🤖 Musk shows his robot taking a walk outside

Tesla Optimus uses neural networks to traverse different terrains and control its limbs, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, wrote on his X. What's more, this robot doesn't even use visual sensors!

"Optimus was doing this while 'blindfolded'. We haven’t yet made vision part of the control loop for uneven terrain," he added.

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🚨 Notre Dame's roof could poison Parisians... AGAIN

The cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris has reopened after renovation, but its roof is once again made of more than 400 tons of carcinogenic lead, Benoit Martin, secretary general of the Paris branch of the General Confederation of Labor, told Sputnik.

"It's an irresponsible decision, lead is very dangerous. The Supreme Council of Health opposed the use of lead to cover the roof of Notre Dame, but despite this, the cathedral was rebuilt in the same way, while alternative materials such as zinc were available," he explained.

After the 2019 fire, when the entire coating of 400 tons of lead burned out, parents' associations initiated medical tests that showed elevated blood lead levels in children living near the cathedral.

"Even in non-fire conditions, lead crumbles. After it rains, it gets into the soil and into the water - into the Seine and into the gutters. It accumulates in the soil. There are playgrounds near Notre Dame, children play there, they get this soil on their hands, on their shoes, they put their hands in their mouths and lead gets into their bodies," the union warned.

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❗️ Netanyahu will appear before an Israeli court

Hearings in criminal cases involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin Tuesday at the Tel Aviv District Court.

Netanyahu is being investigated in several criminal cases of corruption, fraud and betrayal of public trust. He denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty.

"Eight years I've been waiting to expose the method, a cruel witch hunt. There was no crime, so they looked for a crime. They didn't find a crime, so they concocted a crime," he said during a press conference.

The three cases were indicted back in 2019, and a number of Israeli politicians tried to delay the hearings due to Israel's fighting on several fronts, but the court rejected the requests.

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🏃 FBI Director wants to resign before Trump gets to him - reports

Christopher Wray plans to resign on or before Inauguration Day because he doesn't want to be fired by President-elect Donald Trump, the Washington Times reported, citing sources inside the bureau.

📹 Previously, Donald Trump said he was "very unhappy with the things [Christopher Wray] has done."

"I have a lot of respect for the FBI, but the FBI's respect has gone way down over the last number of years," Trump added.

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Russia controls all Dnepr islands, any violation will be suppressed - governor

Ukrainian troops continue unsuccessful attempts to force the Dnepr River by boats, trying to gain a foothold, but these attempts are doomed to failure, the governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, has said.

The goal of the enemy, according to Saldo, is to show its activity in the media and "report" to the West.

"The goal is quite clear - just to put up a flag, make some video footage there and then get on the same speedboats and go back," Saldo explained.

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The bodies of the POWs who died in the crash of an Il-76 that was shot down by Ukraine have been handed over, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova told Sputnik.

On January 24, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft over the Belgorod region, with 65 Ukrainians POWs meant for exchange onboard. All of them, as well as three accompanying Russian officers and six crew members, were killed.

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Trudeau warns of retaliation as Trump threatens new tariffs on Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would respond if Donald Trump decides to impose new tariffs on Canadian imports.

Canada would "respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways, and we're still looking at the right ways to respond, but our responses to the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs were what ended up lifting those tariffs last time," he said at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

He added that imposing "25% tariffs on everything going to the United States would be devastating for the Canadian economy."

In late November, Trump said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada after taking office, citing the unresolved issue of illegal immigration and the influx of drug trafficking into the United States.

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Israel advances deeper into Syria now just 20 km away from Damascus - reports

Israel has expanded its occupation of Syrian territory, gaining control over the majority of the Golan region, including nine towns in the southern countryside of Damascus, Al Mayadeen reported.

Israeli forces are now positioned just 20 kilometers away from the Syrian capital, according to the outlet.

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People missing in Kursk region found, Russia cooperating with Red Cross – Russian human rights commissioner

"We are worried about the residents of Kursk who are left without electricity and heating. We are doing everything we can to bring them back," Tatyana Moskalkova, Russian Human Rights Commissioner, told Sputnik.

"We managed to find a number of people. We know their names, we know the addresses of their relatives. We are now working together with the Red Cross Committee, both International and Russian, with our military, and with the Ukrainian side," she explained.

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🇸🇾 ❗️Turmoil rocks Syria: Stay updated as developments unfold

▪️ Israel has seized all of the Golan region and nine towns just 20 km away from Damascus, said Al Mayadeen.

▪️The armed opposition in Syria has tasked politician Mohammed al-Bashir with the responsibility of forming a transitional government, Arab media cited sources as saying.

▪️The UN Security Council is united in the need to “preserve the territorial integrity of Syria," Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said. He noted the conflicting messages from Israel on the status of the Golan Heights.

▪️PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the Golan will remain part of his country “for eternity.”

▪️Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon called the incursion “limited and temporary measures.”

▪️The IDF stated that it had struck "dozens" of targets to "neutralize" advanced weapons, including anti-aircraft systems, in Syria.

▪️Syrian Permanent Representative to the UN Koussay Aldahhak said that his mission has called on the UN secretary-general and the Security Council “to put an end to the Israeli attacks on Syria.”

On US involvement:

◾️US Central Command and its regional allies will “continue to carry out operations to degrade ISIS* capabilities,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said, with over 75 targets struck over the weekend.

◾️The US was working to prevent the use of Syria’s alleged chemical weapons “against civilians or against US forces or partners in the region.”

*ISIS is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other countries

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Syrian crisis: keeping you updated

What's behind Israel's land grab in Golan?

Hungary’s Orban visits Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump & Musk

US is ready to equip and train 18-year-old Ukrainian recruits

UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect arrested in Altoona, PA

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❗️Key comments by Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR):

◻️ The West may, in the medium term, try to unleash a global armed conflict, with the epicenter in Eurasia;

◻️ The West is fully prepared to resort to extreme measures to hold on to its dominance;

◻️ The United States is losing the initiative on all fronts, from the Middle East to Asia and Africa, and is suffering outright failures in the post-Soviet domain;

◻️ The Anglo-Saxons have resorted to flagrant terror and attempts to physically eliminate opponents, a prime example of this is the assassination attempt targeting Slovakia’s PM Fico;

◻️ Regarding the threats against Vucic and Orban: Dynamic leaders of the emerging multipolar world are under attack by the Anglo-Saxons;

◻️ According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the post-Soviet realm remains a priority target for attacks by American and British intelligence agencies.

About Russia’s Special Military Operation

➖ The Ukrainian forces are on the brink of collapse;

➖ Russia is close to achieving its set goals, the strategic initiative on all fronts belongs to the Russian military;

➖ The Zelensky regime has completely lost its legitimacy and, as a result, its ability to negotiate;

➖ The West plans to fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian, and then force the Balts, East Europeans, and Germans to fight in the future;

➖ Further escalation will not lead to the exhaustion of Russia, as Washington and London believe, rather it will culminate in the strategic defeat of the West itself.

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💬 Sputnik's sources in Syria: Reports that Israeli tanks have entered areas of the Damascus countryside, particularly the Qatna neighborhood south-west of the capital Damascus, are inaccurate.

Israeli forces and tanks currently occupy Quneitra province in Southern Syria, 16 kilometers deep into Syrian territory. Residents of the province have been warned not to leave their homes until the end of the military operations in the region.

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🗣'There is a struggle between the world's major players' - Lukashenko on Syrian crisis

"There is such a meat grinder there that this is just the beginning, I think, and now the power struggle will begin," Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said. "There is a struggle between the world's major players in Syria."

He also stressed that Syria had been turned into a testing ground for weapons.

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

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🗣 'I will not care whether it is nuclear weapons or something else' - Lukashenko warned enemies of an immediate response in case of violation of the border of Belarus.

More statements by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko:

🔸 There is no antidote for Oreshnik missile, it can't be intercepted or shot down.

🔸 There are three dozen sites in Belarus to place Oreshnik, Minsk will choose based on the minimum distance to the key targets.

🔸 Putin agreed that Minsk will determine targets for Oreshnik stationed in Belarus.

🔸 The Oreshnik launcher system was made in Belarus.

🔸 Belarus will make Oreshnik launch pad itself, Russia will supply missile free of charge in second half of 2025.

🔸 There are dozens of nuclear warheads in Belarus.

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Ukraine interested in Azov* combatants, abandons ordinary servicemen

Russia has made a list of POWs that Ukraine refuses to take, amounting to 630 people, Tatyana Moskalkova, Russian human rights commissioner, told Dmitry Kiselev, director general of Sputnik's parent media group Rossiya Segodnya, in an interview.

"Ukraine is not interested in these Ukranian servicemen, but rather in officers and Azov combatants, it is either them or no one at all," Moskalkova said.

*Azov regiment is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia

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💲 Unmasking the US billions spent on advanced Patriot interceptor missiles for Ukraine

The US has sent at least 847 of its newest advanced Patriot interceptor missiles, worth a whopping almost $3.26 billion, to Ukraine since 2022, according to a Sputnik analysis.

This is something that the Pentagon has been tight-lipped about. A deep dive into the DoD’s annual budget reports revealed:

🔘 A mysterious $956 million listed as for a "classified program" was injected into the US Army’s budget for fiscal year 2023, according to a Pentagon report in January 2023.

🔘 An additional $340 million was added to the $1.993 billion budget for the procurement of MSE missiles for the US Army to replace the ones those transferred to Ukraine, per an April 2023 report.

🔘 The US Army’s original 2023 budget report requested only $1.037 billion for the procurement of 252 MSE missiles.

🔘 Number crunching shows that $956 million matches the difference between the sums, suggesting that the "classified program" was to cover MSE missile costs for Ukraine.

🔘 The average unit cost of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missile stood at around $3.85 million, according to budget reports.

🔘 The actual budget for MSE missiles for fiscal year 2023 jumped from the original $1.037 billion to $2.47 billion, due to "$1,442.764 million emergency supplemental funding to support the procurement of replacement missiles transferred to Ukraine," per the fiscal year 2025 report.

🔘 An additional $1.44 billion in "emergency supplemental funding" for fiscal year 2023 would allow the US Army to buy at least 375 MSE missiles to replace those sent to Ukraine.

🔘 The US Army’s budget for the procurement of MSE missiles for fiscal year 2024 jumped to $3.03 billion (up $1.818 billion), allowing for the purchase of at least 472 MSE missiles.

🔘 Total additional funding of $3.26 billion for both fiscal years would cover the purchase of at least 847 MSE missiles to replace those sent to Ukraine.

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

▪️Russia’s Battlegroup Zapad hammered six Ukrainian formations in its combat zone. The enemy lost as many as 530 soldiers.

▪️Russian air defence systems shot down three HIMARS missiles and 23 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 225 militants in the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 160 militants in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 95 soldiers in the areas of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr and Sever.

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