Articles from ‘Independent News Roundup’

The Netherlands has shifted 86 tonnes of its gold reserves away from the United States and Canada, increasing the amount held in London. The move is being presented as a crisis-preparedness and liquidity decision but it also comes as central banks worldwide reassess how and where they hold their financial reserves. eLocal Report: Based on analysis by Lena Petrova for World Affairs In Context, WATCH HERE. · Petrova argues that the Dutch decision…

Remarks by Vladimir Zelensky about Ukrainian drone operations making Russian airspace increasingly difficult for civilian aviation have triggered an angry response in Moscow. Russian commentators describe the warning as a threat to civilian aviation, although one expert argues Zelensky was predicting disruption from mass drone raids rather than threatening to attack passenger aircraft directly INR Report: Based on reporting and expert…

Donald Trump says Washington will seek repayment from Europe for billions of dollars spent supporting Ukraine under Joe Biden. But the scale of US assistance cited by Trump is disputed, and he has not explained which countries would pay, how much they would owe, or what legal mechanism could make a retrospective claim possible. INR Report: Based on reporting by RT HERE · US President Donald Trump has reopened one of the most contentious…

Donald Trump's special envoys arrive in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin in a fresh bid to resolve the Ukraine conflict. Ukraine's anti-corruption agency exposes an alleged fraud and money-laundering scheme involving allies of Vladimir Zelensky, with five arrests made. A Philippine court lifts an arrest order on Vice President Sara Duterte after she posts bail. And as Germany's AfD eyes its first local election victory, we examine its…

Bessent explains Wall Street, the financial press, and Democrats keep being proved wrong—contrasting Canada’s job losses with a blowout U.S. jobs report, calling out FT/WSJ panic, and framing a Red Queen economy that must outrun debt, China, and skills gaps. By Barbara Boyd · Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Steve Bannon that critics in Wall Street, the financial press, and Democrats keep being proved wrong, contrasting Canada’s job…

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s unusually discreet visit to Moscow has generated speculation about Ukraine, Iran and intelligence negotiations. But columnist Rachel Marsden advances a different argument: that the timing also benefits Baltic governments seeking billions from Brussels and ultimately the American defence companies supplying much of their military hardware. INR Report: Based on commentary by Rachel Marsden for RT HERE · The secrecy…

The US’ newly formalized control over the majority of Venezuela’s oil reserves and Caracas’ potential withdrawal from OPEC could see Trump 2.0 assembling a “North American-South American Petroleum Exporting Countries” group as part of the US’ power play for control over the global oil market. Will NASAPEC Become The New OPEC? · Opinion by Andrew Korybko · !Will NASAPEC Become The New OPEC? · The US’ newly formalized control over the majority…

America’s rush to build the enormous data centres required by artificial intelligence is encountering an increasingly powerful obstacle: the communities expected to host them. Texas says new requirements have halted as many as 1,800 proposed projects, while restrictions are spreading across states and hundreds of local authorities as residents question who ultimately pays for AI’s rapidly growing appetite for power, water and infrastructure. INR…

Crude oil flows may be recovering, but the fuels that actually power trucks, tractors, construction machinery and industry remain under severe pressure. A developing shortage of refined petroleum products has driven US diesel prices to a record high, raising concerns that the next global energy shock could increasingly be felt throughout the real economy. INR Report: Based on reporting by Tyler Durden for ZeroHedge HERE · Global oil markets are…

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova joins RT on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok to discuss the Ukraine conflict and the current political situation in the world.