The West has tried to outshine Beijing’s grand trade route multiple times, but can’t muster the will to do it
On the sidelines of the G20 Summit at the weekend, the United States and India unveiled proposals for what has been termed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) with the backing of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Jordan, as well as officials from the EU.
The project, billed as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), seeks to build a commercial route from India through to Europe via the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, and then the Mediterranean Sea. Unsurprisingly, the project’s significance was inflated by the press as “historic” and a “blindside” challenge to Beijing that would doom China’s own mega-infrastructure project.
But such conclusions are misleading, for many reasons. First, not every participant in this new initiative is squarely opposed to China and sees it, as the US does, as a zero-sum game. The Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan, are not anti-Beijing at all and are part of the BRI themselves. These countries, seeking to diversify their economies from dependency on oil revenue, are seeking new options to consolidate their wealth and thus courting large-scale foreign investments, including from China itself. They want to make themselves the “crossroads” of the world, they do not see such a project through the lens of containment or even geopolitical rivalry, but as creating more benefits for themselves. If Saudi Arabia can get Chinese and Indian cargo going through their country, that’s a double win – it never had to be an “either-or” arrangement for Riyadh......more below
https://www.rt.com/news/582912-us-alternative-china-belt-and-road/
Gaza authorities have accused Israel of systematically stealing organs from Palestinian bodies, a disturbing act that underscores the regime’s ongoing brutality.
With the international community turning a blind eye, officials warn that such atrocities will continue as long as Israel remains immune to accountability for its war crimes.....more below
UG Solutions, a leading US military subcontractor that previously provided security for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and helped run Gaza’s deadly aid distribution system, is aggressively recruiting for a new round of deployments to the blockaded Palestinian territory, a media report says.
A former army officer who recently applied for a position told Drop Site that a UG Solutions official openly described plans for more than a dozen new aid sites in Gaza.
The officer further emphasized that the company was “going to need a lot more guys.”
Applicants are reportedly being told deployments could begin by December, with salaries of up to $1,000 per day plus per diem.
One recruit described interviews focused on weapons tests, “rules of escalation,” and questions about whether he would obey superiors regardless of past military rank. After multiple rounds of vetting, he was abruptly rejected......more below
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/11/20/759192/US--GHF-Gaza-Israel-
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran now considers the Cairo understanding with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) terminated, following the passage of an anti-Iran resolution at the agency’s Board of Governors.
The Board on Thursday narrowly approved the resolution drafted by the European Troika - France, Germany and the UK - and the United States—passing 19–3 with 12 abstentions—that urges Tehran to “without delay” report on its enriched uranium stockpile and facilities damaged in the June aggression by Israel and the US, while omitting any mention of Iran’s longstanding cooperation with the agency.
Araghchi condemned the move, calling the resolution “illegal and unjustified.” He said the measure was adopted “under pressure from these four countries” despite opposition or abstentions from 15 board members.
Araghchi said the action undermined the IAEA’s “credibility and independence” and would disrupt the agency’s cooperation with ...
