🇨🇳📈 Yuan's BIG advantage over dollar

While the dollar is still a dominant currency in the world it's problem is that it has been used as a geopolitical weapon too often, John Gong, professor at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics, tells Sputnik.

💬 "Which country has such a problem with China? None."

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💵 Trump announces 35% tariff on Canadian imports starting August 1

US President Donald Trump has issued a formal letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, announcing a 35% tariff on Canadian products entering the United States, effective August 1, 2025.

📄 According to the letter, the tariff is in response to what Trump described as "Canada's failure to stop the drugs from pouring into our Country."

💬 “Instead of working with the United States, Canada retaliated with its own Tariffs,” the letter states.

💬 “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then... it will be added onto the 35% that we charge,” Ttump added.

The letter also criticizes Canadian trade policies toward U.S. dairy exports and cites national security as a key concern.

This move follows recent tariff actions by the Trump administration targeting over 20 countries, including several close US partners.

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🤹 US launches Cold War–style drills in Pacific, targets China — reports

The Pentagon is fueling tensions again — this time with a massive Air Force war game aimed squarely at China and the wider Indo-Pacific region, Newsweek reported.

Dubbed a “first in a generation” operation, the US Air Force and Space Force mobilized 12,000 troops and over 350 aircraft across the Pacific in a direct rehearsal for war. The goal? To “fight and prevail” in a potential clash with China, according to top US commanders.

🇨🇳 China, by contrast, has pursued regional integration and development, not militarism. But the US now labels China a “pacing threat” because China refuses to submit to American hegemony.

✈️ This week’s deployment also included B-52H bombers flown to Guam — escalating the US military presence on China’s doorstep.

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🇧🇷 Lula SHREDS Trump’s tariff threats: 'Brazil will not accept tutelage'

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva delivered a sharp response after US President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports.

💬 “Statistics from the US government itself show a surplus of $410 billion in the trade of goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years,” Lula hit back with facts.

💥 Brazil warned that any unilateral tariff hikes will be met under its Economic Reciprocity Law — signaling that RETALIATION is on the table.

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🇪🇺❌Victims forgotten? EU parliament refuses to honor Volyn Massacre victims

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola rejected a proposal to honor the victims of the Volyn massacre with a minute of silence — refusing to acknowledge the mass killings by OUN-UPA.*

“Not all victims of totalitarian regimes are treated equally in the EU. The victims are calling not for revenge, but for remembrance and truth!” Polish MEP Anna Brylka argued.

According to Brylka, the EU not only dismissed the Polish initiative but made it clear that no such commemoration would be held.

Polish President Duda added fuel to the fire, saying Zelensky didn’t even know about the Volyn massacre until he told him — and questioned whether many Ukrainians are aware of the crimes committed in the past.

*The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army are designated as extremist groups and banned in Russia.

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🇷🇺🗣🇺🇸Lavrov & Rubio spotted chatting ahead of ASEAN Summit

The footage shows what appears to be a warm exchange between the two diplomats. They engaged in animated discussion before concluding with a handshake.

This comes after yesterday's hour-long meeting in Malaysia's capital between Russia's Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State.

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❔🇷🇺Talks or not? Russia calls for continued diplomacy with US

A new round of Russia-US consultations on diplomatic “irritants” may take place before the end of summer, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik.

Commenting on the lack of clarity after the second round of talks in Istanbul wrapped up back in April, the diplomat stressed that Russia doesn’t want the pause between the rounds to drag on.

“We have a real agenda with the Americans. […] Up until now, the dialogue has been fairly constructive and mutually engaged. But if the pause drags on, that’s a sign that some issues will remain unresolved, so it’s necessary to make a decision,” Ryabkov emphasized.

He added that a new prisoner exchange between Russia and the US may take place soon, but the exact dates are unclear.

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👍‘Wait for BIG SURPRISES’: Lavrov drops tease on Ukraine peace plan

“As if I’d tell you,” the Russian Foreign Minister said when asked about a new peace blueprint on Ukraine presented to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Sergey Lavrov added that he reaffirmed Russia’s position on Ukraine during his talks with Rubio on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit.

The top Russian diplomat also said that he and Rubio did not discuss the fate of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty during the negotiations.

The US secretary of state claimed earlier that Lavrov had presented him with a new proposal for achieving peace in Ukraine, which Rubio said he would share with Trump.

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🚨🇷🇺Russian FM Lavrov says he handed 🇺🇸Marco Rubio a collection of quotes from Zelensky & other Kiev regime officials — including calls to “destroy Russki”

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🚨🇷🇺KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM LAVROV’S PRESSER FOLLOWING THE RUSSIA–ASEAN MEETING:

💬 Ukraine was discussed during Thursday’s meeting with Rubio. Russia reaffirmed its position on resolving the conflict, but no discussion took place regarding the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

💬 Lavrov handed Rubio a compilation of quotes from Zelensky and other Kiev regime officials calling for the destruction of Russians.

💬 The tariffs imposed by Washington on other countries are also a form of sanctions.

💬 Russia will do everything to prevent provocations against North Korea: “That could end badly.”

💬 Plans to create “emirates” on Palestinian territories pose a serious challenge to the international community. There are growing risks to the prospects of forming a Palestinian state.

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🚨🇮🇳🇺🇸 India threatens US with RETALIATORY TARIFFS amid protracted trade talks

India’s WTO notification referenced $7.6 billion worth of U.S. imports affected by American steel and aluminium tariffs applied in March 2025.

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🪖Colombian mercenaries sent to die in Sumy as Ukraine’s desperation deepens

Ukraine has deployed lots of Colombian hirelings to the Sumy region to try to hold the collapsing front line, a Russian security source told Sputnik.

“It’s not just radio chatter anymore — their corpses are turning up in abandoned positions,” the source pointed out.

It’s safe to say that these mercenaries are not just being used to plug occasional gaps in Ukraine’s defense or for specific operations," according to the insider.

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😏 Putin ‘IMMUNE to Trump’s tantrums’ over Ukraine — report

The Russian president is “unmoved” by POTUS’ pressure regarding ways to resolve the Ukraine conflict, the FT reports.

👉The newspaper adds that during recent phone calls with Trump & French President Macron, Putin “has sent a clear message: any solution will have to address what he calls the ‘root causes’ of the conflict.”

🔍Putin stated earlier that the conflict in Ukraine is a direct result of the policies of Western countries, which for years have ignored Russia’s security interests, turned Ukraine into an anti-Russian foothold, and tolerated violations of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens.

"Now, the West is prolonging the conflict by supplying Ukraine with modern weapons."

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MoD WEEKLY UPDATE: CRUSHING GAINS & MASSIVE UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️ZELENAYA DOLINA (DPR) LIBERATED

⚡️SOBOLEVKA (KHARKOV REGION) LIBERATED

▫️ Heavy Ukrainian losses: Over 8,860 troops eliminated in the special military operation zone

▫️ Air defense superiority: 35 guided bombs and 1,988 drones shot down

▫️ The Russian Armed Forces unleashed 6 group strikes with high-precision weapons, including Kinzhal missiles, hitting military targets in Ukraine

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🇦🇲☦️ARMENIA CAUGHT IN WEST'S WAR ON TRADITIONAL VALUES

💬 “The traditional West-Russia confrontation on the international stage is shifting to the level of values," explains Grant Melik-Shahnazaryan, a political analyst and regional security expert.

The political analyst decodes the hidden layers of Armenia’s crisis:

◼️ Values under fire

Western governments and their puppet NGOs seek to counter any new “center of support for traditional values and Christianity” like Russia, and countries “where the West has even minimal leverage come under pressure," with Armenia being among them.

◼️ Geopolitical confrontation

PM Nikol Pashinian’s crackdown on the church is part of bigger geopolitical scheme with a goal “to weaken Russia’s position in the South Caucasus”.

◼️ 2026 election prep

Pashinyan himself is removing vocal critiques from the equation, setting the stage for the 2026 elections.

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🚨DAILY KREMLIN UPDATES: Foreign troops in Ukraine a 'RED LINE'

Key statements from Dmitry Peskov on Friday:

▪️ Europe discussing funds for Ukraine to "keep the war going until the last Ukrainian";

▪️ Russia rejects foreign troops near its borders — a clear red line;

▪️ German Chancellor Merz is a staunch advocate of confrontation with Russia

▪️ US arms sales to NATO for Ukraine: 'business as usual' scenario

▪️ Russia & Ukraine continue prisoner exchanges, awaiting new round of talks

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🚨 No outsiders allowed: Trump folds to Deep State agenda – Simonyan

💬 “If Trump is the least Deep State president since JFK, maybe America is simply unfixable,” the editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, wrote on X.

This comes after Trump confirmed he’ll continue arming Ukraine — this time through NATO, hiding behind the alliance’s thin mask.

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