Austria has mulled over the possibility of new sanctions against Russia due to the detention of three Ukrainian Navy vessels that sailed toward the Kerch Strait in what Moscow has described as an unequivocal provocation committed in violation of international law. At a secret meeting of the Political and Security Committee in Brussels on Tuesday, French and German diplomats spoke out against stepping up existing EU sanctions against Russia in light of the growing rift between Moscow and Kiev over the Kerch Strait incident. Source: Sputnik
Trade Cooperation
Kosovo Prime Minister says taxes on imports from Serbia and Bosnia will rise from 10 to 100 per cent immediately – a day after Serbia hailed the failure of its bid to join Interpol. Source: Balkan Insight
Russia may launch settlements with Iran in national currencies in order to continue bilateral cooperation despite the US sanctions against Tehran, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the Anadolu news agency on Sunday. Source: TASS
Tehran has expressed hope that the Iran nuclear deal can be saved despite the US pulling out of the agreement. Iran’s statement came during a visit of the British foreign minister to Iran. Source: Deutsche Welle
China said it will continue pursuing negotiations with Canada on a free-trade deal after assurances that a recently settled North American trade agreement would not stop Ottawa from signing deals with other countries. Source: South China Morning Post
The nation’s lawmaking body approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday, following Australia’s ratification on October 31. Source: South China Morning Post
China on Thursday reported exports and imports for the month of October that exceeded forecasts, the country’s General Administration of Customs reported. Source: CNBC
The US has announced a new missile defense policy aimed at addressing the challenges posed by Russia and China, which seeks to displace America in the Indo-Pacific region and has adopted an assertive posture in disputes over territorial boundaries with its neighbours. Source: Economic Times
The Dutch journalist who was expelled from Turkey is suspected of forgery, sources report to Nieuwsuur. Ans Boersma would have falsified her ex-boyfriend’s papers, a Syrian who was recently arrested in the Netherlands for being a member of the terror organization Jabhat al-Nusra. Source: NOS
Vladimir Putin has said that Russia finds the Kosovo authorities’ decision to create their own army regrettable and sees it as another risk of destabilization of the situation in the Balkans.
“Regrettably, Kosovo’s authorities took a series of provocative steps lately, thus greatly aggravating the situation. In the first place I have in mind their decision of December 14 to form a so-called army in Kosovo,” Putin told a news conference. “It goes without saying that this is a direct violation of the UN resolution, which does not allow for the creation of any paramilitary forces except for the international UN contingent.”
“Such irresponsible steps by Kosovo’s authorities may cause destabilization in the Balkans,” he warned. Source: Tass
At a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkish President Erdogan and his Croatian counterpart both agreed that the 1995 agreement which ended the 1992-5 war in Bosnia is not working. Erdogan called on Wednesday for the revision of Bosnia’s 1995 Dayton Agreement in Ankara alongside Croatian President Grabar-Kitarovic who was paying an official visit. Source: Balkan Insight
According to a recent report, the use of the word “family” caused many Google employees to freak out, arguing that the term was homophobic. Source: Breitbart
The pages were linked to employees of Moscow-based Sputnik, Facebook said. In a statement, a spokesperson for Sputnik said Facebook’s decision was “practically censorship.” Source: Bloomberg
The European parliament has backed plans to cut EU funds to member states that undermine the rule of law or allow corruption to fester – a move that could raise tensions with the governments in Hungary and Poland, which are accused of weakening judicial independence. Source: The Guardian
Last year saw a sharp increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the narrow waterway separating mainland Europe and Britain by boat. Source: Reuters
Over the last few years China has made a series of ambitious military reforms and acquired new technology as it aims to improve its ability to fight regional conflicts over places like Taiwan, according to a new report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency. Source: CNN
Germany has seen a huge rise in the number of applications for firearms licenses in a phenomenon which is being blamed on insecurity over the country’s migrant crisis. Source: Daily Mail
The United States is closely watching Chinese intentions toward Taiwan, concerned that Beijing’s growing military prowess may increase the risk it could one day consider bringing the self-ruled island under its control by force, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. Source: Reuters
The bankruptcy of Yukos Oil in Russia will not be recognized in the Netherlands, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Friday, upholding a decision in 2017 by a lower appeals court. Source: The Moscow Times
The German government is debating whether to follow the United States and allies such as Australia in restricting China’s Huawei Technologies from accessing its next-generation mobile networks on national-security grounds.
Some Western countries have barred Huawei from their markets after US officials briefed allies that Huawei is at the beck and call of the Chinese state, warning that its network equipment may contain “back doors” that could open them up to cyberespionage. Huawei says such concerns are unfounded. Source: The Irish Time
- The bipartisan bills target firms supposedly in breach of US sanctions, and specifically cite Huawei and ZTE
- Republican Senator Tom Cotton branded Huawei ‘an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party’
The measures would require the US president to ban the export of US components to any Chinese telecommunications company that violates US sanctions or export control laws. Source: South China Morrning Post
Germany and China are working on ways to improve market access for each other’s banks and insurers, the German finance minister said on Thursday, and he welcomed plans by China and the United States to ease trade tensions through talks. Source: Euronews
Nokia is to cut another 350 jobs as part of efforts to achieve annual savings of €700 million by the end of next year. Source: TechRadar
The workforce in 2040 is projected to be 20 percent smaller than in 2017 due to overall population decline if the economy sees no growth and women and the elderly continue to have difficulty landing jobs, according to government study released Tuesday. Source: Japan Times
In 2018, Chinese FDI in the United States fell to just $4.8 billion — a massive decline from $29 billion in 2017 and $46 billion in 2016, according to independent researcher the Rhodium Group. Source: CNBC
German gross domestic product grew 1.5 percent in 2018, compared with 2.2 percent in 2017, the latest data from the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) showed. Source: CNBC
Angela Merkel’s replacement as leader of Germany’s Christian Democrats has criticised the country’s leading environmental organisations for leading “crusades” against diesel cars, as she attempts to put distance between herself and her predecessor. Source: The Guardian
Shares fell in Asia on Monday, extending the latest losses on Wall Street, as China reported a sharp slowdown in exports. Source: MarketWatch
Several Chinese electronics retailers including Alibaba-backed Suning and JD.com have slashed iPhone prices this week, after Apple recently blamed poor sales of the smartphone in the country for a rare revenue warning. Source: The Economic Times
