❗️ Explosion occurred at military airport of Kabul, some people dead or injured - Interior Ministry

Over 30% of Germans Believe West Should Push Kiev Into Peace Talks With Moscow: Poll

According to the survey, 31% of the respondents believe that Western states should pressure Ukraine into peace talks, while 50% of the survey participants believe that only the Ukrainian government should make the decision to start negotiations with Russia.

About 31% of Germans support Ukraine's eventual accession to the EU and NATO after the conclusion of the peace agreement. Another 13% believe that Ukraine should only join the EU, and 10% think that accession to NATO is enough, the survey showed. At the same time 26% of respondents consider Ukraine's accession to NATO and EU as unnecessary, the poll added.

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US Aid to Ukraine May Weaken America’s ‘Deterring Capacity’ in East Asia: Report

Washington may face problems pertaining to its clout in Asia due to America’s push to go ahead with its financial and military support for Ukraine, a US newspaper has reported.

“On the populist side, the best argument for limiting America’s involvement in Ukraine is likewise not ideological but strategic: that the United States is burning through munitions so quickly that it might be weakening Washington’s deterrence capacity in East Asia in the short term,” the report said.

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🇷🇺🇲🇿 Russia seeks to expand parliamentary cooperation with Mozambique, according to Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament

▪️The statement was made during her meeting with Esperança Bias, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique, in Brazil.

▪️Matviyenko reminded that Bias was officially invited to Russia in 2023. The Russian legislator expressed hope that her Mozambican counterpart would make such a visit.

🗣"During this visit, we could sign a plan of specific measures of inter-parliamentary cooperation, a kind of road map for the next two years. If you support this, we could start working on it," Matviyenko said

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Kim Jong-un Accuses US of Creating ‘Asian Version of NATO’

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Sunday that the United States, under the pretext of strengthening cooperation with South Korea and Japan, was creating an "Asian version of NATO."

"In 2022 the US frequently deployed various nuclear strike means in South Korea at the level of constant deployment, increasing the level of military pressure on the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] to the maximum. And, at the same time, it is pushing forward the realization of triangular cooperation with Japan and South Korea on a full scale while working hard to establish a new military bloc like Asian version of NATO under the signboard of ‘tightening alliance," Kim Jong-un said in a report on the Workers' Party of Korea plenary meeting, as cited by local media.

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"I got it from here"

📹🎄A peculiar video depicting a confrontation between Coca Cola, a symbol of Christmas in the West, and Russian Baikal cola went viral on the web

❄️In the video, Santa Claus is driving a Coca Cola truck and gets stuck in the snow somewhere in Russia. He ends up asking for help from Ded Moroz (the Russian Santa Claus), who is driving a Russian “bukhanka” van with the name Baikal on it.

The latter reluctantly helps him out, saying “I got it from here," and then tows the Coca Cola truck through the sky, flying against the backdrop of the moon.

🍹Coca Cola left the Russian market in June 2022. Baikal, created in 1973, is one of several Russian soft drink brands to have entered the cola market.

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🇨🇳A Chinese media outlet has reported that the US is “in no position” to point the finger at China and lecture Beijing on “how to deal with its relations” with Moscow.

💬“Compared with the US' alliance system, the China-Russia relationship, which is based on non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, not only conforms to the interests of both sides, but also can be more conductive in addressing global challenges,” the report said.

The solid ties between Beijing and Moscow “can help the world advance toward multipolarity, and prevent the international community from slipping into unilateralism.”

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❗️More than 16 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported from Ukraine under the grain deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

💬"Thanks to the corridor that we opened, more than 16 million tons of grain and grain products left the ports of Ukraine and reached the whole world," Erdogan said on Twitter.

📌On July 22, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations struck a deal to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The agreement was initially set to expire on November 19, with a possibility of extension if signatories consent. It was extended for 120 days on November 17.

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📹 A powerful storm brought torrential rain and heavy snow to much of California on Saturday, snarling traffic and closing highways as the state prepared to usher in the new year.

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❗️The Russian MoD says that Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities involved in the manufacture of attack drones were hit yesterday by a Russian strike.

▪️ Attack UAV storage sites were also hit.

▪️ The goal of the strike has been achieved; Kiev’s plans to carry out terrorist attacks against Russia in the near future have been thwarted.

❗️The Russian MoD’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️Russian Forces eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and one pick-up truck near Kupyansk;

▪️Russian servicemen eliminated or wounded more than 150 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed one armored carrier and two pick-up trucks near Krasny Liman;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated more than 110 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed two infantry combat vehicles, five armored combat vehicles and seven other vehicles near Donetsk;

▪️Russian troops eliminated more than 50 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and three other vehicles in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated six Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups;

▪️Russian Forces hit 68 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions;

▪️Russian servicemen destroyed a US-made AN/TPQ-50 radar station in the DPR;

▪️Russian troops destroyed two Krab self-propelled howitzers;

▪️Russian air forces shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter in the DPR;

▪️Russian air defensed destroyed 15 Ukrainian UAVs, as well as intercepted seven HIMARS rockets.

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“Where are you shooting? I have no words”: A resident of a house in Donetsk where a Ukrainian shell struck speaks about attack

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⚡️ The South Korean Ministry of Defense has said that any attempt by North Korea to use nuclear weapons will lead to the "fall of the regime."

▪️ The agency called on the DPRK to immediately stop nuclear development and return to the path of denuclearization.

Eurozone Economy May Shrink This Year Due to Energy Crisis, High Inflation

Europe is trying to tackle dwindling fuel supplies from Russia, caused by Western countries' tight sanctions against Moscow that were imposed shortly after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine in late February.

The Eurozone economy is set to shrink this year due to high inflation and potential energy shortages, a UK media outlet has cited economists as warning.

They argue that the single currency zone was already in recession, with gross domestic product expected to contract over the whole of next year.

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Kosovo Wants to Increase NATO Presence in Order to 'Strengthen Security'

Kosovo intends to increase the presence of NATO military personnel in the republic for the sake of strengthening peace and security in Western Balkans, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Sunday.

💬"A significant increase in the number of NATO soldiers and military equipment… will enhance security and peace in Kosovo and throughout the Western Balkans region," Kurti told German media.

The partially-recognized Republic of Kosovo is currently increasing defense spending and the number of its soldiers and reservists, the prime minister noted.

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🦭The large marine mammal nicknamed "Thor" was discovered in the harbor on Friday, having travelled from Europe. In early December, the animal was seen on beaches in Hampshire and was also spotted in the Netherlands and France.

🗣"We have taken the decision to cancel tonight’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display on the advice of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), because of the arrival of the walrus ‘Thor’ in the harbor," a Scarborough Borough Council spokesman said.

▪️The council decided to cancel the New Year firework display over concerns about the emotional effects and discomfort to the mammal, the report said.

▪️Despite the fact that walruses are a rare sight in the United Kingdom, two other such cases have been recorded off British shores in the last two years.

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⚡️One person died and nine others were injured in a shooting in the US city of Mobile, Alabama, on New Year’s Eve, American media reported on Sunday, citing police.

▪️The police department of Mobile received reports of shooting at 11:14 p.m. local time on Saturday (05:14 GMT on Sunday).

▪️The police specified that the injured were transported to local hospitals, where they received treatment, however, their condition is unknown as of early Sunday.

▪️Police have launched an investigation into the shooting.

⚡️A man with an explosive device and a knife who tried to enter Lula da Silva's presidential inauguration has been detained in the capital of Brazil - report.

🇮🇳🇵🇰 India and Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear facilities under a 1992 agreement

🔸 New Delhi also shared with Pakistan a list of 434 Pakistani prisoners in India, of which 339 are civilians and 95 fishermen.

🔸 Pakistan has demanded the early release and repatriation of 51 civilian prisoners and 94 fishermen who have served their sentences.