🔸Russia, US demand urgent UNSC Syria talks

🔸Mark Carney becomes new leader of Canada's Liberal Party

🔸Romania protests: violence intensifies

🔸Iran vows peaceful nuclear program, rejects pressure talks

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War a racket: Ukraine conflict boosts US arms market share – research

US weapons exports accounted for 43% of the global defense market between 2020 and 2024, up from 35%, research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows. 

Ukraine emerged as the world's largest importer of US arms between 2020 and 2024, with weapons flow surging almost 100 times compared to the period between 2015-2019. 

This influx of military aid to Kiev has been a boon for US defense companies, as Washington has directly procured arms from them or created additional demand by depleting its own stockpiles.

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In shadow of Trump-Zelensky row: UK ADVISES Ukraine on peace talks – report 

British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell visited Ukraine late last week to brief Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the Washington-Kiev negotiations in Saudi Arabia, The Times reports.  

The purported goal is to avoid a repeat of Zelensky’s disastrous Oval Office showdown with US President Donald Trump.

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Colombian mercs went to Slavyansk for kicks, yet first to flee from Russian army – eyewitness 

"They come on safari—they get paid. They manage everything quite confidently... In other words, they arrived like they owned the place. They’re running the whole situation," Elena Makhatenco, a refugee from the city, told Sputnik.

She added that when the hostilities resumed, "there were no foreigners anymore."

Russia has repeatedly underscored that all those foreigners who are fighting on the side of the Kiev regime in the special operation zone are legitimate targets of the Russian military.

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Activist behind ‘Tesla Takedown’ accuses Elon Musk of criminal acts while supporting vandalism

Valerie Costa, the organizer behind the ‘Tesla Takedown’ movement, operates a website offering resources to activists targeting Tesla. She has publicly endorsed acts of vandalism as part of her campaign.

"It essentially is a map where anybody in the world can put an action up for targeting Tesla," she said.

Costa described Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative as “criminal,” despite its backing by President Trump, who promoted it as a solution to fiscal challenges.

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MAKE-OR-BREAK talks in Saudi Arabia: Ukraine to face 'BRUTAL PUNISHMENT' if they fail — report

The Saudi-hosted talks set for Tuesday in Jeddah, may worsen Ukraine’s position, triggering “even more pressure from America,” The Economist wrote.

"The stakes of Tuesday’s talks could not be higher. If they collapse, Ukraine is unlikely to get another chance,” the article stressed.

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🇷🇺🪖Key statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

▪️Ukraine lost up to 490 troops, one tank and one MLRS Grad in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 95 soldiers in the areas of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr and Sever.

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 270 militants and three warehouses in the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 120 militants in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Russian air defences shot down five JDAM bombs, seven HIMARS missiles and 50 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Ukraine lost more than 140 servicemen in the Kursk region over the day.

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'EU IN CROSSHAIRS' after coup against Georgescu – French politician

Florian Philippot, leader of the French Patriots party, emphasized that the word 'revolution' is 'making waves' in Romania’s protest rallies in support of independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu. 

Philippot pointed out that Georgescu, who was widely expected to win, wants his country to leave the EU, WHO, and NATO.

The remarks came after the electoral body’s decision to reject Georgescu’s candidacy for the rerun of last year’s annulled vote.

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❌ US officially SCRAPS 83% of USAID programs — State Secretary 

"The 5200 contracts that are now canceled, spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve (and in some cases even harmed) the core national interests of the United States," Marco Rubio announced.

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Arabs, Kurds, Druze, Alawites: Who else composes Syria’s ethnic and religious mosaic? 

Syria’s 22.4 million population consists mostly of Syrian Arabs (88%). Kurds make up the second-largest group (~2 million), with minorities like Armenians, Assyrians, and Turkomans.

Overview of ethnic and religious groups and their affiliations:

Muslims make up 90% of the population—72% Sunni, 13% Alawite, with Druze and Ismailis among the rest. Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic, are under 10%.

🟠 Arab Sunnis: This group is widespread throughout Syria, and the armed opposition claims to represent their interests.

🟠 Arab Shias: Comprising 1-2% of the population, Arab Shias predominantly reside in Damascus, Aleppo, and Hama. They oppose Sunni dominance, support the Ba’ath Party that had been led by Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad, and advocate for Syria's close ties with Iran.

🟠 Arab Alawites: Approximately 3 million Alawites primarily live in the Latakia region. Historically an oppressed minority, they have gained prominence under the Assad regime and have traditionally supported the Ba’ath Party.

🟠 Christians: Prior to the civil war, Arabs, Armenians, and Assyrian Christians constituted about 10% of Syria's population. However, their numbers have significantly dwindled since 2011, when ISIS* took hold, and precise data is currently unavailable. Before the rise of ISIS, most Christians resided in Damascus and Aleppo, with some relocating to Latakia during the conflict.

🟠 Kurds: Primarily located in the Hasakah and Raqqa regions near the Turkish border, Kurds aspire for an autonomous Kurdistan, a goal opposed by Turkiye and the Syrian opposition. During the civil war, they established the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which received support from the United States. The SDF currently controls areas independent of Damascus and resists Sunni-led rebel forces.

🟠 Druze: Concentrated in southern Syria (specifically in Al-Suwayda, Quneitra, and the Golan Heights), the Druze initially supported the Ba’ath Party. However, they now seek greater autonomy due to Sunni perceptions of them as "enemies" and "collaborators of Israel."

🟠 Turkomans (Turkmens): This small Turkic group resides primarily along the Turkish-Syrian border and in the Aleppo province. Aligned with Turkey, they have formed the Syrian Democratic Turkmen Movement and are engaged in conflict with both the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led SDF.

*designated as a terrorist organization and is banned in Russia and several other countries

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🇮🇹❌ Italy says NO to sending troops to Ukraine - whether under NATO or EU command

The conflict in Ukraine “may end within the year,” and even Macron’s plan to deploy peacekeepers may prove premature, said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the Corriere della Sera outlet reports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly stressed that Russia does not consider European peacekeepers in Ukraine an option.

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🇷🇴 Romanian MP: We are in an ongoing coup d'etat

“They rejected the candidacy of Mr. Georgescu without any reason. I just met with Mr. Georgescu. We made the plan to rejoin democracy, to get to free elections,” Romanian MP George Simion said.

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📹 Zelensky just an EU mouthpiece — Veteran intelligence officer of the US Army

“Zelensky is a guy that wears high heels and is paid to read noscripts as the guy in charge of Ukraine right now,” Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer said. “After the failed meeting with Trump, where did he run? He ran into the arms of Keir Starmer in 10 Downing Street.”

Shaffer believes the Trump administration won't be willing to deal with Zelensky in the future.

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❗️UK is the main "instigator" of the global conflict — the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)

More statements by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service:

▪️The UK is extremely irritated that US President Donald Trump is conducting dialogue with Russia as a superpower and demonstrating disdain for its closest allies.

▪️UK PM Keir Starmer's cabinet is going out of its way to strengthen Kiev's resistance to increasing pressure from Washington.

▪️The UK believes that the loss of Ukraine will undermine plans to create a network of limitrophe states in Europe and a naval blockade of Russia.

▪️The UK sees a threat to its interests in promoting dialogue between Russia and the US to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

▪️The UK fears that dialogue between Russia and the US will lead to a failure of UK's strategy of 'containing' Moscow.

▪️UK authorities consider it an urgent priority to undermine the new US administration's peacekeeping efforts on the Ukrainian track.

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