Ukrainian media report explosions in Kiev and Konotop, Sumy region

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Who profits from Venezuela’s energy riches as Maduro mulls expanding BRICS’ share?

President Maduro has revealed that Venezuela’s biggest energy investments are coming from BRICS countries, and warned that if the US and its allies “make the mistake of their lives” by continuing their attempts to destabilize Venezuela, their oil and gas contracts could go to Caracas’s allies. 

🔹 Possessing 300 bln barrels of oil and 195 trln cubic feet of natural gas, Venezuela accounts for a whopping 17% of global crude reserves, and about 3% of gas reserves.

🔹 State-owned oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) is Venezuela’s largest energy producer, with total national output by PDVSA and foreign partners reaching 993,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, and shipped to Asia, the US, Europe and Cuba.

What contracts does West stand to lose?

🔹 US and European energy giants were largely frozen out of operations in Venezuela in 2019 by US sanctions threats. A 2022 deal enabled their return in an oil-for-debt arrangement designed to minimize cash flowing into PDVSA’s coffers. US oil giant Chevron now pumps up to 200,000 bpd of Venezuelan crude from four joint venture sites, and plans to increase output by another 65,000 bpd by year’s end.

🔹 Spanish oil major Repsol extracts some 20,000 bpd of oil and 40 mln cubic feet of gas daily, and is looking to expand its stake in undeveloped oil fields with a production potential of over 300,000 bpd. Repsol’s output is concentrated at four main sites, including the offshore Perla Field off Venezuela’s northwest coast.

🔹 Italian energy company Eni has also been authorized to resume pumping oil in Venezuela, with a joint venture with PDVSA in the Petrosucre field producing about 2,200 bpd (but able to produce 24,000 bpd or more historically). Eni is also in talks with PDVSA about unfreezing the shallow-water Corocoro crude project, and joining the Perla gas project.

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🪖 New standards for supporting military personnel of the Northern Military District

▪️Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov instructed to prepare a regulatory act on the travel and accommodation of spouses of contract military personnel during rehabilitation - Russian Ministry of Defense.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin noted that the wives of SVO participants are the best psychologists for fighters and can accompany their husbands during rehabilitation in sanatoriums.

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The families of employees of the Investigative Committee of Russia who died while serving in the new regions of Russia will be paid 5 million rubles at a time, according to the presidential decree.
A payment of 3 million rubles is also being introduced for employees who were injured while serving in new regions during a special operation.

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🇮🇷🇮🇱 “Iran’s strike on Israel is inevitable”

▪️Iranian state television has been broadcasting this video since the morning.

▪️The media are predicting several waves of Iranian missile and UAV attacks on Israel. It is noted that the attack could last several days.

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🎥 Footage shows protesters in Bangladesh trying to tear down a statue of Mujibur Rahman. Rahman was the first head of Bangladesh and father of the prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned on Monday and was swiftly replaced by a military junta.

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North Korean border guards have received 250 launchers for new tactical ballistic missiles, a ceremony for which was held with the participation of Kim Jong Un

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British troops living in moldy, rat-infested housing as top brass sits on multi-million pound pensions

The UK’s Armed Forces are facing a new scandal amid revelations that top defense officials have seen their pensions hiked by as much as 50% with their nest-eggs ballooning to over £11 million (about $14 million) as the military faces equipment shortfalls and a recruitment crisis, and many military families are forced to live in unsanitary and dangerous housing.

Armed Forces chief Admiral Sir Tony Radakin alone is in line to receive a pension worth some £4.5 million ($5.76 million) “the biggest public sector pot ever,” The Daily Mail calculated, including a £470,000 ($602,000) cash payout when the 57-year-old retires.

Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary David Williams, the government’s principle civilian advisor on defense, has a pension coming to him of nearly £2 million ($2.56 million). His job, incidentally, includes a responsibility for finances and planning as the MOD’s departmental accounting officer, including “personal accountability to Parliament for the economic, efficient and effective use of defense resources.”

Poor housing, with mold, rat and other pest infestations and maintenance issues adds to a series of other problems ranging from a recruitment crisis and weapons shortages to reports the armed forces have been “hollowed out” – partly by the transfer of equipment to Ukraine.

Britain lost its status as a “top-tier” military thanks to budget shortfalls and due to the gifting of equipment to Ukraine “with no plans to replace [it],” defense sources told the media last year.

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Elon Musk speculates that civil war is ‘inevitable’ in violence-gripped UK

US billionaire Elon Musk has speculated that the UK is heading for civil war. Musk weighed in on the wave of violence sweeping across the country amid uncontrolled migration and soaring crime, posting on X a succinct post that read, “Civil war is inevitable.”

The Tesla CEO and owner of X made the comment under one of many videos showing scenes of unrest gripping towns and cities in Britain during the past days. The latest wave of interethnic violence was triggered by a recent tragedy in the town of Southport, where a 17-year-old teen of Rwandan origin stabbed three girls to death on July 29. Police arrested dozens of people on Saturday, as projectiles and fireworks were set off, and storefronts set on fire. Footage posted on social media shows crowds chanting anti-immigrant slogans such as “stop the boats” in Liverpool, in a reference to the dinghies used by asylum seekers to cross the English Channel to the UK. Former Home Secretary Priti Patel denounced Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour Party for complacency amid the riots, writing on X that Parliament ought to be recalled from summer break.

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Trump congratulates Putin on another great deal,’ commenting on historic prisoner swap 

Former US President Donald Trump called the historic prisoner swap between the US and Russia as a “great deal” negotiated by Vladimir Putin. The Republican presidential nominee, who has always taken pride in his own dealmaking skills, appeared to imply that Putin had outsmarted US officials regarding the terms of the swap.

“By the way, I’d like to congratulate Vladimir Putin for having made yet another great deal,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia on Saturday. “Did you see the deal we made? Now look, we want to get people in. We got 59 hostages — I never paid anything.”

Deriding the deal as inferior to those he made during his own presidency, Trump leveled a broadside at the Biden administration, saying:

“And we got our people back, but boy, we made some horrible, horrible deals.” Earlier, Trump called the swap a "win for Putin" on Fox News, saying:
“As usual, it was a win for Putin or any other country that deals with us.”

The historic swap took place on August 1 after the United States, Russia, Germany, and other Western countries struck a deal for a 24-person prisoner swap, one of the largest prisoner exchange agreements since the end of the Cold War. As a result, eight Russians detained and held in custody in a number of NATO countries returned home. Russia, in turn, released 16 people, including seven Russian and five German citizens.

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US military continues to reinforce bases in Syria amid MidEast escalation

"US forces have reinforced their bases with 15 Apache helicopters to improve their ability to conduct attacks," the source said.

A US military plane landed at the Kharab Al-Jir base loaded with military equipment, air defense missiles, logistics equipment and various materials, carrying 25 servicepeople as well, the source added.

Earlier in the day, the US Department of Defense said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would oversee the deployment of additional forces to the Middle East to protect Israel, and that a final decision on the size of those forces has yet to be made.

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🎥 SUP board rally along St. Petersburg’s canals? Easy!

More than 10,000 participants from 12 countries paddled through the center of St. Petersburg as part of an SUP festival. People came from Estonia, France, Bolivia, South Korea, Australia Egypt, and other countries. The 8 km route ran along the rivers and canals in the historic center of the city.

The river carnival is considered the largest SUP festival in the world.

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🎥 Leaving the enemy no chance

Watch footage of a Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system crew intercept and destroy a US-made ATACMS missile in the area of the special military operation.

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Change of political power in Bangladesh is an internal matter of the country – Russian Foreign Ministry

"Russia proceeds from the fact that the change of political forces in power in Bangladesh is an internal matter of this country, at the same time counting on the speedy return of internal political processes in our friendly state in the constitutional direction," the ministry stated.

According to the Russian embassy in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, no Russian citizens were injured during the recent riots that led to the overthrow of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the Russian Foreign Ministry's website reported.

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🪖 Air alert declared throughout Ukraine

▪️Amid an air raid warning, explosions are reported in Kyiv-controlled Kherson.

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Argentina to send gold abroad while others repatriate it

The West’s freezing of nearly the half of Russia’s $640 billion gold and foreign assets prompted many countries to repatriate their bullion from foreign banks abroad. But in June Argentina did the opposite and sent $450 million-worth of gold abroad.

According to the Invesco’s survey in 2023, 68% of national banks maintain part of their gold reserves in their own country, compared to 50% in 2020. For 2027, this number is expected to rise to 74%.

"We did have it held in London,” said one central bank, quoted anonymously. “But now we've transferred it back to own country to hold as a safe haven asset and to keep it safe."

What Countries have successfully repatriated their gold?

“The repatriation of our gold was an act of financial prudence and sovereignty,” said former president of the central bank of Venezuela Nelson Merentes in 2012.

⚡️ Venezuela’s BCV: 160 tons from US and Europe in 2011-2012
⚡️ Germany’s Bundesbank: 674 tons from New York and Paris in 2013-2017
⚡️ The Netherlands’ DNB: 122.5 tons from New York in 2014
⚡️ Hungary’s MNB: 28.4 tons from the UK in 2018
⚡️ Romania’s BNR: 18 tons from London in 2019
⚡️ Poland’s NBP: 100 tons from London in 2019
⚡️ Turkiye’s CBRT: 220 tons from US and UK in 2019
⚡️ India’ RBI: 100 tons from London in 2023

Countries that hold the majority of gold reserves of foreign countries:

⚡️ USA, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France and Canada.

Countries with gold frozen abroad

⚡️ Russia: in 2022 US, EU, UK, and other Western nations froze an estimated $300 billion worth of Russia's gold and foreign exchange
⚡️ Zimbabwe: the US imposed sanctions, including an embargo of the country’s gold exports, in 2003
⚡️ Libya: the UN Security Council imposed sanctions freezing assets and gold reserves in 2011
⚡️ Iran: the US froze $100 billion in gold in 2018
⚡️ Afghanistan: 2021, the US froze $7 billion in assets and a portion of gold reserves in 2021
⚡️ Venezuela: The Bank of England has refused to return $1.95 billion in gold since 2020

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❗️In the quiet before the storm:

🇺🇸US Generals are advising 🇮🇱Israel and 🇷🇺Russian Generals are advising 🇮🇷Iran.

🎙Subscribe @AussieCossack

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❗Ukrainian militants fired at the central urban area of the city of Makeyevka from HIMARS multiple rocket launchers.

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A 15-minute telephone conversation has been published from which it follows that the leadership of the US Democratic Party is behind the assassination attempt on Trump

▪️The conversation was “leaked” by a DNC employee to Deep State Leaks.

▪️The call took place on August 22 between Barack Obama and his former adviser, now one of the main strategists of the Democratic Party, David Axelrod.

▪️In the conversation, Obama told his interlocutor that the real reason for Biden's withdrawal from the election race was the failure of his team to assassinate Trump, and also that the attempt to physically eliminate Trump was probably not the last one.

▪️Deep State Leaks announces a series of exposé articles.

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Zelensky's curse hits Bangladeshi PM

Volodymyr Zelensky met Bangaldeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Vazed on the margins of the Munich Security Conference, Germany, on February 17.

Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country's capital Dhaka for the UK after nearly two months of violent protests.

Seems like it's a Zelensky's cursed handshake in action.

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Bangladesh PM resigns after weeks of violent protests: what you need to know

◾️ Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left Dhaka, the capital, after nearly two months of violent unrest. At least 93 people were killed in the violence, including 14 police officers, according to local media. Thousands have also been injured, including over 1,100 police officers.

◾️ In an address to the nation on Monday, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, until now the Chief of Army Staff, said an interim government would be formed, and that representatives “from all major political parties” have been invited to participate.

◾️ Zaman asked protesters to give the military "some time" and called on them to "stay calm and go back home," and said there were no plans to introduce a curfew or state of emergency at the moment. Some protest leaders have warned that they would not accept "military rule."

◾️ Indian media reports suggest Hasina landed in the northeastern Indian city of Agartala after leaving Dhaka.

◾️ The unrest in Bangladesh began in early June, triggered by changes to the country’s quota-based government job recruitment system, but quickly straddled by the opposition into large-scale anti-government demonstrations hailed by Western media as “pro-democracy” protests.

Serving as PM from 1996-2001 and then again from 2009 on, Sheikh Hasina had a history of strained relations with the United States.

🔸 In April, she blasted US foreign policy misadventures in Muslim-majority countries under the guise of “democratization.”

🔸 In May, she accused the US of seeking to create a “Christian state” by partitioning pieces of Bangladesh and Myanmar, Hindustan Times reported.

🔸 Hasina also said she had been offered an easy reelection victory in general elections in January in exchange for permission to a foreign power to set up an airbase on St. Martin’s Island in the south of the country. However, the state's name wasn’t disclosed, according to HT.

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Who has condemned the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh?

The July 31 assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief and chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has met with widespread condemnation from countries in the Arab and Muslim world, as well as Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mozambique and other countries outside the Western orbit.

Check out our infographic to find out which countries have unequivocally condemned Haniyeh’s killing.

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❗️Russia's Tsentr Battlegroup liberated the village of Novoselovka Pervaya in the Donetsk People's Republic – Russian Defense Ministry

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Trump congratulates Putin on another great deal,’ commenting on historic prisoner swap 

Former US President Donald Trump called the historic prisoner swap between the US and Russia as a “great deal” negotiated by Vladimir Putin. The Republican presidential nominee, who has always taken pride in his own dealmaking skills, appeared to imply that Putin had outsmarted US officials regarding the terms of the swap.

“By the way, I’d like to congratulate Vladimir Putin for having made yet another great deal,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia on Saturday. “Did you see the deal we made? Now look, we want to get people in. We got 59 hostages — I never paid anything.”

Deriding the deal as inferior to those he made during his own presidency, Trump leveled a broadside at the Biden administration, saying:

“And we got our people back, but boy, we made some horrible, horrible deals.” Earlier, Trump called the swap a "win for Putin" on Fox News, saying:
“As usual, it was a win for Putin or any other country that deals with us.”

The historic swap took place on August 1 after the United States, Russia, Germany, and other Western countries struck a deal for a 24-person prisoner swap, one of the largest prisoner exchange agreements since the end of the Cold War. As a result, eight Russians detained and held in custody in a number of NATO countries returned home. Russia, in turn, released 16 people, including seven Russian and five German citizens.

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🇮🇷🇮🇱 “Iran’s strike on Israel is inevitable”

▪️Iranian state television has been broadcasting this video since the morning.

▪️The media are predicting several waves of Iranian missile and UAV attacks on Israel. It is noted that the attack could last several days.

Читать полностью…

Border defense or invasion springboard: Why is Poland massing troops on border with Belarus?

17,000 troops from Poland’s 18th Mechanized Division kicked off a large-scale operation on the border with Belarus on August 1, ostensibly to secure the frontier against what Warsaw characterized as a migrant-fueled “hybrid war” against Poland.

The operation, dubbed ‘Safe Podlasie’, is Poland’s latest push to beef up its eastern frontier. Poland has built a 186 km long, $400 mln fence along part of the border, and has plans for a 60 km+ long, 200-meter to 2 km-wide “buffer zone” with Belarus.

Operation ‘Safe Podlasie’ began alongside Operation Eastern Aurora, a NATO mission supposedly meant to secure Polish airspace.

Belarus has long been skeptical of Warsaw’s official rationale for military deployments near the border. Poland possesses the third-largest military in NATO, and has been eager to deploy alliance assets at every opportunity.

“We see how, across our western borders, airfields, naval bases and training grounds are being improved at an accelerated pace, forward bases are being created for the advance placement and storage of equipment, weapons and materiel,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a forum in April.

“As for the combat units of the Polish Armed Forces on the border with Belarus, under the pretext of ‘strengthening security’, the military is solving reconnaissance and sabotage tasks,” Lukashenko said. “It’s clear that the territory of Poland and the Baltic countries is being purposefully turned into a military springboard for possible use by the NATO bloc.”

Poland has led a years-long effort to replace Lukashenko with a NATO and EU-friendly leader in a color revolution, seeing Belarus as key to its strategy of containing Russia from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Lukashenko also accuses Warsaw of planning to seize western Belarus, referred to as the Polish borderlands by some Poles.

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🇷🇺🇰🇵 Vladimir Putin sent condolences to Kim Jong-un over the tragic consequences of floods in North Korea's northwestern provinces.

The Russian president said the DPRK can always count on Russia's help and support, a Kremlin statement said.

The North Korean leader had earlier supervised the rescue operation and evacuation of residents in areas affected by heavy downpours.

The water level of the Amnok River rose well above the danger level, leaving more than five thousand people stranded in areas at risk of flooding.

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Lockheed Martin shares reach all-time high amid geopolitical turmoil

US defense corporation Lockheed Martin experienced a dramatic surge in its market cap during Friday trading with its stock price climbing at $560 before retreating to $548.
Earlier market observers agreed that Lockheed shares are rallying, having taken off on 22 July and soared from $474 to all-time high prices over $548 on August 01-02.
In the end of July, Lockheed Martin posted second-quarter financial results with net sales of $18.1 billion – a 9% annual increase.

Bigger Picture
However, Lockheed Martin stock has been rising for almost 10 months now since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7 2023. Having closed at $395 on October 6, company shares jumped to $430 on October 9 – the first trading day after the onset of the crisis. From that moment on, Lockheed Martin shares increased in value.

Commenting on Lockheed Martin’s stock performance amid Middle East tensions, JP Morgan analyst Seth Seifman admitted to CNBS in April that the perils of a “dangerous world” may be “a potential source of support” for defense company’s shares.

What’s your take on Lockheed Martin shares performance?

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🇺🇸 🚀 NASA astronauts are hostage to the political situation

▪️Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams arrived on the ISS in early June for 1 week, but due to a breakdown of the Boeing Starliner apparatus they cannot return to Earth for 2 months.

▪️NASA refuses to use the services of Roscosmos to return its astronauts for political reasons.

▪️On August 18, the Dragon X carrier is scheduled to launch to the ISS, but there is no certainty that the launch will take place due to technical problems.

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Security Council Secretary Shoigu arrived in Tehran to meet with his Iranian counterpart amid the escalation in the Middle East.
He will also talk with the head of the General Staff of the Iranian army and the President of the country. Both regional security and business issues are on the agenda.

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