🛬 The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization has announced that all flights across all routes are canceled until further notice

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G7 approves $50 billion in loans to Ukraine, to be repaid with revenues from Russia's frozen assets - statement

The G7 leaders have reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with loans totaling approximately $50 billion, as outlined in a joint statement.

"Today, we, the Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), have reached a consensus on how to deliver approximately $50 billion in Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans to Ukraine," said the announcement posted on the Italian government's website.

The statement specifies that the G7's loans to Ukraine will be repaid using revenues from Russia's frozen assets.

"These loans will be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilization of Russian Sovereign Assets, in line with the respective legal systems of G7 countries and international law... Our aim is to begin disbursing the funds by the end of the year," the statement added.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that any attempts to confiscate its frozen assets amount to theft, violate international law, and will not go unpunished. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik that Russia would do everything possible to recover the seized assets.

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📹 Israel concludes attack, says struck Iranian missile systems & rocket production sites – statement

“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an official statement.

The Israeli army specified the targets in Iran, including surface-to-air missile systems, air defense capabilities, and production sites for rockets reportedly fired at Israeli territory over the past year.

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US theft of Russian money spurs BRICS nations to create independent financial system

The United States moved to de facto steal the money that belongs to Russia via a scheme ostensibly meant to aid Kiev.

The new $50 billion Western loan to Ukraine, $20 billion of which is going to be backed by the profits accrued from the Russian foreign assets that were frozen by Washington and its allies following the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in February 2022.

While the Biden administration attempts to portray this move as an effort to have Russia rather than US taxpayers bear the burden of the US financial aid to Ukraine, Russia has been quick to point out that this whole plan is nothing more than an outright theft of Russian money.

Acts like these is what essentially drives Russia and other BRICS states to pursue a new settlement and payment infrastructure that would allow transactions in national currencies.

Such system would bypass the use of US dollars or euro, thus protecting the system’s users from Washington and Brussels to using their respective currencies as a political instrument.

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❗️Israel's overnight strikes on Iran are the first ever Israeli military operation on Iranian territory for which the Israeli authorities have officially taken responsibility, Axios reported.

The operation was code-named "Days of Repentance."

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Air alert sounds throughout northern Israel after its Air Force’s attack on Iran

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An alarm has been activated throughout the north of Israel in connection with a possible earthquake, according to the data of the warning system.

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Israel notified Iran in advance of the impending strike and potential targets, warning the Iranians not to respond, the Axios portal reports with reference to three knowledgeable sources.

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US approves $1.16 billion sale of NASAMS to Taiwan

The US State Department has approved a possible $1.16 billion sale to Taiwan of three NASAMS missile systems and related equipment, including Sentinel radars and 123 air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM-ER), the Pentagon said in a statement.   

NASAMS is a new weapon for Taiwan, with Australia and Indonesia the only others in the region currently operating it, Reuters said, citing an anonymous US government source. 

In September, US President Joe Biden approved a $567 mln military package to the island – a move that sparked harsh criticism as an attempt to undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. 

China maintains that its sovereignty over Taiwan is indisputable and slams any US attempt to supply weaponry to the local administration. 

"There can be no future for 'Taiwan independence'. The future of Taiwan lies in its complete reunification with the motherland," China's Taiwan Affairs Office reiterated on Saturday.

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Israel missile attack on Iran: What’s known so far?  

The Israel Defense Forces launched three waves of “precise” strikes on Iranian military targets, in what Tel Aviv said was in “response” to Tehran’s attacks on the Jewish state in early October.   

🔸According to the IDF, the attack on Iran has ended and Israeli warplanes have returned home after striking military targets, namely missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays, and air defense systems.  

🔸The targets included Iran’s air defense batteries and ballistic missile manufacturing sites, the IDF said.

🔸Over 100 warplanes, including the fifth-generation F-35s, were reportedly involved in the attack. 

🔸Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in a bunker in Tel Aviv’s Kirya military base during the attacks, per the PM’s office. 

🔸White House and Pentagon officials have “consulted closely with Israel in recent days about the scope and type of targets Israel would launch against Iran", the New York Times reported. The US, however, was not involved in the strikes, White House National Security Council spokesperson, Sean Savett, said in a statement. 

🔸It was the first time that Israel has claimed responsibility for an attack on Iran, in an operation code-named "Days of Repentance", according to Axios.
 
🔸Iranian media in turn maintained that its air defenses had successfully shot down Israeli targets in the airspace around Tehran province, adding that the IDF attacks also caused “limited damage” in Ilam and Khuzestan provinces.  

🔸The Syrian Defense Ministry said that the country’s air defense systems had downed several Israeli missiles that targeted Syria’s central and southern areas. 

🔸State news agency IRNA reported that the situation in the Iranian capital, Tehran, remained normal despite the explosions that were heard west of the city. 

🔸The military centers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps located in the west and southwest of the Iranian capital were reportedly not damaged. 

🔸Iran is ready to respond to Israel over the missile strikes, a high-ranking source told the Tasnim state news agency. There is “no doubt” Israel will “receive a proportionate response to any action", the source pointed out.

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🔸Israel missile attack on Iran: What’s known so far?

🔸Putin's most prominent and memorable statements at the 16th BRICS Summit

🔸US theft of Russian money spurs BRICS nations to create independent financial system

🔸Why does the EU want to create an intelligence agency?

🔸‘The soul longs for home’ – Palestinian girl on living in refugee camp

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Russian soldiers struck American drone without damaging it

The electronics of the RQ-20 "Puma" drone manufactured in the United States have been placed at the disposal of Russian specialists, an engineer told Sputnik.

Near the RQ-20 was a Baba Yaga drone, which was shot down with small arms. Upon inspection, it turned out that the copter was equipped with a Starlink repeater and a drop system with two ammunition, a military engineer added.

"We have rare samples of drone systems at our disposal. We will work with them," he concluded.

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The Iranian army reported the death of two soldiers as a result of an Israeli attack, Iranian media said, citing an army statement.

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Key statements by the Iranian Foreign Ministry amid Israeli strike:

💬US political and military support for Israel's criminal actions is the main factor for instability in the Middle East.

💬Iran believes it has a 'right and obligation' to defend itself against 'aggressive actions' on the basis of the UN Charter.

💬Iran uses every opportunity to protect its security and vital interests. 

💬Iran calls on the international community to take urgent collective action and stop Israel's attempts to spark a war in the Middle East.

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❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Alexandropol in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

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❗️Ukrainian forces lost more than 740 militants in the area of responsibility of the Russian Yug Battlegroup

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 545 servicemen in the area of responsibility of the Russian Tsentr combat group;

▪️The Russian Zapad Battlegroup destroyed over 510 Ukrainian militants;

▪️Ukrainian troops lost up to 80 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Russian Dnepr combat group;

▪️Russian forces hit the infrastructure of military airfields, and the storage sites for attack drones of the Ukrainian armed forces;

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down two guided Hammer bombs and four HIMARS rockets.

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