EU Council grants full Schengen membership to Bulgaria, Romania from January 1 The #EU Council agreed to fully integrate #Bulgaria and #Romania in the #Schengen Area from January 1, 18 years after they joined the bloc. "EU member states have decided to remove checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025," the council said in a statement. In March, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area partially, as passport control was lifted at air and sea borders. The final approval for the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen must be given by EU leaders at an EU summit taking place from December 19-20 in Brussels, but this is a mere formality, as interior and justice ministers endorsed this decision in the EU Council at the direction of country leaders. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007, but their admission to Schengen was postponed pending resolution of some issues in such areas as the fight against corruption. However, the process dragged on and was paused after the start of the EU immigration crisis in 2015. The Schengen Area was created in 1985 by #Belgium, #France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. Its borders do not coincide with the borders of the European Union, although each group now includes 27 countries. Non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are Schengen members. But EU members Ireland and Cyprus do not have Schengen membership, while Bulgaria and Romania will only fully join in January.

[Insane-Predictable] Biden grants his son pardon on two criminal cases Joe Biden has decided to issue a pardon for his son Hunter on two criminal cases, in spite of his repeated vows not to do so. "Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," the US leader said in a statement published by the White House on Sunday. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the statement reads. "The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election," Biden insists. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son - and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter - who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me - and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough," Biden asserted. Previously, the White House repeatedly stated that Biden had no plans to grant his son a pardon. According to the statement, this concerns Hunter Biden’s federal gun charges in Delaware and federal tax evasion charges in California. The press service of President Trump’s transition team has not yet responded to TASS’ request to comment on Biden’s announcement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cjq3glLWrw

West should read Russia's transparent nuclear doctrine carefully, Sergey Shoigu claims Russia's updated #nuclear doctrine is unambiguous and transparent, and #Western countries should read it carefully and not misinterpret it, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey #Shoigu said on Thursday. "In general, the doctrine is uncomplicated, clear, and transparent. We have explicitly outlined everything, I believe. Therefore, we urge our colleagues, especially those in the West, to read it carefully, without taking pieces out of context or misrepresenting them. Everything is clearly and precisely presented," he said following a joint meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (#CSTO).

ICC's Karim Khan... One of the Greatest Corrupt Ar***le of the Century! - #TdQ Israeli Prime Minister's Office: "The anti-Semitic decision of the International Criminal Court is equivalent to the modern Dreyfus trial... <.../...> The decision was made by a corrupt chief prosecutor trying to save his skin from the serious charges against him for sexual harassment, and by biased judges motivated by anti-Semitic hatred of Israel."

[BREAKING] Biden authorizes use of US long-range weapons to strike inside Russia Joe #Biden has allowed #Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range ballistic #missiles to strike inside #Russia, The New York Times said, citing US officials. The newspaper noted that the decision was made two months before Biden vacates the presidential office. "Mr. Biden’s decision is a major change in U.S. policy," it wrote, adding that this decision has divided his advisers. According to The New York Times the long-range missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS will be used against the Russian and North Korean military "to help [Ukraine] defend its forces in the Kursk region of Russia."

Scholz-Putin talk should be welcomed, as it is right step --- Bundestag #Bundestag member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice (BSW) group Sevim Dagdelen considers the telephone conversation between German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz and Russian President Vladimir #Putin a right step. "Even if it is a maneuver designed to present oneself as Chancellor of the Peace in the upcoming election battle, it should be welcomed that Olaf Scholz has finally reached the point of having a direct conversation with Russian President Putin," she wrote on her X page. "The statement made by his predecessor Helmut Schmidt that it is better to negotiate for 100 hours about nothing than to shoot for one minute was and still is correct," Dagdelen noted. The lawmaker emphasized that politicians who are "intoxicated by war" and advocate for an imposed peace or the continuation of the conflict "until Kiev's victory" are only contributing to further loss of life. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, marking their first phone conversation since December 2022. According to the Kremlin, the leaders discussed Ukraine, the Middle East crisis, and bilateral relations between Moscow and Berlin. They agreed that their aides would maintain communication. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Scholz’s decision to call Putin demonstrates political will to understand Moscow's position firsthand.

GOP clinches 218, re-taking House control #Republicans projected to keep control of #House as Trump prepares to implement agenda; Democrats lost their bid to win control of the House of Representatives The Fox News Decision Desk has now projected that Republicans will keep their majority in the House of Representatives. The number of seats the party will hold depends on the outcome in a handful of remaining districts. There are nine races yet to be called. They are: Alaska’s at-large district, California’s 9th, 13th, 21st, and 45th districts, Iowa’s 1st district, Maine’s 2nd district, Ohio’s 9th district and Oregon’s 5th district. Republicans soared to the 218 threshold for majority after Republican Juan Ciscomani was elected in Arizona’s 6th District. The first-term Republican won a rematch against Democrat Kirsten Engel, whom Ciscomani narrowly defeated in the 2022 midterms. Mike Johnson, whose rise to speaker last year ended a leadership battle in the House, is likely to continue serving as the 56th Speaker. #TRUMP2024

Poll: Trump edges Harris in swing state early voting A new Harvard CAPS/Harris #poll shows President #Trump with a narrow lead over VP #Harris among early voters in battleground states. According to the survey, 48% of early voters in critical swing states are backing Trump, while 47% are choosing Harris. Around 5% picked a third choice or said they hadn't voted yet, Newsmax reported. Poll co-director Mark Penn said Trump's "swing state strategy is paying off," noting that the GOP candidate holds a 2-point lead overall in these regions, with 48% support to Harris' 46%. Despite the edge in battlegrounds, the poll found Harris performing well nationally among early voters, leading Trump by 8 points — 51% to 43%. According to the survey, 45% of voters plan to vote early, while 50% say they will wait until Election Day. Recent polling shows the two candidate neck-and-neck in all seven swing states. Nationally, an aggregate of polling compiled by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ shows Harris with a slim lead over Trump, at 50% to 47%. Both candidates are focusing heavily on the battleground states, which will likely decide the outcome of the Nov. 5 vote. The Harvard/Harris poll, conducted Oct. 11-13, surveyed 3,145 registered voters — including 2,596 likely voters and 898 battleground state voters. The margin of error for the total sample was ± 1.8 percentage points.

Hassan #Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world! #IDF confirms #Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was #ELIMINATED in a precision strike on the terror group’s headquarters yesterday in #Beirut. Ready (to try..) to fu-ck 72 #virgins small di-ck? 🤣😂🤣

"The exercise will include more than 400 warships, submarines and support vessels, over 120 naval aircraft and more than 90,000 personnel..."