❗️ Gunfire erupted outside the Israeli embassy in Amman, the capital of Jordan – reports

The area was cordoned off by police, and medics rushed to the scene, Reuters reported, citing witnesses.

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❗️ Shooter near Israeli Embassy in Jordan killed, 3 police officers injured – reports

A shooter near the Israeli Embassy in Amman, Jordan, was killed, Reuters reported, citing a security source.

Three police officers were injured during the incident, the agency added.

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White House promises 'sprint' to protect Biden's 'legacy' from Trump

The White House promises sprint efforts to preserve the "legacy" and "productive" work of outgoing US President Joe Biden, who failed to win re-election for a second term and spent more than a third of his first term in country residences and on the beach.

💬 "President Biden is focused on ensuring the remainder of his term is as productive as any other period in the last four years," the White House press service said in a statement.

The press service claimed that the remainder of the current administration's time "is a sprint to build on the historic progress we've made under his presidency."

According to the White House, Biden plans to work hard on a program to invest in the US, seek confirmation of judicial nominees, and "continue to strengthen our Alliances and partnerships." The press service cites American media outlets that report on the administration's efforts to preserve and protect Biden's "legacy" from the incoming Republican administration.

Biden's opponents counted the days he spent outside the White House, in suburban or beach residences, throughout his tenure. According to the New York Post, the US president spent over 40% of his time in office on vacation. His term will be remembered for many embarrassments, slips of the tongue, and falls.

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🥴 Lindsey Graham threatens allies with sanctions if they assist ICC in arresting Netanyahu

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has threatened US allies with sanctions if they try to help the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

🗣 "To any ally — Canada, Britain, Germany, France — if you try to help the ICC, we’re gonna sanction you," the senator said on Fox News.

When asked about the nature of such sanctions, Graham doubled down on his threat, saying the US should "crush" the economies of countries that support the ICC's efforts.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The court also dismissed Israel's objections to its jurisdiction over such cases. Israel has consistently challenged the ICC's authority to hear cases related to Palestine as a whole. US President Joe Biden called the ICC's decision "outrageous."

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🇻🇪Maduro’s firm stranglehold on fascism

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced the creation of the Great Anti-Fascist Youth Movement, calling for the "overthrow of what the Yankee empire is trying to impose on the world,” VTV reports.

At an anti-fascist forum in Venezuela, representatives from 72 countries adopted a declaration denouncing colonialism and the West's imperialist attempts to "exterminate free people.”

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🚫Israeli officials asked Netanyahu to ease position on Hamas deal, he refused

The heads of Israel's security agencies asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to soften his position on the deal with the Palestinian movement Hamas, but he refused, the Axios reported citing two Israeli officials familiar with the matter.

The heads of the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad and the Shin Bet told Netanyahu that they believed Hamas was unlikely to back down from its conditions for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and an end to the war, the publication said.

They told him that if the Israeli government was interested in a deal, it should soften its current position, but Netanyahu refused to end the war in exchange for a deal to release the hostages, it added.

Netanyahu reportedly justified his position by the fact that such a deal with Hamas would allow the movement to continue its existence.

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🔸 Stage 1: Denial – Ukrainian regime denies the existence of Oreshnik

🔸 Lindsey Graham threatens allies with sanctions if they assist ICC in arresting Netanyahu

🔸 Israeli strike on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza injures its director

🔸 Europe is hurtling towards new energy crisis with depleted reserves, short-sighted Russia sanctions

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🗣 Russia currently produces as many weapons and ammunition in three months as the entire European Union in a year – German MoD

Europe is facing a long-term threat, and the Ukraine crisis is "no longer a regional war," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, as cited by local media.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin 'long ago switched to a completely military economy,' and the country currently produces as much weapons and ammunition in three months as the entire European Union does in a year," Pistorius stated.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin underscored that "despite all the difficulties, Russia is not transferring the economy to wartime mode".

"Russia's attack on NATO is a fiction, there is no such threat, Russia is defending itself in Ukraine," Putin has repeatedly said.

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💬 Russia's update of its nuclear doctrine can be seen as a signal to the West, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated.

"In the current confrontation provoked by Western countries, Russia must respond to the unprecedented escalation initiated by the outgoing US administration," Peskov said.

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📹 2024 is the deadliest year for UN aid workers

"The war in Gaza is driving up the number of aid workers’ deaths, with more than 320 humanitarian workers personnel killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. Many were killed in the line of duty while providing humanitarian assistance," UN secretary-general spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated.

The death toll of humanitarian workers in 2024 has become the “deadliest on record,” with 281 killed globally, the UN humanitarian affairs office reported on Friday.

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

🔸 Ukraine lost up to 500 servicemen and two ammunition depots in the Russia's Battlegroup Yug area of responsibility.

🔸 Ukraine lost over 440 soldiers in the Russia's Battlegroup Zapad area of responsibility.

🔸 Ukraine lost over 145 troops in the Russia's Battlegroup Vostok area of responsibility.

🔸 Russian aviation shot down 44 Ukrainian drones.

🔸 Ukraine lost up to 30 soldiers in the Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr area of responsibility.

🔸 Ukraine lost up to 50 troops in the Russia's Battlegroup Sever area of responsibility.

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💬 'Putin sent the West a clear and unequivocal signal with the hope that it would be heeded. However, Washington has ignored the warnings, making decisive retaliatory steps necessary,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated.

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💬 ”The Oreshnik strike was timely and effective in the current situation, where the West is demonstrating its readiness to go to any lengths. It serves as a warning bell to the West,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated.

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🤚 Biden administration decides against inviting Ukraine to NATO after Trump's victory

The administration of US President Joe Biden considered making a public call for an official invitation to Ukraine to join NATO following Donald Trump's election victory, but decided not to do so, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

According to the article, Biden's administration did not do it, considering the probability of the call’s success too small.

This comes as part of the outgoing US president's plan to do "everything possible" to strengthen Ukraine's position before Trump takes office, Bloomberg notes.

Recent steps by the Biden administration on this matter include authorizing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike deep into Russia with ATACMS missiles, supplying Ukraine with anti-personnel mines, writing off nearly $5 billion in debt, and sanctioning Gazprombank, the article says.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had struck targets in the Kursk and Bryansk regions on November 19 using US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles. He said Thursday that Russia had successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, on November 21 in response to Ukraine's use of the US and UK weapons. The missile hit a defense and industrial complex in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk.

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Hezbollah attacks Israeli naval base

Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement announced on Sunday that it had carried out its first drone attack on an Israeli naval base, located 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the border with Lebanon.

"Fighters of the Islamic resistance movement [Hezbollah] attacked [the Israeli] naval base in Ashdod, located 150 kilometers away from the Lebanese-Palestinian border, using unmanned aerial vehicles," the statement read. It added that all targets were destroyed.

However, the IDF has not confirmed the attack. "No sirens warning of a drone sounded at that time, neither near the Lebanon border nor near Ashdod, and the military says it is unaware of the claims," The Times of Israel said.

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🪖 Paranoid Finland is training women for alleged war with Russia

The Finnish Women’s National Emergency Preparedness Association is holding a Nasta course on survival and wilderness skills, snowmobile driving, and cybersecurity.

Nasta has been running since 1997. Although its training is non-military, it is partially funded by the Finnish Ministry of Defense and National Defense Training Association. It has a membership of approximately 100,000, which reportedly surged after 2022.

“The shooting [course requirement] bit kind of surprised me,” Nasta’s communications and organization manager said. “Because we have our military personnel – the soldiers, the professionals – then we have a huge amount of reservists. If I am the one that has to pick up the gun, then we’re in deep trouble.”

The poor women in Finland might not have heard that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied claims that Russia intends to attack NATO members.

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🤝 Putin had a phone call with Erdogan

The two leaders have discussed bilateral relations with an emphasis on boosting trade and economic cooperation, as well as several matters of international agenda.

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Hard to imagine US okaying American investment in Nord Stream 2 infrastructure US itself blew up - economist

Trump campaign contributor and distressed asset buyer Stephen P. Lynch might theoretically get a shot at buying the damaged Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if the assets were to ever “come up for sale,” but the US government, which played an instrumental role in Nord Stream’s sabotage, would be unlikely to allow it, renowned British economist Dr. Rodney Shakespeare told Sputnik.

“America destroyed the pipelines because secret American policy is to keep Germany and Europe dependent on (expensive) American gas supplies. So the businessman is unlikely to get permission,” Shakespeare explained.

With that said, if the Ukrainian crisis were to ever end, there would “likely…be huge pressure to get the pipelines repaired” from a Europe starved of energy. “Any new owner would become immensely rich,” the economist said.

Even then, Shakespeare warned that given the US policy, there’s no guarantee that the repaired pipelines wouldn’t “be blown up again.”

“My guess is that the businessman will not get permission and that the risk of deliberate destruction in future is such that the pipes will not get repaired,” Shakespeare summed up.

Lynch reportedly applied for a license with the US Treasury which would allow him to negotiate initiating repair work on the damaged $11 bln Nord Stream 2 pipeline with entities under US sanctions, and has reportedly lobbied US officials to allow him to invest in the damaged pipeline network to secure “American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era.”

Nord Stream 2 AG is owned by a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom, with a consortium of five European energy companies financing to the project. A Swiss court has repeatedly extended the moratorium on Nord Stream 2 AG’s bankruptcy, most recently until January 2025.

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