Ukraine 'Gift' Explodes in Polish Police Chief's Office, Wounds Several People

A gift received by Poland's chief commandant in Ukraine exploded near his office, causing injuries, police said on Thursday.

"One of the gifts that the police chief commandant received during his working visit to Ukraine on December 11-12, 2022, exploded in a room adjacent to the office of the commandant, where he met with the leadership of the Ukrainian police and emergency service," the statement read.

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Fault Line discussed Biden receiving credits for a small drop in oil prices with Steve Gill - Attorney & CEO of Gill Media

💬 "Isn't it interesting that they exclude energy and food when those are the things that we pay most? I mean, when you're filling up your gas tank, when you go to the grocery store and like you said, it's still going up. And they're also pounding their chest over the fact that gas prices have come down. So the idea that they're taking credit for gas prices coming down, but a few months ago when you had the presidential press spokesperson saying the president cannot control gas prices. Well, now he's claiming credit for controlling gas prices when they come down, in part because the economy in China has slowed down so much as they continue to shut down 20 million person cities. That means less consumption of oil petroleum products because they're not manufacturing as much."

🎧 Listen to more of Steve Grill's analysis on our podcast: Is the US Going to Deploy Patriot Missiles to Ukraine?

"We will look for better partners in vibrant regions in Asia and the Middle East, in Latin America, in Africa," Russian President Vladimir Putin said when speaking about the future of the Russian economy at the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects meeting.

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Self-propelled "Tyulpan" mortar crews continue to destroy enemy targets as part of continuing special military operation in Ukraine.

2S4 "Tyulpan" are designed to destroy fortified objects, buildings, fortifications, accumulations of manpower and armored vehicles of the enemy. It is also capable of firing in close cooperation with UAVs, as well as other means of detection and target designation.

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What is Publicly Known About JFK's Assassination - So Far

The death of US President John F. Kennedy nearly sixty years ago spawned quite a few conspiracy theories as many people across the globe were not convinced by the official narrative of the tragic events.

It is expected that the US government will release a trove of documents related to probably one of the most infamous assassinations of political figures in the 20th century – the murder of the 35th President of the United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy – this upcoming December 15. However, what is known to the public at the moment?

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Washington's TikTok Ban & Broader Hi-Tech War on China May Backfire - Author

The US Senate passed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act on December 14 to ban the short-form video app from government smartphones, tablet PCs and laptops, citing national security concerns.

"People I know who work for the government are normally given government phones and computers and they have devices that they're only expected to use for work performance. But as is often the case, they get a brief, [and then] they look at it as a free phone and often use it for their personal reasons," Thomas W. Pauken II, author of 'US vs China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal' and Beijing-based consultant on Asia-Pacific affairs and geopolitical commentator, told Sputnik.

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‼️Pentagon has announced a new US-led training for Ukrainian forces - spokesperson

Russia and Venezuela Discussing Settlements in National Currencies

Russia and Venezuela are discussing the expansion of cooperation in the financial sector, in particular, settlements in national currencies, Pyotr Kazakevich, director of the department at the Russian Finance Ministry, told reporters.

"There is a discussion of the mutual opening of accounts, clearing settlements and payments in national currencies," Kazakevich said, speaking about Russian-Venezuelan cooperation discussed at the intergovernmental commission meeting.

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The Pentagon has begun a new US-led training for Ukrainian forces, Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder revealed on Thursday.

"Training is a logical next step in our ongoing efforts which began in 2014 to build the Ukrainian armed forces' capacity," Ryder during a conference.

Ryder further noted that the expanded US-led training for Ukrainians will include about 500 troops per month. It is expected to begin in January with live-fire exercises and battalion-level maneuver training.

‼️EU agrees on new package of sanctions against Russia - report

“There are some Germans who come to us for the winter, because renting an apartment and paying for utilities for four months in Kaliningrad is like one month there, somewhere in Dusseldorf or somewhere else.”

The governor of the Kaliningrad region tells Sputnik how German residents come to Kaliningrad to spend the winter because of high prices for housing and communal services.

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🔺 To start off, we discuss Ukraine and particularly the news that the Pentagon is considering sending additional troops to track down weapons being sent;
🔺 Next, we invite Dan Lazare to talk about Washington’s international economic policy towards its frenemies in Europe;
🔺 And Ricardo Vaz joins us to discuss the ongoing political crisis in Peru.

There's more on the other side! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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📹 "This is due to the fact that the Nazis are about to lose their positions": A resident of Donetsk talks about the increased shelling of the city

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📹 “Okay, [they shell] us, but children?”: A resident of Donetsk talks about daily shelling from Ukraine.

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📹 The Russian Defense Ministry has published footage showing how a Yars ballistic missile was loaded into a silo launcher on the eve of the ‘Strategic Forces Day’

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⚡Peru's Pedro Castillo to Remain in Pre-Trial Detention for 18 Months, Court Rules

A Peruvian court on Thursday approved the pre-trial detention of impeached President Pedro Castillo for 18 months, according to the court's ruling.

The court's judge expressed concerns that Castillo may flee the country if not put into custody as there is a discussion ongoing with Mexico about granting political asylum for the former president.

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Record Low Number of People Worldwide Believe Next Year Will Be Better Than This: Poll

📊 Positivity is at its lowest level in ten years. Only 65% of people worldwide believe that next year will be better than this, according to a poll released by market research company Ipsos on Thursday.

"Optimism that next year will be a better year than this year has fallen from 77% to 65% and is at a ten-year low," Ipsos said, noting that this number had not dropped below 75% since 2012.

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Bitcoin Drops Amid Fed's Decision to Increase Interest Rate

📉 Bitcoin fell lower than $18,000 on Thursday amid the US Federal Reserve System's announcement of interest rate hike.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced a 50-basis point hike, setting the rate at the 15-year high of 4.4%, which is within its target range from 4.25-4.5%.
As of 12:00 GMT, the largest cryptocurrency was trading at $17,720 on the Binance crypto currency exchange.

On Wednesday, it surpassed the $18,000 ceiling for the first time since early October, stopping at around $18,300 on Binance.

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‼️No Proposals Made on 10th Package of Russia Sanctions by EU Member States Yet - Source

No member state of the European Union has so far presented proposals on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia, since the current talks are still focused on the ninth set, an EU source told Sputnik.

"So far no member state has presented a proposal on the tenth sanction package against Russia," the source said, adding that the discussion was focused on the ninth sanction package.

Earlier in the day, the EU agreed in principle on the ninth package.

Moreover, the EU has already exhausted the majority of its tools against Russia and is now approaching the final limit of its economic pressure to influence the country, according to the source.

"Next packages might come in the future but they will most likely have the format of closing loopholes of the current sanction packages and making sure that there is no circumvention. Also listings of individuals and entities can also be part of future sanction packages against Russia," the source said.

Although there are some EU member states experiencing sanction fatigue, they are present in very low numbers, the source added. This explains the low probability of the bloc lifting some of its sanctions against Russia.

⚡️ Eight police officers were reportedly injured as a result of the vehicle explosion in Turkey - report

▪️On the highway between the Turkish provinces of Diyarbakir and Mardin at five in the morning, unknown persons detonated an explosive device in a car along the route of a bus carrying Turkish special forces;

▪️No fatalities resulted from the attack; the injured police officers received medical assistance. Our Sputnik correspondent reports that 9 people were hospitalized for examination and 7 have already been discharged;

▪️Law enforcement agencies have already detained two suspects, the administration of Diyarbakir reported.

A US F-35B fifth-generation fighter jet crashed during a test flight at a base in the state of Texas, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said in a statement to Sputnik on Thursday.

💬"We are aware of the F-35B crash on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth and understand that the pilot ejected successfully," the spokesperson said.

Lockheed will follow appropriate investigation protocol in this incident, the spokesperson added. Media reported that the F-35B aircraft was conducting a test flight.

📹 Video footage of the incident has since surfaced on social media (Warning: Video contains harsh language, viewer discretion is advised)

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