🇺🇸 White House launches countdown to possible government shutdown

"14 hours until Extreme House Republicans shut down the government. It's time for them to abide by the bipartisan budget deal two-thirds of them voted for a few months ago and keep the government open," the White House said on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.

The US Congress is working to fund the federal government before the end of the week to avoid a shutdown. The House of Representatives' proposal funds the government through October 31. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have proposed short-term government funding bills designed to buy time to continue negotiations on a full-fledged budget, but the parties' views on what a government budget should include vary greatly, which makes the adoption of each of the bills unlikely.

If funding legislation is not passed before October 1, federal agencies will be forced to stop all non-essential work and not send out paychecks until the shutdown ends.

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Exclusive | "Brotherly" and "friendly": South Sudan's FM praises country's president "historical" visit to Russia

🗣 "So the visit, though it was the first of its kind, we can call it a historical visit, but we had been together in many areas. And I can assess that the visit was really very, very wonderful," Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan James Pitia Morgan says in an exclusive interview with Sputnik Africa.

He also added that South Sudan's President Salva Kiir "expressed his happiness for the warm welcome that was accorded to him and his delegation by the leadership of His Excellency Putin and the people of Russia".

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Why Ukrainian F-16 trainees won't turn the tide of conflict

The US Department of Defense has officially announced the beginning of English language courses for Ukrainian pilots as part of the program to train them to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets. The language training is said to be taking place at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

How soon could they appear on the battlefield and will their training be sufficient?

Check out Sputnik's article to find out

❗️The House of Representatives presented a draft US budget for 45 days that does not include funding for Ukraine, a vote is expected soon.

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🇺🇸 Biden wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter) that he considers it “unacceptable” that political parties in Congress cannot overcome differences, which is why the country is literally on the verge of a shutdown. But it seems that his words only angered Americans more.

The statement by the head of state was met with a mixed reaction among other users. Some of them supported Biden, openly accusing Congress of creating a threat to the work of the authorities “because of petty political squabbles.” At the same time, many noted with gratitude that among the legislators “there are still those who put the interests of the United States first and not last.”

“No one is more divisive than you,” wrote one commentator of Biden.

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📹 On September 30, Russians celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions rejoining Russia.

Sputnik contributor Simeon Boikov @AussieCossack explained the significance of the holiday in his most recent video column.

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All attempts by the Kiev regime to create tension on the line of military contact are doomed to failure, said the head of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo

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📱 iBend 15: What New Apple Phones Do Without Russian Titanium

😵‍💫 The latest iPhones seem to have taken "flexible" to a whole new level, but not in the way you'd expect.

🇷🇺 It turns out that without the trusty Russian titanium that the West put under sanctions, the new iPhone 15 bends like a straw.

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German Marder infantry fighting vehicles break down 'all the time' in Ukraine, POW claims

A Ukrainian soldier recently taken prisoner by Russian troops has revealed that Marder infantry fighting vehicles provided to Kiev by Germany are prone to breaking down, claiming that these armored vehicles malfunctioned "all the time."

According to the POW, in most instances that he is familiar with, the crew of a Marder IFV was unable to deal with a malfunction by themselves and had to call in a team of “specially trained people” who handled the repairs.

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❗️Russia's Iskander missile systems destroyed a train with armored vehicles and an area where Ukrainian troops were concentrated, the Russian MoD said

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As the Russian MoD clarified, reconnaissance in the Nikolaev region identified the loading location of a train with armored military equipment of Ukraine's 38th Separate Marine Brigade to reinforce troops on the frontline.

“The coordinates of the target were promptly transmitted to the crew of the ground-based missile system, which launched a high-precision strike. As a result of the missile strike, the loading point was destroyed,” the Russian MoD said.

In addition, the missile strike hit the concentration area of units of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade in the village of Kurakhovo in Donetsk.

“As a result of the attack by a ground-based missile system, armored vehicles, weapons, ammunition and enemy personnel were destroyed,” the ministry noted.

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❗️The US House of Representatives has backed a 45-day government funding project that does not include assistance to Ukraine

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📹 The crew of a Su-35S of the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed a Ukrainian aircraft in an air battle

During combat missions, the crews of the Su-35S multirole fighters patrolled a given area, covering bomber and attack aircraft, as well as army aviation helicopters.

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Exclusive | South Sudan seeks to join BRICS 'when time comes,' foreign minister says

South Sudan aims to join BRICS "when the time comes," as for now the country is going to "take its time" to consider the application for membership, the state's Foreign Minister James Pitia Morgan told Sputnik Africa in an exclusive interview.

🗣 "I think BRICS is mainly for the development. And South Sudan is going to take its time to see how we can join it, as it was already said by our president. And most of the work is always that the BRICS has impressed many countries around the globe. And we also will be part of that group when the time comes," the foreign minister stressed.

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🇺🇸 The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has passed a bill to extend government funding for 45 days that does not provide for assistance to Ukraine.

As many as 335 House members voted in favor of the funding bill, with 91 opposing it.

The bill is going to the Senate for consideration. If it fails to pass the bill, the US federal government will shut down starting from October 1.

The bill is a last minute agreement passed by the House in a desperate attempt to keep the government running. The bill needs to pass the Senate before 12:01 AM to avoid the shutdown, but it is expected to pass according to reports.

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Ukraine’s plan to stage new counteroffensive ‘act of desperation’ – analyst

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his curators from the US and the UK have reportedly agreed on Kiev’s new counteroffensive in early October in the Kherson and Zaporozhye areas, an informed source told Sputnik.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ alleged intent to kick off an autumn counteroffensive indicates that Zelensky is under the West’s pressure to carry on at any cost, retired US Army Lt. Col. and international consultant Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik.

Check out his full analysis

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📹 Destruction of the loading point of the 38th separate brigade of the UAF Marines in the Nikolaev region

Russian reconnaissance revealed the loading point of an echelon with armored vehicles intended to reinforce Ukrainian troops on the front line.

The coordinates of the target were transmitted to a ground-based missile system, which launched a precision strike and destroyed the loading point.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Xi Jinping on the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, noting that under his leadership China is confidently moving along the path of socio-economic, scientific and technological development, a corresponding telegram published on the Kremlin website.

The Russian leader added that relations between Russia and China have the character of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. Moscow and Beijing are fruitfully cooperating in all areas and are effectively coordinating their efforts in international affairs.

Putin is confident that the upcoming talks between the leaders of the countries during the international forum "One Belt, One Road" will contribute to the whole range of constructive Russian-Chinese ties for the benefit of the two countries’ peoples, in the interests of ensuring security and stability on the Eurasian continent and around the world.

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🇷🇺 Russia is refilling its ammunition stockpiles faster than expected, causing concern not only in Ukraine, but also in Western countries, Canadian Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said.

"If we look at Russia's capacity to reconstitute its ammunition stockpiles, it's happening faster than expected," Eyre was quoted as saying by the local news agency.

Canada does not produce much ammunition, and if it were to use ammunition at the same pace as Ukraine does, its stockpiles would be depleted within days, he said, while calling the situation very concerning.

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Moscow will host Russia's largest international export forum "Made in Russia" from October 19-20, bringing together authorities and businesses from around the globe to discuss key aspects of trade activities, the Russian Export Center said on Saturday.

The participants will discuss export support activities, the development of foreign trade, including marketing, logistics, finance, analytics and global cooperation, as well as current international events during a series of plenary sessions, panel discussions and round tables, the organization added.

The forum will also host an exhibition of Russian-made products and technological solutions in IT, clean technologies, medicine, construction, agriculture and education, the Russian Export Center said.

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📹Russian troops destroyed the area where units of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are concentrated with a missile strike

As a result of the missile attack, armored vehicles, weapons, ammunition and enemy personnel were destroyed.

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