[BREAKING] The four slain hostages to be released tomorrow named Our four fallen hostages who are expected to be released tomorrow: - Bibas Ariel. - Bibas Kfir. - Bibas-Silverman Shiri. - Lipshitz Oded. * This list is provided to you with the families' permission. 'As soon as this was reported, extreme anger is "flooding" the networks. REMEMBER - 100% of the anger must be aimed at Hamas, the Palestinian people and their supporters in the Middle East and around the world!'

A telephone conversation took place between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco #Rubio, at the initiative of the latter. According to the official statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the heads of the foreign policy departments agreed to maintain a channel of communication to resolve the accumulated problems in Russian-American relations in the interests of removing the unilateral barriers to mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation inherited from the previous administration. A mutual commitment to cooperation on issues related to #Ukraine, the situation in the #Gaza Strip and the Middle East was expressed. Lavrov and Rubio agreed on regular contacts, including preparations for a Russian-American summit .

New US administration recognizes Russia's military successes in Ukraine, says American Analyst The current US administration has recognized #Russia's military #successes in #Ukraine, which is reflected in "new realism in American foreign policy," Theodore A. Postol, Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology, and National Security Policy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told TASS. He was commenting on the telephone conversation between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir #Putin and Donald #Trump, as well as the speech on February 12 by Pentagon Chief Piet #Hegseth in Brussels. "US Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s speech in Brussels on February 12, acknowledging the unambiguous reality of Russia’s military accomplishments in Eastern Ukraine, is a further indication of a new realism in American foreign policy," the expert said. "Anyone who looks at the war in Ukraine should now know that Russia has won, and the priority for everyone involved should now be to stop the unnecessary loss of Russian and Ukrainian lives. The objective should now be to quickly agree to and implement a new European security structure that accommodates the national security interests of all European powers," Postol stressed. "President Trump’s public comments following his more than one-hour phone conversation with President Putin indicated that the discussion between them went very well. In particular, President Trump’s acknowledgment that Russia has a right to a solid-binding agreement about NATO not expanding into Ukraine is extremely important. It is also an implicit acknowledgment of the damage to Russian-US relations caused by the undeniable history of US past withdrawals from treaties and improper reinterpretations [by Washington] of treaty agreements over the past more than 20 years," Postol said.

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.

NATO base in Romania to be used for war against Russia, says presidential candidate #Romania's independent presidential candidate Calin Georgescu believes that the Mihail #Kogalniceanu military base located in the southeast of the country, which will become the largest #NATO defense facility in Europe, will be used as a springboard to start a war against Russia. "We cannot accept this," he said in an interview with former US Navy Seal Shawn #Ryan. Georgescu posted a video of the conversation on Facebook (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia). The recording is also available on the Romanian Digi 24 TV channel's website. "What is happening now in Romania gains no reaction abroad, no reaction from the United States. They don’t understand what is going on here, because if they use Romania as a door for a war, what to be next? We don’t need war; this is my point," Georgescu said. "What will the implications [be] <...> if the NATO base is going to be constructive to conduct a major offensive into Russia?" Ryan asked. "Exactly this word - ‘offensive,’ which is a wrong way. And we cannot accept this, <…> because this is not our business, not our war, again," responded Georgescu. This is not the first time that Georgescu has hypothesized a war against Russia that would be launched from Romania, Digi 24 notes. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79swOPxvPNI

About #France 'withdrawal' from #Africa The year began with news of the closure of French military bases in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. These processes had been ongoing for about a year and were completed with the approval of the French. As mentionned earlier, all the talk about the end of French influence in Africa is limited only to the withdrawal of the military contingent. Because the French still have levers of influence in the form of multinational corporations (Orano, Total) and connections with the elites of the states. 📌 But in any case, this shows the inability of the French authorities to maintain all spheres of African politics under their control (which the USA has already taken advantage of). Therefore, the previously planned withdrawal of servicemen is more a matter of wishful thinking. 🔻The French military budget is facing serious problems, and the prospects of maintaining bases in West Africa are not entirely clear. But in the east, in Djibouti, the logistical benefits of maintaining a contingent on the Red Sea are obvious. Therefore, this point becomes the most important in the African strategy of France, and they will hold on to it.

French military expert says NATO may repeat Soviet Union’s fate #NATO, despite all odds, did not disappear after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but this fate still awaits the North Atlantic Alliance in the coming years due to the lack of a geopolitical potential, Regis Chamagne, a French Air Force colonel, Commander of the Legion of Honor and holder of the National Order of Merit, has told Stratpol. "The way I see it, NATO will disappear soon. NATO should have disappeared after the collapse of the #USSR. But it didn't for existential reasons. NATO was looking for new missions," the expert said. "My forecast is that in five years’ time there may be neither NATO nor the EU. True, NATO will be trying to weaken Russia on its periphery and to harm it in the Middle East, but globally the North Atlantic Alliance has no potential". #Chamagne described NATO and the EU as "two sides of the same coin." - "Given the way elections are held today, we can say that the EU in its current shape is a dictatorship. The whole world has already seen this. The EU will end up just like the Soviet Union," he believes. The military expert explained that a system "based on permanent lies," like the current EU is unlivable. "The US policy towards the EU is aimed at weakening it. The core of the Western economy is the dollar," Chamagne added, noting that the hostilities in Ukraine have "opened the world's eyes to the fact that Russia's army is superior to the US one," which has accelerated the process of de-dollarization.

BREAKING: MASS SHOOTING IN NEW YORK CITY At least 11 people have been shot in Queens, NY at Amazura Night Club - This is still an ACTIVE situation.

#Russia deploys its forces for operations in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Al-Khadim base in #Libya The Russians have supplied mercenaries and weapons to General Khalifa Haftar's forces in al-Khadim for years. Since mid-December, following the fall of the #Assad regime on the 8th of December, Moscow's Antonov AN-124 and Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft have been flying daily from Khmeimim to al-Khadim in eastern Libya, near Haftar-held Benghazi. The Russians have supplied mercenaries and weapons to General Khalifa Haftar's forces in al-Khadim for years. Earlier this year, All Eyes on Wagner reported that Russian personnel are now being accommodated in a secure compound near the base.

[Report] Fighting erupts on border between Afghanistan, Pakistan The Afghan television channel Ariana News reported that fighting broke out on the border between Afghanistan and #Pakistan. "Some points <...> including centers and shelters of criminals and their supporters, from which attacked were made on #Afghanistan, were attacked in retaliation from the country’s southeast," said a statement from the Afghan Defense Ministry controlled by the #Taliban. According to sources, light and heavy weapons were employed in the skirmishes, Ariana News reported. On December 24, the Taliban Defense Ministry announced that Pakistan struck an area in the Paktika province of Afghanistan. The ministry condemned the attack, saying it violated international law. The ministry warned that the incident will not go unanswered. At least 50 people were killed and 40 others injured in the Paktika bombing. That was the second time that Pakistan carried out airstrikes on targets in Afghanistan after a similar attack on terrorist bases in March. The latest strikes came hours after Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq held a meeting in Kabul with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Relations between the countries took a turn for the worse amid increased clashes along the border and ongoing terrorist attacks in Pakistan by Afghanistan-based militants. #AfghanistanPakistan