▪️ The Taiwanese armed forces have detected an approach of seven aircraft and three vessels of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) over the last 24 hours, responding with air and maritime patrol to monitor the situation and deploying ground-based missile systems, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

🗣 "7 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities," the ministry tweeted.

▪️ The ministry added that there has been "no trace of PLA aircraft crossing the middle line of the Taiwan Strait" or entering the island's southwestern air defense identification zone during the time frame.

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China Concerned Over Germany's Plans to Ban Use of Chinese 5G Components

«If reports are correct, the Chinese side is very concerned and extremely dissatisfied with a hasty decision made by the German governmental agency in charge with no factual support," the Chinese Embassy in Germany said.

Earlier in the week, German newspaper reported, citing sources, that Berlin intends to ban components manufactured by Huawei and ZTE used for the expansion of wireless coverage in the 5G mobile standard over security concerns.

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Moscow Blasts West for Hypocrisy Over Criticism of Georgian Bill on Foreign Agents

The United States has had a law since 1938 mandating registration of entities lobbying foreign interests, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, commenting on the European Union's criticism of a similar draft law in Georgia.

Earlier in the week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Georgia's controversial draft law on foreign agents was incompatible with EU values and contradicted the country's goal to join the European Union.

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🇷🇺 A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the southern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East on Wednesday, with two subsequent aftershocks hitting the area within three hours after the initial quake, according to the map of the geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

▪️ The initial earthquake was registered at 6:03 p.m. local time (06:03 GMT) near the southern part of the peninsula, with seismic shocks felt in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.

▪️ Two aftershocks followed the earthquake later in the day, with the latest 4.1 tremor registered at 8:44 p.m. local time. Its epicenter was located at a depth of 41 kilometers (25 miles), 205 kilometers away from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.

📍 Kamchatka is located in the northeastern part of a seismically active zone in the Pacific Ocean known as the Ring of Fire and regularly suffers from powerful earthquakes.

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📹🐊 A female alligator named Tewa stolen from a Texas zoo by a woman 20 years ago, has finally been safely returned home after a neighbor reported the alligator to the police.

▪️ After officers from Texas Parks and Wildlife seized the alligator, they called Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo in New Braunfels to see if they could take the animal into custody there. It was then that officials discovered that the gator had actually been stolen from that very zoo.

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

▪️ In the Kharkov region and the Lugansk People's Republic, Russian troops defeated the enemy's soldiers and equipment. In addition, the actions of ten sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were suppressed in the LPR. Up to 60 Ukrainian troops, two armored combat vehicles, three other vehicles, and an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer were destroyed;

▪️ Near Krasny Liman in the DPR, the total losses of Ukraine amounted to 130 Ukrainian soldiers, two infantry fighting vehicles, three armored fighting vehicles, three other vehicles and a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️ In the DPR, over 180 Ukrainian soldiers, two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, five vehicles, an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer and a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer were destroyed by Russian aviation and artillery strikes;

▪️ In the Zaporozhye region and in the south of the Donetsk People's Republic, up to 65 Ukrainian soldiers, one tank, two armored combat vehicles, three pickup trucks, and an Msta-B howitzer were destroyed;

▪️ In the Kherson region, as a result of artillery fire, over 50 Ukrainian troops, two cars and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed in a day;

▪️ Russian aviation and artillery defeated 87 artillery units in firing positions, soldiers and equipment in 207 districts;

▪️ In the Donetsk People's Republic, a Ukrainian radar station for detecting low-flying air targets 36D6 was destroyed. The headquarters of the 59th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was also hit;

▪️ Air defense systems shot down five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in a day.

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🇬🇷📹 A massive wave of protests is taking place all over Greece due to the train collision tragedy in Tembi.

▪️ According to media reports, 30,000 protesters have taken to the streets in Athens. Protesters demand an investigation into the tragedy and the resignation of the government.

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🇸🇪 Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom pledged not to deploy nuclear weapons in the country after Sweden joins NATO, following the example of other Scandinavian states.

💬 "No, it will not," Billstrom said, responding to a related question from the Swedish newspaper.

▪️ The Swedish government will "follow what the other Nordic countries have said," the minister noted, referring to Norway and Denmark, which, as an exception, also do not host nuclear weapons of any third power, according to the report.

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David Oualaalou, international geopolitical consultant, author, veteran and former security analyst, joined us to discuss the reason for Lloyd Austin’s visit to Baghdad as Iraq is going to dump the US dollar in preference to the Chinese yuan

🗣️“Country after another country is sort of moving away from the US dollar. But geopolitically, you are seeing the shift that is taking place before our own eyes. And we wanted to make sure that we [the US] still have a seat at the table,” he claimed

🎧Listen to more of Oualaalou's analysis in our podcast Political Misfits: New Nord Stream 'Intelligence,' France on Strike, J6 + Cop City

The Adidas company forecasts its revenue decrease will amount to 10%, with an operating loss of around €700 million in 2023.

📉 Last year was not that sunny for Adidas, with the company posting Q4 losses of €724 million, quoting geopolitical challenges. These Q4 losses led the yearly net profit to shrink 3.5 times to €612 million.

▪️ Explaining the shrinking, the company admitted that its business was heavily influenced by the international situation – an obvious reference to the sanction campaign against Russia.

📍 When Moscow started the special military operation to protect the people of Donbass from Kiev's attacks, Adidas among other western brands that chose to cancel its business in Russia. Adidas' departure was accompanied by major violations of civil laws – the company failed to pay taxes and reportedly left its former Russian employees without promised layoff bonuses.

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