Monday, November 6, 2023

11/6 WAKE-UP CALL: U-S Pressures Israel


Having rebuffed calls for a ceasefire, Israel is set to come under sustained pressure on Monday to avoid civilian casualties during its assault on Gaza, while a U.S. diplomatic blitz in the region seeks to reduce risks of the conflict escalating.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to meet with Turkey's foreign minister in Ankara on Monday, hours after hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian protest tried to storm an air base that houses U.S. troops in southern Turkey. Blinken on Sunday made an unannounced visit to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who joined international calls for an immediate ceasefire. Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza said more than 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the war, which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel a month ago, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 hostage.

U-S Daily Mail Composite 11/6/23

Fires engulfed whole buildings in the Gaza Strip as the IDF carried on its bombardment campaign (pictured, right), Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured, left) told IDF troops at the Ramon air force base in southern Israel that war would only stop when Hamas was completely destroyed. The hard-line rhetoric comes as world leaders, including direct neighbours, pleaded with the 74-year-old leader to stop the incessant bombing of the enclave. Pope Francis called for humanitarian aid and help for injured Gazans in order to ease the 'very grave' situation.

🛢OIL PRODUCTION BEING CUT: Top oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia confirmed on Sunday they would continue with their additional voluntary oil output cuts until the end of the year as concerns over demand and economic growth continue to weigh on crude markets. Both countries said their cuts would be reviewed next month to consider extending, deepening or increasing it. Saudi Arabia confirmed it would continue with its additional voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) translating into a production of around 9 million bpd for December, a source at the ministry of energy said in a statement.


➤MIGRANTS KEEP COMING: A caravan of at least hundreds of migrants left from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on Sunday, heading for the U.S. southern border. The smaller caravan plans to join a larger one that left six days ago and is currently stopped about 25 miles north in the town of Huixtla. Organizers said the first had swelled to some 7,000 people while the government in the southern Chiapas state said it estimated the group at 3,500 people. Hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over the world are making their way to the Southwest border, with U.S. and Mexican authorities reporting a surge in apprehensions of people from Asia and Africa as human smuggling networks widen their reach across the globe.

Arrests at the Southwest border of migrants from China, India and other distant countries, including Mauritania and Senegal, tripled to 214,000 during the fiscal year that ended in September from 70,000 in the previous fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Fewer than 19,000 migrants from Asia and Africa were apprehended in the fiscal year ended September 2021. “The increase in migration from Asia and Africa is remarkable,” said Enrique Lucero, head of the migrant support unit of the Tijuana city government, across from San Diego. “These days, we are dealing with 120 nationalities and 60 different languages.” 

➤PAKISTAN FORCING REFUGEES TO LEAVE: As global attention centered on Gaza and the compounding upheavals and traumas triggered by Israel’s war on Hamas, another population is in crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are being forced to leave Pakistan as the country implements an order from its interim government to remove undocumented people from within its borders. Of the roughly 4 million Afghans living in Pakistan, about 1.7 million people are thought to be in the crosshairs of this “repatriation” plan.


The Pakistani government set a Nov. 1 deadline for when people without legal documents — primarily Afghans, but also potentially asylum seekers from persecuted groups such as China’s Uyghurs and Myanmar’s Rohingya — to remain in the country must leave, or otherwise face arrest and deportation. A network of “holding centers” for detained migrants has been set up in Pakistan’s provinces, and locals report a surge in police harassment and abuse of Afghans living in the country. Close to 200,000 Afghan refugees have already returned to a homeland some do not even know, with the numbers rising.

➤DONALD TRUMP TO TAKE STAND: After watching his sons Eric and Don Jr. sweat it out on the witness stand last week, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to testify Monday in a high-stakes Manhattan trial that could cost him $250 million and bar his iconic company from operating in New York. Trump’s turn on the hot seat comes after State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday extended a partial gag order he imposed on the former president to include the Trump defense team. Trump has twice been fined by Engoron for violating the gag order.  The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner has described his fraud trial as a "witch hunt" by Letitia James, New York’s state attorney general, and Engoron, both of whom are elected Democrats. 

➤POLLS: TRUMP LEADS: Donald Trump is now leading polls in five of the six key swing states - as well as beating Joe Biden on key issues like the economy, immigration, and national security, a new NYTimes poll shows. Former President Trump is ahead with voters in Nevada , Georgia , Arizona , Michigan , and Pennsylvania by margins of at least three to 10 percentage points. Wisconsin is currently the only swing state where Biden had a two point lead, according to the new poll by the New York Times and Siena College. The poll revealed that two-thirds of the electorate sees the country moving in the wrong direction under Biden, and that the multiracial and multigenerational coalition with Kamala Harris is not having the same positive effect that it did in 2020.

➤ZELENSKYY INVITES TRUMP TO VISIT UKRAINE, SAYING ENDING WAR IS NOT SO EASY: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday invited Donald Trump to his country for a lesson on wartime diplomacy. Referencing Trump’s boast that he could end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 24 hours if he’s reelected, Zelenskyy said the Republican presidential front-runner should come see the situation for himself. “I invite President Trump. If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes – yes, 24 minutes, not more. Yes. Not more. Twenty-four minutes to explain [to] President Trump that he can’t manage this war,” Zelenskyy said.


➤THE HOSTAGE SITUATION AT HAMBURG AIRPORT ENDS WITH A MAN IN CUSTODY AND HIS 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER SAFE: The hostage situation at Hamburg Airport ended Sunday afternoon, around 18 hours after a man drove his vehicle through the gates of the airport with his 4-year-old daughter as a passenger, authorities said. The man was arrested and the girl is safe. Hamburg police said that man had left the car with his daughter, who didn’t appear to be harmed, and he was “arrested by the emergency services without resistance.” Authorities said the man’s ex-wife had previously contacted them about a child abduction.

➤ALABAMA MAYOR DIES OF APPARENT SUICIDE DAYS AFTER WEBSITE PUBLISHES PICTURES OF HIM ALLEGEDLY IN WOMEN'S CLOTHES: A small-town Alabama mayor died apparently by suicide just days after a conservative news site published pictures of him allegedly wearing women's clothes and makeup, officials said Sunday. Smiths Station Mayor F.L. "Bubba" Copeland, who was also a pastor at First Baptist Church of Phenix City, fatally shot himself on Friday. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.



🏈NFL TEXANS 39 BUCCANEERS 37: Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale sent one through the uprights in Houston's 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, becoming the first non-kicker or punter to kick a field goal in a regular-season game in 19 years. The Texans' strategy was sent into disarray when kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn suffered an injury and was unable to compete in the second half, forcing Ogunbowale to assume place-kicking duties for the home team. With the game tied at 30-30 in the fourth quarter, Ogunbowale stepped up to take his shot and sent a 29-yard field goal through, prompting special teams coordinator Frank Ross to run on to the field as the Texans sideline erupted in celebration. "You lose your kicker, that's tough. What are you going to do? Your whole game plan changes," coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters. "Dare, he stepped up big time for us. For him to be able to kickoff as many times as he did... and also for him to kick the field goal -- we were confident he could make it from there and he proved us right.

🏈 NFL EAGLES 28 COWBOYS 23: Jalen Hurts passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one more, and the Philadelphia Eagles escaped with a 28-23 win over the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Sunday evening. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith had one touchdown reception apiece for Philadelphia (8-1). Kenneth Gainwell had a rushing touchdown along with Hurts, who threw for 207 yards on 17-for-23 passing. Dak Prescott completed 29 of 44 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns for Dallas (5-3). Jake Ferguson, KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert each had a touchdown reception, and CeeDee Lamb finished with a game-high 11 catches for 191 yards.

🏈SOURCES: INITIAL FEAR IS GIANTS' DANIEL JONES HAS TORN ACL: New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones left Sunday's 30-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in the first half because of a noncontact knee injury that could end his season. The initial fear is that Jones has a torn ACL in his right knee. An MRI has been scheduled for Monday to determine the full extent of the injury, but there is concern that this appears to be a long-term issue. Jones was making his return Sunday after missing the three previous games because of a neck injury.

🏈USC FIRES DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ALEX GRINCH WITH 2 GAMES LEFT: After USC surrendered 101 total points in the past two games, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was relieved of his duties, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley announced Sunday. Grinch, who was Oklahoma's defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021 before leaving for USC alongside Riley, led a unit that allowed an average of 34.5 points per game this season and was in the bottom 30 in the country in nearly every statistical category, including 120th in rushing defense and 107th against the pass.

🏈EAGLES TE DALLAS GOEDERT HAS FRACTURED FOREARM, SOURCES SAY: Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert has a fracture in his right forearm and will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine if there is any further damage. Either way, Goedert is set to miss time and is an injured reserve candidate. Minnesota Vikings running back Cam Akers suffered an injury to his left Achilles on Sunday, coach Kevin O'Connell confirmed after the team's 31-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. "I can't confirm the severity at this time," O'Connell said, "but that is what we're fearing." It would be the second such injury for Akers in his four-year career. He tore his right Achilles tendon in the first week of the 2021 season while playing for the Los Angeles Rams, forcing him to miss the rest of the regular season.

⚾ROOKIE WINS GOLD GLOVE: Anthony Volpe’s rookie season overall did not go quite as he hoped, but at least his defense was golden. The Yankees shortstop was named an American Gold Glove winner on Sunday night, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to take home the award. While Volpe had his fair share of ups and downs offensively – though he was the first Yankees rookie to join the 20-20 club – he was much more consistent defensively. There were questions coming into the season about whether Volpe would be able to stick at shortstop long-term, but the 22-year-old showed he was plenty capable in his first go-around. “I think he’s got a real chance to win the Gold Glove,” manager Aaron Boone said on the final day of the regular season. “To do that at shortstop, at a premium position like that, is huge.”

⚾TORONTO'S MATT CHAPMAN, KEVIN KIERMAIER WIN 4TH GOLD GLOVE: Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier won their fourth Gold Gloves, while New York Yankees rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe and Colorado rookie center fielder Brenton Doyle were among 13 first-time winners of the fielding honor. Toronto, Texas and the Chicago Cubs tied for the high among clubs with three winners each, Rawlings announced Sunday.



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