Australia assures US: Red Sea not our strategic priority

Australia has refused to participate in the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea to protect commercial vessels from Houthi attacks, stressing that it wants to focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Instead of sending warships to the Red Sea, Canberra pledged to provide additional personnel to the US-led coalition.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced a multinational effort to secure maritime commerce after Houthi rebels stepped up drone and missile attacks on Israeli-allied ships in a bid to force Tel Aviv to halt the Gaza war.

About 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, including 30% of global container traffic, including 20% of the world's container traffic, about 10% of oil seaborne transport and 8% of liquefied natural gas.

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📹💥 Footage of the Tornado-G operation of the Zapad group of troops in the Kupyansk region. According to the Ministry of Defence, the MLRS crews destroyed the stronghold and concentration point of the Ukrainian forces.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️The IDF stormed the town of Seida, northeast of Tulkarm in the West Bank, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported;

▪️Israel announced the evacuation of civilians from some areas of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs;

▪️IDF Air Force struck the operational command center of the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon;

▪️Negotiations between Israel and the Hamas movement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have resumed, but the positions of the parties differ, Palestinian Ambassador to Vienna Salah Abdel-Shafi told Sputnik.

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Ukraine's accession to the European Union would cost the bloc 150 to 190 billion euros ($164 billion to $208 billion), and the member states would receive less money, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

"It is certain that if Ukraine were admitted [to the EU], all the support that the countries of central Europe, including Hungary, have received so far, would be for them," Orban said in an interview with the TV2 broadcaster.

Orban added that the Hungarian government's goal is to "remove most of the tension during the background conversations" and focus on finding "a solution that satisfies everyone" at a summit in Brussels. The prime minister also said that Hungary offers European counterparts to resolve the issues of support for Ukraine outside the EU budget.

"Not only thunder but also sulfur lightning" is expected at the next EU summit on financial aid to Kiev, Orban said.

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❗️Russia will react symmetrically to the possible use of income from Russian funds frozen in the EU, Russian Finance Minister Siluanov asserted.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe theft, noting that the EU is targeting not only private funds, but also Russian state assets.

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Voter support for US military aid to Israel waning

US public support for Israel's war against Hamas is waning, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The number of those who support the US sending "additional military aid to Israel for its efforts in the war" has dropped from 54% in November to 45% in December.

The erosion in support has been most pronounced among Democratic and independent voters. While Republicans are largely in favor of providing military aid to Tel Aviv, 58% of Democrats and 48% of independents say they oppose more aid for Israel's war effort in Gaza.

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🎁💸 Funds on freeze - Ukraine's Christmas unease

Congress has left for the holidays without approving new spending for Ukraine, reports the Washington Post, one of the leading US newspapers.

The newspaper says that the reasons are obvious - "many disproportionately vocal House Republicans are wary of continuing to send money, and so the party insists that it be paired with changes to immigration policy".

According to the report, the money will dry up by the new year, which makes it more difficult for Ukraine to win the battle.

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The authorities in Kiev intend to enlist Ukrainian men (aged 25-60) living abroad for military service next year, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced in an interview with the Bild newspaper.

Initially, the authorities will ask them to report to the recruitment centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This comes after earlier President Zelensky said that the military offered him to mobilize an additional 450-500 thousand people.

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❗️Suspension of Sputnik Armenia Radio's broadcasting is a concession to those who advocate severing allied relations between Russia and Armenia, the Russian Embassy said

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🇰🇵 North Korea will respond with a nuclear strike to any nuclear "provocations," the country's leader Kim Jong Un said, the state news agency KCNA reported.

"He said that the resolute military activity conducted by the company this time true to the Party's battle order was a demonstration of loyalty and strong stand of the DPRK's armed forces defending the sovereignty of the country and a clear explanation of the offensive counteraction mode and the evolution of the nuclear strategy and doctrine of the DPRK not to hesitate even a nuclear attack when the enemy provoke it with nukes," KCNA wrote.

Kim was "deeply impressed with the combat efficiency" of the missile department that showed "high mobility and rapid attack capability" in the launching drill, the report said.

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🇷🇺 Key statements of Chief of General Staff of the Ministry of Defense Valery Gerasimov at a briefing for foreign attaches:

▪️About 40 major exercises are held annually near Russia's western borders, the scenario of which is confrontation with the Russian Federation;

▪️At the same time, the West is striving to create new hot spots and support conflicts in the Balkans, Transnistria and Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Afghanistan;

▪️The main task of the Russian troops in the special operation zone this year was to repel the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian strike group,

▪️The Ukrainian forces, at the cost of colossal losses, were able to slightly advance in the Zaporozhye region, failing to overcome even the tactical zone of Russian defense;

▪️Russian troops are successfully conducting active defense during the special operation, expanding control zones.

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❗️Hamas' head told mediators that a hostage deal with Israel is possible only according to the "all for all" formula and after a ceasefire

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French Military Presence in Africa Waning?

France is expected to fully withdraw its military contingent from Niger by December 22 at the behest of the local government.

This withdrawal takes place years after Paris sent thousands of troops into West Africa, allegedly to combat Islamist militants.The following infographic by Sputnik shows in which African countries Paris still maintains troop contingents and where French troops were shown the door.

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🇵🇱 The Polish opposition skipped the meeting of the Sejm (lower house of the National Assembly) at which next year's budget was being considered.

Officially, the Law and Justice Party did not explain the reasons for its absence from the hall. In total, it has 194 out of 460 lawmakers.

The situation in parliament is happening amid the new government's attempt to change the leadership of state media, which caused a mass protest.

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❗️Lavrov on Germany's demand to confiscate Russian assets: Russia has something to confiscate in response

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