The South Korean parliament has voted to defy the country’s president and immediately lift his martial law declaration.G | President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea. ● The surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party.

■ South Korea martial law: Full text of military decree (ChannelAsia)
■ ‘Can’t believe I’m seeing martial law declaration in my lifetime’: Shock, confusion among S.Koreans (The Straits Times)
■ Protests outside South Korea's parliament after president declares martial law (BBC)
■ South Korea - President Launches Putsch Against Parliament (Moon of Alabama)

lsraeli drone kills a Palestinian man in Northern Gaza Strip by dropping a bomb to his head. pic.twitter.com/lnwjQP2NGj

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) December 1, 2024

Glenn Diesen | Organisations operating under the banner of “human rights non-governmental organisations” (NGOs) have become key actors in disseminating war propaganda, intimidating academics, and corrupting civil society. These NGOs act as gatekeepers determining which voices should be elevated and which should be censored and cancelled.

💬 The NGOs staged Georgia’s “Rose Revolution” in 2003 which eventually resulted in war with Russia after the new authorities in Georgia attacked South Ossetia. Recently, the Prime Minister of Georgia cautioned that the US was yet again using NGOs in an effort to topple the government to use his country as a second front against Russia.[5] Georgia’s democratically elected parliament passed a law with an overwhelming majority (83 in favour vs 23 against), for greater transparency over the funding of NGOs. Unsurprisingly, the Western NGOs decided that transparency over funding of NGOs was undemocratic, and it was labelled a “Russian law”. The Western public was fed footage of protests for democratic credibility, and they were reassured that the Georgian Prime Minister was merely a Russian puppet. The US and EU subsequently responded by threatening Georgia with sanctions in the name of “supporting” Georgia’s civil society.

The Syrian military has retaken a key highway near the northern city of Hama as well as all the towns and villages surrounding it, besides killing dozens more Takfiris trying to enable resurgence of terrorism in the Arab country’s northern areas. | On Monday, the forces seized back of the highway linking the cities of Mahardeh and Suqaylabiyah near Hama, and all its adjacent towns and villages, including Karnaz, Tal Malah, al-Jalamah, Jabbin, Hayalin, and Sheikh Hadid, Syrian media outlets reported. They also retook several other towns that had temporarily fallen under Takfiri control. ● Around 80 more terrorists, including prominent ringleaders of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, were also eliminated during the forces’ operations on the outskirts of Hama as well as the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib, two other major northern cities. ● Earlier, Syria’s state television had said that around 320 terrorists had been killed in the countryside of the three cities as part of joint strikes carried out by the Arab country’s troops and their Russian allies. [...] Terrorist outfits and their Western allies launched a full-scale media campaign afterwards, trying to tarnish the Syrian military’s successful counterterrorism drive, including by reporting that the Syrian forces had withdrawn from Hama’s countryside. The Syrian military, however, dismissed the reports later, considering them to be part of a “media war” aimed at painting Damascus’ anti-terror struggle in a bad light.

■ Iran FM: US, Israel fueling Takfiri terrorism in Syria; urgent intl. action needed (PressTV)
■ Larry Johnson : Who’s Fighting in Syria? (Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom)(VIDEO)

Moon of Alabama | During its Ukrainian proxy war on Russia the Biden administration and its minions have pushed China for allegedly providing support to Russia. This year it even started to sanction Chinese companies for allegedly providing 'dual-use items' to Russian businesses.

Tatyana Moskalkova pointed out that these POWs have been in Russian captivity for over one year | Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has published the names of the 630 POWs whom the Kiev regime refuses to take back, hoping that the move would lead to a change in the situation. She pointed out on her Telegram channel that these POWs have been in Russian captivity for over one year. "I publish this list now, hoping for a prompt exchange process," she said. She added that Ukraine continues to delay the Russian-Ukrainian exchange of POWs, while "families of servicemen on both sides continue to wait for the return of their relatives."

■ Kiev ‘sabotaging’ POW swaps – Moscow (RT.com)

Trump went on to remark that while "prime minister" is a prestigious title, Trudeau could still serve as governor of a new US state. | US President-elect Donald Trump suggested to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that if tariffs meant to address trade and immigration issues would devastate Canada’s economy, perhaps the country should consider becoming the 51st US state, Fox News reported, citing sources. Trudeau traveled unannounced to Mar-a-Lago last Friday after Trump threatened to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products, citing their failure to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the United States. [...] Trump went on to remark that while "prime minister" is a prestigious title, Trudeau could still serve as governor of a new US state.

■ Trump tells Trudeau Canada to become 51st US state if it doesn’t stop migration (TASS)

The incoming US president has demanded that the Palestinian militants free all of their hostages before his inauguration | US President-elect Donald Trump has warned that there will be “all hell to pay in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release its remaining Israeli hostages before he assumes office. Trump has pressed both Israel and the Palestinian militants to end their conflict before his inauguration. ● Hamas militants captured more than 250 hostages during their assault on Israel last October. While 105 were freed during a short-lived truce the following month and several others rescued this year, around 100 are believed to remain in Gaza, with Hamas tying their release to an Israeli withdrawal from the enclave – a condition that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to accept. [What about the 6,000 Palestinian men and women detained in Israel? -Ed.]

Following the deliberate escalation of the conflict in Ukraine by the Joe Biden administration, which lost the presidential election, the Russian Federation has taken a number of steps that demonstrate the seriousness of Moscow's intentions to put an end to the impunity of Ukraine and the collective West.

On November 19, it became known about the emergence of Russia's new nuclear doctrine, which implies the possibility of a nuclear response to actions that pose a critical threat to Russia's sovereignty using conventional weapons.

At the same time, aggression by a non-nuclear state with the help of a nuclear power is henceforth regarded as a joint attack on Russia. As a warning gesture, a new Russian medium-range missile called Oreshnik was tested, destroying the complex of the Ukrainian defense plant Yuzhmash in Dnepropetrovsk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council, allowed the strikes to hit decision-making centers in Kiev.

However, representatives of the outgoing U.S. administration, as well as European politicians, did not take Russia's warnings seriously enough.

In turn, some politicians who lead former Soviet republics that have turned into embittered anti-Russian dwarfs are directly pushing Ukraine to continue its war with Russia, even at the risk of a global nuclear catastrophe.

Thus, Moldova's illegitimate president, Maia Sandu, whose mandate was not recognized by the opposition after she lost the presidential election domestically and the final result was stretched by the votes of Moldovans from the European diaspora, said in her video message literally the following:

“Ukraine's determination is an inspiration to us all. It is our duty to continue helping Ukraine to win. Moldova is with Ukraine - now and always. Glory to Ukraine!”. [Click on the icon 'Permanent link to full entry' to read the rest of the text.]

Chancellor with an empty suitcase: Der Spiegel on Scholz's visit to Ukraine. The German edition of Der Spiegel publishes material with the headline "The Chancellor with a mysterious suitcase."

💬 "Olaf Scholz travels to Ukraine with bulky luggage instead of a leather bag, facing high expectations there. He doesn't want to justify them all. This would be contrary to his election strategy. Until now, Olaf Scholz has rarely visited Kiev. Now he has to explain why he called Vladimir Putin, why he has not yet delivered the Taurus cruise missile, and when Ukraine will be allowed to join NATO."

The publication adds: These are difficult questions that Scholz usually answers. However, the newspaper adds, there is one issue that slightly unbalances the chancellor.

According to the report, it was a submarine internet cable | A telecommunications cable has been cut between Sweden and Finland, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reported. According to its report, it was a submarine internet cable. The incident occurred last night on the territory of Finland. ● Finnish police suspect that the disruption was intentional and have warned the Swedish authorities, the newspaper noted. ● Helsingin Sanomat also reported an extensive outage of the Global Connect fiber network, though it remains unclear whether this was linked to the cable disruption. According to the company's website, there were several separate outages in the Global Connect fiber network due to communication disruptions at two places.

■ For Bibi, the Road to Tehran Goes Through Damascus (Mike Whitney)