Ankara Says West Waging 'Psychological War' Against Turkey by Closing Istanbul Consulates

The United States and other Western countries are waging a "psychological war" against Turkey by closing their consulates in Istanbul amid US warnings about possible terrorist attacks there, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Thursday.

On Monday, the US Embassy in Turkey warned about possible terrorist attacks in the center of Istanbul after recent cases of Quran desecration in Europe. The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Istanbul switched to working online due to a potential terrorist threat. On Wednesday, the consulates of the United Kingdom and Germany in the Turkish city followed suit and stopped receiving visitors.

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📹 Putin visited Mamaev Kurgan and laid flowers at the Eternal Flame in the Hall of Fame and at the grave of Vasily Chuikov, commander of the 62nd Army

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❗️ Putin congratulated Russians on the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad: it was a battle for the existence of a tormented but unconquered country.

❗️ Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke today in the city of Volgograd at a gala concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi troops in the Battle of Stalingrad. Here are the key statements:

▪️ Nazism in its modern guise poses a threat to the Russian Federation, once again we have to repulse the collective West;

▪️ We are again threatened with German Leopard tanks, they are fighting in the hands of Bandera;

▪️ We have many friends all over the world, including the American continent;

▪️ Those who drag Germany into a new war and expect to win on the battlefield do not understand that a modern war with Russia will be different;

▪️ Russia, when responding to threats, will not limit itself to armored vehicles, everyone should understand this;

▪️ Russia has something to answer those who threaten it.

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We Don’t Control Our Southern Border: House GOP Members Want to Impeach Homeland Security Secretary

A group of Republicans in the US House of Representatives has called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over what they slammed as lax border policies.

Representative Andy Biggs, from the border state of Arizona, lashed out at Mayorkas as he pointed to “the systematic destruction of the geographical integrity of the United States of America.”

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❗️ "Those who draw the European countries, including Germany, into a new war with Russia and all the more irresponsibly declare this as a fait accompli, those who expect to win a victory over Russia on the battlefield, apparently do not understand that modern war with Russia will be completely different for them. We do not send our tanks to their borders, but we have something to answer, and the use of armored vehicles will not end the matter," said Vladimir Putin.

❗️"Unbelievable, but it is the facts. We are again threatened with German tanks, Leopards, that carry crosses on them. And again they want to fight Russia in Ukraine with the hands of Nazi collaborators, with the hands of Banderites," stated Vladimir Putin at a gala concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi troops in the Battle of Stalingrad.

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Sleeping Pills May Create Greater Risk of Dementia for White People, Study Claims

White participants of the new study who took sleeping meds often exhibited a greater risk of developing dementia than those who did not use such medication. At the same time, the use of sleeping pills apparently did not affect Black participants in the same way.

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Lavrov Meets Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister, Vows Restoring Contacts, Tourism

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a meeting with Chinese First Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, spoke in favor of restoring face-to-face contacts, mutual tourism and exchanges, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"In the light of the lifting of quarantine restrictions, a common opinion was expressed on the expediency of promptly restoring the dynamics of face-to-face contacts, mutual tourism, human and humanitarian exchanges between our countries," the ministry's statement says.

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❗️ The main task of Russia is to create conditions for the preservation of the country, to create all the conditions for its development and strengthening, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Our main task is to ensure the preservation of Russia, to create conditions for its progressive development, for its strengthening," Putin said at a meeting with representatives of public patriotic and youth organizations.

He stressed that this task will be solved.

"But one of the components of the work to achieve this common goal is, of course, the revival, the preservation of historical memory," the head of state concluded.

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What Now for Rishi Sunak's Government as He Outlasts Liz Truss as PM?

Rishi Sunak has lasted twice as long as his predecessor Liz Truss, who was out of Downing Street just six weeks after taking over from Boris Johnson. But economic woes, poor poll ratings and his lack of a mandate from voters may limit what he can achieve.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has marked his hundredth day in 10 Downing Street — but where can his embattled government go now?

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US House Panel to Discuss Twitter Censorship of Biden Family Business Schemes

The US House Oversight Committee said on Thursday that it will hold a hearing on Twitter’s role in censoring reports about President Joe Biden family’s questionable business activities.

The hearing, dubbed "Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter’s Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story," will be held on February 8.

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❗️ The Russian foreign minister sat down with Dmitry Kiselev, general director of Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency (Sputnik’s parent organization), on February 2 to answer questions regarding a variety of poignant issues related to Russia and its actions on the international stage.

👉 Check the full video here

US Investors Plowed Over $40 Billion into Chinese AI Industry Despite Sanctions, Report Says

From 2015 to 2021, 167 US companies invested roughly $40.2 billion in the Chinese AI industry, according to a recent report by researchers from Georgetown University. American investments accounted for almost 37% of cash injections in this industry in the region for the mentioned period.

In terms of the number of transactions, it turns out that US firms were actually involved in one in five transactions with the Chinese AI sector. The leaders in terms of the number of deals were GGV Capital (43 transactions), Qualcomm Ventures (13 transactions) and Intel Capital (11 transactions), according to the report.

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Debt Ceiling Should Be Lifted Without Conditions: White House After Biden, McCarthy Meeting

The White House, following the meeting between US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the previous day, believes that the debt ceiling should be raised without any conditions as has been the case to date, spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday.

“[T]he debt ceiling needs to be lifted without conditions, and so we still stand by that. That has not changed. We truly believe it is a constitutional duty of Congress for Republicans, Democrats and independents to get that done as we have seen this done 78 times before since 1960,” Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing.

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World’s Largest Wealth Fund Loses $170 Billion in Single 'Unusual' Year

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, colloquially referred to as the Oil Fund and the largest of its kind, has reported a record loss of $170 billion in 2022, citing “very unusual” market conditions.

The monumental loss even eclipsed that recorded in 2008 amid the global financial crisis ($64 billion).

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Watch Msta-C self-propelled howitzer combat vehicles in action

During the execution of combat tasks, 152mm Msta-C self-propelled howitzers use fragmentation, fragmentation-incendiary, and highly accurate ammunition in the special military operation.

The Msta-C self-propelled artillery constantly remain in motion. This 24-hour artillery carousel tactic disorients the enemy, forces it to waste its ammunition, reveals the positions of its camouflaged fire points, and most importantly, saves the lives of military personnel.
Fire accuracy is provided by artillery spotters and unmanned aerial vehicle operators.

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💭 "Whatever you think of Turkey, whatever you think of Erdogan, they do seem to have a keen sense of putting number one first. I mean, I guess it's Trump's America first policy, except it's Turkey's first. And I don't begrudge any country for looking out for its own interests. And I think that in a way, Ankara is kind of in the catbird seat here because while being a member of NATO, they can veto things that they don't like. They don't need to be dependent on American weapons. They can buy them when they want to. And if we want to boycott them, okay. That's who's cutting off who's nose to spite their face. So I think the Turks are playing their card cards very carefully, maximizing their leverage. And I think a lot of noise and that's all it really is coming from the Senate and the House is just a lot of complaining. That really doesn't go much of anywhere." says Jim Jatras, former US diplomat and former senior foreign policy advisor.

🎧Listen to more of Jim's views in our podcast "Political Misfits"