🇩🇪 Munich Security Conference is one of the key international events to watch out for this week. Even though its motto is “Peace through Dialogue”, it’s likely that there will be a lot of warmongering on the main stage and on the sidelines, as the conference is dominated by the US and NATO agenda.

The MSC has just published its annual report. Here are some of the highlights:

▪️Energy security is among key topics, with terms such as "Moscow’s energy warfare against Europe" and "weaponization of energy" being used throughout the report. Notably, not a single mention of the NordStream sabotage, and the role that Washington and Oslo reportedly played in cutting off Russian gas supplies to Germany.

▪️Ukraine is in the spotlight, with MSC-commissioned polls supposedly showing the supposed support of “European and, to a lesser extent, US rules” in the country. Note the “rules” being mentioned – Moscow has always protested against “rules-based” international order, as “rules” are defined (or broken) by the US and their allies depending on their interests.

▪️MSC authors criticize Beijing for its human rights record, blaming China for promoting “alternative vision of human rights governance”, which is different from the West’s views.

▪️Notably, MSC author Leonard Schütte admits that there are no more rules when it comes to international trade: “The global trade infrastructure based on the WTO’s rules is eroding as China, the US, India, and even its stalwart defender, the EU, are increasingly resorting to protectionism. The old rules are dying but no new vision is in sight.”

▪️When it comes to “Nuclear order”, Beijing is once again in the crosshairs: “As its nuclear arsenal continues to grow, China may soon become the third nuclear superpower, joining the United States and Russia. The nuclear arms control regime therefore needs to be extended, but China has thus far refused to accept restrictions." – writes MSC author Jintro Pauly.

ℹ️ MSC will start on February 17.

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A dangerous sinkhole has appeared in a river near the Turkish village of Duru in Diyarbakir province after devastating earthquakes ravaged the country

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❗️ Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ There is no information on a new wave of mobilization in Russia;

▪️ The US call on people not to visit Russia and leave is not something new;

▪️ The Ukrainian delegation left the negotiations with Russia in the spring and did so on orders "from above";

▪️ Russia does not put pressure on Damascus in humanitarian matters, while Moscow is constantly in contact and provides assistance in eliminating the consequences of the earthquake.

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📹 Soldiers of Russia’s 1st Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade hit a Ukrainian tank hangar with Grad multiple-launch rocket systems.

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🇮🇱 ✊ Protesters rally in Jerusalem against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its planned judicial reform

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Dozens of Chinese Military Balloons Detected Over Taiwan in Recent Years, Reports Say

Dozens of Chinese military surveillance balloons were detected over Taiwan over past years, media reported on Monday, citing Taiwanese officials.

The report said that the number is much bigger now than it was in a previous period, raising concerns over possible Chinese attack on the island. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry has earlier confirmed only one incident with alleged spy balloons, which took place in February 2022, according to the newspaper.

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

▪️The Russian Army eliminated over 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Russian troops eliminated more than 80 Ukrainian serviceman in the Krasny Liman direction;

▪️Russian forces eliminated over 150 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;

▪️The Russian Army destroyed two Grad MLRS and two Gvozdika howitzers in the Kherson direction;

▪️Russian forces hit a Ukrainian equipment repair point in the Slavyansk region in the DPR;

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down nine Ukrainian UAVs and six HIMARS rockets.

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Russia Proposes Joint Construction of Submarine With India Based on Amur-1650

🇷🇺🇮🇳🤝 Submarines of the Amur class belong to the fourth generation and have improved acoustic stealth, new combat systems, and the option of installing an anaerobic air-independent power plant. They can be armed with Kalibr or BrahMos missiles, torpedoes, and mines.

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China Calls on US to Lift Sanctions Against Syria Instead of Temporarily Suspending Them

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin noted that "the US has for years engaged in military intervention and imposed illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria," seriously exacerbating the crisis in the Syrian economy and people's well-being, and greatly weakening the Syrian government's disaster response capacity.

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Beijing Says US Balloons Illegally Entered China's Airspace Over 10 Times Since Early 2022

“It is nothing rare for US balloons to illegally enter other country’s airspace... The US needs to reflect upon its own behavior, instead of slandering, smearing and provoking confrontation," China’s Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, stated at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

In response to the US rhetoric following the recent balloon incident, the spokesman indicated that China reserved the right to "take necessary means to deal with relevant incidents.”

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🇷🇺🇸🇩 What is known about the deal on a Russian naval logistical base in Sudan?

▪️The base should not host more than 300 servicemen and four Russian naval vessels, including nuclear-powered warships, at the same time;

▪️The agreement is expected to last for 25 years, with an automatic 10-year extension, provided that neither party requests that it be terminated prior to that time;

▪️The US opposes Russia entering the region and has pressured Khartoum, causing ratification to drag on;

▪️On February 9, Sergey Lavrov, visiting Khartoum, announced that the process was underway;

▪️On February 11, US media reported that the Sudanese authorities had returned to the agreement.

Click here for more details

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🇹🇷 The city of Nurdagi in Turkish province of Gaziantep, which was severely damaged by earthquakes, will be completely demolished and rebuilt, acting governor Osman Bilgin.

On February 6, parts of Turkiye and Syria were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks. The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey currently stands at 31,643.

Bilgin and Turkish Urban Development Minister Marat Kurum made the decision to demolish all buildings in the city, remove all the rubble and rebuild it, Turkish media reported.

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🇷🇺🇸🇾 The Russian military at the Khmeimim air base in Syria have begun distributing humanitarian aid to the population affected by the devastating recent earthquakes directly from their own warehouses.

The decision to open the base to the Syrian population greatly accelerated the overall effort to help the victims, and was made at the express orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lt. Col. Alexander Vasiliev of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria told Sputnik.

According to him, humanitarian supplies to Khmeimim from Russia will be delivered daily, as long as necessary. At the same time, a first-aid post is operating at the Russian airbase, which receives victims of the earthquakes and provides them with all the necessary medical assistance. Both visiting Russian and local Syrian doctors work here. Throngs of people have been queuing for humanitarian and medical aid at the base.

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⚡️ Blinken weighs meeting with China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi at Munich Security Conference this week, US media reports

☣️ Ohio residents raise health concerns after toxic train derailment, US media reported.

Residents around East Palestine, Ohio, are skeptical of US Environmental Protection Agency claims that it is safe to return home, after a train derailment earlier this month led authorities to burn hazardous materials inside tanker cars to preempt an explosion. Some people have since complained of feeling ill and noted animals getting sick and fish dying in bodies of water.

Three days after the derailment on February 3, authorities burned vinyl chloride inside five tanker cars, which released hydrogen chloride and phosgene, the report said. The EPA says tests indicate the surrounding air and water are safe for residents.

Two Pennsylvania residents filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday against Norfolk Southern, calling for the railway to pay for medical screenings and care for residents living within a 30-mile radius of the derailment site in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

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A Story of Pain: Earthquake Survivors in Syria's Latakia Recall Horror

Syrians left homeless following a powerful earthquake on February 6 are now forced to sleep in temporary shelters. The city of Latakia, which has the highest number of quake-affected people in the country, is no exception. Speaking with Sputnik, some of them recalled the terrible night the 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred.

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❗️Biden has instructed the US Intelligence Community to take broad look at the phenomenon of unidentified aerial objects, the White House said. There is “no indication of alien” activity in the unidentified objects over the US, a press secretary added.

The White House also claims the US was able to determine that China has a high-altitude balloon program for intelligence collection, and Biden has formed team to study unidentified aerial objects that pose a risk. The Chinese government previously denied the White House’s claims about a “spy balloon,” saying it was a civilian vessel designed to monitor weather patterns that had blown off course.

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🔺Anything goes? The US military is recruiting jihadists to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia and CIS countries, Russian intel says
🔺Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations: We run through Western media's reaction to Sy Hersh's Nord Stream report
🔺Raisi to visit Xi: We preview the Iranian president's trip to Beijing

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Biden Administration Reportedly Plans to Sell 26 Million Barrels of Crude Oil From Reserves

The Biden administration has used the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to try and alleviate chronic high US gasoline prices; however, US oil giants have been caught sending the petrol to European markets, where the price is even higher, and making what US President Joe Biden described as "more money than God."

The US Department of Energy is preparing to release another 26 million barrels of crude oil from the country's strategic reserve into oil markets, according to reports in US media on Monday.

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What’s GOP Speaker McCarthy's Alleged Strategy to Prevail in Debt Ceiling Battle?

Speaker Kevin McCarthy brought together leaders of the so-called “five families” of the House GOP – representing five ideological wings – last week to discuss the forthcoming debt ceiling battle, according to the US mainstream press.

There is a suspicion among Republicans that the White House is deliberately slow-rolling negotiations between Biden and McCarthy to step up pressure on the House GOP to pass a "clean" debt ceiling, with no strings attached.

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