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India and China’s progress in ironing out long-standing border tensions has sparked hopes of a revival in trade ties that could open up Chinese investments in sectors such as electric vehicles (EV) and consumer electronics.

Earlier this month, India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar noted that there was “some progress” in disengagement of troops from both sides of their border, saying it was a “welcome move” which “opens up the possibility that other steps could happen”.

Ties between India and China hit one of their lowest points following a clash between troops along the disputed Himalayan border in 2020, and relations have only begun to warm with the withdrawal of soldiers on either side of the border.

That followed an earlier agreement in October on patrolling arrangements on the border between the two countries.

India had increased scrutiny for visa applications from Chinese citizens in the wake of the border clashes, which hurt some of India’s key manufacturing firms as stricter visa rules meant specialised engineers from China could not enter the country, leading to production losses.

The two countries have not had any direct flights for four years, but there are signs that these could again resume following the easing of border tensions. India’s aviation minister said in September that both sides had discussed an early resumption of scheduled passenger flights.

“We are hoping that there will be more Chinese investments, joint ventures as well as technology transfers,” said Vinod Sharma, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s National ICTE (Electronics hardware) Committee. “Secondly, we are hoping that China will allow exports from India of manufactured goods.”

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Israeli warplanes intensified their deadly attacks on different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus, and the Southern Suburb (Dahiyeh) in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Thursday, November 14.

The aerial attacks on Damascus targeted residential buildings in both Mazzeh and Qudsaya areas, leaving at least 15 people killed and 16 others injured, in addition to causing significant material damage to a number of buildings, according to a source in the Syrian military.

Thursday’s airstrikes on Damascus were preceded by a series of airstrikes that targeted different parts of Syria within the last couple of weeks. On Wednesday, November 13, Israeli fighter jets struck bridges on the Orontes River and roads in Al-Qusayr area in Homs countryside, near the Syrian Lebanese borders. The airstrikes inflicted great damage on the bridges and roads, which consequently became out of service, as per a report published by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA.

On Sunday, November 10, Israeli warplanes targeted a residential building in the Sayyidah Zaynab area of Damascus, killing seven civilians including women and children. Previous airstrikes were launched by Israeli fighter jets on November 4, targeting a number of sites south of Damascus, resulting in material damages.

Syria’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks in a statement issued on Thursday. “The Israeli entity’s continuation of its attacks on Syria today comes only two days after the joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh issued a broad condemnation of its brutal and escalating aggression on Syrian territory, and its warning of the danger of this escalation that is ravaging the region and its regional and international repercussions,” the Ministry stated.

The escalation of Israeli aggression and its expansion on different fronts has been increasing despite the mounting regional and international calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation, which indicates Israel’s total disregard of international law and its obligations. Israel insists on committing blatant violations of territorial integrity of sovereign states, due to the impunity it enjoys, and being given the greenlight by the United States.

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Bangladesh’s Interim Government (IG) is suppressing garment workers engaged in protests over a series of demands, including wage increases and improved social conditions.

The class struggle is occurring under conditions of intense political upheaval. Mass student protests, which developed into a broader uprising in July-August, forced the ouster of Prime Minister Shiek Hasina, who fled the country.

The IG was installed by the military on August 8 and is headed by Chief Adviser Muhammed Yunus, a banker with close ties to American imperialism. Yunus’ claims to be overseeing a transition to “true democracy,” aimed at realising “social justice” after the increasingly authoritarian rule of Hasina, are belied by the brutal attacks on garment workers.

In response to protests that have continued since September, the new government has overseen a police crackdown involving regular officers, industrial cops, the notorious Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and army personnel.

So far, these state forces have gunned down one protester, injured scores, carried out mass arrests and filed cases against over a thousand workers.

A key demand of the workers is for a major pay increase, from the current monthly minimum wage of 8,000 taka ($US67) to 22,000-25,000 taka ($184-209). They are also calling for an increase to the monthly attendance bonus, the granting of annual leave, night shift pay and an extension of maternity leave for female workers.

Other demands include the reopening of closed factories, the reinstatement of previously terminated employees, an end to harassment by management and government officials and improved workplace safety and conditions.

From last Saturday until Tuesday, garment workers at over a dozen factories in Gazipur shut down production.

Yunus is going beyond its purported duty of preparing national elections within three months of his installation, signaling that the IG will remain in office until 2026. An October article in the Hindu reported Yunus stating that “an election cannot be held before reforms are completed,” a reference to austerity measures demanded by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

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Sales of Chinese cars in Russia have hit fresh records after the country became the largest export destination for the Asian nation’s automakers when sanctions forced western brands to cut ties with Moscow.

Surging in Russian sales have helped Chinese carmakers at a time when Beijing faces higher tariffs on electric vehicle exports from Washington and Brussels — while engineering a rapid change in Russian auto culture.

Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine sparked a sharp decline in sales of vehicles from the European, Korean and Japanese carmakers that previously dominated the country’s car market.

At the time of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, their brands made up 69 per cent of all sales, according to the Avtostat analytics agency. They now have a market share of just 8.5 per cent, while Chinese manufacturers’ share over the same period has risen from 9 per cent to 57 per cent.

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South Korean intelligence officials have adopted a skeptical stance when it comes to reports from Ukraine. It’s gotten to the point where Korean intelligence officials are telling reporters to hold off on relaying reports about North Korean troops from Ukrainian officials until they receive third-party confirmation, because Ukraine makes “fake news” at the state level. This means we have to carefully consider the source of the information and the intentions behind it.

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China's semiconductor index leapt close to a three-year high on Monday on bets a U.S. order halting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (2330.TW), opens new tab shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers could accelerate Beijing's self-reliance efforts.

TSMC will from Monday suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Analysts said that while the move might lead to some short-term pain for Chinese firms involved in designing chips for artificial intelligence accelerators and graphics processing units, it could benefit the domestic chipmaking sector as companies would have few alternatives.

Several Chinese technology firms and chip designers have in recent years sought to design their own advanced processors after the U.S. sanctioned Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) and barred the likes of Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab from selling their most sophisticated chips to China.

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Russia has pledged to provide Cuba with approximately 80,000 tons of diesel fuel worth $60 million to assist the island nation in its energy crisis, Russian state-run RIA news agency reported on Friday, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Cuba's electric grid collapsed on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael moved across the island with top winds of more than 115 mph (185 kph), damaging homes, uprooting trees and toppling telephone poles.

"Russia is ready to provide brotherly Cuba with emergency assistance in connection with the current situation in the energy sector, including the supply of about 80,000 tons of diesel fuel for the amount approved in accordance with the president's instruction - $60 million," Chernyshenko said.

On Thursday, the local authorities said they had begun restoring power to the eastern half of the island. Cuba's energy grid failed several times last month.

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The article

Wikipedia has officially added “Gaza genocide” to its “List of Genocides” page, marking a major shift in how Israel’s aggression on the besieged enclave is being documented on the world’s largest online encyclopaedia.

The addition, which now appears as the first entry due to the list’s reverse chronological order, comes after months of extensive debate among the platform’s editors. On its “Gaza genocide” page, it states that “Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people during its invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip in the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.”

The entry for “List of genocides,” Wikipedia states that “Israel has been accused by experts, governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian population during its invasion and bombing of Gaza during the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.” The page goes on to list the death toll in Gaza while mentioning that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians killed are civilians.

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