💬 How could external governance work and why it failed in Bosnia and Kosovo

There’s no single recipe for establishing international governance in a certain country, Branko Brankovic, former permanent representative of Yugoslavia to the UN, tells Sputnik.

“The most important thing is to ensure an appropriate balance of interests of all participants in the process, including the UN,” he points out.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier suggested an interim international government for Ukraine under UN auspices, recalling that "such practice does exist."

Brankovic also warns against turning an external governance body into “a cumbersome and therefore sluggish structure," which he says should be free of veto power and be based on the decisions taken by majority vote.

As for the UN-led international governance in Yugoslavia’s parts Bosnia and Kosovo after the country’s breakup in 1991, it was degraded due to the US’ actions, according to Nikola Sainovic, former prime minister of Serbia.

“At first, everything worked smoothly, but then the Americans, who adhered to the same steps they made in Bosnia, began to violate a [peace] agreement and belittle the role of a UN mission in Kosovo,” Sainovic tells Sputnik.

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⛳️ Trump's meets Stubb on the golf course

The US and Finnish presidents discussed the purchase of icebreakers for the US Arctic fleet. They also won a golf tournament in the process, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Zelensky is on the 'Life is too short list' — David Sacks

US crypto czar slammed Volodymyr Zelensky for his reluctance to sign the minerals deal with the US.

"In Hollywood, it’s called the Life’s Too Short List. An actor develops a reputation for being so difficult, so demanding, so spoiled and temperamental that no one wants to deal with them. After that, they fade from view," he wrote on X.

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Trump is 'the president of peace' — no institute needed

Most employees at the US Institute of Peace, which was created and funded by Congress, have received layoff notices, NBC reports.

USIP was on the "kill list" of Trump's executive order to eliminate federal bureaucracy.

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❗️ Syria announces new government - what has changed?

🔶 Key ministers, including the foreign, interior and defense ministers, retained their posts in Syria's new interim government.

🔶 Ex-Prime Minister Mohammed Bashir was appointed Minister of Energy.

🔶 Syria's new cabinet includes only one woman - former opposition politician Hind Kabawat, who became minister of social affairs and labor.

🔶 Two new ministries have appeared in the new government - the Ministry of Emergencies and Disasters and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

🔶 Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony, FM Asaad Shaibani promised to "open Syria to the world and restore its status".

"The new Syrian government will be a government of change and construction, and we will focus on protecting citizens," said Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

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🚨 "We'll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%," Trump told NBC News in a new interview

He noted there's a "good possibility that we could do it without military force", but he's not taking "anything off the table."

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👎 Trump says he will not fire anyone from the Signal chat

"All I can tell you is it’s just a witch hunt, and it's the only thing the press wants to talk about, because you have nothing else to talk about," he told NBC News.

The White House previously blamed the Signalgate on Democrats and the Biden administration.

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🚀 SpaceX prepares for first crewed polar launch

As part of the Fram2 mission, a four-person team will board a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday to orbit the Earth's poles, something that has never been attempted in 64 years of manned spaceflight.

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🔍Washington’s Pacific playbook: Pentagon chief calls Japan ‘cornerstone of peace’ as US turns region into POWDER KEG

Pete Hegseth, who arrived in Japan from the Philippines as part of his debut visit to Asia, vowed that Japan would be “on the front lines of any contingency we might face in the western Pacific.”

He repeated the go-to narrative that China’s actions were allegedly "aggressive and coercive" in the region.

✅In effect, the US continues to push to make Japan a frontline force, with its key Asian ally already hosting:

🟠around 50,000 US military personnel,
🟠squadrons of fighter squadrons,
🟠America’s only forward deployed aircraft carrier strike group.
🟠The USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is homeported at Yokosuka Naval Base and operates under the US 7th Fleet.

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