🇷🇺🇮🇷 Russian and Iranian exporters are able to handle transactions in national currencies after the two countries integrated their financial message transfer systems, allowing banks to make direct payments without using the SWIFT payment system, Deputy Head of Iranian Central Bank Mohsen Karimi said.

"We have connected the two countries' message transfer systems to each other. This means that the banks of the two countries no longer need Switzerland to connect to each other and commercial banks of both countries can establish intermediary relations. The exporter can issue an invoice in rials to the Russian side and receive money from Russian banks in Iran," Karimi was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Fars.

Transactions can now be made in the national currencies of Russia and Iran, the deputy chief of the Iranian central bank said.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Monday that it had discovered the largest weapons production site of Palestinian movement Hamas found since October 7 in the Gaza Strip.

"In recent weeks, the 36th Division has been operating in Bureij in the central Gaza Stri … Soldiers of the 188th and Golani brigades uncovered several tunnel shafts reaching a depth of approximately 30 meters… The Golani Brigade located the largest weapons production site discovered since the beginning of the war," the IDF said on Telegram.

Israeli soldiers found components for long-range rockets capable of hitting northern Israel, as well as mortar shells, explosives, ammunition, small arms, and drones, the statement added.

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⚓️ US’ Red Sea coalition’s flop signals political problems in NATO - Italian Admiral

“France and Italy won’t join the US-led coalition in the Red Sea. This will have no impact from an operational point of view…but politically it’s proof of our weak cohesion as NATO as well as EU partners,” Luigi Binelli-Mantelli, a retired Italian admiral and former chief of staff of the Italian Navy, has said.

“We must cope with [the Red Sea crisis] because this is not simply aimed against Israel, it’s a direct challenge to all Western countries, testing our determination and cohesion to protect our economy and our common values and way of life,” Binelli-Mantelli suggested.

The admiral’s comments come amid the failure of the US to assemble more than a handful of allied warships to ensure security and ‘freedom of navigation’ in the Red Sea amid relentless Houthi attacks on Israeli-affiliated commercial shipping operations.

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🗣 “Netanyahu is in real trouble,” said analyst Elijah Magnier on Sputnik’s Political Misfits program Monday, noting the Israeli Prime Minister faces growing divisions within his political coalition.

“The finance minister [Bezalel] Smotrich and the security minister [Itamar] Ben-Gvir warned him if he stopped the attack on Gaza, saying that they want the [Israeli] settlers to return to Gaza,” the analyst stated. “This objective contradicts with the American announcement that the Palestinians will go nowhere and will remain in Gaza, and any ethnic cleansing is not permitted, which means that the coalition and Netanyahu's government is not going to hold.”

Discussion then shifted towards South Africa’s bringing of charges against Israel in The Hague, with Magnier noting the exhaustive detail of South Africa’s 80-page statement documenting numerous comments from Israeli officials suggesting genocidal intent.

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Germany was rocked by protests from farmers Monday over a planned cut in agricultural subsidies. Analyst Elijah Magnier says the continent’s mounting economic problems stem from failed Western sanctions against Russia.

“All the decisions that have been made by the European leaders were incompatible with the necessity of the European population, and will have a boomerang effect.” he added, noting the skyrocketing energy prices throughout the continent. “The first that was hit is the diesel that the farmers use in their machines because, again, of the Nord Stream 2, because we stopped buying the oil and gas from Russia.”

“We're buying it from India, that buys it off Russia, and we buy from Norway and America with… increase of price,” the analyst explained.

Magnier stated that economic difficulties throughout Europe are leading to the election of “right-wing leaders,” as voters are “fed up” with government policy.

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Russian paratroopers eliminate enemy infantry by dropping munitions from quadcopters

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US finance giant JPMorgan has likened the US economy to a slow-boiled frog thanks to its $34-trillion national debt.

The 2024 outlook from the New York-based firm evoked the popular myth that a frog will calmly boil in a pot of gradually-heated water until it is cooked alive — but would hop out if thrown into already boiling water.

As the US government’s debt portfolio keeps swelling, hitting an unprecedented $34-trillion, economists' concerns have amplified urgent calls for intervention.

Predictions from the Congressional Budget Office have painted a bleak picture, suggesting that by the early 2030s, the US will spend more on ennoscriptments, mandatory programs, and debt interest than it earns in revenue.

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🇦🇪🇮🇱 UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to pay wages to Palestinian workers who were banned from entering Israel, Axios reports, citing a source.

Several weeks ago, the Israeli prime minister reportedly asked the UAE leader to pay unemployment benefits to Palestinian workers from the West Bank, whom Israel had banned from entering its territory following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Hamas movement.

“Ask Zelensky for money,” Al Nahyan responded sarcastically to Netanyahu’s request, according to the outlet’s sources.

The UAE president was shocked that the Israeli prime minister thought he would be willing to pay for the problem that had arisen due to the Israeli decision not to let the workers in, the outlet’s source notes.

According to Axios, the UAE president said Zelensky receives a lot of money from other countries, "so maybe he could help" Netanyahu.

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The Pentagon has initiated an internal review following criticism from the US Congress and public scrutiny over the transfer of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's powers to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks from January 2 to 5, 2024.

The examination aims to ensure clarity and transparency in decision-making processes, specifically concerning the transfer of certain powers, proper and timely notification to the president, the White House, Congress, and the American public. It will encompass a timeline of events, evaluations of the defense secretary's capacity to perform duties, and recommendations to enhance the notification process for the president and high-ranking officials, among others.

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🇷🇺 Russian Battlegroup Yug assault detachments undergo drills at unique training ground

Servicemen from assault detachments hone skills of close-quarters combat, train to use new types of small arms, large-caliber machine guns, and man-portable grenade launchers. Particular attention is paid to cohesion and establishing communications with the command post.

Enhanced training of personnel is conducted continuously on a rotational basis. All instructors have extensive experience of combat operations in the special military operation zone and other armed conflicts.

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💰 A possible military conflict over Taiwan could cost the global economy an estimated $10 trillion, eclipsing both Ukraine and COVID.

Bloomberg made the estimate, noting that the indicated amount is about 10% of world GDP.

A potential risk factor is the election of Taiwan's chief executive, which will be held on January 13. Tsai Ing-wen, who has held the position for two terms, will not be able to run again.

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🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to American boxer Kevin Johnson, who previously addressed the Russian president with such a request.

Citizenship was also granted to Canadian hockey player Brendan Leipsic, who has been playing for Russian clubs since 2020.

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A Singaporean container ship, the KOTA HAKIM, used a sign to indicate its destination as it crossed the Red Sea, in an attempt to avoid being targeted by the Houthis. The sign stated that the ship had "no links (to) Israel", Sputnik has learned.

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❗️The losses of the Ukrainian Army over the past year exceeded 215,000 people and 28,000 weapons, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during his first conference call this year.

Russian troops retain the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact, the minister noted.

The Russian military maintains the combat readiness of its nuclear triad at a high level for global strategic balance, he added.

❗️ Russia will engage in the serial production of all types of drones, from mini drones to heavy attack ones, Shoigu said.