427: Iran Supreme Leader Not Interested in Talks with "Bullying" Countries + Russian Forces Advance in Kursk Region + Iran - Russia - China Naval Drills in Indian Ocean + More
For review:1. Iran Supreme Leader Not Interested in Talks with "Bullying" Countries. Iran's Supreme leader has criticized "bullying" countries in an apparent response to US President Donald Trump's letter demanding negotiations over its nuclear program.2. Israel on Sunday prepared to send a delegation to Doha for further talks on the Gaza truce.3. Israel’s Energy Minister on Sunday instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to immediately cut off the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, in an apparent bid to pile pressure on Hamas, where 24 hostages presumed to be alive, and the bodies of 35 more, are still held.4. Russian Forces Advance in Kursk Region. Russian forces on Sunday recaptured three more settlements in Russia's western Kursk region, the Defence Ministry said (Russian), as part of an operation to evict Ukrainian troops holding chunks of territory seven months after a cross-border incursion.5. Norway will more than double its aid to Ukraine in 2025 to bring the annual total to $7.8 billion, Prime Minister Jonas Store announced Thursday.6. France on Friday began handing over military bases in Senegal, as part of a withdrawal of troops from the west African nation where it has had a presence since 1960. The withdrawal follows the departure of French forces from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Ivory Coast in recent years.7. Iran - Russia - China Naval Drills in Indian Ocean. The drills “will begin on Tuesday in the port of Chabahar,” located in southeast Iran on the Gulf of Oman, the Tasnim news agency said, without specifying their duration. Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka will attend as observers.8. The U.S. military’s classified mini-space shuttle- the X-37B- returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days. The space plane blasted into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 on a secret mission. Launched by SpaceX, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.