Moscow Says Accession of Finland, Sweden to NATO May Increase Tensions in Arctic Region

The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO may lead to increased militarization of the Arctic, aggravation of tensions and security risks in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May. As of now, only Turkey and Hungary have not ratified the accession of the two nations.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook never considered removing the social media platform Twitter from its App Store despite prior reports that the tech giant was threatening to do so, Twitter chief Elon Musk said.

💬“Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store," Musk said on Wednesday after a meeting at the Apple headquarters.

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'One of the Greatest Rock Voices Ever': Netizens Mourn Death of Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie

Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie died Wednesday following a "short illness," her family has said. She was 79.
A statement issued by the family detailed that McVie had died at the hospital surrounded by her family but did not specify the cause of death.

💬"We kindly ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this extremely painful time and we would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally," the statement reads.

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🤔RoboCops: Is Use of Deadly Robots by San Francisco Police Justified?

After a heated debate, San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to allow its potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots to use deadly force in extreme circumstances to save or prevent further loss of innocent lives earlier this week.

💬"All I could think of was RoboCop and today the use of robotic dogs by SWAT in New York which is straight out of War of the Worlds," Dr. David Thomas, a retired police officer and professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, told Sputnik.

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🇮🇳🌐 India stands for de-politization of global supplies of grain, fertilizer & medicine, PM Modi says as his country officially assumes the G20 presidency today

📉 Food and energy issues have worsened this year, since the Western states imposed sanctions against Russia, leading to supply chain disruptions & energy prices surging globally.

👉 During Delhi's G20 presidency, India, Indonesia & Brazil would form the Troika. This is the 1st time that developing countries and emerging economies have formed a Troika together, which gives them a unique opportunity to provide a voice to the developing world.

🇷🇺🇨🇳🇮🇷 Russia, China, and Iran are a "new triangular" in multilateral diplomacy, which can be "easily enlarged," Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Wednesday following trilateral consultations among the permanent missions in Vienna.

💬"The Permanent Missions of China, Iran and Russia held productive trilateral consultations on issues of common interest," Ulyanov said on Twitter, adding: "Doesn’t it look like a new triangular in multilateral diplomacy - China, Iran and Russia?"

The diplomat said that the format can "easily enlarge" as there are many countries that are "in favour of multilateralism and against attempts to keep unilateral world alive at all costs."

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📌WATCH LIVE: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Holds Briefing on European Security Issues

Elon Musk’s Neuralink Might Start Clinical Trials With Humans in Six Months

Neuralink, an American brain chip production company, will likely launch clinical trials in humans in six months, the head of the company, Elon Musk, has announced.

The company has been developing a biochip capable of transmitting brain signals. This will make it possible to control electronic devices directly, using only brain impulses. The main task of Neuralink is to help people, primarily those who suffer from neurological diseases. According to Musk, the chip will make it possible to control hormones, restore motor functions and treat blindness.

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⚡️Major points from Sergei Lavrov during his briefing on European Security issues:

▪️NATO has returned to the priorities of the Cold War: They want keep Russians outside of Europe;

▪️NATO enlargement poses a direct threat to Russia - it was vetoed by the commitments of Istanbul Declaration;

▪️The OSCE’s actions raise the question of what our relations with the organization will be like;

▪️The OSCE monitoring mission took side of Kiev in Ukraine conflict;

▪️Nobody did as much damage to the OSCE as Poland did during its chairmanship;

▪️Europe building security not with Russia, but against it;

▪️It will no longer be possible to restore Russia's former relations with West and the OSCE;

▪️UN Secretary General takes actions to fulfill Russian part of grain deal but there is no respect for this from West;

▪️Russia will be ready to resume discussing security guarantees if West makes such decision.

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'It Will Split the West': Macron Lambasts Biden's Inflation Reduction Act

French President Emmanuel Macron has slammed US policies subsidizing American companies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as "choices that will split the West," hinting at trade tensions between Washington and Brussels. According to several news agencies, the President said the US decision was "super-aggressive for our business people."

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⚡️The latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️NATO still imposes war and prefers to fight to last Ukrainian;

▪️Attempts to create a 'tribunal' by the West over Ukraine will not be legitimate, will not be accepted and will be condemned;

▪️Russian investigators are working hard to record the crimes of the Kiev regime.

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🗣 🇷🇺 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the EU is trying to create a security system against Russia, not with it.

▪️ In his brief on European security issues, the foreign minister stressed that the old format of relations between Russia and the West is gone. Lavrov added he is not sure it is possible to restore cooperation between Russia and the EU on the European security issue, but Moscow is ready to hear what the Western countries have to say.

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❗️The Russian MoD’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️The Russian Army has fully liberated the Andreevka settlement (DPR);

▪️Russian Forces have eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed two Ukrainian tanks and five armored combat vehicles near Donetsk;

▪️Russian troops have eliminated more than 60 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed six Ukrainian tanks, five armored combat vehicles and four armored vehicles near Kupyansk;

▪️Russian Forces eliminated or wounded up to 20 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed Ukrainian tanks and four armored combat vehicles near Krasny Liman;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed four infantry combat vehicles and three pick-up trucks in the DPR;

▪️Russian Forces hit 85 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions;

▪️Russian troops hit US-made HIMARS MLRS and destroyed two US-manufactured AN/TPQ-37 counterbattery warfare radars in the DPR;

▪️Russian Forces destroyed three Ukrainian ammunition depots in the DPR;

▪️Russian air defense destroyed three Ukrainian UAVs, as well as intercepted eight HIMARS and Olkha shells.

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Catch our Fault Lines show where we provide updates on all the most vital stories! Here's our line-up for Thursday:

🔺 First up, we follow up on French President Macron’ visit to Washington DC and discuss whether it will lead to a trade war between the EU and the US
🔺 Next, we take a look at the January 6 convictions
🔺 And, Ukraine’s battlefield loses made public by the EU officials

Spice up your morning! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 7am EST|4am PST|1pm CET via the website or app!

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

🇦🇲 At least two people were killed in a plane crash in Armenia, the country’s ministry of emergency situations said on Thursday.

💬 "On December 1 at 2:20 p.m. (local time, 10:20 GMT), the National Crisis Management Center received the information that a B55 plane crashed and caught fire near the village of Jraber in the Kotayk Province... Two burnt bodies were found on the scene," the statement said.

▪️ According to the emergency service, fire rescue teams and paramedics were sent to the site. The fire was extinguished at 2:41 p.m.

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❗️In a shocking incident, a Korean YouTuber was harassed while live streaming on a busy street in Mumbai's suburbs.

Thanks to swift action of Mumbai Police, two teens were arrested in the case on Thursday.

⚡️An air alert has been declared in all parts of Ukraine

😻📹Pallas’ cat from the Moscow Zoo demonstrates his ‘predator skills’ (video courtesy of the zoo).

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⚡️Fifty Russian soldiers in mortal danger in captivity have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime - Russian Defense Ministry