Finns are busy rewriting history. Ilya Repin was assigned the nationality of a country that didn't exist when he was born in 1844. Guess which one. @LauraRuHK

🔺This profile is fake🔺 Please beware of people impersonating me. They use my picture and a very similar username, probably for phishing information from unsuspecting subscribers and/or for discrediting me and my work. If a comment you see or a message you receive seems out of character, please report the profile and contact me asap. My email is hklab2@yahoo.com.hk ▪️ I will never initiate contact with people who subscribe to my channel and will never ask for money, promote services/cryptocurrencies/dubious sites, etc. @LauraRuHK

Yesterday the US Senate released the $118 billion proposed deal on border security, aid for Ukraine and Israel. The bill requests $60.1 billion for Ukraine aid, $14.1 billion for Israel and $20.2 billion for border security. It also includes funding for operations in the Red Sea and Taiwan.

Biden initially proposed a $105 billion aid package in October. The Senate’s new proposal added $13 billion in border security funding in the hope of getting more Republicans to support the bill. A vote is scheduled on Wednesday. ▪️Tips for mindfulness: sit comfortably, concentrate on your breath and watch https://www.usdebtclock.org/ I find the rolling numbers rather sobering 😏 @LauraRuHK

BREAKING| Israel's Knesset approves a bill, which punishes the denial or "downplaying" of the Israeli narrative of Oct 7 by up to 5 years in prison.

The approved bill is one out of three bills that included the expulsion of families of Palestinians who resist, imprisonment for those who deny Israel's narrative on October 7, and compensation for notorious ZAKA organization.

Nationals of Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine have been implicated in smuggling a load of explosives into Georgia, with plans to subsequently bring it surreptitiously over to border into Russian territory, the State Security Service of Georgia said in a statement.

“It was established that explosive devices and substances were taken to Georgia from Odessa on January 19, transiting through Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey via the Sarpi checkpoint in a minivan owned by a Ukrainian citizen. It was planned to take [the explosives] to the city of Voronezh in the Russian Federation via the Dariali checkpoint,” the Georgian intelligence agency said.

Ukrainian national Andrey Sharashidze was in control of the transportation of explosives, the State Security Service of Georgia specified. (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a telephone conversation with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, addressed his counterpart in Chinese
"At the beginning of the conversation, Shoigu called Admiral Dong 'dear comrade,' and then greeted him in Chinese.

According to Chinese website 163.com, the Russian Defense Minister congratulated his colleague on taking office and expressed hope that his experience of interaction with the Russian military would contribute to deepening cooperation between the two countries.
Russian media pointed out that Dong Jun was trained at the Military Academy of the General Staff in Russia, and in 2015-2016 he led Chinese forces in Russian-Chinese naval exercises.

Shoigu was very pleased that Admiral Dong had been appointed Minister of Defense as his previous military studies in Russia make communication between them easier.
▪️On January 31, Sergei Shoigu held talks with Dong Jun. The Russian minister spoke about the "steady" development of bilateral military cooperation and stressed that relations between the two states are not directed against third countries. Dong Jun, in turn, thanked Russia for cooperation with the PRC on the "Taiwan issue." @LauraRuHK

Il ministro della Difesa russo Sergei Shoigu, durante conversazioni telefoniche con il ministro della Difesa cinese Dong Jun, si è rivolto al suo omologo in cinese
All'inizio della conversazione, Shoigu ha chiamato l'ammiraglio Dong "caro compagno" e poi lo ha salutato in cinese.

Secondo il sito cinese 163.com, il Ministro della Difesa russo si è congratulato con il suo collega cinese per la sua recente nomina a Ministro della Difesa e ha espresso la speranza che la sua esperienza di interazione con l'esercito russo contribuisca ad approfondire la cooperazione tra i due paesi.
I media russi hanno sottolineato che Dong Jun ha frequentato l'Accademia militare dello Stato Maggiore in Russia, e nel 2015-2016 ha guidato le forze cinesi durante le esercitazioni navali russo-cinesi.
Shoigu ha apprezzato molto il fatto che ammiraglio Dong sia stato nominato Ministro della Difesa in quanto i suoi precedenti studi militari in Russia facilitano la comunicazione tra di loro.
▪️Il 31 gennaio, Sergei Shoigu ha tenuto colloqui con Dong Jun. Il ministro russo ha parlato dello sviluppo "costante" della cooperazione militare tra i due paesi e ha sottolineato che essa non è diretta contro paesi terzi. Dong Jun, a sua volta, ha ringraziato la Russia per la cooperazione sulla "questione Taiwanese." @LauraRuHK

In Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, passengers dressed in ancient Chinese attire will be able to ride the subway for free.

According to Suzhou Rail Transit, passengers in Hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han people, and in ethnic clothing can enter the subway station without tickets from February 9 to 17 (Chinese New Year).

In the past few years, people's interest in traditional Chinese clothes such as Hanfu and ethnic minority clothing has been steadily increasing. More and more scenic spots and museums across the country are offering free admission to those who are wearing Hanfu. (Source: Global Times) @LauraRuHK

A Suzhou, nella provincia orientale cinese di Jiangsu, i passeggeri che indossano abiti tradizionali potranno viaggiare gratis in metropolitana.

L'azienda del trasporto pubblico di Suzhou ha annunciato che i passeggeri in Hanfu, il costume tradizionale del popolo Han, o in abiti tipici della propria minoranza etnica, potranno salire in metropolitana senza biglietto dal 9 al 17 febbraio (Capodanno cinese).

Negli ultimi anni l'interesse per gli abiti tradizionali come l'Hanfu e quelli delle minoranze etniche è in costante aumento. Sempre più siti turistici e musei in tutta la Cina offrono l'ingresso gratuito a coloro che li indossano. (Fonte: Global Times) @LauraRuHK

The new prime minister of Kazakhstan is 43-year-old Olzhas Bektenov, who last year served as head of the presidential administration, and before that headed the Anti-Corruption Agency. The appointment as PM of his chief of staff suggests that president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has consolidated power and may rely on Bektenov's anti-corruption credentials to gain more control over the regions. Bektenov stressed that the government faces the task of supporting domestic business and increasing the share of products manufactured in Kazakhstan. He also identified the development of the transport and logistics chain as one of the priority areas. No major changes are expected in Kazakhstan's foreign policy: it is already known that Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu, Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov and Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov will retain their portfolios in the new government. @LauraRuHK

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has interviewed Vladimir Putin and if all goes according to plan, the interview will be shared on the social network X/Twitter where it is expected to break all records and boost Elon Musk's X revenues. Western hysterical reaction to rumours that an American TV host would interview the Russian president are a sight to behold 😂 Since 2022, censorship of Russian media has prevented Western audiences from hearing the Russian side. Carlson simply did what mainstream media are no longer allowed to do. @LauraRuHK

Certified insane.

The EU fears the consequences of using Russia's frozen assets

Belgium has proposed to G7 countries to use immobilised Russian central bank assets as collateral to raise debt for the reconstruction of Ukraine, but the idea does not have much European support.
▪️ 200 billion euros of Russia's sovereign assets are located in the EU, the bulk of them in Belgium.

▪️The confiscation of Russian assets may trigger the collapse of the Belgian clearing house Euroclear, which holds Russian money. Saving Euroclear could be very costly.

"We know that using assets as collateral carries the same legal, economic and financial risks as confiscation," a European official said on condition of anonymity. @LauraRuHK https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-cautious-idea-using-russian-frozen-assets-collateral-2024-02-06/

Hamas has unveiled a three-phase ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip - it includes a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, reconstruction of the infrastructure of the enclave and the exchange of hostages and bodies of the dead.
▪️The first stage of the plan involves negotiating a ceasefire with Israel through mediators. It also provides for the reconstruction of hospitals and refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of the enclave.
In addition, an exchange of prisoners for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid should take place within 45 days.
▪️The second stage involves the exchange of all Israeli male captives for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
▪️As part of the last stage, the sides should exchange the remains of the victims. 📍The genocidal entity has already rejected the plan. @LauraRuHK

The ink is barely dry on the EU’s deal to send €50 billion to Ukraine and already it looks like chicken feed, Politico writes.

With the country’s financial needs growing by the day as the unwinnable war drags into a third year, the West — and Europe in particular — is facing up to the uncomfortable truth that it’s going to be on the hook for a whole lot more. While the EU's €50 billion is earmarked for deployment over the period until 2027, the International Monetary Fund puts Ukraine's funding gap at more than $40 billion this year alone.

A shortfall in aid would likely force Ukraine to print significant sums of new money making inflation spiral out of control. Welcome to the real world. 😏 @LauraRuHK

E anche Tucker Carlson e' entrato nella kill list di Myrotvorets. Un modo per impedirgli di intervistare Zelensky? 😏 @LauraRuHK

And now it will be impossible for Tucker Carlson to interview Zelensky 😏 Ukrainian website Myrotvorets added him to its infamous kill list. @LauraRuHK

Meanwhile in the IV Reich...EUnuchs are having an apoplectic reaction to Tucker's interview with Putin. Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian Prime Minister and current member of the European Parliament, told Newsweek he has called for the EU to explore imposing a travel ban on Tucker Carlson: "As Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all who assist him in that effort, it seems logical that the External Action Service examine his case as well." ▪️The mental strain of coming up with 13 packages of boomerang sanctions on Russia has definitely taken a toll on European lawmakers. 🤣 @LauraRuHK