US To Boycott G20 Over South Africa's 'Rights Abuses' Of Afrikaners

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump said on Nov. 7 that no federal government officials will attend Group of 20 summit in South Africa on Nov. 22–23, accusing Pretoria of human rights abuses against white Afrikaners and illegal land seizures.

“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated. No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue. I look forward to hosting the 2026 G20 in Miami, Florida!”

South Africa’s foreign ministry called Trump’s remarks “regrettable” and said his claims were factually and historically inaccurate.

“The characterization of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group is ahistorical,” the ministry said in a Nov. 8 statement.

“Furthermore, the claim that this community faces persecution is not substantiated by fact.”

The ministry stated that its focus remains on utilizing the G20 platform to promote global cooperation and share South Africa’s post-apartheid lessons in reconciliation.

It noted that its experience in overcoming racial and ethnic divisions makes it “uniquely positioned to champion within the G20 a future of genuine solidarity.”

Broader Dispute Over Policy and Human Rights

Trump’s decision not to send any officials to the G20 builds on his remarks on July 29 that he might skip the summit altogether and “send somebody else” in his place.

“I’ve had a lot of problems with South Africa,” Trump told reporters at the time. “They have some very bad policies.”

The president has repeatedly criticized South Africa’s domestic and foreign policies, including its land expropriation law and its accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza—claims Israel has denied.

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has implemented what it calls affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment programs to address historical inequalities. However, the government has rejected allegations that it seizes land belonging to white citizens or targets specific racial groups.

Trump’s decision to boycott the G20 deepens tensions that have been growing since he returned to office in January. Just days after his inauguration, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed legislation allowing for the seizure of farmland without compensation and its redistribution to marginalized groups. More than 70 percent of the country’s farmland is owned by white farmers.

In February, Trump issued an executive order in response to what he called a genocide of Afrikaners, saying the law followed “countless government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and hateful rhetoric and government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.”

The South African government has consistently denied those claims, calling them unfounded and politically motivated.

Diplomatic Strains Ahead of G20 Transfer

South Africa holds the rotating G20 presidency from December 2024 through November 2025, after which the United States will assume the role. Ramaphosa said in May that he expected Trump to attend the summit to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.

“I want to hand over the [G20] presidency to President Trump in November,” Ramaphosa said.

“He needs to be there. I don’t want to hand it over to an empty chair. I expect him to be coming to South Africa.”

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a U.S. boycott of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Cape Town. Writing in a post on X on Feb. 5, Rubio criticized South Africa for “expropriating private property” and for using the G20 platform to promote “solidarity, equality, & sustainability.”

“In other words: DEI and climate change,” Rubio wrote, arguing that it was not in America’s interest to waste taxpayer money or “coddle anti-Americanism.”

South Africa’s close relationship with China and its membership in the BRICS bloc—alongside Brazil, Russia, India, and China—have further strained its relations with Washington.

Pretoria has maintained a policy of strategic non-alignment in global affairs but has increasingly aligned its rhetoric with Beijing and Moscow on issues ranging from Israel to trade.

In February 2023, South Africa conducted a 10-day military drill with China and Russia, an exercise that overlapped with the one-year mark of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The United States is set to host the G20 in 2026.

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 12:50

Turkey Issues Own Arrest Warrant For Netanyahu, Pushing Israel Relations To Breaking Point

Despite the US-backed ceasefire in Gaza having held for weeks at this point, Turkey is once again lashing out at Israel, and appears ready to push official relations to breaking point.

Turkey has long supported the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants against top Israeli officials, but has this week issued warrants of its own, including seeking the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 others on charges of genocide.

Named alongside Netanyahu are Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir, and Navy Commander David Saar Salama in the Turkish government arrest warrants. Ankara is further seeking to oblige European states to arrest them.

Given years of ratcheting tensions between the two countries, it was extremely unlikely that Israeli leaders would ever travel to Turkey anyway, but this will continue to also cause problems and create pressures for regular Israeli tourists.

Istanbul Bar Association Chair Yasin Şamlı has denounced what he called the "terror structure of Israel" and highlighted the many countries in the region, including Iran and Qatar, who have endured acts of recent aggression from Israel.

In reference to the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, he stated: "This act proves to the world that Israel is committing open genocide. Israel kills children out of fear. There is no innocent person it refrains from targeting. Israel poses a danger to all humanity."

"Today, we have filed a new complaint regarding the killing of Hind Rajab, the bombing of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, and the crimes committed against members of the Global Sumud Fleet," Şamlı continued.

But Turkey has long expressed support to Hamas leadership, as Israel has consistently pointed out. Netanyahu has denounced Ankara time and again for providing safe-haven to Hamas officials in Turkey.

At times, the Turkish government has accused Israel intelligence agency Mossad of conducting covert operations inside Turkey - which seems a likely scenario given the long-established Hamas presence.

NEW - Turkey issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and 36 Israeli officials for alleged "Genocide" and "Crimes Against Humanity" committed in Gaza, Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. pic.twitter.com/hNeLkXon8p

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 7, 2025

Turkey acts in a way similar to Qatar - on the one hand seeking to present itself as a 'neutral' mediator on the Palestinian issue, but simultaneously supporting hardline Islamist groups like Hamas in Gaza, and AQ-linked fighters in Syria.

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 12:15

OpenAI Hit With 7 Lawsuits Alleging ChatGPT Coached Users To Suicide

Authored by Rob Sabo via The Epoch Times,

ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman, are facing seven lawsuits alleging that the AI chatbot was psychologically manipulative and drove multiple people to commit suicide.

The lawsuits, filed in state courts in San Francisco and Los Angeles on Nov. 6 by Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project, allege that OpenAI rushed GPT-4o to market and failed to properly install safeguards and protocols to protect users against emotionally harmful conversations.

The AI chatbot was engineered for maximum engagement through immersive features such as humanlike empathy responses that exploited users’ mental health struggles, the lawsuits allege. Charges include wrongful death, assisted suicide, and multiple product liability, negligence, and consumer protection claims.

Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of Social Media Victims Law Center, said ChatGPT blurred the line between tool and companion.

“OpenAI designed GPT-4o to emotionally entangle users, regardless of age, gender, or background, and released it without the safeguards needed to protect them. They prioritized market dominance over mental health, engagement metrics over human safety, and emotional manipulation over ethical design,” Bergman said.

The seven lawsuits were filed on behalf of four users who had extensive conversations with ChatGPT just prior to committing suicide. The decedents are: Zane Shamblin, 23, of Texas; Amaurie Lacey, 17, of Georgia; Joshua Enneking, 26, of Florida; and Joe Ceccanti, 48, of Oregon. Plaintiffs Jacob Irwin, 30, of Wisconsin; Hannah Madden, 32, of North Carolina, and Allan Brooks, 48, of Ontario, Canada, were survivors of emotionally harmful interactions named in the lawsuits.

According to the lawsuits, instead of guiding users toward seeking professional help during emotional crises, ChatGPT allegedly acted in some instances as a suicide coach through emotionally immersive responses that guided users toward their fateful decisions.

In its rush to market, the plaintiffs allege, GPT-4o developers skipped months of important safety testing so it could beat the release of Google’s AI assistant, Gemini. OpenAI’s GPT-4o was released in May of 2024, while multiple versions of Gemini (formerly named Bard) were released throughout last year.

“ChatGPT is a product designed by people to manipulate and distort reality, mimicking humans to gain trust and keep users engaged at whatever the cost,” said Meetali Jain, executive director of Tech Justice Law Project. “These cases show how an AI product can be built to promote emotional abuse—behavior that is unacceptable when done by human beings.”

In a response to The Epoch Times, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company is reviewing the filings to better understand the details of the lawsuits.

“This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation,” OpenAI said in a written statement. “We train ChatGPT to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support. We continue to strengthen ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive moments, working closely with mental health clinicians.”

In addition, OpenAI noted, it’s expanded access to localized crisis resources and one-click hotlines, routed sensitive conversations to safer models, and improved the model’s reliability in long conversations. It also assembled a team of experts to serve on its council on well-being and AI.

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 11:40

"This Time Really Is Different": Ray Dalio Warns Fed Is 'Stimulating The Economy Into A Bubble'

The US Federal Reserve’s decision to ease monetary policy is inflating an economic bubble that could drive up the prices of hard assets, but also marks the final phase of a 75-year economic cycle, according to former hedge fund manager Ray Dalio.

Typically, as CoinTelegraph's Vince Quill reports, the Federal Reserve typically eases interest rates when economic activity is stagnating or declining, asset prices are falling, unemployment is high and credit dries up, as seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s or the 2008 financial crisis,

However, as Dalio wrote in an article posted to X this week, the Fed is now easing monetary policy at a time of low unemployment, economic growth and rising asset markets, Dalio wrote, which is typical of late-stage economies saddled with too much debt. 

Monetary stimulus is typically injected during times of falling inflation and lower asset prices. Source: Ray Dalio

This “dangerous” combination is more inflationary, Dalio wrote, warning investors to keep an eye on upcoming fiscal and monetary decisions.

“Because the fiscal side of government policy is now highly stimulative, due to huge existing debt outstanding and huge deficits financed with huge Treasury issuance - especially in relatively short maturities - quantitative easing would effectively monetize government debt rather than simply re-liquify the private system.”

The continued inflationary pressure and currency debasement are positive catalysts for Bitcoin, gold and other store-of-value assets, which are seen as hedges against macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, including a reset of the global monetary order.  

This Time is Different Because the Fed Will be Easing into a Bubble.

While I would expect the mechanics to work as I described, the conditions in which this QE would take place are very different from those that existed when they took place before because this time the easing will be into a bubble rather than into a bust.

More specifically, in the past QE was deployed when:

• Asset valuations were falling and inexpensive or not overvalued.

• The economy was contracting or very weak.

• Inflation was low or falling.

• Debt and liquidity problems were large and credit spreads were wide.

• So, QE was a “stimulus into a depression.”

Today, the opposite is true:

• Asset valuations are at highs and rising. For example, the S&P 500 earnings yield is 4.4% while the 10-year Treasury bond nominal yield is 4% and real yields are about 1.8%, so equity risk premiums are low at about 0.3%.

• The economy is relatively strong (real growth has averaged 2% over the last year, and the unemployment rate is only 4.3%).

• Inflation is above target at a relatively moderate rate (a bit over 3%) while inefficiencies due to deglobalization and tariff costs are exerting upward pressures on prices.

• Credit and liquidity is abundant and credit spreads are near record lows.

So, QE now would not be a “stimulus into a depression” but rather a “stimulus into a bubble.”

Let's look at how the mechanics typically affect stocks, bonds, and gold.

Because the fiscal side of government policy is now highly stimulative (due to huge existing debt outstanding and huge deficits financed with huge Treasury issuance especially in relatively short maturities) QE would effectively monetize government debt rather than simply re-liquify the private system.

That’s what makes what is happening different in ways that seem to make it more dangerous and more inflationary.

This looks like a bold and dangerous big bet on growth, especially AI growth, financed through very liberal looseness in fiscal policies, monetary policies, and regulatory policies that we will have to monitor closely to navigate well.

...

With a lag it should be expected to raise inflation from what it otherwise would have been.

When the Fed and/or other central banks buy bonds, it creates liquidity and pushes real interest rates down as you see in the chart below.

What happens next depends on where the liquidity goes.

• If it stays in financial assets, it bids up financial asset prices and lowers real yields so multiples expand, risk spreads compress, and gold rises so there is “financial asset inflation.” That benefits holders of financial assets relative to non-holders so it widens the wealth gap.

• It typically passes to some degree into goods, services, and labor markets raising inflation. In this case, with automation replacing labor, the extent to which this will happen would seem to be less than typical. If it stimulates inflation enough that can lead nominal interest rates to rise to more than offset the decline in real interest which then hurts bonds and stocks in nominal terms as well as in real terms.

If real yields fall because of QE but inflation expectations rise, nominal multiples can still expand, but real returns erode.

It would be reasonable to expect that, similar to late 1999 or 2010-2011, there would be a strong liquidity melt-up that will eventually become too risky and will have to be restrained.

During that melt-up and just before the tightening that is enough to rein in inflation that will pop the bubble is classically the ideal time to sell.

Read Dalio's full note here...

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 11:05

Norway Urged To Tap €1.8 Trillion Sovereign Wealth Fund To Help Ukraine

By Jacob Wulff Wold of Euractiv

Calls are mounting for Norway to use its €1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund to help move forward the EU’s stalled €140 billion loan for Ukraine, after a Danish newspaper revived a once far-fetched idea during last month’s EU leaders’ meeting.

Five Norwegian political parties, including three backing Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s next government, have now urged Oslo to step in to overcome Belgium’s concerns about using immobilised Russian sovereign assets to fund a €140 billion reparation loan to Kyiv.

EU leaders discussed the issue on 23 October at a summit in Brussels, without reaching an agreement, as Belgium insists that other EU countries must share the legal and financial risks associated with the plan before it agrees to proceed. The assets are held by Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house.

Last week, Støre ordered a “full review” of Norway’s possible involvement.

Oil-rich Norway is sitting on the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, worth €1.8 trillion, including an estimated €109 billion earned from soaring gas prices in 2022 and 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We are paying close attention and are continuing our dialogue with EU colleagues,” state secretary at the Norwegian finance ministry, Ellen Reitan, told Euractiv.

The comments come as EU countries are eyeing Russian frozen assets rather than their own budgets to meet Kyiv’s financial needs, which the International Monetary Fund estimates are around €55 billion for the next two years.

Brussels intends to present options to finance Ukraine’s needs but will “intensify discussions with like-minded partners and allies … at a later stage”, a European Commission spokesperson told Euractiv.

Politiken activism

The push for Norway’s involvement, however, did not originate in Brussels or Oslo but in Copenhagen.

As EU leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss the loan on 23 October, Politiken published an interview with two Norwegian economists urging their country to use its vast wealth and triple-A credit rating to break the impasse.

“That would be great,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen when a Politiken reporter asked her about it some hours later in Brussels, but added that she hadn’t heard anything suggesting Oslo was considering the idea.

The same reporter later asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he had discussed the proposal with the Norwegian leader Støre during their meeting earlier that week.

Continue reading at Euractiv

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 10:30

Trump Targets Foreign-Owned Meatpacking Cartel To Arrest Beef Prices, Defend Small Ranchers

President Trump has directed the Justice Department to investigate the meatpacking cartel - JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef - for potential collusion, price-fixing, and price manipulation. The four companies, two of which are foreign-owned, now control 85% of the U.S. beef processing market, up from just 36% in 1980.

"I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation," Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The president continued, "We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by the Majority foreign-owned meat Packers, who artificially inflate prices, and jeopardize the security of our Nation's food supply."

"Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People. I am asking the DOJ to act expeditiously. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he noted in the post. 

The White House released four key takeaways of how America's beef supply chain has been hijacked by globalists that operate in what appears to be a cartel and have eliminated competition by crushing small mom-and-pop ranchers:

• For too long, a handful of giant meat packers have squeezed America's cattle producers, shrunk herds, and jacked up prices at the grocery store. By examining whether these companies have violated antitrust laws through coordinated pricing or capacity restrictions, this investigation will root out any illegal collusion, restore fair competition, and protect our food security.

• The "Big Four" meat packers — JBS (Brazil), Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — currently dominate 85% of the U.S. beef processing market, up from just 36% in 1980. Two of these companies, including the largest meat packer in the world, are either foreign-owned or have significant foreign ownership and control.

• Industry consolidation has crushed competition and hammered cattle producers. In the 1980s, the top four packers purchased one-third of all fed cattle; by the mid-1990s, that share exploded to over 80% and has only grown more concentrated since.

• This has led to the exploitation of American consumers, farmers, and ranchers. In fact, mounting evidence shows this monopoly power has slashed payments to ranchers, reduced herd sizes, driven up consumer prices, and threatened America's food supply chain.

Like Trump's wild success in tackling out-of-control egg prices, he's about to do it again with beef.

Important:

• Trump "Worked Magic" On Beef Deal - Likely With Argentina - As Cattle Futures Surge Most Since 1978

• Ground Beef Inflation Sizzles, Egg Prices Cool Off

• 12-Year Cattle Cycle Bottoms: Tyson CEO Predicts Rebuild Phase Beginning Next Year

• Got Beef? 12-Year Cycle Signals "Cyclical Low"

Great news for the Trump administration: In June, Goldman analysts Leah Jordan and Eli Thompson signaled that the 12-year cattle herd cycle has likely reached a cyclical low, suggesting a rebuilding phase may be approaching. 

The new DoJ investigation could mark the early innings of a broader MAHA-aligned effort gaining traction into the 2026 midterm election cycle, aimed at restoring fair competition, ending foreign control of America's meat supply, and empowering Americans to buy from local farmers and ranchers. At its core, the initiative seeks to break the toxic grip of globalist corporations that have hijacked the food supply chain and flooded the nation's food supply chain with chemicals, pesticides, and monopolistic control.

Don't wait for the Trump administration or the DoJ to take on the globalist food cartel - take control now.

@zerohedgestore Who wins the beef wars? Help us help ranchers win. #madeintheusa #preparedness #realbeef #localfarmers #steaktiktok #zerohedge ♬ original sound - ZeroHedge Store

 

 

The ZeroHedge Store brings you Rancher-Direct beef, sourced straight from America's mom-and-pop farms. It's time to invest in your health and freedom - starting with clean, real food you can trust.

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 09:55

Germany's Hydrogen Dream Becomes A $9 Billion Yearly Black Hole

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

The German Federal Audit Office (Bundesrechnungshof) has dismantled the government’s hydrogen strategy. Neither on the supply side nor on the demand side do the results even remotely align with the ambitious political targets. Germany faces yet another subsidy ruin.

Berlin is in a state of hangover. The ongoing economic crisis is mercilessly exposing the delusions of the so-called green transformation. After the collapse of battery production - think of subsidy ruins like Northvolt - the retreat of industry from “green steel,” and the failure of the energy transition under the weight of wind and solar, which have become bottomless subsidy pits, the next major project is now under heavy attack: the hydrogen strategy.

Audit Office Steps Out of the Shadows

In a recent report, the Federal Audit Office examined the German hydrogen economy - political art at its finest. Since 2020, the sector has been flooded with subsidies. For 2024 and 2025 alone, more than €7 billion in funding has been allocated. Plenty of lubricant for an engine that has been sputtering from day one and still refuses to start.

Private investors, enticed by guarantees and state-backed prices, add more than €3 billion annually. And what’s the result after five years of constant funding? Devastating. Current production of green hydrogen stands at a mere 0.16 gigawatts. Another 0.2 gigawatts are under construction.

In other words: a market that practically doesn’t exist is already consuming around €8 billion every year—public and private - like a black hole.

As always happens when the state tries to centrally steer complex sectors of the economy: hydrogen in Germany is becoming a subsidy graveyard, and taxpayers will have to pay the bill. The Audit Office politely calls it “a financial risk for the taxpayer” - but it means exactly that.

Central Planning Has Failed - Again

Yes, even the Audit Office, being part of the state apparatus, follows the ideological blueprint from Brussels. And yet the verdict is surprisingly clear. The auditors ask two central questions:

1. Can Germany still reach its now constitutionally enshrined goal of climate neutrality by 2045 with this strategy?
2. Is any of this economically viable?

One major point of criticism: the Ministry of Energy scrapped the requirement that new gas-fired power plants be built hydrogen-ready. Without that, a crucial demand stimulus is missing.

At the same time, the planned hydrogen core network is described as wildly overambitious. Supply and demand are completely out of sync.
Translation: there is no meaningful free-market demand for an overpriced eco-product.

Who could’ve guessed? Central planning has crashed and burned once more.

In conclusion, the Audit Office sees the danger of permanent state funding—with far-reaching risks for German industry and, as always, with incalculable costs for taxpayers.

In plain language: we’re witnessing the birth of another niche for green crony capitalism. An overpriced eco-product is being artificially produced even though no real market exists. Businesses are walking away, leaving behind a brutal public verdict on German energy policy: straight F.

A Remarkable Rebuke

The explosive nature of this criticism lies in its source: the Federal Audit Office—an institution typically lenient toward political mismanagement. The fact that its analysis is this sharp shows the extent of the policy failure, the waste of taxpayer money, and the excess debt taken on to force political objectives.

And with rising public debt, the Audit Office will have plenty more to do. This year alone, net new borrowing—counting the so-called “special funds,” which are just rebranded debt—amounts to about 4.7% of GDP, which continues to shrink.

If the government survives, the economy remains weak, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz stays in office, Germany’s total public debt could reach around 80% of GDP by the end of the term.

Room for further green subsidy adventures is shrinking rapidly.

No Industry, No Scale

The lack of subsidies isn’t the only problem. A major brake on hydrogen expansion is the collapse of German industry caused by the very same green transformation policies. What Brussels and Berlin didn’t account for were fleeing investments due to skyrocketing energy costs.

Scaling hydrogen production requires industrial demand—but that demand is evaporating.

Policy is stumbling from subsidy to subsidy, driven by desperation to keep previous green ruin projects alive. It’s a dreadful spectacle—for every taxpayer forced to finance it.

And business has already delivered its verdict. After ArcelorMittal walked away from a €1.3 billion subsidy to produce hydrogen-based green steel, others followed: HH2E in Thierbach, the Forsight Group, RWE—withdrawing from one of the biggest hydrogen projects in the country.

No one wants to touch this subsidy corpse, no matter how many new loans Klingbeil and friends throw at it.

* * *

About the author: Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 09:20

UPS, FedEx Ground All MD-11 Air Freighters After Horrific Louisville Crash

Boeing advised operators of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 air freighter to ground the aircraft after UPS flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Muhammad Ali airport in Louisville on Tuesday evening. By late week, the crash resulted in 14 fatalities, including crew members and individuals on the ground. 

Bloomberg quoted UPS as saying the grounding of its air freighters was purely “out of an abundance of caution.” The global shipper said the move affects about 9% of its total aircraft fleet. FedEx also grounded its MD-11 jets, noting that the model accounts for about 4% of its fleet.

The MD-11, the three-engine wide-body jet originally designed for long-haul passenger and cargo operations, was built in the early 1990s and converted to a freighter for UPS after years of service with Thai Airways. Boeing, which acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said safety remains its top priority as it works with the FAA to figure out what caused the crash.

Federal investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from UPS Flight 2976. Investigators will use the recordings to reconstruct the jet’s final moments as it departed Louisville on Tuesday evening for Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Investigators will focus on how the left engine of the jet separated during rotation and pitch for climb. 

Security camera footage showing UPS flight 2976 left engine on fire shortly after lift off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. pic.twitter.com/j0Js01J7ja

— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) November 5, 2025

One angle of the crash appears to show the pilots of the doomed jet possibly dumping Jet A fuel in an attempt to reduce the aircraft’s mass, or there was a massive fuel leak. 

Dashcam video shows the crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville, Kentucky. If you watch closely looks like the engine fell off during take off. pic.twitter.com/6amLvNFM4q

— Aviation (@webflite) November 6, 2025

The left engine was found on the runaway. 

The left-hand engine (minus cowlings and engine spar) of UPS flight 2976 sits adjacent to the runway in Louisville, having completely separated from the aircraft during take off, likely causing extensive damage to the wing and causing the post-impact fire pic.twitter.com/eItuWChXkZ

— PoliticalPilot (@PilotPoli) November 5, 2025

Hmm.

After the UPS Crash, Memories of Flight #AA191 Resurface

On May 25, 1979, an American Airlines DC-10 passenger aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Recorded as American Airlines Flight 191, the crash claimed the lives of all 271… pic.twitter.com/WoK4WsFGNy

— AirwayBuzz (@AirwayBuzz) November 5, 2025

What happened to the left engine? 

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 08:45

EU Commission Mulls Joint Debt, Bilateral Grants To Plug Ukraine Funding Gap

By Thomas Moller-Nielsen of Euractiv,

The European Commission is considering plugging Ukraine’s colossal funding gap with cash raised from common EU debt and bilateral member state grants, according to three people familiar with the matter.

These two possibilities – which will be set out in a Commission “options paper” for Kyiv due to be circulated to capitals in the coming weeks – come in addition to the so-called “reparation loan” option.

The latter proposal seeks to use €140 billion worth of immobilised sovereign Russian assets held by Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house, to support Ukraine’s war effort and reconstruction.

The reparation loan is the Commission’s preferred option for supporting Ukraine despite Belgium’s refusal to back the scheme at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels in October, the sources said.

Many member countries – including Germany and the Baltic nations – share this sentiment.

Belgium successfully watered down last month’s Council conclusions, which ultimately tasked the Commission to draft “options” to support Kyiv’s financing needs that did not specifically mention making use of Russia’s assets, which were frozen after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has pledged to block the reparation loan scheme unless other member states share legal and financial risks associated with the loan, and other EU countries harness Russian sovereign assets held in their own jurisdictions alongside Belgium.

The Commission estimates that €25 billion worth of Russian sovereign assets are held in the EU outside Belgium. Germany, France, and Luxembourg are among the other EU countries believed to hold some of the assets.

De Wever also floated the idea of using common debt to support Kyiv after last month’s Council.

“The big advantage of debt is that you know it,” De Wever said. “You know how much it is. You know how long you will bear it. You know exactly who’s responsible for it. The disadvantage of the Russian money is that you have no idea how far the litigation will go, how long it will take, and what you will encounter in problems.”

Continue reading at Euractiv

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 08:10

Berlin's 560,000-Tree Gamble: Climate Idealism Vs Economic Reality

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe

The Berlin Senate has passed the Climate Adaptation Act. It obliges the city to plant 560,000 trees by 2040. After Hamburg’s referendum on an earlier entry into climate neutrality, this marks the second plebiscitary victory for the climate movement.

Now, Berlin’s drivers are in the crosshairs. Beyond rising car taxes and CO₂ fees, two popular initiatives in particular are about to make life difficult for daily commuters.

Referendum Turned into Law

Alongside the citizens’ initiative Volksentscheid Berlin Autofrei, which aims to enforce a largely car-free city center within the Berlin S-Bahn ring, a second movement has now successfully inserted itself into the legislative process for the first time: the BaumEntscheid initiative.

On November 3, the Berlin House of Representatives approved the now legally codified BaumEntscheid initiative as part of the Climate Adaptation Act by a wide majority. Only the AfD voted against the law.

The original “Tree” referendum had been rejected for cost reasons, estimated at roughly twice the price of the now-adopted citizens’ initiative.

The new law requires the Berlin Senate to provide one million healthy urban trees across the city by 2040. Given the current stock of 440,000 trees, this means an additional 560,000 trees must be planted.

Known under the code name “TreesPlus Act,” the Climate Adaptation Act stipulates that in public streets, especially on each sidewalk and on sufficiently wide medians, a healthy, maintained, or developing tree should be planted every 15 meters on average. This applies particularly in densely built areas deemed “heat-prone” by policymakers.

The goal is to compensate for the loss of street trees in recent years and, in the first phase, to plant around 10,000 new street trees by the end of 2027.

Berlin politics envisions broad citizen participation. Guided by professional horticultural expertise, neighborhoods are to help plant trees. Companies are also encouraged to participate in the effort.

Berlin Idyll. Pure Friedrichshain vibes, unbounded climate activism, detached from the reality of the rest of the country.

Idyll for Some, Nightmare for Others

What sounds idyllic in Berlin’s green bubble is likely to mean one thing in practice: fewer parking spaces, fewer lanes—and more pressure on everyone who commutes by car every day.

But that’s not all. Alongside the massive reforestation initiative, the Senate is compelled to designate 170 so-called “heat districts” within a year—areas where local temperatures are to be lowered by at least two degrees through de-densification and de-paving measures. These are densely built areas with high traffic and extensive sealing, now facing major redesigns under the Climate Adaptation Act.

Specifically: parking strips and side areas are to be unsealed and greened, parking spaces converted into bike lanes, and new public transport spaces created. The law refers to a so-called environmental network—a priority system for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport that will take precedence over individual car mobility.

Additionally, 1,000 so-called cooling islands are to be created, providing citizens safe retreats from heatwaves. These include small parks or air-conditioned entry areas in designated buildings that open as needed.

Berlin is fully indulging its climate paranoia.

Triumph of the Climate Movement

That the referendum has now become law is seen as a major triumph for the climate movement. As often happens, Berlin could become a model for other German metropolises, with Hamburg a likely candidate for further experiments.

The timing of this climate policy step is remarkable: while key political actors—primarily the U.S. government—are increasingly stepping back from strict climate policies due to the economic damage of high energy prices and deindustrialization, Berlin is taking the opposite course.

The capital—highly subsidized, often criticized as an eco-socialist biotope among Europe’s cities—is intensifying its fight against individual mobility. Trees versus parking spaces—the battle against the automobile is now official policy.

Fiscal Detachment

How detached Berlin politics and the politically active citizenry are from economic reality and fiscal prudence is evident in the state budget. This year, the city is expected to receive around €4 billion from the federal financial equalization system. Yet the net deficit remains over €3 billion.

Realistically, there are no funds for this initiative, and whether Berlin can freely draw from federal special funds is uncertain. The city is currently at the mercy of climate NGOs and their political enforcers in the House of Representatives.

Berlin is clearly pursuing political utopianism in two ways: first, at the expense of other states practicing stricter fiscal policies and forced to transfer funds to the notoriously cash-strapped Berlin; second, in an economic reality completely detached from the needs of the urban economy and trade. A policy targeting commuters, tradespeople, and anyone reliant on individual mobility.

Economy Overlooked

In Berlin, the interests of business seem to play almost no role. Almost unanimously, only the quasi-religious climate movement is honored, in hopes of political gains. It is a struggle of left-radical, eco-socialist, and socialist forces, with even the Union now occupying the midfield.

Berlin, the capital of Antifa, green radical environmentalism, and a peculiar form of political escapism, ventures onto thin ice with its Climate Adaptation Act. It may not yet be widely recognized that the surrounding areas are in severe economic crisis—a state apparently assumed as natural in the capital.

Yet this detachment means that utopian experiments, such as the deliberate assault on individual mobility under the guise of urban greening, could quickly run aground on the cliffs of state debt, catching many by surprise.

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About the author: Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

Tyler Durden Sat, 11/08/2025 - 07:00