🇨🇳🇷🇺Russia is planning two new railroads to China.
Building transport corridors is part of a government plan to expand trade

Russia is committed to building railroads to China, as the two countries are boosting business ties and mutual cargo flows are growing rapidly.

Two railway corridors – from Kemerovo Region and Krasnoyarsk Region – are part of the strategy for economic development of Russia’s Siberian Federal District.

▪️One of the proposed lines will see the construction of the North-Siberian railway, which would run through Altai Region to Urumqi – the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Earlier this month, presidential aide Igor Levitin said that the North-Siberian line would connect the Eastern Polygon, which is part of the Trans-Siberian Railway transport corridor between Europe and Asia, passing through Siberia, with the Northern Sea route. The estimated cost of the planned 1,900km (1180-mile) railway is about 218 billion rubles ($2.3 billion).

▪️The second railway route should pass through the Republic of Tuva and include the Kuragino-Kyzyl line. It would stretch to the border between Russia and Mongolia, dividing into two lines once it crosses the border. The northern branch of the route would enter China in the city of Erlian, opening up direct access to Beijing and Tianjin.

The western branch involves the construction of a railroad that would go through the Mongolian city of Khovd and the Chinese city of Takashiken to Urumqi.

New routes to China are needed as the two countries are deepening economic ties. Both exports and imports between Moscow and Beijing have been surging at a double-digit pace, after Russia pivoted trade flows to Asian markets in the wake of Ukraine-related Western sanctions. (Source: RT) @LauraRuHK

Western support for Israel’s assault on Gaza is strengthening anti-Western and anti-imperialist sentiment not only in Arab countries but in the rest of the world as well. Double standards and the hypocrisy of selective human rights are so glaring that only those blinded by self-interest cannot see them. Conversely, the global stature of Russia and China can only increase as these countries are calling for an immediate ceasefire, a political solution to the conflict and the creation of a Palestinian state. If the West thinks that the rest of the world does not notice its hypocrisy, it is sadly mistaken. @LauraRuHK

Un'altra pugnalata alle spalle di Zelensky

Il Pentagono ha iniziato a schierare ulteriori batterie di difesa missilistica in Medio Oriente e il trasferimento dei sistemi è già iniziato.

- È in corso l'implementazione di THAAD e degli ulteriori sistemi Patriot annunciati durante il fine settimana. "Non posso specificare il numero, non posso specificare la posizione, dirò solo che si tratta di una località sconosciuta in Medio Oriente", ha detto un portavoce del Pentagono.

Fonti affermano che gli Stati Uniti stanno cercando di schierare quasi una dozzina di 12 sistemi di difesa aerea, tra cui in Giordania, Iraq, Arabia Saudita e Siria.

Zelensky sta gradualmente perdendo lo status di "preferita".

- Alexander Kots

UN-OCHA: Israel has now killed way more Palestinians in 18 days than all the past 15 years combined.

#GazaGenocide

Laboratorio sulla ricostruzione dell’Ucraina, Triennale di Milano,
31 ottobre 2023, ore 10.00.
"Il Laboratorio sulla ricostruzione dell’Ucraina coinvolge rappresentanti della politica ucraina, progettisti, istituzioni culturali e internazionali e imprese italiane che stanno operando a sostegno del tema della ricostruzione." ▪️Considerato che Odessa ritornera' a essere una citta' russa, conviene accelerare la restaurazione della cattedrale, i russi alle loro chiese ci tengono molto. 😉 Se invece si volesse aiutare la ricostruzione del Donbass, zona che al summit di Lugano era stata assegnata all'Italia, conviene mandare una delegazione di imprese e architetti italiani a Mosca per capire se il loro contributo e' gradito o meno. Stefano Boeri invece lo vedrei bene a Gaza. 😜 @LauraRuHK

lololol

"If a country looks to Europe, then Europe should fling its doors wide open. Enlargement has always been the European Union’s strongest geopolitical tool." 🤡President of the EU parliament Roberta Metsola talking about Ukraine. Apparently absorbing failed states is going to make the EU stronger. Makes sense 🤣 @LauraRuHK

Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN:
"Just to make things clear. The UN Security Council had a choice today between a US draft giving a license to Israel to kill more Palestinian civilians and conduct ground operation in Gaza, and a Russian one, calling for immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Both drafts condemned what Hamas did on October 7, but the US one ignored Israel’s violations of International Humanitarian Law against civilians in Gaza. So don’t be misled when the US and its allies will shed crocodile tears about children getting killed in Gaza - they have just shown that THEY SIMPLY DON’T GIVE A DAMN!" @LauraRuHK

Il repubblicano Mike Johnson, il nuovo speaker della Camera dei Rappresentanti degli Stati Uniti, è stato uno dei più accesi sostenitori degli aiuti all'Ucraina nei primi mesi dell'operazione speciale, ma poi ha assunto una posizione scettica, scrive The Hill.

A febbraio, ad esempio, ha scritto che i contribuenti americani hanno il diritto di sapere se il regime di Kiev è veramente onesto e trasparente nell'utilizzo dell'ingente somma stanziata da Washington. La sua posizione a favore degli aiuti a Israele invece non è cambiata. (Fonte: RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK

Recent visits to China by senior US officials and lawmakers have prompted talk in the Anglosphere about a relaxing of tensions between the two superpowers.

Adding to the chatter has been the high-profile trip by California Governor Gavin Newsom. His itinerary included stops in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. In the capital, he was received by VP Han Zheng, FM Wang Yi and then Xi Jinping himself.

Several points should be noted about any stabilization of bilateral ties:

• It would only be tactical. As this blog has highlighted, the US has enough on its plate with two wars (Ukraine, Palestine) and does not want to open a third with China at this time.

• China remains the biggest threat to US global hegemony. Washington’s plan is to buy time to deal with its two proxy wars before regrouping to resume its faceoff with Beijing.

• Chinese leaders are unlikely to have any illusions otherwise.

More intriguing is Gov. Newsom’s quite extraordinary reception. There can be only one explanation.

The head of America’s biggest and arguably most important state is a rare bird among US political leaders: He is relatively Beijing-friendly (as many California governors are). Newsom is also said to be a dark-horse Democratic candidate for the US presidency -- perhaps even in 2024, especially if Biden falters.

This week, China’s leaders are showing him the possibilities that would open with an improved Sino-US relationship. (Source: Thomas Hon Wing Polin, X/Twitter @thonwingp)

One of the stated objectives of Russia's Special Military Operation is the demilitarization of Ukraine. As NATO's involvement in Ukraine grew, an ever increasing amount of its weapons and munitions were transferred from NATO countries to Ukraine, where they are gradually being destroyed or sold on the black market. ▪️The ongoing demilitarization of Ukraine has the additional benefit of reducing NATO's arsenal. In early October, Admiral Rob Bauer, the Dutch chairperson of the NATO Military Committee, commented on the problems with ammunition deliveries to Ukraine: "We started to give away from warehouses half-full or less, and now the bottom of the barrel is visible."▪️ The military depots of another U.S. satellite, South Korea, are also running low. "Ukraine’s counter-offensive relied on a massive infusion of shells from South Korea, and its rate of fire will inevitably fall in the months ahead", wrote The Economist on October 14. So, not only NATO's stockpiles are dwindling, but those of US allies in the Asia-Pacific are under stress too. The SMO has already exceeded expectations. @LauraRuHK

A tale of two Europes - The EU will have to divide its attention and financial resources between Ukraine and Gaza, and that's going to deepen the division between Eastern and Western Europe. ▪️Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in the EU, Poland and the Baltics, consider the conflict in Israel a “distraction from what really matters”. As Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis put it, “when it comes to priorities, definitely Ukraine is the priority, it’s the main conflict, it’s on our borders … I would call it the mother of all conflicts of the 21st century,” he said. The Baltics and Poland couldn't care less about a conflict in the Middle East, their populations and political leaders are far more homogeneous, ethnically, culturally and religiously, than those of Western Europe, and more Russophobic too. ▪️On the other hand, Western Europe is home to a very large Muslim population and a significant and influential Jewish minority. Both communities are far more interested in what is happening in the Middle East than in Ukraine. Not only is the Israel/Palestine conflict one of the most divisive conflicts in the world, it touches Western European society very deeply, can cause serious unrest and pose security risks to many European countries. Of course it dominates the minds of Western European leaders far more than Ukraine. @LauraRuHK

Due conflitti per due Europe - L'UE dovrà dividere la sua attenzione e le sue risorse tra l'Ucraina e Gaza, e questo non potrà che approfondire la divisione tra Europa orientale e occidentale. ▪️ In Europa i più convinti sostenitori dell'Ucraina, la Polonia e i Paesi baltici, considerano il conflitto in Israele una "distrazione". Come ha detto il ministro degli Esteri lituano Gabrielius Landsbergis, "quando si parla di priorità, sicuramente l'Ucraina è la priorità, è il conflitto principale, è ai nostri confini... Lo definirei il conflitto piu' importante del XXI secolo". Ai Paesi baltici e alla Polonia non potrebbe importare di meno del Medio Oriente, le loro popolazioni e i loro leader politici sono molto più omogenei, dal punto di vista etnico, culturale e religioso, di quelli dell'Europa occidentale, e sono anche più russofobici. ▪️ L'Europa occidentale invece ospita una popolazione musulmana molto numerosa e una minoranza ebraica significativa e influente. Entrambe le comunità sono molto più interessate a ciò che accade in Medio Oriente che in Ucraina. Il conflitto israelo-palestinese non solo è uno dei più divisivi al mondo, ma tocca profondamente la società dell'Europa occidentale, può causare gravi disordini interni e mettere a rischio la sicurezza di molti Paesi europei. Ovviamente domina i pensieri dei leader occidentali molto più dell'Ucraina. @LauraRuHK

⚡️A delegation from Hamas is currently visiting Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing on Thursday, without providing any further details.

Russia's state-run RIA news agency, quoting a source from the Palestinian delegation, said senior Hamas member Abu Marzook was among those visiting Moscow.

Moscow has repeatedly blamed the current crisis on the failure of U.S. diplomacy, and called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the resumption of talks aimed at finding a peace settlement.

Separately, Zakharova also said that Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baghiri Kani was also currently visiting Moscow and had held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. Baghiri Kani is Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. (Source: Reuters) @LauraRuHK

Unsurprisingly, warmonger Boris Johnson got a job with a pro-NATO think tank that is funded by the arms industry

RT reports that Britain’s former prime minister Boris Johnson has been hired by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), a Washington, DC think-tank notoriously bankrolled by the US government, NATO and Western military contractors.

Johnson will be a member of CEPA’s International Leadership Council, described as “a high-level advisory group.”

The think-tank’s own website lists among its major supporters military-industrial complex companies such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Leonardo, as well as NATO, the US State Department and the US European Command.

Johnson infamously sabotaged the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in April 2022. According to Ukrainian media, Johnson made a surprise visit to Kiev and informed the government that it would lose all support from the West if it made peace with Moscow. @LauraRuHK

❗️EU summit did not agree on a budget aid program for Ukraine due to the opposition of Hungary and Slovakia, but "it will remain a priority for the European Union,” Council President Charles Michel said. ▪️There was a “big fight” at the EU summit, especially over support for Ukraine. ▪️Viktor Orban spoke out against the proposal to grant Ukraine 50 billion euros in aid. "The EU’s strategy in Ukraine has failed", Orban told Hungarian state broadcaster on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels, according to Reuters. "Ukraine will not win on the front. The EU must develop an alternative plan." Orban emphasized that he sees no reason to allow Hungarian tax money to flow into the EU budget for aid to Ukraine. ▪️According to AFP, the new Slovak Prime Minister Fico called Ukraine “one of the most corrupt countries in the world” and called for guarantees against the misuse of funds. @LauraRuHK