New US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he was committed to stop "wasteful" Washington spending and the rising national debt.

🗣️ "There is nothing more important than making it possible for American families to live and enjoy the lives they deserve. That is why we commit to stop wasteful Washington spending, to lower the price of groceries, gas, cars, housing and stop the rising national debt," he said at the House session

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Canada ’Closely Following’ Events in Venezuela as Interim Government Dissolved After Vote

🗣 “Canada is closely following the events in Venezuela, including the recent vote by its National Assembly to dissolve the interim government,” the ministry said in a statement.

Global Affairs said Canada respects the National Assembly decision to dissolve Juan Guaido interim government, in line with its recognition of it being the “last remaining” democratically elected institution in Venezuela

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🗻About 600 families have been ordered to evacuate the Indian town of Joshimath immediately because of subsidence.

🔻More than 530 houses are cracked and one temple has collapsed, according to local media reports.

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🥥🌴 A retiree from Thailand has invented a simplified way of getting coconuts: he climbs coconut palms, clinging to the trunk of a tree with special clamps. then moves the clamps up one by one, thus easily climbing to the top

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❗️ Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ The combined group of troops has been observing a ceasefire along the entire line of contact in the area of the special military operation since 12 noon Moscow time on January 6. At the same time, the Kiev regime has continued to shell residential areas and Russian positions with artillery over the past 24 hours.

▪️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired 11 mortar shells at Russian positions in the Krasny Liman direction.

▪️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine opened artillery fire in the Zaporozhye region 31 times. In the Kherson and Krivoy Rog directions, the enemy launched 17 artillery attacks. Russian forces returned fire against all the AFU's positions from which the shelling took place, and suppressed them.

▪️ Two assault groups of the 80th and 95th airborne assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were repulsed in the Krasny Liman direction.

▪️ One attempt by Armed Forces of Ukraine units from the 110th Mechanized and 79th Airborne Assault Brigades to attack Russian positions in the DPR was thwarted.

▪️ Anti-aircraft defenses destroyed four UAVs in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

▪️ Five Uragan and HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems and one US-made HARM anti-radar missile were intercepted in the DPR.

▪️ Some 360 airplanes and 199 helicopters, 2,843 unmanned aerial vehicles, 400 air defense missile systems, 7,441 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 972 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 3,787 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 7,957 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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FIFA Appoints First Female Football Referee From Saudi Arabia: Report

This appointment happened less than a year after the first ever match of Saudi Arabia's women's football team, which was created in 2019.

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Mexico Judge Halts Extradition of Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Son to the US

Ovidio Guzmán López, aka “El Raton”, alleged drug cartel leader and son of the notorious Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, was arrested on January 5 by Mexican authorities in Culiacan, Sinaloa state.

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'All by Myself': Washington DC Tops List of 'Loneliest' Cities in America

America's capital, Washington DC, has been named as the loneliest city in the entire country, according to a new study from the Chamber of Commerce.

Analyis of US Census Bureau data revealed the disheartening statistics: among the 319,565 households in Washington, D.C., nearly half (48.2%) had just one occupant. Overall, 154,140 residents live "solo" in the nation's capital, with this applying to 21.5% of men and 26.7% of women.

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After Depleting Oil Reserve, Biden’s Energy Department Refuses to Fill It Back Up

The Biden administration released some 180 million barrels of oil from America’s emergency stockpile ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, ostensibly to try to get a grip on the skyrocketing price of gas at the pump, with the reserve subsequently tumbling to its lowest levels since 1983.

Tasked with the purchase of three million barrels of sour crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in February, the US Department of Energy has reportedly rejected multiple offers from producers, hoping to get a better deal.

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How Literal Nazis Holding Kiev Hostage Ruined Relations With Budapest: A View From Hungary

Budapest and Kiev have suffered exceptionally poor relations for nearly a decade, owing largely to discriminatory laws against the estimated 150,000-strong community of ethnic Hungarians living in the southwestern Ukrainian region of Zakarpattia.

The source of the “stormy relationship” between Hungary and successive Ukrainian governments since the 2014 Euromaidan coup is no mystery, and stems from the criminally underreported-on problem of ultranationalists holding Ukrainian politicians and politics hostage, a Hungarian columnist has observed.

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Top EU Diplomat Vows More Support for Ukraine in 2023

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday he had spoken to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to reassure him of continued support for his country in 2023.

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Russian Troops to Further Observe Ceasefire Despite Shelling by Kiev, Defense Ministry Says

"Despite the artillery shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces at Russian positions and residential areas, the implementation of the declared ceasefire regime will be continued by the Russian group of troops (forces) until 24:00 today [21:00 GMT]," the ministry said.

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Czech Foreign Minister Believes in Netanyahu’s Success as New Israeli Prime Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can stabilize political situation in the country and form sustainable government, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Saturday.

“I believe that experienced politician and longstanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a series of early elections took place in the country will manage to calm domestic political situation in Israel, form a stable government and establish rapport with his coalition partners,” he said answering questions of reporters.

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📹 Russia’s MoD has published footage showing repair units of the Russian Armed Forces in the rear of the special military operation

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🐆 Two leopard cubs were reunited with their mother by the forest range team in West Bengal, Local Forest Department reports.

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Russia Detects No Cases of Kraken Omicron Strain

Russian consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said on Saturday that the Kraken new Omicron strain has not been detected in Russia, with the situation being closely monitored by the country's health care authorities.

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Which Countries Don’t Recognize Kosovo, and What are Their Reasons?

The crisis in the breakaway Serbian region of Kosovo nearly escalated into a war in 2022 amid a dispute which began as a squabble over license plates. The crisis once against raises the question of the province’s international recognition.

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