🇷🇺🇮🇷 Moscow and Tehran will sign a major interstate treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry said after a telephone conversation between the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Ashtiani.

"The parties emphasized the commitment to the fundamental principles of Russian-Iranian relations, including unconditional respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which will be confirmed in the major interstate treaty between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran that is being prepared for signing," the ministry said.

In September 2022, it was announced that work was underway on a new major treaty between Russia and Iran when Vladimir Putin and President of the Islamic Republic Ebrahim Raisi discussed the issue on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand.

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🪖 Kiev’s mobilization bill was presented to the Ukrainian parliament in December 2023. This document proposes several measures, including reducing the minimum draft age to 25, sending out electronic summonses, imposing restrictions on draft dodgers, and even connoscripting women.

What do Ukrainians, both abroad and within the country, including soldiers, think about this? We have put together their reactions in our video clip.

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🚜🇩🇪 Thousands of farmers continue rallying nationwide since the last week in protest against the planned cuts to agricultural subsidies and tax breaks, prompting the government to walk back on some of the changes.

Rail workers joined the strike to demand higher pay, bringing the EU's leading economy to a near-standstill. More rallies by farmers are expected to continue this week.

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🇲🇦🇷🇺 Russian at heart – story of a Moroccan man defending Russia in special op

Meet a Moroccan native who has decided to volunteer as a soldier in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

“I love Russia with all my heart. I treasure Russia more than the country I was born in. That’s why I was ready to defend my motherland, to pay my dues to my country,” he told Sputnik.

The man decided to pursue higher education in Russia. After he finished the program, he decided to stay. Since then, the young man has made Nizhny Novgorod his home for the past 12 years.

He said he was fully ready to defend Russian national interests, which is he has signed a service contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

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The Head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that the intensive phase of military operations in the northern Gaza Strip has concluded. He also hinted at the imminent conclusion of intense fighting in the southern part of the enclave.

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How has the Red Sea crisis affected global trade?

As the tensions rise amid the Red Sea escalation, the crisis has already had a tangible negative effect on international commerce. Maritime routes and multilateral exports are at risk and shipping costs are rising. Check out Sputnik’s video to find out more.

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US sends more soldiers to Iraq and Syria amid raging Mid-East crisis

While Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said at the beginning of January that the country seeks a swift and complete exit of US forces, without giving any specifics regarding potential deadline, the US is expanding its military presence in the Middle East.

The New Jersey National Guard is deploying approximately 1,500 soldiers from the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Iraq and Syria. This will be the largest deployment of the state’s reservists since 2008.

The decision was taken as the crisis in the Middle East rages and attacks on American military bases in the region becoming more frequent. The US military command gave the fight against terrorism, specifically IS*, as the official reason for deployment.

*A terrorist group banned in Russia.

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The Houthis in Yemen on Monday confirmed that its missile hit a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden, the movement’s military spokesman Yahya Saria said.

"The Yemeni navy conducted an operation against a US ship in the Gulf of Aden. During the operation, several anti-ship missiles were used, which directly hit the target," the spokesman stated on air of the Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah broadcaster.

Saria added that the movement now considers all American and British ships which are participating in a "military aggression" against Yemen as legitimate "enemy targets."

Earlier in the day, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the US-owned and operated container ship has been hit by a missile fired from the Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

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Fact Check: Is Russia Really Getting Ready to Invade NATO?

A “secret Bunderswehr document” seen by Bild suggests so, but an analysis of recent history, and just listening to Russian officials’ comments on the matter, says otherwise.

“Russia has no reason, no interest – neither geopolitical interest, nor economic, nor political, nor military – to fight with NATO countries,” President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Russian television last month.

NATO planners have spent the past decade expressing concerns about potential “Russian aggression” against the alliance’s eastern flank, but have never been able to answer the eternal question of how it came to be that Russians ‘placed their country so close to NATO’s military bases.’

Commenting on the media report on Monday, Germany’s Defense Ministry said that considering even highly unlikely scenarios is part of the art of war. Moscow, meanwhile, dubbed it a baseless but “powerful horoscope.”

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How to benefit from Red Sea crisis China-style? A balanced approach to an unbalanced situation

China has always sought to take a more holistic position to rising tensions in the Middle East, including the recent Red Sea crisis. The escalation emerged as a result of joint US-UK airstrikes against the Yemeni Houthis following numerous attacks against Israeli-linked commercial ships starting in October 2023.

“In a way, the Houthis have inadvertently done China a big favor,” Xiao Yunhua, a professor at the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, told Bloomberg. The maritime destabilization would push more international traders and investors to opt for rail networks, helping the Belt and Road Initiative expand its infrastructure in emerging markets.

“The expansion of the latter is precisely our international strategy to sever US hegemony, undermine American sea power, and promote global multipolarity,” he added.

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

▪️The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023 has exceeded 24,100, the enclave's health ministry said.

▪️The Gaza Strip in the future needs to be ruled by a Palestinian government formed inside the enclave, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.

▪️The intensive phase of Israel’s military operation in the north of the Gaza Strip has ended, and soon this phase will also end in the south of the Palestinian enclave, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.

▪️UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that he is deeply troubled by the violations of the international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.

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German economy struggles in 2023 amid sanctions and inflation woes

In 2023, Germany's economy contracted by 0.3 percent, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported. The downturn was influenced by high inflation impacting consumer spending and a decrease in global demand, impacting Germany's industrial sector. A significant factor in the economic decline was the EU's sanctions against Russia, which particularly affected Germany's energy sector leading to higher costs and reduced output.

The economic challenges were compounded by rising interest rates from the European Central Bank, leading to tighter financing conditions. Household consumption fell by 0.8 percent due to the increased cost of living, and government spending decreased for the first time in nearly two decades.

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