🗣️ On a new package of military aid being sent to Taiwan by the US:

“It's part of this ongoing process of ratcheting up tensions, provoking China, kind of poking China, hoping to perhaps make them, cause them to take a misstep of some kind or another. All in the hopes of shoring up American hegemony in the world and perpetuating the power of American elites, which has been fading and is going to continue to fade as the realities of global politics simply shift,” Dr. Ken Hammond, professor, activist, and author, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of Hammond’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary

🇬🇧 Why UK training of Ukrainian commandos to seize Crimea is waste of time

The British military is training some 2,000 elite Ukrainian soldiers, but "Russian forces are too entrenched in Crimea," Michael Maloof, former senior security policy analyst at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik. He stated that it's impossible to make advances and take back an entire peninsula with 2,000 troops.

'The supply train to ensure that [Ukrainian] troops have adequate supplies and care is so lacking now that under actual war fighting conditions, it could become even less, especially when supply trains are cut off, and given the number of troops, it's not going to make all that much difference in any effective counteroffensive,” the expert said.

Learn more about the West training Ukrainian troops

🔜The New Rules show is coming out very soon

We’ll be talking to Judge Andrew Napolitano about:

✔️ The upcoming US 2024 presidential election
✔️ The Ukrainian counteroffensive
✔️ Trump will bring peace to Ukraine?

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🇷🇺🇩🇿 Russian defense minister holds negotiations with chief of staff of Algerian National People's Army

“We gave a clear signal to the whole world that Russia and Algeria are committed to pursuing an independent foreign policy and defending their national interests in spite of Western pressure,” the Russian defense minister said.

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China’s Rare Earths Export Curbs May Sink US Microchip Manufacturing Ambitions

Chinese export controls on germanium and gallium have stepped into effect amid fears that this will mean more expensive microchips, solar panels, cars, and even weapons. The restrictions threaten to sink the Biden administration’s ambitious domestic microchip manufacturing goals, says China-US trade expert Thomas Pauken II.

China produces upwards of 80 percent of the world’s gallium, and 60 percent of its germanium, with experts predicting that it could take “generations” for the US to replace lost Chinese capacity.

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🇾🇪🛢🇷🇺 Yemen expects that Russian companies will come back to the country for oil and mineral exploration and will play a big role in its recovery after the end of the war against the Houthi rebels, Yemeni Ambassador to Moscow Ahmed Salem Al-Wahishi told Sputnik on Tuesday.

He noted that the Houthis attack oil tankers entering the port of Hadhramaut, which undermines oil exports and leaves the government with less money to spend on salaries for state employees, health care, education or other public services.

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❗️ Fitch rating agency downgrades US credit rating to AA+ to reflect 'expected fiscal deterioration over next 3 years'

🇩🇪✈️ Germany begins construction of F-35 Fighter Jet plant near the municipality of Weeze in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), NRW Premier Hendrik Wust said on Tuesday.

"Our soldiers need the best weapons. The planned ultra-modern plant in Weeze has not only an economic but also a defense dimension," the official, who laid the foundation stone for the factory's construction, stated.

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🇺🇸 A new indictment was filed against former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, revealing four new criminal charges tied to alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 US election.

The former president faces charges which include: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and a conspiracy against rights.

The US has struck deals with Bulgaria and South Korea to supply 155 mm ammunition to Ukraine, and is holding talks with Japan to do the same, according to Western media reports.

Could the US solve the ammunition shortage problem in the near future?

📊 One poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College focusing on the Democratic primary found that support for both former US President Donald Trump and current US President Joe Biden in a hypothetical presidential election being held tomorrow was exactly the same, with each candidate capturing 43% of respondents’ votes.

It also found that opposition to Biden being the nominee among Democrats declined dramatically over the last year. Last summer, a NYT/Siena poll found 64% of Democrats did not want Biden to be the nominee in 2024, including 94% of Democrats under the age of 30. That has now declined to just half of Democrats.

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A business expert told Sputnik that great potential for creating a new global currency system not centered on the West lies at the heart of the growing movement toward central bank digital currencies (CBSCs), such as Russia’s digital ruble that launched on Tuesday.

👉 Read his full analysis

🇧🇾🇷🇺 More than half of Russian tactical nuclear weapons that are supposed to be stationed in Belarus have already been delivered and dispersed throughout the country, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday.

Lukashenko added that Russia's nuclear weapons, along with Belarus' only nuclear power plant, were a security factor for Minsk.

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US officials revealed on Tuesday that North Korea “responded” to inquiries by the United Nations Command regarding Travis King, a US soldier who suddenly crossed into the DPRK while taking part in a tour of the heavily-guarded border area.

"I can confirm that the DPRK has responded to United Nations Command, but I don't have any substantial progress to read out," Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters, adding it was “just an acknowledgment” of the UN inquiry.

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🇺🇸 A 79 square mile territory in Los Angeles County is under quarantine to stop the spread of the invasive Tau fruit fly from Asia.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture imposed the quarantine after finding over 20 flies in Stevenson Ranch, 55 km from Los Angeles. These flies are a significant threat to agriculture and local plant life, especially avocados, citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, and cucurbit crops.

The quarantine – applicable to fruits and vegetables, but not people, is said to be the first ever of its kind in US history.

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