News of Putin-Trump meeting has countries bickering over who should host talks

👉 Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that he is offering Serbia as a potential venue for a meeting between Putin and Trump.

👉 Switzerland has expressed its readiness to host a possible meeting between Trump and Putin.

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🇮🇱 Old conflicts, new crises, Trump’s return and Netanyahu’s fate: what awaits Israel in 2025?

2024 proved a difficult year for Israel, with the country bogged down in Gaza and Lebanon, and humbled by Houthi and Iranian missile strikes, while adding hundreds of sq. km of additional Syrian land to its ledger of occupied territories.

🕊 Peace?

“The opening of new conflict fronts is unlikely in 2025,” says Beirut-based observer Dr. Imad Salamey, pointing out that the Lebanon ceasefire is holding, a Gaza ceasefire nears, and “the Syrian-Israeli conflict is de-escalating under the new Syrian regime seeking international legitimacy.”

“Most regional tensions are moving toward resolution as the balance of power shifts decisively in favor of the US-Israeli-Turkish alliance,” Salamey believes.

Incoming president Donald Trump “will support ongoing ceasefire agreements, facilitate de-escalation with Syria, and push for a nuclear deal with Iran backed by Europe,” the analyst says.

⚔️ Or war?

To “change” the “existing regional system,” Israel “must weaken Iran in a very [serious] manner,” says Prof. Kobi Michael of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.

Michael believes 2025 will bring potential Saudi-Israeli normalization under the Abraham Accords “to build an anti-Iranian axis.” Israel’s military campaigns and Trump’s return will make Iran “much more vulnerable than before,” the analyst argues.

🤝 Deal of the Century II?

On the other hand, Michael says, Trump “will not hesitate...to make some steps that Israel doesn’t like…with regard to the Palestinians, and has no doubt that he will have no mercy in this regard and push Israel into the corner” in search of a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal.

🔥 Netanyahu in the hot seat

As for Netanyahu, he faces “two major challenges” domestically (apart from his corruption cases): tensions with the army and the issue of his Ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, who have been unfairly exempt from fighting in the eyes of Israeli society.

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🗣 German left-wing MP and candidate for chancellor Sahra Wagenknecht has said the sanctions imposed by the EU and the US against Russia have nothing to do with the conflict in Ukraine, but are merely intended to give US business an advantage.

“Let’s stop believing this nonsense" Wagenecht said. "It’s about the economic interests of American companies.”

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🔸 Putin-Trump meeting is being prepared, leaders could soon have a phone call

🔸 Russia enters race for rare earth dominance

🔸 Old conflicts, new crises, Trump’s return and Netanyahu’s fate: what awaits Israel in 2025?

🔸 Iran deploys air defenses at nuclear sites, unveils underground ‘dormant volcano’ missile base

🔸 Brute force, threats, and hard sell: US overseas land grabs

🔸 From New York to Reichstag: Top five fires that shook the world

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🇷🇺 Trump’s Greenland gamble aiming to “secure” its natural resources – JD Vance

💬 “I think there actually is a real opportunity here for us to take leadership to protect America's security, to ensure that those incredible natural resources are developed,” Vice President-elect JD Vance emphasized in an interview with Fox News.

💬 “The current leadership, the Danish government, has not done a good enough job of securing Greenland,” Vance declared.

“Secure Greenland” from whom?

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🗳 Incumbent Croatian President Zoran Milanovic declares victory in runoff election

Here are the key details according to the State Electoral Commission's website:

🔶 Leading Vote: Milanovic leads with three times the number of votes of his opponent, Dragan Primorac.

🔶 Vote Count:

🔸 Zoran Milanovic: 1,117,751 votes

🔸 Dragan Primorac: 379,201 votes

🔶 Polling Data: Results from 99.59% of polling stations.

🔶 Voter Turnout: 44.17% of 3,769,598 eligible voters.

🔶 Observers: 14,600 observers accredited at the polls.

Milanovic has often been labeled pro-Russian in Western media for his unwillingness to draw Croatia into NATO's proxy war with Russia.

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🤡 Jen Psaki blasts Trump and Musk for California wildfires response

💬 “Donald Trump and his allies are injecting half-truths, misinformation, and flat-out lies in some cases in order to score a version of political points,” MSNBC host Jen Psaki, former White House spokeswoman, claimed.

💬 “And so now, we're back in this vicious cycle where Trump and his new bestie push lies about a natural disaster and then right-wing media runs with them,” Psaki slandered.

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📹 ‘Anyone could beat her’ – Trump shares an AI-enhanced video of his chat with Obama

Former President Donald Trump posted an AI-enhanced, fan-made video on his Truth Social page, depicting a hypothetical conversation with former President Barack Obama at the recent funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

P.S. The video was created by social media users using AI voice-overs and such a conversation didn't happen in reality

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📹 Trump to impose ‘very aggressive sanctions’ if Hamas does not release hostages before inauguration – Vance

💬 “It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East,” US Vice President-elect JD Vance said in an interview with Fox News, explaining what measures US President-elect Donald Trump would take if the hostages were not released within the specified time frame.

Previously, Trump had warned that “there will be all hell to pay” in the Middle East if the hostages were not released before his inauguration.

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📹🔥 Eyewitnesses capture moments as LA power tower ignites, prompting locals to evacuate

A couple was forced to abandon their Pasadena house as the Eaton Fire rapidly intensified within about half an hour, ABC7 reported.

The news outlet shared footage from the home’s Ring camera, along with recordings made by the couple while they were packing their car, which documented the fire’s swift escalation.

Authorities are investigating whether an electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon might have been the origin of the fire that destroyed 7,000 structures in and around Altadena, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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