Trump to meet with Meloni, Starmer, Zelensky in Rome President Donald #Trump who has arrived in Rome together with his wife Melania to attend the funeral of Pope Francis intends to hold meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia #Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir #Starmer and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, the newspaper La Repubblica reported on Saturday. Zelensky’s participation in the event was questioned but his name is present in the updated list of delegations from various countries provided to reporters by the press office of the Holy See. As the official program of Trump’s visit suggests, the US president will leave Rome immediately after the funeral Mass in Vatican in the afternoon, the newspaper said. Trump’s stay in the Italian capital is limited by 15 hours. He is expected to meet with #Zelensky at the US ambassador’s residence at Villa Taverna where the US president is staying. Following the meeting, he will leave for the papal farewell ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. Italian media outlets reported earlier that European Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen also hopes to hold a meeting with Trump in Rome. Several dozen heads of state and governments, reigning monarchs and religious figures are expected to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

Apr. 22, 2025: Gold prices rocket to HISTORIC HIGH of $3,500 per ounce This development coincides with the US dollar index SINKING to a 15-month low, while weakening significantly against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, and Swiss franc.

Russia, US could join forces against modern Eurofascism — Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Europe’s “historical predisposition” to totalitarianism and problems in relations between the EU and the US offer Moscow a chance to forge a “situational rapprochement” with Washington against a common danger: a new global war spilling out of the Ukrainian crisis. That’s the conclusion the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) makes in a new analysis of recent political developments and US academic trends. Highlighting the recent French-US spat triggered by a French pro-Ukraine politician’s demand that the US return the Statue of Liberty, and the White House’s reply that the French would be “speaking German” if not for the 1944 Normandy landings, the SVR pointed to France’s historical tendencies toward dictatorship (Jacobins, Napoleon) and its #Eurofascists’ collaboration with the Nazis in WWII (including SS Division Charlemagne, which fanatically fought the Red Army at the Reichstag in 1945). The agency also highlighted a consensus in “conservative expert circles” in the US on the British elite’s special role in stoking conflicts and committing war crimes, including Harvard prof Caroline Elkins’ work on British “liberal imperialism,” and its danger as a more stable and therefore potentially even more destructive force than Nazism thanks to its “ideological elasticity.”

The Islamic Republic has warned that in the event of any US military attack on #Iran, it will target the joint US-British base in Diego Garcia, which is in the Indian Ocean and 3,800 kilometers from Iran, while Iran's longest-range missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers

British special forces on standby for possible #Ukraine deployment The #UK is preparing to send special forces to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission, with a ceasefire agreement edging closer, The i Paper reports. Sources reveal that elite units have been told to get ready for #mobilization. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that NATO troop presence in Ukraine, in any capacity, poses a #THREAT to #Russia.

West to start preparing for new conflict with Russia after clash in Ukraine over, The Times reports The #West will start getting ready for its next #conflict with #Russia once the hostilities in #Ukraine are over, The Times wrote citing senior military officers in the Ministry of Defense. Among those who share this opinion is Lt. Gen. Mike Elviss, who serves as commander of the British field army. "What is certain is that once the guns fall silent in Ukraine, there will be a Russian resurgence, reconstitution, <…> a race to re-orientate and to re-establish conventional deterrence in an era of strategic confrontation," he was quoted as saying at the International Armoured Vehicle Conference in Farnborough. In turn, Lt. Gen. Ralph Wooddisse, the commander of #NATO’s allied rapid reaction corps, said the Russian armed forces will be a "whole lot better next time round" as its military has shown the ability to constantly adapt to battlefield challenges. Experts interviewed by The Times believe that Russia’s post-conflict recovery will proceed faster than the West expects. Besides, military officials told the newspaper that the West has been experiencing serious shortages of armored vehicles, caused by military assistance to Ukraine combined with general disinvestment of the defense industry.

Syria's oil and gas comes with strategic potential #Syria has the potential to significantly increase its #oil and natural #gas production, which can provide energy and government revenue critical to the country's stability and reconstruction. Syria was an oil exporter in the decades prior to its civil war, and its natural gas production started to increase on the eve of the war. The country was self-sufficient in terms of energy supplies. Sales of oil and gas provided 20% of the government’s revenue. Most of Syria’s oil and natural gas fields are located in eastern Syria, in areas that are currently largely under the control of the predominately Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and where US forces are deployed. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated in 2015 that Syria possessed 2.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. In 2010, Syria produced 383,000 barrels per day of oil. Estimates of Syria’s oil output on the eve of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster range between 40,000–80,000 barrels per day, while Iran was providing the bulk of Syria’s oil supplies, up to 100,000 barrels a day. In 2015, the EIA estimated Syria’s natural gas reserves to be 240 billion cubic meters (bcm). Syria’s natural gas is used for power production. According to British Petroleum (BP), Syria produced 8.7 bcm of natural gas in 2011, which fell to 3 bcm annually by 2024. According to International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, natural gas provided one-quarter of Syria’s electricity supplies in 2022.

UK counter-terrorism police alerted to potential ISIS return British media said on Thursday that counter-terrorism police in the UK are on high alert for the potential return of British supporters of the Islamic State (#ISIS) following their release from prisons in Syria amid ongoing military developments in the region. According to Sky News, counter-terrorism authorities are concerned that instability in #Syria’s future could heighten the risk of jihadist attacks within the UK. Vicki Evans, the UK’s national counter-terrorism coordinator, emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “Events in Syria are certainly something that are a focus and something that all of us need to think about with our partners.” Border authorities have reportedly declared a state of heightened readiness, preparing for the possibility that British ISIS supporters, recently released from Syrian prisons, may attempt to return to the country. Neither Evans nor Sky News specified which prisons the ISIS supporters had been released from.

Houthis claim to have targeted three ships Yemen's Houthi rebels announce three separate operations targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea Yemen's #Houthi rebels announced on Monday that they launched three separate operations targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, Reuters reported. The group's military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at the vessel Motaro in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. In addition, Sarea claimed that the Maersk Kowloon was targeted by a missile in the Arabian Sea, while the SC Montreal was struck by two drones. The claims come a day after the Houthis published footage from a military drill they had carried out, which combined land and naval forces and simulated a large-scale attack against Yemen. According to the Houthis, the drill was carried out on the east coast of Yemen, and is said to have been part of a campaign that the Houthis are waging "for Gaza and for Lebanon". The Iranian-backed Houthis have upped their attacks in the region since the start of the war in Gaza last October, having launched drones towards Israel and targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region. In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis. The Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes, saying that the campaign against the "Zionist enemy" will continue and that the attacks against the American and British ships will not stop.

US, UK air strikes against Houthis 2 airstrikes were carried out a short time ago by #American and #British warplanes against positions of the #Houthis, near the #Hodeidah airport. Initial reports of several #Iran-proxy Houthis have been destroyed during the attacks.