the EU's economic security strategies, and called on Germany to stay open to Chinese investments.
[...]
Xi is expected to meet Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, heads of the European Commission and European Council, by the end of the year. The EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, is due to visit Beijing and Hong Kong next week.

Beijing's increasing focus on ideology, coercion against U.S. allies such as Japan, Canada, and Lithuania, and assertive posture against Taiwan have forces EU governments to focus on so-called de-risking the bloc's relationships with China. Just this week, the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Ireland—which have massive trade ties with China—are touring countries from Malaysia and Viet Nam to South Korea, looking for alternative markets in Asia....

...It is hoped that the German side will also adhere to a high level of openness toward Chinese enterprises seeking cooperation opportunities in Germany, Xi said. The same day, Xi met with visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Beijing.
[...]
Germany is reasonably expressing the hope of enhancing trade cooperation, and judging from recent interactions between China and Europe, both sides not only want to maintain a stable bilateral relationship, but also seek more cooperation on the basis of stability. Cui interpreted this as expanding and accumulating positivity in China-Europe relations, which can offset the negative factors.
[...]
Squeezing the security space of other countries and supporting one side while ignoring the legitimate demands of the other side will lead to regional imbalance and the expansion and escalation of conflicts, said Xi.

He said both China and the European side should work together to mediate conflicts, ease tensions and play a positive role in promoting regional peace and development. In terms of the Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine conflicts, experts said Germany hopes that China can play a bigger and positive role in regional and global security, but the US wants to take advantage of the two crises while the EU is directly suffering.

"Antisemitism and Islamophobia go through the roof" in Belgium, [entrepreneur Youssef Kobo] said, because it is home to some 50,000 Jews and 800,000 Muslims.
[...]
"This time, the EU, the UK, the Elysée, the Netherlands, Berlin, all came out with a carte blanche for Israel. There was no call for restraint, which is extremely unique," he said.

The Arab-Israeli conflict tends to split Belgium into three psychological groups—Jews, Muslims, and the rest who "don't get" the "intensity of emotion" in the minority communities, Kobo said.

"Israeli-occupied Jerusalem is home to the third-most holy pace in Islam, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. There's 75 years of humiliation in the heart of the Muslim world. For Jewish people, it's, of course, the trauma of the Holocaust," he said. "For the rest of Belgium, it's very far from home—there's a disconnect," he added.
[...]
"Looking at it from the receiving end, not a day's gone by in the past 20 years that I can think of without a story on how bad Muslims and minorities and migrants are," he said. And that divide in society is getting deeper as images from Gaza deluge Arabic media and social media.

"There's disgust at the sheer EU indifference to loss of life in Palestine," Kobo said. "The average European barely gets to see what's going on in Palestine, but your average Muslim guy in Stockholm, London, Malmö, Paris, Bordeaux, they're watching these images every day," he said. "I have many friends talking about leaving Europe—seriously. I've had many conversations about that: 'We don't belong here. We're going to look for other places'," he said.
[...]
Meanwhile, French and Belgian authorities are investigating the role of Russia's Chechen diaspora in an Islamist killing in Arras, France, on 13 October and in race riots in Liege, Belgium, in August. And for Kobo, this showed how the wound being torn open in European society was also a strategic vulnerability [wut], in a time of sky-high geopolitical tension over Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

"If I'm Tehran, if I'm Beijing, if I'm Moscow the Gaza war is the one thing I'd be trying to exploit [?] with everything that's currently going on," Kobo said.

Suspected Hamas command center in tunnels underneath. 🫡

'Sapere aude'

Opening speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell (06.11.23)

...The world is full of poles, not all of them are equal. We are very far away from the world of the 19th century following the Vienna Congress, when five European powers steered the world. And multipolarity is not only referred to military capability and wealth. It is not only the military and the economy, it is also about the thinking, about different truths and different approaches to the world.

NATO (a/o 2022) AL, ME*, MK*, TR; EU (BE, BG, HR, CZ, DK, ES, EE, FI, SE, FR, DE, GR, HU, IT, LV, LT, LU, NL, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK), EEA (IS, NO), UK, US, CA
IMF (2023 SDR wght): G7 (USD, EUR (DE, FR, IT, EC), GBP, JPY, + 158 clients
G7: FR, DE, IT, EUCO, EC, JP (COE observer), UK, US, CA
Price Cap Coalition: US, EU, UK, CA, AU, JP

[....]
We are in an intermediate position. We are not a full-fledged great power. We are not a military alliance. We are not even a state. But we are much more than a regional power. And in this world, everyone is trying to bargain with everyone. There is not a clear consensus on values and on desirable outcomes.
[...]
So, how can we explain such blindness? How can we interpret these contradictions? For me, the crux of the matter is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer an Israeli-Arab conflict. Now, it is becoming a religious or civilisation fight. I was listening yesterday to President Erdoğan threatening the West, saying "Look, do you want again the fight between the crescent and the crusaders?"—le croissant et les croisés. These are strong words, and we have to do everything we can in order to avoid this confrontation.
[...]
We are not the outpost of the Western world. We are the keepers of global and shared values based on the United Nations Charter. And this is the alpha and omega of my message. We are the keepers of global and shared values based on the United Nations Charter. Everywhere, every time. This is our message. It is not the West against the rest. It is the values of the United Nations Charter as the best ground of multilateralism.

Please convey this message loudly. Knowing that every country in the South has its own circumstances and values and they consider that they have no reason to place the Ukrainian challenge above their own priorities, which are related to climate change, digital transition, indebtedness. And they want a better representation within multilateral institutions.
[...]
Economic security is becoming an increasingly central part of our foreign and security policy. It does not mean that we want to close, on the contrary, we want to develop more investments and trade links all around the world. The Global Gateway is there for that. We have to abandon the old-style extractivism.

"Where is the lithium?" People in Latin America look at us as the ones who come once again looking for minerals. No, it is not a matter of "where are your minerals?" It is "how can we build, with you, partnerships in order to use the natural resources, so that you add value, and you benefit from our demand". We have to have look at the Inflation Reduction Act's consequences.
[...]

The second transversal thing is the relationship with the Global South. Global South—I do not like the word, this is a complex set of people, very heterogenous with different positions. But this is a concept that has been brought to the public debate. And now, today, is being used by them, so we cannot avoid the fact that they call it and feel it as being something that exists as an answer to the West that dominated the world for the last 500 years. We understand now that it is over, intellectually. I think that we have not taken yet the consequences and the practical conclusions of this new reality.
[...]

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Zhang Guoqing and Russia's Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov will hold the fourth meeting of the council of cooperation between the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Volga Federal District in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on November 8.
[...]
Anadolu Agency: Over the past weekend Israeli forces had targeted a convoy of ambulances near Al-Shifa Hospital and hit Al-Maghazi and Al-Shati refugee camps and a UN-run school, Al-Fakhoura school, among other civilian facilities in Gaza Strip. Attacks have resulted in heavy casualties including children. Targeting refugee camps, schools, hospitals clearly violates Geneva Convention on the protection of civilian persons in time of war. China has taken over the presidency of Security Council in the UN this month. What's China's position on these violations of international law and international humanitarian law in Gaza? And what would you offer to stop these actions that could amount to war crimes?
[...]

DW | Israel-Hamas war: What's China's stance? (09.11.23)
China is seeking to mediate in the war between Israel and Hamas. Beijing has condemned violence by both parties, but public hostility towards Israel prevails.
Trade main focus of China's ties with Israel [...] China sees Israel primarily as US ally [...] A relevant issue for China. The government in Beijing claims to be a neutral player in the Middle East conflict. Still, China has criticized Israel in particular. [...] Palestinians silent on Xinjiang human rights violations [...] China as a mediator in the Middle East....The emphasis on proximity to Russia follows a pattern.

..."Only a return to the promise of living side-by-side—in two states—can give both Israelis and Palestinians peace, security and dignity," the foreign minister said according to the German news agency DPA. She added that it was important "not to lose sight of the bigger picture," saying that it was the "goal of the terrorists" to put an end to "Israel's historic opportunity for peace with its Arab neighbors."...

Portugal is set to have a snap parliamentary election on March 10, following the resignation of the Socialist prime minister amid a corruption investigation. The president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, plans to dissolve parliament after the final vote on the 2024 budget bill, which is due on November 29, Reuters reported.
[...]

[...]
Although the Portuguese Constitution gives the president of the Republic the right to appoint a new prime minister without holding new elections, Rebelo de Sousa said it was key to have a head of government whose legitimacy is not in doubt. Instead, he said, he decided to schedule elections for March in order to give [PM António] Costa's Socialist Party, which controls an absolute majority of seats in the parliament, time to find a new leader before voters go to the polls.

Portugal backs Guterres' in bitter feud with Israel, which vowed to 'teach them a lesson' (25.10.23)

Costa agreed to remain at his post as the country's caretaker prime minister until the next elections are held. But shortly after the president's announcement, the Socialist leader expressed annoyance with the decision to call for elections. Costa told the press he had proposed former finance minister and current Bank of Portugal Governor Mário Centeno take over as the head of government but Rebelo de Sousa rejected the idea. Centeno, a technocrat who served as Portugal's minister of finance between 2015 [!] and 2020, was well-liked and trusted by Brussels and fellow finance leaders during his time in the executive, so much so that he was elected to preside over the Eurogroup in 2018.
[...]

... The investigative judge who ordered the raids and arrests alleged malfeasance, corruption of elected officials, and influence peddling related to lithium mine concessions near Portugal's northern border with Spain

...The suspects are alleged to have illegally facilitated the issuance of permits for the development and used the prime minister's name to push through the decisions they wanted. There were previously protests against the lithium projects by environmental organizations and local residents in the areas where the mining was planned. Critics say the quality of the reserves is too low to justify the environmental damage that their extraction would cause....

and plans for a green hydrogen plant and data centre in Sines on the south coast.

The European Commission will soon publish the 12th package of European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia, which will include fresh import and export bans as well as an increase in the oil price ceiling [!], EC President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference in Kiev.

"We will soon propose a 12th package of sanctions, with new listings, new import and export bans, actions to tighten the oil price cap, and to further crack down on sanctions circumvention," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Bloomberg reported earlier, citing sources, that the EU is expected to impose trade restrictions worth $5.3 billion as part of the 12th package of sanctions against Russia.

According to Bloomberg sources, the new planned restrictions will affect exports of welding equipment, chemical products and other military-related technologies.

The community is also considering banning software licenses and imports of some processed metals, aluminum and building items, transportation products, and gemstones. The latest EU sanctions list is expected to include more than 100 individuals and 40 business entities companies.

According to the agency's sources, the EU seeks to persuade European < wipes tears > corporations eNTiTIes to include restrictions in contracts with foreign nations prohibiting the transfer of equipment that can be used for military reasons to Russia.

in the face of overcapacity, rising costs, and weaker prices, sending its shares tumbling.

Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of global container trade, transporting goods for a host of major retailers and consumer goods companies such as Walmart and Nike, flagged a steeper downturn in demand than analysts and investors had expected.

"The new normal we are now headed into is one of more subdued Bidenomic outlook, and thus soft volume demands for the coming years, prices back in line with historical levels, inflationary pressures on our cost base, especially from energy cost, and also increased geopolitical uncertainty," CEO Vincent Clerc said on an investor call. "If the fourth quarter does not deliver some type of improvements, then I think we're looking at a pretty dire situation in 2024," he said.
[...]

...The Scunthorpe-based steelmaker, which is owned by China's Jingye Group, said in a statement Monday it was proposing to replace its current facilities with electric arc furnaces. The investment would cost £1.25 billion ($1.5 billion) and be subject to "appropriate" government support, according to the statement.

"We can't wait and need to transform our business as quickly as possible," Chief Executive Officer Xijun Cao said in a statement. "We remain in talks with the government."

The move could mean the end of the blast furnace in the UK, which at the height of the Industrial Revolution dominated world steel production. While the steelmaking method—which uses coking coal to reduce iron ore—has formed the bulk of world supply for decades, it faces becoming obsolete due to carbon taxation.

The UK government reached a £500 million deal with Tata Steel Ltd. earlier this year to help fund its transition to greener steelmaking. The Indian company runs Britain's only other blast furnaces at its Port Talbot site in south Wales.

Electric arc furnaces, or EAFs, melt down scrap steel and other materials in a process that leads to less carbon emissions than coal-fired blast furnaces. However, it's less labor intensive as it outsources the production of iron from the metal's ore....

Data were collected 11-26 October 2023
[...]
With the exception of Spain (where private sector activity stagnated in October), declines in output were broad-based across the euro area constituents monitored. Germany and France continued to contract sharply, and Italy posted the fastest deterioration for a year. Ireland registered the first decline in output in 11 months, albeit one that was only slight.

Demand conditions played a key role in October's stronger downturn in activity, with new orders placed for euro area goods and services falling at the quickest pace since May 2020. Excluding the pandemic-hit months, the latest drop in new business was the most substantial seen since September 2012, during the sovereign debt crisis. New business from abroad was a considerable drag, falling at one of the steepest rates since this particular series was first compiled in 2014.

In turn, eurozone companies made further progress on their backlogs in October. Outstanding business volumes decreased strongly and at a rate that was broadly in line with September's 39-month record. A sustained marked fall in capacity pressures led more companies to hold back on workforce expansion. Consequently, euro area private sector employment stagnated, ending a 32-month sequence of job creation.
[...]

...We recognize that economics is not a zERO-SUM game, and we seek healthy economic competition with China that can benefit both countries over time.
But healthy competition requires a RULES-BASED, LEVEL PLAYING FIELD. This week, I will speak to my counterpart about our serious concerns with Beijing's unfair economic practices, including its LARGE-SCALE use of non-market tools, its barriers to market access and its COERCIVE actions against U.S. firms in China....

GT | US removes Chinese institutions from 'Entity List' over narcotics, a practice to 'rectify its errors', 17 Nov

...In May 2020, without producing any evidence, the US added the Institute of Forensic Science of China's Ministry of Public Security and the National Narcotics Laboratory to its "eNtITy List."

Such a practice of imposing sanctions on China's narcotics control authorities while seeking China's cooperation has < wipes tears > seriously hindered the operation of China's fentanyl monitoring system and undermined the counter-narcotics cooperation between China and the US, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a report on "Reality Check: Falsehoods in US Perceptions of China" released in June 2022....

ofac.treasury.gov | Balkans-related Designations; Russia-related Designations, 16 Nov UPDATE!
Individuals
AE (0), BA (3), ME (2), MK (3), RS (2), RU (0)

Companies
AE (3), BA (1), ME (0), MK (5), RS (0), RU (13)

euractiv | US issues sanctions to limit Russian influence in Balkans, 17 Nov
ie. three Liberia (.LR) flagged tankers owned by Russian companies and the usual suspects

osw.waw.pl | Germany: the Constitutional Court deprives the government of €60 billion earmarked for transformation, 17 Nov

On 15 November the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) in Karlsruhe ruled that the reallocation of the unused debt from the pandemic support measures to the Energy and Climate Fund (currently known as the Climate and Transformation Fund; Klima- und Transformationsfonds, KTF) was contrary to the German Constitution....

...Berlin's decision to freeze all federal spending for the rest of the year came after the court defunded the government's 60 billion euro--the equivalent of more than $65 billion--green-transition project. The court said Berlin couldn't repurpose unspent credits originally earmarked to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic to fund environmental and energy projects.

aftershock | Europe Plunged into ... Three-card Monte (22.11.23)
"According to senior government officials, one of the options under consideration is the introduction of a budget emergency for 2023 retroactively, referring to the point of budget rules that allows you to suspend the operation of spending limits in exceptional circumstances. Previous governments have used this exception during the pandemic."

[...]
The judgment raises questions about the use of off-budget special funds to finance public investments, including a €100 billion plan to revamp Germany's underfunded military that was announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine....

...On Monday, the Finance Ministry "froze virtually all new spending authorizations for this year as it tries to identify the broader and longer-term implications," government officials told Bloomberg.

...Osburg noted that the ruling has affected funds pledged by Berlin to support industrial transformation toward decarbonization, a crucial element of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's agenda....

...According to Lindner, the question of whether the 2024 budget can be adopted later this year is still uncertain. The Finance Minister spoke about a highly "ambitious schedule" in which the traffic light coalition faces several challenges. For instance, interest expenses, previously covered by the Economic and Stabilization Fund, will now have to be covered by the federal budget. Lindner mentioned a two-digit billion-euro amount in this context....

The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice. 1/4 https://t.co/fT1Ou5kD5Q

— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) November 4, 2023

...A new report from Food Banks Canada released Tuesday found that this year, with the cost of living skyrocketing, food bank usage rose to its highest level since they started surveying users in 1989. Part of Finlayson's frustration is that at the time the video was made, she had a decent job. She made $21 an hour in customer service and logistics support for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning [HVAC] company. Since the pandemic, however, rising costs for everyday goods are taking a deeper gouge out of her monthly earnings.
[...]
Her message to politicians is working Canadians with modest incomes are falling behind.

"They need to understand that the costs of living have exceeded the wages," she said. "The economy can't survive in that situation. It just doesn't balance anymore. It will impede people's mental health -- and we as a country will get weaker if they don't provide some support."

• cbc.ca | Liberals, Bloc Québécois strike down Poilievre's pitch to exempt all home heating from carbon tax, 6 Nov
"The Liberals also have said there are actually more Canadians outside the Atlantic region that use home heating oil, but only three Atlantic provinces have signed on to a program to help oil users switch to heat pumps."

sputnik | OPEC+ Agrees on Major Oil Production Slash, as Brazil Set to Join Cartel, 30 Nov

[...]
In a surprising development, Brazil announced its intention to join the cooperation charter of the OPEC+ oil alliance, effective from January 2024, Brazilian Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira announced at a meeting of the group on Thursday.

[...]
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's office confirmed receiving the invite during his trip to Saudi Arabia, but said he had not formally responded. The president's office and the Mines and Energy Ministry did not say whether Brazil would participate as an OPEC+ observer or as a full participant in the group's shared production quotas.

OPEC (1960 FTA): AE, AO, CG, DZ, GA, GQ, IR, IQ, KW, LY, NG, SA, VZ; PLUS OM*, SD*, BN*, RU*, MX*, AZ*, KZ*, MY*, BH*, EC*, ID*, QA*, BR*

* observer, dialogue, or applicant member

Brazil is not expected to take part in any OPEC+ output caps, said three people familiar with the matter, who requested < wipes tears > anonymity to discuss the confidential discussions.
[...]
Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira told his OPEC+ peers that Brazil was eager to formally enter the group at a future meeting in Vienna, after a technical review of its charter for cooperation.

36th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (30.11.23)
The Meeting welcomed HE Alexandre Silveira de Oliveira, Minister of Mines and Energy of the Federative Republic of Brazil, which will join the OPEC+ Charter of Cooperation starting January 2024.

"It's all set. But there is a phase of detailed analysis by our technical team of the document we just received, which is part of the protocol in Brazil," Silveira said in Portuguese during a virtual meeting, where his comments were met with a standing ovation from OPEC+ ministers.
[...]
In a written statement, OPEC+ said it welcomed Silveira to the meeting, adding that Brazil "will join the OPEC+ Charter of Cooperation starting January 2024." Brazil is the largest oil producer in South America, at 4.6 million barrels per day of oil and gas, of which 3.7 million bpd are crude.

FT | US aims to halve Russia's energy revenues by 2030, says official

[...]
Geoffrey Pyatt, US assistant secretary of state stalking for energy resources, told the Financial Times that the curbs on Vladimir Putin's ability to fund the Ukraine invasion must ensure Russia can never again mount an attack on its neighbours.

"This is something that we're going to have to stick to for years to come, as long as Putin persists in this war," said Pyatt, who has previously served as the US ambassador to Ukraine and to Greece.

Russia has continued to export large volumes of oil since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, the International Energy Agency [IEA] has forecast that its oil and gas exports could fall by at least 40-50 per cent by 2030 if western sanctions ["curbs"] on Russia's energy industry are maintained.

"We're going to do everything we can to help make that true," Pyatt said. "The goal of these sanctions ["curbs"] is to change Russia's behaviour and to ensure that Putin is not in a position, whenever < wipes tears > some kind of peace is achieved . . . to use three or four years to re-arm and prepare himself and prepare his military for stage three [?] of the Ukraine invasion," he added.
[...]

... by the end of September this year, the Financial Times reported that Russia had managed to increase its commodity income despite the restrictions, which circumvents price limitations. According to the report, Kremlin's oil revenues in 2023 are likely to be at least $15 billion more than expected.

Russia is working on the assumption that sanctions ["curbs"] against it by the United States and its allies will last for many years, but that U.S. influence on the world economy is waning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
[...]
"The world economy is not limited to the U.S. economy," Peskov added, saying China was catching up with the United States. "The world is much more diverse than the United States, so the American-centric world is ending, and a period of diversity is beginning, including in international economic relations."

F24 | Israel admits to deadly strike on Gaza refugee camp that killed at least 50 people (31.10.23)
The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 50 people were killed Tuesday in Israeli bombardment of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Israel's military confirmed the strike targeted a key Hamas commander linked to the October 7 attack. Also on Tuesday, France's foreign ministry said two French children have died in the Gaza Strip and reiterated its call for a humanitarian pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Hubei Media Group: The UK and some Western countries have raised concern over Xinjiang-related issues at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. Meanwhile, over 100 countries voiced support at the committee for China's position in various ways and expressed opposition to interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. What's China's comment?
Mao Ning: On October 17, at the Third Committee of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Pakistan delivered a joint statement on behalf of over 70 countries. They pointed out that issues related to Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Xizang [Tibet A.R.] are China's internal affairs....

NHK: The recent "International Uyghur Forum" in Tokyo urged the Japanese government to conduct an independent investigation into the human rights situation in Xinjiang . What's the foreign ministry's response to this?
Wang Wenbin: Xinjiang [A.R.] today enjoys social stability, economic prosperity, ethnic solidarity and religious harmony. The people in Xinjiang live a peaceful and happy life. Since the beginning of this year, more than 100 foreign delegations, including two groups of Japanese tourists, have visited Xinjiang....

...From 1992 to 2021, the State Council Information Office had issued 15 white papers on Xizang, with content ranging from the human rights development, protection of ethnic culture, the democratic reform in the region and ecological improvement, and environmental protection in Xizang. ...

state.gov | Secretary Antony J. Blinken At a Press Availability, Tel Aviv video, transcript (EN)

...First, we need to continue to prevent escalation of this conflict, its spread to other areas and other theaters. The United States has and we will continue to respond to attacks by Iran's proxies to defend our personnel in the region, personnel who are here in Iraq and in Syria to help prevent the resurgence of ISIS [IS | ISIL | DAESH | al-Qaida | Qaeda-in-the-*]. We will do what is necessary to deter and, as I said, respond to any attacks.
[...]
Second, we need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.  We've been clear that as Israel conducts its campaign to defeat Hamas, how it does so matters.  It matters because it's the right and lawful thing to do.  It matters because failure to do so plays into the hands of Hamas and other terror groups.  There will be no partners for peace if they're consumed by humanitarian catastrophe and alienated by any perceived indifference to their plight.

This is what binds us as human beings. I've seen images too of Palestinian children, young boys and girls, pulled from the wreckage of buildings. When I see that, when I look into their eyes through the TV screen, I see my own children. How can we not?

Hamas doesn't care one second or one iota for the welfare, for the well-being, of the Palestinian people.  It cynically and monstrously uses them as human shields, putting its commanders in command posts, its weapons and ammunition within or beneath residential buildings, schools, mosques, hospitals.

But civilians should not suffer the consequences for its inhumanity and its brutality. We've provided Israel advice that only the best of friends can offer on how to minimize civilian deaths while still achieving its objectives of finding and finishing Hamas terrorists and their infrastructure of violence.  Today, I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior officials about concrete steps to do that.
[...]
Third, we need to substantially and immediately increase the sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and getting American citizens and other foreign nationals out of Gaza.
[...]
A number of legitimate questions were raised in our discussions today, including how to use any period of pause to maximize the full humanitarian assistance, how to connect a pause to the release of hostages, how to ensure that Hamas doesn't use these pauses or arrangements to its own advantage. These are issues that we need tackle urgently, and we believe they can be solved.
[...]
Finally, and importantly, even as we work towards progress on each of these urgent needs, we're focused on setting the conditions for a durable and sustainable peace and security. The United States continues to believe that the best viable path—indeed, the only path—is through a two-state solution. That's the only guarantor of a secure, Jewish, and democratic Israel; the only guarantor of Palestinians realizing their legitimate right to live in a state of their own, enjoying equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity, and dignity; the only way to end a cycle of violence once and for all.

And it's precisely now, in the darkest moments, that we have to fight hardest to preserve a path of stability, of security, of opportunity, of integration, of prosperity, and of peace - not tomorrow, not after the war, but today.

...Arguing Biden is "justly proud of his accomplishments," Axelrod said Biden's poll numbers will "send tremors of doubt" through the Democratic Party. "Not 'bed-wetting,'" but legitimate concern, Axelrod wrote....

AFAICT, Axel press and CNN want to whip results into a national "referendum" of POTUS approval and "Democratic Party momentum".

went after Haley—and seemingly also Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—as part of a broader attack on the "neocon" establishment, asking the audience if they "want Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels."

shot back a few minutes later, saying she can run in her "five-inch" heels that also serve as ammunition.

will again seek the Green Party's nomination in the 2024 presidential election. She said in a video she shared on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that "the political system is broken" calling Democrats and Republicans "bought and paid for."

announced on Sunday that he is suspending his presidential campaign. The South Carolina Republican senator made the announcement in a televised interview on Fox News with his longtime friend Trey Gowdy. The news came as a shock to his own staff.

Blue Bins Available at Residential Drop-off Centers to Collect  Unwanted Clothes, Textile Items
Today, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) announced that residents can now bring used clothing, shoes, sheets, and other textiles to any of DPW's five Residential Drop-off Centers, where large blue collection bins will be available.

"This new recycling opportunity will help reduce textile waste, which is one of our fastest growing waste streams. In addition, this effort increases recycling options for residents and diverts material from the City's landfill," said Interim DPW Director Richard J. Luna.

DPW has partnered with HELPSY, through an agreement with the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority (NMWDA), to install the blue bins to collect textiles at each of DPW's Residential Drop-off centers. HELPSY is a clothing collection company and a Certified B Corporation with an environmental goal to extend the useful life of clothing. HELPSY partners with municipalities and organizations across 11 states to collect unwanted clothing while giving back to the communities they serve.

Items placed in the blue bins that are suitable for reuse will be sorted and distributed to thrift partners in North America and around the world. Items not suitable for reuse will be recycled into new materials or products such as insulation or industrial wiper rags.

A flagship EU law intended to push European companies toward net zero faces being seriously weakened by member states, a confidential document passed to The Associated Press reveals, with firms seemingly no longer forced to implement Paris Agreement goals.

The [proposal for a] Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive [press release] was designed to make companies eliminate environmental and human rights violations throughout all areas of their business. The legislation was meant to ensure firms' operations were aligned with a global rise in temperatures of no more than [!] 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). But a Nov. 9 briefing obtained by The AP details a watered-down proposal that would drop the entire financial sector from the initial law.

[...]
When it was unveiled, environmentalists hailed the law. But there's currently a stand-off on the final text between the European Parliament, which wants tough legislation, and the Council of the European Union European Council, formed of ministers [sic] from all 27 member countries.

What are the benefits of these new rules?
For citizens eNtITiEs ...
For companies eNtITiEs ....
For developing countries [eNtITiEs?]
• Better protection of human rights and the environment.
• Increased stakeholder [eNtITiE?] awareness on key sustainability issues.
• Sustainable investment.
• Improved sustainability-related practices.
• Increased take-up of international standards.
• Improved living conditions for people [eNtITiEs?].

[...]
Spain currently holds the [European] council's presidency, and is trying to get all the member states to agree on their desired version of the law. Its attempt at breaking the impasse was set out in the confidential briefing.
[...]

[...]
In the last years, emerging legal frameworks on corporate due diligence in Member States⁹ reflect the increasing desire to support companies in their endeavour to perform due diligence in their value chains and foster business conduct that respects human rights, children's rights and the environment. On the other hand, they also bring fragmentation and risk undermining legal certainty and a level playing field for companies in the single market.
[...]
Whereas:
(1) The Union is founded on the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Those core values that have inspired the Union's own creation, as well as the universality [!] and indivisibility [LOL] of human rights, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, should guide the Union's action on the international scene. Such action includes fostering the sustainable economic, social, and environmental development of developing countries.

[...]
In order to allow companies to fulfil that obligation, Member States should provide for the availability of an option to terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws. It is possible that prevention of adverse impacts at the level of indirect business relationships requires collaboration with another company, for example a company which has a direct contractual relationship with the supplier. In some instances, such collaboration could be the only realistic way of preventing adverse impacts, in particular, where the indirect business relationship is not ready to enter into a contract with the company. In these instances, the company should collaborate with the entity which can most effectively prevent or mitigate adverse impacts at the level of the indirect business relationship while respecting competition law.

COP28 30 Nov - 12 Dec, Dubai (AE) zones (2), themes (23), sponsors (9), and
partners: 200, of which 12 states
BR, CD, EC, EG, FR, GA, JP, MA, MX, TJ, AE, UK

reference
treaties.un | CHAPTER XXVII. Environment | 7. d Paris Agreement
Signatories: 198. Parties: 195. Accessions: 3; Declarations

unfccc.int | Paris Agreement, full text (12.12.15)
languages: AR, CN, EN, FR, ES, RU
effective date, 4 Nov 2016

unfccc.int | Climate Finance, Paris Agreement Art.9 brief
unfccc.int | Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Paris Agreement Art. 4 brief

archive Loss & Damage Deal Book Summit 2023, COP27 Budget, World POWs COP27

The primary culprits for greenhouse gas emissions within the sector are transport (40%) and electricity consumption (20%).

The travel and tourism industry, while experiencing a steady growth of 4.3 percent in gross domestic product annually, is facing a concerning challenge as greenhouse gas emissions within the sector continue to rise at a rate of 2.5 percent each year.
[...]

The global tourism industry, while a significant economic driver, also exerts a substantial toll on the environment. From carbon emissions to waste production, tourism places immense pressure on natural resources and ecosystems. Yet, there exists a spectrum of innovative... pic.twitter.com/rsKT9itqyq

— Global Tourism Forum (@gtourismforum) November 1, 2023

...U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance starting Thursday. Israel also was opening a second corridor for civilians to flee the areas being pounded by Israel's military campaign...

...The Italian ship, Vulcano, is equipped with hospital wards and operating rooms. Currently, the ship is in the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, and it will be stationed "close to the conflict zone" in the Middle East. The ship will have a crew of 170 members, including medical personnel and rescuers. Another thirty will be flown to the region. In addition to the ship, Italy will also send a field hospital to Gaza to provide aid to the injured....

...After the loading was completed, the ship left port early Friday to head to Al Arish, Egypt, close to Egypt's Rafah border crossing into the embattled enclave. It's expected to arrive at Al Arish by Saturday. Nearly 500 tons of aid equipment, including medicine, medical devices, eight field hospitals, 20 ambulances and medical consumables, will be delivered to the Gaza Strip through Egypt as announced by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Thursday....

Major A380 cabin retrofit signed with Emirates to offer increased Premium Economy seats and enhanced in-flight connectivity

Airbus Services signed a major A380 cabin retrofit agreement with Emirates Airline to upgrade 52 A380s. Airbus will provide all the Services Bulletins (including engineering drawings) and kits to install 56 additional Premium Economy seats in the main deck of the A380, in a 2-4-2 configuration similar to the latest A380s delivered.

The 18-month retrofit programme, scheduled to begin at the end of 2022, will be conducted at Emirates' state-of-the-art Engineering Centre in Dubai.

In addition, Airbus will supply new kits required to upgrade Emirates' A380s with the newest Panasonic GCS Ku Satcom System. This retrofit will provide passengers with the latest inflight entertainment connectivity on the flagship aircraft.

• Emirates airline signs contracts worth $1.2bn with France's Safran | The National News |

  Deals are for seats on airline's new A350, 777X-9 and 777-300 aircraft, various components and repairs

• Emirates signs agreements worth over $1.5 billion for A380 fleet maintenance | Gulf News |

  Emirates said it would leverage, at scale, partnerships with Honeywell, Collins Aerospace, Pratt and Whitney, Safran, Lufthansa Technik, OEM Services, Gameco, Haeco, and others to optimise its A380 fleet's lifespan.

  The work, already underway, is in line with the airline's commitment to quality, said Emirates. Outside of the investments to improve the A380 fleet, the airline also has an ongoing $2 billion retrofit programme, which began last year.

  About 67 A380s were earmarked for a refresh across every cabin class, in addition to the installation of new Premium Economy Class cabins. So far, 16 aircraft have been upgraded and are now in full commercial service, said Emirates.

In 2002, America Unrivaled--a book edited by my Princeton colleague, G John Ikenberry, the foremost exponent [sic] of the idea of liberal internationalism--asked why there was so little resistance from other countries to American power projection.

Posted by Cat ... I expanded the comment and wrote a diary ...

Woodrow Wilson's Collapse and the Peace Movement

This inspired to write about societal revolts during my lifetime ..

Clean Break From Peace to War

'Sapere aude'

We need to thank Whoopi Goldberg and the many who answered her so well with the renewed realization that Antisemitism is Racism.
[...]
Judaism laid much of the foundation of all Monotheism (One G^d), Science (One Universe), and Democracy (Equality) in the world. That's why hatred of Jews is the ultimate ungratefulness, throwing mud on Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Einstein, and Herzl. And therefore, the Holocaust doesn't compare to any other genocide, Armenian included—though they are all horrific.
[...]

WVS Cultural Map: 2023 Version Released (17.02.23)
The World Values Survey Association is happy to present the next, updated version of the Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map. The map is based on the latest joint survey round of the World Values Survey and European Values Study 2017-2022. For selected countries, not surveyed recently, data from earlier waves is used to calculate the map score. Overall 111 countries / societies are represented on the map. The cultural map methodology developed by the late WVSA Founder Ronald Inglehart and the WVSA Vice-President Christian Welzel asserts that there are two major dimensions of cross cultural variation in the world: traditional values versus secular-rational values and survival values versus self-expression values.

WHY WE EXIST
The institute has its roots in the discussion that began in the 1960s about the fact that the way we live affects the lives of future generations. At this time many countries founded institutes for futures studies, and so did the Swedish government, in 1973. At first it was a part of the Prime Minister's Office, but in 1987 the institute became an independent research foundation.  What makes us special today is that all research conducted here should have a long-term perspective and be of relevance for the future of our society. The research conducted here changes every few years which makes it a dynamic environment. Researchers from different disciplines, including sociology, philosophy, political science, business economics and psychology, collaborate, which creates a fertile ground for new perspectives on various topics....

...Inglehart helped found the Euro-Barometer [!] surveys and served as a co-investigator on that opinion-measuring project for 20 years starting in 1970. He founded the World Values Survey, or WSV, in 1981 as a more global version < wipes tears > of the existing European Values Survey.

The WSV, now operating in more than 120 countries, evolved into one of the most durable and useful longitudinal social science research tools "devoted to the scientific and academic study of social, political, economic, religious, and cultural values of people in the world." As such, its products have gained enormous credence in both the academic and public spheres—the Washington Post [!] once described it as "the world's greatest cross-national social science collaboration."...

Premium Times. "Ecocide" and Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa 28 years too late

Nigeria was suspended from the [UK] Commonwealth of ['its former dependencies'] for over three years after Mr Saro-Wiwa, 54, and his group were hanged to death. The world was outraged by the execution.

NYT | Nigeria Executes Critic of Regime; Nations Protest (11.11.95)
The United States, Britain and other countries withdrew their ambassadors, the Commonwealth countries were considering whether to expel or suspend Nigeria and the World Bank announced it would not support a $100 million loan to Nigeria for a huge project to develop liquefied natural gas.
CNN | Nigeria executes 9 activists; world outraged (10.11.95)
In Brussels, the European Union condemned the executions, and said the 15-nation bloc would re-consider its relations with the oil-rich West African nation.

"This heinous act offends our values and darkens our hope for democracy in the region," the then American Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright [!], was quoted as saying, immediately the news of the execution went out.

BBC | UK and US considered Nigeria naval blockade over Saro-Wiwa execution (30.12.19)
Notes of a meeting between Mr Major and US President Bill Clinton, nearly three weeks after the executions, show the steps the leaders contemplated to isolate Nigeria. The two men met while Mr Clinton was on a visit to the UK.

Shell is facing a civil suit in Netherland over its alleged complicity in the killing of Mr Saro-Wiwa and the eight other Ogoni activists. The suit was filed on June 28, 2017, by four of the widows of the Ogoni Nine, led by Esther Kiobel.

BBC | UK Supreme Court has ruled: Nigerian communities can sue Shell in English courts. (15.02.21)
Royal Dutch Shell did not dispute that pollution had been caused, but argued it could not be held legally responsible for its Nigerian subsidiary.  The decision on Friday is the latest case to test whether multinational companies can be held accountable for the acts of overseas subsidiaries.

After the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, the country has had four presidents so far, including the current President Muhammadu Buhari, yet the Niger Delta has remained a troubled region, owing largely to unresolved environmental issues and widespread poverty. The Buhari administration in June 2016 launched a campaign to clean up the Ogoniland.

BBC | Ogoni nine: Nigerian widows lose case against oil giant Shell (23.03.22)
The district court in The Hague heard testimony from five witnesses, including some who said they had been paid by Shell representatives for rehearsed false testimony in the trial that led to the men's execution.

[...]

Mrs Justice May ruled this week that more than 13,000 farmers and fishers from the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger delta were entitled to bring legal claims against Shell for alleged breaches to their right to a clean environment. The judge ruled it was arguable the pollution had fundamentally breached the villagers' right to a clean environment under the Nigerian constitution [Ch. II, 1999] and the African charter [AU.int, 1986] on human and people's rights. Claims under these rights have no limitation period.

Shell said its Nigerian subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), accepted responsibility for the spills it caused and compensated affected parties where required by relevant Nigerian regulations. It said it also remediates all spills from its assets, regardless of cause. Shell plc denies that it owes a duty of care directly to the claimants.
[...]
Three years ago the supreme court unanimously ruled that "there is a good arguable case" that Shell plc (the UK-based parent company) is legally responsible for the pollution caused by its Nigerian subsidiary. But the case has continued in a series of legal tussles between Shell and the claimants. A Shell spokesperson said of the latest judgment: "We strongly believe in the merits of our case. Oil is being stolen on an industrial scale in the Niger delta. This criminality is a major source of pollution and is the cause of the majority of spills in the Bille and Ogale claims.

What happens when a people are confined to a bubble where the "truth" has one book to read, to follow and obey, then suddenly the bubble bursts and the sun shines on a whole new truth, verifiable, clear, and sound?

This what happens to the kibbutzim in Nirim, Nir Oz, Magen and Ein Hashloshla.  These four kibbutzim were established after the Nakba of 1948 on my land, Al Ma'in, (65,000 dunums -- 16,000 acres). Al Ma'in was and is the home of my Abu Sitta family for centuries, now refugees in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.
[...]

Why Moscow, Beijing, and Middle East? Why now?

Normally, US trial proceedings run 9 AM - 5 PM, business hours.