China To Take Over Kenya's Largest Port Over Unpaid Chinese Loan

No more Mr. Nice Chinese Guy.

After years of "benevolent" handouts to various African countries by Beijing, all of which however came in the form of loans, of which few have led to viable, long-term projects and cash-flow generating assets, and led to accusations that China is pursuing a "new colonialism" of the African continent (and more recently, nations along the One Belt, One Road corridor), China is demonstrating to the world what happens when its debtors refuse to pay up.

But first a brief detour: readers will recall that China's ambitions for Africa are hardly new, and were discussed here over 6 years ago for the first time in "The Beijing Conference": See How China Quietly Took Over Africa"

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-26/china-take-over-kenyas-largest-port-over-unpaid-chinese-loan

>>4478643

Yawn FFS!

Kind of expecting the market to fluctuate wildly over the rest of this week and into Monday Tuesday next. I suspect the pre-Xmas dip and today's surge maybe manipulated to show the markets completely comped before reset.

>>4478780

>>4478790

NOTABLE

Egyptian Ex-Presidents Face Off In Court Over 2011 Muslim Brotherhood Jailbreak

Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted after mass protests during the Arab Spring in 2011, testified in a Cairo court Wednesday against the president that replaced him, Mohamed Morsi.

Mubarak's testimony was requested in the retrial of a case revolving around allegations that Morsi helped orchestrate prison breaks during the mass uprising with the help of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Prosecutors also say that members of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and members of Hezbollah, which holds a number of government positions in Lebanon, also aided the jailbreaks.

Morsi has been aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood throughout his political career. He ran for parliament as an independent in 2000 because the group was banned from running candidates. Morsi was arrested in 2011 alongside 24 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood but escaped after spending just two days inside. The following year, Morsi was elected president on the Freedom and Justice Party ticket, a group with strong links to the Brethren.

At the time western analysts hailed Morsi as the "first democratically elected" president of Egypt but his rule lasted scarcely a few days more than a year. In June 2013, anti-Morsi protests swept the country and the military gave the political parties in the country three days to meet the demands of the protesters calling for Morsi to leave power.

Morsi refused and the military, led by then-army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, seized power, with el-Sisi remaining at the helm ever since.

Since then, Morsi has been charged with a number of offenses, including incitement over the slaughter of protesters outside his palace in 2012, his escape from prison in 2011, espionage and more. He was sentenced to death in 2015.

Egypt's top appeals court overturned the verdict however, ordering the retrial which saw both Morsi and Mubarak return to court on Wednesday.

Mubarak, who was strongly supported by the United States during his 30 years in power, refused to answer the majority of the judge's questions, arguing that if he talks he would "open many subjects that I am barred from discussing without permission." Therefore, he requested that he be granted permission from the current president, el-Sisi.

Earlier in December, Mubarak was expected in court but failed to show up. His lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, told the court that as a member of the military, Mubarak had to obtain permission from them as well before testifying.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201812271071023219-Egyptian-Ex-Presidents-Court-Jailbreak/

Former IDF Chief to Form Party for Upcoming Israeli Elections

TEL AVIV – Former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz turned down an offer from Zionist Union chief Avi Gabbay to take over as head of the opposition, Israeli media reported Tuesday.

In an interview Monday with Channel 10, Gabbay said he would not give up his place as head of the Zionist Union. However, a later report on the channel said that Gantz had declined an offer made by Gabbay to head the ticket. The Zionist Union’s main factions are Labor, which Gabbay heads, and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua.

Recent polls have shown that an alliance between Gantz and the center-left bloc, represented either by Zionist Union or Yesh Atid, could present a real challenge to the ruling Likud faction, which is predicted to win around 30 seats.

Gantz is rumored to be forming a new party that would be “moderate and responsible centrist” with the word “left” conspicuously omitted, sources told Haaretz.

Livni on Tuesday called for the opposition to join together against Netanyahu.

“All of us need to put our ego aside for the shared goal, which is a political revolution,” Livni, who acts as opposition leader in the Knesset, said at an event held by the Israel Democracy Institute and the Interdisciplinary Center.

“The only way to win is to join forces,” she added.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon announced Tuesday that he will also establish a new party, while former prime minister Ehud Barak said he may return to politics if there is a strong enough center-left challenger to Netanyahu.

Early elections are set for April 9.

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2018/12/26/report-former-army-chief-shuns-center-left-to-form-own-party-for-elections/