Russia will not allow NATO to turn Baltic Sea into its lake, says senior diplomat #Moscow will not allow #NATO to turn the #Baltic Sea into its own lake, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander #Grushko said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel. "The use of words such as 'control' is further proof of the North Atlantic Alliance’s desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake, a metaphor they like to use in public statements. However, this will not happen for many reasons, with the main one being because Russia will not allow it to happen," he pointed out. Grushko noted that Russia would do everything to "protect and safeguard" its interests. He stressed that Moscow had already announced retaliatory measures to the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, saying that the Leningrad and Moscow military districts would be re-established and the Karelia Corps would be formed. "We would like the Baltic Sea to remain a sea of cooperation and interaction, as well as a waterway for trade," Grushko added, noting that there were "no prospects" for the implementation of NATO’s plans. According to him, Russia will closely follow the rhetoric of its adversaries. "However, as for specific measures, they will have to be determined depending on the activities that NATO and individual NATO countries carry out in the Baltic Sea," Grushko concluded. At a press conference following a Helsinki summit of the Baltic nations, NATO Secretary General Mark #Rutte announced the launch of the Baltic Sentry mission in the Baltic Sea, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure, including energy and data cables. The mission’s launch came in response to the damage to an undersea cable connecting Finland and Estonia.

Damage from fires in California comparable with nuclear strike, says President Trump The scale of devastations from #wildfires raging in #California is above the damage from a nuclear strike, US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with Newsmax television. "And it's far worse than you even see on television, if that's believable," Trump said. "I believe it's greater damage than if they got hit by a nuclear weapon," he noted. "We're going to find many bodies and many more dead," #Trump added. Wildfires started spreading in the Los Angeles County on January 7. Fires destroyed more than 12,300 buildings. The death toll according to the latest data is 24 people.

President Trump reacts on 'unconditional discharge' in his NY criminal trial "The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt. After spending tens of millions of dollars, wasting over 6 years of obsessive work that should have been spent on protecting New Yorkers from violent, rampant crime that is destroying the City and State, coordinating with the Biden/Harris Department of Injustice in lawless Weaponization, and bringing completely baseless, illegal, and fake charges against your 45th and 47th President, ME, I was given an UNCONDITIONAL DISCHARGE. That result alone proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE, and this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED. The real Jury, the American People, have spoken, by Re-Electing me with an overwhelming MANDATE in one of the most consequential Elections in History. As the American People have seen, this “case” had no crime, no damages, no proof, no facts, no Law, only a highly conflicted Judge, a star witness who is a disbarred, disgraced, serial perjurer, and criminal Election Interference. Today’s event was a despicable charade, and now that it is over, we will appeal this Hoax, which has no merit, and restore the trust of Americans in our once great System of Justice. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Qatar vows to stop EU gas sales if fined under due diligence law #Qatar will stop shipping #gas to the #EU if member states strictly enforce a new law cracking down on forced labour and environmental damage, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, approved this year, requires larger companies operating in the European Union to check whether their supply chains use forced labour or cause environmental damage and to take action if they do. Penalties include fines of up to 5% of global turnover. "If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I’m not bluffing, Kaabi told the newspaper, adding that "5% of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5% of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people's money, so I cannot lose that kind of money - and nobody would accept losing that kind of money." Kaabi, the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy, has said the EU should thoroughly review the due diligence law. He has also said that his Gulf country has no concerns about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's promise to lift a cap on liquefied natural gas exports. Qatar, among the world's top LNG exporters, is seeking to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition from top supplier the United Sates increases. It plans to expand its liquefaction capacity to 142 million tons per year by 2027 from 77 million.

Russia says its forces downed 5 ATACMS missiles that Ukraine fired into Bryansk Region #Ukrainian forces launched #ATACMS missiles toward Russia’s #Bryansk Region overnight, but air defenses shot down five of them and damaged another one, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "At 3:25 a.m. this morning the enemy struck a site on the territory of the Bryansk Region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were used. As a result of an anti-missile battle, five missiles were shot down and one was damaged by crews of S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems," the ministry said. According to the ministry, the missiles fell on the technical territory of a military site in the Bryansk Region, causing a fire, which was extinguished. "There are no casualties or damage," the ministry stated.

Jury Awards $12.6 Million to Woman Fired for Not Receiving COVID Vaccine A woman fired by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan over a #COVID-19 vaccination has been awarded more than $12 million in damages. A jury on Nov. 8 awarded Lisa Domski, a former employee of the company, $10 million in punitive damages. Jurors also awarded $1 million in non-economic damages, $1.375 million in front pay damages, and $315,000 in back pay damages. Jurors said that Blue Cross Blue Shield illegally discriminated against Domski when the company denied her request for an exemption and illegally terminated her over the lack of COVID-19 vaccination. “Clearly, the religious accommodation process was meant to stamp out religious beliefs of employees and promote COVID-19 vaccination within the company,” Noah S. Hurwitz, an attorney representing Domski, said. In a statement responding to the ruling, Blue Cross Blue Shield said: “While Blue Cross respects the jury process and thanks the individual jurors for their service, we are disappointed in the verdict. Blue Cross is reviewing its legal options and will determine its path forward in the coming days.”

[BREAKING] #CENTCOM attacked Houthis in Yemen #Yemen: The Saudi Al-Hadth channel reported that the US attacked the #Houthis' air defense base in the #Hodiedah area. Initial reports say heavy damage was cause to the targets.

Houthis claim to have downed another MQ9 Reaper drone The Houthis are uploading a document that they claim is the downing of an American MQ9 Reaper tank tonight in the skies of Yemen. If the report is authentic, this is the fifth drone of this model that the Houthis have dropped on the Americans (damage of approximately 150 million dollars cumulatively).

President Trump called out the double standard regarding gag orders in his NY criminal trial, slammed Joe Biden's inflation numbers and his mismanagement of Israel. "This is ELECTION INTERFERENCE. It all comes out of Washington... It's to damage Crooked Joe Biden's political opponent, who happens to be me. We're leading BIG in the polls and the American people get it. It's a SCAM!"

Approximate flight route of missiles that struck Ukraine's energy infrastructure today. Apparently, the Burshtyn, Dobrotvorskaya, Krivorozhskaya and Pridneprovskaya thermal power plants came under attack. The enemy also claimed damage to four of its thermal power plants. The strikes were reportedly carried out by Kalibr and Kh-101 cruise missiles, aeroballistic Kinzhals, and Geran-2 kamikaze drones.