⏳ 30 MIN TO GET OUT: Rubio puts 100 NSC staffers on leave – reports

Over 100 National Security Council staffers were abruptly put on leave Friday afternoon, just ahead of the long weekend, CNN reported.

Staff were reportedly given just 30 minutes to pack up and leave after receiving an email.

The purge affected both career officials and Trump-era appointees, all told to “return to home agency.”

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🇷🇺🤝🇵🇸 Russia plays major role in inter-Palestinian reconciliation – Palestine’s Foreign Ministry

Russia has played a major role in promoting inter-Palestinian reconciliation, and the Palestinian leadership places high value on strategic ties with Moscow, Palestinian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian told Sputnik.

Earlier, Palestinian Ambassador to Moscow Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik that the priority now is to stop the war in Gaza, after which an inter-Palestinian meeting in Moscow could be discussed.

💬 "Russia has played and continues to play a major role in efforts for inter-Palestinian reconciliation and reunification. Russian-Palestinian relations are historical and strong," Aghabekian said, adding that President Mahmoud Abbas’ leadership highly values ties with Russia.

She also stressed that Palestine deeply appreciates Moscow’s consistent support for Palestinian rights.

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❌ NO LAWS, NO COURTS — ONLY FEAR: Former Ukrainian MP slams Zelensky’s dictatorship

💬 “The judicial branch is not functioning and is currently paralyzed. There are NO LAWS at present,” former Verkhovna Rada member Vadym Novynskyi told Tucker Carlson.

💬 “If you express criticism of Zelensky, the secret police come the next day and you are subjected to persecution,” Novynskyi emphasized.

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🥴💸 From ally to obstacle: EU tariffs threaten Ukraine’s economy

The EU’s decision to reinstate tariffs on Ukrainian goods could slash exports by 70% this year and push Ukraine to the brink of recession, Dmytro Natalukha, head of Ukraine’s parliamentary economic committee, said.

“This could create an idiotic situation where we will be forced to come and beg you [the EU] for money, instead of simply earning money through trade [...] Ukraine is being pushed to become a beggar,” the politician stressed.

Kiev fears this move will cripple its economy and ability to fund the war effort. While the EU introduced duty-free access in 2022, backlash from European farmers—especially near the Ukrainian border—led to new quotas on sensitive products like eggs, poultry, sugar, and grain.

Here's the trick: tariffs speak louder than slogans 😉

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⏰💥Putin needed JUST 2 HOURS to tutor Trump on who has UPPER HAND in Ukraine conflict - former CIA analyst

During a recent phone call, the Russian president lectured the US counterpart on “what’s at stake here [in Ukraine] and who has the upper hand,” Ray McGovern stressed.

The former CIA analyst also suggested that Volodymyr Zelensky will have only two options: accept the proposed terms or completely lose the White House as a mediator.

“Wherever the talks happen, Zelensky is going to have to either cooperate or Trump will be able to say, ‘Well, we tried. You’re on your own. You think the Europeans can help you? Good luck with that. I’m out of here,” McGovern concluded.

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🇷🇺 RUSSIA LAUNCHES MASS PRODUCTION OF ANTI-DRONE RIFLES & EW SYSTEMS

Bars-Sarmat Scientific Center has begun serial production of cutting-edge counter-drone tech, its chief, "Kongo," reveals.

🛡New Systems Include:

🔺 Portable anti-drone rifles (disrupt UAV signals)
🔺 Vehicle-mounted EW systems (protect convoys/installations)

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🚨 TRUMP’S 50% TARIFF THREAT: EU ON BRINK OF TRADE WAR

The US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on European imports starting June 1, sparking fresh tensions amid frustrations within his economic team over the EU’s slow and cautious trade approach, the WSJ writes.

Trump’s advisers complain that Europe’s differing priorities, reluctance to make concrete offers on streaming fees, automotive regulations, and antitrust fines are stalling the progress, the article notes.

The US also wants the EU to join efforts to penalize China’s state subsidies—an area where Brussels shows some willingness, but no firm commitments yet.

Trump’s love language? Tariffs and trade wars, naturally

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🌍💰 De-Dollarization accelerates: Qatar & Hong Kong push yuan as dollar alternative

Mary Huen Wai-yi, Chairwoman of Hong Kong’s Banking Association, spills the tea: global businesses are RUNNING from the dollar and jumping on China’s yuan.

Qatar’s top players are already using Hong Kong’s financial “toolbox” to make deals, payments, and investments in RMB, the South China Morning Post writes.

🔹 Hong Kong’s growing offshore yuan market and fintech innovation make it a prime global RMB hub.
🔹 The US-China trade war and recent US debt rating downgrade accelerate global “de-dollarization.”
🔹 Cross-border yuan settlements hit record highs; yuan edges closer to challenging the euro in trade finance.

Experts say Hong Kong’s unique position and expanding yuan products create huge opportunities — while the US dollar’s dominance is showing signs of slipping.

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🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA’S SU-57 LEVELS UP AS AI TAKES PILOT’S SEAT

The Su-57 fifth-generation fighter has been equipped with AI, which is actually the warplane’s co-pilot, a spokesperson for Russia’s Rosoboronexport arms exporter told Sputnik.

Why is AI needed?

🟠“The system is designed to provide a pilot with prompts in specific situations and tactical moments.”

🟠AI assists the pilot by taking on some tasks during routine flights, such as navigation along route points and management of flight systems.

🟠It allows the pilot to focus during combat on more important tasks, such as weapon deployment.

🟠“The decision to use weapons remains with the pilot,” the spokesperson stressed.

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🟠US authorizes transactions with Syria as part of SANCTIONS RELIEF – Treasury

🟠Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple, Samsung, & others by end of June

🟠30 MIN TO GET OUT: Rubio puts 100 NSC staffers on leave

🟠NO LAWS, NO COURTS — ONLY FEAR: Former Ukrainian MP slams Zelensky’s dictatorship

🟠US VP Vance admits: America’s reign is over — China & Russia are coming for the throne

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💥😨 GERMANY COULD FACE $220B HIT IF TRUMP TARIFFS GO THROUGH

Potential losses were calculated by the German Economic Institute in a new report. If implemented starting June 1, Trump’s 50% tariffs could:

🔸Cut Germany’s GDP by 0.1% in 2025
🔸Average a 1.1% drop annually from 2025 to 2028
🔸Push total losses up to $284 billion if the EU imposes retaliatory tariffs

Even the US could feel the pain — it relies on key imports from Germany.

▶️Example: 95% of vehicle-mounted cranes used in the US in 2024 came from Germany.

Trump recently said EU trade talks are “going nowhere” and doubled down on his call for steep anti-EU tariffs.

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🚨 LIVE NOW! 🚨

Lavrov is speaking at the 33rd Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy

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⚡️🌍 MULTIPOLARITY ISN’T TREND — IT’S THE FUTURE: Lavrov drops reality check on West

“The most important and defining trend is still the emergence of a multipolar world. We believe this is a natural process,” the Russian foreign minister said at the 33rd Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.

The Global South and East see it as a shot at real independence — and a way out of the West’s neo-colonial grip, he noted.

As for the West? Lavrov says they have a very mixed reaction to the growing role of multilateralism in international affairs.

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🇷🇺 RUSSIAN DEFENSE BRIEFING: CRUSHING STRIKES & ENEMY LOSSES

🔸Russian forces launched a massive strike on a Ukrainian military-industrial facility producing missile weapons, as well as a Patriot system position.

🔸Eliminated: A Special Operations Forces center and an aviation center were destroyed.

🔸Enemy losses: Over 1,330 Ukrainian troops wiped out in the past 24 hours.

👉Russian air defenses shot down:

1x MiG-29 (Ukrainian Air Force)

3x JDAM bombs

7x HIMARS rockets

174x Ukrainian drones

Total enemy losses this week:

🔥 1,548+ drones destroyed
⚔️ Thousands of Ukrainian troops ANNIHILATED

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📊 RUSSIA'S ENEMY LIST REVEALED - AND US NOT EVEN IN TOP 3

France tops the list of countries Russians see as most hostile — a massive 48%, up sharply from previous years, according to a new VCIOM poll.

The UK and Germany follow, while Ukraine and the US trail behind, with America’s “hostile” rating dropping significantly.

China is seen as Russia’s closest ally. The poll also reveals a notable rise in favorable attitude toward North Korea.

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⚡️🪖OTRADNOYE & STUPOCHKI (DPR); LOKNYA (SUMY REGION) LIBERATED — 🇷🇺MoD

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🧨 Ex-CIA analyst: Russia won’t budge — Ukraine will surrender

Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson argues Russia will not make any concessions in the conflict with Ukraine — and any talk of “compromise” is simply a Western ploy to weaken the stronger side.

“I hear people talk [like] Russia gonna have some concessions. They're not going to make concessions. They're going to win this militarily, and Ukraine will be forced into an unconditional surrender,” Johnson says on Dialogue Works.

According to him, the narrative about Russia needing to make concessions is designed to undermine its negotiating and battlefield advantage.

He adds that the real drivers of the war are the US and NATO — without their support, the conflict wouldn’t have dragged on this long.

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🇹🇷🇷🇺 TURKIYE'S TOP DIPLOMAT HEADS TO MOSCOW

Hakan Fidan jets to Russia May 26-27 for intense diplomatic talks with:

🔸President Vladimir Putin
🔸Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
🔸Ukraine negotiator Vladimir Medinsky
🔸Defense Minister Andrei Belousov

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⚡️BREAKING: 307 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS RETURN HOME IN PRISONER EXCHANGE

▪️ 307 Russian servicemen have been safely returned from Kiev-controlled territory.

▪️ In exchange, 307 Ukrainian POWs were returned.

▪️ The freed Russian troops are now in Belarus, receiving medical & psychological care.

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❌🪖 Surprise, but not really: Ukrainian military built for stealing Western money, not winning

The military corps system in Ukraine that was introduced in February was created by its architect Oleksandr Syrsky to more efficiently plunder Western aid, a source tells Sputnik.

Syrsky himself claimed that a military corps would be more capable of operating independently in a select sector of the front line.

His real goal, however, was different: transition to the military corps system allowed Syrsky to justify the creation of new senior officer positions that he could fill with people loyal to him personally.

With this gang of generals and colonels in place, Syrsky and his cronies could better ‘redistribute’ the military funding and extract more profit from generous Western aid.

Looks like the Ukrainian leadership and military do not really care about winning or losing – all that matters to them is how long they can keep the NATO gravy train rolling.

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