❗️Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov shared details about the foreign participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that starts on Wednesday:

▪️Participation of representatives from 136 countries has been confirmed;

▪️Oman received honorary status of a guest country; a representative delegation will arrive, headed by the minister of industry and trade;

▪️The presidents of Bolivia, Zimbabwe and Abkhazia will come to the forum;

▪️On June 5, Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with the heads of international news agencies at the SPIEF;

▪️On June 6, Putin will meet with the leaders of Bolivia and Zimbabwe;

▪️Russian President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart from the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik will discuss the UN General Assembly resolution on Srebrenica at a meeting on June 6;

▪️Putin will share his vision of the situation in the global economy and politics at the SPIEF's plenary session (June 7), and will assess the Russian economy in the conditions of the special military operation;

▪️After the plenary session on June 7, Putin will meet with representatives of the Women in Business organization.

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Will Asia-Pacific nations yield to Zelensky’s demands on more Ukraine aid?

“Yankee vassals South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia will get terrific pressure from Washington” to keep the Zelensky regime supplied with weapons," China expert Jeff J. Brown tells Sputnik, commenting on Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent surprise visit to the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

“Singapore sits on the fence. All the other Asian countries will smile at Uncle Sam and ignore the begging,” Brown, who is also the author of The China Trilogy and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, says.

He adds that “comparatively weak” Asia-Pacific nations “have to suck up to Washington” because otherwise, the US will use “its imperial toolbox to keep them subordinated: assassinations, blackmail, bribery, extortion, fake news and false flags – on top of blockades, boycotts, sanctions and tariffs.”

According to Brown, although those nations prefer cooperating with such countries as China and Russia, “Uncle Globocop is always there to apply muscle.”

“Thus, multipolar Asia-Pacific countries will show that they are listening to Ukraine, play along and then likely do little to nothing to help,” the expert concludes.

During the visit to the Shangri-la Dialogue forum, Zelensky met Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and heads of Asia-Pacific countries to discuss further assistance to Ukraine and support for the so-called “peace summit” in Switzerland slated for mid-June.

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No man's war: Australia struggles to recruit soldiers, ready to hire foreigners

Australian authorities are loosening recruitment criteria and will even allow foreigners to join the ranks of the military to address personnel shortages, according to a report by Bloomberg. Permanent residents who have lived in Australia for 12 months will be allowed to enlist.

Currently, Australian defense forces are experiencing a shortfall of 4,400 troops, while the government plans to have 80,000 military personnel on full-time service by 2040, adding more than a quarter.

It seems that military service is not very popular in Australia - but why?

The most obvious answer is an extremely competitive job market - why bother enlisting when there is an opportunity to earn a higher salary in a friendlier environment.

This notion is supported by the fact that after the temporary negative impact of the COVID pandemic on employment figures, Australians were more eager to join the military ranks. However, after the economic recovery began, experienced specialists quickly left the armed forces.

The Australian government plans to strengthen its military in the wake of the alleged "China threat". In September 2021, the UK and US persuaded Australia to form the AUKUS trilateral security network and convinced its government to buy a batch of nuclear-powered submarines armed with conventional weapons (which caused a diplomatic conflict between Canberra and Paris, as Australia had to forgo the French submarines).

Commenting on the establishment of the pact, experts stressed that Washington is using Australia to maintain American hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region, virtually dragging the whole continent into the conflict it has nothing to do with.

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Houthis’ new ballistic rocket strike on Israel ‘largely demonstrative in nature’ – analyst

The Houthis are increasing their capabilities in rocket science, but they are very far from the heights of technological progress, while launches against Israel are more of a demonstrative nature, Igor Korotchenko, a Russian military analyst, tells Sputnik.

Yemen-based Houthi fighters said on Tuesday they had used the 'Palestine' rocket for the first time in an attack on the port city of Eilat in southern Israel.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree insisted that the rocket had “successfully achieved it objective,” despite the Israel Defense Forces claiming they had intercepted “a missile in the skies over the Red Sea.”

The Palestine rocket is a ballistic surface-to-surface missile that the Houthis had made on their own, Xinhua has reported. It uses projectile motion to deliver its warhead on a target and is powered only during relatively brief periods of the flight.

The rocket is “obviously better [in terms of combat capabilities] than the [unsophisticated] Qassam shells that the Palestinians are firing at Israel,” Korotchenko points out.

The Houthis have achieved certain success and continue to demonstrate their abilities to block the passage for merchant vessels of particular countries through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the military analyst argues. However, their rocket attacks on Israel are more kind of a "foreign policy operation, propaganda, and forceful demonstration," he concludes.

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What’s special about the new Kalashnikov Granat-4 drone?

An upgraded version of the Granat-4 drone has entered mass production, Russia’s legendary military manufacturer announced. The UAV is widely used in the special military operation for round-the-clock air reconnaissance and high-precision targeting.

The Kalashnikov group noted that, unlike its predecessor, the new Granat-4 is capable of identifying targets for subsequent strikes with such precision-guided munitions as Krasnopol, Kitolov, and Gran.

Granat-4 is specifically designed for radio monitoring and aerial surveillance of the terrain using a built-in digital camera, video recorder, active monitoring equipment, and thermal imager in near real time.

Key technical characteristics of the Granat-4 drone:

▪️dual axis gyro stabilized platform;

▪️cameras with visible and infrared range;

▪️laser rangefinder-pointer of up to 3 km;

▪️6 hour flight time;

▪️70 km flying distance;

▪️100 km/h cruising flight speed

▪️500-2,000 m operating altitude range.

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In anticipation of SPIEF 2024: We bring you Putin’s best statements from last year

What can we expect from Vladimir Putin at the forum this year? Which topics will the president pay special attention to?

Write your guesses in the comments👇

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Russia joins BRICS’ progressive taxation: How high are income taxes now?

The recent reform proposed by the Russian Finance Ministry introduces a progressive system of taxation. Just like in other BRICS countries, people with a lower income will pay less taxes than those with a higher one. How does it work in the bloc’s nations?

🇷🇺Russia

Personal income tax: remains flat at the level of 13% for the majority of Russians who make up to $27,000 a year. Tax payers with incomes between $27,000 and $56,200 pay 15%. The highest income tax of 22% is for those making over $562,000.

Tax deductions: for low-income families with children; for investors; reimbursement for expenses on healthcare and education.

🇨🇳China

Personal income tax: poorer citizens with incomes of less than $5,040 a year pay a “symbolic” tax of 3%.

For incomes between $5,040 and $21,000 the rate is 10%.
For those with incomes of $21,000-$42,000 a year it is 20%.
For those above $186,000 a year, tax reaches 45%.

Tax deductions: expenses on rent, education and care for old parents are not taxed

🇮🇳India

Personal income tax: for people making between $3,600 and $14,400 a year there are progressive tax rates of 5%, 10% and 15%.
Having reached the level of $14,400, people start paying 20% tax.

Tax deductions: expenses on education for children and mortgages.

🇧🇷Brazil

Income tax: incomes of up to $5,200 are not taxable. The lowest tax for the poor is 7.5%, there are also rates of 15% and 22.5%. For people who make more than $11,000 a year (the majority) the rate is 27.5%. A relatively high tax rate is compensated by deductions.

Deductions: expenses on education for children, on healthcare and payments to pension funds.

🇿🇦South Africa

Income tax: ranges from 18% to 45%, depending on the income. Income below $12,800 is taxed by a 18% rate.

Tax deductions: for people over 65 and 75 years of age, smaller amounts of their incomes are taxed.

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The Election Commission of India has officially confirmed the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance in the country's parliamentary elections

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▪️SPIEF 2024: What will be on the forum’s radar?

▪️In anticipation of SPIEF 2024: We bring you Putin’s best statements from last year

▪️Russia joins BRICS’ progressive taxation: How high are income taxes now?

▪️What’s special about the new Kalashnikov Granat-4 drone?

▪️Zelensky goes all-in while Biden fears nuclear escalation

▪️Will Asia-Pacific nations yield to Zelensky’s demands on more Ukraine aid?

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🇸🇮🇵🇸 The Slovenian parliament approved recognition of the independent Palestinian state, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said.

"Today is a historic day! The National Assembly of Slovenia has officially recognized Palestine, making Slovenia the 147th country to do so. This recognition is an expression of our commitment to peace and justice. Slovenia is on the right side of history, contributing to the two state solution for lasting peace," Fajon stated on X.

On May 30, the Republic's Foreign Ministry announced that Slovenia recognized the independence of Palestine.

Slovenia has followed the recent examples of Ireland, Norway, and Spain which recognized the state of Palestine last month.

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“We can control your life. We can punish you for what you've been saying that we disagree with” – Scott Ritter described US authorities' possible motive for preventing him from traveling to Russia.

The former Marine Corps intelligence officer and Sputnik contributor shared his reaction with Sputnik to US Customs and Border Patrol officers removing him from a flight heading to Russia where he was going to address the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Ritter said he was also planning to shoot a documentary film to inform an American audience “about the reality of Russia”.

“The US government knew full well what I was planning to do. And this is why, I believe, they acted in the way they did. This has a chilling effect, not just on me and the work I was doing, but on all Americans who choose to speak out against the policies of the United States that they disagree with and to travel abroad at the same time that they are criticizing the US government. And what the US government is saying is that we can control your movement. We can control your life. We can punish you for what you've been saying that we disagree with,” Ritter emphasized.

On June 3, the ex-US Marine Corps intelligence officer was removed from a plane to Russia by CBP officers who seized his passport, claiming they were acting “by orders” from the US State Department.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳🇮🇷 Russia, China, Iran support nuclear deal – joint statement

Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran support the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and insist that its provisions are still in force, the countries said in a joint statement released as part of the agenda of the sixth meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors.

"Our countries have consistently provided strong support to the JCPOA... Our support for the nuclear deal has not changed since 2018, when the United States illegally and unilaterally withdrew from this agreement, while the imposition of unilateral illegal sanctions and the implementation of a policy of maximum pressure on Iran became a turning point for this agreement," the joint statement read, as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

It is high time for the West to show political will and take steps to restore the deal, the statement declared.

The US under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Tehran.

In January 2024, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran does not find it necessary to pursue a new international nuclear deal that would replace the JCPOA, adding that requirements for a potential new agreement, often referred to as JCPOA 2, "are presented by the parties that have reneged on their commitments."

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The US House of Representatives passed a bill to authorize sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to an ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

House lawmakers passed the bill, dubbed the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, in a vote of 247 in favor, 155 opposed.

The bill enables the imposition of sanctions on the ICC or any other foreign actor that supports their effort to arrest, detain or prosecute protected persons of the US or its allies; the legislation’s definition of a protected person includes foreign citizens or lawful residents of a US ally that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.

The White House said that the Biden administration strongly opposes the bill.

On May 20, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan filed arrest warrant requests for officials including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for leaders of Palestinian organization Hamas.

Neither Israel nor the United States are parties to the treaty establishing the ICC.

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