ECM WORLD WATCH

December 17, 2024 -- As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• Trump vows new Canada, Mexico, China tariffs that threaten global trade (Reuters)
• China bans exports to US of gallium, germanium, antimony in response to chip sanctions (AP)
• Trump plans to replace current FBI director with firebrand Kash Patel, drawing bipartisan fire (CNN)
• Christian Nationalism’s First Item on the Agenda: Repeal Women’s Right to Vote (Ms. Magazine)
• Incoming Trump administration plans to deport some migrants to countries other than their own (NBC)
• After court loss, Albertsons backs out of merger with Kroger, sues grocery chain (Washington Post)
• Mystery drones flying over New Jersey have residents and officials puzzled  (NPR)
• President Joe Biden Pardons His Son Hunter After Previously Saying He Wouldn’t (Time)
• Trump wants pardoned real estate developer Charles Kushner to become US ambassador to France (AP)

WORLD

• Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria's Assad? (CBS)
• Syrian government falls in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family (AP)
• Ukraine kills Russian chemical weapons chief Igor Kirillov in Moscow (Reuters)
• 0French lawmakers oust the prime minister after just 91 days, toppling the government (NPR)
• Romanian top court annuls presidential election result (Reuters)
• Notre-Dame Cathedral rises from the ashes in grand reopening ceremony (France 24)
• Legendary Medellin cartel drug lord released from U.S. prison after serving 25 years  (NPR)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

Trump vows new Canada, Mexico, China tariffs that threaten global trade (Reuters)

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday pledged big tariffs on the United States' three largest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and China - detailing how he will implement campaign promises that could trigger trade wars.

China bans exports to US of gallium, germanium, antimony in response to chip sanctions (AP)

China announced Tuesday it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications, as a general principle, lashing back at U.S. limits on semiconductor-related exports...The ratcheting up of trade restrictions comes as President-elect Donald Trump has been threatening to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China and other countries, potentially intensifying simmering tensions over trade and technology.

Trump plans to replace current FBI director with firebrand Kash Patel, drawing bipartisan fire (CNN)

  President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate firebrand loyalist Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, an extraordinary move that would put a self-described enemy of the so-called deep state as the head of the nation’s top law enforcement agency — a role that would give Patel power to carry out Trump’s threats to go after his political opponents... Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton compared Patel to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s leader of secret police...

Christian Nationalism’s First Item on the Agenda: Repeal Women’s Right to Vote (Ms. Magazine)

Trump supporters’ calling for an end to women’s suffrage may be the canary in the coal mine for further drastic changes to the electoral system.

Incoming Trump administration plans to deport some migrants to countries other than their own (NBC)

The transition team is preparing a list of countries to which migrants might be deported when their home countries refuse to accept them, according to three sources familiar with the plans.

After court loss, Albertsons backs out of merger with Kroger, sues grocery chain (Washington Post)

 Plans for the largest grocery merger in American history are over.

Mystery drones flying over New Jersey have residents and officials puzzled  (NPR)

There is something strange happening in the skies above New Jersey, and no one seems quite sure what to make of it — not the governor, not members of Congress, not the FBI. What they know is that starting in mid-November, dozens of identified drones have been spotted at night flying in at least 10 different counties across the state. What they don't know is where the drones are coming from, who's flying them and why. The drones have been spotted above critical infrastructure, according to authorities, including reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments and military installations.

President Joe Biden Pardons His Son Hunter After Previously Saying He Wouldn’t (Time)

President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.

Trump wants pardoned real estate developer Charles Kushner to become US ambassador to France (AP)

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France... The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation.... Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said.

WORLD

Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria's Assad? (CBS)

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria's President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. In recent days, the insurgency even dropped his nom de guerre and began referring to him by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test. Insurgents control the capital Damascus, Assad has fled into hiding, and for the first time after 50 years of his family's iron hand, it is an open question how Syria will be governed... The 42-year-old al-Golani -- labeled a terrorist by the United States -- has not appeared publicly since Damascus fell early Sunday.  

Syrian government falls in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family (AP)

The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days. Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that President Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all detainees in jails have been set free.

Ukraine kills Russian chemical weapons chief Igor Kirillov in Moscow (Reuters)

A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine's SBU intelligence service on Tuesday morning in the most high-profile killing of its kind. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building along with his assistant when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter went off, Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said.

0French lawmakers oust the prime minister after just 91 days, toppling the government (NPR)

French lawmakers have voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a historic no-confidence vote.  It is the first time France's national legislature has voted to topple the government in this way since 1962.  The vote deals a heavy blow to President Emmanuel Macron, who named Barnier as prime minister in September after snap elections in which no single party won a legislative majority.

Romanian top court annuls presidential election result (Reuters)

Romania's top court annulled an ongoing presidential election after accusations of Russian meddling and ruled on Friday the entire process, which had been due to conclude this weekend, would have to be re-run.

Notre-Dame Cathedral rises from the ashes in grand reopening ceremony (France 24)

Five years ago,  Notre Dame burst into flames. A colossal reconstruction effort was required to rebuild it.

Legendary Medellin cartel drug lord released from U.S. prison after serving 25 years  (NPR)

One of Colombia's legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cocaine cartel has been released from a U.S. prison and is expected to be deported back home. Records from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons show Fabio Ochoa Vásquez was released Tuesday after completing 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence.