While no group has claimed responsibility for a weekend explosion that killed six people in Istanbul, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu today blamed the Kurdistan Workers Party and Syrian Kurdish militia. Forty-seven persons, including a Syrian woman suspected of planting the bomb, have been detained. [node:read-more:link]
Visiting the recaptured city of Kherson today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces will press on with their campaign to reclaim all territories occupied by Russia. The visit coincided with a meeting in Turkey between U.S. and Russian intelligence agencies, the first high-level publicly acknowledged talks since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” began in February. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged frank views on a range of issues tlday during a meeting in Indonesia. Among other things, Biden called on Beijing to rein in an increasingly belligerent North Korea. They also discussed Taiwan with Biden stressing that U.S. policy had not changed while Xi said the island state is the “first red line” for Beijing. [node:read-more:link]
World leaders have converged in Cambodia for the first in a series of international summits in Southeast Asia over the coming week. Globally-critical geopolitical divisions not seen in decades continue to evolve as the U.S. and China compete for leverage. [node:read-more:link]
Defence Minister Anita Anand says boosting and protecting the Canadian Armed Forces is a essential against the backdrop of a changing global geopolitical landscape, recruitment problems and ongoing efforts to address sexual misconduct in the military. “I've continually said that my top priority is to make sure that all members of our armed forces are protected and respected when they put on a uniform in service of this country,” she said in a Remembrance Day interview. [node:read-more:link]
Results of a new Nanos Research poll released today indicate that even though it could exacerbate the federal deficit, 38 per cent of Canadians “support” increased financial support for Ukraine and a further 33 per cent are “somewhat” supportive. In contrast, 25 per cent “oppose” or “somewhat oppose” it while the small balance are unsure. Support is highest among respondents 55 or older. [node:read-more:link]
The Canadian Army has begun to replenish its inventories of vehicles and weapons sent to Ukraine for its counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion. A $165-million contract for General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada to supply 29 Light Armoured Vehicles evidently is the first step. The Department of National Defence also expects to replace “at least” 100 older M2 versions of the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle with M4s and is still considering options for replacing some 4,500 M72A5-C1 single-shot disposable launchers as well as four M777 howitzers and various munitions. [node:read-more:link]
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed today that his country is formally ending its eight-year military operation in the Sahel, nearly nine months after withdrawing its troops from Mali. Faced with the continuing spread of jihadis linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and a growing number of French casualties, there has been increasing down about the fundamental viability of an ongoing intervention. While some 3,000 French troops will remain in Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, they will act only in concert with those countries’ forces. [node:read-more:link]
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that the alliance’s next summit meeting will be held next July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania. “We face the most complex and unpredictable security environment since the Cold War,” he said, expecting the political leadership to focus on boosting the defences of NATO member, especially those on the eastern front. [node:read-more:link]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that he is open to “real peace talks” with Russia, but only if President Vladimir Putin agrees to return all occupied lands, compensate for war damage and prosecute war criminals. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed that communication channels between Washington and Moscow remain open despite continued U.S. support for Ukraine. He said it is “in the interests” of the U.S. to maintain contact but stressed that officials are “clear-eyed about who we are dealing with.” [node:read-more:link]
Thirteen months after taking office, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida says his country urgently needs to strengthen its military. “The security environment in the East and South China seas . . . is increasingly becoming more severe,” he said November 6, citing North Korea's increased belligerence and the regional impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [node:read-more:link]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on conscripting murderers, drug traffickers and other convicted criminals into the military as part of his war on Ukraine. The legislation exempts, among others, persons convicted of treason, espionage, terrorism or crimes against minors. [node:read-more:link]
South Korea scrambled approximately 80 fighters today after detecting an even larger deployment of its northern neighbour’s air force. [node:read-more:link]
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency reported today that his inspectors had found no evidence so far to support Russia’s claim that Ukraine was collecting radioactive material for a “dirty bomb.” At Ukraine’s invitation, the IAEA team spent several days at three sites named by Russia and eventually left with environmental samples for analysis that they would report on “as soon as possible.” [node:read-more:link]
