🇷🇸 The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, wrapped himself in the Serbian flag during a session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Vucic took this action after member countries narrowly approved the draft resolution on Srebrenica.

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Crises-riddled legacy of UK’s Tories as snap election looms. Pt.1
👉 Pt. 2

Sunak's snap general election announcement for July 4th has caught the UK off guard. With leadership changes from Johnson to Truss and now Sunak, the Conservative Party finds itself in a series of crises. Let's explore why the UK Tory government is in for a tough election.

Ukraine policy
London's support for NATO's proxy war against Russia in Ukraine backfired economically, leading to inflation and energy shortages. The Tories suffered electoral losses, trailing Labour by 18 points in recent polls.

UK budget crisis
Whoever wins the next UK election will face the tough challenge of an immensely high debt burden.

🔸 Government debt soared to 97.9% of GDP by April 2024

🔸 Inflation hit 11.1% in October 2022, with food and fuel prices rising by half

🔸 Fitch Ratings placed the UK on a negative outlook, risking a downgrade

🔸 Following Russia-related sanctions, the UK entered a recession in 2023 - GDP declined by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to reduced consumer spending

🔸 The cost-of-living crisis worsened, causing a decline in living standards

🔸 Real household incomes dropped by 1.2% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to 2019

🔸 Further income decline of 3.4% is projected by in early 2024, the OBR has forecast

🔸 The UK saw a surge in strikes across sectors including transport and healthcare

👉 Pt. 2

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Crises-riddled legacy of UK’s Tories as snap election looms. Pt.2
👉 Pt.1

Decline of armed forces
Decades of neglect, underfunding, and bad procurement decisions have resulted in a shocking decline of the country’s armed forces.

◻️ British defense officials acknowledged the army's worst state since WWII in 2023

◻️ Since 2000, the British Army’s manpower has decreased by 30%, from 109,600 to 76,950 - Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force personnel numbers have also declined

◻️ The UK's munitions stockpiles have been drained due to support for Ukraine

◻️ Less than 100 out of 227 Challenger-2 battle tanks were combat-ready in 2022

◻️ Fourteen tanks and 30 self-propelled howitzers were transferred to Ukraine, further depleting of resources

Migrant crisis
Illegal migration has been a burning political issue for the UK for years.

◻️ Since 2018, over 100,000 people illegally entered the UK

◻️ Record highs in summer 2022 saw 1,295 small boat crossings in a day

◻️ Sunak's plan to deport migrants to Rwanda could cost taxpayers over £500 million by 2030

Crime surge
◻️ In December 2023, there were approximately 8.4 million reported crimes

◻️ London saw a 7% rise in offences involving knives or sharp instruments

◻️ Robberies with knives increased by 20%

◻️ Shoplifting hit a 20-year high

👉 Pt.1

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‘Kiss of Death’ security pact threatens to turn Kenya into US vassal 

💬 “Kenya is an entry door to Africa - as such any country wishing to infiltrate the continent would find it beneficial to court Nairobi,” Dr. Michael Ndonye, a political commentator, senior lecturer at Kabarak University in Kenya, told Sputnik, commenting the US effort to woo Kenyan President William Ruto during his state visit to Washington this week. 

During the trip, President Biden is expected for grant Kenya major non-NATO ally status. That’s something Nairobi should be worried about, says Prof Alexis Habiyaremye, a political analyst, senior researcher at the University of Johannesburg’s School of Economics, comparing the pact to Roman Empire-style “vassalization status.” 

“Such a vassal status implies that Kenya will from now on have to consider as its enemies whoever the Americans designate as their enemies, and as friends whoever the US sees as its friends… The move is therefore designed to bring Kenya into the club of countries that unconditionally supports US wars and kowtows to its closer allies (the Five Eyes). This is an alliance from which Kenya, as the vassal, has little to nothing to gain, apart from symbolic honorific gestures thrown to the leaders of such countries,” Habiyaremye warned. 

America’s interest in Kenya is clear, the observer said, given the nation’s “considerable strategic importance” regionally. 

💬 This relates “both [to] its position in the Great Lakes region, but above all, because of its proximity to the Horn of Africa... Being able to control the Horn of Africa and, by extension, the Gulf of Aden is obviously of capital importance to the US,” Habiyaremye said. 

Dr. Nicodemus Minde, an adjunct lecturer in international relations at the US International University – Africa in Nairobi, agrees, telling Sputnik that major non-NATO ally status is not only “dangerous” for Kenya, since it forces Nairobi to bow to US demands, but robs the African nation of much-needed diplomatic bargaining power.

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UK snap election promises “rude” campaign amidst political discontent

It would be “truly astonishing” if the Conservatives win on July 4, Mark Garnett, a politics professor at Lancaster University, told Sputnik.

Sunak hopes an early election will minimise his party's losses, “banking on good economic news” like falling inflation, the academic noted.

“Calling the election for July suggests he has given up hope that other things could improve between now and the end of 2024,” Garnett said.

The Tories will leave the UK “with very serious economic problems, but also with most voters feeling disillusioned with the political process.”

The view “in all wings of politics” is that the government “has failed the country,” Alistair Jones, associate politics professor at De Montfort University, told Sputnik.

There is “dissatisfaction” with the Tories, while solutions “being proposed by the opposition parties do not necessarily encourage much enthusiasm either.”

The campaign will be “borderline rude and contentious,” he added, as both parties “have got their own agendas.”

Sunak is hoping to cash in on small gains, gambling on a short term economic bounce, his Rwanda scheme for relocating migrants or the ban on smoking.

“There are fears that there's other bad news on the way, but that won't happen till after the summer and hence the early general election.”

No matter what Labour claims it wants to change, defence, foreign policy will likely see “a degree of continuity,” with only “subtle changes,” Jones noted.

Labour, like other parties, will pledge change after seeing “what the Conservative Party has done or has failed to do, and the extent to which the Conservative Party may have been gaslighting the public over a number of issues.”

But there is a “huge caveat” to their manifesto, as it “boils down to money. How much money is there going to be available to do things?” asked Jones.

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Scott Ritter: US threats to greenlight Ukrainian attacks on Russia could spill out into world-ending conflict

US officials talk' of lifting a formal ban on Ukrainian strikes inside Russia using American long-range weapons could result in an “unprecedented” escalation that would almost certainly provoke a Russian response, potentially resulting in a direct conflict between Moscow and NATO, former Marine and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter told Sputnik.

“Ukraine is already attacking critical energy facilities inside Russia, oil tanks, petroleum depots. This is taking place. It’s just that it’s not taking place with State Department or Department of Defense connivance. It’s taking place with the assistance and the facilitation of the Central Intelligence Agency – a covert war. All Tony Blinken is now talking about is taking this covert war and making it an overt war.”

💬 “Why is he doing this? Domestic American politics. It will have no impact on the battlefield. But what it does is allow the Biden administration to posture itself as doing something discernable to address the Russian successes – the successful offensive north of Kharkov, the continuing successful offensives in eastern Ukraine and Novorossiya,” Ritter said.

“This is a political problem for the Biden administration, and so Anthony Blinken is trying to come up with a political solution. But it’s shortsighted. It won’t resolve the military problem that are being confronted by the Ukrainians. What it will do is create the dangerous potential for the kind of escalation that the Biden administration has been assiduously seeking to avoid – an escalation that would lead to a direct confrontation between Russia, the United States and NATO. An escalation that could see this conflict move away from conventional war into the possibility, indeed probability of nuclear conflict,” the international affairs observer warned.

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Zelensky cuts down his ‘peace formula’: what does Soros have to do with it?

Ahead of the summit on the Ukraine conflict to held in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave interviews to Reuters and the NYT where he focused on just three items from his original 10-point “peace formula”.

Zelensky called for an eventual peace settlement that would begin with plans to secure Ukrainian food exports to developing nations, prisoner exchanges and nuclear security. He underlined that if Ukraine thoroughly develops these three points, the plan could then be handed over to Russia.

Interestingly, the interviews took place just a week after Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office, held a meeting with Alexander Soros, the son of American billionaire George Soros.

On May 13, the two discussed preparations for the Switzerland summit and the reduced “peace formula” covering the same three issues.

This development comes as the Swiss conference has begun to look like a failure weeks ahead its actual start. According to media reports, leaders of the Global South and BRICS nations have chosen to avoid the conference altogether.

So far, heads of state from China, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Indonesia, India, Syria, Iran, Ethiopia, Malaysia and Venezuela have turned down invitations to the event.

“Any event that ignores Russia's position and is based on the 'Zelensky's formula' ultimatum is hopeless and detached from reality,” the Russian foreign ministry commented.

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Scott Ritter reveals US already covertly backs Ukraine strikes on Russia

Former Marine and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter told Sputnik that Tony Blinken's proposal to authorize Ukraine to take actions against Russia is merely formalizing what's already happening covertly. "The United States has already green-lighted Ukraine to do this. The CIA has been working with Ukrainian intelligence and Russian opposition forces to take the fight into ‘Old Russia’," Ritter said.

He emphasized that this covert war is a response to Russian successes in Ukraine but warned that Blinken's move could escalate the conflict dangerously. Ritter believes it's a political ploy by the Biden administration, aimed at domestic optics rather than resolving military issues. He cautioned that such escalation could lead to direct confrontation between Russia, the US, and NATO, potentially resulting in nuclear conflict.

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West’s support for Srebrenica ‘genocide’ vote designed to distract from Gaza, divide rising global majority

💬 “This outcome was expected because of the immense pressure of the Western countries,” Professor Stevan Gajic, a political analyst and research associate at the Belgrade-based Institute of European Studies, told Sputnik, commenting on Thursday’s vote in the UN General Assembly to establish an international remembrance day commemorating the July 1995 violence in Srebrenica, Bosnia as a “genocide.”

“The proposal comes at a very interesting moment. It comes at the moment when Western countries are supporting extermination of Gaza. And therefore they want to divert the anger of the Muslim countries and also to give an alibi to the Muslim countries who voted for the resolution…to somehow come clean in front of their people because they are not doing anything when it comes to Palestine. This is the main motive,” the academic said.

💬 “The motive is also to stir differences among the countries of the emerging world majority, which is struggling and which is fighting and defeating Western hegemony and Western global dominance all over the world,” Gajic added, pointing to the divisions triggered by Thursday’s vote between emerging powers in the Global South and some countries in the Muslim World.

Gajic fears the resolution may be designed to trigger a new war in the Balkans, and that this may have been the West’s goal all along.

“Another war is possible. And this precisely can be the spark. I think that when we think about the motives, we should remember what [then-US Secretary of State] John Kerry said in 2015 - that Serbia, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro, and a number of other countries are ‘in the line of fire’ of the West versus Russia and connected to the war in Ukraine, which was already raging for a year and a half [in the Donbass, ed.] when he said it,” Gajic recalled.

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◻️ Scott Ritter: US threats to greenlight Ukrainian attacks on Russia could spill out into world-ending conflict

◻️ What the EU mission in Rafah reportedly proposed by the US is about

◻️ West’s support for Srebrenica ‘genocide’ vote designed to distract from Gaza, divide rising global majority

◻️ ‘Kiss of Death’ security pact threatens to turn Kenya into US vassal 

◻️ Crises-riddled legacy of UK’s Tories as snap election looms

◻️ Scott Ritter reveals US already covertly backs Ukraine strikes on Russia

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"Death to America!" chant thousands of Iranians, who have gathered outside the Imam Reza Mausoleum in Mashhad, where President Raisi's body lies.

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Breaking bad: Oregon conservatives seeking to secede from the woke state

Fourteen conservative Oregon counties voted for steps to start negotiations on seceding from the liberal state and join neighboring conservative Idaho.

The draft aims to move the Oregon border 200 miles to the west, so that several counties would lie within Idaho state lines. Those behind the effort claim that the move would allow residents to benefit from lower tax rates and to have their interests better represented at the legislative level.

They also argue that the move westward would be a boon to conservative voters ostracized by left-wing authorities that push harmful ‘progressive’ policies.

Oregon residents have seen a spike in crime, especially drug-related. Notably, locals blame liberal legislators for decriminalizing drug possession. State policymakers adopted a law in 2021 under which police would simply give out $100 fine tickets to addicts in place of criminal prosecutions.

On top of that, the ticket would be cancelled if the detained underwent treatment and agreed to a health assessment. The move ultimately proved pointless, as drug users ignored over 95 percent of the tickets.

Though not legislatively binding, the vote signals to state and federal representatives that residents support talks on being annexed by Idaho. Similar breakaway sentiments have been voiced in Texas, Illinois and Colorado.

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The key points of Iranian Army General Staff's first report on the President Raisi helicopter's crash:

🔶 The helicopter was following the planned route and did not deviate from it

🔶 About a minute and a half before the crash, the pilot communicated with two other helicopters in the flight team.

🔶 No bullet marks were found on the wreckage of the crashed helicopter.

🔶 Helicopter caught fire after hitting high ground

🔶 Due to difficult terrain, fog and low temperatures, the search operation lasted all night; Iranian drones were able to locate the helicopter by Monday morning.

🔶 Nothing suspicious was observed in the conversations between air traffic controllers and the flight crew.

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"It's Just part of my ongoing business relationship with Vladimir Putin... No, of course I never even contemplated it... I have nothing to do with Russian media. I couldn't even identify three Russian media outlets. Of course I don't speak Russian," Tucker Carlson said in response to the remark about him becoming a host on Russian television.

Carlson further stated that this claim is a pretext for a FISA warrant, which will allow Biden administration to spy on him.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Belarus on an official two-day visit. The Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, at whose invitation the visit took place, met Putin at the airport.

Putin said he would discuss security issues and Belarus' participation in non-strategic nuclear weapons exercises with Lukashenko during his visit to Minsk

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Houthis expand attacks on Israeli-linked ships onto Mediterranean sea

Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, has started operations against Israeli-linked vessels in the Mediterranean Sea by attacking a ship earlier this week, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said.

"The number of vessels and ships attacked since last October, including those linked with the Israeli enemy, the US and the UK, has reached 119," al-Houthi said on Yemeni television.

This week, the Houthi forces conducted eight operations using 15 missiles and drones in the Red and Arabian Seas, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, including one attack in the Mediterranean Sea, the rebel leader said.

Houthis vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. The attacks prompted the US to form a multinational coalition, which includes the United Kingdom among others, to protect shipping in the area of the Red Sea, as well as to strike Houthi targets on the ground.

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US launches comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation with Georgia

The US is implementing a visa restriction policy on Georgian officials, and their families, who are responsible for facilitating passage of a foreign agents law, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press release.

"In response to these actions, the Department of State is implementing a new visa restriction policy for Georgia that will apply to individuals who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members," Blinken said. "This includes individuals responsible for suppressing civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly in Georgia through a campaign of violence or intimidation."

The US is also launching a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation with Georgia over the passing of a "foreign influence" law in the country, Blinken added in a statement.

"I am also launching today a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation between the US and Georgia. It remains our hope that Georgia’s leaders will reconsider the draft law and take steps to move forward with their nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. As we review the relationship between our two countries, we will take into account Georgia’s actions in deciding our own," Blinken said.

On Saturday, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the foreign agents bill that had been adopted by the country's parliament. The parliament needs a simple majority to override the veto.

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