🇷🇺🇺🇸 LAVROV AND RUBIO DISCUSS UKRAINE TALKS BY PHONE — KEY TAKEAWAYS

🔸 Rubio stressed Washington’s continued readiness to support efforts toward a peace deal in the Ukraine conflict.

🔸 He welcomed the agreed prisoner exchange and both sides’ commitment to present ceasefire conditions.

🔸 Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s willingness to work with the US on ending the conflict.

🔸 The Russian and US foreign ministers also discussed maintaining Russia–US contacts.

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🚨'10-TON BOMBS FOR GAZA'S CHILDREN' – Khamenei exposes US 'peace' hypocrisy

🇮🇷Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump’s recent threats over Tehran’s nuclear program, saying they’re “not even worth responding to.”

📣Khamenei called Trump’s threats an embarrassment to both the speaker and the American people. He accused Trump of hypocrisy – speaking of peace while the US supplies “10-ton bombs to the Zionist regime to drop on Gaza’s children.”

➕He labeled Israel the “real source of war and instability” in the region, describing it as a “deadly, cancerous tumor” that “must be uprooted – and it will be.”

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🗣US 2020 presidential election 'RIGGED AND STOLEN' – Trump

💬 “The Radical Left Democrats waged a campaign of inoculation and innocence... but the real crime was the stolen election. It began with DIRTY COP James Comey, Obama, and Sleepy Joe Biden — and my accusation that they SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!” the US president says.

🗣 Donald Trump accuses the “UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS” of deleting crucial evidence in their "corrupt and vicious witch hunt” against him.

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👋🗣Looks like France is about to pack up and leave Niger!

Orano, the French state-owned nuclear fuel giant, is considering selling its uranium assets in Niger after a falling out with the country’s military rulers.

Their relationship soured after the coup in 2023, leaving Orano unable to operate and under financial pressure.

🟠Orano operates three uranium mines in Niger alongside the Russian-backed government
🟠But after the 2023 coup, Niger halted uranium exports to France and payments to the company, forcing Orano to rethink its investments
🟠The move would be another sign of France’s waning influence in Africa — with troops pulling out of Mali and Chad, the ‘Françafrique’ sphere looks like a distant memory

Franch influence in Africa? Barely radioactive.

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🚨📗💰Ukraine’s corruption playbook: How to lose millions of dollars in arms deals (Hint: It’s not lost)

💬 “Let’s be real: that money went straight into the pockets of Ukraine’s corrupt leadership with help from Western handlers,” Alexander Dudchak, leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries, told Sputnik, commenting on an FT report that the Kiev regime lost $770 million in arms deals that “went wrong.”

As billions in Western weapons started pouring in, Ukraine’s elites quickly caught on: "No one’s tracking every bullet... we can afford to 'lose' a few," political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko agreed.

For them, it’s a “business model,” Ukrainian politician Volodymyr Oleynyk speculated, adding that the FT-cited sum is “just the tip of the iceberg.”

💰 The scheme?

▪️ Shell firms
▪️ Fake arms deals with defense partners like Ukroboronprom
▪️ Written-off “lost” gear (that never existed)
▪️ Scrapped Western junk resold as fresh stock

➖ One Polish firm got $40 million – for nothing, and shady Bulgarian ammo dealers (with a black market track record) also cashed in, Oleynyk added.

🚨 Accountability? Don’t hold your breath:

Ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s criminal cases led to no jail time, and the same went for scandal-mired former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the pundits pointed out.

Volodymyr Zelensky is increasingly a liability for the West, and particularly Donald Trump, who hasn’t forgotten – or forgiven – his hesitation to dish dirt on the Biden family’s corrupt schemes in Ukraine, Dudchak suggested. Here's how it might play out:

✅ Leak a story about Ukraine “losing” money.
✅ Later say, “Oops – turns out they didn’t lose it, but stole it.”
✅ Shift the narrative. Use it as leverage to pressure or replace Zelensky.
✅ It's not just an investigation – it’s a warning shot: “We can change the story anytime!”

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❗️Trump says he plans to call Putin on May 19 to discuss Ukraine and trade

"I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 am," the US president wrote on Truth Social.

The call will focus on ending the Ukrainian conflict and trade issues.

Trump plans to speak with Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO members following the call.

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place," he said.

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🚨Putin orders major Arctic infrastructure push

⛽️💥 Volkhov—Murmansk Gas Pipeline by 2030: The Kremlin confirms Putin’s decree to build and launch the critical project, accelerating Russia’s Arctic energy program.

Other key orders from the Russian president:

❄️ By July 1, 2025: Finalize long-term development plans for Arctic “anchor cities.”

🚢 By 2026: Decide whether to build TWO new nuclear icebreakers.

🌉 By 2029: Complete the Ob River Bridge, part of the Northern Latitudinal Route.

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🇨🇳 China no longer second-largest holder of US Treasuries 💰🇺🇸

For the first time in a quarter century, China is no longer the second-largest holder of US debt

China and the UK have flipped places in the ranking of top foreign holders of US Treasuries, with the Asian nation’s holdings shrinking from $784bn to $765bn from February and March, while Britain’s grew from $749bn to $779bn during the same period.

Britain’s Treasury holdings haven’t been higher than China’s since October 2000, when the People’s Republic’s economy was far smaller (3.3% vs 19.6%), and the UK’s larger (3.3% vs 2%), as a percentage of global GDP.

💬 “This is a warning to the US,” Natixis Asia-Pacific chief economist Alicia Garcia-Herrero told UK business media, pointing out that China has been slowly offloading its US Treasury assets for years after hitting a peak of over $1.3tn in 2011.

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Suez Canal offers steep discount on transit amid Houthi-US ceasefire 💸

The waterway’s authority has announced a three-month-long, 15% discount on transit fees for container ships weighting 130,000 metric tons or more.

The discount offer applies to both loaded and empty vessels, and follows Suez Canal Authority chairman Ossama Rabiee’s outreach to 25 major shippers and maritime agencies requesting that they consider a gradual return to shipments via the canal, given the improving regional security situation.

The Houthis haven’t targeted a commercial ship since last December, and haven’t attacked US warships or merchant vessels since early May, when a ceasefire deal was reached with Washington. The ceasefire doesn’t apply to Israel, whose ships the Houthis have vowed to continue targeting until a Gaza peace deal is reached.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has estimated that the Red Sea disruption was causing $800mln in lost Suez Canal transit fee earnings every month. SCA revenue shrunk from $10.25bn in 2023 to $4bn in 2024. Besides extending voyage times by 10-14 days, shippers have faced billions in added fuel and insurance costs.

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📷 Rare WWII photos unveiled in Warsaw, Poland

The Liberation of Europe exhibition showcases 30 never-before-seen images from Soviet archives, revealing the true story of Europe’s deliverance from Nazi rule.

The photos are from the Soviet news agency Sovinformburo, owned and provided by the international media group Rossiya Segodnya – Sputnik's parent company.

💬 “Without our victory, Poland and many countries wouldn’t exist today,” Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreyev warned.

Alexander Yakovenko, Deputy Director of Rossiya Segodnya and head of the Committee on Global Issues and International Security of the Russian Security Council’s Scientific-Expert Board, highlighted Poland’s tragic WWII history.

Roman Karmanov, Director of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, stressed the exhibition’s importance to preserving authentic history.

The exhibition has already been shown in Paris and will soon open in Madrid.

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🌳 Putin wants faster-growing trees to boost Russia’s timber industry

Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked the government with exploring pilot projects for genetically-modified trees that grow faster to boost timber production.

The study will look at the potential to create commercial forest plantations for cultivating the fast-growing plants.

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✍️Key outcomes from Arab Summit: Gaza aid, Sudan peace and condemnation of Israeli attacks

The 34th Arab League Summit began on Saturday in Baghdad, with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid leading the sessions.

High-profile attendees included Egyptian President el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa did not attend, with Syria instead represented by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.

The summit’s theme was ‘ Dialogue, Solidarity and Development’

Here are the key points from the summit’s final declaration:

🟠Urgent need to ensure humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza and reject the displacement of the Palestinian people
🟠Call on the international community to increase pressure to stop the bloodshed in Gaza
🟠Appeal for a political solution to end the conflict in Sudan
🟠Condemn Israeli attacks on Syria
🟠Demand deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in the occupied Palestinian territories until a two-state solution is implemented
🟠Emphasize the necessity of establishing a nuclear- and WMD-free zone in the Middle East

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📞 Kremlin confirms Putin-Trump phone talks in the works

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian media that a phone call is being arranged between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.

"The conversation is being prepared," he said.

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❓What could hold up REAL PROGRESS in Russia-Ukraine peace talks?

💬 “The stubbornness and stupidity of the Kiev regime and its sponsors makes me think that at least in the current stage, for as long as Zelensky remains illegally in power in Ukraine, there will be no real desire to achieve peace,” Argentinian geopolitical affairs analyst Christian Lamesa told Sputnik, commenting on the Istanbul peace process that relaunched Friday.

💬 “Every time Kiev turns away from Russia’s peace proposals, Ukraine becomes smaller and smaller,” Lamesa stressed, recalling the 2022 draft deal nearly reached before being sabotaged by then-UK PM Johnson, and pointing out that the terms of that agreement were “extremely favorable for Ukraine compared to the current situation.”

Roadmap to peace?

If nothing else, Friday’s talks constituted the creation of a “foundation of the negotiation processes” out of which a future agreement could flower, says Turkish international affairs expert Bilal Sambur.

💬 “[Russian head negotiator Vladimir] Medinsky’s statement following the talks indicates Russia’s desire for a gradual, step-by-step diplomatic process,” Sambur said, highlighting the good will shown with the prisoner swap to establish trust, and the Russian idea that each side present concrete proposals upon which future rounds of talks could be held.

This contrasts sharply with the slapdash “quick agreement” sought by Ukraine and the US, the observer said.

Root causes

Russia’s intention is to get to the root causes of the conflict, “to resolve the root of the Ukrainian conflict to achieve peace, but Ukraine has focused on secondary issues,” says Argentinian observer Tadeo Casteglione.

The renewed talks “got off on the wrong foot” thanks to Ukraine’s 24-hour delay, and its failure to convene a negotiating working group until the last moment, the observer noted, highlighting Zelensky’s “improvisation or a lack of real will to negotiate.”

Nevertheless, “at least the Ukrainian delegation was able to go to Istanbul to talk,” he summed up.

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🔸 Trump says he plans to call Putin on May 19 to discuss Ukraine and trade

🔸 Ukraine’s corruption playbook: How to lose millions of dollars in arms deals (Hint: It’s not lost)

🔸 China no longer second-largest holder of US Treasuries

🔸 Looks like France is about to pack up and leave Niger!

🔸 From Gaza to Libya? Trump admin’s Palestinian resettlement scheme ‘on the table’

🔸 Inside Soros’ forgotten 1993 plan to breath new life into NATO at Russia’s expense

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❗️ Trump wants to meet with Putin as soon as feasible, Secretary Marco Rubio said.

They are currently deciding on a location and date for the meeting.

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📹Iranian media published UNSEEN footage from the helicopter crash site where late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi was killed.

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🇺🇸 Trump border czar on his sharpest Democrat critic: 'WHAT A MORON’

White House associate director of enforcement and removal operations Tom Homan says it was “kind of cool” that he gets to live “rent free” in the New York congresswoman’s head, as evidenced by her regular attacks and threats.

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🚨🇮🇱 Occupy Gaza, free hostages by force — Israeli minister

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's Minister of Security, claims that Hamas is only willing to negotiate peace due to the IDF's military operations.

"We must now enter Gaza with all our might, occupy the territory, seize control, crush the enemy, and free our hostages by force," he wrote on X.

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