Bitcoin extends gains to $80,000 The price of #bitcoin renewed its all-time high, rising to $80,000, Binance platform data showed as of 11:59 a.m. UTC At 12:20 p.m. UTC, Bitcoin traded lower at $79,500. Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by an unknown person or a group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without intermediaries.

Russian commander reports presence of active NATO soldiers in Kursk area Apty Alaudinov, Akhmat commander and deputy chief of the #Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department, suspects there may be active duty service members from #NATO countries serving as #mercenaries in the Kursk area. "You must understand that they have thrown together a ragtag army. And they have deployed as many foreign mercenaries as they could to there," the Russian commander told Rossiya-1 television. "I guess there are people among these foreign mercenaries who are in the military of the NATO bloc," he added. Later, Alaudinov confirmed that he meant active NATO servicemen.

Captured Ukrainian serviceman says foreigners take part in attack on Russian Kursk Region Ruslan Poltoratsky, a serviceman of Ukraine’s 80th Airborne Assault Brigade detained by Russian border guards, has said that foreign nationals are taking part in the cross-border attack on the Kursk Region. "When we crossed the border with Russia, at first I thought there was some line noise. But then I distinguished what they were saying - they were speaking English, Polish, maybe even French. I did not understand anything, I said into the walkie-talkie - 'repeat, repeat,' hearing some gibberish," the captured serviceman said during the interrogation, the video footage of which was released by the FSB. "When they had already taken positions [in the Kursk Region], they also went on the air with their superiors, with ours as well, and I also heard them saying something in English and in some other language. Something about houses, chaos," he said. At the same time, he heard the sound of shooting coming from the two-way radio. Earlier, Major General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit, said there were a lot of French and Polish mercenaries in the Kursk area. According to Defense Ministry updates, Kiev has lost up to 1,350 military personnel, 29 tanks and 23 armored personnel carriers since it launched the cross-border attack.

Iran detains MSC Aries ship over allegedly 'violation of maritime law' #Iran has decided to detain The MSC Aries ship bound for Israel due to its violation of maritime law, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanani has said. "Iran is constantly working to ensure the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. However, the aforementioned vessel was sent to Iran's territorial waters due to its violation of maritime law and for ignoring the requests of the Iranian authorities," he told a news conference broadcast by Iran's SNN TV channel. As Kanani noted, Iran monitors "all ships in the strategic strait" and prevents violations of the country's sovereignty. Tehran favors "the freedom of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international norms and will always act in this vein," the Foreign Ministry spokesman added.

Islamic regime hijacked Portuguese-flagged ship The #Islamic regime in #Iran #hijacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC #ARIES. According to a Visegrád 24 report, the Islamic regime in Iran just hijacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC ARIES, assisted by a helicopter. She was sailing from the UAE to India when it was hijacked near the Strait of Hormuz. Reportedly, 20 Filipino sailors are kidnapped. The ship is part-owned by an Israeli firm, the "Zodiac Maritime" group. Iran confirms seizure of MSC Aries in Strait of Hormuz. "The Navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the commercial vessel MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz, the IRNA news agency reported."

Russian forces eliminated 147 French mercenaries in Ukraine, Defense Ministry says The Russian armed forces eliminated 147 out of 256 #French #mercenaries that arrived in Ukraine during the special military operation, the Russian Defense Ministry said on its Telegram channel. Overall, the Russian forces eliminated 5,962 foreign mercenaries, most of them from Poland: out of 2,960, 1,497 were eliminated, the Defense Ministry reported. According to the provided statistics, Georgia occupies the second place in terms of eliminated mercenaries (561 militants eliminated out of 1,042). Out of the 1,113 mercenaries from the US, 491 were eliminated, as well as 422 out of the 1,005 Canadian mercenaries and 360 out of the 822 mercenaries that arrived from the UK. In January, Russian Ambassador to Paris Alexey Meshkov relayed the Russian State Duma’s address to the National Assembly of France regarding the French mercenaries in Ukraine. The Russian lawmakers pointed out that, despite Paris’ claims, the objective information regarding the membership of Ukrainian neo-Nazi forces reliably indicates that French mercenaries take part in the conflict. Previously, the Russian Defense Ministry said that, on January 16, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a precision strike on the temporary deployment location of foreign mercenaries in Kharkov, with the French comprising the majority of the mercenaries. The strike resulted in over 60 militants eliminated and over 20 injured. After that, French Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry; he was told that the death of the French lies entirely with the official Paris.

US, UK pummel #Houthi sites across #Yemen as Red Sea attacks escalate In 4th joint operation, fighter jets hit 18 targets in 8 locations; Iran-backed rebels denounce ‘US-British aggression’ while Washington admits Houthis yet to be deterred The US and Britain struck 18 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, answering a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed rebel group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this past week that set fire to a cargo vessel. According to US officials, American and British fighter jets hit sites in eight locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones, and air defense systems. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to provide early details of an ongoing military operation. This is the fourth time that the US and British militaries have conducted a combined operation against the Houthis since January 12. But the US has also been carrying out almost daily strikes to take out Houthi targets, including incoming missiles and drones aimed at ships, as well as weapons that were prepared to launch. The US F/A-18 fighter jets launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which is currently in the Red Sea, officials said. “The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks.”

IRGC commander-in-chief vows to counter U.S. threats Iran’s adversaries have unleashed a war against the country but Tehran stands firm and will not allow US threats to go unanswered, General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said. "Our enemies have unleashed an economic and psychological war against the people of Iran, threatening the country's security. Today, we hear threats in statements by US officials. You know that we will not leave a single threat unanswered," the Tasnim news agency quoted the general as saying. Tehran is not looking for war but reserves the right to respond to damage done to its interests, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Dehghan said, commenting on threats from U.S. officials. "Our message to the US, Israel and all their allies is that we aren’t looking for war. However, if our enemies are stupid and seek to damage Iran’s interests, our hands won’t be tied to protect ourselves," Dehghan stated in an interview with Iran’s Jamaran news agency. According to him, "the US position is not clear to the US itself, which means that the threats aren’t clear as well." He added that "Iran is a strong power" that "does not seek escalation."

Kremlin possesses reliable information on French mercenaries in Ukraine, spokesman says The Kremlin insists it has reliable information about the presence of French mercenaries in Ukraine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that Paris should do more to better ensure that French citizens stay out of harm’s way. "We still insist that we are in possession of reliable information about the presence of French nationals in Ukraine, French mercenaries <…> and [we] believe that they [the French government] should take much better care of their citizens or, at least, insistently urge them against participating in the criminal activities of the Kiev regime," Peskov stated. He added that the Kremlin is aware of the declarations by French officials who claim that they "cannot do anything" about the issue of French soldiers of fortune on the payroll of the Kiev regime. "We regret this," he said.