The EU should solve more important problems before forming its own army, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani's statement Sunday.

“An EU army? Maybe you should start by developing your own vaccine against COVID-19? Or learn how to humanely -- in accordance with your international obligations -- guard the borders of the EU?” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.

The spokeswoman added that the EU also has an unresolved refugee problem.

The official stressed that before armed forces are established, it is necessary to determine what fuel they will use. Otherwise the US will be able to blackmail the EU by raising fuel prices if Brussels does not send its troops where Washington says, the spokeswoman emphasized.

Zakharova concluded by questioning why each NATO member pays into the "common treasury" -- in fact, the US treasury -- huge sums that should have been spent on ensuring collective security.

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The World Health Organisation has been forced to cancel four humanitarian missions to the northern Gaza Strip since December 26 because it no longer receives necessary security guarantees.

"Today [January 7], WHO cancelled a planned mission to Al-Awda hospital and the central drug store in northern Gaza for the fourth time since 26 Dec because we did not receive deconfliction and safety guarantees," WHO said on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

"Heavy bombardment, movement restrictions, and interrupted communications are making it nearly impossible to deliver medical supplies regularly and safely across Gaza, particularly in the north. Most hospitals are severely short-staffed, as health workers have left due to evacuation orders or insecurity. Meanwhile, patients' access to health facilities is impeded by perilous conditions," the organisation stressed.

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🌾 🌎 It's Time for Dollar-Free Grain Trade Among BRICS Countries

BRICS – an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – added net grain importers Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2024, almost equalizing the production and consumption of key grain crops within the group.

Under these circumstances, the association may create its own trading platform and trade grain within the group without using the US dollar, reads a letter from the Russian Union of Grain Exporters (Rusgrain Union) to the Ministry of Agriculture, reviewed by the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti.

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🇨🇿 The presence of Czech military personnel in foreign missions in 2024, including in the NATO group in Slovakia, will be reduced, the press secretary of the Czech General Staff, Vlastimila Cyprisova, stated on Sunday.

"Czech military personnel are currently participating in 14 foreign missions, in particular in Kosovo, the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, where they are fighting smugglers transporting illegal migrants from Africa to Europe. Overall reduction in the number of participants in foreign missions in 2024 will happen mainly due to a reduction from 450 to 200 people in the NATO contingent in Slovakia, the command of which the Czech Republic will transfer to Spain by the end of June this year," Cyprisova was quoted as saying by Czech Radio.

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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is still in the hospital and there is no specific date for his release yet, the US Defense Department said on Monday.

"Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center but is recovering well and in good spirits. Since resuming his duties on Friday evening, the Secretary has received operational updates and has provided necessary guidance to his team… While we do not have a specific date for his release at this time, we will continue to provide updates on the Secretary’s status as they become available," Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

Ryder added that on Saturday, Austin held talks with US President Joe Biden.

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Boeing 737 MAX 9 scare another argument in favor of Russia’s aviation independence

“The fact that the 737 MAX model seems to be plagued by various operational problems suggests that certain gaps and shortcomings exist in the organization of work at Boeing and among its contractors, and this has led to a decrease in the level of safety of products manufactured by the American company,” Oleg Panteleev, a leading Russian civilian aviation expert who heads the AviaPort think tank, told Sputnik.

“After the change of leadership at Boeing [after 2019, ed.], extraordinary measures were taken to eliminate problems which had been discovered, to restructure work with suppliers, increase the level of quality control of components and so on. Unfortunately, it cannot be said that all this work has led to the expected result,” Panteleev noted, referring to Friday’s close call involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 which suffered an emergency exit door blowout midflight.

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Spain recognizes valid passports of Kosovo citizens after visa-free entry into the European Union for them came into force on January 1, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Sunday, citing a source in the Spanish Foreign Ministry.

The report added that all Schengen countries agreed to accept Kosovo passports to allow the entry of Kosovars.

"This in no way means recognition of Kosovo," the source was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

On January 1, the Kosovar Foreign Ministry said that visa-free entry into the EU for its citizens came into force.

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The United States reportedly fears the failure of the IDF’s campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas will lead Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a war on Lebanon, it was revealed Sunday.

“The political logic for Netanyahu is to rebound… and have some kind of success to show to the Israeli public,” said analyst Bilal Saab, noting that the longtime Israeli leader has become highly unpopular in his country.

“I’m not sure going after Hezbollah [in Lebanon] is the right way to do it because that campaign will be far more challenging than the one in Gaza,” he added. Netanyahu faces prosecution on corruption charges in Israel if forced to step down from his position.

The IDF has reportedly already drawn up strike plans for Lebanon, according to Israeli media.

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Belgium will nominate European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders for the post of the president of the European Council, Belgian media reported on Sunday.

The Belgian authorities must announce their decision by January 10, and elections for the presidency of the European Council will be held in June, Le Soir newspaper said.

Reynders, in turn, was reportedly hoping to head the list of candidates from the Belgian liberal Reformist Movement party in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, but this was entrusted to incumbent European Council President Charles Michel.

In 2019, Reynders participated in the race for the post of the European Council president but lost the election. He also held various positions in the Belgian government, including the post of foreign minister and finance minister.

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🇷🇺 Russian TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system hits a strong point and concentration of personnel of Ukrainian forces

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❗️ At 7 am local time, Russian air defenses intercepted a Ukrainian S-200 missile over the Belgorod region, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The anti-aircraft missile had been converted to hit ground targets on the territory of Russia.

🇩🇪 Nearly two-thirds of Germans would like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to hand over his post to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a poll conducted by the Institute for New Social Answers (INSA) for German newspaper Bild showed.

The INSA poll showed that 64.3% of respondents want to replace Scholz with Pistorius. A total of 1,004 respondents participated in the poll.

Bild and Italian newspaper la Repubblica reported earlier this week that the German chancellor could leave office prematurely this year. The reasons for the possible resignation are low ratings of the ruling coalition, as well as the Wirecard fraud scandal that broke out in 2020, when Scholz was serving as finance minister.

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The Wall Street Journal has crunched some numbers on the Ukrainian crisis and concluded that Ukraine might have to resort to drastic measures if Western support stops flowing.

Pointing to “dwindling” Western financial assistance; lesser interest in continuing to fund the proxy crisis; and Russia outguning Ukraine militarily and economically, the outlet warned that “without sufficient support, Ukraine may have to resort to painful spending cuts or even printing money to fill its deficit” to keep the lights on and the war effort going.

Such a policy “would pose a grave risk to the health of its economy,” the newspaper said, hinting at the danger of hyperinflation which traditionally hits countries that print money to try to fill budget gaps.

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🇦🇺 The Australian government has banned its citizens from performing Nazi salute and displaying Nazi symbols, Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said on Monday.

In the summer of 2023, a bill to ban Nazi symbols was submitted to the Australian parliament.

"It is now unlawful to perform the Nazi salute in public or to publicly display, or trade in, Nazi hate symbols, with the Albanese Government’s landmark legislation coming into force today (Monday, 8 January). The new laws also ensure that glorifying and praising acts of terrorism are criminal offences under Commonwealth law," Dreyfus said in a statement.

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Part of an Alaska Airlines plane that broke off during a flight three days ago has been found in Portland, CNN reported, citing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

According to an NTSB spokesman, a schoolteacher named Bob discovered the door that flew out of the fuselage in the backyard of his home in Portland and reported his finding to the outlet.

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🇷🇺 Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet practiced destroying enemy UAVs and unmanned boats

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While some American economists claim a soft landing is possible next year, conservative media outlet The Epoch Times recommends Americans buckle up for a bumpy 2024.

Economists interviewed by The Epoch Times predict a significant slowdown in the coming months with some even hinting at a recession before the 2024 election. Per the Conference Board, a nonprofit business think tank, the recession may arrive as early as the first half of 2024. For his part, CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon warned that the US economy is "sugar high" from stimulus money and the Fed's previous quantitative easing.

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