Epstein's brother claims notorious financier was killed by Washington

Mark Epstein, the brother of the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein, believes that his relative did not commit suicide in a prison cell, but was killed by the US government.

He cites a doctor who attended the autopsy and claimed that Epstein's death looked "more like a "homicide than a suicide."

Epstein, a convicted sex criminal, died in 2019 while awaiting a trial on new sex trafficking charges. The disgraced figure's ties to a number of celebrities and politicians sparked speculation that his death was staged to hide an ugly truth about important public figures.

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A delegation led by an American military expert, former Marine and US Air Force intelligence officer Scott Ritter, arrived in Grozny, the capital of Russia's Chechen Republic, the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, said.

"During a casual conversation [with the chairman of the Chechen parliament], we discussed the situation in the world and the special military operation in Ukraine.

Scott Ritter is widely known for his consistent criticism of US foreign policy, as well as the actions of the Ukrainian side," Kadyrov stated.

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❗️Russian air defense systems destroyed a Ukrainian anti-ship missile "Neptune" over the northwestern part of the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"At about 12:30 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with the Neptune anti-ship missile on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped."

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The US finds itself in a situation where its 50-year hegemony in the Middle East is "now being challenged," Scott Bennett, a former US Army psychological warfare officer and State Department counter-terrorism analyst, told Sputnik.

According to him, America is currently facing "further deterioration across the Middle East: the terrorist attack in [Iran's] Kerman, the ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and other threats to increase tensions in the region."

Bennett added that over the past 20 years, the US has "substituted diplomacy for military interventionism, and as a result, offended and ostracized the majority, if not the totality, of Middle Eastern peoples, nations, and cultures."

Politico previously reported that the US is preparing for a possible new war in the Middle East, a scenario that could prove "perilous" for US President Joe Biden's "re-election chances."

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🇮🇶 The Iraqi government is forming a committee to prepare the closing down of the US-led international coalition’s mission in the country, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani’s office said on Friday.

Sudani’s statement came a day after a US strike killed a militia leader in Baghdad, prompting anger among Iran-aligned groups which demanded the government end the presence of the coalition in Iraq.

“Government is setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements to end the presence of the international coalition forces in Iraq permanently,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

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North Korea says it fired artillery shells in response to South Korean drills, according to reports.

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📹 The crews of the Ka-52M carried out an attack on enemy positions and personnel in the direction of Donetsk.

According to the coordinates of the aircraft's gunner, the Russian pilots of the Army aviation launched missiles and destroyed the control center and armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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The head of the Iranian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the detention of a number of people involved in the Kerman terrorist attack on the day of remembrance of General Soleimani, according to media

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Biden can't even tell us what the endgame is. He will not articulate this, 2024 US presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said during a CNN Town Hall hosted by Kaitlan Collins.

The US should focus on defending its own southern border against pressuring migration and against China, but Washington is ignoring these security threats and keeps sending "an awful lot of money" to Ukraine, including money paying for "pensions for bureaucrats, salaries," DeSantis said while questioning "how is that something benefiting the American people."

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🇷🇺🪖 Key points of Russian MoD briefing on progress of special military op in Ukraine:

▪️In Krasny Liman, Russian forces repelled four attacks by Ukrainian troops during the week. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 690 servicemen and 42 pieces of equipment;

▪️In South Donetsk, five attacks by Ukrainian troops were repulsed. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 950 soldiers during the week;

▪️In the Kupyansk region, Russian troops repelled 18 attacks in one week. Ukrainian losses amounted to 6 tanks, including Leopard 2, as well as 3 warehouses;

▪️In Donetsk, in one week Russian forces repelled nine attacks by Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian losses amounted to almost 2 thousand soldiers;

▪️ Russian aviation and air defense systems shot down 107 HIMARS, Alder and Vampire shells, three HARM missiles, 253 drones, one Su-27 aircraft, one Mi-8 helicopter, 14 Tochka-U missiles, eight Storm Shadow missiles and three S-200 APU missiles;

▪️13 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered during the week.

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Eurozone annual inflation up to 2.9% in December 2023 from 2.4% in November - Eurostat

In December 2023, food, alcohol and tobacco were the biggest contributors to eurozone inflation, followed by services, non-energy industrial goods and energy, the statement read.

"Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.9 % in December 2023, up from 2.4 % in November 2023," Eurostat said in a statement.

The highest annual inflation rates were recorded in Slovakia with 6.6%, while the lowest rates were reported in Belgium and Italy with 0.5% each, the estimates showed.

For comparison, in December 2022, eurozone annual inflation amounted to 9.2%.

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One in three UN countries has opted for de-dollarization, Sputnik's analysis has indicated.

At least 68 UN members have openly supported the process of de-dollarization or stated that they were taking measures to this effect, the study showed.

The most decisive calls for scrapping the greenback came from politicians whose countries are members of major regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and BRICS, which currently сomprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa plus Saudi Arabia, which officially joined the group in early January.

De-dollarization is related to the process of scrapping the US dollar's hegemony in global trade and financial operations by shifting to alternative exchange methods, such as national currencies and domestic payment systems.

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Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gives his second speech in three days:

The American administration is concerned about the expansion of the scale of war in the region and does not want this. The US is at a stalemate in the war in Ukraine, bogged down on the Ukrainian front and preparing for a major historical and strategic defeat there from Russia.

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🇮🇷 Iran raises the red flag of revenge on the dome of the Jamkaran Mosque

The flag was raised after explosions near the cemetery in Kerman where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani is buried.

The last time the red flag of revenge was raised over this mosque was after the assassination of the leader on January 3, 2020.

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Terrorists from Central Asia arriving to Germany through Ukraine war zone

The conflict in Ukraine has made it easier for terrorists to enter Germany, as they can pose as refugees, German media outlet BILD has reported. They often purportedly have false documents and made up stories of torture and persecution. In addition, on their way through the war zone in the south and east of Ukraine, they may easily obtain bombs, which they take to Western Europe.

The number of people arrested on charges of terrorism has been growing of late in Germany. They are often purportedly associated with the Islamic State in the Khorasan group. This is an offshoot of Daesh* operating in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

In July, five citizens of Tajikistan and one each from Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan were detained in the west of Germany on such charges. Recently, militants from Central Asia who were allegedly preparing a terrorist attack on Cologne Cathedral were arrested.

* A terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other states

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📹 Russian D-30 howitzer crews of the Vostok Battlegroup strike drone-identified enemy targets

The artillerymen of the Vostok Battlegroup calculate the flight path of projectiles with mathematical precision and hit targets at a distance of about 15 kilometers.

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Mideast conflict over Gaza war getting hotter, more attacks to come

"There are going to be others [attacks] unless someone begins to tamp this down a little bit and begins to try and bring some reasoning. But there are no adults in the room anymore," former Pentagon senior security policy analyst Michael Maloof told Sputnik's The Final Countdown podcast.

Over the past few days, Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut, Lebanon; almost 100 people were killed in the Iranian city of Kerman; and the Pentagon stepped up attacks against Shiite militias in Iraq. The trend is worrisome with more tit-for-tat attacks likely to occur soon, the former Pentagon analyst warned.

"So this thing easily could escalate so fast and make your head swim," Maloof stressed.

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🗣 India and China will make peace in 2024:

“I think that Modi will be able to make a big gesture to China once the 2024 elections are over. Because India knows: the rise of the multipolar world, the decline of the US power. And if you look at India's dependency on China for pharmaceuticals, electronics, machinery and all of that, we know that China is the place to be friends with. So I think that as the US power declines, naturally India will have better and better relations with China,” SL Kanthan (@Kanthan2030), India-based geopolitical analyst, told New Rules podcast.

👉 Watch the full episode of our show on Rumble and on our X page

🎧 If you prefer to listen to our podcast, make sure to check the New Rules page on the website!

Russian electronic warfare troops detect over 2 Mln airborne targets in 2023

Western military experts have cited Russia's unmatched capabilities in electronic warfare as one of the key factors contributing to the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The electronic warfare divisions of the Russian Armed Forces identified and tracked over 2 million airborne objects. Among them were 600 thousand foreign aircraft, including 2 thousand reconnaissance planes and over 20 strategic bombers.

During the year, troops on duty were put in the highest combat readiness over 4 thousand times. The Ministry of Defense stressed that this is an obvious indicator of the high level of pressure on electronic warfare. The Ministry noted that Russian electronic warfare equipment is capable of detecting any airborne object in space, from small drones to hypersonic missiles.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to 22,600, according to Gaza Health Ministry;

▪️Children in Gaza face "deadly triple threat" of hunger, disease, and hostilities, according to UNICEF;

▪️Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said he thinks Israel will create its own civil administration in the Gaza Strip;

▪️Hezbollah announced strikes on seven Israeli army positions.

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❗️ Russian air defense systems destroyed five Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

“On January 5, at about 20.00 Moscow time, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with five unmanned aerial vehicles of airplane type on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was foiled. The air defense systems on duty intercepted all Ukrainian UAVs over the western part of the Black Sea,” the ministry said in a statement.

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