New Swedish subs to tackle ‘Russian threat’ in Baltic Sea - report

Sweden is building two new attack submarines, which are designed to help NATO “counter Russia’s maritime moves under the Baltic Sea,” Politico reported.

The subs, named Blekinge and Skane after two Swedish counties, will reportedly have sophisticated weapons, stealthy propulsion and sonar-evading hulls.

The vessels are due to enter into service between 2027 and 2028. They are Sweden’s first new subs to be built since the mid-1990s and will join the country’s four older ships.

Moscow has repeatedly warned of unprecedented NATO activity along its western borders, which the alliance claims is aimed at containing alleged Russian “aggression.” The Kremlin underscores that Russia poses no threat, but that it will not ignore actions that are potentially dangerous to its interests.

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❗️Taiwan is an indivisible part of our country and will not become a separate state, it will return to China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

"Taiwan has never been a country. It wasn't in the past, and it certainly won't be in the future," Wang said in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry after voters on the island chose pro-sovereignty candidate Lai Ching-te as regional leader.

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Germany fails to check where its Ukraine-bound weapons end up

Germany apparently does not bother to verify where the weapons it sends to Kiev may end up, in no small part because Ukraine simply told Berlin that it will be fine, Der Spiegel reports.

Berlin also seems to be reluctant to actively use the so-called post-shipment control checks due to concerns that doing so might undermine Kiev’s war effort.

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Russia has to be included in the peace process in Ukraine - Swiss Foreign Minister

"In some way, we will need to find a path to include Russia in the process. There will be no peace without Russia having its word to say," Ignazio Cassis said at a press conference in Davos.

He added that representatives of 83 countries are participating in the discussion on the “Ukrainian peace formula” held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the attempts by the West and Kiev to promote the so-called Zelensky formula, stated they are destined to fail as negotiations on a peaceful resolution of the conflict are impossible without the participation of Russia.

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The recent American and British aggression against Yemen is an act of stupidity, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has stated. He added that the United States, while calling not to expand the scale of war in the region, does so itself.

The Hezbollah leader went on to say that if the West believes that Yemen will retreat after the bombing, then it is wrong, reckless and ignorant. This aggression will only lead to more attacks on Israeli ships heading to the occupying territory (Israel), whose economy has already suffered a serious blow.

What is happening will cause damage to the safety of maritime navigation in the Red Sea, which will turn into a battlefield, in itself is stupidity, he added.

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Ukraine on West's 'back burner’ due to Yemen escalation

“While the US would like to sustain the war in Ukraine, because none of its objectives have been met, Washington can see the Ukraine conflict is unwinnable and Russia has the upper hand strategically,” Anuradha Chenoy, a retired professor and dean of the School of International Studies at the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Sputnik.

She added that Ukraine is “now on the back burner of Western mindset," and that the escalation in Yemen after US and UK strikes on the Houthis is “more important for the West now, because commercial shipping is at risk.”

Chenoy described the latest developments as “a creeping escalation of a regional war, one where non-state actors are involved, once again against the West.”

According to her, the Global South is unwilling to “see any conflagration in the Middle East, because if oil prices go up, they are the first to be impacted negatively.”

The comments came after White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters earlier this week that US assistance for Ukraine "has now ground to a halt."

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A delegation of former US officials has arrived in Taiwan

It includes former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg. During the visit, the delegation will meet Chief Executive Tsai Ing-wen and other officials and political leaders.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry strongly criticized the US for sending "a gravely wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted that Taiwan is an integral part of China and will not become a separate state but will rather return to China. He stressed that regional elections in Taiwan are a local matter for China.

On Saturday, the pro-American candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party, Lai Ching-te, won the election of the head of the administration of Taiwan. However, the party failed to maintain a majority in the Legislative Yuan.

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The United States and UK striking Houthi positions in north of al Hudaydah province in Yemen, a military source told Sputnik.

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🗣 US allies don't want to risk it all against Yemen:

"European countries have the main staff of the Navy. Those people know how to calculate salvo model, they can know how to calculate probabilities. And after seeing the performance, especially of the US equipment in Ukraine, especially its air defense systems, they do not want to really risk it that much. That is why they just basically fell off. And it is also a military technical issue there. And they saw, especially when you look at the 'performances' of PAC-3s or NASAMS, all those air defense complexes, it's not impressive, to put it mildly. So, you know what? They probably have concluded that basically what they have in terms of air defense is not as good as it's usually advertised," military analyst Andrei Martyanov told the New Rules podcast.

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🎧 If you prefer to listen to our podcast, make sure to check the New Rules page on the website!

New Russian drones could be as good as fifth-generation fighter jets and on par with best US UAVs

The already formidable capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces are about to get further bolstered this year with the addition of new drones such as Lastochka (Swallow) strike drones, FPV drone Upyr and upgraded FPV drone Rusak, as well as the Zhuravel (Crane) UAV complex and “various kamikaze copters,” says Ret. Col. Andrei Koshkin, Soviet and Russian Army veteran and military expert.

According to him, some of the new drones’ technical characteristics are on par with those of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, and others are no less formidable than the best drones the United States has to offer.

“Obviously, all these drones are being tested on the battlefield and all recommendations made by their operators, all recommendations from soldiers in the field, their requirements for the drones – these recommendations are taken into account and get implemented in direct interaction mode,” he said while referring to drone development in Russia.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Prokhvatilov, senior research of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, suggested that the newer models of Geranium drones of these Russian drones apparently sport anti-radar coating that makes them harder to detect and take down.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked the necessity of getting ahead of the enemy in the production of reconnaissance and attack drones. In addition, it is known that units of the Russian Armed Forces will receive several types of the newest drones during 2024.

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

▪️Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip residents exceeds 23,968, according to the enclave's health ministry;

▪️Egypt and China agree to continue joint search for solution to Palestinian issue, according to Egyptian authorities;

▪️The number of trucks delivering aid from Egypt to the Gaza Strip approached 9,000;

▪️Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinians who broke through a West Bank checkpoint;

▪️Hezbollah secretary general says Israel will accept conditions of Palestinians if ‘war against [it] continues in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq’.

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French right-wing politician tears up EU flag, calls to leave the bloc

A rally of the Les Patriotes party took place in Paris, where party leader Florian Philippot tore the EU flag.

"We get rid of the blue star cloth in front of thousands of French people in the demonstration organized by Les Patriotes today!" he wrote on his X (former Twitter) account.

The French economy, following Germany, is in decline. Europe's largest economies are suffering from increased inflation and rising energy prices, which is forcing people to hold rallies and demonstrations showing their dissatisfaction with the current policies of their government.

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The United States and its coalition partners did not conduct any strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen on Sunday, a US defense official told Sputnik.

"There have been no US or coalition strikes today," the official said.

Earlier in the day, a Yemeni military source told Sputnik that the US and UK military had launched another series of airstrikes on Houthi targets.

North Korea conducted a test-fire of an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead, reports Korean Central News Agency.

The test-fire was aimed at verifying the gliding and maneuvering characteristics of intermediate-range hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead... was successfully conducted, says KCNA.

Previously North Korea has launched another ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.

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Israel’s campaign in Gaza: 100 days and counting, with no victory over Hamas in sight

A hundred days after the launch of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, it has become clear “to many Israelis,” and perhaps even to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that Tel Aviv’s stated goal of destroying Hamas is far from accomplished, says Dr. Lorenzo Trombetta, a Beirut-based scholar and analyst specializing in the Middle East.

While Israel’s victory is still nowhere in sight, what lies between victory and today for Netanyahu is “political survival,” which has probably become “the real objective” for him and his government, Dr. Trombetta suggests.

According to the scholar, the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip will result in a “sort of truce between Hamas and Israel,” with the Palestinian movement retaining a “physical presence” in the enclave while Israel “could maintain some partial control of key areas.”

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🇿🇦 🇮🇱 'A Courageous Step': Expert on Importance & Prospects of South Africa's ICJ Case Against Israel

The prospects for South Africa's genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Israel for its actions in the Palestinian Gaza Strip are promising, given the precedent set by The Gambia's successful case against Myanmar at the ICJ, Kelvin Mbatia Wachira, an advocate at the High Court of Kenya, told Sputnik Africa in a recent interview.

"I think, South Africa, has taken a courageous step," he said. "But we need to take into account that international politics do have a role to play in this particular case that is currently ongoing."

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Netanyahu's refusal to follow the US administration's requests on Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip is causing growing frustration on the part of Joe Biden and other senior officials in Washington, the Axios news portal reported on Sunday, citing sources.

"The situation sucks and we are stuck. The president's patience is running out," a US official was quoted as saying by the news portal.

In particular, Israeli authorities continue to refuse to grant the Palestinian Authority access to its frozen tax revenues, while Netanyahu is also reluctant to seriously discuss the post-war plan of action. There are also growing concerns about the Jewish state continuing the active phase of its operation without moving to a lower intensity of hostilities, the report read.

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An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack on targets on Russian territory using Tochka-U missiles was thwarted, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

It was added that three Tochka-U missiles were destroyed by air defense systems over Russia's Kursk region.

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The US Navy Destroyer Laboon has been subjected to a missile attack in the Red Sea, carried out by the Shiite movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) ruling in northern Yemen, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post Monday.

The missile was fired Sunday at about 4:45 p.m. local time at the USS Laboon and shot down in the vicinity of the coast, CENTCOM specified.

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