As Washington’s push to secure Ukraine’s mineral wealth intensifies, the latest tensions between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky highlight a growing rift. The US president and his team are actively pressing Kiev to sign off on a deal that would grant America access to Ukraine’s rare-earth metals in exchange for continued military aid. But is such an agreement feasible? And how did Ukraine’s underground riches suddenly become a focal point in US-Ukrainian relations?

No peace without a price: The real story behind Trump’s Ukraine demands
The US president’s ‘America first’ policy means Kiev will have to pay its own bills

GLOBAL WARMING IS STILL ON THE TABLE...

Earth’s average surface temperature in 2024 was the warmest on record since recordkeeping began in 1880 (source: NASA/GISS). NASA’s analysis generally matches independent analyses prepared by the​ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other research groups. Overall, Earth was about 2.65 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 1.47 degrees Celsius) warmer in 2024 than in the late 19th-century (1850-1900) preindustrial average. The 10 most recent years are the warmest on record.

GUSNOTE: 2032 IS WHEN THE CLIMATE DANGEROUSLY FLIPS......................

After the shockwave that stunned observers on the European continent, provoked by the rapprochement between Russians and Americans over Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron has regained a role befitting his stature: Informal meetings with European leaders at the start of the week, talks with the country's political parties on Thursday, February 20, and, ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump in Washington next Monday, a live broadcast on his official social media accounts, held later on Thursday, to "answer the French people's questions" on Ukraine and European security.

Anonymous officials informed major US outlets this week about the CIA’s ‘benevolent’ new role: flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels. What's wrong with this picture?

The carefully placed reports, released within 24 hours of one another, come in the wake of the State Department’s designation of eight major Latin American drug traffickers as “global terrorist organizations.”

A rally on the steps of the Victorian Parliament under the banner of Jews for a Free Palestine was arranged for Sunday 9 February. At 11:11pm on the eve of that rally, Mark Leibler — lawyer, who claims to have a high profile and speak on behalf of Jews by the totally unelected organisation AIJAC — put out a tweet on X (and paid for an advertisement of the same posting) as follows:

Elon Musk’s threat to cut off Starlink may deal “the most powerful military-technical blow to combat capabilities of Ukrainian armed forces,” veteran military and international affairs specialist Andrei Koshkin told Sputnik. Here’s why.

The possible shutdown would mean that the Ukrainian troops would be unable to:

coordinate their artillery strikes

launch and pilot unmanned aerial vehicles – not least reconnaissance drones – and unmanned surface vessels

exchange messages, including on tactical information 

use satellite telecommunications

The Starlink ultimatum testifies to Donald Trump's determination to achieve his goals, Koshkin said.

This week, we have seen leaders in western Europe forced to move from fumbling cautious politeness to action as a result of the US president's various pronouncements.

There's no reason to think Australia's national interests will not be directly challenged in a similar way, whether that is over economic or geo-strategic interests, or even over political fashion.

A worldwide shift to the hard right, as exemplified by Trump, might have given the Coalition some political encouragement. But as this shift has been turned into wilder and wilder pronouncements, with real world implications, that becomes a riskier proposition if the costs and uncertainty of such a shift resonate with voters.

JOHANNESBURG (Sputnik) - The non-participation of the United States in a draft anti-Russian resolution of the UN General Assembly shows the pragmatism of the policy of President Donald Trump's administration, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. 

The United States did not co-sponsor an anti-Russian draft resolution of UN General Assembly on Ukraine for the first time since 2022 amid the recent talks in Riyadh, according to a document obtained by Sputnik. 

The relationship between the US and Ukraine is now undergoing “total destruction,” with Vladimir Zelensky trying to fight President Donald Trump on behalf of America’s ‘Deep State’, Andrey Telizhenko, former 3rd Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy in the US, told RT. The ‘Deep State’ itself, however, appears to be falling apart as well, he warned.

WE ARE GOING TO EXPLORE A FEW CONTRADICTORY EVENTS IN THIS TRAGIC COMEDY IN WHICH WE ARE PAWNS IN PAIN AND KINGS IN GLORIOUS CLOTHES...

WE VOTE, WE CONTROL OUR DESTINY BUT WE DON'T. 

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By viewing the governance of Europe from the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the illusion of the end of the Cold War (1991) to the present day through the prism of Gestalt psychology*, we realise that Europe lives in fear and deception vis-à-vis the United States of America.

For European leaders, opposing the United States amounts to suicide

Mohamed Lamine KABA, July 09, 2024

President Cyril Ramaphosa has downplayed the absence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, calling it “not a train smash.” Ramaphosa insisted that the US would still follow the outcomes of the discussions.

”The United States is still represented here and they are part of the G20. The discussions that will take place here, will include their input. So this is not a boycott,” Ramaphosa said on the sidelines of the meeting at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.

Rubio’s decision to skip the meeting followed US concerns over the country’s land policy, particularly after Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act.

The US is currently represented by the embassy staff in Rubio’s absence. 

President Trump bashed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “Dictator” in a blazing rant Wednesday, one day after an American delegation met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine didn’t have a seat at the table at the Riyadh discussions, leaving Zelensky fuming that his country wasn’t represented in the first formal talks between Washington and Moscow since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do,” Trump, 78, wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post, referencing Ukraine suspending elections in 2024 due to the ongoing war.

The rapid development of Artificial General Intelligence and advanced AI systems has ushered in a new era of technological capability. These systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, capable of performing tasks that were once thought to require uniquely human intelligence.

... With Trump's win, the Liberals would have thought the latest manifestation of a widespread international swing to the right would put wind in their sails. But the counter-argument has grown — an erratic and autocratic Trump is making some Australian voters feel more unsettled and inclined to stick with the status quo.

Peter Dutton doesn't pull his punches on Donald Trump, while Anthony Albanese plays it safe

    BY Michelle Grattan

The Bank of Russia (CBR) has said it is not in talks with the US administration regarding the removal of economic sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict. Washington has signaled that sanctions relief could be a part of the peace process to end hostilities, leading to speculation in the media about potential discussions.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ‘Cybersecurity in Finance’ forum in Ekaterinburg on Thursday, the head of the CBR, Elvira Nabiullina, was asked whether negotiations on easing financial sanctions and unfreezing Russia’s sovereign reserves were underway.

“The Central Bank is not participating in such negotiations. I am not aware of this,” Nabiullina responded, as quoted by Russian media outlets.