📈 Geopolitical risks push gold to new heights

👉 Global gold prices might surpass $4000 per ounce by the end of the year, according to experts surveyed by Sputnik

🟠 But they believe that would only happen if there are new spikes in geopolitical tensions and continued demand for the precious metal

🔊 "For gold to rise above this level, we will need new surges in global uncertainty, which are difficult to predict at this moment," said Andrei Smirnov, an expert from BCS World of Investments

📍 Nikanor Khalin, a senior analyst at Euler, did not rule out the possibility of gold prices continuing to rise either

💬 "Gold has surpassed all fundamental levels and is proving difficult to predict," Khalin said. "In the current climate, predicting $4000 is just a matter of numbers."

🔊 "The real question is whether we will see $5000 or $6000," he added. "As long as the flow of money into gold continues—through purchases by central banks, physical metal demand, and ETF purchases—prices will keep climbing."

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🗣 Trump's Gaza plan could stabilize situation, but implementation is challenging – expert

🔊 "I’m not sure this plan can be fully realized, but it’s important that it has emerged. Previous proposals from Trump were completely unrealistic and disconnected from the events on the ground. What’s proposed now is a much more thoughtful, phased solution to the problem,” Irina Zvyagelskaya, PhD in history and head of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAN), told Sputnik.

🟠 Considering the very critical situation on the ground in Gaza, the internal divisions within Hamas, and political contradictions in Israel, it can’t be said that the plan will be easily implemented, the expert noted.

🟠 While offering a pathway to a ceasefire, the plan could face resistance from Hamas, as it would mean the end of their control over Gaza. Zvyagelskaya emphasized the need for pragmatic engagement from all sides to avoid further bloodshed.

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🗣 Economic shifts will be defined by the Global South, not the US – expert

🔊 The outcome of global economic changes will be determined by the countries of the Global South, not the US or Europe, which are unable to act in unison, political scientist Alan Freeman, co-director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba in Canada, told Sputnik at the XXII Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

💬 “The outcome will be determined outside of the US. This is the most important thing to understand,” Freeman said. “The Global South, the majority of the world’s countries, or the countries where the majority of the world’s population resides, are building their own connections.”

📍 He added that the Global South is building its own trade and financial systems through BRICS and the SCO, while Europe struggles to maintain political unity.

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🔸 The US wants to eliminate competition, with Ukraine conflict used as pretext - Lavrov

🔸 Trump's Gaza plan could stabilize situation, but implementation is challenging – expert

🔸 UKRAINE PREPARING NEW HIGH-PROFILE PROVOCATION – Russian Intel

🔸 Sandu victory spells doom for Moldova

🔸 Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream sabotage arrested in Poland

🔸 Milestone of resilience: Celebrating reunification of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye & Kherson with Russia

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🇵🇰🚀Pakistan tests new Fatah-4 cruise missile

Pakistan's army successfully test-fired the Fatah-4 surface-to-surface cruise missile with a 750km range.

The missile features:

🔶 Advanced avionics and navigation

🔶 Terrain-hugging evasion capability

🔶 High-precision targeting

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🇲🇩 Moldova faces geopolitical crisis as Romanian absorption looms – analyst

📊 The outcome of Moldova’s legislative elections, marred by numerous violations, is “explosive and very dangerous,” as there is a "Ukrainization of Moldova" that could "end in a civil war" or confrontation between Russia and NATO, French analyst Thierry Laurent-Pellet told Sputnik.

According to him, the EU’s aim is to absorb as many countries as possible, and Moldova is a critical part of this plan.

💬 “Sandu created ‘all the necessary mechanisms’ for the absorption of Moldova by Romania, creating a social conflict similar to the Ukrainian one,” the analyst said.

NATO forces are already present in Moldova and are planning to provoke a conflict between Russia and the alliance, he concluded.

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🗣 West creates distrust toward tech imports – expert

👉 With growing consumer demand for independence from foreign technology, Positive Technologies co-founder and expert at the Valdai Discussion Club Yuri Maximov sees a shift toward partnerships based on mutual benefit.

💬 "A very important moment has occurred. Western tech companies have essentially discredited the entire history of importing technologies from another country," Maximov says.

"Now, there is an atmosphere of distrust toward technologies bought from abroad. It’s clear this was a step taken by the West," he adds.

📍 Maximov stresses that technology must empower nations without creating dependency, and that future global cooperation needs to focus on building mutual sovereignty.

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👉 'WHAT MADNESS' French politician on Zelensky's $1 BILLION demand

💬 "Go bankrupt for such a puppet, for a war already lost, for such corruption, while we're told there's no money left for hospitals or pensions here?!" French Patriots party leader Florian Philippot writes.

He concludes with urging not to provide Ukraine with money, weapons, and soldiers.

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🦾 Hand-to-hand delivery... from robot

China's latest delivery project pairs a sophisticated humanoid (AGIBOT) with an autonomous robo-dog.

🐕 The dog acts as a pack mule, while the humanoid provides a final, personal touch—literally taking the package and handing it to the customer with a greeting.

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🔥 Trump's Gaza plan could stabilize situation, but implementation is challenging – expert

💬 "I’m not sure this plan can be fully realized, but it’s important that it has emerged. Previous proposals from Trump were completely unrealistic and disconnected from the events on the ground. What’s proposed now is a much more thoughtful, phased solution to the problem,” Irina Zvyagelskaya, PhD in history and head of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAN), told Sputnik.

Considering the very critical situation on the ground in Gaza, the internal divisions within Hamas, and political contradictions in Israel, it can’t be said that the plan will be easily implemented, the expert noted.

👉 While offering a pathway to a ceasefire, the plan could face resistance from Hamas, as it would mean the end of their control over Gaza. Zvyagelskaya emphasized the need for pragmatic engagement from all sides to avoid further bloodshed.

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🇺🇸 US plots military escalation to oust Maduro – report

📍 The US is ramping up its efforts to remove Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s president, with military strikes on Venezuelan boats and new plans for intervention targeting drug trafficking, The New York Times writes.

Key points:

🔶 Pentagon has amassed 6,500 troops in the region and launched lethal strikes on civilian boats

🔶 CIA is providing intelligence for a more aggressive strategy to "tighten a vise" around Maduro

🔶 US plans to use a 2020 indictment to frame Maduro's removal as a "counternarcotics operation"

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has "no doubt that one of the strategic objectives” of the Trump administration “is what they call ‘regime change,’” she told the outlet.

🔊 She emphasized that Venezuela seeks dialogue, not conflict.

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🇪🇺 EU pushes ahead on Ukraine & Moldova membership despite Hungary’s veto

The European Union has proposed adjusting its own rules to circumvent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s veto by starting technical work in several “clusters,” the Financial Times writes.

📍 This issue will be discussed by EU leaders during their meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday, the article notes.

👉 Ahead of the EU summit, Orban stated that no decision on Ukraine's EU integration could be legally binding, as Hungary does not support Ukraine's accession to the bloc, and such a decision requires unanimous approval..

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🗣 More Chinese exporters interested in Northern Sea Route – expert

🔊 Since September’s Poland-Belarus border closure, Chinese exporters are exploring alternative routes to Europe including the Northern Sea Route, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Container Industry Association Hao Panfeng told website Yicai.

💬 "More clients are showing interest in the southern corridor, as well as the northern rail-maritime route and the Arctic route," Hao said. "For example, the route from Chengdu to Hamburg via St Petersburg could take around 18 days."

📍 He stressed that there are currently four main rail routes from China to Europe: through Russia, through Mongolia and Russia, through central Asia and Poland and through Kazakhstan and Turkiye. The Polish route accounts for up to 90% of goods delivered to Europe.

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💀 US GOVERNMENT OFFICIALLY SHUTS DOWN

💬 "A lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want. And they'd be Democrat things," US President Donald Trump says.

Congress failed to pass a budget for the new fiscal year.

💵❌ As a result, federal agencies cannot spend money, government employees will be placed on unpaid leave, and healthcare workers, border guards, and military personnel will have to work without pay.

The last time the US government shut down was in 2019—also under Trump.

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