"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.

🇬🇧A record 45,700 people have traveled to the United Kingdom across the English Channel in small boats in 2022, up more than 60% compared to 2021, British media reported on Sunday, citing figures released by the country's government.

▪️According to the data on the numbers of arrivals, a total of 45,756 people crossed the channel that separates the UK from mainland Europe last year, which is over 17,000 more than in 2021.

▪️In September 2022, the number of illegal migrants who arrived in the UK across the English Channel since January exceeded 28,561, surpassing the number recorded in the entire 2021.

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Sunday a bilateral ceasefire with the radical left-wing group National Liberation Army (ELN), the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and other rebel groups from January 1 to June 30.

💬"We have agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with ELN, the Segunda Marquetalia, the Central General Staff [of FARC], AGC [Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia of Gulf Clan], and the Sierra Nevada Self-Defense Forces from January 1 to June 30, 2023, with the possibility of extending the agreement depending on the progress of the negotiations," Petro said on Twitter.

📌In December, the ELN and FARC announced a ceasefire until January 2 as a contribution to the ongoing dialogue with Petro’s government, which seeks to achieve peace with armed groups in order to end over 50 years of armed conflict in the country.

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