GreenGo Energy signs agreement for 6GW green hydrogen project in Mauritania 

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By bne IntelliNews February 18, 2025

Danish renewable energy developer GreenGo Energy has signed an agreement with the Mauritanian government to develop a 6-gigawatt (GW) green hydrogen project on 100,000 hectares of land near Nouakchott, the company said in a press release.

The Megaton Moon Green Hydrogen Project, initially unveiled in 2023, will now be implemented in phases between 2029 and 2033. The first phase, due for completion by 2029, will include 500 megawatts (MW) of electrolysis capacity, 600 MW of onshore wind power, and 600 MWp of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, producing 339,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually. At full capacity, the project will integrate 6 GW of electrolysis, 6.8 GW of wind, and 6.3 GWp of solar power.

Mauritanian Minister of Energy and Petroleum Mohamed Khaled and GreenGo Energy CEO Karsten Nielsen formalised the deal, underlining confidence in Mauritania’s green hydrogen potential.

"Mauritania’s unique combination of abundant renewable resources, strategic location, and forward-thinking policies – including the enactment of Africa’s first Green Hydrogen Code – positions it as a leader in the global energy transition,"  Nielsen said. “With highly competitive production costs, the country offers a compelling environment for investment.”

GreenGo Energy will now begin feasibility studies, including site and geotechnical surveys and meteorological data collection. The project will be financed through a partnership model involving strategic investors.

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Argentine law firm asks US Justice Department and FBI to probe Milei over crypto fraud scheme

At home, President Javier Milei faces potential impeachment after publicly endorsing the memecoin that collapsed within hours, erasing billions in value. / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

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By bne IntelliNews February 17, 2025

US authorities have begun probing the alleged digital scam surrounding $LIBRA, a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme initially backed by Argentine President Javier Milei that reportedly generated illicit gains of between $80mn and $100mn. 

The Department of Justice and the FBI have received at least one formal criminal complaint against those allegedly involved in the scam, a case that has now reached international dimensions, La Nación reported.

According to the complaint, the scheme implicated multiple individuals, including Milei, US national Hayden Mark Davis, Singaporean entrepreneur Julian Peh, and Argentine businessmen Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, who have Spanish origins. 

The legal action was initiated by Argentine law firm Moyano & Asociados, which specialises in international insolvency and financial fraud cases. 

The firm has also alerted the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to what it describes as fraudulent financial manoeuvres.

Moyano & Asociados has a history of collaboration with US authorities, including the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The firm stated that while it primarily represents Argentine investors, it is aware of “thousands” of other victims, including American citizens. 

Lawyer Mariano Moyano Rodríguez, who previously pursued legal action against the Peirano banking family in US courts and currently represents 2,500 victims of a separate cryptocurrency fraud, OmegaPro, has provided substantial information reinforcing US jurisdiction over the matter.

As the case unfolds, the investigation in Argentina has been assigned to Federal Judge María Servini. 

Meanwhile, the first US-based criminal complaint names Davis, Peh, Novelli, and Terrones Godoy as primary suspects, but also raises questions about the role of Argentina’s presidential office.

Moyano Rodríguez has formally requested that the US Department of Justice investigate Milei’s involvement, alleging that the Argentine President promoted $LIBRA and has a history of endorsing other ventures that turned out to be fraudulent.

At home, Milei faces potential impeachment after publicly endorsing the memecoin that collapsed within hours, erasing billions in value. The libertarian leader promoted "$LIBRA" on social media on February 14, helping drive its market capitalisation to $4.6bn before it crashed to near zero. Crypto intelligence firms identified suspicious transactions suggesting a "rug pull" scheme, with insider wallets potentially extracting more than $107mn in liquidity.

While Milei later deleted his endorsement and claimed ignorance of the project's details, the incident has prompted an Anti-Corruption Office investigation and renewed scrutiny of his past connections to crypto ventures, threatening to undermine his administration's efforts to attract foreign investment and stabilise Argentina's battered economy.

Argentine federal judge to probe Milei crypto scandal, stock index falls

18 February 2025 -

By Nicolás Misculin, Lucinda Elliott, Walter Bianchi, Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Elizabeth Howcroft


Argentine president Javier Milei is being probed for his role in promoting a cryptocurrency that crashed.
Image: REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

An Argentine judge was assigned on Monday to investigate President Javier Milei's role in promoting a cryptocurrency that crashed, the latest shockwave from a scandal that has threatened to slow the libertarian leader's momentum.

Milei late on Friday recommended the little-known crypto coin $LIBRA in a posting on X, kicking off a brief rally. He later deleted the posting and denied having any link to the cryptocurrency, which soon plunged.

The country's fintech chamber said the case could amount to a "rug pull," a scam in which a coin's backers lure multiple investors, sending the cryptocurrency's value soaring, then quickly withdraw their funds, leaving investors with worthless tokens.

Opposition lawmakers have said that Milei, whose tough austerity program has won plaudits from investors and made progress in taming rampant inflation, could face an impeachment trial over his actions.

Argentina's benchmark S&P Merval stock index tumbled 5.6%.

The investigation was assigned on a random basis to veteran Federal Judge Maria Servini after local media reported that more than 100 complaints were presented to Argentina's judiciary and several even to US courts.

"Milei's government is suffering the biggest reputational crisis of its government," consultancy Wise Capital said, noting that the token was now being labeled as a hoax.

Observatorio del Derecho a la Ciudad, a local NGO, filed a lawsuit accusing Milei and other government officials of illicit association, fraud and breach of their duties as public officials.

"We denounce Milei as being part of an illicit association that organized a scam with the $LIBRA cryptocurrency that simultaneously affected more than 40,000 people with a loss of more than $4bn (R73.9bn)," it said on its website.

MID-TERM MOMENTUM

A government source said Milei himself was the fraud's biggest victim.

"The only one on the face of this earth who was cheated is Milei," the source said, speaking on conditions of anonymity. "Javier promotes private projects all the time and will continue to do so."

Milei's government has championed market deregulation and taking a chainsaw to red tape.

The token was launched on a crypto exchange called Meteora, the same platform that launched the $Trump meme coin in January, a cryptocurrency that saw a rapid surge and slump in which an estimated 200,000 crypto wallets lost money.

Meteora co-founder Ben Chow denied in a post on X on Saturday that his team had any role in launching $LIBRA, adding that the firm "never had any access to the tokens or to Milei."

Chow added in a later post on Monday that the firm "had no involvement in the project at all beyond providing IT support, including commenting on the liquidity curve and helping verify the token's authenticity after the token was publicly launched."

Analysts said the opposition is unlikely to garner the votes to push through an impeachment proceeding. An ongoing probe of Milei's involvement could sap his government's momentum heading into midterm elections this year, handing the opposition a lifeline.

Some investors reacted on social media over the weekend in anger, saying they had been scammed out of their savings by the president of Argentina, while Milei's supporters defended him as the victim of politically motivated attacks.

Milei himself came out swinging, accusing his enemies in another X post on Friday of trying to take advantage of the situation.

"This increases our conviction to kick them in the ass," he added.

Argentina’s Milei faces impeachment calls over alleged massive crypto scam

Cryptocurrency promoted by Argentina’s Milei crashes

'We're under attack by billionaires': Fired federal workers speak out on terminations

Hanna Hickman, a now terminated CFPB worker, told ABC it's a "scary" moment.

ByArthur Jones II
February 15, 2025

ABC

Hanna Hickman, a now-terminated worker for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told ABC News the last four days have been a roller coaster.

"It's scary," said Hickman, who was fired last Tuesday. "I had a real moment -- I was at CVS the other day and ... it kind of came on me all at once that I might not have health insurance in a few weeks, and that really hits you. I think it underscores the fact that we're just regular, middle-class people, just like the people we're trying to serve."

Hickman was senior litigation counsel for the Division of Enforcement at the CFPB in Washington, D.C. She is one of thousands of mostly new employees known as probationary workers laid off this week across the federal government. Those recent hires had joined the federal workforce within the last one to two years, depending on the agency, and have fewer protections.

Hickman was a probationary hire who had been at the CFPB just under two years until Tuesday around 9 p.m., when she saw a termination notice pop up on her phone.

"It was shocking, frankly -- not just to us but to our direct managers, who had not been told this would happen and received notice of the terminations at the same time we did because they were CC'd," Hickman told ABC News.


A security officer works inside of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) building headquarters Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

MORE: Trump administration begins mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies: Sources

The mass layoffs have wreaked havoc on scores of federal employees, including at the Department of Education, the CFPB, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other agencies. Hickman stressed that last Tuesday was surreal because CFPB employees had already been told last weekend that they could not show up to work in person. Her belongings are still inside the bureau.

"It's really a shock," she said, "especially for a lawyer because we have professional obligations. I have a case that I'm currently litigating for the bureau, and all of a sudden, I'm cut off from our systems, and it's the equivalent of being escorted out of the building and fired. It's just, it's absolutely shocking, especially when there have been no concerns about my performance during my time at the bureau."

Hickman hasn't been inside the CFPB in over a week since that Friday, Feb. 7, when Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency descended on the CFPB headquarters. That day, Musk posted on X: "CFPB RIP."

"We're under attack by billionaires, but I'm not a billionaire, so, you know, for me, the next steps are scary. I'm trying to stay focused working productively, but it's a scary moment," Hickman said.

Hickman said she believes Musk is attempting to "destroy" the agency started by Congress. But she and several of her former colleagues vowed to continue fighting, looking into all available legal options, because she said that's what civil servants do.

"Civil servants do this work to fight for regular Americans," she said. "That's what the job is. That's why it's intended to be insulated from partisan swings. That's why it requires expert people skills and experience, and that's why there are these protections around the jobs. I mean, we are people who go to work every day to fight for regular people."


Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, speaks during a protest against President Donald Trump and DOGE Elon Musk's anticipated plan to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in front of the CFPB headquarters in Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

MORE: Fired federal workers decry 'arbitrary,' 'haphazard' terminations

CFPB employs the "cops on the beat for the financial market," according to Hickman. She said her job was critical to safeguarding the public from financial market crashes, loan schemes and hiked interest rates.

"Donald Trump and Elon Musk can just call their lawyers," Hickman said. "But regular people don't just have a lawyer they can call, and these agencies are intended to fill that gap and to keep people safe. … For me, this was, you know, a calling.

"It was something that I felt really passionate about doing in this next phase of my career," she added. "I've been in private practice for 15 years before this, and this is just a whole different type of practice -- and one that was incredibly fulfilling for me before I was terminated."

"Nobody knows anything"

Earlier this week, ABC News spoke to several other federal government probationary employees who had been fired by receiving notices that said: "The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest."

Chelsea Milburn, a disabled veteran, said she was fired on Wednesday from the Department of Education via a memo that "didn't give any specific reasons as to why" she was let go.

"I was definitely upset," Milburn told ABC News. "I've only ever gotten positive feedback from my team and leadership, so I was pretty surprised to get that email."


President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP

MORE: New CFPB leadership agrees to hold off on mass firings while lawsuit proceeds

A former Federal Student Aid probationary hire at the Department of Education received an unexpected call on Wednesday from a supervisor who was on the other line crying. The supervisor told the former probationary employee: "I'm getting word that you've been terminated."

The person, who spoke with ABC News on the condition of anonymity for fear of it affecting future employment opportunities, said it is "devastating" and they don't know where, or when, their next paycheck will come from.

"It was heartbreaking," the former employee said. "When I went up to my computer, it was already locked down. I couldn't access anything. I'm still trying to reach out to HR to find out, do I get a severance package? What is my health insurance benefits? When does it end? Nobody knows anything."

Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.

WAIT, WHAT?! OH RIGHT; CYA

Elon Musk not in charge of DOGE and has no decision-making authority, says White House



The White House clarifies that Elon Musk is not an employee of the US DOGE

Maroosha Muzaffar
Tuesday 18 February 2025 
 The Independent

Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration is that of a senior adviser to the president, and not as an employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the White House has said.

The White House said in a court filing Mr Musk has no decision-making authority and can only advise the president and relay directives. It also emphasised that Mr Musk is not an employee of the US DOGE Service or its temporary organisation, nor is he the DOGE Service Administrator.

“Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,” it said, according to Reuters.

In December last year, Mr Trump said: “I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.” Since then, and following Mr Ramaswamy’s departure from DOGE, Mr Trump has consistently referred to Mr Musk as its leader.

However, according to Joshua Fischer, Director of the Office of Administration at the White House, Mr Musk is neither the administrator nor an employee of DOGE. Instead, Mr Musk holds the title of “non-career special government employee” and serves as a senior adviser to the president.

The filing likened Mr Musk’s role to that of Anita Dunn, a long-time political adviser who also served as a senior adviser to former president Joe Biden.

“In his role as senior advisor to the president, Mr Musk has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors. Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions,” the affidavit said.

DOGE, tasked with cutting wasteful spending, was introduced under Mr Trump’s second term, with Mr Musk overseeing the effort.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk delivers remarks as he joins U.S. President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on 11 February 2025 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

The court filing follows concerns raised by Judge Tanya Chutkan, who held a hearing on Tuesday in a case challenging the extent of Mr Musk’s authority. She expressed worries about the “unpredictable and scattershot” methods used by DOGE.

“DOGE appears to be moving in no sort of predictable and orderly fashion,” Ms Chutkan said. “This is essentially a private citizen directing an organisation that’s not a federal agency to have access to the entire workings of the federal government, fire, hire, slash, contract, terminate programs, all without apparently any congressional oversight.”

The court filing did not clarify who oversees DOGE, aside from ruling out Mr Musk. The lack of clarity regarding DOGE’s leadership extends beyond the public, with the Trump administration’s lawyers also uncertain about its organisation.

Following a court hearing on Friday about DOGE’s access to sensitive Treasury Department records, Christopher Healy, senior adviser to the Treasury Department’s general counsel, admitted: “I don't know the answer to that” when asked who runs DOGE.

Musk helped fire hundreds of FAA workers. Now, his SpaceX employees could fill the void

The move to bring in more experts within Musk’s circle follows the Trump administration’s decision to fire hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration personnel

Rhian Lubin
in New York
Tuesday 18 February 2025 
The Independent 

A team from Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been drafted in to help overhaul the U.S. air traffic control systems.

The move to bring in more experts within Musk’s circle follows the Trump administration’s decision to fire hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration personnel.

SpaceX already holds billions in government contracts. Its staff visited Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia Monday, according to Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, who said that President Donald Trump has “ordered” him to “deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.”

“Tomorrow, members of @elonmusk’s SpaceX team will be visiting the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in VA to get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system,” Duffy said in a post on X Sunday.

The FAA layoffs follow three fatal U.S. air disasters in the last month in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Alaska. Another commercial plane carrying 80 people flipped over upon a crash landing at Canada’s Toronto Pearson International Airport Monday as it landed after leaving Minnesota.

RECOMMENDED

Under Musk and Trump, the US is no longer a serious country

Republican who salvaged Pete Hegseth is already ‘concerned’ with comments on Ukraine


  SpaceX team will help overhaul the U.S. air traffic control systems after hundreds of FAA workers have been fired - in part of the DOGE cuts lead by SpaceX founder Elon Musk (via REUTERS)

Duffy claimed that the FAA staff who were let go “were all probationary” and that none of them were air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel.


“Because I know the media (and Hillary Clinton) will claim Elon’s team is getting special access, let me make clear that the @FAANews regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies,” Duffy added.

The Independent has contacted SpaceX for comment.

Earlier this month Duffy announced DOGE would take part in upgrading the U.S. aviation system following the deadly airline crash in Washington, D.C.

Crews work to remove the wreckage of the American Airlines passenger jet that crashed in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January (REUTERS)

“Big News,” Duffy wrote on X. “Talked to the DOGE team. They are going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.”

Musk reposted Duffy’s message, adding: “With the support of President @realDonaldTrump, the @DOGE team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system. Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours!”

Musk and SpaceX have had a difficult relationship with the FAA since at least 2023. The FAA accused Space X last September of having used a launch control room for one of its missions which had not been approved by the agency. The FAA ended up fining SpaceX for that and a number of other violations more than $600,000.

Musk called on former FAA administrator Michael Whitaker to resign over the fines, which Duffy pledged to review during his Senate confirmation hearing.

US Social Security acting commissioner exits agency after clash with Elon Musk

‘They will break it, and they will break it fast,’ a former Biden Social Security commissioner warned of the program

“There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is.”

Michelle Del Rey
Washington D.C.
Tuesday 18 February 2025

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The acting Social Security commissioner was replaced Sunday after the Department of Government Efficiency demanded data for people obtaining benefits.

Michelle King spent decades at the agency before her departure this week amid an ongoing battle between her agency and DOGE, which made several attempts to access highly sensitive information, according to several media reports citing government sources.

The Independent emailed the Social Security Administration and the White House for comment.

Social Security manages the pension payments of 70 million Americans. Other benefits include disability and Medicare. The agency holds troves of highly personal data relating to work, pay and health histories, and includes residential addresses.


Social Security payments account for about $1.5 trillion, or a fifth, of annual federal spending in the United States.

Nancy Altman, who heads the group Social Security Works which promotes the expansion of the program, told The Washington Post: “What I know is that DOGE wanted access to SSA’s sensitive files – the same way they’re trying to do at Labor and Treasury – and the acting commissioner wouldn’t give it, and she was replaced.”

She noted to The New York Times that the data includes “our bank information, our earnings records, the names and ages of our children, and much more.”

Altman told the Post: “There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is.”

A manager for the agency’s anti-fraud office, Leland Dudek, was appointed to replace King by President Donald Trump. Frank Bisignano, Trump’s nominee for Social Security commissioner, must still be vetted and confirmed by the Senate in the upcoming weeks before he can take over.

Several people within the agency were concerned about the Trump administration’s appointment of Dudek, who is not in the upper echelons of the administration, and without the experience the top job requires.


Dudek has written several positive social media posts about DOGE’s efforts to slash government spending, The Post noted.

Martin O’Malley, the Social Security commissioner under the Biden administration and a former Maryland governor, warned that the Trump administration is out to “break” the Social Security system.


“At this rate, they will break it. And they will break it fast, and there will be an interruption of benefits,” he told The Washington Post.

A White House statement on the situation emphasized: “President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long.”

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Fox News that Musk had been directed to identify what she called “fraud” in the agency, and promised that benefits for seniors would be protected.

Over the weekend, Musk took to X to call Social Security potentially “the biggest fraud in history.”

He claimed that “millions” of people listed as between the ages of 100 and 150 years old are collecting benefits, though has yet to provide evidence of that. Some experts believe age anomalies may be linked to arcane coding that occurs when a number value is missing in a date.

King did not respond to The Post’s request for comment. She had worked at the agency since 1994 and at the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy and the Office of Budget, Finance and Management before that.

The Social Security Administration is not the first agency from which Musk’s DOGE has tried to extract highly personal data. The department has also requested access to Internal Revenue Service files. That agency maintains taxpayer information, Social Security numbers and taxpayers’ bank account information.

DOGE has appeared to gain access to data held by the National Reconnaissance Office, an intelligence agency that designs and maintains U.S. intelligence satellites.

 MAKE INDIA GREAT AGAIN

Elon Musk’s Tesla kicks off hiring in India amid strengthening ties with government

MUSK MET PRIVATELY WITH MODI BEFORE HIS MEETING WITH TRUMP

MODI & MUSK ARE ARYAN NATIONALISTS

Elon Musk-owned Electric car maker Tesla Inc. has officially begun its hiring process in India, marking a significant step towards its long-anticipated entry into the domestic market.

On Monday, the electric vehicle (EV) giant posted a job listing on LinkedIn for the position of Consumer Engagement Manager in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The role is a full-time, on-site position, indicating Tesla’s commitment to building a direct presence in the country. https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4155877322/

Tesla’s latest hiring activity aligns with its broader strategy to expand in India. The company has recently posted a total of 13 job openings, covering both customer-facing and operational roles.

This development follows a crucial meeting between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 14 in Washington DC.

The discussions between the two centered on strengthening India-US collaboration in innovation, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development. The two also explored emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, and governance–areas that align with Tesla’s vision for India.

Tesla, a global leader in electric mobility and renewable energy, has had a limited presence in India but has been considering an expansion for years.
With the latest job postings, the company is taking concrete steps to establish itself in the world’s third-largest automobile market.

Industry experts believe Tesla’s hiring push could be a precursor to the company setting up sales and service operations, and eventually manufacturing in India.

The move aligns with the Indian government’s push for electric vehicle adoption and local manufacturing, supported by incentives under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

While Tesla has not provided an official timeline for its India launch, its active hiring suggests that preparations are in full swing.

In December, Musk revealed that Starlink’s satellite internet services were non-operational in India following the confiscation of two of the company’s devices by authorities–one from an area affected by armed conflict and the other from a region linked to drug smuggling.

Additionally, Musk has been advocating for a reduction in tariffs on Tesla’s electric vehicles. He expressed willingness to export Tesla’s affordable EV models to India, contingent on the country lowering its import duties.

–ANI

Kremlin orders Russian media to downplay importance of Trump after Putin call 

The Kremlin’s domestic policy team instructed media outlets to present the call as Putin’s initiative and a diplomatic success for Russia, while downplaying Trump’s role, according to the Riga-based outlet. 

By bne Moscow bureau February 17, 2025

The Kremlin has instructed Russian state-run and pro-government media to reduce mentions of US President Donald Trump following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 12 February, aiming to emphasise Putin as the primary decision-maker in US-Russia relations, Meduza has reported.

The directive, issued after the 90-minute call, reflects Kremlin concerns that Trump could be perceived as more proactive and decisive than Putin. The Kremlin’s domestic policy team instructed media outlets to present the call as Putin’s initiative and a diplomatic success for Russia, while downplaying Trump’s role, according to the Riga-based outlet.

A political strategist working with the Kremlin told Meduza that this strategy underscores broader anxieties over public perception. Highlighting Trump’s decisiveness, the strategist noted, could lead to unfavourable comparisons that make Putin appear passive or weak—an image the Kremlin is determined to avoid.

The new guidelines also advise against fostering unrealistic optimism about future US-Russia relations. Media outlets were directed to stress that the call effectively sidelined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the EU from significant roles in peace negotiations, reinforcing a narrative that Kyiv and Brussels are losing influence in global diplomacy. The call was also to be framed as evidence of an emerging multipolar world order with Russia at its centre.

Following the directive, Russian media swiftly adjusted coverage. Lenta refocused headlines to highlight Putin’s role, while Gazeta reported that Trump agreed with Putin on the need for a lasting resolution to the conflict, reversing the perceived direction of influence.

The Kremlin’s urgency in controlling the narrative highlights growing domestic interest in Trump, whom many Russians view as a symbol of political change. A Kremlin-linked strategist noted that Trump’s policies—such as cutting wasteful spending and dismissing ineffective officials—resonate positively with Russians unfamiliar with US political complexities, prompting comparisons with Russia’s leadership that the Kremlin is eager to neutralise.

Trump dispatches real estate dealmaker Steve Witkoff to solve global crises

DAWN
Monitoring Desk 

Published February 18, 2025 Updated about 13 hours ago

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff looks on, at the White House, in Washington, US on February 3, 2025. — Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz/File

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS: When US President Donald Trump wanted someone to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin last week to open negotiations for a potential deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he didn’t dispatch his secretary of state.

The man he sent to the Kremlin to handle a titanic geopolitical challenge does not even have a diplomatic background, the BBC reported.

Instead, Trump picked his personal friend, golf buddy and billionaire real estate developer Steve Witkoff. The president has made Witkoff his Middle East envoy.

But last week the Bronx-born businessman found himself in discussions about ending a conflict in Eastern Europe — having been “with [Putin] for a very extended period, like about three hours”, in Trump’s words.

Witkoff was in Moscow to help facilitate a deal that saw the US and Russia swap prisoners, which was seen as signalling a possible thaw in relations between the two countries. Witkoff also played a part in brokering the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, for which both Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden took credit.

Witkoff is now returning to the region — specifically Saudi Arabia — for the first US-Russian face-to-face talks over the war in Ukraine after Trump had his own call with Putin, according to BBC news.

So, who is Witkoff — dubbed by US media as “the man in the room”, taking centre stage as more potentially consequential international talks take place?

He was one of Trump’s first picks for his top team after his presidential election win in November. Trump wrote: “Steve will be an unrelenting voice for PEACE, and make us all proud”, the BBC reported.

“The president sees Steve as one of the world’s great dealmakers,” a White House official told Axios.

Witkoff’s preferred negotiating tactic was to use charm, according to another associate, but he could also turn up the pressure. The 67-year-old was raised in Long Island, New York and trained as a real estate developer in one of America’s most cut-throat markets.

Ukraine deal

US envoy Keith Kellogg on Monday said that he would not tell Ukraine to accept whatever deal is negotiated by President Donald Trump to end Russia’s war, ahead of a visit to Kyiv.

Kellogg is set to arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday for three days of talks that will include a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

His visit to Kyiv will come after top US officials, including Wikoff, meet Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first time since Trump blindsided allies by agreeing to launch peace efforts with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Kellogg said US officials were engaged in parallel efforts to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table — with him spearheading the outreach to Ukraine. Trump’s envoy insisted that it would ultimately be up to Zelensky to decide if Ukraine accepts any deal that the US leader brokers.

“The decision by Ukrainians is a Ukrainian decision,” Kellogg told journalists after talks with US allies at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025


Opinion

Middlemen Are Trump’s ‘Alternative’ for Statesmen



Eyad Abu Shakra
Tuesday - 18 February 2025

US President Donald Trump’s engagements, as well as his statements to the media, have sparked concern in many corners of the world, including Western Europe, where most countries are NATO allies. This alliance had been established on the basis of a "military doctrine" to counter the Soviet Union, which Western nations saw as antithetical, ideologically and economically, to Western values, culture, and interests. A powerful communist rival that sought to expand its influence and export its model globally.

NATO was one of three alliances that Washington formed to "contain" the communist threat posed by the Soviet Union and Communist China: NATO in Europe, the Baghdad Pact in the Middle East (which later became the Central Treaty Organization, CENTO), and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

Over the years, and throughout most of the Cold War, the countries of these three regions, and others, were split between the "allies" of Washington and its "adversaries" who relied on Soviet and Chinese support. Even after the establishment of Israel, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of a major nationalist state in its place, the Russian Federation, the historical alignments of the period broadly remained the same.

In the Middle East, President Trump’s recent positions, most notably his state intention to displace the people of Gaza to Jordan, Egypt, and other countries, have shocked many of Washington’s allies and friends in the region.

It is well known that the Democrats lost the last elections due to their cowardice and lack of scruple in the face of a fanatical, ideological, and religious Republican populist campaign, which was orchestrated by some of the staunchest supporters of "Greater Israel" behind the scenes: Sheldon Adelson and his family, Rupert Murdoch’s vitriolic media empire, and the oligarchs of the new media...

However, Donald Trump did not merely return to the White House; under his leadership, the Republicans also regained control of both houses of Congress, and he has built a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. As a result, Trump feels that the American people have given him an absolute mandate to do what he wants: even restructuring institutions, violating laws and norms, and dismantling the issues of broad foundations that underpin a sound democracy and ensure accountability and the peaceful transfer of power.

That is the domestic scene, where the disoriented Democratic opposition seems to still be reeling from its defeat in November. Globally, things are no less alarming following the flood of Trump’s unrestrained executive orders.

The Arab world was shocked not only by the cruelty of Trump’s proposal for Gaza, but also by his insistence on it, even after it was met with universal rejection from every actor concerned - with the exception, of course, of his Likudist partner and instigator. Several Arab countries are now taking action in the face of an increasingly worrisome situation that threatens an avalanche of regional complications.

Washington’s relations with the Arab world are part of a broader global pattern. Responsible figures from within the American institutions, particularly in defense and intelligence, have begun to sound the alarm, warning of the threats that the administration’s new course poses to Washington’s relationships and long-term strategic interests.

Some Americans were stunned by Trump’s unprovoked "antagonization" of their two neighbors, Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. This began with his stated desire to annex Canada and launch a new "economic war" against Mexico, after his presidency’s opening act had been the "border wall." As we have seen and continue to see, economic warfare through tariffs has become a weapon from the past that Washington wields in the present against any leader or state that insists on independence.

Equally shocking was Trump’s unilateral insistence on acquiring Greenland, a vast island belonging to Denmark, despite the fact Denmark, both a trade partner and a NATO ally of the US, has categorically rejected the idea. He also turned his attention to Panama, making a claim to the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

At the same time, lawmakers in Congress, generals at the Pentagon, experts in research centers, and officials in military alliances (including NATO) have condemned several recent Trump appointments. One is Peter Hegseth, a right-wing commentator on Murdoch’s Fox News who was appointed Secretary of Defense. Another is former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a defender of Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who was appointed Director of National Intelligence!

Adding to the "absurdity," US Vice President J.D. Vance made hostile remarks about the European Union last week. Meanwhile, the Trump administration, particularly through billionaire Elon Musk, has been openly supporting far-right parties in Europe, including the neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the anti-immigrant Reform Party in Britain, antagonizing Washington’s two most strategic allies in Europe.

The European picture was made even more bleak as Trump and his administration reversed course on Ukraine. He stressed that he trusted Putin and that he wanted to make a deal, even if it meant forcing Ukraine to cede some of its territory to Russia.

In Asia, Trump took a coercive and domineering posture when receiving his guest, India’s hard right Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is supposed to be among the closest allies of the US on the continent and whose role would be particularly relevant in the event of a major confrontation with China over trade or Taiwan. Modi was "forced" to agree to purchase more US oil (!), American-made cars, and advanced F-35 fighter jets (which New Delhi had not sought), along with modifications that would allow India to buy more US nuclear reactors.

In light of the above, there can be no doubt Ishaq al-Mawsili was right: "Every era has its state and its men."

“Mein Trumpf”

Don’t ‘Sell Ukrainians Down the River’ – Thousands of Americans Protest Trump on President’s Day

As resistance to the controversial policies of the US president grows at home and abroad, some Americans are beginning to protest against several of Trump’s foreign and domestic policies.

by Katie Livingstone | February 18, 2025

KYIV POST

Demonstrators rally against US President Donald Trump during a protest, dubbed "Resist the Dictator," to mark President's Day on February 17, 2025, in New York. 

(Photo by David Dee Delgado / AFP)

Thousands of Americans have gathered in cities across the country on President’s Day to protest a wide-ranging array of policies and decisions coming out of US President Donald Trump’s new administration – including his approach to ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Less than a month into his second term in office, Trump has caused concern and even panic among American organizations and departments that he has targeted for closure – like USAID and the Department of Education – and shocked many observers with the broad powers he has unilaterally bestowed upon his special adviser, tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Demonstrators rally against US President Donald Trump during a protest,

 dubbed "Resist the Dictator," to mark President's Day on February 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by David Dee Delgado / AFP)

He has also upended the US’s place in the global balance of powers. He shocked allies in Ukraine and Europe on Wednesday when he announced via his social media platform that he had had a “great” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, breaking a three-year pause in diplomatic relations between the two countries that kicked off after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Czech, Slovak FMs Dismiss Munich 1938 Comparison to Ukraine Talks
Several European leaders at a security conference in Munich last week drew parallels between the 1938 deal and the US and Russia meeting on ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Peace negotiations appear to have begun during that call – without Kyiv, breaking a long-standing American promise to never negotiate about the war in Ukraine without Ukraine.

Images from states on Monday show people gathering to resist Trump’s policies, waving American flags and holding handwritten posterboards condemning the president’s recent actions as authoritarian. It’s the second national protest held since Trump re-entered the White House.

Common motifs seen on signs included: “Stop the GOP coup,” “Mein Trumpf,” and “No one voted for Elon Musk.”

The blue and yellow of several Ukrainian flags could also be seen rising above the crowd that gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to protest the Trump administration on Monday. Rostyslav Boykowycz and his wife Kathy were among the protestors there to critique the president’s actions on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian plight is similar to the American plight at this time... There is a real possibility that the democratic system here will change. That’s apparent from what is happening. Not just the words, but what is happening.

Rostyslav Boykowycz, 86, Ukrainian-American citizen

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeated that Ukraine will not acquiesce to any agreement concerning the war made in its absence, but speeches made by American officials at the Munich Security Conference last weekend stirred fears that Kyiv may have little choice.

Rumors about the agenda of a bilateral meeting between American and Russian officials on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia have not quelled those fears.

After an emergency meeting among European allies on Monday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron announced that they would be willing to send troops under their national flags – but not as part of a NATO force – to maintain a peace settlement if necessary.

American officials said over the weekend that Ukraine had little chance of entering NATO or regaining its occupied territories and that US soldiers would not enter Ukraine under any circumstances.

Rostyslav, 86, told local NPR affiliate WESA that he and his wife were carrying Ukrainian flags to denounce Trump’s plan to “sell Ukrainians down the river.” He arrived in the US as a refugee from Ukraine after World War II and later became an architecture professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

Now he fears that authoritarianism is threatening both the US and Ukraine.

“The Ukrainian plight is similar to the American plight at this time,” he said. “There is a real possibility that the democratic system here will change. That’s apparent from what is happening. Not just the words, but what is happening.”

Katie Livingstone is an American journalist who has covered the war in Ukraine since 2022. Her work has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize among other awards and featured in Rolling Stone, Business Insider, USA Today, and several other outlets. She is a Fulbright Fellow whose work has focused on illuminating the impact of conflict and foreign policy on people and societies across the world.