"Don’t Go To Japan"

Hi Global Recap readers,

A lot of people seem to be thrilled to see the Epstein case crack back into the news, but there’s a real chance this could backfire on anyone hoping for more transparency.

Some are already warning that now that Trump is pushing the DOJ to look into key Democrats, the Department could hide behind the classic line: “We can’t release anything tied to an active investigation.”

Hopefully not, but who knows. 👇️ 

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
Epstein Probe:
Democrats Targeted

President Trump just asked the Justice Department to dig into Jeffrey Epstein’s ties with several Democrats, a move triggered by newly released congressional documents. The request centers on a probe that pulls Bill Clinton, Larry Summers and Reid Hoffman back into the Epstein scandal.

• Trigger: A House committee dropped thousands of pages that raised fresh questions about Trump’s own interactions with Epstein and pushed him to shift attention to Democrats.

  • If you have time, here’s a video from Coffeezilla that breaks the email-release-debacle down.

• Targets: Trump named Clinton, Summers and Hoffman while insisting Epstein was the Democratic Party’s responsibility. Each has denied any wrongdoing and no credible evidence ties them to Epstein’s trafficking.

• History: Trump and Epstein moved in the same circles in the 1990s and 2000s, then split before Epstein’s 2008 conviction according to Trump. Documents about their relationship keep resurfacing and have become a political headache during Trump’s second term, even drawing criticism from some usually loyal allies.

• Strange: @TheDemocrats (the official X account for the Democratic Party) posted this on X, following the release of Epstein emails. But it didn’t go too well:

• Response: Most of the replies are mocking the “social media intern” running the account and questioning whether this was even meant to be a diss—pointing out that having an evil person call someone a bad person isn’t exactly the win they think it is.

  • Many are also noting that the party has effectively made Epstein a spokesperson for them.

 🇨🇳 CHINA / JAPAN
"Don’t Go To Japan"

China has urged its citizens to avoid Japan after a diplomatic row erupted over Tokyo’s new prime minister and her recent remarks on Taiwan. Why? For safety.

• Trigger: On 7 November, Takaichi told Japan’s parliament that if China used force against Taiwan in a way that involved warships and real fighting, it could count as a situation that threatens Japan’s survival and open the door to collective self defense, meaning Japanese forces helping an ally rather than just defending their own soil.

• Warning: In response, China’s embassy in Tokyo posted on WeChat on Friday urging Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan "in the near future," claiming that recent Japanese remarks on Taiwan have badly damaged the climate for people-to-people exchanges and created serious risks to Chinese citizens’ safety.

• Diplomats: Both sides have summoned ambassadors to lodge complaints. Things started heating up quickly when China’s consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, posted on X on Sunday that the Japanese PM’s “dirty neck” should be cut off. The post has since been deleted, of course.

• Position: Takaichi has softened her tone since taking office in October, yet she refuses to retract her remarks and insists they match Japan’s longstanding policy.

🎙️ MESSAGE
From Me

You know we don’t do ads here.

• We’ve tried it before, and it just cluttered the experience and made things feel less personal. So despite getting requests every day, we decline them all.

• Which is why I hope you’ll allow me this tiny moment of self-promotion: our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

👨‍💼 Here’s my pitch: If you like staying informed while traveling, cooking, or getting through the boring stuff, pick one from below now!

How did I do?

🇷🇺🇺🇦 RUSSIA / UKRAINE
Ukrainian Attack
Halts Oil Exports

Ukraine just slammed Russia’s Black Sea oil hub at Novorossiysk, forcing a temporary halt to exports worth roughly 2.2 million barrels a day, about 2% of global supply. Missiles, sea drones, and air drones all joined the party, forcing Moscow to halt loadings while fires and damage at the Sheskharis terminal were brought under control.

• Strike: Overnight on November 14, Ukraine hit Novorossiysk with a mix of Neptune cruise missiles and various drones, framing it as an effort to cut both the military and economic power Russia uses to fuel its invasion.

• Port: Novorossiysk is not some minor pier on a map, it is a key outlet for Russian crude and oil products via the Sheskharis terminal, which alone handled around 761,000 barrels a day of crude in October, plus significant volumes of refined fuels.

• Damage: Industry sources say two key berths at Sheskharis were hit, with a fire at an oil depot, reported damage to the Sierra Leone flagged tanker Arlan, and three crew members injured.

• Spillover: The Caspian Pipeline Consortium briefly paused exports from its Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal, about 15km (9 miles) away, then resumed once air alerts ended.

• Markets: Oil prices jumped more than 2% on the news.

🇱🇮🇨🇭🇺🇸 LIECHTENSTEIN / SWITZERLAND / US
Tariff Deal Reached

The United States just struck a fresh trade deal with Switzerland and its neighbor Liechtenstein that slices U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods. The White House is selling it as a textbook Trump move that swaps lower border taxes for Swiss factories on U.S. soil.

• Deal: Announced Friday, the agreement covers Switzerland and Liechtenstein and sharply cuts U.S. tariffs on Swiss imports to 15% from 39%, which is a big reset for exporters and importers alike.

• Reciprocity: In return, the two central European countries will scrap or lower their own tariffs on a handful of U.S. products, including nuts, some fruits, fish and seafood, industrial chemicals, and spirits, making it cheaper for American producers to reach wealthy consumers in the Alps.

• Investment: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the framework comes with "billions" in fresh Swiss investment that should fund new plants in sectors like pharmaceuticals, with Roche already breaking ground on a facility inside the United States and officials promising thousands of jobs across multiple states.