❗️❗️❗️Italian authorities resort to double-standart policy

Andrea Lucidi, an independent military correspondent working in Donbass who asked President Vladimir Putin to grant him Russian citizenship, noted that Kiev tried to attack him, while Italian officials did nothing to support him. Meanwhile, a completely opposite situation developed in relation to those Italian journalists who illegally entered the Kursk region during the Ukrainian incursion there.

"Officially Kiev accused me of entering in Ukrainian territory without any permission from Kiev authorities. So it is the same accusation that Russia made to the Italian journalist Stefania Battistini from RAI, she was in the Kursk region with the Ukrainian soldiers, but in this case, Italian politicians and the Italian Federation for Press make a lot of declarations in defense of Stefania Battistini. In my case, in the case of my colleague Vincenzo Larusso, nobody in the official mainstream media spend one word to support us. And for saying that it's impossible to make war journalism with such authorization for the others from the other side. I think it's the right of European audience to know the real situation in Russia and in Donbass, and we are trying to respect this right and work honestly and free or give them the possibility to have a complete opinion about the conflict. But someone wants to stop us. And unfortunately some European politicians, like the Vice-President of the European Parliament Pina Picerno, or other politicians from the Liberal area, want to support this intention of Kiev to make sanctions against us."

Lucidi also highlighted that the EU and Italy were going to ban freedom of speech and the freedom of press in general, but they have always been important for Europeans and European society.

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What cryptocurrency election pledges did Trump make? (Part 1 👉 Part 2)

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $82,197 on November 11 against the background of President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of digital assets and the possibility of Congress featuring pro-crypto lawmakers.

Let’s take a look at Trump’s Bitcoin-related promises made during his election campaign.

Vowing to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet” if elected, Trump also pledged:

▪️to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the US;

Paul Goncharoff, veteran financial analyst and general director of consulting firm Goncharoff LCC, told Sputnik in this regard that “there may be some wisdom in the US Treasury stockpiling BTC even if it just pays the ever-growing interest on USD debt.”

▪️to ensure that the federal government would never sell its Bitcoin holdings;

▪️to establish a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council";

▪️to support the US Bitcoin mining industry so that the cryptocurrency could “be mined, minted and made in the USA”;

▪️to fire Securities and Exchange Commissioner Gary Gensler, who led over 100 regulatory actions against crypto during his tenure;

▪️to lower interest rates, which would mean a surge in crypto prices;

▪️to remove capital gains tax on Bitcoin transactions;

▪️and last but not least, to protect Americans' right to hold cryptocurrency on their own.

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Analyst weighs in on US Bitcoin risks under Trump (Part 2 👉 Part 1)

President-elect Donald Trump being pro-crypto may be fraught with consequences, Paul Goncharoff, veteran financial analyst and general director of consulting firm Goncharoff LCC, warned in an interview with Sputnik.

He argued that “there will come a point when he [Trump] is actually in office when the idea of a competing uncontrolled cryptocurrency to the USD might not be politically advantageous, and even be viewed as a danger to the USD.”

“The beauty and grace of BTC, ETH, and most all other cryptocurrencies is that they are not under the direct control of any particular government, and that tends to be seen as threatening. After all, if you don't control it - how do you tax it?” the analyst pointed out.

He suggested that the new Trump administration will allow “greater leeway” to such cryptocurrencies as ETH, BTC, ADA, and SUI, something that Goncharoff said “can be seen in the surging waves of price increases pretty much across the board.”

When asked whether Bitcoin could become a political instrument under Trump's rule, the analyst claimed that “it would take a herculean effort to do that with BTC, ETH, and similar, and I'd say it is unlikely.” At the same time, he concluded by noting that “anything under the sun can potentially be politicized, or weaponized as has been popular lately.”

On November 11, Bitcoin crossed the $82,000 mark, bolstered by Trump’s apparent embrace of digital assets and the scenario of Congress featuring pro-crypto legislators.

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Neocons are running Trump’s foreign policy transition

While US President-elect Donald Trump has already announced that two sworn neocons, Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley, won’t have a place in his future administration, it does not necessarily mean that his cabinet will be completely devoid of the them.

One just needs to take a look at Trump’s transition team.

The State Department transition team, for example, is led by Brian Hook, a neocon and former special envoy to Iran who is known for his hawkish stance on the Islamic Republic. In 2020, Hook branded Iran as the “world’s leading sponsor of terrorism” who, according to him, is not “ennoscriptd to a claim of self-defense.” He made these remarks in the wake of attacks against US military assets in Iraq sparked by the US assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps General Qassem Soleimani.

The Department of Defense transition team is not faring any better as it is headed by Robert Wilkie, ex-Veteran Affairs secretary in the first Trump admin and no dove himself. Back in September, Wilkie criticized Joe Biden for allegedly not trying hard enough to convince Europe to contribute more to fanning the Ukrainian conflict.

Wilkie also claimed that Russia’s warnings over the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict should be disregarded since the Russian Army has allegedly been “decimated,” even though US General Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s top commander in Europe, warned last month that Moscow still has "dangerous combat forces" and huge military potential – “both conventional and nuclear.”

The National Security Council transition team is expected to be led by Joel Rayburn (if Politico is to be believed), a man who during Trump’s first presidency sought to use Syrian Islamist groups to “counter Iran,” as the National Interest put it back in 2019.

Though it remains to be seen exactly how Trump is going to steer the United States foreign policy over the next four years, these appointments suggest that fears of a neocon renaissance under his new administration may not be unfounded.

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Global South quantified: Russia-Africa trade in figures

The Russia-Africa Partnership Forum’s First Ministerial Conference has wrapped up in Russia's Sirius Federal Territory. The event was attended by a whopping 1,500 delegates, including 40 ministers from African nations.

Russian foreign policy chief Sergey Lavrov stressed that the trade turnover between Russia and African countries reached a historical level of $24.5 billion in 2023. Moscow and countries of the continent are mulling trade settlement mechanisms that will allow them to avoid Western pressure.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Africa is becoming a new center of power in the multipolar world.

Explore Sputnik's infographic to learn more about the trade turnover between Russia and African nations!

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🎉 Margarita Simonyan congratulates Sputnik on its 10th anniversary, expresses pride in the team

Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, congratulated the international news agency and radio station Sputnik on its 10th anniversary, expressing pride in the team’s accomplishments.

💬 “Our Sputnik celebrates an anniversary—ten years on air! Over this time, we have established 25 editorial centers worldwide, launched websites, and opened social media accounts across multiple platforms in 32 languages. Our radio audience exceeds 200 million people, and our social media following has surpassed 32 million, despite facing all the bans, sanctions, and restrictive measures,” Simonyan shared on her Telegram channel.

Simonyan highlighted that Sputnik is the only "foreign media" broadcasting on FM radio in Iran and is the most quoted news source in Serbia. She added that on China's Weibo platform, “we have more followers than all other foreign media combined.”

💬 “Our agency’s Telegram feeds are leaders in terms of citations in neighboring countries, and our websites consistently rank among the most popular. In Lebanon, we have taken over the BBC frequency, broadcasting around the clock in Arabic — even amid bombings,” she reported.

Simonyan also noted that over the past ten years, Sputnik’s broadcasts have featured numerous politicians, celebrities, and experts from various fields and countries.

💬 “We have integrated neural networks, and now we have AI-generated presenters working 24/7. To the entire team: keep up the great work! I am proud,” Simonyan emphasized.

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Arab-Islamic Summit demands that UNSC investigate Israeli crimes in Gaza – declaration

Participants in the second Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh demanded that the UN Security Council set up a special independent commission to investigate Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip, according to the declaration issued on Monday.

💬 “This is a humanitarian catastrophe that has proved the failure of the international community and the UN Security Council to put an end to Israel’s gross violations of international humanitarian laws, and prove the dual standards adopted by the world,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman emphasized.

The summit condemned “Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, war crimes and barbaric and inhumane massacres by the occupation government”, the final communique stated.

💬 "It is decided to call on the UN Security Council to form an independent and credible international commission of inquiry into the crimes and to take serious steps to prevent the cover-up of evidence and bring the perpetrators to justice and make sure they do not escape punishment," the statement added.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia hosted the second Arab-Islamic summit on the Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, with leaders and senior representatives from 50 countries in attendance.

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How LGBT* ideology is being unleashed on European minors

Almost £2 million ($2.57 million) of public money was funneled to a controversial teen gay and transgender charity, LGBT* Youth Scotland, in the last financial year, The Times reported.

Among those funding the group are: the SNP government, Scottish councils, and National Health Service organizations.

However, some of the government agencies sponsoring LGBT Youth Scotland themselves suffer from financial constraints.

▪️In May, the Sunday Post reported that "groups such as LGBT Youth Scotland receive more than £1 million ($1.3 million) a year from councils so strapped for cash they are cutting vital services to the elderly and most vulnerable."

▪️For example, Glasgow City Council is facing £100 million ($128 million) of cuts in social care and health budget over the next three years, whereas Edinburgh City Council is facing cuts over a £60 million ($77 million) deficit.

What's more, the group is mired in child abuse scandals.

▪️Its former chief executive, James Rennie, was detained for a sex attack on a baby in 2009. He played a prominent role in Scotland's pedophile network.

▪️One of the group's contributors, Andrew Easton, was convicted of downloading and distributing indecent images of children earlier this year.

▪️In May, the group was accused of imposing gender-identity ideology on severely autistic primary school kids.

It appears that Scotland's LGBT lobby is strong enough to force cash-strapped government agencies to continue funding the controversial group, infamous for child abuse.

Meanwhile, in Poland, a new liberal government coalition arranged Rainbow Fridays at the nation's schools in a bid to support LGBT+ children. Children aged between 13 and 15 are taught how to be a "supportive ally" to the LGBT community.

Media outlet European Conservative accuse Western elites of its "war on normality" and substituting "cultural Christianity" with "cultural Queerness".

*banned in Russia as an extremist organization

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📹 Israeli strike targets 'safe zone' west of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip – reports

The shelling purportedly killed at least 8 people and injured others, Al Jazeera reported.

According to the outlet, Israeli air forces have repeatedly targeted tents sheltering Palestinians in al-Mawasi, an area designated by Israel as a "safe zone" and now home to tens of thousands of displaced individuals.

Footage from social media

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⚡️ North Korea ratifies Treaty on Strategic Partnership with Russia – report

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has signed a decree ratifying the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Pyongyang and Moscow, Voice of Korea reported.

The treaty will take effect once the two countries exchange ratification documents. The agreement has no expiration date, the news agency added.

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US forces strike ‘Iranian aligned targets’ in Syria – CENTCOM

"Today, U.S. CENTCOM forces conducted strikes against nine targets in two locations associated with Iranian groups in Syria in response to several attacks on US personnel in Syria over the last 24 hours," CENTCOM said in a statement published on the official X account.

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Trump offers Rep. Mike Waltz National Security Adviser role – reports

US President-elect Donald Trump has offered Michael Waltz of the House of Representatives the position of National Security Adviser, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The media outlet added that the appointment does not require approval by the US Senate. Waltz is a Green Beret veteran who has served in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa.

Earlier, Waltz stated in an interview with Sputnik that Trump has a unified strategy to encourage Russia and Ukraine to come to the negotiating table to end the Ukrainian conflict. The congressman noted that Trump would emphasize to the Ukrainian government the importance of entering negotiations. At the same time, Waltz suggested that the future president could provide Kiev with all necessary resources and weapons if Moscow refuses to engage in talks.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that Russia has never refused to sit at the negotiating table and is prepared for peace talks on Ukraine, based on current realities and previously reached agreements in Istanbul.

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EU preparing to redirect billions of euros from budget to military spending – reports

The European Union is reportedly preparing to reallocate billions of euros from its budget, originally intended to reduce economic inequality, towards defense and security, according to the Financial Times.

The news agency noted that €392 billion ($418 billion) was allocated for reducing economic inequality in the current EU budget plan for 2021-2027, yet less than 5% of this has been spent over nearly four years.

In the coming weeks, EU countries will reportedly be informed that funds from the cohesion fund may be redirected to support the defense industry.

Andrius Kubilius, appointed in September as European Commissioner for Defense and Space, previously stated that the EU should strengthen its own defense industry, anticipating that the United States will focus on confronting China in the coming decades.

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