Donald Trump starts his pre-presidential period with quick foreign-policy decisions (about two months before taking office). His pick for UN ambassador‚ Elise Stefanik — known for her tough stance on college anti-semitism — brings new direction to US-UN relations; shes been openly critical of the international organization
In mid-november talks‚ Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump spoke three times discussing Iran-related issues. The president-elect shows mixed signals about the Israel-Hamas conflict: supporting Israels total victory while noting the need to end fighting. Qatar has put its peace-talks work on hold til both sides show more interest in talking
The Russia-Ukraine situation got more complex — despite reports of Trump talking to Putin (which Kremlin denies)‚ and a chat with Zelensky. The president-elect says he can fix everything in 24hrs; however theres no clear plan yet. Meanwhile Russian forces gather near Kursk for possible action
- Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba keeps his job with 221 votes
- He needs extra support for next years upper house win
- First time in 15 yrs that LDP lost full control
The climate meeting in Baku (COP29) faces big money questions: developing nations need more climate-change funds. Trumps win makes many wonder about future US climate policies. In other news‚ Cuba deals with back-to-back problems — earthquakes hit after a category-3 hurricane caused nation-wide power issues
Mexico City saw a cool record break: 1000-plus mariachis played together beating the old 700-person record from 11 years back in Guadalajara