⚡️ The White House’s new national security strategy views China as the “most consequential geopolitical challenge” to the United States, even more so than Russia, according to the document released on Wednesday.

▪️ The strategy recognizes that "the PRC presents America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge,” National Security Council Jake Sullivan said in a press conference.

▪️ The document added that “Russia poses an immediate and ongoing threat to the regional security order in Europe and it is a source of disruption and instability globally but it lacks the across the spectrum capabilities of the PRC.”

🇺🇸 The White House has released President Biden’s National Security Strategy.

▪️ Its two reported goals are to protect US citizens and their economic opportunities;

▪️ The US intends to "compete effectively" with China and contain "dangerous Russia";

▪️ China is assigned the status of "the most serious geopolitical challenge";

▪️ The possibility of "peaceful coexistence" with China is allowed, its decisive contribution to the world economy and the solution of global problems are recognized, an interest in maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait is indicated, as is adherence to the One-China policy;

▪️ In relations with Russia, it was decided to be guided by a pragmatic approach to interaction in areas where it is mutually beneficial, while it is said that Russia's behavior in the Arctic carries the risks of unintentional conflict, the United States intends to strengthen partnerships with allies in the region;

▪️ The United States claims to not seek conflicts or a new Cold War, nor the development of competition between countries into the formation of "hard blocs";

▪️ The US is interested in maintaining strategic stability and creating transparent arms control mechanisms to replace START-3.

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⚡️ Air alert announced in Kiev, local authorities say

🇧🇫 📹 The people of Burkina Faso keep protesting the presence of French forces in the African country.

▪️ Burkina Faso is asking France to withdraw its troops, especially in light of France’s inability to checkmate Jihadist terrorism which was the main reason for welcoming French troops in the first place.

▪️ A series of anti-French protests are sweeping through other African countries as well.

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📌 Check out Sputnik's infographic showing Russia's precision strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure

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📌 Check out Sputnik’s infographic showing which countries contribute to the raging conflict in Ukraine, as Australia's PM recently stated that Canberra would consider a request from the Ukrainian president to offer military training support to Kiev.

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📹 SHOCKING…

▪️ British nurse Lucy Letby, 32, is on trial at Manchester Crown Court, accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another 10 by fatally injecting them with insulin, air or milk during night shifts.

▪️ Letby, who had trained to look after the most seriously ill babies, was the only “common denominator” connecting the deaths of seven infants and the “catastrophic” collapses of 10 others at the Countess of Chester hospital, in Liverpool Road, Chester, between June 2015 and June 2016.

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🇹🇼 🇺🇸 Taiwanese support for Kiev amid the ongoing Ukrainian conflict is likely a product of Taipei’s eagerness to please the United States, geopolitical commentator Bi Dianlong has explained.

🗣 Speaking with Sputnik China, Bi argued that Taiwanese authorities have always followed the United States’ lead and been eager to be Washington’s “pawn”.

💬 “Whomever the US would point at, Taiwan would support them,” he remarked.

▪️ Bi also suggested that Taiwan compares its own situation with the conflict in Ukraine, pondering on the prospects of reunification with mainland China through military means.

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🔺 Pipeline-gate: US is using familiar narrative to blame Nord Stream sabotage on Russia
🔺 CODEPINK superstars and authors of many books Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies will join us to discuss their article on Biden’s costly broken promise
🔺 From where may help come? Haiti descends into chaos with gang violence, a humanitarian crisis and a cholera outbreak

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⚽️🚫The United Kingdom's Home Office has said more than 1,300 fans from England and Wales are banned from traveling to the Qatar World Cup. The measure aims to prevent fans with convictions for soccer-related violence and wrongdoing from making the trip to the event that kicks off on Nov 20.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: "we will not let the behavior of a minority of lawbreakers tarnish what will be an exciting tournament." Anyone who has "previously caused trouble and is deemed likely to do so again" will also be banned from traveling.

The Home Office warned that fans could face six months in prison and an unlimited fine if they violated the rule. Last season, there was a sharp rise in crowd disorder across English soccer.

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▪️The government of France has urged its nationals to leave Iran at the earliest to minimize the risk of "arbitrary detentions."

"Any French visitor, including dual nationals, is exposed to a high risk of arrest, arbitrary detention, and unfair trial," the French foreign ministry said on its website this week.

Also, this week, France lashed out at Iran for "dictatorial practices" and taking two of its citizen's hostage after a video aired in which the French citizens confessed to spying, amid weeks of domestic unrest that Tehran has tied to foreign enemies.

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🔹Western Experts Warned for Years that Adding Ukraine to NATO Was a Bad Idea

When Russia presented its security red lines and proposals for respecting them and deescalating the situation in Eastern Europe in late 2021 and early 2022, US leaders dismissed them out of hand as “non-starters.” However, their own experts had been warning for decades about the risks of such maneuvers, including trying to add Ukraine to NATO.

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💸US stocks ended a shifting session slightly lower on Wednesday after minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers agreed they needed to maintain a more restrictive policy stance.

The September meeting minutes also showed that many Fed officials stressed the cost of not doing enough to bring down inflation. Recent market weakness has been tied partly to increasing fears among investors that aggressive rate hikes by the Fed could tip the world's largest economy into a recession.

Wall Street gained some ground after the minutes of the Sept. 20-21 meeting showed many Fed officials "emphasized the cost of taking too little action to bring down inflation likely outweighed the cost of taking too much action."

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🔸The Treasury Department's internal watchdog is investigating whether Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis improperly used federal pandemic aid to fly migrants to Martha's Vineyard as part of his effort to "transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations."

At issue is whether millions of dollars in interest earned on State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, disbursed through the American Rescue Plan, was used to facilitate the transport of about 50 Venezuelans from Texas to Massachusetts in mid-September, with a stopover in Florida on the way.

The recovery funds program has strict requirements on how the money can be spent. Documents indicate Florida officials paid Destin, Fla.-based Vertol Systems Co. $1.56 million for the Martha's Vineyard flight and possibly for a flight to Delaware, the home state of President Joe Biden, that ultimately didn't happen.

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🇪🇨Ecuador reported 43 new confirmed cases of monkeypox on Wednesday, bringing the country's total confirmed cases to 185. Of the 185 patients, 67 have been discharged from the hospital, while the epidemiological fence for 308 contacts is maintained, the Ministry of Public Health said in a statement.

Sixteen Ecuadorian provinces have been affected by monkeypox, with Pichincha, Guayas, and Azuay ranking top with 63, 61, and 19 cases, respectively.

The health ministry has maintained surveillance throughout the South American country and taken prevention and control actions, calling on Ecuadorians to use masks in certain places and go to the nearest health centers in case of symptoms. Ecuador confirmed its first monkeypox case on July 6 in the city of Guayaquil, the capital of the southwestern province of Guayas.

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💉The US authorized updated COVID-19 boosters for children as young as 5, seeking to expand protection ahead of an expected winter wave.

Tweaked boosters rolled out for Americans 12 and older last month, doses modified to target today’s most common and contagious omicron relative. While there wasn’t a big rush, federal health officials urge that people seek extra protection ahead of holiday gatherings.

Now the Food and Drug Administration has given the green light for elementary school-age kids to get the updated booster doses, too -- one made by Pfizer for 5- to 11-year-olds and a version from rival Moderna for those as young as 6.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends how vaccines are used, also signed off.

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❗️Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Astana to attend CICA, Russia-Central Asia Summits

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Astana at night to attend three international events: the sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on October 13, the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State and the Russia-Central Asia Summit on October 14.

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📹Footage of the beginning of the Sixth CICA Summit in Astana.

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⚡️Zelensky's office has reported explosions at "critical infrastructure" facilities in the Kiev region, an air alert has been announced.

⚡️Russia does everything to establish equal and indivisible security system, Russian President Vladimir Putin says