West prioritizes national interests over ideology – Russian diplomat

The end of the notorious USAID program may signal the decline of imperial ideology, according to Alexander Yakovenko, Deputy Director General of Sputnik's parent media group Rossiya Segodnya and member of Russia's Security Council Scientific Committee.

US President Donald Trump’s administration, unlike its predecessor, acknowledges a multipolar world, he added.

Trump’s "transactionalism" and the dismantling of USAID reflect that shift, with Washington now "CLOSING ITS GLOBAL EMPIRE" to prioritize national interests.

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Dodik judgement illegal, signals Bosnia’s CONTROL BY FOREIGN ACTORS: parliament speaker

The Republika Srpska’s National Assembly will be launching international proceedings to contest the guilty judgement against RS President Milorad Dodik, parliamentary Speaker Nenad Stevandic told Sputnik.

“It's obvious that Bosnian politicians are in cahoots either with the old US administration, or with that administration's people in Europe, and have agreed to destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Stevandic said.

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📹 Russian forces destroyed an S-300PS surface-to-air missile launcher, a missile guidance station and up to 25 militants in an Iskander tactical ballistic missile strike, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

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Romanian authorities have been preparing to arrest Georgescu FOR WEEKS — Mario Nawfal

💬 “They were being targeted. Two days before I got there, the campaign manager for Calin Georgescu was raided. His house was targeted. And a few days before my interview, the house where I did the interview, which is a place that Calin Georgescu felt safe in, was his friend's house, was almost raided by police as well,” the investor and host of the largest X show told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

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Biden supported Romania’s authoritarian crackdown, Trump is trying to stop it — Mario Nawfal

While the Biden administration joined claims about foreign “election interference” as a pretext to cancel last December’s Romanian elections, “we saw JD Vance criticize the EU for what we're seeing in Romania,” investor and host of the largest show on X told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

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How far will Trump go to free Georgescu? - Mario Nawfal

💬 “Remember, Trump, while an advocate for democracy, he's also someone that doesn't like to intervene in other countries," investor and host of the largest show on X told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

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Obama ‘Crime Family’: What's the true origin of their wealth?

Barack and Michelle Obama’s net worth is estimated between $70M and $135M - a sharp rise from just $1.5M in 2008. How did they amass such wealth?

🔹 Between 2005 and 2016, the couple earned $20.5M in salaries and book royalties, per Forbes.

🔹 By his 2009 inauguration, Obama held $1.1M-$5.1M in US Treasury bills.

🔹 In 2017, they secured a $65M joint book deal.

🔹 Barack made $1.2M from just three Wall Street speaking engagements, with estimates of $400K per event - equal to his presidential salary.

🔹 Michelle reportedly charges $225K per speech, with 2018 book tour tickets ranging from $307 to $4,070 (Business Insider).

🔹 In 2018, they founded Higher Ground Productions and signed a $50M Netflix deal.

🔹 In 2019, they inked an exclusive podcast deal with Spotify, followed by a first-look deal with Audible in 2022.

Political Dynasty Grifters?

While mainstream outlets insist there’s nothing unusual about their fortune, a Kogod School of Business projection suggests the couple could earn $242.5M by the 2030s.

However, US conservatives on X are urging Elon Musk's DOGE community to INVESTIGATE the true extent of the Obamas' wealth, citing their lavish lifestyle and luxury properties.

Wall Street analyst and charity fraud expert Charles Ortel suspects the Obamas’ philanthropic ventures mimic the Clinton Foundation’s alleged fraud:

“The IRS… has never disciplined the Obamas for corporate mining naked partisan and personal enrichment schemes inside a ‘public charity,’ which is strictly and clearly illegal,” he believes.

Ortel notes the Obama-era FBI & DOJ failed to complete investigations into the Clinton Foundation’s alleged pay-to-play schemes. He believes the Clintons and Obamas pushed Russiagate and post-2020 lawfare against Trump to prevent him from using presidential powers to thoroughly investigate them.

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Romanian democracy is being killed - Mario Nawfal

💬 “[Democracy in Romania] is not dead, it's at stake. It's in severe jeopardy right now,” the investor and host of the largest show on X told Sputnik.

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Ukraine can forget about joining NATO – Trump

Kiev’s push for membership in the Western alliance is “probably the reason the whole thing started,” Trump said, commenting on the proxy conflict with Russia.

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G20 finance ministers meeting: what's on agenda and why some leaders might skip it

The meeting of the world’s finance ministers and central bankers taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, will be addressing the uncertainty and disruption caused by Trump's tariffs and threats of further trade actions against major trading partners like Mexico, Canada, and the EU.

Many US officials, such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reportedly, won’t attend the meeting. Finance ministers from India, China, Brazil and Mexico are also reported to have opted not to go.

What used to be a meeting about global financial cooperation seems to be losing traction as members split over rivalry between the US and China and over how to end the Ukrainian conflict.

Has the G20 lost its relevance completely?

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Getting a lot of DEATH threats: Elon Musk reveals pressures of working as Trump’s DOGE chief

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❗️Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu has been placed under a 60-day travel ban and prohibited from using social media, Romanian media report.

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🔸 Georgescu arrested: why are Romania’s DEEP STATE and the West trying to SILENCE people’s hero?

🔸 Romanian authorities have been preparing to arrest Georgescu FOR WEEKS — Mario Nawfal

🔸 Republika Srpska President sentencing: typical case of GLOBALIST PRESSURE

🔸 From aluminum to Mars: US & Russia’s potential comeback deals

🔸 Has Pentagon’s notorious SECRET BIOWARFARE program infiltrated Armenia?

🔸 Obama ‘Crime Family’: What's the true origin of their wealth?

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Keystone XL: Trump races to wrest Canada from China’s embrace

US President Donald Trump wants to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline project. Why the urgency, and how does it tie into Sino-Canadian energy cooperation?

🔹 The 1,931-km pipeline was meant to transport oil from northern Alberta to Nebraska but was repeatedly blocked by the Obama (2015) and Biden (2021) administrations.

🔹 Keystone’s original developer South Bow has exited the oil pipeline business. But Trump is pushing to bring it back, promising "easy approvals and an almost immediate start."

🔹 But Trump's 25% tariff threat has cast doubt on the project’s profitability. Goldman Sachs estimates Canadian oil producers could face a $7 billion hit.

China as a viable alternative to the US

Trump’s push to revive Keystone XL coincides with growing Sino-Canadian energy ties.

🔸 While the US delayed Keystone XL, China expanded its presence. In November 2024, Beijing’s CNOOC Limited began production at its Long Lake Northwest Project in Alberta, where it has operated since 2008.

🔸 If US tariffs make Canadian crude too costly for American refiners, producers may turn to China, Reuters reports.

🔸 Since the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in May 2024, tankers carrying Canadian oil-sand crude have passed under Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge almost daily, heading to refineries in China, Japan and beyond.

🔸 Canada is set to revive two projects to boost oil exports: Energy East, transporting western crude to Ontario and Quebec refineries, and Northern Gateway, linking Alberta oil to a Pacific port in northern British Columbia.

🔸 China Briefing argues that Trump’s tariffs create new opportunities for Sino-Canadian cooperation.

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🔥📹 Trump reveals EU's true purpose

"The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That's the purpose of it, and they've done a good job of it, but now I'm president," Trump said in a briefing Wednesday.

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🎓 Does Trump use Putin’s playbook with gold card visa scheme?

The US President has touted his ‘ready to launch’ gold card investor visa program that would cost around $5 million dollars per applicant as a sure-fire success.

✅ But here’s the thing: the scheme is already effectively working in Russia.

Over $30 mln have been invested in Russia since its "golden visas" scheme started operating in January 2023, according to the Ministry of Economic Development. Areas of investment: energy sector, agriculture, and IT, etc.

Moscow simplified the rules for obtaining a residence permit for foreign investors (without obtaining a temporary residence permit) in January 2023.

What are the specific criteria?

▪️ invest at least $172,000 in socially significant regional projects three years before submitting the application

▪️ register a legal entity, pay taxes, fees and insurance contributions to state extra-budgetary funds in the amount of at least $46,000 for two years annually

▪️ invest from $345,000 in a Russian legal entity that has operated for at least 3 years, paying taxes and contributions to an amount of $ 69,000 a year before applying for a residence permit

▪️ own real estate in the Russian Federation one year before submitting the application

Who applied?

40 applications have since been submitted by businessmen from China, the US, Turkiye, Germany, and Iran, according to the Ministry of Economic Development

Who got gold visas?

10 foreigners had received the visas by the end of the third quarter of 2024. Citizens of Azerbaijan, Algeria, Georgia, Israel, Iran, Mongolia, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Croatia, and South Korea have also expressed interest in applying for golden visas.

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❗️ Russia, US discuss Arctic cooperation - reports

Officials from the two countries discussed natural resource exploration, trade routes and energy, Bloomberg reported.

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