▪️What’s known about the US' seizure of Venezuelan President Maduro’s plane?

▪️President Putin arrives in Mongolia: what is the strategic importance of Russian-Mongolian cooperation?

▪️Guess which foreign language do younger members of Putin’s family speak?

▪️The latest updates from the Kursk region where the Russian Army has been repelling Ukraine’s attempts of incursion

▪️AfD’s victory in regional elections a ‘wakeup call’ for Germany’s ruling coalition

▪️Trump’s new book ‘Save America’ – check out the excerpts ahead of its release

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Enough is enough: is German government really willing and able to deal with migrant crisis?

Berlin announced that 28 Afghan refugees were deported back to their home country last week due to committing crimes on German soil.

Following the Taliban* taking power in Afghanistan after the de facto defeat of the US-led coalition in 2021, Berlin took in Afghan refugees who were fleeing from the new authorities.

This influx further compounded the issue the current German government inherited from the administration of Angela Merkel who welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East fleeing from the Syrian conflict and the civil war in Libya.

The housing and welfare benefits provided to the refugees by the German government quickly cemented the image of Germany as a “promised land” of sorts in the eyes of potential asylum seekers.

Meanwhile, the refusal of many of the refugees to conform to the customs of their new home stoked tensions amid ordinary Germans, many of whom were not particularly happy by newcomers who do not respect German traditions.

The violent crimes committed by some of the migrants – such as, for example, a deadly knife attack perpetrated in August at a street festival in Solingen by a Syrian man, or a wave of sexual attacks allegedly perpetrated by men of African and Arab descent against women across Germany during the 2015-2016 New Year celebrations – also did little to endear refugees to Germans.

The migrant issue has apparently played a significant role in the less than stellar results the ruling coalition displayed during the recent elections, and it may seem that Berlin finally decided to address this matter.

*Under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.

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Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, attacked Blue Lagoon I ship with missiles and drones, a spokesman said in an official statement

"Yemeni armed forces have carried out an attack on the Blue Lagoon I ship in the Red Sea, using drones and missiles," the statement said.

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Volodymyr Kudrytsky was reportedly fired from his post as head of Ukraine's National Energy Company (NEC) Ukrenergo, Ukrainian member of parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak said

A Ukrainian online media outlet previously quoted sources as saying that Kudrytsky might be dismissed in the near future for poor protection of energy facilities.

Ukrenergo's deputy head of the board Oleksiy Brekht will perform duties as chief of Ukrenergo, according to Ukrainian media.

In response to attacks on Russian civilian targets by the Kiev regime, Russian troops regularly carry out precision strikes against encampments of Ukrainian soldiers, equipment and mercenaries, as well as against Ukrainian infrastructure, including energy, defense industry, military administration and communications facilities. However, presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov emphasizes that the Russian army does not target residential buildings and social institutions.

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Venezuela condemns seizure of President Maduro's plane in Dominican Republic as act of piracy by the United States

"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela informs the international community that the authorities of the United States of America have once again committed a criminal act, which can only be described as piracy, by illegally confiscating an aircraft used by the President of the Republic. They justify their actions through coercive measures that they unilaterally and illegally impose across the world. This demonstrates that no state or legitimate government is immune to these illegal attempts to circumvent international law," reads a communiqué published on Telegram by the Venezuelan Minister of Communications, Culture, and Tourism Freddy Ñáñez.

"The United States has shown that it uses its economic and military power to intimidate and pressure states like the Dominican Republic into becoming complicit in criminal acts. This is an example of the so-called 'rules-based order,' which, in disregard of international law, seeks to establish the right of the strong, creating and imposing rules that serve its interests with impunity," the Venezuelan government stated.

The incident marks the second Venezuelan plane seized by the US. A Boeing 747 belonging to the Venezuelan company Empresa de Transporte Aéreocargo del Sur (Emtrasur) was detained at Argentina's Ezeiza Airport in 2022. A local court decided earlier this year to transfer the plane to the US, after which it was flown to Florida.

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