🇩🇿🇺🇳 Algeria will request that the United Nations Security Council be convened in the coming days to implement the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in the Gaza genocide case, the country’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

"The Permanent Mission of Algeria to the UN has received instructions from the republic’s president, Abdelmajid Tebboune, to request that the UN Security Council be convened as soon as possible for the implementation of the ruling issued by the ICJ regarding the provisional measures imposed on the Israeli occupation," the statement read.

Algeria believes that the ICJ’s ruling will put an end to the "impunity era" in Israel’s actions against Palestine.

Later in the day, a United Nations source told Sputnik that Algeria has requested a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Gaza Strip to be held on January 31.

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“This is extremely dangerous,” said activist Anthony Rogers-Wright Friday of the growing controversy between federal and state authorities at Texas’ southern border. The spokesman for the coalition Movement for Black Lives joined Sputnik’s Political Misfits program Friday to discuss the developing battle of states’ rights versus federal government prerogatives.

“If one skirmish like that happens, oh my goodness, what would happen after that, like, nobody knows,” he added, claiming the situation represents a “constitutional crisis” hearkening back to the Jim Crow era of the 1950s and 60s.

Quarrels over the dueling power of state and federal officials in the US strike at deeply-rooted controversies in the country’s history.

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The state of Texas will continue to defend its portion of the US border with Mexico amid a standoff with the Biden administration over the use of razor wire barriers, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement.

"Texas will continue to exercise its constitutional right to protect and defend our southern border," Abbott said on Friday via social media platform X (formerly Twitter). "In President Biden’s absence, we will hold the line to keep Texans - and Americans - safe."

Abbott maintains that Texas has a constitutional right to protect the border due to the Biden administration’s failure to address the record flow of illegal immigrants into the US from Mexico.

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A trucker convoy is heading to Texas to support the state’s border policy on the illegal migration issue, the newspaper Daily Mail reported.

The truck drivers are said to be aiming to draw attention to “record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border and into the US,” according to the paper.

Video from social media.

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“What I learned later is that [former US Defense Secretary Paul] Wolfowitz, even before he became Deputy Secretary of Defense, had advocated when he was at Johns Hopkins [University] for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein,” said security analyst Michael Maloof, a veteran of the US Defense Department.

“Why? Because they were enemies at that time of Israel,” the analyst explained on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program.

Maloof described the nexus of neoconservatives and supporters of Israel within the US government who saw Iraq as a launchpad for future regime change efforts in the Middle East. He described a plan to overturn governments in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Libya on behalf of the US ally.

“We were looking at the Middle East completely through the prism of Israel, and we still do. And look where it's gotten us.”

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A high-ranking official of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in an interview with Fox News on Friday stressed that the Border Patrol does not intend to dismantle the razor wire installed by Texas along the southern border, emphasizing a robust partnership with Texas despite the existing legal disputes between the state and the federal government.

"While this issue plays out in the courts, the relationship between Border Patrol, Texas DPS [Department of Public Safety], & TMD [Texas Military Dept.] remains strong," the official said. "Our focus is and will always be the mission of protecting this country and its people. On the ground, we continue to work alongside these valuable partners in that endeavor."

Earlier in the day, the Border Patrol union in a statement posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) dismissed the idea that Border Patrol agents could start arresting Texas National Guard members.

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In the ongoing border control debacle between Texas and the White House, the federal government has the “upper hand”, said Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor.

“I don't think anyone can honestly look at the southern border and say that the federal government has fulfilled its pledge. This is an unprecedented crisis brought about, I believe, by President Biden's policies,” said Turley, who spoke to an American conservative news channel on Friday.

“I think that many judges would be sympathetic to Texas, that they have a right to do something. They're being overwhelmed,” he continued. “ And so the idea of the federal government removing barriers, at this time is really otherworldly. But it's – you have to keep in mind on this fight, the federal government has the upper hand, legally. They tend to get a lot of deference along the border.”

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The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had struck a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea.

"On Jan. 27 at approximately 3:45 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command Forces conducted a strike against a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed into the Red Sea and which was prepared to launch," CENTCOM said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

According to the statement, the US forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US naval ships in the area.

"U.S. Forces subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense. This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels," CENTCOM said.

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“It's fair to say NATO is like a walking war machine, wherever it goes, there will be instability,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wu Qian at a press conference in Beijing Thursday.

The comment was made in response to questions about NATO’s recently begun six-month Steadfast Defender 2024 drill, which the alliance claims is its largest exercise since the Cold War era.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has increasingly criticized China in public statements recently, signaling Western countries’ anxiety over the rising Asian power. In 2023 Stoltenberg threatened “severe consequences” if China assists its ally Russia with military aid.

“As a regional military organization, NATO has launched and fought many wars around the world,” said Wu of the alliance, which played a key role in wars on Libya, Afghanistan, and the former Yugoslavia.

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🇧🇷 Brazilian police conducted raids Thursday on the country's former intel chief and 11 other suspects who are accused of illegally spying on ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s political rivals.

It’s claimed that the former head of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) Alexandre Ramagem improperly used the Israeli surveillance software FirstMile to track the cellphone geolocation data of some 1,800 judges and politicians.

Among the alleged victims of the spying is Supreme Court justice and electoral court chief Alexandre de Moraes, who authorized the raids. The justice has been consistently embroiled in disputes with Bolsonaro and his supporters after the former president alleged electoral fraud in the 2022 elections that saw Bolsonaro removed from the presidency.

Ramagem has denied the charges while his allies claim the raids are political persecution against Ramagem, who now sits in Brazil’s congress and plans to run for mayor of Rio de Janeiro in October.

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The US State Department approved a potential sale of F-35 combat aircraft and related equipment to Greece for an estimated $8.6 billion, the Pentagon said in a statement.

"The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Greece of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take Off and Landing aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $8.6 billion," the statement said.

Earlier representative of Russian Foreign Ministry noted that US efforts to export weapons globally "have already damaged the global economy and affected the well-being of the population of many countries far beyond Europe."

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New US strategy on Ukraine: no retaking of 'lost territory,' enduring

The Biden administration's new strategy on Ukraine doesn't envisage Kiev retaking the so-called "lost territory" in 2024 and instead focuses on Washington helping the Zelensky regime survive amid Russia's special military operation, the Washington Post quoted unnamed sources as saying.

The sources were apparently referring to the territories previously reunited with Russia as a result of referendums. Another purpose of the strategy, according to the sources, is to help Kiev strengthen its fighting force and economy in the face of the Ukraine funding impasse in the US Congress.

"The emerging plan is a sharp change from last year, when US and allied militaries rushed training and sophisticated equipment to Kiev in hopes that it could quickly push back Russian forces," the insiders shared.

One source added that it's "pretty clear" that it will be difficult for Ukrainian forces to attempt "the same kind of major push on all fronts that they tried to do last year."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated late last month that Russian forces had achieved the main goal of 2023 by thwarting Ukraine's summer counteroffensive. Earlier, Shoigu shared that the Ukrainian armed forces had lost over 125,000 men and over 16,000 units of weapons during the six-month counteroffensive.

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• Texas governor braces for clash with feds over border barrier dispute

• Houthis attacked British oil ship in the Gulf of Aden

• US CENTCOM reported conducting strike to target Houthi anti-ship missiles aimed at the Red Sea

• Algeria requested UNSC session to implement ICJ ruling on Gaza genocide

• US mulls stationing nuclear weapons in UK amid tensions with Russia

More stories:

• 'Extremely Dangerous': Texas border battle foreshadows growing US dysfunction, echoes country's 19th-century civil war

• Insanity on steroids': Former US official describes Israel-neocon nexus driving foreign policy

• US shifts strategy on Ukraine: prioritizes survival, no plans to retake so-called ‘lost territories’

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Footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry of the work of Russian drones on the strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the special operation zone

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Gaza Strip no longer has healthcare system - Doctors Without Borders

Currently, there are between 300 and 350 patients with war-related injuries at Nasser Hospital, and their evacuation is impossible due to dangerous conditions and the absence of ambulances, according to provided information.

"People’s lives are at risk because of the lack of medical care. With Nasser and European Gaza Hospital almost inaccessible, there is no longer a healthcare system in Gaza," Medical Coordinator in Palestine Guillemette Thomas was quoted as saying.

Most of Nasser Hospital's staff, as well as thousands of displaced people who sought refuge there, fled in the days leading up to the Israeli forces’ order to evacuate surrounding areas, Doctors without Borders said in a statement.

Earlier, the World Health Organization said that since 7 October, more than 676 attacks on medical facilities have been reported in Gaza and the West Bank, resulting in 623 deaths and 837 injuries.

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'Weaponizing' euro reduces its attractiveness - Italian central bank chief

Italy's central bank governor, Fabio Panetta, has warned of the far-reaching consequences of EU plans to seize profits from frozen Russian financial assets in Europe.

"International relations are part of a 'repeated game': the weaponization of a currency inevitably reduces its attractiveness and encourages the emergence of alternatives," he said.

Panetta added that the growing use of the yuan in trade transactions between China and Russia is "instructive in this respect," as Beijing promotes the use of its currency in countries hit by international sanctions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier warned that any possible moves by Western countries to use Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine would undoubtedly have consequences.

Most of the frozen Russian funds - about $232 billion - are held in the EU, including cash and government bonds denominated in euros, dollars and other currencies.

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Slovakia interested in good relations with Russia, Fico declared

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in an interview that Slovakia should have normal relations with Russia and promised to take steps in this direction.

"As head of government, I want to say: yes, I will start taking steps to standardize relations with Russia," Fico said in an interview with the Teraz news agency.

Earlier, Fico said that he considers a dialogue between Bratislava and Moscow necessary and rejects the idea that it is necessary to pretend that Russia does not exist because of the conflict in Ukraine.

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Today marks the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) from the Nazi blockade that lasted almost 900 days.

The blockade of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) was carried out by German troops from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, in order to break the resistance of the city's defenders and seize it. However, the German invaders were confronted with the military might of the Soviet Army and the steadfastness of the citizens of Leningrad.

After the interruption of navigation routes, the road across the Ladoga Lake was the only military and strategic road connecting the besieged Leningrad with the country, along which supplies were delivered. For this reason it was called "the Road of Life".

The siege of Leningrad became the bloodiest blockade in the history of mankind: more than 641,000 inhabitants died, only 3% of them from bombing and shelling, the rest perished from starvation.

The lifting of the blockade and the liberation of the people became possible thanks to the heroic actions of Soviet soldiers who bravely repelled the Nazi invaders.

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