🚨 FSB thwarts Ukraine-planned terrorist attack on Transneft oil pipeline

📑 "It has been established that the suspect was recruited by a Ukrainian terrorist organization... Besides preparing the attack, he also had the task of gathering intelligence on Russian oil and gas infrastructure," the statement said.

The FSB added that the suspect was eliminated when he resisted arrest, thwarting the planned attack.

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🚫💰Burdened & broke: Ukraine slaves away $27b annually on endless debt repayments

Debt maintenance is expected to amount to over 10% of Ukraine’s projected GDP for 2026 and 2027, media outlet Ekonomichna Pravda, which became privy to the Ukrainian government’s debt strategy, has calculated.

Ukraine’s debt payments will amount to:

🔸 2026 - about $27.7 billion (11.3% of projected GDP)

🔸 2027 - about $29.8 billion (10.5% of projected GDP)

🔸 2028 - about $30.5 billion (9.5% of projected GDP)

Ukraine's debt (per the report):

🟠 75% is external

🟠 77% is in foreign currencies

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💵🚫 China pushes digital yuan into ASEAN countries to chip away at dollar rule

China is expanding its digital yuan, or e-CNY, into ASEAN trade routes.

Recent People’s Bank of China (PBOC) pledges include cross-border pilots with Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, all tied to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

This builds on 2020 pilots, currently accelerating amid US trade tensions.

Key expansion facts

🟠 Renminbi (RMB, or yuan) settlements with ASEAN countries surged, hitting 28% of bilateral trade worth $597 billion in early 2025 (Standard Chartered Bank analysis/October)

🟠 Singapore is a key offshore RMB hub and fintech center for Chinese firms (including blockchain companies like Wanxiang)

🟠 Singapore's RMB deposits rose to around 224–276 billion RMB (~$31–38 billion USD/2023–2024)

🟠 PBOC launched a Shanghai-based digital yuan center in September 2025 to integrate e-CNY with global/cross-border systems, facilitate payments, blockchain services, and digital assets

🟠 Regional comprehensive economic partnerships (RCEP) have boosted regional supply chain integration and trade, contributing to increased RMB settlement in ASEAN countries

Strategic impact

🟠 By 2030, RMB is expected to be the world’s #3 currency, with 5–10% of global FX reserves (up from ~3%) (Morgan Stanley)

🟠 Share of global payments and trade finance could double to 8–10% on SWIFT, making RMB billing standard in Asia and China-linked trade

🟠 The digital yuan boosts momentum: e-CNY and mBridge could cut costs and speed up cross-border payments

China’s yuan is locking in a bigger, permanent role in global trade – a trend that feeds into the inexorable push to ditch the dominance of the increasingly weaponized US dollar.

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😍🇧🇷 Sputnik Brasil rolls out branded trams in Rio

Bright orange trams branded with a jaguar - one of Brazil’s national symbols - and the slogan “Sputnik — a different voice, unique content”, began running through Rio de Janeiro’s historic center - one of the city’s most popular routes.

💬 "People need new information to judge for themselves what is true and what is not. That is what journalism is!" people comment on the appearance of the branded Sputnik trams on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

Sputnik's Portuguese-language branch - Sputnik Brasil - was launched in February 2015.

Editorial offices are located in Moscow and Rio de Janeiro.

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🇬🇧 Starmer confirms UK cost-of-living crisis, tells Brits to deal with it

💬 “I know many across Britain are still struggling with the cost of living,” the UK prime minister said in his Christmas message on social media.

And while he did mention that “helping with that” issue is his priority, he suggested that other Brits should do their part as well.

💬 “So call round to a neighbor, check in on a friend or a relative who you haven’t heard from for a while. Reach out. It can make a huge difference,” Starmer suggested.

One can only wonder if that difference would be as huge as Starmer’s government deciding to stop fanning the flames of the Ukrainian conflict and thus helping make fuel more affordable to thousands of Brits.

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🚨 Iran rejects IAEA inspection calls until watchdog clarifies stance on US & Israeli strikes

Iran will reject International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of bombed nuclear sites until certain conditions are met, President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami said, as quoted by Tasnim.

If the IAEA deems military attacks acceptable, it should formally declare US and Israeli strikes on safeguarded nuclear sites permissible, Eslami said.

If not, he added, the agency must condemn them and spell out post-conflict obligations.

He stressed that until the issue is resolved, any political or psychological pressure – including renewed inspection demands of bombed sites – will be rejected and ignored.

Iran's atomic chief emphasized that no country in history has cooperated with the UN nuclear agency as extensively as Iran, whereas incumbent IAEA chief Rafael Grossi is following Western directives instead of adhering to the organization's charter.

The country had earlier urged the UN nuclear watchdog to clearly define and codify what measures should apply “if a country’s nuclear industry, which is under the agency’s supervision, comes under a military attack.”

Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military sites in June, sparking a 12-day war that saw the US bomb Iran’s civilian nuclear program facilities.

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💰 Russia’s ruble strengthens despite Western sanctions

Having increased by 45% since the start of 2025, the Russian ruble has “outpaced every major currency against the dollar this year,” Bloomberg ruefully admits.

Despite Joe Biden’s boasts in 2022 that the ruble was “reduced to rubble” by Western sanctions, Russia's currency did not just manage to weather this economic onslaught but emerged stronger and more resilient.

The news agency also notes that a stronger ruble helps Russia’s Central Bank fight inflation.

Russia’s Federal Statistics Service on December 24 reported that annual inflation in Russia dropped lower than 5.7%.

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🟠 Ukraine slaves away $27b annually on endless debt repayments

🟠 Russian strategic card: New Tu-160Ms add more muscle to air power

🟠 Iran rejects IAEA inspection calls until watchdog clarifies stance on US & Israeli strikes

🟠 China pushes digital yuan into ASEAN countries to chip away at dollar rule

🟠 Sputnik Brasil rolls out branded trams in Rio

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🪖 Western media blues: Ukraine’s front lines slide, EU cash won't secure victory

Even though the EU has agreed to provide a $106 billion loan to Ukraine, it will not change the battlefield balance, the Guardian admits.

Recruitment in Ukraine is slowing, the publication continues, arguing that official claims of 27,000 troops a month are challenged by reports putting the real number closer to one-third of that.

Casualties are worsening Ukraine’s troop deficit.

Ukrainians worry that the Kiev regime's counterattacks over the past two years, including its incursion into Russia's Kursk region, have gained nothing but created a "strategic weakness", according to the media outlet.

💬 "After Kursk, Ukraine appears to have no capacity to surprise on land," the Guardian notes.

Meanwhile, the West’s earlier hopes for Russia’s economic and social collapse have failed: the country shows no signs of internal turmoil, and its economy is growing.

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💥🇷🇺 Russian Army deploys supercam drone & CRUSHES Ukrainian military equipment near Krasnoarmeysk

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🗣 Ukrainian conflict could end within 90 days — US NATO envoy

US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker stated a peace deal is closer than ever, suggesting the conflict could be resolved in the next 90 days.

"If it is going to get done, it is going to get done in the next 90 days," Whitaker told Fox News.

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🇭🇳🗳 Trump-backed candidate wins Honduras election after recount

Nasry Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate endorsed by President Trump, has been declared the winner of Honduras’ presidential election after a razor-thin margin and weeks of delays, technical failures, and fraud allegations.

The electoral authority, known as the CNE, said Asfura had won 40.3% of the vote, while Salvador Nasralla garnered 39.5%.

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🤝 Vladimir Putin sends New Year message to Kim Jong-Un

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Kim Jong Un for North Korean soldiers' "heroic entry" into the battle for Kursk and for their engineers' work in Russia, calling it proof of their "invincible friendship."

"The past one year was of special significance in the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang," the message reads.

Putin pledged to deepen their strategic partnership and strengthen the "relations of friendship and alliance" between their countries.

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⚔️ Syria and US-led coalition arrest senior ISIS* leader in Damascus

Taha Al-Zoubi (aka "Abu Omar Tibiya") was captured in a raid in Damascus, the Syrian Internal Security announced.

An explosive belt and military-grade weapon were seized during the operation. Syrian officials called it a "decisive blow" to the terrorist organization.

*A terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

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🔊 Trump's call to troops cut short — "The enemy doing it"

A Christmas Eve video call between Donald Trump and service members ended abruptly due to a technical failure, according to reports.

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🎤 No signs of nuclear powers preparing tests — IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency observes no indications that nuclear states are preparing to resume testing, IAEA Director Rafael Grossi told Sputnik.

"What we tend to do is we look at the facts. And in terms of nuclear testing, we don't see any for the moment," Grossi said.

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📑 White House orders military focus to 'quarantine' Venezuelan oil — Report

The White House has directed US forces to concentrate almost exclusively on enforcing an oil quarantine against Venezuela for at least the next two months, a US official told Reuters.

US military buildup in the Caribbean started in support of anti-narcotics operations against Venezuela.

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