💬 "Now the US is weaponizing the dollar system. It has weaponized it against Iran and Venezuela and Argentina, and now it is weaponizing it against Russia. And the rest of the world is watching. If you can suddenly steal the money of a nuclear armed power, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, who will be next?" says Dr. Radhika Desai, a Professor at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group.

🎧Listen to more of Dr. Desai's analysis in our podcast: No Red Wave Materializes, Progressive Ballot Measures Outperform Dems

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🇮🇳🇨🇳India to overtake China in issuing US visas by 2023

By next summer India is expected to overtake China in how many US visas it issues. This will put India in second place after Mexico, according to a senior US Embassy official.

He called India "a number one priority for Washington".

Last month, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar mentioned the delay in issuing visas to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. As a result, more than 100,000 slots for applicants for H and L worker visas - which are in great demand - were opened up.

The US embassy also said that in the first nine months of 2022 more than 160,000 H and L visas had been processed as a priority.

👉The following visa categories have been exempted from the in-person interview up to 31 December 2022: People in Specialty Occupations (H-1B visas); Trainee or Special Education Visitors (H-3 visas); Intracompany Transferees (L visas); Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement (O visas); Athletes, Artists, and Entertainers (P visas); and Participants in International Cultural Exchange Programs (Q visas).

The applicants renewing a visa in the same visa class within 48 months of the predecessor visa's expiration have been exempted indefinitely from the in-person interview as well.

🇨🇳🇺🇸 US President Joe Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali next week, a senior US official said on Thursday.

▪️The meeting will be their first in-person summit since both men became heads of state.

▪️They previously met in 2011 and 2015, while Biden was US vice president.

It has been speculated for months that Biden and Xi would meet at the G20 summit, especially as tensions surrounding the Chinese province of Taiwan, increased exponentially following a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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US Announces New Military Aid Package for Ukraine

The Department of Defense announced Thursday that the US' latest installment to Ukraine military aid would come at the tune of $400 million, noting that some training would be required for Ukrainian troops to enable them to use the four incoming Avenger air defense systems.

Pentagon officials further indicated that a provision of stingers would not put pressure on US stockpiles.

🔺We discuss Russia’s partial withdrawal from Kherson and what it means
🔺Next, investigative researcher and journalist Christopher Helali joins us to discuss NATO mercenaries in Ukraine
🔺Also, Steve Poikonen drops by to talk about the DHS and tech censorship

And many more stories and great guests! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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

😱 At least three politicians running for local and state offices are on track to be elected in Tuesday’s midterm elections in the US, despite being dead.

How common is this, and why does it keep happening in the US?

👉 Read this to find out.

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🔴🔵 Even though not all House and Senate seats have been called yet, the Republican lead in the lower chamber is indisputable, meaning further limits on Joe Biden's political initiatives.

▪️The divided government with the GOP in control of at least one chamber of Congress and a Democratic White House may pose economic challenges over the next two years.

How will the midterms pan out for the US economy?

👉 Check out this Sputnik explainer for details

📹 Russia’s Defense Ministry has published footage showing Ka-52 attack helicopters in action

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👀What would help grow CNN's fanbase?

Create a conservative network with Donald Trump at the center, according to the former commander-in-chief.

🇨🇳🇺🇸 The highest-ranking officer in the US military has doubled down on US support for Taiwan, saying it would seek to help the island defend its autonomy from mainland China.

💬 “The US is committed through the Taiwan Relations Act, and President Biden has said on many occasions recently that the United States will continue to support Taiwan,” Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday. “We will support them militarily,” he added. “We would try to help train them and equip them.”

▪️The escalating economic and military tensions between China and the US are continuing, and while Washington continues to say that the US is committed to the One China policy, it continues to act as if Taiwan and the mainland are two countries.

▪️Previously, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that "in the face of serious provocations by separatist forces calling for Taiwan’s independence, and interference from outside forces," China would "protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

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🚨Kiev Concentrates Over 5,000 Polish Mercenaries in Zaporozhye Region - Local Authorities

The Kiev authorities have concentrated more than 5,000 Polish mercenaries in the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the Zaporozhye regional administration, has told Sputnik.

"The Kiev regime has amassed a large number of mercenaries on the Zaporozhye front line. According to our estimates, there are over 5,000 Polish mercenaries alone," Rogov said.

The official added that there are also many mercenaries from Georgia and various international terrorist groups.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this month that more than 8,000 mercenaries from over 60 countries have been involved in hostilities on Ukraine's side.

🕵️ Former US Navy engineer Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana were arrested last year and charged with attempting to pass top secret information on the design of American nuclear submarines to undercover FBI agents posing as Brazilian intelligence officers.

▪️The couple has been sentenced to a combined four+ decades in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to communicate restricted information related to the design of nuclear sub technology.

▪️The Toebbes pled guilty to espionage charges in February, with Judge Groh denying plea deals for reduced sentences in August, arguing that their actions compromised the integrity of US military secrets and potentially undercut advantages enjoyed by the US military forged through decades of research.

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‼️ A federal judge has ruled that the Biden administration's student debt relief program is an "unconstitutional exercise of Congress' legislative power."

The Biden White House had argued that the relief program was valid under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003; however, District Judge Mark Pittman rejected the bid, saying there was no "clear congressional authorization."

The administration's loan forgiveness move would have wiped out up to $20,000 in debt for borrowers.

🇺🇸 Joe Biden and the Democrats have gone all in on Ukraine, sending tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to the country since February.

What has US aid cost the US president and his party politically, and is it sustainable post-midterms?

👉 Click here for some possible answers.

‘Drag on Our Ticket’: Ex-Rep. Paul Ryan Disses Trump After Midterm ‘Red Wave’ Fails to Materialize

Former US House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) blamed former US President Donald Trump for Republicans’ lackluster performance in the midterm elections earlier this week.

"I think we're going to have to do a lot of soul searching and head scratching, looking through and parsing the numbers as to why we didn't perform as well as we would have liked to," Ryan told local news outlet WISN on Thursday, adding that US Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) “got reelected, I'm very happy to see that. It was a mixed blessing night, but we should have done better than we did."

"I think Trump's kind of a drag on our ticket,” Ryan explained. “I think Donald Trump gives us problems, politically. We lost the House, the Senate and the White House in two years when Trump was on the ballot, or in office. I think we just have some Trump hangover. I think he's a drag on our office, on our races."

NASA Launches ‘Inflatable Saucer’ That Could Bring Humans to Mars

NASA has launched an inflatable saucer that acts as a heat shield, potentially allowing far larger payloads to be landed on Mars and other space objects with a significant atmosphere.

In addition to testing the new heat shield, NASA also included a weather satellite on the Atlas V rocket they launched at 1:49 a.m. local time on Thursday. For the first hour or so, the LOFTID team had little to do as the weather satellite’s mission took place first. After detaching from the satellite, the rocket turned on its side, pointing the inflatable heat shield at Earth before deploying.

📹 The Russian MoD has shared footage showing a Russian mortar crew in action

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Follow our LIVE UPDATES on the Ukrainian crisis

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🇺🇳 The UN is worried about Elon Musk's promise that he would turn social network Twitter into a "haven for freedom of speech". Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, wonders what this promise from Musk might mean "in the age of disinformation".

Fleming noted that social media algorithms are designed to stimulate interaction and put profit above politeness when they distribute provocative materials. She added that the UN will not leave Twitter, but is going to fight "disinformation" even more resolutely and be a source of "trusted, life-saving information"

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Watch: Russia’s 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled 152mm howitzers in combat action

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