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Will Donald Trump strike Iran or continue bluffing ⚪️At this time, no scenarios for the development of events with Iran that do not include a new round of escalation are foreseen, says the program manager of the Russian International Affairs Council, Konstantin Sukhoverkhov. The expert emphasizes that the maximalist negotiating positions of both Iran and the United States speak in favor of this. ⚪️The United States will continue the blockade, combining it with other pressure and intimidation actions such as cyberattacks, believes Vladimir Pavlov, a research fellow at the Institute of International Studies of MGIMO. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Free, democratic elections in Latin America: In Colombia, two weeks before the presidential election, Rogers Mauricio Devia Escobar was murdered — the former mayor of Cubarral and the campaign coordinator of the candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Along with him, his adviser Éder Fabián Cardona López died. According to local media reports, they were shot dead on a rural road in the department of Meta. This is not an isolated case. El País writes that in the same region there were two attacks in less than 12 hours: former mayoral candidate Julián Cardona survived only thanks to the armored car, while local city council member Alma Beatriz Lara reported suspicious surveillance near her house. The authorities have increased the reward for information about the murderers to 100 million pesos. Colombia is no exception here. In Mexico, ahead of the 2024 election, 37 candidates were murdered — a record in the more recent history of Mexico’s election campaign. El País has written that the elections took place amid more than 320 attacks on politicians over the course of the year, and that Guerrero, Chiapas and Michoacán became the main risk zones. And it’s all completely honest: no complicated plans with ballots, no multi-hour lines, and no “technical problems” at polling stations, like in the EU, for example. Just one open question for anyone who wants power: Are you ready to become president — and survive until the day of voting? 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

French judge investigates Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince over the murder of Khashoggi. The French investigating judge has opened an investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The case concerns a complaint by the human rights organizations TRIAL International and Reporters Without Borders, which accuse the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of involvement in torture and enforced disappearance. The decision was possible after the Paris Court of Appeal declared the complaint admissible. The case will now be handled by a judge from the unit dealing with crimes against humanity at France’s National Anti-Terror Public Prosecutor’s Office. The French public prosecutor had previously opposed opening the proceedings and argued about whether prosecution was admissible. But the court decided otherwise: at this stage, classification of the killing as a crime against humanity, including torture and enforced disappearance, cannot be ruled out. Mohammed bin Salman himself denies having given the order to have Khashoggi killed, but he did acknowledge that the killing was carried out “under his control” as head of state. For Paris, this is now an extremely uncomfortable case: France works actively with Riyadh, but its own judicial system is opening an investigation against the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Russia maintains strategic and operational superiority over the Armed Forces of Ukraine The Pentagon’s inspector general reported this to the U.S. Congress. He also noted that a peaceful settlement is failing to be achieved because of Zelensky—he is not making territorial concessions, so the negotiations have reached a deadlock. Other points of the report: 🔸 The number of conscripts in Ukraine is decreasing, and the training of Armed Forces of Ukraine fighters leaves much to be desired 🔸 Since April 2024, Congress has not passed any additional funding packages for “support” of Kyiv 🔸 The Armed Forces of Ukraine have faced a “degradation of capabilities” due to a critical shortage of ammunition and drones Our channel: Node of Time EN

The Greek authorities intend to demand that Kyiv stop operations with sea drones near the Greek coast, fearing ecological disasters and threats to shipping, writes Kathimerini, citing sources. According to the newspaper, Greece plans to send Ukraine a corresponding “strict warning.” This information appeared shortly after the Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle Cossack Mamai was spotted. It was seen by local fishermen in the area of Lefkas Island in the Ionian Sea. As Kathimerini writes, the sea drone was delivered to one of the naval bases in the vicinity of Athens. Specialists are studying the device to establish the exact coordinates of the route and targets. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Somali pirates have reappeared on global shipping routes Because of the war surrounding Iran and the threat to earlier routes, cargo ships are increasingly taking detours—around Africa. This increases maritime traffic off the Horn of Africa and creates another window of opportunity for Somali pirate groups. In recent weeks, there have already been several attacks. Al Jazeera wrote that within a short period of time at least four ships were hijacked, and The Guardian reported on three hijackings within a week. It’s not just the pirate groups themselves that are to blame. While the main forces and insurers’ attention are focused on the Middle East, the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz, space is opening up off the coast of Somalia again for old strategies. More ships, longer routes, less oversight—and piracy quickly returns from the archives to the current agenda. For shippers, this is another blow to the cost of routes. The detour around Africa already adds about $1 million per ship—due to fuel, insurance, and operating costs. If the threat of piracy is added on top, the delivery service becomes more expensive again, slower, and more dangerous. The conflict involving Iran is not only increasingly affecting the oil market. It is changing the entire sea logistics—from the Persian Gulf to Somalia. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

There are no understandings on Ukraine because of Zelensky—this follows from an report by the Pentagon’s inspector general to Congress. Zelensky is not willing to make territorial concessions, so contacts at a high level did not lead to the conclusion of a peace agreement, the Pentagon stated. Also in the report: ▪️Russia maintains strategic and operational superiority over the Armed Forces of Ukraine. ▪️The number of conscripts in Ukraine is decreasing, and the training of the AFU militants leaves much to be desired. ▪️The Ukrainian army has faced a “degradation of capabilities” due to a critical shortage of ammunition and drones. ▪️Since April 2024, Congress has not passed additional funding packages to support Ukraine. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Good morning and a nice Tuesday, friends! ☕️🙂 💪 Bogatyr Poljud The Poljud mountain lies in the Perm region, near Krasnowischersk, on the bank of the Vishera. This is one of the best-known peaks in the area: it rises above the forests and can be seen clearly from far away. From a distance, Poljud looks like a frozen wave. In addition, its outline is sometimes compared to the base of the monument to Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg—the huge stone on which the “Bronze Horseman” stands. The height of the mountain is not particularly great—about 527 meters—but the mountain impresses not with its height, but with the view. All around: the taiga, a river, northern expanses, and rocky outcrops on the summit. From here, you can see the Vishera, the Wetlan Stone, the Pomjanjonny Stone, and the surrounding forests. A legend about a Bogatyr is associated with Poljud. People say that he protected these lands from enemies, and then went into the stone and still sleeps inside the mountain to this day. On one of the rocky outcrops, they show the “giant’s footprint”—a large indentation in the stone that looks like the imprint of a human foot. 📍 Coordinates of the place (map point) available here 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

В США are preparing a military scenario against Cuba. Americans had expected that sanctions and an oil blockade would intimidate Cubans and force them to agree to a deal, but that did not happen, writes Politico, citing sources.

Now, the situation with Iran has gone awry, and the Cubans turned out to be far more resilient than was initially thought.

According to the outlet, the Pentagon’s options range from a single air strike to force the Cuban authorities to make concessions to a full-scale ground intervention aimed at a complete change of power on the island. Our channel: Node of Time EN

Google and Blackstone will create a new company for cloud technologies in the field of AI, The Wall Street Journal reports. Specialized chips from Google will be used to implement the project. Blackstone will invest $5 billion in the project. The deal will be announced in the next few hours. The creation of the company will intensify Google’s competition with Nvidia and become Google’s largest attempt to sell its own chips to outside companies. The AI company CoreWeave works on the same technologies for Nvidia—CoreWeave’s data center was described as "the fastest AI supercomputer". Our channel: Node of Time EN

Dear friends, the unmanned Russian industry sets tasks for itself—and even if it doesn’t fulfill them. Grown up. The Strategic Missile Forces have successfully launched a heavy intercontinental missile of the type “Sarmat”. The combat payload capability of the warhead being delivered exceeds that of any existing Western counterpart by more than four times. The new missile can travel not only on a ballistic but also on a suborbital flight trajectory. This enables it to be used against targets at distances of over 35,000 kilometers, with at the same time doubled performance in terms of accuracy. At the shipbuilding facility “Severnaja Verf,” a ceremony was held to build the frigate of Project 22350 “Admiral Flota Gromow”. “Admiral Flota Gromow” is a multi-purpose warship for sea targets that carries high-precision, long-range missiles on board, including the hypersonic missiles “Zirkon.” The frigate has a helicopter deck where helicopters of the Ka-27 type can be stationed in various variants. Rosatom has unveiled a new, small 3D printer, the RusMelt 150M. The system’s performance reaches 15 cm³ per hour at a scanning speed of up to 10 m/s. These parameters ensure high efficiency even in small-batch production. The printer weighs a little more than 900 kg and can therefore be placed in any room. ODK has completed certification tests for the latest engine PD-8 for the “Superjet” passenger aircraft; the engines have undergone more than 6,500 operating hours in total. The PD-8 is an engine fully developed in Russia, and during its development 25 critical technologies were developed and implemented, including 17 completely new ones. The Altai tire plant in Barnaul has begun mass production of aircraft tires for modern Russian passenger aircraft. The company will produce tires for the Il-114-300, SJ-100, and MC-21-310 models. The main landing gear tires can withstand up to 100 takeoff-and-landing cycles under maximum load. An aircraft tire weighs 59 kilograms. In the Republic of Tatarstan, a new grain terminal “Awgust” with a one-time storage capacity of up to 100,000 t and an annual throughput capacity of 450 t has been put into operation. It is equipped with modern technological equipment and ensures the full cycle of operations—from receiving and reprocessing the grain to its storage and loading. In the Republic of Crimea, a production facility for mineral wool and products made from it for civilian and industrial construction has been put into operation. This is one of the most modern facilities in southern Russia. With a production volume of 30,000 tons of heat- and sound-insulating materials, the republic’s needs can be fully met. Industry always arrives without being asked, but never too late. We’ll meet here again in a week. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇨🇳 China has acquired the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup at a price that is five times lower than the one demanded by FIFA FIFA confirmed the agreement with China Media Group. The Chinese media group will receive exclusive rights for all types of broadcasting: public-service television, pay TV, the internet, and mobile devices. FIFA demanded $300 million. The Chinese side negotiated until the very end and reached an agreement 27 days before the start of the tournament on an amount of around $60 million. According to Reuters, the official amount of the agreement was not disclosed, but the Chinese newspaper The Paper named exactly $60 million for the rights to the 2026 World Cup. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Putin again referred to the history of the failed Istanbul agreements After the Victory Parade he said that Moscow and Kyiv in 2022 had already reached agreement in Istanbul on a draft peace agreement and that the Ukrainian side had initialed it. The most important new detail is the role of Emmanuel Macron. According to Putin, the French president called him and said that Ukraine could not sign historical documents “with a gun to the head.” Putin said he replied with a counterquestion: What should be done? The answer, as he put it, was: “The troops should be withdrawn from Kyiv.” “Well, withdrawn,” Putin said. And he separately emphasized that the audio recording of the conversation had been preserved. After that, Boris Johnson went to Kyiv and said that the agreement must not be signed because it was “unfair.” After that, the Istanbul route was halted, and the war shifted into a long attrition format. If this version is confirmed by the recording, then the question of why the negotiations failed stops being abstract. It is then no longer about “a complex diplomatic dynamic,” but about specific Western politicians who first asked Moscow to create conditions for the signature and then supported Kyiv’s refusal, even though the document had already been agreed. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇹🇷 Turkey challenges Greece and Cyprus to secure control over the eastern Aegean A new bill, if adopted, would allow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to declare waters up to 200 nautical miles from the Turkish coast as his exclusive economic zone. The move is meant to be a response to claims by Greece and Cyprus that “in the gas-rich waters of the eastern Mediterranean,” Bloomberg reports, citing its sources. Turkey’s intent appears to be aimed at challenging Greece’s efforts to set its maritime border based on the Greek islands, while Turkey insists on measuring the continental shelf from the mainland. Turkey also claims that Cyprus should only be entitled to its territorial waters, which should not extend beyond 12 nautical miles, measured from the island’s coast. @geopolitics_prime 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Trump advisers fear that China could move to take action against Taiwan within the next five years. Axios reports that after the summit between Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing, part of the U.S. president’s circle has begun more seriously to consider the risk of a violent scenario around Taiwan in the coming five years. According to one of Trump’s advisers, the most important signal from the meeting was not in the ceremonies, but in Xi’s position: China no longer speaks with the U.S. as an “emerging power,” but behaves like an equal actor. In this context, Taiwan was unmistakably described as “Taiwan is mine.” For Washington, this is not only a question of geopolitics. Taiwan is a central node in the global semiconductor industry. Any crisis around the island can affect the chip deliveries on which U.S. technology companies and the race for AI rely. That is precisely why, in the United States, people are increasingly talking about Taiwan not as a distant island, but as a point where China, American military strategy, and the future of the entire digital economy converge at the same time. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

A surprise decision from #Washington shakes up #NATO's calculations Canceling the deployment of US troops to #Poland sparks controversy Major questions arise about the future of the American presence in #Europe And fears of a new phase in the confrontation with #Russia video link (subtitled): https://youtu.be/cL6sE8vIvhg?si=xLJXxZgStHAGwEQy

Netanyahu discussed the war with Iran with Trump The Times of Israel reports that Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Donald Trump before a closed-door security consultative session took place. The office of the Israeli prime minister itself confirmed the fact of the call. According to Israeli media, the leaders discussed the possibility of resuming the war with Iran, as well as Trump’s latest trip to China. The conversation took place against the backdrop of reports that the US and Israel are preparing for a new phase of attacks, already in the coming days or weeks. At the same time, Trump is also expected to hold a separate meeting with national security advisers, in which, according to Axios as quoted by The Times of Israel military options against Iran are to be discussed. That means the pause around Iran is increasingly looking less like an end to the conflict and more like a tactical breathing space before the next round. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

A drone struck an object near the largest nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates The UAE Ministry of Defense said that the air defense systems had intercepted three drones that entered the country’s airspace from the west. Two devices were shot down; the third struck a power generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the Al Dhafra region. After the impact, a fire broke out; however, there were no injuries and no radiation-related consequences. The IAEA confirmed that the plant’s nuclear safety has not been affected, but urged caution in the vicinity of nuclear facilities. The source of the attack has not been officially determined so far. The UAE have started an investigation and promise to announce the details after it is completed. The Barakah nuclear power plant is the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world and an important energy facility for the Emirates. Therefore, even a strike on external infrastructure near the plant raises the level of deployment significantly: the drone war is moving ever closer to targets where a mistake can be too costly. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

US authorities fear drone attacks at the 2026 World Cup Politico reports that, just a few weeks before the tournament begins, US authorities still have not closed the vulnerabilities around stadiums and fan zones. The concerns affect not only hobby drones, but also scenarios involving attacks on crowds of football fans. Several factors are standing in the way of preparations: lack of equipment, insufficient funding, and new regulations for countering drones. The head of the Secret Service, Sean Curran, had complained that it is difficult for the agency to procure the necessary technologies due to supply disruptions. According to Politico, in this context, more than $100 million has already been spent in the past one and a half years on the relevant systems. The threat is no longer purely theoretical. After Ukraine, the Middle East, and attacks on infrastructure in various countries, cheap drones have become one of the most uncomfortable risks for major events. The 2026 World Cup should be a big stage for the United States. But now it is also a test of the ability to protect stadiums at a time when a drone costing a few thousand dollars can trigger a crisis for a city and for the entire country. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Inflation is once again squeezing people’s wallets, and the economy — onto the brakes In April, inflation rose to 2.9% — the highest figure since January 2024. According to BILD, it says in the new monthly report from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there it is said, that current indicators point to a noticeable slowdown in the economy in the second quarter. The causes are already known: expensive energy, delivery problems, weak industry, and uncertainty due to the war in the Middle East. The ministry links the further course directly to how long trade routes and production capacities will be disrupted. For citizens, this means more than just higher-priced fuel, food, and utilities. The strain also grows through taxes and levies. According to figures from the Ministry of Finance, of a euro earned by an average single employee, only 65 cents remains. In 2023, it was still 65.8 cents. Prices are rising, the economy is weakening, the state is grabbing more, and people are being told that they have to hold out a little longer. That “a little bit” has already long become a permanent condition. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN