👋 Сайн уу*
Welcome to Monday where the Kremlin is denying reports that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone, Trump names his border czar to oversee a mass deportation and Chinese youth are pedaling for their dumplings. We also feature a report from Cairo-based Al-Manassa on the way Trump’s election could put a chill in warming relations between Egypt and Iran.
[*Sain uu - Mongolian]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“The unrest continues.” Amsterdam-based newspaper NRC, dedicates its front page to the ongoing tensions shaking the city, after Israeli football fans were attacked on Thursday night following a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam. Earlier, violent incidents involving Maccabi’s ultras were reported. In an attempt to stop any escalation of violence, the city council imposed a ban on public protests in the Dutch capital. But on Sunday, more than 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators ignored the ban and gathered at the Dam Square, chanting "Free Palestine" and "Amsterdam says no to genocide", in reference to the Gaza war. The police intervened to remove the protesters and arrested 50 people.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Death toll rises in Lebanon and Gaza as hopes of truce fade. Israeli strikes on northern Lebanon on Sunday have killed at least 23, while the death toll continues to rise in Gaza as well. This comes as the Gulf nation of Qatar announced it was suspending its role as a key Gaza war mediator, blaming both sides for not actually wanting to find a resolution. The hopes for a ceasefire dimmed further with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s naming a hardliner to become the new ambassador to the U.S. following Donald Trump’s victory.
• Kremlin spokesman denies report of Trump-Putin call. After both the Washington Post and Reuters reported a call between U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin publicly denied such a call took place. The reports had said Trump told Putin not to escalate the Russian war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday: "This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction."
• Trump names “border czar” to oversee mass deportations. President-elect Donald Trump, who made a hardline on illegal immigration the centerpiece of his winning campaign, has named Tom Homan to oversee immigration policy. The former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director will be in charge of what may be the largest deportation operation in the country’s history.
• COP29 begins in the shadow of Trump’s victory. The annual U.N. climate COP summit has begun in the wake of the notable U.S. election victory of Donald Trump, who has vowed to reverse commitments to tackling global warming. Other prominent leaders are planning to skip the event, in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, during which attendees hope to resolve the COP29 summit's top agenda item – a deal for up to $1 trillion in annual climate finance for developing countries, replacing a target of $100 billion.
• Japan’s Ishiba survives parliament vote. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was reelected by Parliament despite his scandal-plagued governing coalition recently suffering the worst election loss in more than a decade. A special parliamentary session was convened on Monday to elect the prime minister, a process traditionally seen as a formality in Japan. Ishiba defeated opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan by a vote of 221 to 160, securing another term but with a weakened mandate.
• Haiti’s security crisis deepens as interim prime minister is fired. A transitional council created to restore democratic order in Haiti fired its interim prime minister Garry Conille on Sunday, as unrest continues in the Caribbean nation. Businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has been named to replace Conille.
• Mattel prints porn site website address on Wicked dolls. The U.S. toy manufacturer said it "deeply regrets" a misprint on packaging for dolls inspired by the new Wicked movie that listed the address for an adult website. Offering no explanation for the "unfortunate error," the company advised parents that the misprinted website "is not appropriate for children."
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
1,122
A total of 1,122 Mariachis broke the Guinness World Record on Sunday by performing together the popular Mexican song “Cielito Lindo” at Mexico City’s main square Zocalo. They sang and played guitars, trumpets, violins and other instruments as part of the First World Mariachi Congress.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇸 🇨🇴 Juan Carlos Botero looks northward from Colombia to Trump’s victory, and is bracing for the worst, likening the moment to Germany, 1933.
— EL ESPECTADOR
🇪🇬 🇮🇷 As relations between Egypt and Iran have been growing closer, the return of Donald Trump could be a setback.
— AL-MANASSA
⚤ Why we need to rethink power dynamics to truly combat how internalized traditional gender roles have become.
— RECALCULATING
💬 LEXICON
夜骑开封
Over the weekend, Chinese police cracked down on a viral craze that saw thousands of university students riding bikes for a nocturnal trip, clogging traffic on the highway and putting themselves at risk. The trend “夜骑开封” (night ride to Kaifeng) consisted of borrowing shared bikes and cycling overnight from the city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, to neighboring Kaifeng, a city located 40 miles away, to eat the local dumpling soup for breakfast. It started back in June after four college friends filmed their 4-hour trip, prompting others to recreate their ride. The movement quickly took off and authorities initially welcomed it, as “a symbol of youthful energy”. But after the number of riders swelled to the tens of thousands, traffic on the highway was prohibited for bikes during the night, citing safety concerns, and shared bikes companies imposed a geolocalization restriction on their devices.
✍️ Newsletter by Laure Gautherin
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