⚡️ Russian MoD: Chief of General Staff Gerasimov named Commander of Joint Group of Forces in Ukraine

⚡️ Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, has been appointed Commander of the Russian Joint Group of Forces as part of a special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

▪️ The Defense Ministry added that Commander of the Aerospace Forces General Sergey Surovikin, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Alexei Kim have been named Gerasimov's deputies.

▪️ The new appointments in the leadership of the special military operation are connected with the expansion of the scale of the tasks being solved and the need for closer interaction between all types and branches of the military, the MoD explained.

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Around 60% of French Approve Protests Against Pension Reform, Survey Says

Around 60% of French people approve the protests scheduled by unions against Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's pension reform, which includes a gradual increase of the retirement age to 64 by 2030, a survey conducted by Elabe for the French broadcaster found on Wednesday.

The pollster surveyed a representative sample of 1,002 respondents aged 18 and over, balanced according to sex, occupation and place of residence, via the internet on January 10.

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Fentanyl-Related Deaths Skyrocket in US Amid Unprecedented Opioid Crisis

A synthetic opioid analgesic nearly a hundred times more powerful than morphine, fentanyl is approved for medical use in the United States since 1968. The drug, however, is also used recreationally and is sometimes even mixed with other narcotics such as cocaine or heroin.

The number of reported law enforcement encounters testing positive for fentanyl in the US started rapidly increasing around 2013 during the second term of President Barack Obama, with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) sounding the alarm in 2015 about a rise in overdose deaths involving fentanyl.

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🤭 Republican Kentucky Representative James Comer, who is the new chair of the panel, wrote to White House counsel Stuart Delery on Tuesday, asking him to provide all the documents found at Biden's private office in Pennsylvania by January 23.

💬 "The Committee is concerned that President Biden has compromised sources and methods with his own mishandling of classified documents," Comer wrote.

▪️ Joe Biden has been accused of hypocrisy for condemning his Republican predecessor Donald Trump for keeping official documents after leaving the White House in 2020 that he had the authority to declassify.

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Victory in Soledar Opens Door to Liberation of All Donbass, DPR Lawmaker Says

Russian forces have established control over Soledar, a town lying around 18 km from Bakhmut (Artyomovsk), which has recently become the linchpin of the Russo-Ukrainian standoff.

"Donbass is the main direction [of offensive] now; as you can see, it goes on the Artemovsk-Soledar-Seversk line," Vladislav Berdichevsky, a lawmaker of the parliament of Russia's Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), told Sputnik.

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💬 "I think we're in a recession. We've been in a recession. The government says, well, how can you be in recession when the job growth is occurring? Well, there are problems with the jobs statistics. One of them is, we have part time and temp workers being hired while full time workers are being laid off. That's where you get this distortion of "oh, we all got job creation going on!" Plus, you got to remember, the job numbers are a statistic and statistics are just manipulations of the real data", Jack Rasmus, economist, radio show host & author, says.

🎧Listen to more of Jack Rasmus' analysis in our podcast: Biden in Mexico, Atmospheric Rivers, Global Recession Warnings

Police: Copenhagen Swept by 'Very Worrying' Wave of Stabbings

While admitting that the situation is unsustainable, the police noted that such spikes related to conflicts in criminal environments tend to "come in waves."

The Danish capital of Copenhagen has been hit by a wave of street stabbings, the most recent of which occurred this week when a 19-year-old was knifed by a 17-year-old.

A total of 16 people have been stabbed since December. Knud Hvass, deputy police inspector at Copenhagen Police, said that stabbings as such are "not unusual," yet called their frequency alarming.

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😱Biden Aides Have Reportedly Found Second Batch of Classified Docs

Aides to US President Joe Biden reportedly discovered a second trove of classified documents as a federal probe investigates an earlier discovery of classified material at a Biden-linked think tank.

The aides found the second batch of classified materials as part of an effort to search former Biden offices for other documents that need to be turned over to the National Archives and Justice Department, NBC News exclusively reported on Wednesday.

It is unclear how many documents were found in the second batch, when or where they were discovered, the report added.

On Monday, media reported that US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a federal prosecutor to review how the first batch of documents ended up at the think-tank office, which Biden lawyers found while vacating the space. The documents relate to Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom, the reports said.

🔺 Are the people of Brazil back in command? International relations adviser to former Venezuelan President Chavez Micaela Ovelar joins us to discuss
🔺 We'll also be joined live from Mexico by our colleague Jamarl Thomas to discuss current US immigration policy
🔺 Finally, Steve Poikonen drops by to talk about what we know so far about Biden’s classified document scandal

You know what to do! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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Moscow Says EU Moving Towards Geopolitical Rivalry With China Through NATO Partnership

The European Union is moving towards geopolitical rivalry with China through its deepening partnership with NATO and signing a new declaration on bilateral cooperation with the alliance, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"In global context, the EU is moving to a 'new level of partnership' with NATO, thus shifting towards geopolitical rivalry with China and ensuring the superiority of the North Atlantic Alliance in operational areas, such as critical infrastructure protection, space, media and even fight against climate change," Zakharova said.

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Putin: Everything Must Be Done to Protect Rights, Security of New Russian Regions' Residents

It is important to do everything possible to protect the constitutional rights and security of new Russian regions' residents, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

In his congratulations to prosecutor's office employees on their professional holiday, Putin said countering extremism and corruption, protecting the rights of entrepreneurs and environmental protection remain the key areas of work.

"And, of course, it is important to assist the complex, comprehensive work to integrate new regions of Russia into the country's unified legal framework, to do everything to protect constitutional rights and security of people living here," he said.

Prince Harry Slams 'Dangerous Lie' Over His Taliban Kill Count

After the publication of his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry expressed his indignation at the way the media handled his revelations. He was upset that important parts were taken out of context and could give rise to the misinterpretation of his words.

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Western Powers Preparing New Price Caps on Russian Refined Petroleum Exports, Reports Say

The Western powers led by the United States are preparing new sanctions against Russia’s petroleum exports, including price caps on refined products for the first time, according to reports in US media on Wednesday.

According to the reports, the sanctions would include two separate price caps: one for high-value products such as diesel fuel and another for low-value products such as fuel oil.

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📹 Russia's MoD has revealed footage showing how T-72B tank crews neutralize hostile firing positions.

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Chinese Scientists Report New Mode of Plasma Found in Fusion Power Experiments

A group of Chinese scientists engaged in research into fusion power have discovered a new mode of plasma that could help stabilize fusion reactions, making it easier to generate the elusive form of clean electrical power.

The scientists’ findings, described as “a big breakthrough in steady-state operation,” were detailed in an article published in the international journal Science Advances earlier this month.

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