TOP NEWS

Nobel Prize
Norwegian Peace Council boycotts peace laureate Machado

The Norwegian Peace Council traditionally holds a torchlight procession in honor of the peace laureate on Nobel Day. But there will be no such event this year.

The umbrella organization claims that this year's laureate, Venezuelan María Corina Machado, does not share its values.

- Some of her methods are not in line with our principles or those of our members, says chairwoman Eline Lorentzen to VG.

As opposition leader, Machado is the strongest voice against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. She has also been positive about the Trump administration's bombing of alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea. Norwegian Venezuela researcher Vegard Bye has previously said that the Norwegian Nobel Committee should be cautious about Machado's "flirting with the US's plans for Venezuela", according to VG.

Tensions in the Caribbean
Analysis: It's about Maduro – not drugs

The world's largest aircraft carrier is heading for Venezuela with warships in tow – is it really just about Trump's war on drugs in South America? asks Sky News' Stuart Ramsay and continues:

"I doubt it. It's a sledgehammer to crack a nut that isn't even there."

The US's fentanyl comes from Mexico and not Venezuela, and when it comes to cocaine, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are the big players in the region, Ramsay writes. It is rather a regime change in Venezuela that is Trump's motive, he continues.

Ione Wells and Joshua Cheetham draw the same conclusion in a BBC analysis. The administration wants President Maduro removed, but Trump has campaigned since 2016 for the US to stop interfering in foreign wars and regime change – so drugs could be a welcome excuse, they write.

“Military analysts have concluded that combating drug trafficking at sea does not require the military force that the United States currently has there.” 

Political situation in Argentina
Analysis: Trump must guard against Milei investment

Argentine President Javier Milei is under pressure as the country goes to mid-term elections today. The loss in the local elections in Buenos Aires in September led to a collapse in the peso as the market feared that Milei’s austerity program would be more short-lived than expected.

Then Donald Trump came to the rescue. Ahead of the mid-term elections, the United States has subsidized pesos, announced a currency swap program and announced tariff relief for Argentine meat.

“If Milei loses, we will not be generous with Argentina,” Trump has said.

There are several reasons why the United States is so keen for Milei to remain in power, writes James Kirchik in an analysis in Politico. Argentina serves as a positive example in the eyes of the United States in a region that China also has its eyes on.

“It is a strategic intervention to advance US interests in Latin America.”

The United States has not only invested political capital in the Milei government, Evan Dyer points out in an analysis in CBC News. American hedge fund billionaires have invested heavily in Argentina and Milei’s economic projects.

“Some of the people and companies that have invested are also donors to Trump. Others, such as Blackrock, have invested in Trump’s companies,” Dyer writes.

PKK Dissolution
PKK Withdraws from Turkey

The Kurdish militia movement PKK is withdrawing its forces from Turkey to northern Iraq, news agencies report, citing a statement. This is happening within the framework of the peace process between Turkey and the PKK.

“In order to prevent the risk of clashes or provocations, we are currently withdrawing all our forces in Turkey,” the statement says.

Earlier this year, the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan announced that the movement would no longer wage an armed struggle against Turkey. The conflict has been ongoing since the 1980s and has claimed tens of thousands of lives.