📹 G7 has been MARGINALIZED with advent of G20 and BRICS

The G7's exclusion has had zero impact on Russia, as the group is in decline especially with the rise of the G20 and BRICS, geopolitical analyst Come Carpentier de Gourdon told Sputnik.

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🇷🇺🇮🇳 Trade with Russia vital for feeding India’s growth

With the demand for oil in India soaring due to the country’s rapid industrial development, new trade routes with Russia “play a crucial role” in satisfying New Delhi’s growing needs, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas tells Sputnik.

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🇩🇪 Friedrich Merz: Germany's future leader or BlackRock's PAWN?

The 69-year-old CDU leader is seen as a potential German chancellor and even a "savior" of Europe by some. But what do his ties to US financial giant BlackRock reveal about his true priorities?

🔎 Merz and BlackRock: A strategic alliance?

▪️A career politician and former Merkel deputy, Merz joined the CDU at 17.

▪️In 2016, BlackRock appointed him to lead its German supervisory board, valuing his deep political connections.

▪️The firm sought Merz to expand its influence in Europe, grow its business, and deflect criticism.

▪️He was highly valued at BlackRock, including by CEO Larry Fink, Handelsblatt reported.

▪️By 2020, when Merz left, BlackRock had expanded its EU footprint to hold over 15% of Germany’s top 30 firms (DAX30) together with Vanguard.

▪️BlackRock was also accused of shaping EU policies to serve its financial interests.

▪️“No company in Germany can ignore BlackRock’s opinion,” Handelsblatt noted, citing its dominance in Siemens and other major firms.

🔻Merz’s hawkish stance: serving BlackRock?

▪️A staunch NATO and EU supporter, Merz pushes for a centralized Europe under stronger German leadership, reducing national sovereignty.

▪️He advocates for dismantling national armies in favor of an EU military force.

▪️He strongly supports sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, risking escalation with Russia.

▪️His militarist stance aligns with BlackRock’s interests, as the firm, managing $11.55T in assets, profits from global conflicts, including in Ukraine and Gaza.

▪️BlackRock holds $80.8B in arms manufacturers, raising concerns about the financial motivations behind its geopolitical influence.

▪️At the World Economic Forum (WEF), CEO Larry Fink controversially suggested depopulation benefits automation and AI expansion.

Is Merz acting in Germany’s national interests or advancing BlackRock’s financial rise?

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🇮🇳😯 'Human calculator': 14-year-old breaks six world math records in one day

A teenager from India, Aaryan Shukla, has set six Guinness records at once, demonstrating incredible calculation speed. He coped with adding 100 and 200 four-digit numbers, adding 50 five-digit numbers, dividing a 20-digit number by a 10-digit number, and multiplying five-digit and eight-digit numbers.

The boy's father told local media that their family does not have any special mathematical abilities: "We are an ordinary family. Aaryan is one in a billion."

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7️⃣▶️8️⃣ Why would Russia want to return to G7?

Donald Trump openly mulling a reversal of Russia’s expulsion from G7 serves as a “clear example of realism” and highlights the United States’ new approach to confront the emerging multipolar world, chairman of Rome-based think tank Vision and Global Trends, Tiberio Graziani, tells Sputnik.

"But the main question is: is it convenient for Russia and the BRICS countries to be in the G7 or G8?"

While Russia’s return to the G7 is “certainly feasible,” Graziani suggests that Moscow would be able to negotiate it “on its own terms”.

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Valentine's Day at the White House

Footage of Donald Trump's famous mug shot on the wall of the Oval Office has been shared by the administration team.

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3 people shot at Eagles Super Bowl parade in Philadelphia

A dispute led to a gunfire, local media report. Police are on the hunt for a suspect in Eagles gear, but as the social media footage shows, identifying them won't be easy.

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What KEY TRADE ROUTES Trump seeks to control | Part 1 👉 Part 2

The US under Donald Trump’s leadership seems to have set its sight on tightening its hold on global trade.

Which shipping routes does he want to control to achieve this goal?

🔶 India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEC)

This planned trade route is expected to connect India with Europe via the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

IMEC would become an alternative to the Suez Canal, allowing the US to bypass the associated bottleneck issues and avoid threats of Houthi attacks.

🔶 Northwest Passage

Trump’s efforts to establish control over Canada and Greenland, if successful, would result in the US controlling the Northwest Passage – a sea lane that connects the Atlantic and the Pacific via the Arctic Ocean.

With the melting of Arctic ice improving the navigability of this route, the Northwest Passage may offer an expedient way to ferry goods between Europe and Asia that could even compete with the Panama Canal.

At this time, however, the still-significant ice cover and the lack of infrastructure make the use of the Northwest Passage as a shipping lane problematic.

🔶 Panama Canal

With an annual shipping capacity of up to 340 million tons, the Panama Canal is probably the most important maritime trade conduit between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

If Trump makes good on his threats to restore the US control over the channel, the US would be able to maintain a hold on one of the most reliable ways to ferry cargo between Europe and Asia.

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Trump signed 2 more executive orders today — here's what they do:

✍️ Stop federal funding for schools that require COVID vaccines

✍️ Create the Energy Dominance Council within the Executive Office of the President

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Ukraine will become "AFGHANISTAN for the EU" - Orban

If the Ukraine conflict will not find a final settlement, it will destroy the "frame of normal life for the European Union," said Hungarian Prime Minister in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

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What KEY TRADE ROUTES Trump seeks to control | Part 2 👉 Part 1

🔶 Northern Sea Route

Offers an expedient way to ship goods between Europe and Asia along Russia’s Arctic Coast.

The US’s efforts under Trump to bolster its military presence in the Arctic may be an attempt to project influence at this maritime traffic artery.

🔶 Suez Canal

Serves as a key maritime trade route between Europe and Asia.

Though Trump has not explicitly stated any intent to gain control of this waterway, his attempts to crack down on the Houthi rebels in Yemen who previously attacked the US-linked shipping passing through the Suez Canal indicate his keen interest in this area.

🔶 South China Sea

Trump’s efforts to de facto antagonize China in the South China Sea under the pretext of ensuring freedom of navigation could be an attempt by the US to project its influence over this critical global trade route.

The volume of trade passing through the South China Sea annually is estimated at about $3.4 trillion.

🔶 Strait of Hormuz

Links the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. About 20% of the global oil trade passes through it.

Though Trump does not openly seek to claim this strait for the US, he has vocally insisted on ensuring the freedom of navigation in the area and repeatedly cautioned Iran against any perceived threats to interfere with maritime traffic here.

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Zelensky rejects rare-earth agreement with the US — reports

The US-proposed document would grant the US rights to 50 percent of Ukraine's future mineral resources, the Washington Post reported.

"Our teams will continue to work on the document," Zelensky said on X.

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🐝 Musk stirs up Europe again: JD Vance for EU President!

The head of DOGE commented on the Babylon Bee's satirical news that the Europeans are asking the US Vice President to become their leader.

"This would actually be awesome," Musk wrote.

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