"Call anytime you want" is Trump's message to world leaders adjusting to his modus operandi: If he wants to talk to you, it's probably going to be on the phone. The early sense from diplomats and officials around the globe is that Trump will spend even more time at his Mar-a-Lago resort and call who he wants, when he wants — protocol and national security concerns be damned. His late-night statements and spontaneous decisions require some fast thinking for those who dealt with a more controlled White House the past four years. South Korea is rethinking the possibility of sending weapons directly to Ukraine to help Kyiv defend against North Korean forces, a source says. Trump's election on a platform of ending Russia's war on Ukraine in short order is forcing Seoul to reconsider its stance as it weighs changing its long-standing policy of not sending lethal aid, suggesting it is less likely to supply munitions to Ukraine. Kyiv's allies meanwhile plan to pressure China at the G-20 on Pyongyang's support for Russia. Thailand's same-sex marriage law is set to boost "rainbow tourism" by attracting 4 million more visitors annually, and generate about $2 billion in revenue when it takes effect in January, according to travel platform Agoda. Thailand is in a prime position to capture a larger slice of the LGBTQ tourism market, which accounts for 10% of tourists globally and is valued at over $200 billion annually, Agoda said. Pride parade participants march through central Bangkok. Photographer: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images A veil of silence has descended on Zhuhai, where 35 people were deliberately mown down by a driver on Monday in China's deadliest known act of civilian violence for years. Minutes after a delivery driver placed a bouquet of flowers by the sports stadium where the incident took place, a man in plain clothes arrived to remove them, part of an official process to erase traces of the carnage — and to the challenge it posed to Xi's system of state surveillance. It can be risky to be an activist in Azerbaijan, which is hosting thousands of climate campaigners, scientists, diplomats, executives and world leaders for the COP29 climate summit. Those like Javid Gara, a 32-year-old self-employed electrician who runs Azerbaijan's only independent climate group, face draconian laws that restrict local civil-society groups, leading to dozens of arrests in the past decade. Investigations are ongoing in Brazil after the death yesterday of a man who tried to enter the Supreme Court in Brasilia with explosives strapped to his body. Sri Lanka is holding its first parliamentary elections since the victory of its outsider leftist president, with a rewrite of the country's deal with the International Monetary Fund top of the winner's in-tray. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen risks missing out on the next presidential election after prosecutors sought a five-year ban on her running for office at the end of her trial on embezzlement charges. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the UK will introduce legislation next year to pool £1.3 trillion ($1.7 trillion) of pension savings into a series of "megafunds," seeking to replicate Australia, Canada and the US. |
No comments:
Post a Comment