Over the past two weeks, it has become increasingly evident that politicians, backed by powerful lobby groups, often feel unaccountable to the public except during election periods. This is precisely when the electorate must pressure and hold their representatives—whether MPs, governors, or members of Congress—to account.
We are also seeing a notable rise in interest toward BRICS. Western nations’ firm control over the global financial system has spurred Middle Eastern and Eastern European states to reassess their reliance on this framework.
A further revelation over the past fortnight has highlighted duplicity within the EU, where evidence suggests that despite sanctions, the EU is continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas through intermediaries.
Meanwhile, countries like Poland, Germany, Belarus, and Hungary have begun making payments in rubles. This shift has contributed to stabilizing oil and gas prices, raising questions about the drastic response in 2022, which led to price surges and widespread economic strain.
One consideration is the persistent anti-Russian rhetoric directed at both the Kremlin and former President Trump. While a Trump victory may initially appear advantageous, it would likely come with concessions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
For Trump, the primary incentive lies in the opportunity to position himself as the “saviour” or “Mr. Peace,” even if the resulting deal is less than favourable for Ukraine. After all, Trump did not start this conflict, nor does he profit from it directly, that’s all Biden’s money, so making any resolution for peace is a potential win-win for him.
In today’s edition of The World in 5 Minutes, we examine the stories that matter and uncover the truths behind them.
Table of Contents
America’s U-turn on Gaza
Today’s headline news focuses on America’s U-turn on Gaza. In what should have been the leading byline all over the world, the U.S. backtracking on its ultimatum to Israel. Ahead of the election, the U.S. had purportedly issued an ultimatum, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging Israel to ensure 350 aid trucks entered Gaza daily.
That deadline passed on Tuesday without fulfillment, and the so-called ultimatum now appears to have been largely rhetorical—a sound bite for electoral support that fell flat in the Midwest.
The Biden administration has since backtracked from its threats, instead noting that Israel has taken “some steps” to increase supplies to Gaza, while stressing that more progress is needed. Despite this, the story has seen minimal coverage, often buried deep in news sections.
Turning to Trump
Turning to Trump, the former president has been rewarding his allies with senior appointments. Elon Musk is to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency and Fox News host Pete Hegseth defence secretary.
Musk’s remit will be to dismantle and expose the stranglehold the big social and tech giants like META, Apple, and Google have on government institutions. It is a pay back for Musk and works for Trump, who has been at loggerheads with big tech since 2016. As well as that it will give a boost to the flailing X platform his chance to promote cryptocurrency.
As a footnote it does however show that Trump does not fully trust Musk with an official white house post in the Tech department like he has given to Pete Hegseth, and let’s face it Musk had to pay a million dollars a day for about 14 days plus a sizeable contribution to the campaign to get his attention. he has always been wary of the erratic tech billionaire.
The knock on effect from a TRUMP
The knock on effect from a TRUMP win as the US Treasury yields jump and Bitcoin hits record high after crypto sees a boost following Musk’s appointment.
US Treasury yields jumped and Bitcoin surged to a new record as markets reacted to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Republicans have taken back control of the Senate, while Trump is due to return to the White House after winning the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania.
The inquest into the Democratic Party
The inquest into the democratic party has begun and Harris is under the cosh after spending 1 Billion dollars on the campaign and still coming out as a loser.
Everything has gone a little quiet on the Democratic side. The party are still trying to understand how it went so horribly wrong for them, because this was a clean sweep by Trump, and a major setback for Harris, who must be questioned over her ‘lack’ of leadership.
It’s been a week of finger-pointing with everyone from Joe Biden to George Clooney being blamed for the loss. As well as some commentators suggesting that many democrats didn’t vote for Kamala because she is not white.
There’s a lot of anger since news that the Harris campaign spent $1 billion during the campaign as well as questions over whether Oprah Winfrey was paid to endorse Kamala Harris.
The Church of England is in trouble
The Church of England is in trouble this week after taking a body blow with scandals and resignations. A day after the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned, a Church of England bishop says “in some ways, we are not a safe institution”.
The search for a successor is on, and Labour will use this appointment to find a woke-friendly and politically aligned, modern leader for the Church to support the education agenda.
Israeli hooligans in Amsterdam have been arrested
The Maccabi hooligans who attacked Dutch people during and after the European league last week have seen 10 Israelis arrested in Amsterdam. But this has not been reported on any of the mainstream news channels.
As a consequence in Paris, thousands of extra police officers are being deployed in and around Paris ahead of a France-Israel football match on Thursday. Many people believe this match should be cancelled and Gary Lineker has come out and suggest Israel should be banned by UEFA.
The Guardian boycotts X
The Guardian boycotts X, formerly known as Twitter. In a move which is the first of many big companies looking to boycott X. It has announced it will no longer post content on X due to the “disturbing content” on the “toxic media platform”, including racism and conspiracy theories.
The Guardian wrote on its website on Wednesday that it had been considering the decision to stop posting on the social media outlet for a while, but the US election earlier in November “underlined” its decision.
It’s not all rosey in Saudi
It’s not all rosey in the Saudi, after the chief executive of Neom has been abruptly sacked by MBS.
Saudi Arabia’s $500bn futuristic development in the desert, has been abruptly replaced after six years in charge of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flagship project. The company released a very subdued statement on Tuesday saying that Nadhmi al-Nasr, a veteran former official of state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco, had left his role. Like most people in Saudi Arabia, very few have the gumption to talk back to the Prince or indeed enter a Saudi Embassy on foreign soil.