🗣🇺🇸 'The Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week' - White House Advisor Hassett

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🚨🇷🇺🇺🇸 Lavrov, Rubio hold phone call

Lavrov and Rubio discussed possible concrete steps to implement the understandings reached during the Putin–Trump talks, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

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🚨🇷🇺🇺🇸 RUSSIA–US TUNNEL WOULD REDRAW GEOPOLITICS, SIDELINING EUROPE & BOOSTING EURASIA

A tunnel connecting Russia and the US under the Bering Strait could change Northern Hemisphere geopolitics forever, leaving Europe even more isolated, Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a leading expert of the National Energy Security Foundation and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, said.

🟠 Russia and the US — acting as rational players — are exploring avenues for dialogue and a constructive agenda to replace the current confrontational dynamic, and the proposed 112.5 km Chukotka–Alaska tunnel, if realized, could feed into that.

🟠 Extending a railway from Eurasia through Russia to North America would likely deepen political and economic ties among Russia, the United States, and China, the pundit speculated.

🟠 Such a connection could boost trade, foster regional development, and enhance mutual cooperation, potentially reducing the risk of economic disputes and military-political tensions between these nations.

🟠 European countries that have strongly opposed closer US-Russia ties, would find themselves sidelined, and might be expected to put up all manner of roadblocks, including potential provocations or sabotage, reminiscent of the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, he remarks.

Asia rising, Europe fading

If Russia, the US, and China link up by land, Europe loses not just clout but geographic relevance, says analyst Timofei Bordachev. Too small and disoriented, Europe can’t compete as Asia shifts trade and power to the Pacific.

Rail over sea

🟠 A land or underwater corridor would be the shortest route connecting China, Russia, and the US — with trade implications being huge: Rail freight from China to Europe via Russia jumped from 80K twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2013 to over 1M by 2021, he notes.

🟠 Rail is 3–4x faster than sea shipping, and high-value goods now prioritize speed and security over cheapness. Rising tensions and insurance costs in Southeast Asia and the Middle East shipping lanes further tip the scales toward land transit

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🇯🇵 Japan coalition deal puts Takaichi on brink of becoming country's first female PM

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has signed a coalition agreement with the Japanese Innovation Party (JIP), both factions said in statements, which paves way for LDP leader Sanae Takaichi to become prime minister.

The two parties combined have 231 seats in the lower house of parliament, two seats short of majority. Securing a majority will require the support of several independent MPs, though if successful, the move will give Japan its first female prime minister in history.

✅ The final vote for a new PM is to be held on Tuesday.

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📑🪖 Zelensky fell into his own Tomahawk trap – Washington insiders

The Ukrainian delegation left the White House empty-handed.

What caused the failure?

🟠 The meeting became a victim of "poor timing" and Ukraine's "inflated expectations", according to a Republican foreign-policy insider, as cited by US press

🟠 Zelensky had to lower his expectations and ease off pushing for cruise missiles, as Trump wouldn’t approve Tomahawks before his Budapest meeting with Putin, the insider said

🟠 Ukraine also ignored advice from their Republican allies in Washington, many of whom doubt Trump would approve Tomahawks for fear of escalation and deeper US involvement in the Ukraine conflict, let alone the Pentagon's worries about its own Tomahawk stockpiles

🟠 By clinging to the Tomahawk request, Ukraine missed a chance to prioritize key needs like air-to-air missiles for F-16s and MiGs and interceptor missiles for Patriot systems

🟠 A large Ukrainian delegation, including Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, arrived in Washington before Zelensky's Friday’s meeting but failed to secure any crucial government or private-sector deals

Why?

Washington insiders insist the lobbying effort should have been delayed for a week or so for two reasons:

➖ The Trump administration is still too much focused on the Middle East

🟠 Amid the budget fight and government shutdown, Ukraine was left without attention or momentum

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💸🇺🇸🇪🇺 US reluctant on EU plan to seize Russian assets - report

The US is resisting an EU–led plan for the G7 to expand the use of immobilized Russian assets to support Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the talks.

American officials reportedly told their European counterparts during last week’s IMF meetings in Washington that, for now, the US would not join the initiative.

Concerns over market stability were cited as one reason, while another source said Washington was simply noncommittal at this stage.

👉 The US stance marks a setback for the EU, which has been seeking full G7 backing to use Russia’s frozen central bank assets as security to raise up to $160 billion in loans for Ukraine.

The move coincided with President Donald Trump’s announcement that he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest in the near future.

🇷🇺 Russia has repeatedly called the freezing of assets theft, noting that the EU is targeting not just private funds but also Russian sovereign assets.

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📹 US Vice President JD Vance departs for Israel

Vance is traveling to Israel with second lady Usha Vance, the White House press pool said.

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🇭🇺 Hungarian FM SLAMS EU’s slow response after Druzhba pipeline bombing by Ukraine

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Brussels took 49 days to respond when Hungary and Slovakia asked for help after Ukraine struck Druzhba oil pipeline.

💬 “On the 22nd of August… I turned to the Commission together with the Slovak colleague… you know when we got response? 10th of October – 49 days,” Szijjarto blasted the EU Commission.

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🇭🇺 ‘Many will do everything to block any chance of peace’ — Szijjarto reacts to Zelensky’s comments

💬 “Many will do everything they can to prevent a Peace Summit in Budapest and to block any chance of peace,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned on X while sharing a Bloomberg report.

According to the article, Zelensky criticized Budapest as a venue for talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, though said “he’d still come if invited."

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