⚡️ Ethiopian warring parties agree “cessation of hostilities” – African Union

❗️Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian had a phone call on Wednesday to exchange views on current regional issues, focusing on the situation in the Persian Gulf, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

💬 "The harmfulness of the information campaign launched by the Western media was noted, which, in the conditions of a difficult international situation, could turn into a dangerous escalation of tension in this strategically important region of the world," the statement read.

🇮🇷 In a separate statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Western countries are deliberately fomenting an atmosphere against Iran, saying that Tehran is allegedly preparing to strike Saudi Arabia.

🇺🇸 On Tuesday, US media outlets reported that Saudi Arabia had shared intelligence with the United States about an "imminent attack" by Iran on targets in Saudi Arabia.

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⚡️ US, UK contribute to strengthening of Afghan wing of Daesh terrorist group - Russian MFA

🇮🇳🚀India has conducted successful maiden flight-test of Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) interceptor AD-1 that can destroy incoming missiles at a longer distance.

AD-1 is the weapon designed for exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric interception of long-range ballistic missiles as well as aircrafts, equipped with a two stage solid motor.

Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh referred to it as a "unique type of interceptor with advanced technologies available from a very few nations in the world."

He expressed confidence that it will further strengthen the country’s BMD capability.

⚡️ Federal Reserve raises US rates by 75 basis points in 6th rate hike of the year

🇨🇳🇺🇸 US officials have urged their Chinese counterparts to come to the negotiating table and "begin the conversation" on strategic deterrence issues. It doesn't take a genius to know that talking to the US about nuclear weapons can be fraught with dangers.

What's the US record like on arms control? And what kind of security policies has Washington been pursuing in the Asia-Pacific that may make Beijing weary of speaking to the Americans?

👉 In this explainer, Sputnik details why it may not be such a good idea to rush to negotiate with someone who walks into a revolving door behind you and comes out first.

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🇷🇸 The Serbian Armed Forces on Wednesday shot down a drone over military facilities in the town of Raska, near the administrative line with the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo after bilateral relations deteriorated due to Pristina's demand for Kosovar licensing of Belgrade-issued license plates, the Serbian Defense Ministry said.

At midnight on Tuesday, Pristina's decision on the mandatory re-registration of cars with Serbian plates came into force at checkpoints separating Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo's customs officers started issuing written warnings to drivers of cars with license plate numbers issued by the Serbian authorities.

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🌺💀🌹 The traditional “Day of the Dead” celebrated annually in Mexico is replete with colorful skulls and skeletons.

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🔺Two big comebacks: Garland and Wilmer look over the election results in Brazil and Israel
🔺Next, we analyze the correlation between Biden's foreign policy and the upcoming midterm elections
🔺Also, what are the prospects of a peace deal in Ukraine?

That's just a few of many stories we have prepared for you! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|11pm CET via the website or app

📻 Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 13.90AM

The Biden administration approved a potential $535 million sale of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) to Finland, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said

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Russia will still require clarifications from the United States and Ukraine regarding their military bio-laboratories across the Ukrainian territory, the Russian Deputy Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy told the UN Security Council members.

🗣️ "Regardless of the outcome of the vote today, the questions to the United States and Ukraine is something that we do retain and the evidence which accompanied our complaints still require clarifications," Polyanskiy said on Wednesday.

📃 Earlier, the Russian Federation submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council for consideration

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📹 The Russian Defense Ministry has published footage showing 2S-19 Msta-S self-propelled artillery system in action within the special military operation

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🇺🇸 $320 million are down the drain as Democratic politicians and strategists are reportedly terrified they may have made a big mistake in their midterm strategy.

Instead of focusing on kitchen table matters such as the economy, gas prices, and inflation, the Democrats have placed their bets on side issues like abortion rights and threats to democracy.

According to the media tracking company AdImpact, the president’s party spent a whopping $320 million on abortion rights-focused advertisement, and just $31 million on inflation-related messaging.

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A day after a massive barrage into the Sea of Japan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has reportedly fired another weapon into the waterway, according to South Korean military sources.

🗣️ South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Thursday morning that the launch of an "unknown ballistic missile" into the Sea of Japan had been detected.

According to Seoul, the missile was likely an intermediate-range or intercontinental-range ballistic missile, because a separation of rocket stages was detected

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In the wake of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, corporations rushed to distance themselves from political figures who had supported the attack or who had shared the rioters’ politics.

However, in the nearly two years since, many have gone back on their policies, including some of the country’s major makers of military hardware

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🔎 Newly leaked documents reveal how the US “secret police” plan to proceed with online censorship.

The Department of Homeland Security is broadening its efforts to suppress “dangerous speech,” as per The Intercept, which analyzed a trove of leaks and lawsuit documents earlier this week.

Among the targets are the following topics:

🔺The nature of US support to Ukraine;
🔺The origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines;
🔺US withdrawal from Afghanistan;
🔺Racial justice.

And this appears to be just the tip of the iceberg.

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📹 The Russian Defense Ministry has published footage showing the launch of an Iskander-M missile in the special military operation

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❗️Ex-head of the CIA Mike Pompeo has been served with a lawsuit over alleged espionage on Assange visitors.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in August, include attorneys and journalists who met with Assange while he lived in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

The lawsuit alleges that the visitors were required to surrender their electronic devices to private security personnel before meeting Assange, and that these actions were authorized and approved by Pompeo.

The private security personnel copied information from the devices and gave it to the CIA, then headed by Pompeo, without the plaintiffs’ or the Ecuadorian government’s knowledge, according to the lawsuit.

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🙈 The White House boasted in a Tuesday tweet that seniors in Joe Biden's America "are getting the biggest increase in their Social Security checks in 10 years"... but it looks like it failed to provide context.

Luckily, Twitter was there to do it, adding a label to the tweet and informing users that the increase in Social Security checks for seniors is actually due to inflation.

💁‍♂️For some reason, the White House decided to delete the tweet later.

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🚨 Social unrest in the Western hemisphere is feared amid high inequality and food insecurity, the International Monetary Fund says.

The region is going to face additional challenges in 2023, as economic growth is projected to slow and the situation is expected to be worse than it currently is amid runaway inflation, an acting director at the IMF said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the IMF said in its regional economic outlook that Latin America will face high inflation, which is set to reach 7.8% by the end of this year.

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⚡️ Five or six powerful explosions thundered in Melitopol early in the morning, Sputnik correspondent reports. The city administration said that the air defense system had been activated