📹🇵🇦 ‘What’s in Panama belongs to Panamanians, especially the canal’

“The [Panama] Canal, first and foremost, is a national symbol,” Saúl Méndez Rodríguez, general secretary of the National Union of Workers in the Construction and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS) in Panama, tells Sputnik commenting on the US president’s threats to reclaim control of it.

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💸 US dollar’s instability fuels global push for alternative payment system

"Since 1971, the US has had the ability to print money uncontrollably, giving them enormous advantages and virtually unlimited power. This allowed the US to send its weapons across the world's seas," Turkish economist Hakan Topkurulu tells Sputnik.

However, this situation is now at risk. "The US is highly concerned about the decisive steps taken by BRICS countries to create an alternative payment tool to the dollar."

Topkurulu adds, "The instability of the dollar and its use by the US as a weapon and tool of pressure only fuels the global push to establish a new payment system."

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❌ Ukraine? Not America's problem

Europe won't be able to sustain the Kiev regime without the US's shoulder, and Washington will need EU troops to deter Russia, according to a rather gloomy op-ed in The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump believes Ukraine is Europe's problem, not his, and he’s "reluctant to send more aid to Ukraine, let alone US troops; nor does he want Ukraine admitted to NATO."

In other words, it seems US media is finally catching up to the obvious - the very existence of Ukraine as a political entity in the coming years might be in serious doubt.

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🗣 Violence begets violence: Senior Palestinian diplomat explains how to end Gaza crisis

"The only solution to this crisis lies in the recognition of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Farsin Shahin tells Sputnik.

"The Palestinian leadership has already realized the futility of a military solution and is striving to achieve its rights through peaceful means," he adds.

He says that Israel will continue to undermine a two-state solution, stressing that the people of Palestine will reject any resolution that will contradict the 1967 decision, and praises Russia’s role as “a friend and supporter of the Palestinian people”.

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Crypto bubble and hot air: Trump is not going to make US into a ‘Bitcoin superpower’

The 47th POTUS' boasts about making the United States a global cryptocurrency powerhouse are likely just that, boasts, veteran financial analyst Paul Goncharoff tells Sputnik.

1️⃣ The fact is that Trump is the president of the United States, “which governs the trust in, use, and control of the US dollar and not a trustless cryptocurrency like BTC, XRP, USDT, or USDC.”

The US government establishing a “100% ownership and control” of a cryptocurrency, on the other hand, would simply “defeat the purpose of trustless crypto,” so the odds of a US dollar CBDC emerging anytime soon are pretty low.

2️⃣ That said, there are no obstacles for the US government to hold crypto assets as part of its reserves – all it needs it proper legislation and congressional approval.

The loosening of crypto regulations expected under Trump, however, carries certain risks as “the clarity of what will be regulated is still missing” and “markets dislike uncertainty; it makes them jittery.”

3️⃣ There is also “every chance” that, just like “with any other investable that comes under the influence of hype, reality, and again hype,” Trump’s actions would lead to a crypto bubble.

For example, some crypto could be hyped as “the crypto of choice for classic institutional investors” and experience mass investment, only for the ensuing bubble to burst when “sobering fact of reality and the complex interaction of politics and finance make them selves known.”

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📹 Jo Ellis, a transgender soldier, denied being linked to the Washington DC Black Hawk crash, stating, "THAT IS FALSE."

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📹 The US will slap 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China as of tomorrow, the White House has announced.

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🧐 Trump administration’s $50m Gaza condom mystery

The Trump administration’s alleged blockade of a massive condom shipment to Gaza has sparked a rather lively debate. But were these condoms even meant for the Palestinians? Let’s untangle this bizarre saga.

▪️A federal report on contraception shipments found that USAID spent exactly $0 on condoms in the entire Middle East between FY2021 and FY2023.

▪️The only documented USAID shipment of birth control — worth a grand total of $45,680 — went to Jordan, according to The Guardian.

▪️In 2023, USAID spent $8.2 million on condoms, mostly for Africa. Now, considering the average price of a condom is about $1, a $50 million shipment seems excessive.

▪️Trump’s former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, mentioned the infamous $50 million in condoms, while the State Department cited "$102 million in unjustified funding, including money for contraception" tied to the International Medical Corps.

▪️The International Medical Corps, however, stated "no US government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms" in Gaza.

▪️US aid experts told CNN there’s "no way" Washington spent $50 million on condoms. Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, dismissed the claim as "total garbage."

Wait… was it the wrong Gaza?

▪️The X account Data Republican suggested that the much-hyped grant was actually meant for Gaza Province, Mozambique.

▪️A print screen shows a US Department of Health grant of $83.5 million for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs in Gaza and Inhambane provinces in Mozambique. The recipient? The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, via Project Alcancar.

▪️Mozambique has a population of 33.9 million, with an estimated 2.2 million people living with HIV, including 150,000 children.

▪️Was most of the grant actually meant for condoms? Unclear.

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📹 'Trump ignores our history, tramples our nation'

Outraged Panamanians are speaking out against US President Donald Trump’s declared intentions to regain control of the Panama Canal, condemning it as an insult to their sovereignty.

Citizens of the Central American nation accuse the US president of disregarding Panama’s history and trampling on their national identity. Many see his threats as a return to imperialist ambitions, vowing that the canal will remain in Panamanian hands.

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💵❌ Washington kills 'US dollar’s hegemony'

"The weaponization of the currency, the politization of the currency, and the absence of impartial management (sanctions, tariffs, restrictions) all come together to work against the US dollar,” veteran financial analyst Paul Goncharoff tells Sputnik.

With the “fiduciary accountability of the US government” as the US dollar’s steward eroding and fracturing before our eyes, other countries begin to lose trust in the safety of holding US dollar bonds, treasuries and “similar USD paper."

”Though a BRICS currency may not become a thing, countries can and do find the freedom to trade using their own currencies without having to go through the controlling medium of the US dollar with all the political, legal, and economic risks it now implies to use or hold,” the analyst emphasized.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 New blow to US sanctions: Russia and China boost NVIDIA performance 800-fold

Scientists from the two countries have developed a breakthrough algorithm using information from reverse engineering video card accelerators. The algorithm allows gaming GPUs to be used for scientific computing.

The innovation was achieved by specialists from Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, co-founded by Lomonosov Moscow State University and Beijing Institute of Technology.

This enables Russia and China to reduce their reliance on NVIDIA GPUs, weakening the impact of US sanctions.

It also means that Russia and China need to buy less NVIDIA GPUs, which likely led to the collapse of NVIDIA stock price, Russoft association President Valentin Makarov tells Sputnik.

He believes ongoing research includes new machine learning algorithms and a next-gen GPU being developed in Russia.

These advancements highlight Russia’s technological expertise, allowing collaboration with China and potential future partnerships with India.

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