🤝California for a trillion? Denmark’s got bigger plans than Trump’s Greenland

In Denmark, activists have proposed buying California from the US for a trillion dollars, following Donald Trump’s infamous obsession with Greenland.

The petition has already garnered nearly 200,000 signatures, with the authors highlighting California’s 300 sunny days and promising to rename Disneyland to "Hans Christian Andersenland."

Seems like Trump’s Greenland dreams are just the beginning!

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📊As if the energy crisis in Europe wasn’t “exciting” enough

European gas prices have topped $620 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since February 8, 2023 – a rise of almost 4% since Friday, the London ICE exchange said.

The average price for gas futures on the European exchange last year was $386.5, 16.3% lower than in 2023.

Prices were much higher in 2021-2022, with the highest ever recorded in the history of European gas hubs since their inception in 1996. It hit a record $3,892 per thousand cubic meters in early spring 2022.

The price surge has been driven by European Union (EU) sanctions on Russian gas imports.

By cutting off its biggest source, the EU has found itself increasingly reliant on more expensive alternatives, driving up costs for businesses and consumers across the continent.

The move, intended to damage Russia, has instead fueled inflation and energy insecurity within the EU, damaging industry and energy stability.

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There is currently no meeting scheduled between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik.

But he did not rule out the possibility as the situation becomes clearer.

At the same time, Russia and the US are maintaining diplomatic contacts through their foreign ministries.

Ryabkov stressed that while the process is ongoing, there is no point in disclosing further details at present.

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🌪 46-meter sand tornado causes stir in India’s Saputara

Footage from social media

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🪖Drones fly, German Army wonders why

The German Bundeswehr has been struggling since January to counter drones at the Schwesing air base near Husum – where Ukrainian Air force personnel are trained to use the US Patriot air defense system.

Despite the Luftwaffe deploying jammers and other countermeasures, the "professional" drones continue to evade detection and interception.

The Schleswig-Holstein State Criminal Police Office has stepped in to investigate, but so far there is no sign of any criminal activity—just an increasingly baffling case of drones outsmarting the armed forces.

The drones show impeccable timing and precision while the Bundeswehr is stuck in catch-up mode.

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📹British farmers stage protest outside UK parliament

The protesters oppose Labour's plan to impose a 20% inheritance tax on farms valued over £1 million ($1.2 million), Daily Mail reports.

With over 148,000 signatures on an e-petition, they demand tax exemptions remain, but Labour remains firm, insisting no U-turn will happen.

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🔍USAID with a British accent: FCDO’s ‘international development’ fraud exposed

The surprise dismantling of the US’s #1 soft power tool has left allied aid agencies scrambling to fill the gap. Among them is the UK’s FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), created in 2020 after Boris Johnson shut down the Department for International Development.

The FCDO’s predecessor was closed amid scrutiny and “difficulties” assessing “value for money” stemming from:

🟠lack of oversight, leading to scandals like the 2018 revelation of Oxfam staff using aid money to hire prostitutes in Haiti and Chad and trying to cover it up.

🟠waste from lack of planning on the “optimal uses of resources,” including millions spent on consultants and contractors engaged in profiteering (the 2017 Adam Smith International scandal is just one example).

In its five years, the FCDO has racked up its own share of controversy, including:

🟠sending aid to countries in Africa and Ukraine accused of rights abuses and the embezzlement of funds (Ukraine got £796 mln - $986 mln US, in ‘humanitarian’ and ‘governance’ aid from 2021-2023 alone).

🟠scrutiny of a government pledge to spend 0.5% of GDP on foreign aid despite funding crises facing services like the NHS.

🟠ballooning of Britain’s asylum aid budget from £500 mln ($620 mln) in 2019 to £4.3 bln ($5.33 bln) in 2023, which ex-administrator Mark Lowcock said made it ripe for “scam and scandal.”

🟠systemic underreporting of money lost to fraud (£2.2 mln ($2.7 mln), or 0.02%, in 2020-2021) despite evidence of misuse of far more than that (including £2 mln+ ($2.4 mln) in Sierra Leone alone in a diesel fuel purchasing scandal, or £3.5 bln ($4.33 bln) in wasted aid in Afghanistan from 2020-2020).

🟠funding for partners like Relief International, accused in 2021 of making payments to a mystery “armed opposition group in a conflict zone” somewhere in the Middle East.

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📹 THROWBACK: Slain Russian Gen. Kirillov warned about USAID and Soros’ shady programs MONTHS AGO

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Trump's plan for Gaza: No return for relocated Palestinians

"Would the Palestinians have the right to return? No, they wouldn't," US President Donald Trump told FOX News.

"Because they're going to have much better housing. In other words, I'm talking about building a permanent place for them."

Trump has vowed to take control of Gaza, oversee its reconstruction, and turn it into a "Middle Eastern Riviera."

He described the Palestinian territory as a "demolition site" and suggested its residents should be resettled in other countries like neighbouring Jordan and Egypt.

He did not rule out deploying US troops to Gaza and promised to personally visit the enclave.

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Gaza's land not for sale: Hamas lashes out at Trump's plan

Last week, US President Donald Trump referred to Gaza as a "demolition site" that the United States should take over for redevelopment. He also proposed the mass resettlement of Palestinians to other countries.

Hamas’ head of media relations in Lebanon, Mahmoud Taha, took aim at Trump's Gaza plans, saying:

🔸 We categorically reject the so-called peace plan presented by Trump to expel the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

🔸 Hamas will continue to resist, this plan will not see the light of day, and we are ready for any development, including military options, to counter it.

🔸 What the enemy failed to achieve through the aggression, it will not succeed in accomplishing politically, and we will remain in Gaza.

🔸 Trump's assertions about supposedly protecting the Palestinians are unacceptable, especially given that it is American weapons that have killed us.

🔸 The Arab League must undertake decisive steps to oppose Trump's plan, which may include severing diplomatic relations with Israel and closing its embassies.

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