🇷🇺 Putin revealed that US President Joe Biden suggested in 2021 that he would postpone Ukraine’s accession to NATO.

"I do not know what is being said now in the emerging team of the US president-elect [Donald Trump]. I know that I was told about it back in 2021 while the current President Biden. He suggested exactly that - to postpone Ukraine's admission to NATO for 10-15 years, because it is not ready yet. I reasonably replied, 'Yes, it is not ready today. You will prepare it and accept it'," Putin told a press conference.

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💬 The number of casualties from Israeli strikes on Sanaa and Hodeidah in Yemen has risen to four, with 16 people injured, local authority sources told Sputnik.

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🇮🇷🇷🇺 The President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, plans to visit Moscow on January 17, Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali announced. During the visit, Pezeshkian is expected to sign a cooperation agreement between Tehran and Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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🇨🇳 China's sixth-generation Baidi B-Type jet fighter allegedly captured on video for the first time

The "White Emperor" aircraft was reportedly spotted flying near the Chengdu aviation plant, accompanied by a fifth-generation J-20 fighter.

Netizens quickly ridiculed the US for falling behind in the arms race:

💬 "So China wins in 6th Gen. race. Tested its 6th Gen. fighter before US"

💬 "Sensational news coming out of China. I bet they are flying this bad boy in broad daylight to send a Merry Christmas greeting to Donald Trump"

💬 "Hello, Guam"

💬 "Pretty damn high tech there and Biden is crashing our planes is pointless wars!"

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What makes Panama Canal important, and are Trump’s threats to seize it realistic? Part 1 👉 Part 2

President-elect Donald Trump proved he’s still a master troll this week with a series of viral social media posts talking about a US desire to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland and turn Canada into the 51st state.

Panama apparently didn’t get the ‘joke’, with President Jose Raul Mulino taking to social media to emphasize that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.” “We’ll see about that!” Trump retorted.

What’s the Canal’s significance?

🔸 Accounting for about 6% of all global maritime trade, and shaving 8,000 nautical miles or more (as much as 22 days) off travel between retorted.

🔸 In the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Panama Canal has served as a key economic and strategic chokepoint for more than a century, spending most of that time under US control.

🔸 Crossable by ship in just 8-10 hours, the 81.5 km long, 33-150 m wide mega canal earns Panama about $3.5 billion in transit fees.

🔸 The canal was opened in 1914 after a decade of US-led, supervised and financed construction - costing the equivalent of over $15 bln in today’s money.

🔸 The US gained control of the Panama Canal Zone as a concession in 1903 after recognizing Panama’s independence from Colombia, and jealously guarded it until 1999 – when it was transferred back to Panama in accordance with the terms of a 1979 treaty, reached partly thanks to US fears of growing Soviet influence in Latin America. The US maintained the right to guard the canal in perpetuity.

🔸 The canal has proven so impactful on global shipping that it led to the creation of its own class of massive bulk carriers – known as the Panamax – featuring a deadweight capacity of 60,000-80,000 tons.

🔸 Jokingly or not, Trump isn’t the first Republican to criticize the 1979 treaty, with Ronald Reagan doing so on the campaign trail in 1976 and 1980, but dropping the idea soon after actually entering office.

👉 Part 2

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What makes Panama Canal important, and are Trump’s threats to seize it realistic? Part 2 👉 Part 1

Trump “was just making a joke” and there is no legal way for US to actually restore its control over the Panama Canal, veteran geopolitical affairs and trade policy expert Thomas Pauken II told Sputnik.

Besides highlighting the “overreaction” to his gag by media and senior officials, including Panama’s president, Trump’s discussion of the canal is really designed to address the reported overcharging of US shippers, with his hardball threats aimed at seeing “those rates go down,” and addressing whether the US’s trade competitors, particularly China, are receiving any preferential treatment, Pauken said.

“It's really a simple case of wanting to negotiate lower rates on shipping charges and then making a joke about how America may supposedly try to seize control of the Panama Control Canal and take charge of it. Of course, everybody who has any common sense, including people who are supposedly diplomats, media officials and even law experts, should know that Trump cannot take control of the Panama Canal if Panama refuses to allow that,” the observer stressed.

The canal could become a hotspot for confrontation between China and the US, Pauken believes, but only “if Beijing and Washington choose to start and launch and spark trade wars” instead of sitting down and hammering out a “grand bargain” that both sides would find fair – like the Phase One Trade Agreement reached in late 2019.

👉 Part 1

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🔸 Putin: Russia always provides a mirror response to attacks on its territory

🔸 Israeli airstrikes on Yemeni capital: what we know

🔸 Lavrov: France proposed to Russia through closed channels to have talks on Ukraine without Kiev's participation

🔸 What snags & hurdles will Ukraine’s pilots face operating French Mirage 2000 fighters?

🔸 From disowning Trump to lavishing him with cash: what does big business want from US president-elect?

🔸 What makes Panama Canal important, and are Trump’s threats to seize it realistic?

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🇮🇳 Former Indian PM Manmohan Singh dies

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has passed away at 92, according to local reports. Singh was one of India's longest-serving prime ministers.

India's current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said India mourns "one of its most distinguished leaders."

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IAEA keeps quiet about Ukraine being a threat to ZNPP - Russian envoy

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), avoids holding Ukraine responsible for the attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told Sputnik.

"The director general does his best to avoid publicly indicating the Ukrainian side as the one responsible for creating security threats, although we point out these circumstances when discussing the reports [on the ZNPP] at the sessions of the IAEA Board of Governors," Ulyanov said.

The IAEA secretariat also downplays the plant's administration's safety efforts, the Russian official added.

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Estonia, Lithuania ask NATO fleet to protect their undersea cables

The Estonian and Lithuanian leaders asked NATO for help with maritime security after the EstLink 2 between Estonia and Finland cable was damaged.

"Estonia would like to receive reinforcements from NATO in the form of a deterrence fleet," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said.

In November, a communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut in the Baltic Sea. The recent incident prompted further statements from the Lithuanian government.

"Protecting maritime infrastructure must be raised both at the NATO level and bilaterally as a key priority in Baltic Sea cooperation," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on X.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance is following the investigation into the incident and stands ready to provide support.

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❗️ At least 50 people, including five medical workers, were killed at the Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip as Israeli planes bombed a building adjacent to the hospital, says Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.

Footage from social media

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South Korean parliament will vote on impeachment of incumbent president

The opposition United Democratic Party plans to bring a motion to impeach Han Dok-soo to a general vote at a plenary session on Friday.

South Korea's acting president and prime minister Han Duck-soo on Thursday refused to appoint missing judges to the Constitutional Court due to a lack of political consensus. This drew criticism from the opposition, as expressed in a speech by Rep. Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

“It has become clear that he has neither the qualifications to serve as acting president nor the will to defend the Constitution,” he said.

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🇮🇱🇱🇧 Israel exits Lebanon, deliberately ruins infrastructure

Israel is leaving Lebanon as part of the ceasefire agreement, but is deliberately destroying local infrastructure as it leaves, according to social media footage.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon said in a statement on Thursday that "there is concern about the ongoing destruction by the IDF in residential areas, agricultural lands and road networks in southern Lebanon."

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❗️ The Norwegian-flagged ship Oslo Carrier 3 refused to take on board the sinking crew of the Ursa Major for an unknown reason, Oboronlogistika, the ship's owner, told Sputnik.

Oboronlogistika said it was a flagrant violation of Article 10 of the 1989 International Convention on Salvage.

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🇨🇳🇷🇺 Xi is expected to visit Russia in 2025

Russia expects Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the country in 2025, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov told Sputnik.

"For the next year, in consecutive order, the visit of the Chinese president to Russia, the 30th anniversary regular meeting of the heads of government, and the 11th meeting of the interparliamentary commission in China are expected. Important international events will include the meetings of the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] Council of Heads of State in China and the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Russia," Morgulov said.

He added that plans are being developed for bilateral events.

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