Trump’s “Peace” Teetering: Explosions, Blackouts & Border Blasts Shake the World
From Islamabad to Ukraine to Indochina to Gaza, the conflicts Donald Trump claimed to have ended are reigniting — exposing just how thin the fabric of global stability has become
A deadly bombing in Pakistan’s capital and a near-simultaneous blast in New Delhi have reignited tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. In Southeast Asia, Thailand has suspended a Trump-brokered ceasefire with Cambodia after a deadly border incident. In Europe, Ukraine faces crippling winter blackouts and a worsening shortage of soldiers as men flee mobilisation. And in Gaza, the UN says aid is being blocked while new images show more than 1,500 buildings destroyed since the ceasefire. Together, these flashpoints expose how the “peace” Trump once boasted of brokering — from South Asia to the Middle East — is teetering under the weight of reality.
Blasts in the capitals of India and Pakistan raised tensions between the neighboring rivals. A day after a car explosion killed eight people in New Delhi, authorities said they are investigating it as a possible terrorist attack, and the Indian prime minister warned the perpetrators “will not be spared.” Without offering evidence, Pakistan blamed India for a suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed at least 12 people on Tuesday. The two countries’ relationship is “already on tenterhooks” after their brief armed conflict earlier this year, an expert noted, pointing to growing “stability risks… across a wide expanse of South Asia.” Pakistan has also been involved in border clashes with Afghan militants - Semafor
Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in areas of Gaza that have remained under its control since the ceasefire with Hamas started on 10 October, satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show. The new photos - the latest of which was taken on 8 November - show that entire neighbourhoods controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been levelled in less than a month, apparently through demolitions. The actual number of destroyed buildings could be significantly higher, with satellite imagery for some areas being unavailable for BBC Verify’s assessment. Some experts have argued that the demolitions may violate the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. But an IDF spokesperson told BBC Verify that it was acting “in accordance with the ceasefire framework”. US President Donald Trump’s 20 point peace plan for Gaza - the basis for the ceasefire - stated “all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended”. He has since repeatedly stated that “the war is over”. But, BBC Verify’s visual analysis of satellite imagery has found that the destruction of buildings in Gaza by the Israeli military has been continuing on a huge scale - BBC
Thailand has demanded an apology from Cambodia after accusing it of laying fresh landmines that have injured Thai soldiers, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said on Wednesday, a day after Bangkok suspended a ceasefire pact brokered by US President Donald Trump. Cambodia denies the charge that it has laid new mines, including one that exploded on Monday and maimed one Thai soldier during a patrol along the disputed border between the two countries, reigniting tensions after a five-day conflict in July. The fighting ended after telephone calls to Thai and Cambodian leaders by Trump, who also presided over the signing of an enhanced truce agreement in Malaysia last month. At least 48 people were killed and an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced during the clashes, which saw the exchange of rocket fire, heavy artillery and airstrikes. “We want the Cambodian side to issue an apology,” Mr Nikorndej told reporters. A Cambodian government spokesman declined to comment on Thailand’s demands - Bangkok Post
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Donald Trump has claimed the BBC had “defrauded the public” and he had an “obligation” to take legal action over the editing of a speech. Director-general Tim Davie quit on Sunday amid criticisms over the editing of a speech by Trump before the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021 in an edition of Panorama which aired last year just before the 2024 presidential election. The US president reiterated his threat of launching a $1bn legal action during an interview on Fox News. He said: “I think I have an obligation to do it, you can’t allow people to do that. I guess I have to. They defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it. This is within one of our great allies, supposedly our great ally [the UK]. That’s a pretty sad event. They actually changed my January 6 speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical.” A legal letter, from Trump counsel Alejandro Brito, has demanded that “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about Trump be retracted immediately. The letter says if the BBC “does not comply”, the president will be “left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars in damages” - The Guardian
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) criticized President Trump at COP30 on Tuesday for being absent from the UN summit in Belém, Brazil, and called his rejection of climate policy an “abomination.” Newsom, who’s expected to run for president in 2028, said during a ministerial meeting that he’s “very mindful that the Trump administration has abandoned any sense of duty, responsibility or leadership as it relates to the issues that bring us all here together” at COP30. Trump has called climate change the “greatest con job ever perpetrated,” and Newsom is the most senior U.S. politician at COP30, with the president and other senior administration officials absent from the key climate conference. Newsom said he’s attending the summit because he doesn’t want the U.S. “to be a footnote at this conference, and I want you to know that we recognize our responsibility.” The California Democrat on the sidelines of the summit called Trump “an invasive species” and “a wrecking-ball president,” adding: “He’s trying to roll back progress of the last century. He’s trying to recreate the 19th century. He’s doubling down on stupid.”- Axios
An investigation reveals that the Kremlin has repeatedly misled the public about the location of President Vladimir Putin, who uses three nearly identical offices in different parts of the country. Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, found that there are not just one but two copies of Putin’s office at Novo-Ogaryovo – one in Sochi and the other at Valdai, roughly halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg – and that the Kremlin has been dishonest about the president’s location hundreds of times in recent years. In most cases established by Systema, meetings that ostensibly took place at Novo-Ogaryovo were actually filmed in Sochi or at Valdai – a lakeside town whose forested location Putin has favored since he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has led to Ukrainian drone attacks on military and industrial targets in Russia. The investigation points to a highly secretive Kremlin that has misled the public about Putin’s location on a regular basis for several years at least. It also adds to questions about the timing of the meetings and talks Putin’s administration publicizes. In an investigative report published in August, Systema revealed that at least five Kremlin meetings that ostensibly took place in April or May were actually filmed months earlier. Putin has continued that ruse this autumn: Since August, the Kremlin has released at least seven old videos of the president’s meetings, passing them off as new, Systema found - RFE/RL
Ukraine is facing a worsening shortage of soldiers as record numbers of men flee to Europe, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned in an interview. “We have huge problems with soldiers — with human resources,” Klitschko told the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, of which POLITICO is a part, acknowledging the toll that nearly four years of war has taken on Ukraine’s capacity to replenish its ranks. He said Russian troops are advancing relentlessly, describing their assaults as “like a computer game — they just keep coming, they don’t care about fallen soldiers.” Under current rules, Ukrainians can be mobilized from the age of 25. Klitschko suggested that should change. Klitschko said the imbalance between Ukraine’s human resources and Russia’s sheer numbers is becoming more severe. “They [the Russians] have an order, and they advance,” he said. “We’ve defended our country successfully for almost four years, but it’s difficult. The courage to fight is still there — that matters greatly.” With millions of Ukrainians now abroad, the Kyiv mayor said the country’s future depends on reversing that outflow once peace returns. “We would be happy if half of the younger people come back,” he said. “But for that, we need peace, jobs and a good quality of life. After the war, we face huge challenges.” - Politico
China’s nuclear forces are expanding quickly. Yet behind that rise, the top leader Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge of generals and military leaders has exposed deep-seated corruption and raised questions about the country’s ability to manage its growing arsenal. The uncertainty adds to concerns about a new era of volatility in global nuclear politics, as President Trump has called for renewed U.S. testing and as Washington is also pushing through major changes in its military. In Beijing, Mr. Xi’s purges in the People’s Liberation Army cut far deeper. He has carried out a cleanup that has shaken the Rocket Force, the branch that oversees China’s nuclear forces and is a crucial part of Mr. Xi’s ambition to build a “world-class military” by 2049. Top commanders have disappeared. Others have been jailed. And defense contractors have been stripped of their party titles and detained for investigation. Mr. Xi’s purges stem from a lesson he has drawn from history: that the Communist Party survives only when the army obeys one leader without question - NYT
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