Ukraine has also reportedly lost over 300 personnel in the region over the past 24 hours, according to Moscow

Ukraine has reportedly lost several hundred servicemen in Russia’s Kursk Region over the past 24 hours as well as a US-supplied Abrams tank, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Monday.  

According to a daily update published on the ministry’s official Telegram channel, Russian forces have continued to inflict heavy casualties on Kiev’s troops taking part in the incursion into Kursk Region. Ukraine launched the cross-border assault back in August with the stated goals of alleviating Russian pressure in other parts of the front line and securing a bargaining chip for use in future peace talks.  

During offensive operations over the weekend, Russian units reportedly defeated five mechanized and three airborne assault brigades, a marine brigade, and four territorial defense brigades across various locations in the region, the ministry said.  

It further assessed that in total, Kiev’s forces lost more than 300 men, two tanks, including the US-made Abrams, and three infantry fighting vehicles – namely an American-supplied Bradley, a German-supplied Marder, and a Swedish CV-90. Ukraine also reportedly lost three armored personnel carriers – a Stryker and two US-made M113s – as well as three combat armored vehicles, an artillery piece, four mortars, an American M88 armored repair and recovery vehicle, and eight cars, according to the report. 

In total, Moscow has estimated that throughout the military operations in Kursk, Ukraine has lost more than 43,310 servicemen, 253 tanks, 194 infantry fighting vehicles, 135 armored personnel carriers, 1,315 armored combat vehicles, and 1,174 vehicles. Additionally, Russian forces are said to have destroyed some 324 artillery pieces, 42 multiple launch rocket system launchers, including 11 HIMARS and six MLRS supplied by the US, 13 anti-aircraft missile launchers, and seven transport and loading vehicles, among other equipment.  

Valery Gerasimov, the head of the Russian General Staff, told foreign diplomats last week that Ukrainian forces, according to Moscow’s estimates, have suffered almost 1 million casualties since February 2022 and have lost nearly 20,000 tanks and armored vehicles.  

He noted that despite the West having significantly increased the volume of military aid to Ukraine in an attempt to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow, Russian forces have nevertheless maintained the offensive and have pushed Ukraine’s troops out of more than 190 settlements this year.

The artifact, taken from Benin over a century ago, was reportedly scheduled to be auctioned off in Paris on Friday

Benin’s government has blocked the sale of a royal recade, a traditional wooden scepter, which was taken by French colonial forces over a century ago.

The artifact came from the palace of King Behanzin, the last monarch of the West African nation, which was then known as the Kingdom of Dahomey.

The scepter had been scheduled for auctioning at the Hotel Drouot in Paris on Friday, but it was withdrawn at the last minute at the behest of Beninese authorities, French broadcaster RFI reported on Sunday.

The news agency said the French Ministry of Culture directed the Millon auction house to remove the recade from the list after receiving a request from the African country’s presidency.

The sculpted scepter, approximately 50cm long and a symbol of royalty, “is still for sale,” despite being delisted, a manager of the Millon company has reportedly said.

“It’s the last sale of the year and we didn’t want to get into a showdown,” RFI quoted the unnamed executive as saying.

According to the outlet, news of the item’s auction sparked outrage in Benin, with Marie-Cecile Zinsou, president of the Zinsou Art Foundation, demanding its return. She claimed that colonial forces had stolen the recade from the African country.

Dahomey was a French colony from 1904 until 1959. It gained complete independence from France in 1960 and changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975. The recade and several other cultural objects were reportedly either given to colonial troops at the end of the 19th century or looted.

A report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron on the restitution of African cultural heritage states that there are more than 90,000 artifacts from Sub-Saharan Africa in public museums in France. Around 46,000 of the items, which were amassed during the colonial period, are said to be held in the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.

Late in 2020, French lawmakers unanimously approved a bill authorizing Paris to return treasured items to Benin and Senegal, another former French colony in West Africa.

In 2021, Beninese President Patrice Talon traveled to Paris to retrieve 26 of the artifacts returned by the French government four years after Macron promised to return “African heritage to Africa” within five years. They included a towering wooden throne taken from the palace of Behanzin in 1892.

However, efforts have since stalled amid a delay in the passage of the law supporting the reparations due to right-wing opposition in the National Assembly, according to French media.

Former colonial powers have come under increasing pressure in recent years to return looted artifacts to their rightful owners. Earlier this year, the UK returned a collection of gold artifacts to Ghana on loan terms, 150 years after they were stolen from a king in the West African country.

Burt, the saltwater reptile who became a legend after the 1986 movie, has passed away in an Australian zoo

The crocodile who became an icon after starring in the hit movie ‘Crocodile Dundee’ has died at an estimated age of more than 90. The reptile, named ‘Burt’, passed away peacefully over the weekend at Crocosaurus Cove, a wildlife park in Darwin, Australia, where he had lived since 2008.  

Burt gained worldwide fame for his on-screen appearance alongside Paul Hogan, who starred as the rugged bushman Mick Dundee in the 1986 film. Crocodile Dundee became a cult classic, showcasing the Australian outback and its wildlife. 

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Burt,” the park confirmed in a statement on Instagram on Monday. It praised the crocodile’s unique personality and legacy, stating, “Burt was truly one of a kind. He wasn’t just a crocodile; he was a force of nature and a reminder of the power and majesty of these incredible creatures.”

Captured from the Reynolds River in the 1980s, Burt was known for his independent nature, the park said. He was described as a “confirmed bachelor” for his refusal to pair with female crocodiles during his time at a crocodile farm before moving to Crocosaurus Cove.

“Visitors from around the globe marvelled at his impressive size and commanding presence, especially at feeding time,” according to the statement. 

Saltwater crocodiles, the largest reptiles on the planet, can live more than 70 years in the wild.

Machines will become more intelligent than people by 2030 with a 100% probability, according to the tech mogul  

Artificial intelligence could become smarter than any single human by the end of next year, according to tech billionaire Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the prediction shortly after his AI company, xAI, officially launched its first image generation model, Aurora, earlier this month.

Aurora, an updated version of the first image generation model that xAI introduced in October, allows users to create photorealistic visuals.

Compared to other AI models, Aurora has fewer restrictions and can accurately generate images at almost any prompt, including depictions of famous personalities and copyrighted characters. 

‘It is increasingly likely that AI will superset the intelligence of any single human by the end of 2025 and maybe all humans by 2027/2028,” Musk wrote on Monday, in a post on his social media platform X.

According to him, the probability that AI will exceed the intelligence of all humans combined by 2030 “is ~100%.”

Earlier this year, Musk’s xAI launched Colossus, described as the world’s most powerful AI training system, setting a new benchmark in the rapidly advancing field of AI. Colossus boasts 100,000 liquid-cooled H100 graphics processing units (GPUs), the chips provided by Nvidia, which places xAI well ahead of its competitors, including those from OpenAI.

Meanwhile, high-profile figures and scientists have been raising concerns in recent years, over the potential dangers posed by the unregulated adoption of AI technology.

Last month, renowned computer scientist and professor at the University of Montreal Yoshua Bengio warned that machines could soon have most of the cognitive abilities of humans and thus pose grave risks to humanity as it becomes harder to control AI.

The computer scientist cited a common fear that the AI machines currently being trained “would lead to systems that turn against humans.”

Bengio also highlighted potential risks of social and political disparity stemming from AI, pointing out that a limited number of organizations and governments could afford to build powerful and costly AI machines. This would lead to a concentration of economic, political and military power, eventually threatening geopolitical stability worldwide, the scientist warned.

In June, addressing the G7 summit in Italy, Pope Francis warned humanity against depending on choices made by machines.

The Pontiff stressed that the algorithms “can only examine realities formalized in numerical terms,” while humans who have wisdom and can listen to Sacred Scripture “not only choose, but in their hearts are capable of deciding.”

The offer is “guaranteed” to capture Moscow’s attention as it has great interest in developing the polar region, a US professor has said

US President-elect Donald Trump would succeed in talks with Russia to end the Ukraine conflict by offering to lift sanctions on the Northern Sea Route and invite Western carriers to utilize Moscow’s project in the Arctic, an opinion piece in Responsible Statecraft magazine has suggested.

Trump's campaign promise to swiftly stop the fighting between Moscow and Kiev “seemed increasingly out of reach,” Lyle J. Goldstein, a research professor at the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) at the US Naval War College wrote in his article on Friday.

As the Russian military “continues its slow but steady advance,” Putin could have decided “to push for a more complete Russian military victory and defy any near-term Western peace overtures,” he said.

"It is hard to imagine that dispatching more arms to Ukraine and slapping more sanctions on Russia will be successful at achieving peace,” Goldstein stressed.

However, Trump still has a chance “to break from the status quo and entice Russia to end the war” by making the situation in the Arctic - where a struggle for dominance between world powers has been intensifying in recent years – part of the negotiations, he wrote.

According to the analyst, the issue is “guaranteed to capture… Putin’s attention” because Moscow is interested in the effective functioning of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which runs from the Barents Sea near Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait between Chukotka and Alaska, and “holds the key to unlocking major development in the country’s vast, resource-rich interior and more broadly for Siberia.”

In order to see Russia making concessions, “the US would need to lift sanctions that have been applied against NSR projects… [and] facilitate major European shipping companies like Hapag Lloyd and Maersk to green light the route.” Another step to “sweeten the pot” for Moscow could be “the encouragement and even incentives for Western investment along the NSR” by Washington and Brussels, Goldstein stressed.

"By appending peace proposals with a carrot guaranteed to catch Putin’s attention, negotiations having a substantial Arctic component could gain Trump’s favor and find success,” he insisted.

Trump said on Sunday that he wants to resolve the Ukraine conflict through direct talks with Putin. “We must end that war,” he stressed.

During his end-of-year press conference last week, the Russian leader said that he is “ready to talk [to Trump] anytime; I will be ready to meet with him if he wishes.”

At the same event, Putin reiterated that Moscow is open to negotiating with Kiev without any preconditions, except for those previously agreed upon in Istanbul in 2022. These agreements include a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine and certain restrictions on the deployment of foreign weaponry. He also emphasized that any negotiations must take into account the current situation on the ground.

Vineyards supplying elite producers have been accused of exploitation over treatment of seasonal workers

People employed to pick grapes for France’s luxury champagne brands are being forced to sleep rough and steal food to stave off hunger, an investigation has found.

The Guardian reported on Monday that it had found seasonal workers from west Africa and eastern Europe in the town of Epernay in northern France sleeping on the streets or in tents as the vineyards did not provide accommodation.

Dozens of them spent their nights in the doorway of the cinema opposite the town’s main train station, it wrote.

Epernay is home to world’s most expensive champagne brands, including Dom Perignon and Moet & Chandon. Total champagne shipments from the town in 2023 stood at 299 million bottles and generated over €6 billion ($6.25 billion) in revenues, according to the industry body Comite Champagne.

The grape-picking season at Epernay lasts from August to October. This year’s yield was estimated at 10 tons of grapes per hectare.

Some workers interviewed by the publication claimed they were underpaid or not paid at all. Others said they had not been provided with enough food and left without means of buying any, having to resort to stealing.

“They were treated like dogs,” a retired winegrower told The Guardian. “The people who do that aren’t winegrowers: they’re exploiters,” he added.

Last year’s season was reportedly dubbed “the harvest of shame” after four seasonal grape-pickers died due to suspected sunstroke.

In a case scheduled to go to court in March, four people, including a vineyard owner, have been charged with human trafficking.

According to the unions, it is hard to hold specific champagne houses responsible for the exploitation because of a system that involves delegation of responsibilities from one company to another.

Comite Champagne issued a statement to The Guardian expressing “shock” at the “shameful practices” and asking authorities to step up controls and severely punish any abuses.

The industry body also reported a drop in shipments in the current year caused by “the sluggish global geopolitical and economic situation and widespread inflation.”

Indian Oil Corporation has launched an internal investigation regarding alleged graft by American company which took place 15 years ago

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has launched an investigation into allegations that a US specialty chemicals firm bribed its officials 15 years ago to obtain contracts for supplying catalysts, PTI news reported, citing one of the IOC’s regulatory filings.

The US company, Albemarle Corporation, is known globally as a seller of catalysts used in oil refinery operations. According to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) order dated September 28, 2023, Albemarle allegedly “paid nearly $1.14 million in commission to an intermediary company in India related to IOC business,” resulting in approximately $11.14 million in profits between 2009 and 2011.

The SEC order details how an Albemarle consultant and sales agent allegedly bribed unnamed decision-makers at IOC from 2009 to 2011, as well as a private-sector client from 2009 to 2017. These bribes were purportedly intended to secure orders for catalysts and obtain sensitive, non-public information.

Albemarle faced scrutiny for bribery issues in 2017 and reached a settlement in September 2023, paying over $198 million in fines. In its statement, IOC clarified that it is “neither a party to nor is there any allegation against it” regarding the SEC proceedings. However, the corporation has decided to conduct an internal review to understand the circumstances surrounding the allegations and to determine appropriate subsequent actions.

IOC, a state-owned company, emphasized its commitment to high standards of governance, transparency, and regulatory compliance.

The company operates 10 of India’s 22 oil refineries, with a combined capacity of 80.8 million metric tons per year, refining crude oil into fuels such as petrol and diesel. IOC holds approximately 40% of the fuel market share in India.

The development coincides with ongoing investigations by US authorities into a private Indian conglomerate, Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani. Last month, US prosecutors indicted Adani and other officials for allegedly paying $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar power contracts. The group has denied these allegations, describing them as “baseless.”

The US-donated military vehicle was reportedly destroyed in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region

A Russian first-person view (FPV) drone has successfully intercepted and destroyed a US-provided Stryker armored vehicle while it was on the move, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Monday.

The military shared footage of the engagement, saying it took place in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, but declining to pinpoint the exact location. A Russian reconnaissance team launched the kamikaze UAV after the enemy vehicle was spotted from the air moving down the road, the ministry said. FPV drones are typically small quadcopter devices with a relatively short range and limited endurance.

The clip was filmed from the drone itself, as it chased the armored vehicle and dove at its relatively vulnerable top hatch. The ministry said the strike was sufficient to destroy the Stryker, as confirmed by air surveillance, but did not share images filmed by the other aircraft.

The US had sent roughly 400 of the 18-ton, 8-wheeled, 11-person personnel carriers to Kiev to support its war effort against Russia, according to public disclosures.

Among other purposes, the Ukrainian army has used Strykers in the ongoing incursion into Kursk Region, which it launched in August while quickly losing territory along other parts of the frontline. The goal of the operation had been to distract Russian forces and seize some territory as a bargaining chip for future peace talks, according to Ukrainian officials.

The operation makes no military sense, Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week during his annual marathon Q&A session. Nevertheless, Kiev clings on to the Russian land, “throwing its best assault groups and units into the slaughter there,” he added.

Reports that the former Syrian president’s wife had filed for separation in Russia are not true, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Media reports that Asma Assad is seeking a divorce from her husband Bashar, the former president of Syria, within the Russian court system, are not true, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Moscow granted humanitarian asylum to Bashar Assad and his family after his government was toppled by militants earlier this month. Asma Akhras was born in the UK in 1975 and has dual British-Syrian nationality. She and her future husband first met in London, where she had a career at the US-headquartered financial giant J.P. Morgan. They married in 2000, shortly after he took the presidency of Syria on the death of his father, President Hafez Assad.

Rumors about a possible Assad split were published in Turkish and Arab media on Sunday and claim that Asma has filed for divorce in a Russian court, having decided that life in the country does not suit her. The same outlets claimed that Bashar Assad is banned from leaving Moscow and that his personal assets have been frozen by Russian authorities. Peskov’s denial on Monday applied to all aspects of the media coverage.

The 49-year-old had kept a relatively low profile in her capacity as the first lady of Syria. In May, the presidential service announced that she had been diagnosed with leukemia, something of a throwback to her previous bout with cancer, from which she reportedly had a full recovery in 2019.

Some British media claimed that she may now be stripped of her British citizenship and may even face prosecution in her country of birth, for allegedly influencing the policies of her husband.

“[As] a British national, it is important that she faces prosecution if the evidence supports the allegation, and not merely stripped of her citizenship. This is an important process and it is only right that justice is served before an English court,” the British legal group Guernica 37 told Sky News in March.

Western nations have accused Bashar Assad of committing mass atrocities in the context of the Syrian war, which erupted in 2011. US President Joe Biden has called his toppling a “fundamental act of justice,” though he also acknowledged that the forces that have replaced him in power have their own record of abuses.

Mark Rutte has reportedly taken issue with the Ukrainian leader over his harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Vladimir Zelensky’s harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was unjustified, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said, as quoted by Western media outlets. He has reportedly asked the Ukrainian leader to cease his criticism of Scholz.

Last month, Zelensky blasted the German chancellor for having a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, complaining that the call undermined efforts to isolate Moscow diplomatically.

“I have often told Zelensky that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair,” Rutte told dpa on Monday.

Zelensky had previously slammed Scholz for refusing to provide Kiev with German-made Taurus cruise missiles, suggesting that the chancellor would like to keep the weapons for Berlin’s own use in the event of a threat from Russia. Scholz explained the decision by saying he did not wish to escalate the Ukraine conflict and draw Germany into a direct confrontation with Russia.

Rutte reportedly added that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, and would not put any limits on the use of the weapons.

“In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine,” Rutte said, emphasizing that it was not up to him to decide what weapons allies should deliver.

Moscow has consistently stated that Western aid cannot prevent Russian military forces from accomplishing the objectives of the military operation, nor alter the final outcome of the conflict. The Kremlin has argued that, by supporting Kiev, the Western allies are only prolonging the conflict.

The EU and UK side of the continent is falling behind rapidly, but its elites appear to be in denial

Only a few years ago, most of Western Europe seemed like a fortress of stability in international politics. With robust economies, solid social systems, and the grand edifice of “European integration,” it gave an impression of permanence, impervious even to major geopolitical upheavals. Now, however, it has become an inexhaustible source of peculiar headlines and confusion.

We see endless talk of sending “European peacekeepers” to Ukraine, drawn-out dramas over forming a government in France, or pre-election storms in a teacup in Germany. There are attempts to meddle in the Middle East, and above all, a deluge of irresponsible, often meaningless statements from Western European politicians. For outsiders, these developments provoke a mix of bemusement and concern.

In Russia, the Western side of our shared continent’s apparent decline is met with suspicion but also a certain sadness. For centuries, Western Europe has been both an existential threat and a source of inspiration for Russia. Peter the Great famously reformed the country to borrow the best from European thoughts and culture. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union, despite great sacrifices, secured victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. And for many Russians, Western Europe has long been an “Eden,” offering respite from what were often harsh realities back home.

But a Western Europe that is economically unstable, politically chaotic, and intellectually stagnant is no longer the same as what once inspired reforms or envy. It’s no longer a place Russia can look to as a neighbor worth emulating or even fearing.

How the rest of the world sees ‘Europe’

For most of the world, Western Europe’s problems provoke only curiosity. Major powers like China and India are happy to trade with its various countries and benefit from its technology and investment. But if Western Europe were to disappear from the global stage tomorrow, it wouldn’t disrupt their plans for the future. These nations are vast civilizations in their own right, historically shaped far more by internal dynamics than by European influence.

Meanwhile, African and Arab nations still view Western Europe through the lens of colonialism. For them, its decline is of material interest but little emotional consequence. Türkiye sees European countries as prey, aging and weakened rivals. Even the United States, a supposed ally, approaches the continent’s crises with a businesslike detachment, focused solely on how to maximize its own interests at Europe’s expense.

Why is this happening to Europe?

It’s tempting to blame Western Europe’s odd behavior on the degeneration of its elites. After decades under US patronage, its leaders have lost the ability to think critically or strategically. The end of the Cold War allowed them to govern without serious competition, leading to complacency and mediocrity. Many of the brightest minds went into business, leaving politics to those less capable. As a result, Western European foreign policy departments now resemble provincial bureaucracies, out of touch with global realities.

The expansion of the EU in the early 2000s, which brought in several small former Eastern European nations, only exacerbated this problem. Their provincial outlook often dominates discussions, reducing complex issues to simplistic, parochial concerns. Today, Western Europe’s politicians are adept at convincing the world – and perhaps even themselves – of their own incompetence.

But the root of the problem runs deeper. Western Europe faces a growing contradiction: its political insignificance clashes with its still-considerable material wealth and intellectual legacy. For centuries, its countries have accumulated vast resources and developed unparalleled intellectual traditions. Yet its strategic irrelevance renders these assets useless. Even France’s nuclear arsenal, once a symbol of power, now garners little respect on the world stage.

Germany, the EU’s economic powerhouse, exemplifies this impotence. Despite its wealth, it has failed to translate economic strength into political influence, even over its own affairs. The destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022, allegedly at the hands of its American allies, symbolizes the bloc’s inability to defend its interests or hold its partners accountable.

The United Kingdom, often touted as Western Europe’s most active foreign policy player, plays this role largely under American patronage. Brexit, for all its drama, did little to change this dynamic.

A century of decline

More than 100 years after the First World War dismantled Europe’s empires, the continent finds itself with resources it can no longer wield. The EU’s most recent foreign policy “victory” — the difficult absorption of impoverished Moldova — highlights its limitations. Meanwhile, Georgia, with its defiant government, remains beyond Brussels’ grasp. Even in the Balkans, the EU’s influence is limited to countries subdued by NATO and completely encircled by the US-led geopolitical order.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of modern Western Europe is its lack of reflection. Even the continent’s intellectual elite seems to live behind a wall of denial, detached from reality. This attitude extends to domestic politics, where the rise of non-mainstream parties is dismissed as voters “choosing the wrong way.” In foreign policy, its leaders continue to act as though their opinions still shape global politics, despite clear evidence to the contrary.

The EU states march on, oblivious to their diminishing power and the shifting global environment. In theory, such persistence might seem admirable. But world politics is not a Glass Bead Game, as Hermann Hesse would have put it, and clinging to outdated behaviors will only hasten Western Europe’s decline. At some point, even its vast material and intellectual wealth will no longer be enough to sustain it.

What comes next?

For Russia, Western Europe’s intellectual and moral stagnation presents both challenges and questions. Historically, the EU was a neighbor that inspired reforms and shaped foreign policy strategies. But how does one engage with a declining power that refuses to acknowledge its own fall? And if the bloc is no longer a meaningful counterpart, who will become Russia’s new “unifying other”?

These are questions Russia must answer as it navigates a world where Western Europe’s influence continues to wane. Whatever the answer, it’s clear that its era of dominance is over. Its decline is undeniable – even if Western Europeans themselves refuse to see it.

 

This article was first published by ‘Vzglyad’ newspaper and was translated and edited by the RT team.

Hostilities between Moscow and Kiev will last until late 2025 or mid-2026, according to the organization’s forecast

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set out two projections for when the Ukraine conflict will be resolved, suggesting that hostilities are likely to end by late 2025 in a baseline scenario, or sometime in mid-2026, as per the downside forecast.

In its sixth review under the extended fund facility (EFF) for Ukraine, published on the IMF’s website last week, the organization claimed that the Ukrainian economy is “stable” and that Kiev has continued to achieve target indicators set out by the fund.

In light of this, the IMF approved a $1.1 billion tranche to support Kiev’s budget, bringing the total amount of financial assistance to Ukraine under the program to $9.8 billion. The total value of the EFF program, which runs through 2027, is $15.5 billion.

According to the IMF, Ukraine’s performance under its program “remains strong” and its economy showed “better than expected resilience to energy shocks.” However, the fund said a slowdown is expected next year due to “an increasingly tight labor market, the impact of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and continued uncertainty about the war.”

According to the fund’s baseline scenario, Ukraine’s GDP is expected to grow by 4% in 2024 while inflation is projected to rise to 10%. In 2025, the fund predicted that the country’s GDP growth would be between 2.5% and 3.5%.

However, in the downside scenario, which foresees a prolonged conflict, Ukraine is predicted to experience deeper economic shocks, including slower GDP recovery, higher inflation, and significant fiscal deficits of over 20% until 2026.

In this scenario, Ukraine’s external financing gap is also expected to reach over $177 billion, compared to $148 billion under the baseline forecast.

The IMF’s report comes as Ukraine faces a record budget deficit of $43.9 billion in 2024 and has heavily relied on its international backers to cover a significant portion of its financial needs.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 up until now, Kiev has received an estimated $238.5 billion from the West, accounting for slightly less than 90% of the countries’ budget expenditures for this period, according to calculations published by RIA Novosti on Sunday, based on data from the Ukrainian Finance Ministry and other open sources. 

The largest donor to Ukraine over the past three years has been the US, which has given Ukraine some $95.2 billion, with two-thirds of the aid being military aid.

Moldova’s Maia Sandu has proposed taking control of the breakaway region of Transnistria, Russian intelligence officials have claimed

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has openly discussed planning a military operation to seize control of the breakaway region of Transnistria, which hosts a Russian peacekeeping contingent, Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has claimed. Chisinau has denied the accusation.

According to the agency, Sandu became “emotionally unstable” at a recent meeting with government officials over Ukraine's decision to cut the flow of Russian gas to Moldova, triggering fears of an energy crisis in the EU candidate state.

Kiev has refused to reopen talks with Moscow on any future transit. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico recently met with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky to discuss the matter but was unable to salvage the arrangement. The news met with reported exasperation in Moldova, which is heavily reliant on Russian gas.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Sandu’s government is preparing to escalate tensions in the region, potentially targeting the Cuciurgan power plant, which supplies around 75% of Moldova’s electricity. According to the agency, Sandu has discussed removing Russian peacekeepers and reasserting Chisinau’s control.

EU officials were allegedly “clutching their heads” and “do not know how to calm down the emotionally unstable Sandu,” according to the agency.

Sandu “categorically refused to discuss this issue with Ukraine and unequivocally pinned the blame on Russia,” threatening to “take it out on Transnistria” if Moscow fails to deliver gas to Moldova. She reportedly ordered criminal cases against the breakaway region’s leaders for “separatism” and instructed officials to harass residents crossing the border.

The SVR claimed the EU is deeply alarmed by Sandu’s alleged plans. “The meeting ended with Sandu discussing the need for a military operation to seize control over Transnistria and remove Russian peacekeepers,” leaving EU officials visibly shocked, the SVR alleged.

Adrian Balutel, Sandu’s chief of staff, dismissed the SVR statement as “dangerous disinformation, designed to sow panic and mistrust.” He stressed that “Chisinau remains firmly committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict” while demanding a “complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops” from Transnistria.

Transnistria declared independence from Moldova in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. A brief war in 1992 ended with a ceasefire and the deployment of around 400 Russian peacekeepers. Moldova does not recognize Transnistria's independence and has periodically sought to reintegrate the territory.

Sandu, who won Moldova’s presidency in 2024 after a contentious election, has previously faced criticism from Moscow, which accused her government of obstructing the voting rights of citizens of the country who live in Russia.

Nobody is offering Kiev a blank check to fight Russia now, US Representative Mike Waltz has argued

The stances taken by EU and NATO nations on handling the Ukraine conflict have changed since Donald Trump won the US presidential elections in November, according to Representative Mike Waltz.

“We’ve seen everybody’s narrative go from ‘As long as it tanks (sic), blank check, don't dare say anything else, or you’re somehow pro-Russian’ to ‘How do we get this to a deal?’” the Florida lawmaker, who is slated to serve as national security adviser in the incoming administration, told political commentator Ben Shapiro on Sunday.

The President-elect has made it clear the war must end, Waltz said. He also emphasized that part of his role, along with Trump’s team, is to identify key players in peace negotiations, to bring them to the table, and to establish terms for a resolution that align with American interests.

Waltz criticized the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden, saying it wanted more funding of its Ukraine policy, but declined to define the specific outcome that pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the conflict should produce. He also said he has been receiving questions from his constituents about that.

”Is it in America’s national interest to expect every Russian off of every inch of Ukraine, including Crimea? How long is that going to take? How much money is that going to cost? How many lives will be lost? Is that even a realistic goal at this point?” he quoted the inquiries, calling them “valid” and “something we’re certainly talking about.”

Crimea voted to reunite with Russia in 2014, following a US-backed armed coup in Kiev, which was rejected by people living in the peninsula. The government of Vladimir Zelensky is demanding full control of the Russian region in return for what the Ukrainian leader calls “just peace” with Moscow.

Both Shapiro and Waltz claimed that Russia was seriously weakened by the fight against its NATO-backed embattled neighbour, giving Trump leverage on both Kiev and Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated last week that his nation’s military is in a very good shape, supported by a reinvigorated defense industry and military technology that the West cannot match.

The Shapiro-Waltz interview was focused on Trump putting pressure on nations that the US perceives as adversaries, primarily China, after he is inaugurated in January.

”One of the lessons we should learn from Ukraine is you don’t try to arm your allies after they’ve been invaded. You, maybe, arm them before to prevent the invasion in the first place,” Waltz mused, pledging more arms to the self-administered Chinese island of Taiwan.

The increased arming of Kiev by NATO nations was one of the triggers that pushed tensions with Russia into open hostilities in February 2022, according to Moscow.

The tech billionaire has cut through the legacy press’ narrative on the Magdeburg attack, but the battle for truth was raging long before he joined the fray

The tragic terror attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, which claimed several lives and left hundreds injured, was not just an attack on innocent civilians – it was also an attack on truth.

In the aftermath of the atrocity, a predictable yet disturbing pattern emerged: the mainstream media, in lockstep with political authorities, immediately attempted to frame the narrative in a way that avoided uncomfortable truths. They downplayed the attacker’s background, obscured his motivations, and redirected public focus towards safer, more politically convenient storylines.

But one figure cut through the fog of misinformation – Elon Musk. In recent years, the tech billionaire has emerged as one of the most prominent critics of legacy media and its increasingly transparent biases.

In the wake of the Magdeburg attack, Musk did what most global leaders and prominent media outlets refused to do: he publicly raised the questions everyone was asking and pointed out the contradictions in the official narrative.

The Magdeburg narrative unravels

The mainstream media’s response to the attack followed a depressingly familiar script. Initial reports focused on generic descriptions of the attacker, avoiding critical details about his ideological background, motivations, and long history of suspicious behavior. When conflicting evidence emerged – suggesting the attacker was not the ‘ex-Muslim atheist’ he claimed to be but rather someone deeply entrenched in extremist ideology – the media still hesitated to shift its tone.

Musk, however, did not hesitate. Using his platform X (formerly Twitter), he called out the inconsistencies in the reporting, criticized the German government’s inaction, and directly challenged Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His posts, viewed and shared by millions, forced a public reckoning. Instead of allowing the narrative to settle into the comfortable grooves carved by mainstream outlets, Musk shattered the illusion and amplified the voices of those who had been warning about the attacker’s background for years.

Why Musk matters in this battle

Musk’s engagement in this discourse is significant for several reasons. First, it demonstrates the power of decentralized platforms like X, where influential voices can bypass traditional media gatekeepers. Second, it reveals the extent to which public trust in legacy media has eroded. Millions of people no longer turn to CNN, BBC, or Der Spiegel as their first source of information – they look to independent voices on social media, and Musk has become one of the most powerful of those voices.

Mainstream media outlets, accustomed to being the sole arbiters of public narratives, now find themselves unable to suppress dissenting views. Musk’s immense following and his willingness to confront uncomfortable truths mean that attempts to obfuscate or spin events like the Magdeburg attack are no longer guaranteed to succeed.

RT: The original challenger

While Musk and X are currently at the forefront of this information battle, it’s worth remembering that RT has been challenging mainstream narratives for years.

Long before Musk took over X, RT was often one of the few major outlets willing to question Western governments and expose stories that mainstream media preferred to ignore. Despite being heavily criticized, de-platformed, and even banned in multiple countries, the network has persisted in providing alternative perspectives on global events.

This isn’t to say RT is without its flaws – like any media organization, it cannot escape some of its own biases – but its contribution to breaking the monopoly of Western media narratives cannot be ignored. While Musk and X have brought this fight into the mainstream, RT was already in the trenches, challenging the narrative before it was fashionable.

In this sense, Musk is building on ground already broken by others. However, the scale of X’s influence and Musk’s ability to reach a global audience has elevated this struggle to new heights. RT walked so X could run, and while Musk is rightly celebrated for his courage and transparency, it’s worth acknowledging that he’s not the first to challenge the system – just the most impactful so far.

The battle over information control

The Western elites understand one undeniable truth: power in the modern world is not merely about political or military might – it’s about controlling the flow of information. Historically, legacy media served as the perfect tool for this purpose. Carefully curated stories, selective reporting, and strategic omissions allowed those in power to guide public perception seamlessly.

However, that era is fading. Social media platforms and figures like Musk have democratized access to information. In the aftermath of the Magdeburg attack, it wasn’t state broadcasters or newspaper editors who exposed the full story – it was ordinary people online, sharing evidence, raising questions, and amplifying voices that the mainstream ignored.

It’s no wonder, then, that the elites have turned their focus towards silencing alternative sources of information. Media outlets like Russia’s RT have been relentlessly targeted, de-platformed, and demonized. The justification is always the same: fighting misinformation. But one must ask – who decides what constitutes misinformation? In a world where even basic facts are twisted to serve political ends, it’s clear that this battle is not about truth but about control.

The future lies in freedom

Elon Musk’s actions in the aftermath of the Magdeburg attack were not just those of an outspoken billionaire – they were those of someone who understands the stakes in the battle for information. By refusing to bow to the narrative enforced by the mainstream media, Musk has demonstrated that the power to control the public discourse is slipping from the hands of legacy institutions.

This is not just a victory for Musk, nor is it merely a battle over one tragic event in Germany. It’s a symbolic moment in a larger war – a war over whether information will remain free and decentralized or be corralled and curated by a handful of powerful actors.

Despite mainstream journalists’ best efforts to steer the public away from questioning their narrative about the Magdeburg attack, one man with power and influence refused to stay silent. As long as platforms like X exist and influential figures like Musk are willing to speak out, there is hope that the truth will continue to break through the carefully constructed walls of mainstream narratives.

The legacy media may still have power, but they no longer have a monopoly on the truth. And that, in itself, is a victory worth celebrating.

AfD leader Alice Weidel has the support of 24% of those surveyed, the newspaper has reported

The co-leader of the right-wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party, Alice Weidel, is ahead of her rivals in the campaign to become the next chancellor, according to the latest survey conducted by the INSA polling institute for Bild.

The results of the poll, published by the tabloid newspaper on Sunday, showed that Weidel has the support of 24% of respondents, putting her ahead of the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, who received 20%.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who represents the Social Democratic Party (SPD), was reportedly backed by 15% of respondents. His coalition partner and Green Party leader, Robert Habeck, was favored by 14%. 

The AfD named Weidel, 45, as its first chancellor candidate on December 7, setting out the bid for power ahead of snap elections scheduled for February 23. Weidel is due to be confirmed as the AfD’s nominee at a party conference next month.

In an interview with Bloomberg last week, Weidel accused the EU of destroying the German auto industry, the country’s economic pillar, and proposed winding back the bloc to a free-trade zone.

Earlier this month, the AfD stated in its draft election manifesto that Germany should leave the bloc and the euro in Brexit-like fashion, calling for a referendum on the issue.

AfD membership has swelled by 50% to about 50,600 over the past year, the party’s spokesperson told Reuters earlier his month. That number, however, only represents about 14% of the membership of Germany’s biggest parties, the CDU/CSU conservative bloc and the SPD.

In recent years, right-wing, anti-immigration parties have gained traction across the EU, coming to power in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.

The billionaire “wasn’t born in this country,” the Republican has noted

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is not going to be the US president, America’s incoming head of state Donald Trump has said, dismissing Democratic lawmakers’ taunts that Musk is the “real leader” of the Republican Party after his online campaign helped sink the government spending bill.

Some Democratic leaders have raised concerns about Musk’s undue influence on the Republican politician, implying that Trump had ceded the presidency to the tech billionaire.

Delivering his first major speech since the November election at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, Trump rejected the claims.

“No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” he said. “And I’m safe. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country.”

Even if the billionaire wanted the job, he couldn’t get it because the American Constitution requires the US president to be a natural-born citizen, while Musk was born in South Africa.

The remarks come as Democratic politicians have recently implied that Musk is the “real leader” of the GOP. 

The claims followed the billionaire’s aggressive pressure campaign against a bipartisan bill to fund the government, in which he branded the spending proposal as “criminal,” “outrageous,” and “one of the worst bills ever written.”

Commenting on the spending plan collapse, Karoline Leavitt, transition spokesperson for the Trump-Vance team, issued a statement last week cited by The Hill.

“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR [continuing resolution], Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop,” the statement read.

“All the different hoaxes, and the new one is, ‘President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk,’” Trump said to the crowd in Arizona. “No, no. That’s not happening.”

The president-elect praised his high-profile ally, who reportedly contributed a total of $238.5 million to a pro-Trump political action committee, saying that Musk “went to Pennsylvania, and he stayed – stayed up there for a month, and helped us to win that state, which we won by a lot.”

“Isn’t it nice to have smart people we can rely on? Don’t we want that?” Trump asked, addressing the gathering at Turning Point.

The billionaire has been closely involved with the transition process and has publicly weighed in on electoral politics with his online commentary on appointments.

Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been tapped to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new initiative tasked with reducing government waste and streamlining the federal bureaucracy.

The deaths occurred at separate charity gatherings in the African nation on Saturday, police say

At least 32 people, including children, were killed and several others injured in “tragic stampede” incidents at two separate charity events in Nigeria over the weekend, according to authorities in the West African nation.

Police in the southeastern state of Anambra said in a statement on Sunday that a gathering at a community center in Okija on Saturday claimed the lives of 22 people.

Officials did not specify the event at which the fatal accident occurred. However, state broadcaster Radio Nigeria reported that the crowd had gathered at the venue to receive their share of bags of rice distributed to women ahead of the Christmas holiday season.

Ten locals, including four children, also died in another crowd crush in Maitama, a district of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on the same day, authorities said in a separate statement.

The “tragic incident” occurred while food items were being distributed to “vulnerable and elderly individuals” at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said on Sunday. More than a thousand people attended the event, it said, adding that eight of them sustained “varying degrees of injuries.” 

“To prevent such tragic incidents in the future, the Command mandates that all organizations, religious bodies, groups, or individuals planning public events, charitable activities, or large gatherings in the FCT must notify the Police Command in advance,” the police stated.

“Failure to comply with this directive will result in the organizers being held liable for any incidents or loss of life resulting from negligence,” the authorities warned.

The incidents come just days after 35 children died in a stampede at a holiday funfair in the southwest city of Ibadan. According to local media reports, over 5,000 children had assembled at the venue, where organizers had promised scholarships and other prizes.

Nigeria has been plagued by economic hardship in recent months, following President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of fuel subsidies and sweeping exchange rate reform when he came into office in May 2023. In July last year, the government declared a state of emergency as a result of food shortages and surging prices.

Earlier this year, at least seven people were killed in a stampede in Bauchi, in the northeastern region of Africa’s most populous country, when a crowd of residents gathered to reportedly receive 5,000 naira (around $3.20) each at a charity event.

In response to the latest chaos, President Tinubu canceled all of his official engagements in honor of the victims and urged state and local authorities to enforce strict crowd control policies.

‘‘In a season of joy and celebration, we grieve with fellow citizens mourning the painful losses of their loved ones. Our prayers of divine comfort and healing are with them,’‘ the Nigerian leader said.

Non-profit organization Amnesty International also issued a statement calling on the Nigerian government to “urgently prioritize addressing widespread hunger, higher unemployment, and the rapidly falling standard of living.”

Salome Zourabichvili has pledged the military’s loyalty to the West and demanded a new election

Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s outgoing president who has supported street protests against the post-Soviet nation’s government, has reiterated her intention to cling to power despite the election of her successor earlier this month.

The French citizen’s term in office expires on Sunday, when former Manchester City player Mikhail Kavelashvili is set to be inaugurated as the new president. The once-powerful position is largely ceremonial under the current Georgian constitution. 

Zourabichvili and several opposition parties want to overturn the results of the parliamentary election, which the ruling Georgian Dream party won in a landslide in October.

”I remain loyal to the country, to the constitution, on which I made an oath six years ago,” the outgoing president told her supporters during a rally on Sunday evening. “I am also loyal to the army, which in its turn is loyal to the partners who created, armed and strengthened the Georgian Army. I am and will remain its commander-in-chief.”

The US was largely responsible for training and arming the Georgian Army during President Mikhail Saakashvili’s term in office from 2008 to 2013. Georgian Dream rose to power in opposition to his policies and was responsible for disempowering the presidential office through constitutional amendments after the 2012 parliamentary election.

Zourabichvili, whose speech in Tbilisi was plagued by technical problems, demanded the date for a new election to be agreed before December 29 and promised to make an additional announcement on Monday.

The Georgian president is responsible for calling a new election, but they must meet certain conditions to do that. 

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned Zourabichvili that she could face criminal prosecution if she formally declares a new poll in violation of the constitution.

”No one wants to put a 72-year-old woman in jail, but with such a move she would set up all those people, who would stand with her in such a scenario,” the head of government warned.

Kobakhidze said he hoped that Zourabichvili would not cross the red line, considering that she and her supporters would face lengthy prison terms. The fact that she has yet to announce a new election indicates that “someone smart” has given her sound advice, the prime minister said.