❗️ Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine on January 22, a source in the Security Council told Sputnik.

Activist Ajamu Baraka claims US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East reflect the “arrogance” and “amateurism” of the Biden administration.

The former Green Party vice presidential candidate made the statement on Sputnik’s Political Misfits program Friday, responding to reports Blinken is attempting to convince countries in the region to accept Palestinians as refugees.

Baraka advocated for the prosecution of officials in both Israel and the United States responsible for what he called an ongoing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

“The only way that we're going to be able to stop these criminals is if we are able to restore international law and a respect for international law,” he said. “Until we're able to shield power from these maniacs, all of us are basically threatened.”

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Russian Armed Forces hit Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction, Ukraine lost more than 280 servicemen, Vadim Astafyev, the South group's spokesman, told Sputnik.

Astafyev said seven vehicles, a multiple launch rocket system, howitzers, and three mortars had been destroyed.

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The liberation of Soledar, Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and Maryinka is significant both for security and for the complete liberation of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, the DPR head, told Sputnik.

“The year 2023 was rich in events, they were diverse. First of all, we are concerned about everything related to the military component. The liberation of our settlements was significant for us,” Pushilin stated.

He named Soledar, Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and Maryinka among the liberated settlements.

“This is really important in terms of ensuring security, in terms of advancing and reaching the administrative borders of the former Donetsk Region. For us it is important now to liberate the entire Donetsk People’s Republic as part of the tasks set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief,” Pushilin stressed.

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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated on Friday that the US economy reached a "soft landing," a phrase used to refer to an event in which the central bank is able to ease inflation and cool off a hot economy without creating an economic disaster.

“What we’re seeing now I think we can describe as a soft landing, and my hope is that it will continue,” Yellen said on Friday. “A year ago, most forecasters believed we would fall into a recession. Obviously, that hasn’t happened.”

But Yellen’s announcement that the US economy has reached a “soft landing” may do little to assuage Biden supporters, who have turned away from the commander-in-chief in recent months. Despite creating an economy which looks “good” on paper, Biden could face losing his job in 2024 as Americans continue to feel frustrated as they overpay for everyday necessities.

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British researchers have revealing new photos of Uranus.

The images of the planet and its celestial neighbor Neptune were revealed in a new study Friday along with analysis dispelling common myths about their appearance.

Neptune is often portrayed as being deep blue in color, but the researchers say the planets actually share a very similar pale cyan hue.

The team also explained the science behind Uranus’s status as our solar system’s chameleon, sometimes appearing to be a different color depending on when it’s observed.

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📹 The crews of the Su-25 attack planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces attacked the positions and personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk region.

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🥴 Getting back to work has never been harder for Joe Biden...

After a two-week vacation in the Caribbean, Biden returned to Delaware fresh and disoriented for the weekend.

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Epstein invoked Fifth Amendment right to remain silent 600 times, according to court documents

The late businessman Jeffrey Epstein invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination about 600 times while testifying in a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse, a Manhattan federal court filing showed Friday.

The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution gives people the right not to incriminate themselves.

Giuffre's lawyers said in the September 2016 filing that Epstein frequently answered "Fifth" to about 500 of their substantive questions and 100 of Maxwell*'s lawyers' questions during a deposition that month.

Epstein believed to have committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, at the age of 66, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

*Ghislaine Maxwell is a former British socialite who was found guilty in 2021 of child sex trafficking and other crimes related to Jeffrey Epstein.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️ IDF shelled the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Al Mayadeen reports. Israeli planes also dropped incendiary bombs on Maghazi, where clashes are taking place between the IDF and local resistance forces;

▪️ The Israeli Air Force struck a Hezbollah operational command center in southern Lebanon, the IDF reported. Earlier in the day, the Israeli army said it had registered numerous launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory ;

▪️ At least 13 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military airstrikes on the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza and the town of Khan Yunis in the south, Palestinian WAFA news agency reported;

▪️ Israeli forces met stiff resistance from Palestinian youths during a raid on the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, Al Mayadeen reported. Israeli forces left the West Bank town of Al-Bira after clashes with local residents, while the raid on the towns of Nablus and Beit Ummar continued.

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Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy stated that as president he would withdraw the US from NATO, according to sources cited by Politico.

"NATO's days may be numbered if Ramaswamy or someone who shares his general worldview wins the election in November," the newspaper notes.

The newspaper reports that Ramaswamy has privately expressed the view that the time is ripe for such a move. At the same time, the politician's senior adviser, Tricia McLaughlin, refused to comment directly on his plans for NATO, but did not refute his position on the alliance.

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With the US Army currently facing recruiting shortfalls, throwing more money at the recruiting budget is unlikely to improve the situation, Paul E. Vallely, a retired US Army major general and chairman of the Stand Up America US Foundation, told Sputnik.

By the end of 2023, there will be only 452,000 active-duty soldiers in the US Army, the smallest force since 1940, Defense News recently reported.

In this vein, the international military news outlet pointed to recruiting shortfalls in the U.S. Army that could result in 3,000 Army Special Operations troops being cut before the end of this year.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to the dwindling strength of the [US] Army, Paul E. Vallely told Sputnik.

👉 Follow the link to read a full analysis of the US Army's recruiting shortfall

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Hezbollah fired 62 rockets at northern Israel - reports.

"As part of the initial response to the crime of assassinating the great leader Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri... the Islamic resistance (Hezbollah) targeted the Meron air control base with 62 various types of missiles," the Lebanese organization declared in a statement quoted by the media.

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The news about US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's hospitalization a few days ago has been widely discussed on social media, with people guessing why the Biden administration chose not to disclose this until today and declined to comment on the seriousness of his condition or why he was unable to perform his duties.

Earlier, the Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said that Austin was admitted to hospital on January 1.

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Who stands to gain from the logistical crisis in the Red Sea?

The United States has seen a significant surge in oil exports amid disruptions caused by Houthi rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Robert Yawger, executive director for energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA, said, quoted by MarketWatch.

The tense situation in the Red Sea has prompted European customers to redirect their routes towards the US Gulf Coast, opting to load up on American oil. This shift in preference has distinctly favored the United States, Yawger opined.

In the week ending December 29, US exports experienced a sharp increase, rising by 1.377 million barrels per day to reach 5.292 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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📹 Crews of "Akatsiya" self-propelled artillery systems are executing precise strikes on Ukrainian enemy targets in the Kupyansk region.

A reconnaissance group, utilizing drones, identified camouflaged positions housing personnel and a group of Ukrainian armored vehicles. The coordinates were transmitted to the command post for further destruction.

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Poland's plan for long-range missiles for Ukraine is all talk and no action

"One should bear in mind that neither Josep Borrell nor Radoslaw Sikorski has this kind of weapon," Mateusz Piskorski, a political observer and columnist for the Myśl Polska (Polish Thought) newspaper, told Sputnik, referring to plans of providing long-range missiles to Kiev announced by the EU chief diplomat and the Polish foreign minister.

Per Piskorski, the politicians' loud statements are just a PR stunt aimed at a domestic and international audience.

"Any escalation and continuation of the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine clearly contradicts Poland's interests and its security. Therefore, I personally believe that it is in Poland's existential core interest to actually end the conflict," Piskorski emphasized.

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