The Chinese president called Trump on Friday and expressed hope for positive ties with Washington.
ADVERTISEMENT Putin hailed Trump’s openness to dialogue as he spoke to Russia’s Security Council members shortly before the US president’s inauguration.
Rudakubana, 18, unexpectedly changed his pleas to guilty on Monday, the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
‘Awkward moment of enthusiasm’ Among experts, opinion is somewhat split on whether the gesture could be described as an outright Nazi salute.
The ADL said in a statement on Monday that Musk made an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”
One day after Donald Trump took office as the 47th president of the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday to highlight the close ties between the two nations.
Following Putin’s deployment of troops in an all-out invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the two leaders have strengthened their international ties. In the midst of widespread Western sanctions against Moscow, China has emerged as a significant buyer of Russian gas and oil as well as a supplier of vital technologies.
According to Russian domestic media, Putin emphasized in his call with Xi on Tuesday that Russia-China relations are founded on equality, mutual benefits, and shared interests, adding that they “don’t depend on internal political factors and the current international environment.”.
Putin said to Xi, “We work together to ensure indivisible security in Eurasia and the world as a whole, and we jointly support the development of a more just multipolar global order,” according to Russian state television.
Global affairs are significantly stabilized by China and Russia’s combined efforts. “.”.
Beijing and Moscow’s close cooperation was also hailed by Xi, who claimed that it “brings positive energy to reforming and developing the global system.”. “.”.
Room for conversation.
Although neither leader specifically brought up Trump during the televised portion of their call, the timing of the exchange might indicate that Putin and Xi wish to coordinate their efforts in communication with the newly elected US government.
On Friday, the president of China called Trump and wished for better relations with Washington. On Monday, he also sent Han Zheng, his close advisor and vice president, to Trump’s inauguration.
China is willing to increase communication and dialogue with the United States based on the values of win-win cooperation, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect, according to a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry after Trump was sworn in. “..”.
Trump had hinted at ways the two rival nations could work together on issues like regional conflicts and limiting the export of drugs used to make fentanyl, while simultaneously threatening to impose tariffs and other measures against China during his second term.
Putin, who has not yet spoken to Trump, welcomed his stated intention to start a dialogue with Moscow and congratulated him on his inauguration in televised remarks during a video call with officials.
When questioned about reaching out to Trump, Putin gave a positive response, according to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who also noted that Trump stated that he plans to get in touch with the Russian Federation president soon. “..”.
Nevertheless, Lavrov maintained that “whether a Democrat or a Republican is in the White House, the interests of the United States have never changed.”. The goal is to consistently outperform any rival. “.”.
Peace in Ukraine for the long run.
After taking office, Trump told reporters Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had expressed his desire to reach a peace agreement with him and expressed hope that Russia would do the same.
Pointing to Russia’s economic problems, such as its high inflation rate, he continued by saying that Putin would be “destroying” Russia by not reaching an agreement.
Shortly before the inauguration of the US president, Putin addressed Russia’s Security Council members and praised Trump’s willingness to engage in dialogue.
Putin said on Monday, “We hear the statements from Trump and members of his team about their desire to restore direct contact with Russia, which were halted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration.”.
He also talks about the necessity of doing everything in our power to avert World War III. Undoubtedly, we applaud this strategy and congratulate the US president-elect on his inauguration. “.”.
Although he has stated that he would put an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine in “24 hours,” the US president has not yet provided any details of his peace or ceasefire proposals.
Any talks, though, will depend on the Kremlin’s readiness to fully leave all of Ukraine’s occupied areas, including Crimea, which it annexed unilaterally during its initial invasion of its western neighbor in 2014.
The killing of three girls at a dance class with a Taylor Swift theme last year, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, must result in “fundamental change” in the way the British government safeguards its citizens and a recognition of the dangers posed by violent people whose actions and intentions go against the conventional definition of terrorism, he said on Tuesday.
According to Starmer, the authorities must also respond to “tough questions” regarding how the violent killer was not apprehended prior to his fatal stabbings of three young girls in the coastal town last July.
The prime minister said in a televised statement that a public inquiry would look into the shortcomings in the case of Axel Rudakubana, who hurt eight more kids, their teacher, and a bystander.
On Monday, the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Rudakubana, 18, abruptly changed his plea to guilty. On Thursday, he is scheduled to be sentenced.
The plea allows for the reporting of information that had been withheld in an effort to guarantee a fair trial.
These include Rudakubana’s contact with several state agencies and his three referrals to the government’s anti-extremism program, Prevent, at the ages of 13 and 14, all of which failed to recognize the threat he posed.
Additionally, it has come to light that one week prior to the murders, his father intervened to keep him from attending his previous school, ostensibly out of fear that he would use violence.
Starmer stated, “Britain must draw a line in the sand over the tragedy of the Southport killings.”.
Misinformation and murder.
On the first day of the summer break, Rudakubana attacked a class of two dozen young girls who were practicing yoga and dancing to Taylor Swift songs.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Bebe King, 6, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9 were all murdered by him. Along with instructor Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, who worked in the business next door and stepped in, eight additional girls, ages seven to thirteen, were injured.
Far-right politicians and activists in the UK and overseas jumped on fabricated rumors that the murderer was “Ali Al-Shakati,” an asylum seeker who had just arrived in the country, when the killings were announced.
There is no known person named “Ali Al-Shakati” in the United Kingdom, and Rudakubana was actually born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents. Despite being arrested, one of the first influencers to share the name was later freed without being charged.
However, some of the top far-right figures in the UK and Europe repeated the untrue allegation that the attack was carried out by an asylum seeker, which fueled violent protests in various parts of England and Northern Ireland.
Rioters and police clashed as they attacked asylum-seeker centers, setting a building on fire while people were inside. Hundreds of those involved were later charged with crimes, and in many places, coordinated counter-protests the next day prevented what was predicted to be a second day of violence.
the latest form of terrorism.
In the wake of the attack, conservative critics have accused Starmer’s administration of hiding information about the suspect. However, Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, insists that there was no conspiracy of silence and that justice was served by following the law.
“The victims and their families would have been the only ones who would have suffered if the details had been revealed, as there was a chance that the trial would have failed,” he clarified.
Prosecutors and police are also being questioned about why the attack was not classified as a terrorist act, even though Rudakubana is charged with murder and attempted murder and is accused of having an al-Qaida manual and the poison ricin.
According to Starmer, the case demonstrated that “terrorism has changed” and that “a new threat … (from) acts of extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms” may necessitate changes to the law. “.
“We must acknowledge that this is a new threat that is not what we would have typically considered terrorism when definitions, guidelines, and a framework were established. It’s obviously very violent. It’s obviously meant to frighten people. “..”.
During Donald Trump’s inauguration day, Elon Musk made a gesture that has been compared to a Nazi salute on multiple occasions. This has caused incredulity and outrage, as well as explanations for the South African billionaire’s behavior.
Putting his palm to his chest and extending a rigid right arm toward the crowd, Musk thanked US President Trump’s supporters during a rally held after his inauguration on Monday.
Before repeating the gesture, the owner of SpaceX, X, and Tesla said to the crowd, “I just want to say thank you for making it happen.”.
Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz of Spain responded to the gesture by describing the image as “stark” and stating that she would delete her account from X.
“Elon Musk has been exploiting X for political purposes for several months. It is now a propaganda tool that uses its algorithm to favor some ideas over others and sway public opinion, rather than being a social network or a tool for communication,” Díaz stated.
Later on Tuesday, Ernest Urtasun, the Culture Minister of Spain, also protested by leaving X.
Musk faced criticism in Germany as well, where he gained notoriety for publicly endorsing the far-right AfD party and speaking with Alice Weidel, one of its co-leaders, on his platform.
In an X post on Monday night, Karl Lauterbach, the German Health Minister and a member of the center-left SPD party, stated, “Such a gesture, given his already known proximity to right-wing populists in the fascist tradition, must worry every Democrat.”.
“Uncomfortable moment of enthusiasm.”.
Regarding whether the gesture qualifies as an outright Nazi salute, experts are not entirely in agreement. Professor of history Ruth Ben-Ghiat of New York University posted on X: “This is a fascist historian. It was a Nazi salute, and it was also extremely aggressive. “.”.
“Doing a Nazi salute is never ok,” Israeli activist and scholar Shai Davidai wrote on Instagram. “.”.
“The matter at hand is not whether you are antisemitic; rather, it is whether you are normalizing something that shouldn’t be normalized,” Davidai stated.
The Nazi or Hitler salute is described as “raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down” by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a global non-governmental organization well-known for its antisemitic campaigns. “.”.
Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have used the salute since the end of World War II, while in Nazi Germany it was “often accompanied by chanting or shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ or ‘Sieg Heil,'” according to the ADL.
“It was an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute,” the ADL said in a statement on Monday. “..”.
“We understand that people are tense. Everyone should take a moment to relax and give each other some grace, possibly even the benefit of the doubt,” the group said.
Meanwhile, whether intentional or not, Musk’s actions on Monday were welcomed by nationalists and right-wing extremists.
Musk’s statement, “I don’t care if this was a mistake,” was reposted by the leader of the American neo-Nazi organization Blood Tribe. I’m going to relish the tears that come with it. “”.
The owner of the extremist website Gab, Andrew Torba, stated: “Amazing things are already taking place. “.”.
Musk responded by retweeting a post that read, “Can we please retire the calling people a Nazi thing?” and said, “Yeah exactly.”. “,”
.