Russia takes measures to maintain stable water level in ZNPP's cooling pond

"Today, staff of the Russian Emergencies Ministry at the request of Zaporozhye NPP management carried out work on sealing stoplogs and cleaning the portal of the technical water wells at the plant's cooling pond. These efforts were intended to ensure a safe water supply to the plant," the statement read, adding that divers completed all the necessary procedures.

Specialists forecast no water level drop in the cooling pond, the statement said.

Five out of six units of the nuclear plant are in a so-called cold shutdown mode and one is in "hot shutdown." The water level is unchanged at the 16.67-meter.

The ZNPP said that all nuclear safety measures are in place.

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Ex-Scottish leader Sturgeon arrested as part of probe into ruling party's finances

Former Scottish Minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested on Sunday in connection with an investigation into the finances of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), according to UK media and police.

In April, Sturgeon's husband and the SNP's former chief executive, Peter Murrell, was arrested in connection with an investigation into the party's funding and finances, but was later released without any charges pending further investigation. Police were reportedly investigating the alleged mishandling of about £600,000 of Scottish independence campaign funds.

The same month, British media reported that some SNP members believed Sturgeon's arrest as part of the financing probe was "inevitable."

In 2022, Murrell sparked questions after reports emerged that he had provided the SNP with an interest-free loan of over 100,000 pounds "to assist with cash flow," which was not fully declared for over a year.

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Taipei сlaims 24 Chinese military jets detected near Taiwan strait on Sunday

The Taiwanese armed forces detected 24 Chinese military jets and four vessels in the vicinity of the island on Sunday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said.

In response, Taiwan deployed combat air patrol aircraft, ships, and land-based missile systems, according to the statement.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing regards the island as its province, while Taiwan maintains that it is an autonomous entity but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official foreign contacts with Taipei and regards Chinese sovereignty over the island as indisputable.

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Scientists expose link between reversible aging and stress

The team behind the study published in Cell Metabolism said that “biological age is fluid and exhibits rapid changes in both directions,” noting how they managed to discover signs of young mice’s biological age being increased by “heterochronic parabiosis,” only to be “restored following surgical detachment.”

They were able to “identify transient changes in biological age during major surgery, pregnancy, and severe COVID-19 in humans and/or mice.”

“Together, these data show that biological age undergoes a rapid increase in response to diverse forms of stress, which is reversed following recovery from stress,” the team claimed.

The researchers argued that the “new layer of aging dynamics” they stumbled upon should be taken into consideration in future studies and insisted that “the elevation of biological age by stress may be a quantifiable and actionable target for future interventions.”

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Kiev-Pechersk Lavra blocked by police and armed forces

Military and police reportedly checked documents of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra parishioners following tension between Kiev and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Monks from the UOC were ordered to leave the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra by Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko, who said they could stay if they joined the non-canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

However, the order was challenged by Lavra monks as illegal and requiring a court decision. In June, the ministry's commission ordered the UOC monks to depart from the monastery within three days, but the head of the UOC's Synodal Information and Education Department, Metropolitan Clement, rejected the decision, calling it illegitimate.

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Serbian tennis star Djokovic wins record 23rd men's Grand Slam noscript

The 36-year-old Serbian player secured his third French Open noscript, with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 7-5 victory in a game lasting 3 hours and 13 minutes.

Nadal congratulated Djokovic on Twitter, saying that "23 is a number that just a few years back was impossible to think about." The Spanish player pulled out of the French Open because of a hip injury.
Djokovic has under his belt three French Open noscripts, ten Australian Open noscripts, seven Wimbledon noscripts and three US Open noscripts.

In women’s tennis, Australia’s Margaret Court boasts the record number of Grand Slam victories, 24, 13 of which she claimed before the Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic is now tied with Serena Williams, who in women's tennis has managed to rack up 23 Grand Slam noscripts.

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📹 A major section of the main north-south highway used by Americans transiting the East Coast has been closed indefinitely after a fire involving a gasoline tanker truck caused a bridge to collapse

Footage posted to social media showed the affected sections of the road were completely empty after the northbound lanes collapsed entirely. Though they haven’t buckled yet, the southbound lanes were also “compromised” by heat from the fire, according to Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

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Seymour Hersh: Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia will bring about negative implications for Kiev and NATO

"This [counteroffensive] isn't going to be good for Ukraine, it's not going to be good for NATO, it's certainly not going to be good for the Biden administration," Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said in an interview with talk show host George Galloway.

When asked if there is a possibility that NATO is about to join the conflict in Ukraine, the journalist said that the bloc is "probably already in it."

"I mean, in terms of training and advising, you know, there's so many disparate groups now in the Ukrainian army … It's as if you had 15 different dance teams that had been practicing together or separately for a long time." Hersh said.

"And if you put them into one big auditorium and said 'you have an hour, or a day or three days to organize a routine among all of you.' That would be impossible. And that's what's happening right now with the Ukrainian army, as far as I know," Hersh added.

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Paris administration has set up a working group on "coexistence" with rats to identify ways to improve the living conditions of citizens despite the widespread presence of rodents

The group is tasked with developing an "ambitious plan to combat the spread of rats," the CNEWS broadcaster reported, adding that it is planned to purchase thousands of new dumpsters, as well as install poison traps "in cases where it is necessary."

The group will also propose measures against city residents who litter on the streets, the report noted.

Vice-mayor of Paris for health Anne Souyris said that rats "do not pose a public health problem," despite the fact that they are carriers of leptospirosis, the report added. However, the disease poses a threat mainly to garbage collectors, who can be vaccinated against it, Souyris noted.

The decision of the city administration was welcomed by animal welfare NGOs, which had previously advocated "non-lethal" methods to control the city's rodents.

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Nearly half of Americans believe the Biden administration’s indictment of former President Donald Trump is politically motivated

A new poll has revealed that American voters are effectively split on the question of whether Trump should be charged over allegations that he mishandled sensitive documents.

According to the pollster, 47% view the latest charges as being politically motivated, with just 37% saying that the charges are not – and 16% reportedly said they weren’t sure where they stood.

Ipsos noted that such views “are mainly driven by Republicans, while Democrats want to see Trump charged and to suspend his campaign.”

Meanwhile, “roughly half believe Trump should be charged, and should suspend his campaign (48% and 46%, respectively),” the researchers explained. That’s a slight dip from a poll carried out by the same group in April which found that 50% of respondents said Trump should be charged and 48% believed he should suspend his campaign.

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The first day of the 10th Arab-China Business Conference in Saudi Arabia ended with the signing of 30 investment agreements worth 37.5 billion Saudi riyals ($9.9 billion)

The parties signed agreements in the field of technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, minerals, logistics, tourism and healthcare, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

In particular, Saudi and Chinese companies, Amar Al-Oula and Zhonghuan International Group (Hong Kong), respectively, have signed a $533 million deal to set up an iron ore processing plant and produce iron pellets for smelters in Saudi Arabia. ASK Group and the China National Geological and Mining Corporation also entered into a $500 million agreement to develop, build and operate a copper mining project in the Arabian Peninsula region, the report added.

The Saudi Ministry of Investment and Chinese company Human Horizons, which specializes in the development of self-driving technologies and the production of electric vehicles under the HiPhi brand signed an agreement for 21 billion Saudi riyals to establish a joint venture for research in the development, production and sale of cars, the report said.

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The nuclear powers are actively modernizing their arsenals; the number of deployed nuclear warheads is growing

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in January 2023, Russia, the USA, Great Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel had a total of about 12,512 nuclear weapons, of which 9,576 were in warehouses for potential use (86 more, than in January 2022).

At the same time, about 2,000 warheads (almost all belonging to Russia and the United States) were on high alert, SIPRI notes.

Among the leaders in terms of the number of deployed warheads are the United States (1,770) and Russia (1,674). These two countries account for approximately 90% of all nuclear weapons in the world.

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Most of the world's population supports Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, while the United States lost its credibility: Seymour Hersh

"The percentage of the [countries], particularly of the African and Central Asian and South Asian countries, that have changed from being pro-America to being pro-Russia is really quite dramatic. Much more than a half of the world's population supports Russia in the war and not the United States. This was never the way it was," Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said in an interview with talk show host George Galloway.

The journalist opined that "things are not as good as they used to be in Russia" amid Western sanctions, but "the idea that they are desperate is just wrong."

Hersh also argued that Washington "lost so much credibility around the world," citing Saudi Arabia's diplomatic rapprochement with Iran as an example.

"It's happened because, I think, because of Ukraine and dislike of the war. Saudi Arabia, by the way, they're selling 25% of [their] oil to China, as I have mentioned, but the Saudis immediately cut a deal. And the Iranians immediately responded … They have a lot of control in Yemen over the Houthi tribes," Hersh said.

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❗️ Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died in hospital in Milan, reports say

📹 The Russian Armed Forces used FPV drones (UAV-kamikaze with a first-person view) to destroy strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the DPR

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🇦🇺 At least ten people have been killed and 11 others injured in a bus crash in Australia

"Initial inquiries indicate 10 people have died. 11 people were transported to hospital via helicopter and road, and 18 passengers are uninjured," the police said in a statement.

Emergency services continue to work at the scene, the statement noted, adding that a 58-year-old bus driver was taken to the hospital under police guard "for mandatory testing and assessment."

An investigation has been launched, the statement read.

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Donald Trump, if convicted over alleged mishandling of classified documents, could be pardoned by offering to end his presidential campaign 

On Friday, a federal court unsealed a new indictment against Trump showing he faces 37 counts in connection to his alleged mishandling of classified documents.  Several of Trump's charges carry sentences of 20 years in prison.

However, some Democrats are concerned that even a conviction will not stop Trump's presidential ambitions.

"I think if he's convicted, he would serve something minimal and be pardoned by whoever is president," former US Assistant State Attorney in Broward County, Florida, David Cannady, told Sputnik. "Trump may negotiate and offer — through a plea deal — not to run again, Democrat or Republican."

Cannady said it is likely Trump will be convicted, adding that it would send a message that people of his stature can be touched.

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📹 Footage of the destruction of an armored combat vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye region

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🇷🇺📹 The LPR is celebrating Russia Day for the first time since joining the country

❗️Vladimir Putin expressed condolences on the death of Silvio Berlusconi

▪️Putin noted that Berlusconi will be remembered in Russia as a consistent and principled supporter of strengthening friendly relations between Russia and Italy.

▪️"For me, Berlusconi was a dear person, a true friend, I sincerely admired his wisdom and ability to make far-sighted decisions," the Russian leader said.

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

▪️Russian forces destroyed up to 120 Ukrainian soldiers, two tanks, and three armored fighting vehicles close to Vremevskoi Vystup;

▪️In Zaporozhye direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 250 troops, five tanks, seven armored fighting vehicles, one D-30 howitzer, and one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In Donetsk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 140 Ukrainian soldiers and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, the actions of one Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group were thwarted. Russian forces destroyed up to 35 Ukrainian troops and one D-20 howitzer;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Russian forces neutralized up to 55 Ukrainian soldiers, two armored fighting vehicles, Akatsiya and Gvozdika self-propelled artillery howitzers and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 15 Ukrainian soldiers and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Dnepropetrovsk region, the radar station of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed;

▪️An ammunition depot was destroyed in the Kharkov region;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down a Tochka-U ballistic missile and eight unmanned aerial vehicles in the DPR and Kherson regions.

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