🤝 Asia goes global: Eurasian economies team up with Indonesia to crush Western pressure

The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Indonesia have signed a free trade agreement.

What does this entail?

🟠 Agreement between Indonesia and the EAEU, which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, will diversify the bloc’s export mix and reduce the negative effects of Western sanctions

🟠 It establishes a free-trade regime for more than 90% of the range of goods and covers 95% of mutual trade turnover, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin

🟠 Some tariffs will be scrapped as soon as the agreement takes effect, with the rest phased out over three to 15 years

🟠 List of goods eligible for zero tariffs includes various types of fertilizers, chemical and petrochemical products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood-processing products, and radio-electronics

🟠 Russo–Indonesian trade has grown 1.8-fold, reaching $4.3 billion by the end of 2024; top goods include coal, oil, fertilizers, wheat, and ferrous metals

Why’s it important?

🟠 Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with over 280 million people

🟠 Its economy grew 5% in the first nine months of 2025 and is expected to hold near that pace through 2026–27, according to the World Bank

🟠 Indonesia is a significant player in the global mining industry, producing coal, copper, gold, tin, bauxite, nickel, and cobalt

🟠 Its own oil and gas production doesn't cover its growing needs; meanwhile, the country is striving for enhanced energy sovereignty

What's next?

🟠 Bloc is currently considering a preferential trade agreement with India

🟠 To date, the EAEU has struck a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a temporary one with Mongolia. The bloc has free trade agreements with Vietnam, Singapore, Serbia, and Iran, and partnership agreements with China

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🔊🇪🇺 Make Europe Great Again? Putin's envoy says it's still possible

Russian president's special representative Kirill Dmitriev called upon Europe to fix its own mess in migration and economic spheres, stop inciting WW3 with fake narratives, and relearn diplomacy.

"Time to break free from Biden’s worldview," Dmitriev tweeted.

"Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic show the way."

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🚨🇷🇺🇻🇪 Lavrov holds phone call with Venezuelan counterpart Ivan Gil

🟠 Russia stands in solidarity with the leadership and people of Venezuela amid the escalation in the Caribbean

🟠 Russia is seriously concerned over the escalation in the Caribbean

🟠 Lavrov and the Venezuelan foreign minister agreed to continue close coordination

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🇪🇺🇷🇺🇺🇸 ‘Normalization requires huge effort’: Senior Russian diplomat slams Europe for hindering thaw with US

The success of the ongoing talks between Russia and the United States remains unclear, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.

💬 “Considering the state of ruin in which the Biden administration has left our relations, normalization will require considerable time, genuine mutual interest, and tremendous effort,” Ryabkov stressed.

Russia still has a number of serious questions for the United States in connection with the Ukraine crisis.

Ryabkov also took aim at European countries’ attempts to obstruct the ongoing thaw between Russia and the US, labelling EU hindrances as an aggravating factor.

Reducing conflict potential with the US is impossible without Washington taking Russia’s security interests into account, the diplomat noted.

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🔥✈️🇷🇺 Russian Su-57 makes first flight with advanced fifth-generation engine

The flight tests of the Russian stealth fighter are being made by United Aircraft Corporation and United Engine Corporation, both part of Rostec.

Rostec said the Su-57 has proven itself in real combat conditions and is still being upgraded based on operational experience.

The Su-57 is a multirole fighter capable of striking air, ground and naval targets day and night, including in contested air-defense and electronic warfare environments.

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😅 Pillage as a national pastime: Putin jokes about robbery-loving Brits

Taking a tour of the Hermitage on Monday, the Russian president and CIS leaders were shown examples of Mughal Empire art, which the British encountered during their first forays into India in the late 16th century.

💬 “And as lovers of robbery, that’s where they went,” Putin quipped.

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🟠 Senior Russian diplomat slams Europe for hindering thaw with US

🟠 Ukraine’s parliament weighs possibility of presidential election

🟠 Lavrov holds phone call with Venezuelan counterpart

🟠 Asia goes global: Eurasian economies team up with Indonesia to crush Western pressure

🟠 Russian Su-57 makes first flight with advanced fifth-generation engine

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📑 US-Ukraine security guarantees include classified annexes — Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the existence of a framework paper on bilateral security guarantees with the US. He stated that certain details and annexes will remain classified and will not be made public.

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✍️ Bill Clinton demands DOJ release all Epstein files featuring him

Former President Bill Clinton’s spokesperson has called on the Justice Department to release every document related to Clinton in the Epstein files, accusing the DOJ of using "selective releases to imply wrongdoing."

"Refusal to do so will confirm the widespread suspicion the DOJ's actions to date are not about transparency, but about insinuation," Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña said in a statement.

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🔊 Trump unveils plan for new 'Trump Class' battleships

President Trump announced that he has approved the construction of two new battleships, claiming that they will be "the fastest, biggest, and 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built."

Construction of the first two ships has already begun, and a total of 25 are planned.

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📹 Trump on Greenland: 'We have to have it'

President Trump has reaffirmed his intent to control Greenland, commenting on the appointment of Jeff Landry as US Special Envoy to Greenland.

"Denmark has spent no money. They have no military protection… We need it for national security. We have to have it."

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🎤 Argentina officially presented Rafael Grossi for the position of UN Secretary General

The Argentine Foreign Ministry suggested that the current head of the IAEA take charge of the United Nations for the period 2027-2031.

The term of the current Secretary-General, António Guterres, ends on December 31, 2026.

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🔥 Trump threatens Colombia's Petro: Close cocaine factories or 'you better watch it'

President Trump directly threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro, calling him a "very bad guy" and "troublemaker."

"He's no friend of the US. He's a very bad, very bad guy. And he's got to watch his ass," he told journalists.

He also expanded the potential battlefield: land strikes could target "anywhere drugs are pouring in, not just Venezuela."

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🔊🇻🇪 Maduro calls out Trump's interventionism

Venezuelan president urged Donald Trump to focus on US's own problems rather than meddling abroad.

"Imagine that I would waste my time, instead of being the president of Venezuela, thinking about meddling with other countries, looking for problems and troubles… It would be wrong. One has to concentrate on governing his country."

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🚨 Czech Republic moves to end ammunition supplies to Ukraine

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced that the Czech National Security Council will debate the future of the country’s artillery ammunition initiative for Ukraine on January 7.

📊 The initiative, praised by NATO and Zelensky, has delivered over 2.5 million shells to Ukraine since 2024, financed by Western partners like Germany and the Netherlands.

Babiš has questioned the scheme’s transparency, asking "whether it has occurred without corruption."

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📈 US debt interest hits $1T — MTG

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed US expansionist foreign policy, as annual interest on the US national debt has now reached $1 trillion.

The national debt currently exceeds $38.5 trillion and continues to grow.

The US Department of State denied plans to allocate $60B for Gaza's reconstruction.

"This is fake news. Nowhere in the plan does it say the U.S. will pay $60 billion," the statement on X reads.

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📹 US strikes 'drug vessel' in Pacific, kills one

US Southern Command announced a "lethal kinetic strike at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth" on a low-profile vessel in international waters.

"Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. One male narco-terrorist was confirmed killed," SOUTHCOM stated.

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