❗️ Iraq has submitted a complaint to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) about Iran's "aggression" after strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

"On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, Iraq filed a complaint with the UN Security Council over the Iranian missile aggression targeting the city of Erbil and resulting in casualties and injuries among civilians and damage to the public and private sectors," the ministry said in a statement, shared with Sputnik.

The ministry added that it filed the complaint both to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Presidency of the UNSC through the Iraqi permanent mission to the UN in New York, saying that "this aggression is a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and the security of the Iraqi people."

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European Union leaders worry a second Donald Trump term would see the former US president negotiate an end to the conflict in the Donbass with Russia.

EU President Alexander De Croo of Belgium expressed his opposition to Trump during a speech the morning after his Iowa caucuses victory, saying, “If 2024 brings us ‘America first’ again, it is really more than ever ‘Europe on its own.’”

Trump has repeatedly advocated for friendlier relations with Russia while European leaders have opposed the country, perhaps most notably during the Ukrainian “Euromaidan” protests that paved the way for a coup in 2014.

De Croo also questioned Trump’s commitment to democratic principles. Ironically, he made the remarks in front of the European Parliament, an institution that cannot write its own legislation but can only vote on laws drafted by the unelected European Commission.

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The recent meeting on Ukraine held in Davos on January 14 is a failure for Kiev and its Western sponsors, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

"Differences between the countries represented have deepened… Ukraine and the West failed to achieve either the expansion of the anti-Russian camp or the adoption of the final document," the spokeswoman emphasized, adding that such meetings are counterproductive for settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

More countries are starting to understand that it is impossible to end the conflict if focus is made on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s so-called peace formula, Zakharova stressed.

"A truly comprehensive, fair and sustainable peace settlement is possible only by returning Ukraine to the origins of its statehood — a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free status with full respect for the rights and freedoms of citizens of all nationalities living on its territory," the statement read.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has hit a building in the vicinity of a group of journalists as they were trying to send information on the wounded after another Israeli strike, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Tuesday.

An Israeli warplane has bombed a house in the west of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip as several journalists were nearby to make their reports. The journalists were standing next to ambulances that had arrived to evacuate those wounded by the ongoing Israeli bombing, the correspondent reported.

Medical sources told Sputnik that seven Palestinians have been killed and several others have been wounded in the past few hours as a result of the continuous bombing of the city, adding that the wounded have been taken to the Nasser Hospital.

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Oil, power and conflict: strategic hotspots across the Middle East

The Middle East has long been a focal point of global attention, marred by persistent conflicts and complex dynamics. At the heart of the turmoil is the strategic significance of the region, rooted in its vast oil reserves over which world powers vie for influence and control.

A critical flashpoint in a region ablaze once again is the protracted conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has now passed the 100-day mark.

With new flashpoints appearing here and there in the Middle East the possibility of a major conflict in the region seems increasingly alarming.

Explore Sputnik's infographic showing current Middle East hotspots.

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❗️ The Russian air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian drones over Belgorod and the Belgorod region, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

No injuries were reported per preliminary information.

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🇷🇺 Russian Giatsint-S crews destroyed Ukrainian artillery guns in the Krasny Liman direction

After receiving the location data of the Ukrainian artillery and mortars, the Giatsint-S guns hit the area with a series of salvoes. An ammunition supply and unloading point was also hit.

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❗️ The Russian air defense systems destroyed 7 Ukrainian Olha missiles and 4 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Belgorod region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🇪🇨 The Ecuadorian police and army have detained more than 1,750 people from January 9-16, including 158 suspected of terrorism, amid a wave of gang violence that swept the South American country last week, the office of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said Tuesday.

As of Tuesday morning, the country's security forces detained as many as 1,753 people in the said period, including 219 people over the past 24 hours, the office said in a blog post.

A total of 645 pieces of firearms and 488 pieces of explosives and explosive devices, nearly 15,000 rounds of ammunition, 400 vehicles, 235 motorbikes and 15 boats have been seized in 18,108 operational actions and 41 large-scale operations from January 9-16, the office added.

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Russian air defense systems destroyed seven Ukrainian Olha missiles and four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Belgorod Region overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said earlier in the day that seven Ukrainian drones were shot down over the region and the city of Belgorod, adding that the preliminary information showed that there were no casualties.

"On January 17, around 2.40 a.m. Moscow time [23:40 GMT on Tuesday], an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack on targets in the territory of the Russian Federation using the Vilkha multiple launch rocket systems and UAVs was foiled. Russian air defense systems on duty destroyed seven rockets and four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed over the Belgorod Region," the ministry said in a statement.

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The Yemeni militia struck a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden on Monday, a day after firing an anti-ship missile at a US destroyer in the Red Sea. The attacks followed Friday and Saturday’s US-UK strikes against Houthi targets as part of the Washington-led response to the militia’s campaign of hijackings and attacks against Israeli-linked ships.

Bukhaiti assured that the Houthis retain the capability to confront Washington and to stop American and Israeli ships from passing through the Red Sea, and warned that the militia is growing its missile capabilities and will ‘bring new surprises soon’. He did not elaborate.

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Tehran is ready for all parties to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a meeting with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Albares, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, on Tuesday.

"In response to the Spanish foreign minister's support for the continuation of talks to restore the JCPOA, Amirabdollahian emphasized our country's readiness for the return of all parties to the JCPOA," the ministry said on Telegram.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that Tehran does not find it necessary to conclude a new international nuclear deal that would replace the JCPOA, adding that ideas of a new nuclear deal, often referred to as JCPOA 2, "are presented by the parties that have reneged on their commitments."

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❗️ The Russian air defense systems destroyed several more targets over Belgorod and the Belgorod region, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. No injuries were reported per preliminary information, he added.

"Our air defense systems activated again over Belgorod and the Belgorod Region. Several aerial targets were shot down. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties," the governor said on Telegram.

He added that the glazing of several residential buildings was damaged in the Belgorod Region, adding that response services were en route to the scenes.

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🇨🇳💰 China's GDP at the end of 2023 increased by 5.2% year-on-year to $17.698 trillion, which is above the official forecast, data of the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

"According to preliminary estimates, the gross domestic product (GDP) was 126,058.2 billion yuan [$17.698 trillion] in 2023, an increase of 5.2 percent over the previous year at constant prices," the bureau said in the latest release.

According to the official forecast, China's GDP was expected to increase by some 5% in 2023.

The country's GDP at the end of 2022 increased by 3% compared to 2021 against the background of localized coronavirus outbreaks and an unstable international environment, which was lower than the official forecast of about 5.5%. China's GDP in 2022 totaled 121.02 trillion yuan ($17.95 trillion).

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“The most difficult talks are those in which you feel simply that you want to go and punch your opposite number in the nose,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba admitted, suggesting he has trouble controlling himself when dealing with his counterparts.

Kuleba clarified he had one specific person in mind as part of his fantasy: Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov.

The impolitic comment came to light after the release of an interview between Kuleba and a Ukrainian online influencer.

“That is the problem: uneducated, aggressive people were recruited under the guise of serving as ministers to ruin Ukraine for American money,” said Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, questioning Kuleba's competence and temperament.

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🇳🇦 🇩🇪 Rooted in 'lived experience': why Namibia objects to German support for Israel in ICJ case

Namibia's condemnation of Germany's rejection of South Africa's "genocide" accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is rooted in the traumatic experience of the Namibian people under German colonial rule, Dr. Rasigan Maharajh, chief director of the Institute for Economic Research and Innovation at the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa, told Sputnik Africa.

Maharajh said that the majority of people around the world find it difficult to understand Berlin's current stance on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip.

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❗️ Four RM-70 Vampire MLRS shells were destroyed in the Belgorod region, two Ukrainian UAVs were intercepted, the Russian Defense Ministry reported

“[Hamas] started a process of the falling apart and the collapse of a world order that was already decaying and degrading… for 20 or more years,” analyst Yezid Sayigh made the surprising claim in an interview published Tuesday in Chinese media.

Sayigh warned that domestic political pressures in both Israel and the United States during an election year created a dangerous situation where events could suddenly escalate into world war.

What’s more, the West’s unconditional support for Israel is threatening its hegemony and damaging the credibility of the liberal order it constructed after the last world war. The moment comes just as China, Russia, and other world powers are emerging as dominant players in a new multipolar world order.

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British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps delivered a speech intended to rally support for increased military spending Monday, but things didn’t go quite as planned. Users on the X social media platform widely mocked the jingoistic lecture, which warned of alleged attacks from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea within the next five years.

“The era of the peace dividend is over,” Shapps proclaimed defiantly, but the British government has imposed austerity for a number of years while remaining America’s staunchest ally in wars across the Middle East.

“Can you explain how British soldiers killed in Helmand or in Basra were at all beneficiaries of this so-called era of the peace dividend?” asked one X user in response to Shapps’ tone deaf comments.

“Wars happen when the government tells you who your enemy is. Revolution happens when you work it out for yourself,” said another.

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🇷🇺 Russian Fagot ATGM crew destroys Ukrainian command and observation post in Kupyansk direction

The soldiers hit the enemy command post with a well-aimed shot and withdrew from the firing position as quickly as possible so the enemy would not have time to strike back.

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Despite the fact that Moscow condemns military aid to Ukraine, which is used to attack civilian targets, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris will finalize a bilateral agreement on security guarantees for Kiev in the coming weeks and announce its signing during his visit to Ukraine in February.

"We are finalizing a bilateral agreement on guarantees that will be signed in the coming weeks. We will proceed with new [arms] deliveries: about 40 SCALP missiles [also known as the Storm Shadow] and several hundred bombs that our Ukrainian friends are waiting for," Macron told a news conference aired by the Elysee Palace on X.

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