🇸🇾☢️🇮🇱 Syria calls on the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency to take all measures necessary to uncover Israel's nuclear program, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended Minister for Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Amichai Eliyahu, who said that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was "one of the possible options" in the conflict.

Eliyahu's allegations confirm that Israel concealed the fact that it had nuclear weapons, the ministry said.

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🇪🇺 EU records 'extraordinary' levels of anti-semitism in Europe

"The spike of antisemitic incidents across Europe has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history. European Jews today are again living in fear," the European Commission (EC) said in a statement.

The commission condemned "despicable" attacks on synagogues in Germany and Spain, the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Austria and anti-Semitic graffiti spraying in France, saying the bloc condemned these acts in the strongest terms.

The EC pledged to rigorously enforce laws that criminalize public incitement to hatred and violence, both in the street and online, and said it was working with member states to step up security measures at places of worship and other premises.

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⚔️ Zelensky vs. Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine’s President censures top commander over ‘stalemate’ comments

The fallout over Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s remarks challenging the accepted narrative in Kiev about the state of the NATO-sponsored proxy war with Russia continues to swirl, with the Volodymyr Zelensky administration accusing him of aiding Moscow.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s “stalemate” comment and remarks on “what is happening at the front” are utterly inappropriate, and “make the aggressor’s job easier,” Zelensky aide Ihor Zhovkva told media this week, adding that he has already received “panic” filled phone calls from Kiev’s Western partners asking what is going on.

The Ukrainian president addressed the situation personally on Saturday, challenging Zaluzhnyi’s somber assessment of the situation at the front.

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💸🇷🇺 Why West is terrified of transferring seized Russian assets to Ukraine?

The political battle for Russian state assets trapped abroad continues to intensify. Last week, European Union leaders approved in principle a controversial measure allowing the bloc to skim profits from Russian assets for use in “Ukraine reconstruction,” and called on the European Commission to “accelerate work with a view to submitting proposals” in this direction.

Across the Atlantic, US officials have similarly stepped up efforts to try to make use of the seized Russian assets, although these efforts have so far stuck to behind-the-scenes negotiations in the corridors of power occasionally reported on by the media.

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🇦🇫 Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has all but stopped, falling 95% since the Taliban (under UN sanctions for extremism) outlawed poppy production last year, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said.

"Opium cultivation fell across all parts of the country, from 233,000 hectares to just 10,800 hectares in 2023. The decrease has led to a corresponding 95 per cent drop in the supply of opium, from 6,200 tons in 2022 to just 333 tons in 2023," a new research brief read.

The Taliban pledged to wipe out poppy cultivation after they came to power in August 2021 and imposed a ban in April 2022. Revenues from poppy harvesting by Afghan farmers fell by more than $1 billion to $110 million this year.

UN envoy for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva said nearly 80% of the Afghan population depended on agriculture. This means that Afghanistan needs more investment to provide farmers with opportunities away from opium.

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🇪🇹🇷🇺 "It is the right time" for Russian companies to invest in Ethiopian pharmaceutical industry

The Ethiopian delegation became the first foreign delegation to participate in the International RUSSIA EXPO, which kicked off yesterday in Moscow. The event highlights the country's achievements in various economic sectors and brings together exhibits from all its regions.

On the sidelines of the EXPO, Sputnik Africa asked Daniel Waktole, President of the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies Manufacturers Association (EPMSMA), to share his vision of the potential for cooperation between Russia and Ethiopia.

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🇷🇺 Police detained 201 people after the mass anti-Semitic unrest took place at Makhachkala Airport in Russia's predominately Muslim region of Dagestan, the Russian Interior Ministry said

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🇷🇺🪖 Russian reconnaissance and kamikaze drones track down and destroy Ukrainian IFV carrying large amounts of ammunition

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🇵🇸🇮🇱 Death toll of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees staff in Gaza Strip increases to 88

This is the highest number of UN staff killed in a single conflict, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee said.

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🇵🇸🇺🇸🇮🇱 US moves blocking Gaza peace puts Hezbollah under 'tremendous pressure'

“I think the Palestinian resistance and Hamas in particular are hoping that there will be a more aggressive response, a deeper penetration into or an attempt at least to address the presence of Israeli soldiers along the border and actually in parts of Lebanon,” international human rights activist, organizer and political analyst Ajamu Baraka told Sputnik, commenting on key points of Nasrallah’s fiery speech on Friday.

“People are really outraged by what they see. Many people are concluding that with the diplomatic channels being blocked by the US – and the criticism that [Nasrallah] raised was in fact true, that when you have the US blocking any attempts to come to a ceasefire or to have a more effective humanitarian corridor, it’s quite clear that the US is fully implicated in the slaughter of Palestinians. So it’s putting tremendous pressure on everyone to act, and to act, at this point in a military fashion since the diplomatic and peaceful channels seem to have been preempted,” the observer emphasized.

Baraka expects to see “political blowback” against Washington across the world and inside the US itself, suggesting that America’s credibility has been heavily damaged through its stalwart support for Israel throughout the present crisis.

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🇹🇷🇺🇸 US Secretary of State Blinken receives lukewarm reception upon arrival in Ankara

Several observers on social media pointed out that there was no high-level official present to welcome him.

Hours before Antony Blinken's arrival, Turkish police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters who marched on an air base housing US forces in Turkiye's south-east.

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🇷🇺 WWII Liberation of Kiev: How Nazi defenses came crashing down

Monday marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Kiev by the Red Army after nearly two-and-a-half years of brutal occupation by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. The surprise offensive was unexpected by the Axis after the bloody battles at Kursk in the summer of 1943.

🎞 Check out Sputnik’s video for unique historical footage, photos and facts about how the battle for Kiev unfolded.