A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces, and his aide in what investigators alleged was a Ukrainian plot.
Sarvarov was a career officer with combat experience he received during counterterrorism action in southern Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to the Defense Ministry’s website. The 56-year-old was appointed in 2016 to lead the department responsible for training senior officers at staff exercises and other events. Previously he was involved in the Russian deployment in Syria.
Google, Apple, and Microsoft have internally warned H-1B visa holders that they could get stuck abroad for months
Several major US tech companies – including Google, Apple, and Microsoft – have warned foreign-national employees holding H-1B visas against traveling outside the country amid President Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown, which could leave them stranded abroad for months, Business Insider reports.
The H-1B visa allows foreign nationals to work in specialty occupations in the US and is typically issued for up to three years. Extensions require visa stamping at US embassies or consulates abroad. Routine appointments are now facing significant delays following the introduction of a new social-media screening requirement affecting H-1B workers and their dependents, as well as students and exchange visitors.
According to internal memos reviewed by Business Insider, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and IT automation firm ServiceNow are among the companies advising visa-holding employees to avoid international travel.
BAL Immigration Law, which represents Google, warned that delays at some US embassies and consulates are “currently reported as up to 12 months,” cautioning that employees who travel risk “an extended stay outside the US.”
Apple issued similar guidance, urging workers without valid H-1B visa stamps to postpone travel. Microsoft also cautioned staff, advising employees still in the US to “strongly consider changing” their travel plans.
A State Department spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday that US embassies and consulates are now “prioritizing thoroughly vetting each visa case above all else.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived a hardline approach to border and visa enforcement aimed at curbing illegal immigration. Following an attack on two National Guard soldiers in Washington in late November, Trump announced additional measures, including the suspension of asylum procedures and expanded entry bans affecting nationals of 19 countries.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV-1) program, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery, was also suspended after the authorities determined that a suspect in recent shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had entered the country through this system.
Blockchain technology is no longer just associated with cryptocurrency. While it began as a way to record transactions without a central authority, blockchains are now changing how businesses operate and how people invest. Imagine a coffee farmer scanning a QR code on her phone to quickly check the bean’s journey from plant to cup. Blockchain […]
European NATO warmongers have colluded with parts of the US intelligence community, Michael Flynn has claimed
Former US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has alleged collusion between the CIA and European intelligence services to undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine.
Flynn claimed in a post on X on Sunday that the CIA is “in cahoots with MI6 and others in the EU intelligence community,” reiterating his warning that the “deep state” is plotting against Trump.
“The EU aka NATO (minus the United States) desperately wants war with Russia,” Flynn wrote, adding that “warmongers in our own administration as well as the Congress want perpetual f’ing war.”
BREAKING: IMMINENT WAR IN EUROPE!
The EU aka NATO (minus the United States) desperately wants war with Russia. @DNIGabbard can speak for herself and does in her typically courageous way (read below).
First, our CIA is in cahoots with MI6 and others in the EU IC community.… https://t.co/6nJvprAzXV
Flynn’s remarks echo recent statements by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who accused Reuters of disseminating “lies and propaganda” about Russian intentions in order to undermine Trump’s diplomacy and promote escalation.
Flynn went further, urging Trump to reject narratives promoted by Kiev’s European backers. “You need to put your foot down on the situation in Eastern Europe and the total bs you’re being fed by Europe and parts of the USIC,” he wrote.
The former adviser also criticized what he described as a waste of US taxpayer money on funding Kiev, accusing Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of suppressing opposition and delaying elections under the cover of war.
“We the People of the United States no longer want this war. We don’t want to spend another penny on a tin pot dictator who arrests opposition voices, including in his own Rada [Congress], and the media,” Flynn said.
Flynn’s comments come amid sensitive US-Russia backchannel talks in Miami, where Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev has been meeting with Trump confidants Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss a potential peace framework. Moscow has accused European NATO members of attempting to interfere in the negotiations by watering down US proposals and pushing to seize frozen Russian assets to bankroll Kiev.
Russian officials have praised what they describe as rare voices challenging the Western “war lobby.” Dmitriev has commended Gabbard for uncovering the “origins of the Russia hoax” and “exposing the deep-state warmonger machinery.”
SpaceX has accused the outlet of misleading reporting with “ulterior motives”
SpaceX’s Starship test-flight explosion earlier this year posed a greater danger to commercial aircraft than was publicly disclosed, with passenger planes forced into fuel emergencies and air-traffic controllers intervening to avoid potential collisions, according to FAA documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
The rocket was launched from a company facility in Texas on January 16, failed mid-flight, and broke apart, sending burning fragments streaking across the sky. SpaceX founder Elon Musk commented at the time that “success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
In an article published on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal cited an FAA document stating that “the explosion rained fiery debris across parts of the Caribbean region for roughly 50 minutes,” warning that a debris strike on an aircraft could have had catastrophic consequences, including severe damage and loss of life.
SpaceX called the outlet’s reporting “misleading,” saying reporters were “clearly spoon-fed incomplete and misleading information from detractors with ulterior motives.” In a post on X on Saturday, the company said public safety remains its top priority.
“No aircraft have been put at risk, and any events that generated vehicle debris were contained within pre-coordinated response areas developed by the US Space Force and implemented by the FAA,” the company said.
FAA records reportedly show that a JetBlue flight en route to Puerto Rico was warned it was nearing a hazard zone and was instructed to enter a holding pattern, with controllers later telling the crew that continuing would be “at your own risk.” One FAA report said two aircraft flew too close to one another, prompting controller intervention to prevent a potential collision.
Air-traffic controllers allegedly described the situation as a “potential extreme safety risk.” After declaring fuel emergencies, the aircraft – along with an Iberia passenger flight and a private jet – transited the temporarily restricted airspace. All three flights, carrying roughly 450 people, eventually landed safely.
Russia remains “fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine,” US President Donald Trump’s confidant has said
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has described the latest negotiations in Miami with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, as “productive and constructive,” signaling continued momentum in US-led efforts to reach a settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Witkoff said Dmitriev held meetings over the past two days in Florida with an American delegation that included Witkoff himself, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House official Josh Gruenbaum. The discussions, he said, were aimed at advancing Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.
“Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine,” Witkoff wrote, adding that Moscow “highly values the efforts and support of the United States” in resolving the conflict and restoring global security.
Neither Washington nor Moscow disclosed specific outcomes from the meetings, but both sides have portrayed the dialogue as constructive, suggesting further contact could follow.
“Thank you, Miami. Next time: Moscow,” Dmitriev said after the talks.
The talks with Dmitriev took place in parallel with a separate round of meetings involving Ukraine and its Western backers. According to Witkoff, a Ukrainian delegation spent three days in Florida holding consultations with US and EU officials.
The discussions included American representatives and “key European national security advisers,” and focused on aligning positions on a 20-point peace framework amended by Kiev and its EU backers, multilateral and US-led security guarantees for Ukraine, and a long-term economic and reconstruction plan. Witkoff said particular attention was given to timelines and the sequencing of the next steps.
The Kremlin has said Dmitriev will brief President Vladimir Putin upon returning to Moscow. Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, stressed on Sunday that Russia remains skeptical of proposals advanced by Kiev and its European supporters, adding that Moscow will stick to the understanding reached between Putin and Trump during their summit in Alaska in August.
Russia remains “fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine,” US President Donald Trump’s confidant has said
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has described the latest negotiations in Miami with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, as “productive and constructive,” signaling continued momentum in US-led efforts to reach a settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Witkoff said Dmitriev held meetings over the past two days in Florida with an American delegation that included Witkoff himself, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House official Josh Gruenbaum. The discussions, he said, were aimed at advancing Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.
“Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine,” Witkoff wrote, adding that Moscow “highly values the efforts and support of the United States” in resolving the conflict and restoring global security.
Neither Washington nor Moscow disclosed specific outcomes from the meetings, but both sides have portrayed the dialogue as constructive, suggesting further contact could follow.
“Thank you, Miami. Next time: Moscow,” Dmitriev said after the talks.
The talks with Dmitriev took place in parallel with a separate round of meetings involving Ukraine and its Western backers. According to Witkoff, a Ukrainian delegation spent three days in Florida holding consultations with US and EU officials.
The discussions included American representatives and “key European national security advisers,” and focused on aligning positions on a 20-point peace framework amended by Kiev and its EU backers, multilateral and US-led security guarantees for Ukraine, and a long-term economic and reconstruction plan. Witkoff said particular attention was given to timelines and the sequencing of the next steps.
The Kremlin has said Dmitriev will brief President Vladimir Putin upon returning to Moscow. Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, stressed on Sunday that Russia remains skeptical of proposals advanced by Kiev and its European supporters, adding that Moscow will stick to the understanding reached between Putin and Trump during their summit in Alaska in August.
The Coast Guard is reportedly in “active pursuit” of the vessel in the Caribbean Sea
The US has attempted to intercept a third oil tanker linked to Venezuela in less than two weeks, with the Coast Guard reportedly in “active pursuit” of a vessel in international waters in the Caribbean Sea, according to American officials cited by Reuters and other outlets.
US officials claimed the ship is sailing under a false flag and is therefore subject to a judicial seizure order, describing it as part of Venezuela’s “dark fleet” used to evade Washington’s unilateral sanctions.
The vessel has not yet been boarded, but if successful, the operation would mark the third interdiction since December 10, when US forces seized the tanker Skipper, followed by another vessel, Centuries, on Saturday.
The latest seizure attempt comes just days after President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete” blockade of oil tankers under US sanctions entering or leaving Venezuela.
Officials have yet to identify the vessel, but according to media reports, the tanker now being chased is the Bella 1, which has previously been sanctioned for transporting Iranian oil. US officials said the ship refused to submit to boarding and continued sailing, prompting what one official described as an “active pursuit.”
The escalating seizures are part of Trump’s broader pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which has included a significant US military buildup in the region and dozens of American strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats since September.
Venezuela has denounced the actions as piracy and warned that the seizures amount to economic warfare aimed at strangling its oil-dependent economy. Caracas has accused Washington of seeking regime change to gain control of the country’s vast oil reserves.
Russia and China have both warned that the growing US military activity risks triggering wider instability, urging restraint and respect for international law.
Kirill Dmitriev will get acquainted with where Washington and Brussels stand on the Ukraine peace process and brief President Vladimir Putin
Senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev has gone to the US to get up to date on the West’s current position regarding the Ukraine peace process, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. The envoy is expected to brief Russian President Vladimir Putin upon returning to Moscow.
Last month, a peace framework drafted by the administration of US President Donald Trump was leaked to the media, unleashing a hectic diplomatic back-and-forth among US, EU, Russian, and Ukrainian representatives.
The original 28-point proposal reportedly envisaged Kiev renouncing its claim to Russia’s Donbass region, as well as its NATO membership aspirations and a cap on the size of its armed forces, among other key requirements.
Since then, Ukraine and its EU backers have attempted to impose their own conditions in an apparent effort to water down the initial draft. Moscow has said it will stand by its red lines.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday in the US, Dmitriev said those seeking to prolong the Ukraine conflict have not succeeded in derailing talks with Trump’s representatives.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov stated on Sunday that Dmitriev will “receive information on what the Americans and the Europeans have worked out” and then report back to Putin.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, told journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday that Moscow will evaluate the Western position to see “what can be accepted and what categorically cannot be accepted.”
“Most of the proposals [put forward by Kiev and its European backers], of course, do not suit us,” the official added. Ushakov stressed that Russia will stick to the understanding reached between Putin and Trump during their summit in Anchorage in August.
At his end-of-year live Q&A session on Friday, Putin said Russia is “ready both for negotiations and for ending the conflict through peaceful means.”
“The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents – above all the leaders of the Kiev regime and their European sponsors,” he added.
