ان تصاویر کو دیکھ کر ایک سبق ملتاہے۔ امریکی
صدر جو بائیڈن نے اس مسخرے کو یوکرائن کا صدر بنا کر روس سے جنگ شروع کی۔ آج تک
امریکہ اور اس کے حواری اربوں ڈالر اس جنگ میں جھونک چکے ہیں۔ روس اور یوکرائن کے
ہزاروں بے گناہ لوگ مارے جاچکے ہیں۔ قابل غور بات یہ ہے کہ وہ حکمران جنہوں نے اس
قتل و غارت گری میں اہم کردار ادا کیا بتدریج اقتدار سے محروم ہوتے جارہے ہیں کیا
یہ مکافات عمل نہیں؟
Incumbent Vice-Chancellor Habeck was quick to attack
previous federal governments under the Union’s; Christian Democratic Union
(CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), leadership,
blaming them for current problems in the country.
While acknowledging that the ruling ‘traffic light
coalition’ (coalition of Social Democratic Party (SPD), Free Democratic Party
(FDP) and the Greens) is to blame, Habeck argued that the bigger blame must be
placed on the Union.
“The investment gaps that we see, the lack of money in
education, in bridges, in the trains, these did not arise from the governing
coalition alone. On the contrary, we tried to do everything possible to plug
the gaps and fix them, but the situation arose long, long, long before that.
In an effort to further stress his argument, Habeck
criticised the record of previous CSU transport ministers, listing by name
“[Peter] Ramsauer, [Andreas] Scheuer and [Alexander] Dobrindt”, adding that
Germany’s current economic problems are a result of their policies.
Habeck moved to brand his party as one of solutions and passion
for improving the country.
"The reality will not change after election day. No
matter which party gets which vote, we will find the same reality. It will not
change that people in Germany are afraid for their jobs, that social anxiety
has gripped the country again. These are real problems that will not disappear,
even if the governing majority changes. That is why we need to provide answers
in this election campaign that take these and other problems seriously and
provide answers that are as big as the problems themselves.”
Promoting himself as the candidate to achieve this
mountainous task he added "for the future, for a policy that gives the
answers that fit our times, we need a strong Green Party and I will embody that
with all my strength and all my passion, for the future.”
But the candidate for Germany’s top job didn’t end his
criticism of competition there. Habeck continued to target the Union who
currently top the polls stating that their leadership and candidates are only
making claims of improvement but have not provided material evidence of any plans
to achieve their promises.
“The Union pretends that everything is very simple and that
strong men only have to make strong statements and then the problems will be
solved. The reality is much more complex. We have embarked on a critically
important path, it is an European solution and this European solution must be
implemented. This is what will order and sort the migration movements in Europe
and then also in Germany.”
The Greens say they want to tackle issues and concerns that
relate to the majority, such as rising rents, proposing to implement rent caps
to relieve the burden off ordinary Germans. The party also wants to create tax
incentives for investments to boost the economy and stimulate growth, to
achieve their goals of making normal life “affordable again”.
CSU party chairman Markus Söder hosted the group’s first
winter retreat in preparation for the upcoming election in Bavaria’s Seeon
Monastery.
Söder wants to foster the German economy, implement a
stricter asylum policy and increase investment, both in quantity and speed, into
modern technologies and military defence sectors.
“Recession, depression, inflation. The overall omens for the
economic situation are extraordinarily difficult. When prosperity wobbles,
democracy wobbles, too. In this respect, the important thing now is not to
organize a change of government, but to bring about an actual change of
direction and policy.”
“Bankruptcies are on the rise, unemployment is increasing,
investments are disappearing and companies are fundamentally dissatisfied.
Germany's economic model is shaky,” added Söder.
The CSU has also stated that it will not prioritize Green
economic policies, calling them ineffective and expensive.
“Promoting performance through tax cuts instead of citizens'
income. That has to go. There needs to be a commitment to a sensible energy
policy, namely nuclear energy, instead of experiments such as the heating law.”
The Bavarian party also wants to attract attention and set
itself apart by taking a tough line on migration policies. Notes from the
meeting indicated that they plan that they also want to implement harsher
punishment for migrants who commit crimes in the country, suggesting lengthy
prison terms or deportation.
The group also wants to amend the rights of residence for
migrants, seeking to implement a system where a migrant’s legal status is
linked to a job, income and lack of permanent access to social benefits and
welfare.
Söder also stressed that they will not be seeking a large
coalition of parties in the upcoming election, and have moved to rule out any
possibility of a coalition with the Greens.
“The more parties, the worse the instability. It's no use,
as we've already seen. The traffic light porridge didn't taste good because
there were too many different spices in it.” He continued saying “We don't
believe that the Greens are competent to govern.”
Their sister CDU party however have not ruled out such a
coalition, instead opting to keep their options open. The CSU chairman warned
that if they continue to propagate a black and green coalition, it will hurt
their electoral chances, stressing that it will drive many voters to other
parties “definitely the AfD (Alternative for Germany)”.
Söder also says that his campaign will look to rapidly boost
the growth of one of Germany’s globally renowned exports, the auto industry.
Söder says their campaign will prioritise supporting electric cars – or e-cars
– produced in Germany, saying special premiums will be rolled out to ail their
growth which will subsequently strengthen the German economy.
The meeting is set to continue for three-days, with the
final day, Wednesday, featuring a speech by the CDU chancellor candidate
Friedrich Merz, whom the CSU are launching a joint election program with.
Representatives from the business world as well as foreign
politicians from Greece and Luxembourg were also reportedly invited to the
event.
Courtesy: Euronews
In a statement released on Sunday, Spokesperson Esmail
Baqaei denounced the attacks as flagrant violations of Yemen's national
sovereignty and territorial integrity, pointing out that they contradict the
principles of international law.
Baqaei highlighted the recurrent nature of these military
violations, involving not only the US and Britain but also the Israeli regime,
against Yemen.
"These acts of aggression will lead to increased
insecurity and further instability in West Asia," Baqaei warned.
In the early days of the New Year, British and US forces
launched multiple airstrikes targeting vital infrastructure in Saada.
These attacks have caused significant damage to power
stations, communication networks, and other critical infrastructure.
Analysts believe these repeated airstrikes aim to undermine
Yemen's ability to support Gaza and are part of a broader strategy to
destabilize the region.
Baqaei also criticized the ongoing support provided by Britain
and the US to the Israeli regime, describing it as "direct involvement in
committing heinous international crimes against the people of Gaza."
He praised the Yemeni people's solidarity with Palestinians
and urged the international community, particularly Islamic countries, to take
more decisive action to halt the violence in occupied Palestine.
"The international community must take swift and
decisive measures to end the suffering of the Palestinian people and ensure
their protection," Baqaei asserted.
Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site that, if both
nations were to become one, "there would no Tariffs" and that
"taxes would go way down."
He also said Canada would be "Totally Secure” from the
threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding
them," and argued many Canadians would "Love" the idea of being
the “51st State” of the United States.
Trump added that the merger would be beneficial for
the US, because it would “no longer suffer” from “massive Trade Deficits” and
subsidies that it provides to Canada.
Trudeau, who has served as Canada’s prime minister for nine
years, announced Monday that he would be resigning before general elections
later this year.
His Liberal Party, which Trudeau has led for 11 years,
is polling poorly, and the leader has faced mounting crises, including the
resignation of a top minister and a confrontation with Trump’s 25 percent
tariff plan, among other issues.
The record prices are likely to lift retail inflation, which
eased in November last year after surging to a 14-month high in October, and
could influence the central bank's decision on interest rate cuts.
"Wheat supplies are limited in the market. Even after
paying record prices, flour mills are unable to secure enough to operate at
full capacity," said Ajay Goyal, managing director of Shivaji Roller Flour
Mills.
In December 2024, New Delhi lowered the limit on wheat
stocks that traders and millers can hold to help boost the grain's availability
and moderate prices.
But the curbs failed to bring down prices, which were
trading around 33,000 rupees (US$384.66) per metric ton in New Delhi, up from
24,500 rupees in April and far above the government fixed minimum support price
of 22,750 rupees for last season's crop.
The stock limit failed to improve supplies and bring down
prices, indicating that private players are holding few supplies, and the
government needs to sell more wheat from its reserves to bulk consumers, said
Pramod Kumar, a flour miller.
The state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) is selling
100,000 metric tons of wheat to bulk consumers every week, but this is not
sufficient to meet demand, as private players' sales are falling, Kumar said.
In November, the government announced plans to sell 2.5
million tons of wheat from state reserves to bulk consumers in the year ending
March 2025. This is significantly lower than the nearly 10 million tons sold in
the previous season.
The surplus wheat with the FCI is limited, preventing it
from offering more to private players, said a New Delhi-based dealer with a
global trade house.
Wheat
stocks in state warehouses totaled 20.6 million tons at the start of December,
slightly higher than the previous year's 19.2 million tons, but far below
five-year average of 29.5 million
In its suit against the US government, Nippon Steel asked
the court to set aside Biden's order on Friday blocking the buyout,
and to instruct the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
(CFIUS) to conduct a new review of the US$14.9 billion deal for Nippon Steel to
purchase US Steel.
There has never been a case where a prominent Japanese company
has sued the US president.
A statement on the lawsuit released Monday by Nippon Steel
and US Steel claimed the month-long review by CFIUS, an interagency panel that
reviews potential economic security concerns regarding foreign companies'
investment, violated the constitutional guarantee of due process.
Nippon Steel, together with its wholly owned subsidiary
Nippon Steel North America and US Steel, filed the petition with the US Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against CFIUS as well as Biden,
CFIUS Chairperson and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Attorney General
Merrick Garland.
According to the statement, Biden, whose Democratic Party
draws strong support from labor unions, "ignored the rule of law" to
try to achieve his own political objective of winning the US presidential
election in 2024 with support from the USW.
The companies said they were "disappointed" to see
"a clear and improper exploitation of the country's national security
apparatus in an effort to help win an election and repay political
favors."
Nippon Steel also plans to argue that certain processes were
unreasonable -- namely that CFIUS demanded the company's response in a shorter
period than is standard and did not engage in substantive discussions that
offered any counterproposals or written comment to its proposals to address
security concerns.
Nippon Steel and two other companies have filed a separate
civil suit in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
against Cleveland-Cliffs, its CEO Lourenco Goncalves, and USW President David
McCall, alleging they were "engaging in a coordinated series of
anticompetitive and racketeering activities" to block the acquisition as a
part of "an illegal campaign to monopolize critical domestic steel
markets."
Cleveland-Cliffs is the second-largest steel company in the
US. It announced its intention to acquire US Steel, but it was outbid by Nippon
Steel.
"The illegal agreement is part of a 'merge or murder'
strategy by which Cliffs has sought to force an anticompetitive merger with US
Steel or severely weaken it as a competitor," Nippon Steel said.
Nippon Steel argues that Cleveland-Cliffs, Goncalves and
McCall's "anticompetitive and unlawful actions were brazen and obvious --
consisting of public lies, pressure tactics, and an illegal antitrust
conspiracy."
The company is seeking injunctions of such activities and
substantial damages.
Nippon Steel believes evidence of these actions can be
presented as grounds for the administrative litigation against Biden and
others. Using an unusual multiple-suit approach, the company intends to gather
evidence through the civil lawsuit for the administrative lawsuit.
The Japanese company also believes there is evidence that
Cleveland-Cliffs and the USW, which wanted to prevent the acquisition, had
multiple exchanges of correspondence with Biden, including ones that indicate
the existence of a deal for the USW to announce its support for Biden, and
later for Vice President Kamala Harris, in the presidential election if the
acquisition by Nippon Steel was blocked.
Nippon Steel said it would hold a news conference in Tokyo
on Tuesday.
Biden's order to block the deal has roused criticism from
the Japanese government. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in a news
conference on Monday that the incident has prompted the nation's industrial
sector to "voice concerns about future investments between the US and
Japan."
"This is something we must take very seriously,"
Ishiba said. "It would be inappropriate for the Japanese government to
comment on the management of individual companies that have been under review
under U.S. domestic law, but we would like to urge the U.S. government to take
action to eliminate these concerns."
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto told
reporters on Monday that Biden's decision was "extremely regrettable and
difficult to understand." The minister said he "personally lobbied
the Biden administration" to address the strong concerns of the Japanese
business community about investment in the U.S., adding that "strong
economic ties form the foundation of bilateral relations."
"She will hopefully be an asset to Steve, a great
leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled
region. I expect great results, and soon," Trump announced on his social
media platform, Truth Social.
Ortagus, the former State Department spokesperson during
Trump’s first term, expressed her gratitude for the appointment.
"To be given the opportunity to once again represent my
country and the Trump Administration in a crucial diplomatic role is a dream
come true," Ortagus wrote on X.
She emphasized the importance of the US fostering
"peace and stability" in the Middle East, calling her new role a
"small" contribution to that goal.
Ortagus served as State Department spokesperson from 2019 to
2021 under then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Before that, she worked as a
financial intelligence analyst at the Treasury Department and served as deputy
US Treasury attaché in Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2011.
