NATO Has Never Met Turkiye’s Security Needs and Russia's Su-35 is Option for Ankara, Journo Says

Given that the US Congress, the Pentagon and CENTCOM are up in arms about Turkiye’s objections to Washington's policies in the last 20 years, it is very unlikely that Ankara will get their F-16 jets, which makes Russia's Su-35 an option, Dr. Ali Demirdas, a political analyst and contributor to The National Interest, told Sputnik.

Even though US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier insisted that selling F-16 jets to Turkiye is a “national and security interest” for the Biden administration, Washington has postponed the deal, prompting Ankara to announce that it may acquire more modern and less expensive fighter jets.

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📹 Russian assault groups continue their training course in the rear area of the special military operation (video by Russia's MoD)

Personnel practice moving, taking corners, controlling positions, and clearing shelters. The main objective was to advance toward the wood's depth and dislodge the mock enemy by intensive fire.

Moreover, soldiers improve their accuracy in operating grenade launchers, as well as tactical medicine, and orienteering during day and nighttime.

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Newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in a Tuesday media briefing that the US and China are headed towards conflict if the United States does not “hit the brake” in its dealings with Beijing.

China and the United States have the world’s third and second-largest nuclear stockpiles, respectively. Tensions have been increasing between the two countries over economic issues and the US repeated accusations that Beijing is supporting Russia, as well as matters over Taiwan.

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Global Study Reveals There's No Place on Earth You Can Be Fully Safe From Deadly Air Pollutants

A team of scientists led by professor Yuming Guo, from the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, conducted a meta-study of daily levels of particulate matter in different parts of the world over the 2000-2019 period. It found that only 0.001% of the global population live at PM2.5 levels, which is considered safe by WHO standards.

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🇫🇷✊ This map shows non-working gas stations in France due to a nationwide strike.

▪️ Meanwhile, today the unions promise to hold an even more large-scale strike.

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Norway Rakes in Record Oil and Gas Revenues Amid Ukraine Conflict

The Norwegian state coffers earned record oil and gas revenues last year after the hostilities in Ukraine and ensuing sanctions sent energy prices soaring, Statistics Norway (SSB) reported.

Altogether, Norway earned NOK 1.5 trillion ($140 billion) in revenues from oil and gas, by far the highest ever recorded, according to statistics, and nearly three times the NOK 498 billion ($48 billion) earned in 2021, the number-cruncher said.

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Gunmen Kidnap Four US Citizens in Mexico by Mistake, Report Says

US and Mexican authorities have launched probes into "a case of mistaken identity" after four American citizens were assaulted and kidnapped in north-eastern Mexico late last week.

Investigators believe that members of a Mexican cartel abducted the Americans after they arrived in the city of Matamoros, allegedly to buy medicine.

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Finnish Economy Enters Technical Recession Amid Inflation Spike

The Finnish economy has been hit by a technical recession and a surge in inflation, Statistics Finland reported.

The Nordic nation's economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, marking its second consecutive quarter of contraction — the textbook definition of a recession. The decline was attributed to flagging expectations among both consumers and businesses, which manifested themselves in the latter half of the year.

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📹 Russia’s Airborne Troops' mobile groups in combat as part of the special military operation (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

▪️ The crews of the Airborne Troops' mobile groups, equipped with AM-1 quad bikes, head to the assigned area for reconnoitering, and eliminating the assigned targets.

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🇬🇧 The United Kingdom's inability to replenish its weapon stockpiles poses a threat to the country's ability to ensure its own security and provide arms to Ukraine, the Defense Committee of the UK House of Commons said on Tuesday.

🗣 "It is clear that the UK and its NATO Allies have allowed ammunition stockpiles to dwindle to dangerously low levels…This inability to replenish UK stockpiles therefore puts at risk not just our ability to resupply Ukraine but also to counter any threat to our own security," the committee said in a report.

▪️ The UK government should address the issue of workforce shortage in the defense industry and carry out significant orders so as to ensure the stability of supply chains in the long term, while replacing munitions reserves in the short term, according to the defense committee.

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🇺🇸🇮🇶 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin arrives on an unannounced visit to Iraq

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📹 “I had these terrible headaches…was diagnosed with having a…anyway, they had to take the top of my head off a couple times to see if I had a brain.” said Joe Biden while addressing the International Association of Fire Fighters

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❗️ President Lukashenko has reportedly announced the arrest of a Ukrainian special services terrorist; he and his accomplices were involved in an attempt to sabotage an A-50 aircraft;

▪️ Lukashenko said that the SBU operative prepared an act of sabotage against the A-50, adding that "the highest technologies" were used, reports say;

▪️ Lukashenko has reportedly said that a Russian recruited by Kiev, who lived in Crimea and also had a Ukrainian passport, was involved in the attempt to sabotage the A-50.

⚡️ Shoigu: NATO's increased arms supplies to Kiev regime don't lead to Ukraine's success on battlefield

📹 Su-25 fighter crews launch air strikes against UAF facilities (video by Russian MoD)

▪️ The missiles were launched in pairs from low altitudes. Once the airpower operation was carried out, the crews maneuvered, released heat flares, and returned to the departure airfield.

▪️ The airpower operation resulted in the destruction of the fortified field positions and armored vehicles of the Ukrainian army.

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❗️ There are no prerequisites for a peaceful solution of the situation in Ukraine; Russia is achieving its goals through the special operation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

🇨🇳🇺🇸 China-US trade experienced a 17.4% reduction to $101.84 billion in the first two months of 2023, according to data provided by the Chinese General Administration of Customs, as reported on Tuesday.

▪️ Despite the downturn in trade, the United States remained in the top three of China's leading trading partners, along with ASEAN and the European Union.

▪️ Based on the information provided, US-bound exports from China in January-February sank 21.8% year-on-year and amounted to $71.56 billion, while the United States exported goods to China to the tune of $30.27 billion, which is 5% less than in the same period last year.

▪️ In contrast, trade between Russia and China saw a 25.9% surge to $33.685 billion in the first two months of 2023.

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📹 Russia's tank crews provide fire support to motorized riflemen, ensuring the advance of Russian troops in the zone of the special military operation (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

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🇩🇪 Climate protesters attack the German Ministry of Transport, a protected historical monument, with paint.

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