🇷🇺 🇩🇿 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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Pakistan Denies Uranium Package Found at London Airport Was From Karachi

🇵🇰🧬 On January 11, the counter-terrorism unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service announced an investigation connected with a uranium package detected at Heathrow airport last month.

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⚡️ Republican lawmakers in Congress will investigate President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified government records after serving as vice president, considering it is a serious felony, Republican Congressman Paul Gosar told Sputnik on Thursday.

"Joe Biden stole classified documents and secretly hid them in his office while he was Vice President yet suddenly democrats could care less. Negligently retaining classified documents is a felony punishable up to 10 years in prison. Republicans in congress will investigate and see to it that Biden answers for his crimes," Gosar said in a statement.

Biden's lawyers found a second batch of classified documents from his vice presidency at a new location, a day after the president said he was "surprised" when briefed about the first set of records discovered in his private office in Washington

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Americans need to understand that if US troops are deployed in Europe to "deter" Russia, the United States "cannot and will not be in a position to send a large number, even of a light infantry to fight the Russians in an area, because they will be killed so fast by the Russians," believes Dr. David Oualaalou, international geopolitical consultant and veteran.

💬 “The number of troops is not that large because we don't have qualified troops, well-trained, well-established. We will be lucky if we even can get up to 80,000 or 90,000 or even 100,000 troops on the ground. And if you are to talk about this number, this number has to be fully equipped. It has to be well-organized the right way, that is. And you have to have the infrastructure for it. This is the hard reality that the administration is not disclosing to the American people” he adds.

🎧 Listen to more of Dr. David Oualaalo's analysis in our podcast “The Critical Hour”

🇨🇳 Chinese cloned horse could compete in 2028 Olympics

🐎 Seven-month-old Zhuang Zhuang was created from cells of the award-winning athletic stallion Ursus.

🧪 The cloning company says that the characteristics of the clone are the same as the original, but training is still necessary.

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🇦🇫 Afghanistan has introduced its first supercar called the Mada 9, local media report. The vehicle’s body is made of lightweight composite materials, and the power unit is located under the driver.

Specifications of the Mada 9 have not yet been disclosed, however, according to media reports, the supercar has a modified Toyota Corolla engine 🤷‍♂️

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⚡️ White House: Classified Documents Found at Biden's Delaware Home

Classified documents from President Joe Biden's time as vice president were discovered at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House announced Thursday.

According to Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president, Biden’s personal lawyers examined several locations after the first batch of classified documents was found at the office of his former Washington institute in November 2022.

A “small number” of files with classified markings were located in a storage space in Biden's garage, with one document found in an adjacent room, Sauber said.

He added that the Department of Justice was “immediately notified” of the find.

Snowden: Biden Seems to Have 'Absconded' With More Classified Docs Than Whistleblowers

Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden offered a scathing comment on Joe Biden’s classified document scandal. The man, who himself blew the lid off a widely cast net of cyber espionage organized by the US, wrote ironically on his Twitter feed that the US president appeared to have "absconded with more classified documents than many whistleblowers."

According to Snowden, the real scandal wasn't that the 46th POTUS had "classified documents coming out of his socks," but that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) found out about it a week prior to the November 2022 midterm elections, but opted to "suppress the story."

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⚡️ House Speaker McCarthy Says Congress Has to Investigate Biden's Mishandling of Classified Records

Russian Army Reportedly Finds Way to Pinpoint Ukrainian Artillery Using Smartphones

Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine has witnessed the heavy use of multiple launch rocket systems, howitzers, and missiles, with both sides taking to a “shoot-and-scoot” strategy – descending on an area using mobile weapons platforms, firing off their rockets or missiles, and evacuating before the other side has a chance to respond.

Russian troops have reportedly created a custom piece of software for ordinary Android-based smartphones and tablets allowing them to help triangulate the coordinates of enemy artillery based on the sounds their fire makes.

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EU Vows to Keep Sanctioning Countries 'Helping Russia' in Ukraine Op, Including Iran and Belarus

The European Union will continue to sanction those suspected of assisting Russia in its military operation in Ukraine, which may include Belarus and Iran, as well as some other states, Peter Stano, a spokesman of the European External Action Service, said on Thursday.

"We will continue sanctioning those who are assisting, helping and supporting in this illegal behavior by Russia, that means Belarus but also Iran and other people and entities from other countries if necessary," Stano said.

Western countries have repeatedly accused Iran of supplying combat drones to Russia for hostilities in Ukraine. No concrete evidence proving such claim has been presented yet, with both Moscow and Tehran rejecting the allegation.

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