US senator vows to use all tools to impede any debt ceiling deal without spending reform

US Senator Mike Lee promised on Thursday to use all available tools to impede any potential deal to raise the debt ceiling if the legislation lacks significant spending reforms.

“I will use every procedural tool at my disposal to impede a debt-ceiling deal that doesn’t contain substantial spending and budgetary reforms,” Lee, a Republican from Utah, said.

He expressed concern that the current negotiations between the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are moving in that direction.

“If they do, that proposal will not face smooth sailing in the Senate,” he warned.

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Was NASAMS successful in Ukraine?

On Wednesday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified the US Congress about a sale of medium-range air defense system NASAMS and related equipment for an estimated cost of $285 million to the Kiev regime.

What's NASAMS and is it really invincible?

Russia boosts hydrocarbon exports to India

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has revealed that exports of Russian oil and oil products to India reached 32 million tons in 2022. He emphasized that China and India are among the countries where additional volumes of these products will be sent, noting the significant increase in exports to India.

Novak also commented on energy markets, predicting that the price of Brent crude oil will exceed $80 per barrel by the end of the year, citing the recent average price of around $80 per barrel.

Regarding the upcoming face-to-face meeting of OPEC+ on June 4, Novak expressed his belief that it is unlikely to result in any new decisions or steps. He mentioned that while they anticipate assessing the market situation, he does not expect significant changes to be made during the meeting.

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Swedish Ministry of Defense to allow Ukrainian pilots to train on JAS Gripen fighter jets as well as special simulators

Defense Minister Pal Jonsson clarified that Sweden needs American F-16s itself, and that providing them to Ukraine is not currently relevant.

Earlier, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said that training Ukrainian pilots on American F-16s had already begun in several countries.

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📹 Russian paratroopers wipe out Ukrainian observation post by the Fagot ATGM

▪️ An Ukrainian observation post was detected in the wooded area by a paratrooper reconnaissance squad. To obliterate it, a Fagot ATGM crew on an APC-D was dispatched. The crew dismounted and advanced to the line to attack the observation post as they got closer to the adversary.

▪️ The paratroopers moved into range of the enemy's line of sight and, acting bravely and forcefully, fired the Fagot ATGM at the AFU observation post.

▪️ The paratroopers quickly gathered, boarded an APC-D, and moved to a safe location to evade hostile backfire.

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🔺Anti-China peace plan? US unveils steps 'to deter invasion of Taiwan' as US-China tensions persist
🔺Zelensky called on the Arab League to ‘resist Russia’s influence’
🔺De-dollarization tendency continues: Russia and North Korea are working on a system of settlements in rubles

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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Where does US import semiconductors from?

The ongoing race between the US and China to prevail in the prospering global chip industry shows no sign of ceasing. What are America's main semiconductor suppliers and are there any new players in the club?

Check out Sputnik's explainer to find out

🗣️”The way Matt Taibbi has revealed the way Twitter and the FBI were cooperating, we are seeing interference in the election by the American intelligence agencies in terms of making some information available to people, suppressing other information”: Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, on US intelligence agencies’ meddling in the upcoming US presidential election

🎧Listen to more of Maupin’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

Growing number of countries flock to Russo-Asian economic, political blocs

Despite Western countries attempting to isolate Russia economically, an increasing number of nations from other parts of the world are actively seeking access to the Russian economy by joining organizations like the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The economic war initiated by the US and its allies in response to the Ukraine conflict has yielded unexpected results, as Moscow has not only withstood the Western onslaught but has also deepened economic cooperation with countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, collectively known as the Global South.

The expansion and development of organizations like BRICS, EAEU, and SCO indicate the growing desire among emerging nations for global change and cooperation, creating new opportunities for international investors.

Chairman of a pan-Asia business management consulting firm, Chris Devonshire-Ellis, emphasized the importance of the EAEU as a trade bloc that offers access to Russia and Central Asia. While it may have been underestimated in the West, the EAEU has been steadily growing and attracting interest from other countries. International investors are advised to take note of this opportunity and establish a foothold in the EAEU market before competition intensifies. These developments coincide with the rising economic power and influence of Global South countries, posing challenges to Western nations like the US and UK, whose economies may now be less appealing to foreign investors.

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Scientists have used AI to find a previously unknown antibiotic that can kill a deadly species of superbug

▪️ Artificial intelligence helped reduce potential chemicals to just a few that could be tested in a laboratory.

▪️ The result was a potent, experimental antibiotic called abaucin, which will need further tests before being used.

▪️ Researchers in the US and Canada say AI has the power to massively speed up the discovery of new drugs.

▪️ This is the latest example of how the tools of artificial intelligence can be a revolutionary force in medicine as well as other fields of science.

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Those who wake up earlier tend to be more religious than their night owl counterparts

Researcher Joanna Gorgol and her colleagues at the University of Warsaw have discovered that those who wake up earlier tend to be more religious than their night owl counterparts. But their studies also showed that those who are religious, tend to have a preference to rise early.

The study looked at two separate groups of Polish adults: one group of 500 participants and another of 728.
Both groups were evaluated on their preferences for the mornings, their conscientiousness, and their life satisfaction. While one group was asked whether or not they believe in God, the other was asked about their belief in general.

The survey’s results found that those who were morning people had a higher level of industriousness, which played a major role in affecting their life satisfaction. The survey also found that religious people tend to follow the routine of an early bird person.

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he intends to form the cabinet quickly if he wins the second round of the election

"We will need to form the cabinet quickly. We will sit down and make assessments with our friends, and take steps necessary to improve the well-being of our people and the development of our country," incumbent Turkish President said in an interview.

Erdogan also said that if opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, his main opponent, manages to secure the majority of votes in the second round, the winners will be "terrorist organizations and American corporations."

"With God's help, if we win on May 28, each one of the 85 million people [the Turkish population according to the official data] will be the winner," he said. "If Mr. Kilicdaroglu wins, it will be terrorist organizations, London's pawnbrokers and American corporations who win. We must not give any chances to those who target our unity and solidarity."

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📹 Kumzha 2023 drills completed in the Barents Sea

▪️ The Northern Fleet honed interaction between surface, air, and submarine forces.

▪️ The drills were observed by attendees of the military academies of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and the Republic of Belarus.

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Kazakhstan does not intend or plan to create or join any union state

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in a plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum n Moscow on Wednesday. The president then said that there are different levels of integration within the EAEU, recalling that the Union State of Russia and Belarus is a part of the EAEU.

"Regarding our country, Kazakhstan does not intend and does not plan to create or join any union state," Ruslan Zheldibay, the press secretary of Kazakh President, said on social media.

The secretary said Russia and Belarus indeed demonstrate a higher and closer level of rapprochement.

"This is a unique precedent. As the head of state noted, in fact, we are talking about one people and one state. And in this regard, it is very important to share the initiatives of the two integration projects that have absolutely different goals," he added.

Zheldibay said Tokayev's "key message is that the integration within the EAEU can and should exclusively follow the economic path."

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📹 Russia's Airborne Forces confidently reflect all sorties of Ukrainian formations on the southern flank of Artemovsk

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⚡ A terrorist attack was prevented in Energodar, according to preliminary information; it was being prepared by Ukrainian terrorists against a Russian journalist, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the Zaporozhye regional administration, says

📸 The Russian MoD has published photo showing Russian servicemen using Grad MLRS to distribute leaflets to the positions of the Ukrainian army with a call to surrender

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Norway has presented construction plans for a radar chain designed to enhance Norway's own radioelectronic capacity and, by extension, NATO's

The very first facility in the new chain commissioned by the parliament as part of a drastic upgrade of the country's radar network will be built at Gyrihaugen in Ringerike municipality north of Oslo and by the fall of 2025, with work already underway. The slopes of Gyrihaugen mountain, a popular tourist attraction, were closed this winter due to construction work.

"The Norwegian Defence Estates Agency is to build a total of eight new radars across the country. The new radar systems will help to strengthen Norway's defense capability, and be NATO's eyes in the north," project leader Ylva Sneve said.

Overall, the armed forces are to invest NOK 8 billion ($720 million) in the eight new radar systems spread across the country from Ringerike in the south to Vardo in the north and operated by the country's air force. Five of them will be established in new locations, while three existing radar stations will undergo a dramatic upgrade.

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