❗The US Defense Department has confirmed its MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down in the international airspace off the Yemen coast, media reported, citing a senior US defense official.

🇩🇪 Less than a fifth of several hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who fled to Germany since February 2022 have found a job at their new host country, with the rest being seemingly content to live off unemployment benefits provided by Berlin.

The upkeep of each of the Ukrainian refugees may cost German taxpayers up to 45,000 euros annually, said Gunnar Beck, member of the European Parliament for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

He also warned that “many Ukrainians are abusing the German system” by busing into some town in Germany “every fortnight to register for benefits” and then promptly returning back to Ukraine.

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🧐 Does Team Biden have something to hide?

The Biden administration acknowledges that it is taking care not to provide "too much detail" about its military deliveries to Israel, whereas it used to be very vocal about its Ukrainian weapon supplies.

🗣 "The difference is there is much more directly at stake for the US both militarily and politically in the Middle East," retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik.

While militarily US forces are operating in close proximity to Israel's adversaries – Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon – politically, Washington is on thin ice with erstwhile allies in the Saudi, Kuwaiti and Qatari elites as well as with the Turkiye leadership.

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🇿🇦 South Africa proposes plan to resolve Israeli - Palestinian conflict

The plan includes an immediate comprehensive ceasefire and complete opening of humanitarian corridors, according to South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor.

Apart from that, Pandor said a zone free of nuclear weapons should be established in the Middle East, and Palestine and Israel should resume dialog, adding that a rapid reaction force of the United Nations should be deployed in Palestine to observe the ceasefire and protect civilians.

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📹 A Russian mobile group of paratroopers destroys a Ukrainian armored vehicle close to Artyomovsk

By launching a guided missile from the Kornet anti-tank missile system, the Ukrainian armored vehicle was destroyed.

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📹 A Russian Uragan MLRS crew destroys a Ukrainian stronghold in South Donetsk direction

The power of MLRS is sufficient to destroy not only heavy hardware, but also fortified command posts, and even fortifications with concrete walls.

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The United States intends to kill Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project through sanctions coordinated with the Group of Seven (G7) partners and others, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt said.

"Our objective is to kill that project, and we are doing that through our sanctions, working with our partners in the Group of Seven and beyond," Pyatt stated during a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Earlier this month, the United States sanctioned the Arctic LNG 2, which is the second-largest liquified natural gas production project and is owned by the Russian energy company Novatek.

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Fierce clashes between US forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on one side and the Syrian army and its allies on the other have broken out in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria, Lebanese broadcaster reported Thursday, citing a source.

"Fierce clashes between American forces and the SDF on one side and the Syrian army and its allies on the other are underway, and various medium-caliber weapons, heavy artillery and rockets are being used," the source told the broadcaster.

The source added that US forces and SDF units are fighting from east of the Euphrates, while the Syrian army and its allies are engaged in clashes from their positions west of the Euphrates.

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🇷🇺🇰🇿 This morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan for talks, where he was met by his Kazakh counterpart

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GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy: “Ukraine is not a paragon of democracy. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. It has consolidated all media into one state TV media arm. That’s not democratic. It has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the U.S. forks over more money. That is not democratic.”

“It celebrated a Nazi in its ranks — the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelensky — doing it in their own ranks. That is not democratic."

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The Houthis showed a video in which they allegedly shoot down an American MQ-9 Reaper UAV over Yemeni territorial waters. A few hours later, the Pentagon confirmed the report.

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An American military base near the Al-Omar oil field east of the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor came under fire several times last night, an Arab TV channel reported.

According to the channel, at least 15 rockets were fired at the base.

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🇫🇷 France should withdraw from the European Union and give its place to Ukraine, said the leader of the French Patriots party Florian Philippot on social network X.

"The EU has just informed Zelensky that Ukraine can join the union! Negotiations officially begin! Let's leave room for Ukraine and leave as soon as possible!" - the politician suggested.

He called the EU's decision to start accession talks with beggar and corruption-prone Ukraine "colossal madness" that will only make things worse for the EU.

"Let the EU deal with Ukraine on its own and we will leave," Filippo summed up.

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🇺🇸 During the Miami debate, GOP presidential candidates weighed in on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️ Ron DeSantis stressed Israel should “finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas,” adding that he was “sick of hearing other people blame Israel for defending itself.”

▪️ He was echoed by Nikki Haley, who said that Israel must wipe out the Palestinian militant group and that “The only thing we should be doing is supporting them in eliminating Hamas.”

▪️Chris Christie insisted the US “would have to work with Israel to degrade Hamas and ensure “something like this can’t happen to kill 1,400 individuals again.”

▪️ Senator Tim Scott demanded to "cut off the head of the snake" [Iran], and Israel should "wipe Hamas off the face of the Earth" - the US will support him.

▪️ Vivek Ramaswamy said: “What I would tell Bibi is that Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend itself.”

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