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

▪️Hamas' military wing tells Israel that it needs to stop its aggression if it wants to return the hostages alive. Hamas chief says mediators that a hostage deal with Israel is possible only according to the "all for all" formula and after a ceasefire;

▪️Aid supplies to Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing halted after Israeli shelling, according to reports;

▪️IDF says it expanded combat zone to central Gaza Strip;

▪️Hamas' military wing says it conducted new strikes on Tel Aviv "in response to killing of civilians in Gaza Strip."

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US hopes new Polish government will ‘seize initiative’ and become EU leader

“In Poland, as a result of the elections, those politicians came to power who, due to ideological considerations and various connections from the past, have more trusting relationships with American democrats than the previous Polish government,” Mateusz Piskorski, political observer and columnist for the Myśl Polska newspaper, told Sputnik.

Earlier this month, former prime minister Donald Tusk returned to Poland’s premiership, ousting a Eurosceptic government. A top US State Department official has since said Washington wants Poland to become “a leader of the EU.”

Piskorski said that despite their differences, the shift in parties wouldn’t lead to a major shift in Polish foreign policy.

He said the official “was trying to emphasize that in Washington they hoped for the continuation of those [arms] purchases, and maybe even an increase, for which the previous government was ready.”

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🇺🇸💥Sensitive military documents AGAIN leaked on War Thunder forums

Technical military docs marked unclassified but export-controlled were posted on the War Thunder forums, a board for users of the hyper-realistic military sim.

Members often engage in arguments and sometimes post technical docs and manuals to support debate. However, posting classified or export-controlled materials is illegal and forbidden by the site.

The files were posted on December 12 and removed within minutes, but not before users managed to create copies. The material included two pages from the M2A2 Bradley Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle’s technical manual, including information on the commander’s hatch, turret assembly and spall liner (inner armor).

This is the 14th leak of classified or export-controlled documents on the War Thunder forums since the game’s initial release in 2012. However, the game’s developer insists the leak did not originate on the game’s official forums.

👉 Check out the link to read the full story

“A UN Security Council resolution would allow some other country to say, ‘well we have the legitimacy of doing this now, we’re enforcing a UN Security Council resolution.’ But even then, I don’t know if anybody would do anything,” The Polemicist editor Jim Kavanagh told Sputnik.

After vetoing a UNSC ceasefire resolution on Gaza earlier this month, the issue has come back before the council and the US is trying to water the resolution down to avoid another humiliating veto.

“A Security Council resolution, at least theoretically, legally opens the door to enforcement, that’s the issue here,” Kavanagh said. “The United Nations, the United States, can say anything it wants, whatever United Nations resolutions are passed doesn’t mean anything if they’re not going to be enforced by someone. And as you said, the only ones that get enforced are the ones that allow the United States to go to war.”

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“The problem with the Israelis, and particularly the Netanyahu government and people like Netanyahu … is that they dug behind groups and organizations like Hamas and that. But we all know that they supported Hamas in the formative stage,” journalist Elijah Magnier told Sputnik.

Refusing to force Israel to live up to the Oslo accords and create a Palestinian state have allowed Israeli politics to radicalize, while the paralysis has also disillusioned Palestinians, allowing Hamas to rise.

“On the one hand, one could say that yes, Israel is ducking behind Hamas in order to eradicate basically entirely the whole people. But at the same time, the Arab governments don't want to get involved in this, and then the pretext is, again, Hamas, that it is all because of them. But the problem is, Hamas’ popularity is increasing not only in the West Bank, but in the streets of the Arab world,” he observed.

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Israel reportedly struck Gazan churches using coordinates received from US Congress

In an attempt to prevent Israeli strikes on religious sites in Gaza, one of the largest Christian aid organizations there, Catholic Relief Services, reportedly passed on the coordinates of several sites in the enclave to Senate staffers, who, in turn, sent them to Israel.

US media reported that the move by the aid organization was an attempt to get a commitment from Israel not to target at least four buildings in Gaza, including the two that were later struck by the Israeli military.

👉 Read on to get the details

Czech Republic declares mourning on Saturday following deadly shooting in Prague

The Czech Republic's authorities have declared Saturday, December 23, a day of mourning for the victims of a deadly shooting at Charles University in central Prague, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

"The government held a special meeting in the evening, which was attended by the president of the republic and the speaker of the lower house of parliament. We decided to declare December 23 a day of state mourning," Fiala said. "On this day at 12.00 p.m. [11:00 GMT], we will all honor the memory of the victims of this terrible tragedy with a minute of silence."

The latest death toll stands at 14 dead and another 25 injured. Authorities have detailed the shooting showed no evidence of international terrorism ties, but that the motive remains unknown.

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Joe Biden has truly huge plans for 2024

In an interview with comedian Conan O'Brien, the US President said that he expects the car to reach 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds on a new Corvette E-Ray, which is scheduled for release in 2024. And he is "gonna give it a shot".

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New execution method in Alabama compared to 'tying bag over their head'

The state of Alabama plans to use nitrogen hypoxia as a new method to execute prisoners as the state has had difficulties obtaining the components needed for the drug cocktail mix used in more conventional lethal injection executions.

🗣 "When people are actually seeing how the death penalty is being carried out by the government, I think that's some of what led to the increasing public revulsion against the death penalty," says Paul Wright, the managing editor of Prison Legal News and the executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center.

This method is believed to be painful. Nitrogen has no euphoric effects and the first prisoner scheduled to be executed with it, Kenneth Eugene Smith, will likely die from suffocation if a judge rules the execution can move forward.

👉 Follow the link to learn more

US polling highlights polarizing views on Colorado Court's ballot ruling on Trump

A recent YouGov poll, conducted in the wake of the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to disqualify former US President Donald Trump from the state's primary ballot, suggests a divided American public, with just over half endorsing the ruling.

The poll, released on Wednesday, indicates 54% of respondents approve, to varying extents, of the court's decision grounded in the 14th Amendment. However, with 35% disapproving and a significant margin of error of about 4%, the results paint a picture of a nation split down the middle.

The poll also looked into expectations for the Supreme Court's eventual decision, with 43% predicting an overturn. However, only a minority of 23% believe the ban will be upheld, reflecting skepticism about the court's leaning and its impact on this high-profile case.

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Praising Poland is ‘PR pressure’ to subordinate pan-European state under US hegemony’

The new Polish government led by Donald Tusk “wants to be seen as even more pro-American than the previous one,” Polish politician Konrad Rekas told Sputnik.

“In this respect, indeed, all main political parties in Poland are the undisputed champions of Europe, and perhaps even of the world,” the independent commentator said.

Referencing a recent statement by US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien that Washington wants “Poland to be a leader in the European Union,” he clarified:

“Praising Poland is just an element of PR pressure on Berlin and Brussels to subordinate the pan-European state under the unquestionable American hegemony.”

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📹 The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations will deliver another 20 tons of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, including food, medicine, clothing, etc.

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🇫🇮 The Finnish Ministry of Interior said that it would pay asylum seekers up to 5,000 euros ($5,500) in assistance for their voluntary return to their homeland within 30 days after they receive the first negative asylum decision or withdraw their application for the asylum.

"Under the new decree, the assistance for voluntary return will be EUR 5,000 if the asylum seeker applies for the assistance within 30 days of the notification of the first negative asylum decision or the withdrawal of the application," the ministry said, adding that the decree will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

"The new decree will implement the Government Programme objective of staggering the assistance for voluntary return to encourage people to leave the country as quickly as possible and refrain from requesting a review of their asylum decision. The decree will also harmonise the level of assistance with Finland's reference countries," the ministry said.

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🇭🇺 Highlights of Hungarian PM Viktor Orban’s year-end press conference

▪️ The conflict in Ukraine is precisely a special military operation since Russia never declared war on the regime in Kiev, and did not announce general mobilization;

▪️ The European Union should not begin accession talks with Ukraine since the conflict there is ongoing;

▪️ Orban queried whether the EU intends to accept Ukraine along with the new Russian regions;

▪️ It is not in Hungary’s interests to have a border with Russia;

▪️ The launch of accession talks between the European Union and Ukraine is no more than a political gesture, and fails to bring tangible help to the citizens of that country;

▪️ Ukraine cannot be admitted to the EU without the decision of the Hungarian parliament;

▪️Orban stressed he opposed the start of accession talks with Kiev at the EU summit on December 14-15, but could not persuade the remaining 26 EU leaders to change their minds;

▪️EU member countries cannot decide to allocate financial support to Ukraine from the bloc’s budget without the consent of Hungary. They can only agree on extra-budgetary payments, as would be the case if the other 26 countries took out a common loan for this purpose;

▪️The EC has no reason to attempt to strip Hungary of its voting rights under Article 7 of the EU treaty (for violations of the rule of law), since it has just admitted that the country’s judicial system is in order;

▪️The new EU migration rules are flawed and were adopted not unanimously, but by a simple majority.

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🇫🇷 Leader of the French Patriots party Florian Philippot:

"Let it be known! Ursula von der Leyen has just announced that an additional 1.5 billion euros will be given to the Zelensky regime for the month of December! So 300 million paid by France! Meanwhile, a reduction of 600 million for public hospitals is announced in 2024! The EU is war! It's ruin! Frexit and peace quickly!"

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

▪️ The IDF has killed more than 2,000 Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip since the end of the pause in the fighting on December 1, IDF spokesperson RDML Daniel Hagari said.

▪️ The IDF said it had seized financial records from Hamas in the town of Khan Yunis, showing the group had spent more than a million dollars, including on the production of doors and concrete.

▪️ The IDF reportedly used the locations of a Catholic Church and a convent in Gaza obtained from US congressional staff to later strike them with rockets and snipers.

▪️ The White House said Israel agrees with the need to reduce the intensity of fighting in Gaza, but it is unclear when this will happen.

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It is troubling that the United States pledges billions of dollars to assist foreign nations when hundreds of US Native American tribes only receive a small fraction of that support, Navajo Nation Washington Office Executive Director Justin Ahasteen told Sputnik.

"It's deeply troubling to see the federal government pledge billions of dollars to foreign nations in the name of national security, while the 574 sovereign tribal nations within its own borders receive a fraction of this support," Ahasteen said.

US tribes face pressing domestic issues, from health disparities to cultural preservation, and from economic development to the protection of our homelands, according to Ahasteen.

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📹 A Russian mortar of a reconnaissance unit destroyed two armored vehicles with command staff of the Ukrainian forces in the Kupyansk direction

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Any privacy? Forget about it

The Latvian postal service has begun opening personal letters and parcels going to Russia and Belarus, explaining the move by pointing to EU sanctions.

Postal employees check sent envelopes for the presence of money, bank cards, chips, and SIM cards, Latvijas Pasts representative Matisse Rutks told Delfi. If such items are found, the shipments “will be delayed.”

At the same time, the Constitutional Court of Latvia previously prohibited checking even prisoners’ letters, as privacy is guaranteed by the country’s constitution.

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