🛫 Ukraine's pilots 'won't be competent to fly F-16s,' let alone boost Kiev Regime's offensive

Kiev is to receive US-made F-16 fighter jets, according to the deal between NATO powers and Ukraine. Washington will begin training Ukrainians to fly and maintain the aircraft, the Pentagon’s press secretary announced, adding that "following English language training for pilots in September, F-16 flying training is expected to begin in October."

After just six months of language, and six months of flight school, Ukraine’s pilots will not be fully competent to fly NATO-gifted American-made F-16 fighter jets, retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

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☦️🇷🇺 Why do Western Christians seek shelter in Russia? Father Joseph Gleason, an American-born Orthodox priest who fled the "Land of the Free" for Russia six years ago, uncovers the truth.

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☦️🇷🇺💬American-born Orthodox priest: "Russians are smart enough not to judge the American people because of the stupidity and the evil of the American government".

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🦠🇺🇸Here we go again? Biden to ask for more cash for vaccines amid mutant variant spike

President Joe Biden intends to seek more additional funding from Congress, just weeks after he told lawmakers that roughly $40 billion were needed to prop up Ukraine, replenish America’s federal disaster funds, and boost law enforcement at the crisis-riddled US-Mexico border. This time, however, Biden will ask for funds that will cover the development of another new COVID-19 vaccine.

The new demand for funds will come as COVID-19 hospital admissions appear to be on the rise in the US. Hospitalizations stood at 9,056 people for the week ending July 29, which is a surge of around 12 percent from the previous week. Some regions have even gone as far as to reignite the debate around bringing back mask mandates.

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📉🏦 European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde expects the economic downturn facing most Western economies to continue, saying the world may be entering "an age of shifts in economic relationships and breaks in established regularities."

"If we also face shocks that are larger and more common – like energy and geopolitical shocks – we could see firms passing on cost increases more consistently," the banker said. "If global supply does become less elastic, including in the labor market, and global competition is reduced, we should expect prices to take on a greater role in adjustment," she added.

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🇷🇺📈 The Russian economy is expected to grow by about 2.5% this year on the back of the government's efforts to mitigate the impact of Western sanctions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview on Saturday.

Inflation in Russia is on track to hit 6% by the end of 2023, Siluanov estimated, but the Russian government expects it to return to the 4% target next year. The Bank of Russia forecasts consumer prices ending 5-6.5% higher this year. By contrast, the unemployment rate has shrunk to its decade low of 3%, the minister said.

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#SputnikInfographic 📊 BRICS announced a historic expansion of its membership this week, incorporating six new countries into the bloc. How do BRICS economies compare to the G7 group of wealthy industrialized nations?

📈 Check out Sputnik's infographic to find out how BRICS stacks up against the G7

Ukrainian punks attack a group of Poles and try to force them to chant fascist slogans

A scandal is brewing on Polish social media over footage of an altercation between a group of Ukrainian nationalists and Polish men, which degenerated into a fistfight after the Ukrainians tried to force the Poles to chant a popular Ukrainian slogan used by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, a fascist group that collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

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📈 The enlargement of BRICS could have big prospects for the economic development of member states, despite potential disagreements among them as regards the group's political role in the international arena, experts told Sputnik.

Expansion represents a "dramatic" step forward for the bloc on its path toward multipolarity, which has already been catalyzed by the Ukraine conflict as it seriously polarized the G7 and the global South, Alan Cafruny, the Henry Bristol Professor of International Relations at the Hamilton College said.

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🇺🇸⚔️🇨🇳 US restrictions on China are dictated by ensuring dominance in the Pacific, not trade interests

"This increasing alignment between Russia and China to push the United States out of the dominant position in the western Pacific and replace it with Chinese leadership underlies this wave of new sanctions against China to restrict military, relevant strategic technology, especially in areas of computers and telecommunications," John Garver, a professor with Georgia Tech International Affairs, told Sputnik.

China has benefited from the free flow of foreign, Western and US capital since 1978, when China opened, and especially since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, Garver said, adding that now the US wants to restrict the flow of Western technology and Western capital to prevent it from contributing to the development of Chinese military capabilities.

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Afghan Restaurant in Islamabad

An Afghan entrepreneur has recently established a captivating restaurant in Islamabad, presenting the delectable essence of Afghan cuisine. What sets this establishment apart is the entire staff, who are recruited from the Afghan refugee community. 🇦🇫

🍽 Boasting an extensive 20 authentic dishes, this restaurant has quickly gained popularity visitors alike. Its doors welcome nearly a thousand patrons daily, all eager to indulge in the diverse flavors and cultural heritage of #Afghanistan.

📹 Watch our video to learn more!

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🇰🇵🛰 North Korea's satellite launch is an exercise of its right to self-defense, North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song said during a UN Security Council meeting.

North Korea's goal is to build its self-defense capability, Kim said, adding that the satellite launch did not cause any harm to the security of its neighboring country.

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Russia and India Forge Stronger Cultural Ties

🇷🇺 🇮🇳 Russia aims to strengthen cultural ties with India, as highlighted by Sergey Obryvalin, Deputy Minister of Culture for the Russian Federation, during a meeting with Meenakshi Lekhi, Deputy Minister of Culture for India

▪Both countries hold significant cultural and spiritual significance on the global stage and share a common vision and deep respect for culture. Notably, their approaches to international cultural cooperation align, evident through collaborations in bilateral and multilateral platforms such as the #G20.

▪Obryvalin extended an invitation to India to participate in Russia's prominent international cultural event, the Forum of United Cultures, scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg from November 16th to 18th.

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📹 One dead, dozens injured after devastating blast at Romanian gas station in Bucharest suburb

Local authorities said the first explosion of a gas tank started a fire that spread to another tank and triggered a new explosion. A 300 meter area around the gas station was cordoned off and people living there evacuated.

The Health Ministry said later that the first explosion killed one person and injured seven. This was followed by three more blasts, bringing the number of those wounded up to 46.

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🇮🇷🇷🇺🇨🇳 Iran wants more maritime cooperation with Russia, China to bust through sanctions

💬 "We need to connect the maritime and ground geostrategic domains. This is a new strategy as Iran’s geographical location gives us such a capacity," Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander and advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said.

Defining Iran’s role in the "geometry of the new world order" without a strengthened presence in the world’s seas and oceans would be impossible, Safavi stressed.

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🇳🇪 Nigeriens rally in Niamey in support of military leadership

People rallying at the Seini Kunche stadium, the country’s largest, were filmed cheering on senior military officers as they took the stage to assure the demonstrators that the armed forces were on the side of the people.

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🇷🇺 Russian forces thwarted Ukrainian nighttime UAV attack

Air defence shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk and Kursk regions, the MoD says

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🇸🇩 Huge blast hits Sudan's capital Khartoum

The explosion is believed to have erupted at the airport’s jet fuel depot

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🤑 $7.1 million for four indictments: Trump’s campaign rolls in dough after Atlanta jail mugshot

On Friday alone, Donald Trump raised $4.18 million, US media reports, citing a person familiar with the totals.

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