📊 Sputnik has prepared an infographic comparing the US defense budget with nine of its closest competitors.

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⚡️ Erdogan stated that Turkey has discovered a gas field with a volume of 58 billion cubic meters in the Black Sea

South Korea Confirms First Case of 'Brain-Eating Amoeba'

South Korea has detected its first case of infection with the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, also called the "brain-eating amoeba," which lives in soil and warm water and penetrates into the human brain through the nose, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Monday.

"The KDCA confirmed the infection with the Naegleria fowleri ameba in a deceased patient with brain meningitis, who has recently returned from abroad," the agency tweeted.

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How Oil Prices Affected the Global Economy in 2022

Moscow has warned that it will not supply oil at prices artificially imposed by the Group of Seven (G7), the EU and Australia, in violation of free market rules. Moscow stands ready to reduce oil production in response to the price cap. So how have oil prices affected the world's economy during 2022, and what is to come?

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⚡️ Hospitalized Pele (82) has said goodbye to family and friends as his condition worsened once again, his manager said.

Russian Foreign Ministry Says Western Inaction on Kosovo Breaches UN Resolution

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman criticized the European Union and the United States on Monday for being in breach of the 1999 UN resolution on Kosovo.

"NATO and EU contingents deployed to the area cannot and will not interfere in the events on the ground… condoning the escalation," Maria Zakharova said, referring to the standoff between peaceful protesters and Kosovo security forces.

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Coked-Up Lab Rats May Reveal Secrets of Drug Addiction

The research revealed that a particular area of the brain of lab animals that exhibited compulsive drug use displayed increased activity compared to the non-compulsive lab animals.

A team of Chinese researchers has announced a discovery of what may well be a potential insight into the mechanism behind compulsive drug use.

The authors of the new study, which was published in the journal Science Advances this week, taught a number of lab rats to self-administer cocaine before introducing a footshock punishment into the equation, thus making the drug-taking procedure painful for the rodents.

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🧪 Wheeled laboratory (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

Russian troops from the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Unit of the Western Military District practice their skills at Belarusian training grounds.

The chemical units are supported by RHM reconnaissance chemical vehicles. These are a sort of wheeled laboratories. The vehicles are provided with cutting-edge equipment both inside, and outside, and allow them to scan the simulated contamination source and to sample air molecules and other substances.

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Happy Plastic, It's Fantastic: South Korea Green Lights Sex Doll Imports

South Korean authorities have announced that they are removing legal hurdles impeding the import of full-body sex dolls.

While such imports were not specifically banned in South Korea before, local customs frequently seized sex dolls being brought into the country under the pretext of a law that prohibits importing goods deemed harmful to “the country's beautiful traditions and public morality,” as media points out.

Under the new guidelines, South Korea’s customs service is now expected to allow the importing of sex dolls, although some models, such as child-like sex dolls, will be a no-go.

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📹 A resident of Kharkov criticizes the Ukrainian authorities for indiscriminately handing out draft papers to locals

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Russia’s Sberbank Plans to Open Office in China in 2023

Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, plans to launch a branch office in China by the end of 2023, Alexander Vedyakhin, the first deputy chairman of Sberbank's executive board, said on Monday.

"I hope that by the end of 2023 we will be able to open a branch office in China. Usually it takes one and a half to two years, but we hope that by the end of 2023 we will already have an office in this country," Vedyakhin said.

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Iranian Foreign Ministry Calls Ukrainian Threats Irresponsible, Warns of Consequences

Last week, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that the West should turn away from sanctions against Iran that "are not working" and start arresting people and destroying plants responsible for alleged drone supplies to Russia.

The comments sparked a reaction from Tehran.
"We reject the accusations of the Ukrainian leadership... We do not take part in the Ukrainian conflict and are ready to help resolve the crisis and establish peace in this country… We consider threatening rhetoric irresponsible from whichever body it originates," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kanaani said during a press conference.

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📹 S-300V air defense systems in combat operations as part of a special military operation (video by Russian MoD)

The soldiers have already shot down numerous targets, including Tochka-U tactical missiles, Olkha and Uragan MLRS shells, and Soviet-made Strizh UAVs.

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Seven Most Chilling Natural Disasters of 2022

This year was rich in crises of all kinds, in both form and content. Sputnik brings you this compilation of the most severe natural disasters that rocked the planet over the past 12 months.

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🗣️ "Former vice-president Mike Pence did not file to run for President today," Devin O'Malley, a spokesman for Mike Pence wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, the US media reported that Pence had filled in the application to run for president in the 2024 election more than a month after former US President Donald Trump announced that he would be standing for re-election

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😨 The Assistant Secretary of Biden's Department of Health and Human Services and the world's first transgender Admiral Rachel Levine has demanded that any criticism of sex reassignment operations in children be censored.

🗣️ According to Levine "the positive value of gender-affirming care for youth and adults is not in scientific or medical dispute".

Levine, who transitioned from male to female in 2011, claims that “an onslaught of anti-LGBTQI+ actions at the state levels is dangerous to the public health".

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👉 Follow our LIVE UPDATES on the Ukrainian crisis

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🚨 US President Joe Biden has declared an emergency because of a snow storm in New York State, the White House reported

A once-in-a-generation snowstorm that hit parts of the United States on Christmas Day has already claimed an estimated 55 lives.

On 26 December, the president issued a federal declaration of a state of emergency in New York State, authorizing government assistance against the background of ongoing reconstruction work, aided by hundreds of National Guard troops

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Some representatives belonging to the administration of President Joe Biden have insisted that the US operations of Chinese-owned TikTok be forcibly sold, American media has said.

According to the reports, representatives of the Pentagon and the Ministry of Justice are seeking guarantees that Beijing will not be able to use the application for espionage and political influence. They claim that it is possible to eliminate all the risks associated with the application only by separating TikTok from its Chinese owner, ByteDance

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The head of Turkey's defense industry announced that the country has successfully conducted tests of a new ALKA Directed Energy Weapon System - a hybrid defense resource using electromagnetic and laser technology against asymmetric threats. Its algorithms have been developed using artificial intelligence

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❗️At least 15 people have been injured In the state of Assam after being attacked by a leopard. The casualties included three employees of the forest department.

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