Hours after a power cut knocked me off a live BBC interview here in Odesa this morning, and straight after my CNN appearance, I sat down to record this week’s World Briefing Plus video.
The news that set off the day: two days before tough new Russia sanctions were due to take effect, President Trump waived them. The law he signed in September, named after his late friend Senator Lindsey Graham, now has no teeth.
In this week’s exclusive video, I cover:
Putin’s floating war chest gets a free pass. The waiver lets off the foreign tankers carrying Russian oil and LNG, and it has no expiry date.
Whose hand is on the pen? Trump spent a year mocking Joe Biden’s autopen. Now, does that question need to be turned around?
Quite the eulogy. Trump called the Graham bill a tribute to the senator. Three months after Graham’s death, he’s gutted it.
Is the “leader of the free world” due for a rebrand?
Canada’s painful but necessary break. On the eve of Monday’s Alberta referendum, Mark Carney is in Alberta campaigning for the federalist side and talking up oil and pipelines. I look at what still stands in the way: political will and negotiations with First Nations. I also look at why economic decoupling from the US, which I support wholeheartedly, is about to get more painful. Ottawa needs to start preparing Canadians, laid-off workers and small businesses for that now.
The topic which ignites passions worldwide: bike lanes - and what the heck does that have to do with Russian oil?
The full video is below for World Briefing Plus subscribers.
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