World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
Good Friday morning.
Here is what is on President Trump’s agenda today:
10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT receives his Intelligence Briefing
11:40 AM THE PRESIDENT attends the FIFA World Cup Drawing
3:00 PM THE PRESIDENT signs Executive Orders
8:00 PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend a Concert by Andrea Bocelli
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy was published last week, setting out the U.S.’s broad foreign policy direction for the remainder of his term. It focused on ending what it calls a “perpetually expanding NATO,” establishing “conditions of stability within Europe,” and encouraging European allies to “stand on [their] own feet” in security matters.
The document also warned that Europe faces “civilizational erasure,” citing migration, censorship of speech, declining birthrates, and what it described as a loss of national identity and self-confidence.
Days after the official release, however, the Defense One website reported that a longer, unreleased version of the NSS had circulated in Washington. According to the site, the unpublished version contained far more explicit political goals for reshaping Europe’s future and reducing the influence of the European Union. Defense One wrote that the extended draft urged the United States to “Make Europe Great Again,” proposing that Washington realign its attention toward a select group of governments ideologically closer to the Trump administration.
China Erupts: Furious Workers Riot As Factories Collapse Under Trump’s Tariffs AOL.com
from news.google.com
The tariffs will apply to goods from China and other nations. Washington has been pressuring Mexico to move away from dealing with China.
from www.nytimes.com
Serbians step up anti-government protests over Trump towers in Belgrade Financial Times
from news.google.com
The United Nations adopted the United States’s proposal on Monday to begin implementing the next phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
Trump’s 20-point plan to achieve lasting stability in the region, which had been beset by hostilities between Hamas and Israel, gained international legitimacy after the 15-member council voted 13-0 in favor of a resolution endorsing the plan’s proposal for a temporary new government in Gaza.
Russia and China abstained from the vote, which supported the establishment of the “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump as a transitional government, and the creation of a temporary “International Stabilization Force” in Gaza.
Guinea-Conakry, China Sign Alumina Refinery Deal Energy Capital & Power
from news.google.com
BEIJING: China said on Monday (Nov 10) it would suspend for one year “special port fees” on US vessels “simultaneously” with Washington’s pause on levies targeting Chinese ships, as a fragile trade truce between the superpowers continues to take shape.
The United States and China have been involved in a volatile trade and tariff war for months, but agreed to walk back some punitive measures after presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met last month in South Korea.
At one point, duties on both sides had reached prohibitive triple-digit levels, hampering trade between the world’s two largest economies and snarling global supply chains.
The suspension of the port fees, which applied to ships operated by or built in the United States that visited Chinese ports, began at 1.01pm (5.01am GMT) on Monday, a transport ministry statement said.
China Lifts Export Restrictions on Critical US Materials Discovery Alert
from news.google.com
Trump Deploying US Military to Damascus Airbase in Major Syria Shift—Report Newsweek
from news.google.com
It has been a rough couple of weeks for those claiming that Trump is abandoning Taiwan. The administration continues to show its commitment to the self-governed island. Recent examples include President Trump’s “Taiwan is Taiwan” remark, his warning regarding the “consequences” of attempting to take Taiwan, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth raising concerns about China’s actions around the island to China’s Minister of National Defense, and meetings between Taiwanese and U.S. officials at the APEC summit.
🇹🇼 “Taiwan is Taiwan” says President Trump.
I agree with him completely. Taiwan will never be a part of Communist China. pic.twitter.com/EBYuzYR4cP
— 鈴森はるか 『haruka suzumori』 🇯🇵 (@harukaawake) October 31, 2025
Before the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea, Taiwanese officials expressed strong confidence in the ties between Taipei and Washington.
President Donald Trump has moved to cut U.S. fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese goods in half, following last month’s in-person meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Under a new executive order issued on Tuesday, the tariff will drop from 20 percent to 10 percent beginning November 10.
In the order, Trump stated:
“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has committed to take significant measures to end the flow of fentanyl to the United States, including stopping the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America and strictly controlling exports of certain other chemicals to all destinations in the world.”
Trump and Xi met on October 30 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea.
After the meeting, Trump said he believed Beijing would take “strong action” to stem the supply of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.
US to share Gaza peace plan draft with UN Security Council Middle East Eye
from news.google.com
PUTIN ORDERS ‘POSSIBLE FIRST STEPS’ FOR NUKE TESTS: At a meeting of his security council at the Kremlin on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin quizzed his ministers about what to make of President Donald Trump’s recent pronouncement that the U.S. would resume testing of nuclear weapons after a three-decade moratorium.
“I would like to note that Russia has always strictly adhered to its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and we do not plan to abandon these obligations,” Putin said, according to the official Kremlin transcript of the meeting. “At the same time, indeed, in my 2023 Address to the Federal Assembly, I said that if the United States or any other state party to the Treaty was to conduct such tests, Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures.”
Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said Russian analysts have scrutinized the public statements of Trump, Vice President JD Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and they still can’t figure out what the U.S. actually plans to do. “We analyzed these statements, but we are not entirely clear about the United States’ future plans and steps regarding nuclear weapons testing.”
China will begin easing an export ban on automotive computer chips vital to production of cars across the world as part of a trade deal struck between the US and China, the White House has said.
The White House confirmed details of the deal in a new fact sheet after Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea this week.
The nations also reached agreements on US soybean exports, the supply of rare earth minerals, and the materials used in production of the drug fentanyl.
The deal de-escalates a trade war between the world’s two largest economies after Trump hit China with tariffs after he entered office this year, leading to rounds of retaliatory tariffs and global business uncertainty.
How Some Chinese Companies Obscure Ties to China and What Policymakers Should Do About It Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
from news.google.com
Trump Exposes Pakistan: US President Reveals Islamabads Nuclear Weapons Testing Secret Zee News
from news.google.com
Trump Trade War: How China’s Growth Model and Gold Strategy Challenge Dollar Dominance FXEmpire
from news.google.com
Trump Administration Highlights: U.S. and China Reach Trade ‘Framework’ Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting The New York Times
from news.google.com
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned Israel on Wednesday against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza deal.
Israeli lawmakers voted on Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was retaliation for a Hamas attack.
“I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we can be supportive of right now,” Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel. Annexation moves are “threatening for the peace deal,” he told reporters.
SINGAPORE: Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow’s two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday (Oct 23).
The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow to comply with the US sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A sharp drop in oil demand from Russia’s two largest customers will put a strain on Moscow’s oil revenues and force the world’s top importers to seek alternative supplies and push up global prices.
Vice President JD Vance expressed alarm on Thursday about the Israeli legislature’s vote that would claim sovereignty over swaths of the West Bank, calling the move an “insult” to the Trump administration because it could threaten peace in the region.
Before departing for the United States at the end of his two-day trip to the Jewish state, Vance denounced the Knesset’s vote as a “very stupid political stunt.”
“I personally take some insult to it,” he said at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. “The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
Qatar, Saudi Arabia slam Israeli Knesset’s West Bank sovereignty move as “blatant violation” lokmattimes.com
from news.google.com
President Donald Trump has called off plans to meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, just days after he floated another round of Ukraine peace talks.
A White House official confirmed that Trump is not meeting his Russian counterpart “in the immediate future,” ABC News reported.
It comes after Trump suggested a summit in Hungary.
Trump’s reversal comes after a phone call on Monday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
As trade tensions between the United States and Communist China intensify, President Donald Trump’s administration has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to take a tougher stance against Beijing’s economic manipulation and preferential treatment within global financial institutions.
The move marks a new front in the U.S.–China standoff, shifting from tariffs to a broader confrontation over global trade rules and institutional influence, as both nations vie for dominance in the post-pandemic economy.
The U.S. increased pressure on Hamas on Tuesday to disarm in the next phase of an already fragile Gaza ceasefire as President Donald Trump pushed to cement an end to the devastating conflict.
In a visit to Israel, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the ceasefire plan was going better than expected but warned the Palestinian militant group it would be obliterated if it did not cooperate, echoing a Trump threat earlier in the day of “fast, furious and brutal force”.
The United Nations’ top legal body, the International Court of Justice, on Wednesday gave an advisory opinion saying that Israel is under the obligation to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met. The panel of 11 judges added Israel is forced to support relief efforts provided by the United Nations in the Gaza Strip and its entities, including UNRWA, the United NationsRelief and WorksAgency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“As an occupying power, Israel is obliged to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival,” presiding judge Yuji Iwasawa said.