💬 All of NATO could be rendered powerless by EMP weapon – ex-Pentagon analyst

A launch of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapon at a height of about 200 miles from a satellite to explode a nuclear device up in orbit would knock out all the electronics of NATO countries, including the US, Michael Maloof, former Pentagon senior security policy analyst, told Sputnik.

“Alone on the East Coast, 70% of the US population relies on the Eastern grid. Around 90% of all US bases rely on energy from the local community grids. If those are knocked out, there's no communication. And the United States is not geared up for that,” he added.

Looking ahead, he predicted that fissures could tear NATO apart.

“NATO's going to probably begin to fracture and splinter into more regional defense alliances in the years to come,” Maloof said, suggesting that it might begin with the Scandinavian countries and then spread to the Eastern European countries.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣Key points from Hamas' statement:

🔹 With the commencement of the ceasefire, we reaffirm our commitment to fulfilling the terms of the agreement.

🔹 The entire world must honor the legendary resilience of our people in Gaza and recognize their patience and sacrifice over the past 471 days.

🔹 Today, our prisoners have a date with freedom.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Bodies of people who were tortured by Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers have been discovered in the basements of houses in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, located in the Kursk region’s Sudzha district.

"Ukrainian nationalists tortured elderly residents who couldn't evacuate the village. Their hands were tied, and they were forced into a cellar where several grenades were thrown. The elderly had no chance of survival," Russian forces reported.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️At least seven civilians were killed by Ukrainian troops in the basement of a residential building in Russkoye Porechnoye, Kursk Region, Russia.

Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a terrorism case against the Ukrainian soldiers for the murder of civilian residents.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🤡 Europe should consider following the United States in banning TikTok, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Sunday, after accusing the short-video sharing app of spreading disinformation.

"Over the past years, we’ve witnessed TikTok spreading disinformation & being a platform for election manipulations. On top of that, its vast data collection is known to pose a serious security risk. Banning TikTok must be considered in Europe as well," Tsahkna said on X.

A Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday that TikTok had stopped opening for users in the US and disappeared from the App Store.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🤡 Privatizing profits, socializing losses: The sorry state of UK and US’s healthcare

With Joe Biden rushing to get billions in new aid to Ukraine and Israel out the door, and Prime Minister Starmer ‘generously’ committing billions in taxpayer pounds to Kiev under an extravagant 100-year pact, both countries’ healthcare systems are falling apart.

🔹UK

📍A damning report this week by the Royal College of Nursing revealed shocking conditions in Britain’s hospitals, with an overcrowding crisis putting the National Health Service on the brink of collapse.

📍Nursing staff have to “care for patients in corridors, storerooms, carparks, offices and even toilets,” don’t have access to tools like oxygen and monitoring equipment, and have to diagnose, feed and even wash patients in public spaces.

📍In some areas, patients are dying in corridors, remaining undiscovered for hours.

📍The NHS has faced a series of neoliberal reforms in the past 30 years, with Tony Blair’s New Labour opting for privatization and deregulation, transferring control of new hospitals to bankers, and contracting some surgeries and diagnostics out to the private sector.

📍Starmer’s secretary of state for health, Wes Streeting, admitted last year the NHS is “broken,” and that patients “are not receiving the care they deserve.”

♦️US

Across the pond, the situation is equally grim.

▪️UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty admitted this week that the US healthcare system is “complex,” “costly,” and “needs to function better.”

▪️ The US spends 18% of its GDP on healthcare - more than any other developed nation, but suffers worse outcomes, lower life expectancy and higher disease incidence.

▪️26 million Americans lack health insurance, which means hospital and drug bills can bankrupt households.

▪️ A 2024 report by the KFF non-profit found that the US spends about $12,914 per capita on healthcare, double that of comparable countries.

▪️ Administrative costs hit over $1 trillion in 2023, with a 2023 report by the Commonwealth Fund finding that “more than half” of excess spending comes from insurance companies’ administrative costs (the link between insurance companies and actual doctors and hospitals), hospital management, prenoscription drug costs, and physicians’ wages.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🌍🌍🌍 New membership & partners: How BRICS expanded in 2025

BRICS now boasts 10 full members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran, and Indonesia.

New membership:

🇮🇩Indonesia officially joined BRICS on January 6, 2025. What does it bring to the table?

📍fourth-most populous nation (281,562,465)

📍world's 16th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 8th-largest by PPP

📍major exporter of crude petroleum and natural gas, supplier of rubber, coffee, cocoa, palm oil, sugar, tea, tobacco, copra, and spices

📍average GDP projected to grow 5.1% per year from 2024 to 2026, according to the World Bank.

🔍Who are the most recent BRICS partner states as of January 1, 2025?

🇧🇾Belarus: Russia’s closest security ally, positioned in the heart of Europe
🇧🇴Bolivia: Boasts the world's largest lithium reserves at around 23 mln tons
🇰🇿Kazakhstan: 9th-largest country in the world, with Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk; mutual trade turnover with Russia already at $30 bln
🇨🇺Cuba: Rich in minerals like nickel and cobalt; strategic Caribbean location
🇲🇾Malaysia: Offers a “neutral and non-aligned” venue for strategic semiconductor hub via its National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS)
🇹🇭Thailand: Offers the role of “bridge builder” with regional groupings, such as ASEAN, APEC, ACD, and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
🇺🇬Uganda: Strategic location for regional trade and investment in East Africa
🇺🇿Uzbekistan: Active in projects such as the North-South Transport Corridor, connecting Russian ports with Iran
🇳🇬Nigeria: Africa's largest economy, with GDP growth projected to reach 3.6% per year in 2025-2026

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US, European intel now say ‘accidents’, not Russia, to blame for damaged Baltic cables

NATO intelligence has found “no indication” that the commercial vessels dragging their anchors across underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea “did so intentionally or at the direction of Moscow.”

There was an “emerging consensus” among US and European intelligence services that the cables were damaged by accident, officials cited by the Washington Post said.

NATO announced plans to boost patrols in the Baltic Sea this week after a string of incidents involving the severing of telecommunications and energy cables in the region, initially blamed on a Russian “hybrid campaign” against Europe.

Now, officials say intercepted communications and other classified info found that they were caused by “inexperienced crews serving aboard poorly maintained vessels.”

The investigations studied three incidents, involving:

🔸 The Eagle S, an oil tanker seized by Finland in late December after the vessel was accused of dragging its anchor across the Estlink 2 powerline linking Estonia and Finland. Finnish President Alexander Stubb earlier claimed the incident was “definitely” Russia-linked.

🔸 The Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier accused of severing two Baltic Sea fiberoptic cables in Swedish waters in November, which was held for more than a month in a Danish shipping lane during an investigation. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called that incident “sabotage.”

🔸 The Newnew Polar Bear, a Hong Kong-registered ship that damaged the Balticconnector pipeline linking Finland and Estonia in October 2023. China acknowledged the ship’s responsibility for the damage last August.

The conclusion that Russia was not responsible for attacking Baltic infrastructure is gratifying, if somewhat surprising, given the tendency of Western intel to blame Moscow first and ask questions later, exemplified by the claim that Russia blew up its own Nord Stream pipeline infrastructure in 2022 because…reasons?

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Hamas hands over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in northern Gaza, media report, citing sources

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 In the meantime, preparation is going on to transfer Palestinian prisoners from the Ofer prison. The list of the prisoners includes 69 women and 21 children, Al Jazeera reports.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Trump announced that on Monday, he will issue an executive order to pause the enforcement of the TikTok ban law in order to reach an agreement with the social media platform.

An agreement with TikTok in the US could involve selling 50% of the social media platform to a new owner, Trump stated.

Trump said he is asking companies "not to let TikTok go dark."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt