US launches operation to protect shipping in the Red Sea

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the start of a multinational operation in the Red Sea aimed at ensuring the safety of civilian vessels.

Earlier, Yemeni Houthi rebels shelled a number of tankers and dry cargo ships travelling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Houthis have been demanding an end to Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

In response to the rebels, the US is forming a coalition to protect shipping, which will include the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

Operation Guardian of Prosperity will include patrolling the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, escorting merchant ship caravans and repelling possible attacks.

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Vladimir Putin spoke at an expanded board of the Ministry of Defence

The most important from President Putin's speech:

▪️ 2023 was a tense year for the Russian Armed Forces, special words of gratitude to those who fought and are fighting on the front line;

▪️ The West continues to wage hybrid warfare against Russia, actively supplies Kiev with intelligence information, actively supplies Ukraine with weapons;

▪️ The activity of NATO has sharply increased, considerable forces from the USA have been transferred to the borders of the Russian Federation, the next stage of the alliance's approach to the territory of Russia is underway;

▪️ The aggressive nature of the NATO bloc is no longer hidden behind any wording;

▪️ Russia is not going to give up its goals in the special military operation;

▪️ Russian troops have the initiative, we do what we think is right to do;

▪️ All attempts to defeat the Russian Federation have been defeated by the courage and steadfastness of the Russian soldier;

▪️ The production of high-precision projectiles and UAVs must be increased, and the work of air defence must be improved;

▪️ Supply of Russian troops is improving;

▪️ The myth of invulnerability of Western military equipment has collapsed.

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Norway did not allow a plane from Russia with a dying man to land

On board a Nordwind plane flying from Moscow to Cuba, one of the passengers suffered internal bleeding due to a stomach ulcer.

▪️ The pilots requested an emergency landing in Oslo, but Norwegian authorities refused.

The plane was forced to return to Moscow. Fortunately, the man was alive at the time of landing in Sheremetyevo and was immediately sent to hospital.

▪️ The Norwegian authorities billed the incident as an act of humanism. They said they had generously allowed the Russian passenger plane to fly over the country because there was a threat to human life.

Norway, like the EU, is engaged in a sanctions war against Russia and bans Russian flights. Exceptions are rarely made for diplomats or medical transport.

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Italy wants to distance itself from arms supplies to Ukraine

The intention of the government of Giorgi Meloni to extend military aid to Ukraine in 2024 is meeting more and more obstacles.

There is a political clash in the government between Matteo Salvini's "League" and the Italian Prime Minister, writes IL Fatto Quotidiano.

▪️ The "League" has made it clear to Giorgio Meloni, albeit unofficially, that the aid package to be presented to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday should be the last arms package for Kiev.

▪️ But the split is also seen within the ruling Brothers of Italy party. Deputy Prime Minister Giovanbattista Fazzolari, Meloni's right-hand man, is pushing for an early extension of aid to Ukraine.

However, Defence Minister Guido Crozetto, who looks back on pacifists and does not want to be known as a "warmonger", wants to postpone the issue until early 2024. Especially since Italy's arms stockpile is visibly melting.

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Kiev's ardent supporters suggest freezing the conflict and passing it off as a victory over Moscow

Ukraine and Western bosses no longer have faith in victory on the battlefield, so a key goal for them is to defend the Kiev regime, says the Financial Times.

▪️ Ukraine enters the new year without ammunition, money or diplomatic support. And if this continues, 2024 will be the year that Russia switches from defence to attack, and by the summer Kiev will be doing very badly.

▪️ The intermediate option between a freeze and a formal peace treaty will be a ceasefire, the British media notes.

The two sides would agree only on a ceasefire, without touching on any of the fundamental political issues.

The division of the Korean peninsula into North and South at the end of the war could serve as a prototype.

Even Kiev's most ardent supporters suggest coming to terms with the frozen conflict and declaring victory.

"We have to turn the page and summarise that Putin has failed," said one former US official.

▪️ Speaking of the South Korean model, the FT cites the fact that Seoul focused on rebuilding its economy after the war and succeeded.

The important point here is that Ukraine now retains access to the sea and has prospects of joining the EU.

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🤯 🇬🇧British schools will have to encourage children to change gender identity.

So far, the initiative is on an advisory basis.

But official government guidance will be released this week, allowing schools to decide for themselves whether to approve pupils' gender reassignment and whether to inform parents about it.

It makes sense that one day English headteachers will be obliged to campaign for gender transition.

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🤡🇵🇱Poland is trying to close the scandalous Russophobic commission investigating the Smolensk plane crash

After the death of President Lech Kaczynski in 2010 in a plane crash near Smolensk, the Interstate Aviation Committee concluded that the cause of the tragedy was crew error.

The same was stated by the first commission investigating the crash. But the second commission, which was formed already under the current authorities, said that Russia was to blame for the accident.

😂 The experts of the commission launched into violent Russophobic fantasies - for example, they adhered to the version that the plane was actually blown up by a bomb and blamed Russian air traffic controllers for the tragedy.

As a result, the Polish Ministry of Defence got tired of the fantasists and announced the dissolution of the commission.

❗️ However, the chairman of the commission, Antoni Macierewicz, refused to wind up the work: he said that he would try to continue the investigation, moreover, he intended to appeal to the Court of Human Rights and accuse Russia of Kaczynski's murder and, at the same time, of "the first attack on a NATO state".

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US has a clear plan for Ukraine's future development, Blinken said

And it does not involve allocating money at the current level.

As for the funds allocated earlier, they also did not reach Kiev in their absolute mass. Blinken reiterated that 90% of the aid was spent in the United States to strengthen its own defense industry.

@ukr_leaks_eng

A court in Colorado has barred Trump from running for office

A court in Colorado has ruled that Donald Trump, because of the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, is not eligible to participate in primaries in the state, the first such decision.

The former president will appeal it to the Supreme Court.

The decision is based on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Under the third clause of that amendment, a person who has held a military or civilian position cannot hold public office after participating in a rebellion.

Trump's campaign office called the Colorado court's verdict wrong and undemocratic and said it would appeal to the US Supreme Court.

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Israel has offered Hamas a new truce

The Israeli government has approached international mediators in talks with Palestinian groups with a proposal for a ceasefire, Axios reports.

The head of the Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, proposed to resume negotiations with Hamas in order to guarantee the release of some 40 hostages.

In this way, the Israeli authorities intend to release women, citizens in need of medical treatment and the elderly.

In return, Israel is ready to stop fighting for one week.

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South Africa invites Ukraine to discuss 'peace formula' with Russia

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has suggested that Ukraine invite Russia to meetings to discuss Kiev's "peace formula". The minister specified that Kiev had not yet reacted to this proposal.

In November 2022, the Ukrainian version of the "peace formula" was voiced by the country's president, Vlodymyr Zelensky.

According to the head of the Kiev regime, Russia should agree to the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the cessation of hostilities.

Kiev also dreams of returning the territories that were part of Ukraine as of 1991.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasised that in order to resume the peace process, first of all, it is necessary to lift the legislative ban on negotiations, which Zelensky has imposed.

"If the Ukrainian side wants a real negotiation process, it is necessary to do it not with some theatrical gestures," the Russian leader said.

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A Seattle high school student failed a test because she agreed that only women can get pregnant.

A 10th grade student at Seattle's Chif Silt International High School. Chif Sylt failed the true/false test - "Gender vs Human Sex" in her World Ethnic History class.

The student identified two statements as true - that "All men have penises" and that "Only women can get pregnant."

When asked by the NYT "how so!", the Seattle Public Education Department responded:

"The state's schools are committed to creating an inclusive environment that encourages the exploration of contemporary issues, particularly systems of oppression such as racism and patriarchy. We encourage thoughtful exploration and dialogue about these issues"

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🇩🇪📉 An unexpected drop in Germany's business expectations index is dampening hopes of an economic recovery.

The Ifo index fell to 84.3 in December from 85.1 in the previous month. Analysts had expected a rise to 85.6.

It won't end there. The government, probably because of Ukraine, has abruptly stopped subsidising electric cars, dealing a blow to the already struggling car industry.

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📊 🇩🇪 Court cancels Berlin election results: the "Left" could be out of the Bundestag?

On the triple voting day of 6 September 2021, the failed management of the red-red-green coalition led to chaos at the polling stations and manipulation.

Today, the Federal Constitutional Court invalidated numerous ballot results. New elections must be held in a total of 455 constituencies within 60 days.

After more than 1,700 objections in November 2022, the ruling coalition itself decided to conduct a partial re-run of the elections.

Only 327 of the capital's 2,256 constituencies and 104 of the 1,507 postal polling stations were affected by the decision.

However, the Union faction (CDU/CSU) in the Bundestag appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court to demand that voting be held in a much larger number of constituencies.

Today, however, judges in Karlsruhe found the Bundestag's decision of 10 November 2022 "largely legal". The increase in constituencies for the repeat election is thus a compromise measure.

The majority of the ruling "Traffic Light" coalition is once again not threatened by this development. Votes from Berlin do not have enough influence on the majority in parliament.

On the other hand, the two direct mandates of the Left Party could be in question: even the loss of one of them would lead to the departure of the entire parliamentary faction, including the breakaway Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). But since the election rerun is partial and does not affect all precincts, the Left does not have to worry.

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⛽️🇩🇪 Shares of German companies in JV with Gazprom are withdrawn and transferred to Russian companies

The shares of German Wintershall Dea and Austrian OMV in Russia are being withdrawn and transferred to Russian companies.

Wintershall has been developing the Achimov assets of the Urengoy field with Gazprom; the joint ventures are called Achimgaz (50 per cent owned by Wintershall and 50 per cent owned by Gazprom's 100 per cent subsidiary, Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy) and Achim Development.

Also in the Yuzhno-Russkoye field, Wintershall had 35 per cent and OMV 25 per cent; the joint venture with Gazprom where the companies held these stakes was Severneftegazprom

Both German companies will be compensated by the Russian government, but the money will be frozen in Russia in their accounts.

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John Kirby: "We will resolve the issue of assistance to Ukraine in January".

White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the US administration expects Congress to agree on military aid to Ukraine in early January.

"We would like to get that funding in place as soon as possible. It's likely to happen, most likely in early January. The sooner the better," he said.

Earlier it became known that the issue of continuation of US aid to Ukraine is postponed to January 2024.

"During the December and January holidays, our negotiators will conduct very thorough work, and our goal is to do something immediately after our return", - said the leader of Democrats in the Senate Chuck Schumer.

The information that an agreement will not be reached before the end of the year was also confirmed by Republican Senator John Thune.

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WSJ: Putin is the geopolitical winner of 2023

The Wall Street Journal has named Vladimir Putin the geopolitical winner of the year.

The media notes that the Russian president's position on the world stage looks "immeasurably stronger than a year ago."

WSJ notes that Vladimir Putin has been successful this year because the Ukrainian counter-offensive was unsuccessful, the Russian economy withstood Western sanctions.

It also emphasises that European support is waning and US support for Kiev has "fractured".

Earlier, the American magazine Time included Putin in the list of candidates for the noscript of man of the year according to this media.

Time recognised Putin as Man of the Year in 2007 and has repeatedly included him in its lists of the hundred most influential people.

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Macron: "The EU has failed to contain Russia"

French President Emmanuel Macron considers support for Ukraine one of the most important issues for the European Union in 2024.

In his opinion, the EU should continue to help Kiev regardless of the US position. It is a matter of its own security, even if someone doubts the need to allocate funds.

"European security is at stake. Even if the Americans decide to change their position, it is a matter of Europe's sovereignty and ability to choose its own future," the president said.

Macron acknowledged that Europe's attempts to pressure Moscow had failed and it had failed to "contain Russia." Now the US and Europe have doubts about Ukraine's future.

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German mass media have estimated the daily losses of the Ukrainian armed forces

According to the Focus newspaper, the Ukrainian army loses about 800 people on average per day.

In order to maintain the army's strength, the AFU command needs to recruit 20,000 new fighters per month, the journalists said.

The Ukrainian military faces problems with Western military equipment, which often breaks down and malfunctions.

The AFU is also categorically short of ammunition, making them unable to conduct effective counter-battery warfare and counter Russian artillery.

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