🕊 US allies push to avert conflict with Iran — reports

US partners in the Middle East have been urging de-escalation for weeks, warning a US strike on Iran could trigger a wider regional conflict, The New York Times reported.

According to the report, countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the UAE have urged de-escalation since President Donald Trump first raised the possibility of military action.

🇪🇬 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke separately with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, calling for restraint.

🇸🇦 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.

Several US partners are concerned any attack could prompt retaliation across the region, particularly against countries hosting American military bases, the NYT reported.

❌ Saudi Arabia and the UAE have said they would not allow their airspace to be used for strikes on Iran.

Despite these efforts, Trump warned this week that a US fleet in the region was prepared to use “speed and violence” unless a “fair and equitable” deal is reached on Iran’s nuclear program, the newspaper said.

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🇻🇪 Delcy Rodríguez receives command of Venezuela’s Armed Forces — reports

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez received the insignia as Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) during a ceremony in Caracas, Telesur reported.

The event took place at the Courtyard of Honor of the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela, with more than 3,200 FANB soldiers and senior officers in attendance.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López emphasized that the armed forces would act in line with the Bolivarian Constitution and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, confirming that the military institution remains under the leadership of the acting president.

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❌🇪🇺 Merz rules out Ukraine's fast accession to EU — reports

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine has no chance of joining the EU in the near future, according to European media reports.

💬 “An accession on January 1, 2027 is excluded. It is not possible,” Merz said, stressing that any country seeking EU membership must first meet the Copenhagen criteria, a process that “usually takes several years.”

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💣 Pro-Russian underground delivers devastating blows to Ukrainian Army lifelines

There is footage showing members of the pro-Russian underground carrying out arson attacks along logistical routes used by the Ukrainian military, Sergey Lebedev, underground coordinator in the city of Nikolayev, told Sputnik.

💬 “The videos were filmed at different times and in different regions of Ukraine, which once again confirms that our people are present on the other side. Each such video is a demonstration of civilian courage,” the underground activist underscored.

Lebedev noted that as a result, the Ukrainian Army fails to receive timely troop rotations as well as ammunition and military equipment resupplies, which helps Russian soldiers destroy the enemy.

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📹 Russian guns speak: Enemy strongholds turned to ash

00:00 Kharkov region: D-30 howitzers of Russia’s Battlegroup Sever destroyed enemy armored vehicles, firepower, fortifications, and a UAV command post.

00:11 Zaporozhye region: Artillery crews of Battlegroup Vostok burned down Ukrainian strongholds and fortifications being used to hold the line.

00:44 Orekhov area: A 152 mm Msta-B gun of Battlegroup Dnepr eliminated a Ukrainian stronghold with personnel.

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❌ Trump unable to hamper buildup of BRICS payment system – ex-CIA analyst

The US president would certainly be unhappy about the creation of such a system, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson told Sputnik.

He noted that Donald Trump cannot prevent BRICS from creating its own payment platform because the US no longer controls all the financial levers.

👉 The West still relies on the SWIFT system, which is inferior to modern digital analogues that have already been developed in other parts of the world—for example in China, one of the BRICS countries, according to Johnson.

He also called cutting Russian banks off from SWIFT a blessing for Russia.

Berliner Zeitung earlier reported that BRICS members may launch their own payment system, BRICS Pay, as early as this year.

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🪖💣 Ukrainian soldiers forced to pay ‘food tribute’ on front lines – POW

💬 “They [commanders] promised a base salary of 20,000 rubles ($255), plus 170,000 rubles ($2,173) in ‘combat pay’ each month. But does that money exist or not?” captive Alexander Salyukov from the Ukrainian Army’s 60th Brigade told Sputnik.

He explained that his total expected earnings at the front should have been about 335,000 rubles ($4,393), but that he had never received any of that sum before being captured.

💬 "Plus, they take kickbacks from that money for food. Our food deliveries to the positions came by Baba Yaga drone every two days. They told us: ‘We will take at least 5%. Just for the food,’" Salyukov added.

The captive earlier told Sputnik that mobilized soldiers from the Ukrainian 60th Brigade were threatened with huge fines for the loss of property.

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🔹 Inside Russia's Aurus jet: Sukhoi's VIP aircraft steals the show at Wings India 2026

🔹 Delcy Rodríguez receives command of Venezuela’s Armed Forces — reports

🔹 US intel says Venezuela’s interim leader refusing to cut ties with Russia, China, Iran

🔹 US Space Development Agency 'should be more realistic' — Accountability Office

🔹 Mexico maintains humanitarian oil shipments to Cuba – Sheinbaum

🔹 Iran to IAEA chief: check your privilege

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🚨 US officials secretly meet Canadian Alberta independence group – report

Leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), a right-wing group campaigning for the Canadian province’s independence, held three covert meeting with US State Department officials in Washington last year, the FT reports.

👉 The APP leaders are reportedly seeking a further meeting in February with US Treasury officials to request a $500 billion loan to support the province if an independence referendum is called.

The Trump administration is unlikely to provide material support to the APP, but the two sides’ purported contacts indicate ongoing tensions between the US and Canada.

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🪖💥 Russian T-80BVM crew strikes: Enemy strongholds obliterated in Zaporozhye

A tank crew from Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok delivered a precision strike, destroying fortified positions of Ukrainian troops.

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🇷🇺Kremlin briefing: Peskov addresses Syria talks, Iran tensions, Ukraine dialogue, and arms control

Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressed a range of international issues, from Russia’s talks with Syria to Iran, Ukraine, relations with the UAE, and the future of the START Treaty.

🟠On Russia–Syria talks

▪️Russian military bases in Syria were part of the agenda during talks between President Vladimir Putin and President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Kremlin

▪️Discussions focused primarily on bilateral trade and economic relations

▪️Peskov said Russia and Syria see broad, mutual potential for cooperation in the trade and economic sphere

🟠On Iran

▪️Use of force could create chaos and destabilize the entire region, Peskov warned

▪️He urged all sides to show restraint and avoid military methods

▪️Peskov said the negotiation potential around the Iran situation is far from exhausted

🟠On Ukraine settlement

▪️Regarding the planned meeting in Abu Dhabi, Peskov said everything will be done to ensure the possibility of continuing dialogue

▪️Talks could last up to two days if necessary

▪️Modalities of Russia’s participation in the Abu Dhabi meeting are to be agreed by February 1

▪️Peskov declined to comment on reports of alleged agreements between Russia and Ukraine on an energy ceasefire

🟠On Putin’s upcoming meeting with the UAE president

▪️Trust-based and constructive relationship between Putin and the UAE president allows for discussion of the most complex issues

▪️Russia–UAE relations are developing successfully across nearly all areas

▪️UAE is Russia’s leading trade partner in the Arab world, with trade volumes continuing to grow

🟠On the START Treaty

▪️START Treaty is nearing expiration, and Russia is still awaiting a response from the US to its initiative

▪️Russia will monitor how the situation develops as the deadline approaches

▪️Negotiating a new strategic stability treaty would be long and complex, involving many factors

▪️After START expires, there will be a gap in the legal framework governing strategic stability, Peskov said

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🚨 Russia & Ukraine hold new exchange of bodies of dead soldiers – Russian presidential aide

Under the Istanbul agreements, the bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian servicemen have been handed over to Ukraine, and the bodies of 38 fallen Russian troops have been handed over to Russia, Vladimir Medinsky announced.

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📈 Gold and silver prices soar to record highs

Prices of Gold and silver surged over 4% on Thursday morning, with the metals reaching historic highs earlier in the session of about $5,600 and $119 per troy ounce, respectively, according to trading data.

April gold futures on the New York COMEX exchange were up 4.54% from the previous close, gaining $243.24 to $5,582.69 per troy ounce. Earlier in the session, prices hit an all-time high of $5,625.89 per ounce.

At the same time, March silver futures rose 4.15% to $118.237 per ounce, having earlier reached a record high of $119.

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🚨Lavrov: Russia unaware of US–Ukraine security guarantees

Russia does not know what specific security guarantees the US and Ukraine may have discussed, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that Russia has not been informed of any formal arrangements.

👉Lavrov also stated that the political issues in the settlement process were previously outlined by President Vladimir Putin and remain in force.

💬“The political issues were outlined by the president, and they remain in force. We leave everything else to the conscience of our Ukrainian and American colleagues, who in recent days have made repeated and numerous statements,” Lavrov told journalists.

❗️He emphasized that Russian negotiators will continue to engage in talks in any available format, adding that Russia will judge the outcomes by “real agreements,” not “public games.”

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