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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‼️UNSC Meeting on Ukraine to Be Held on January 17 - Russia's Permanent Mission to UN

"I will not say anything about what will happen in the Security Council on Ukraine at the beginning of next week [January 17, 20:00 GMT] - let our opponents live in the dark for now (although we have already accustomed them that we try to respond to their 'anti-Russia' meeting with our own on a topic that is inconvenient for them)," Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Telegram.

He added that Russia will also hold an informal Security Council meeting on December's shelling of Donbass on January 20 at 16:00 GMT.

Roscosmos Says Exploring Dragon to Get Expedition 68 Back to Earth in Case of Emergency

Roscosmos and NASA are exploring several options, including using a Dragon spaceship, to get the current ISS crew back to earth in case of an emergency following the Soyuz capsule leak, Sergei Krikalev, executive director for human space flight programs at the Russian space agency, said on Wednesday.

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House Oversight's New GOP Chair Asks Treasury, Twitter for Files on Hunter Biden Business Deals

The promised Republican investigation of Hunter Biden, the businessman son of US President Joe Biden, has taken an early step on Wednesday, as House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) sent out his first requests for files on Hunter Biden’s business dealings from the US Treasury and from social media giant Twitter.

Comer sent letters to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and to several prominent Twitter figures, including former Twitter deputy general counsel James Baker; Twitter’s former global head of trust and safety Yoel Roth; and Twitter’s former chief legal officer, Vijaya Gadde.

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New York Rep. George Santos Refuses to Resign Amid Controversy Over Background

Republican US Congressman George Santos said on Wednesday that he will not resign amid controversy over portions of his background he admitted to fabricating prior to his election to the House.

"I will not," Santos told reporters when asked about whether he will step down amid the calls for him to resign from the House.

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Men's Boots Stitched With 'KKK' Removed From Walmart's Online Marketplace
A boot being sold on Walmart Marketplace by a company named Harsuny featured the unfortunate letters “KKK” on each boot. It’s unclear why the boots featured those letters, which are infamously associated with the Klu Klux Klan, an American white supremacist and right-wing terrorist hate group that primarily targeted Black Americans following the Civil War.

CAIR posted a screenshot of the since-removed boots to Twitter, thanking the company for dropping the “oddly/poorly named” boots.

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🚨 At least 10 people have been injured in mass traffic pile-up, involving 19 cars and a truck on the Keinawa Expressway in Japan's Nara Prefecture, Japan’s media has reported

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Kremlin Calls Reports on Closing Borders for Military-Age Russians 'Hoax'

Last week, Ukrainian media citing the country's intelligence services reported that the Russian Federal Security Service had ordered border services to put restrictions on traveling outside Russia for citizens who are eligible for military service.

"It is a simple information hoax, information sabotage, so to speak," Peskov said, commenting on the reports.

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👮‍♂️ Brazil's Federal Police said on Wednesday that a total of 1,843 participants of anti-government protests, held by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in the country's capital Brasilia on January 8, have been detained.

Bolsonaro lost the presidential election in Brazil in October and left for the United States in late December. He did not participate in the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on January 1

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😃 South Carolina Republican Congressman, Joe Wilson, has proposed in a resolution that a bust of the President of Ukraine be obtained and installed in the US Capitol.

🗣️ "Resolved, That the House of Representatives directs the Fine Arts Board to obtain a bust of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, for display in a suitable, permanent location in the House of Representatives wing of the United States Capitol," the resolution states

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Japan Starts Construction of Military Base on Kagoshima's Uninhabited Island, Reports Say

The Japanese government is planning to build runways and ammunition storage facilities on Mageshima island within two next years, which are expected to pave the way for the relocation of the practice site for US fighters jets from Iwoto Island after the completion of works on the eight-square-kilometers island, Japanese news agency reported

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🇷🇺 🇩🇿 Russia can cover 40% of Algeria's milling wheat demand in 2022-2023 season, a grain union's representative says

Russia, in the 2022-2023 agricultural year (from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023) can cover up to 40 percent of Algeria's demand for milling wheat and supply up to 3.5 million tonnes to that country, analysis department director at the Russian Grain Union, Elena Tyurina, told Sputnik.

"Algeria is a major importer of milling wheat. According to the USDA, in the 2022-2023 agricultural season, it ranks fifth in the world ranking of wheat importers and can buy 8.2 million tonnes of it. And the rejection of French wheat supplies led to Algeria's sharply increased demand for Russian [wheat]," Tyurina said, noting that France, until 2021, was the main supplier of milling wheat to the Algerian market.

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📹 Russian Giatsint-B 152mm towed cannons continue to grind down enemy forces and armored vehicles as part of the special operation (video by Russian MoD)

The Giatsint-B 152mm cannon battery has been operated by servicemen who were called up as part of the partial mobilization. They have completed training and combat cohesion at training centers and ranges.

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Sweden Aims to Go Nuclear As Energy Crisis Looms

⚛️ In reversing its decades-long goal of phasing out all reactors and going "green," Sweden is the latest European nation to resort to atomic power in an attempt to boost output and tackle the worsening energy crisis.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is lobbying for a new law to lift current restrictions on the number of Swedish nuclear reactors.

🗣️ "We should be able to build more reactors in more places than we’ve been able to do up till now," Kristersson told Swedish media, citing an “obvious need for more electricity"

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How Many Nuclear Weapons Does NATO Have?

As NATO’s tensions with Russia and China show no sign of abating, people across the world become increasingly worried over the threat of the alliance being involved in a nuclear confrontation with Moscow or Beijing. Does NATO have nukes? If so, how many? Which member-states have nuclear weapons? Sputnik gives you the answers.

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📹 Combat work of 152mm Akatsiya self-propelled howitzers (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

Servicemen competently approach camouflage positions for live firing, which allows them to strike the enemy by surprise. The accurate fire of howitzer batteries is corrected by unmanned aircraft operators and groups of advanced artillery spotters. After hitting the targets, the personnel of the battery leave their position and take cover in dugouts.

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Trump Calls on Congress to Investigate How the ‘Deep State’ Censored Americans

As new batches of “Twitter Files” continue to demonstrate the extent to which Big Tech is working with US intelligence agencies to censor and ban those accused of spreading “disinformation”, former US president Donald Trump has said the revelations “prove that we urgently need my plan to dismantle the illegal censorship regime” in America.

Trump is calling on leaders in Congress to look into ways the FBI and other government agencies colluded with Big Tech companies to stifle Americans’ free speech.

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❗️ Latest statements by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ On the liberation of Soledar: a lot of work has been done, these are selfless heroic actions, but the main work is ahead;

▪️ The Kremlin does not have any details on the death of a British citizen in Soledar and whether there have been any contacts in this regard with London;

▪️ If London sends Moscow a request regarding the death of a UK citizen in Soledar, it will be considered;

▪️ The goals of the special operation remain the same, the DPR and LPR, as subjects of the Russian Federation, must be liberated;

▪️ The Kremlin assesses the situation around the ZNPP as alarming, Ukraine still considers it possible to shell the plant.

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No Vaccine: Potentially Deadly Virus Emerges in Australia

Authorities and health services are warning the public that an increase in mosquito carriers of various encephalitis viruses is being recorded during the floods and hot weather. At least one new virus has no vaccine.

Australia's New South Wales Health Service has reported that mosquitoes carrying the potentially deadly Murray Valley encephalitis disease have been reported in the Darling River town of Menindee. The organization warns that this virus has no vaccine.

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

▪️In the Kharkov region and the LPR, Russian troops launched artillery and air strikes against Ukrainian units. In addition, five enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups were destroyed in the Kharkov region. The losses of the enemy in this direction amounted to more than 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, and three pickup trucks.

▪️ As a result of the actions of Russian units, in combination with the complex destruction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the LPR and DPR, more than a hundred Ukrainian servicemen, four armored combat vehicles and three vehicles were destroyed in a day.

▪️ Successful offensive operations of Russian troops continued in the DPR. As a result of air and artillery strikes, the enemy lost up to 70 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as one tank, three armored combat vehicles, and four cars.

▪️ Fire damage was inflicted on units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Novomikhailovka, Prechistovka, and Novoselka in the Donetsk People's Republic. Up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, and three cars were destroyed.

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▪️ Air, missile and artillery strikes hit two ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the city of Zaporozhye and near the settlement of Novoivanovka in the Zaporozhye region, as well as 76 artillery units in firing positions, manpower, and military equipment in 123 districts.

▪️ During counter-battery strikes on firing positions, the following were destroyed:
- three Ukrainian Grad multiple launch rocket system combat vehicles in the Kharkov region and DPR;
- two US-made M777 and M109 Paladin artillery systems in the Donetsk People's Republic;
- two 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers in the DPR and the Zaporozhye region.
In the area of the settlement of Lozovoe in the Donetsk People's Republic, a US-made AN / TPQ-50 counter-battery radar was destroyed.

▪️ Russian aviation shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 near the village of Nikanorovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.

▪️ Russian air defense systems destroyed five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.

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