Group of Pentagon Officials Secretly Lobbying Sending F-16 Jets to Ukraine, Reports Say

According to the newspaper, the campaign for F-16s to Ukraine is gathering momentum in the Pentagon while Kiev is bracing for a planned offensive this spring.

A senior Pentagon official told US media that he did not think the US Department of Defense was opposed to the idea, stressing that there was no final decision on the possible supplies yet. Meanwhile, Ukraine should clearly indicate that F-16 fighter jets are "its top priority," the source said.

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⚡️⚡️UK PM fires Conservative chairman after tax probe

Rishi Sunak let Nadhim Zahawi go over the "serious breach of the Ministerial Code" caused by Zahawi's tax-related hijinks.

Sunak ordered a probe into Zahawi this week after it was discovered that the Tory chairman had been hit with a massive fine for the late payment of millions of pounds in taxes on the transfer of polling and market research firm YouGov to an offshore trust in Gibraltar controlled by his parents.

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📹 Crews of Russian 120 mm mortars and 152 mm Giatsint towed cannons destroyed a group of Ukrainian servicemen in the Avdeyevka direction

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❗️The HIMARS rocket strike on a hospital by the Kiev regime is a war crime, and all those behind the attack will be punished, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The lack of reaction from the West to violations of humanitarian law by Kiev once again confirms its direct involvement in the conflict, the ministry added.

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🇿🇼 🇧🇾 Belarus President Lukashenko to visit Zimbabwe in first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa

Alexander Lukashenko will visit Zimbabwe from 30 January to 1 February 2023. the country's Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Livit Mugejo announced.

🗣 “The State visit is meant to strengthen the existing excellent relations between Zimbabwe and the Republic of Belarus. The two countries have a history of strong cooperation in political, economic, mining, agriculture and disaster risk management,” Mugejo said.

He said that during the state visit, Lukashenko is scheduled to hold talks with his counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa, and that several deals between the two countries are set to be agreed

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🏆🎾 Novak Djokovic has claimed his 10th Australian Open championship and 22nd Grand Slam noscript overall by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6:3, 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (7:5)

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 A South Korean soldier mistakenly opened fire during a training along the border with North Korea, prompting Seoul to inform Pyongyang that the shooting was not intentional, media reported.

The soldier reportedly fired four live rounds from a machine gun during an army unit training session at one of the observation posts in the demilitarized zone in the province of Gangwon-do at 6:27 p.m. Saturday (9:27 GMT), during which no firing was envisioned, South Korean news agency reported Sunday, citing military sources.

All of the bullets landed on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line, the report read.

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⚡️ Ukrainian troops launched a HIMARS rocket that hit a road bridge in Zaporozhye region; there are casualties, local authorities say

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

▪️Russian troops took up positions along advantageous lines and frontiers in the Donetsk direction, killing up to 90 Ukrainian soldiers;

▪️Russian forces continued their successful offensive in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, defeating the enemy in the Zaporozhye region's areas of Ugledar, Prechistovka, Shevchenko and Dorozhnyanky;

▪️The total losses of the enemy per day in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions amounted to 100 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded;

▪️The enemy's losses in Krasny Liman direction amounted to 110 military personnel; two US-made M777 artillery systems, and two US-made Paladin self-propelled artillery mounts

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Swedish Chief Negotiator Has No Idea When NATO Talks With Turkey Will Resume

Oscar Stenström once again confirmed that the Swedish-Turkish dialogue had been put on hold, after Ankara postponed the talks over a series of provocations in the Nordic country, including burning of the Quran near the Turkish Embassy.

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North Korea Rejects US Claims About Arms Deliveries to Russia

💬 "Had the US not infringed upon the just security interests of Russia and accelerated the eastward advance of NATO step by step, the present situation of Ukraine would not have been created,” Director general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Department of US Affairs Kwon Jong-gun said.

Kwon also called the US logic ridiculous and the supply of tanks to Kiev "an unethical crime" that destabilizes the international situation.

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❗️Two dead, seven injured following a Ukrainian HIMARS rocket strike on a road bridge in Zaporozhye region, local authorities say

Iran Drone Attack: Everything We Know So Far

A drone strike in the central Iranian city of Isfahan Saturday night sparked a wave of fake news reporting on social media about attacks taking place all across Iran. Who was behind the drone attack? Who's responsible for the false reporting?

Read here to find out

❗️Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has had a phone conversation with his Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, expressing concern about the recent escalation in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry announced that:

▪️Lavrov expressed condolences to both sides for their civilian losses as a result of the recent escalation;

▪️The minister urged to refrain from any actions that could provoke further escalation of the situation in the region;

▪️Lavrov stressed the urgent need to renew the efforts of the Middle Eastern Quartet in order to reset negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

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⚡️ A Russian helicopter taking part in the UN’s humanitarian mission was fired upon at Mogadishu Airport, the Russian Embassy said on Sunday. There are no casualties and the pilots are continuing their work.

According to preliminary information, the Al-Shabaab* terrorist group was involved in the incident. An investigation is underway.

*Banned in Russia as a terrorist group.

❗️Erdogan says Turkey can make a decision on Finland's NATO membership which will "shock" Sweden

⛸❄️🏅Social media reacts to the “first transgender figure skater”

We all have a sense of what figure skating is supposed to be: a sport where swan-like athletes gracefully glide up and down the ice to the accompaniment of various musical compositions while performing dangerous, potentially career-ending moves like spins and lifts. But the International Skating Union is looking to break away from these established stereotypes.

▪️The 2023 European Figure Skating Championships’ opening ceremony was graced by the “first transgender figure skater,” biologically male trans woman Minna-Maaria Antikainen. Social media reactions were not long in coming:

🔺“Yep, it's 2023, welcome to ‘Clown World’”
🔺“Should be given a Nobel peace prize like Obama”
🔺“He identifies as being good at skating”
🔺“I'm actually glad for Russian athletes who weren't allowed to participate because this isn't a sport competition anymore, it's schizophrenic freak circus show”

The organizers of the championships in Espoo, Finland set the promotion of diversity and inclusivity as the main goal...while barring Russian skaters from participating in all ISU-sanctioned events.

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🇷🇺 🇲🇱 Moscow explains why Mali is looking for new partners

According to the Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, this is due to Western neocolonialism as well as the instability which still reigns in the country after years of foreign military presence.

▪️ Nebenzia in this sense brought up the assistance granted by Moscow to Bamako, which consists in particular of the training of soldiers and the increase in the combat capacities of the Malian Army.

▪️ While the West is not happy with this rapprochement, the ambassador believes this work is bearing fruit.

▪️ Thus, Malian forces are successfully carrying out counter-terrorism operations and continuing their efforts to retake territories controlled by insurgents, he notes.

▪️ Nebenzia also pointed out that such cooperation is carried out at the request of Bamako and in strict compliance with international law.

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