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Ukraine and Israel aid bill without border control measures has passed a procedural vote in the US Senate.

It is still unclear when final Senate vote may take place. Even if the Senate supports the bill, it will have to pass through the House of Representatives, with House Speaker Mike Johnson previously stating that such bill "will be dead on arrival."

Finland's presidential candidate Alexander Stubb won the race for the Nordic country's top job on Sunday, the Finland's ministry of justice said after counting 100% of ballots.

The former PM secured 51.6% of the vote, against Pekka Haavisto's 48.4%, who has already conceded his defeat.

Alexander Stubb supports Finland's NATO membership and cooperation with the US, while also calling for severing all diplomatic relations with Russia.

More Americans trust former US President Donald Trump's economic policies than the current POTUS, Joe Biden, according to a poll conducted by the Financial Times and the Stephen Ross School of Business at Michigan State University.

"The poll shows that 42% of Americans think Donald Trump would do a better job of managing the US economy, compared with just 31% who chose Biden," the Financial Times writes.

A third of Americans believe that Biden's economic policies have done a lot of damage to the US economy. Almost half of respondents (49%) note that their financial situation has worsened during Biden's presidency.

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Davos globalists see Putin and Trump as threat – Wall Street analyst

Russian President Vladimir Putin, like Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, is "anathema to Davos globalists", Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel told Sputnik.

"I think [Putin] warmed the hearts of silent patriots in many nations who deeply distrust unregulated, global bureaucracies that seem mostly to protect corrupt billionaires, some of whom promote manifestly crazy policies," he said.

"The American heartland and the Russian people likely share much in common and might benefit greatly from clear interaction, which sanctions certainly impede," according to Ortel.

Putin outlined the deep causes of the Ukraine conflict whereas the Biden administration and a compliant media have been selling Americans a "riskless and noble cause in supporting" the Ukrainian leadership which certainly is not "democratic," "peaceful," or freedom-loving, the Wall Street analyst noted.

The key facts about the conflict which included the US interference in Ukraine affairs, thriving neo-Nazi sentiment, US politicians corrupt ties and Ukrainian oligarchs have been withheld from the US public.

"No political interview has garnered nearly as much coverage as Putin’s recent sit down with Tucker so I expect it will, in the end, change the thinking of most open minds," Ortel concluded.

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🇺🇸📉 US economy worsened during Biden's presidency, a poll says

According to a poll by the Financial Times and the Stephen Ross School of Business at Michigan State University, a third of Americans believe that Biden's economic policies caused great damage to the US economy.

"The poll shows that 42 percent of Americans think Donald Trump would do a better job of managing the US economy, compared with just 31 percent who chose Biden," writes the Financial Times.

Almost half of respondents — 49 percent — say that their money situation has worsened during Biden's presidency, only 17 percent of Americans said that their financial position has improved.

The survey was conducted online from February 2 to 5, among 1,006 registered US voters. The margin of sampling error was +/- 3.1 percentage points.

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Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin was again hospitalized into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, this time for examination due to sudden bladder problems, the body said.

The Pentagon specified that Austin continues to perform his duties despite the hospitalization and notified his deputy and the head of the chiefs of staff committees, as well as the White House and Congress.

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israel blocks food aid for 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza, UNRWA says

"A food shipment for 1.1 million people is stuck at Israeli port due to recent restrictions from Israeli authorities. 1,049 containers of rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar & cooking oil are stuck as families in Gaza face hunger and starvation," the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on social media.

The UN agency said this week that Israel had rejected half of UNRWA aid mission requests to northern Gaza this year after accusing some of its staffers of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack.

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❗️ Rheumatological drugs had been tested for several years on patients of the Mariupol hospital's psychiatric ward at the request of major Western pharmaceutical companies and with the assistance of Ukrainian officials, according to documents seen by Sputnik.

The documents belonged to the psychiatric ward of the hospital and were drafted in 2008-2016. According to the initial inspection of the documents, it can be seen that certain drugs with numbers and without proper noscripts were tested on humans.

The primary purpose of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug in relation to the proportion of patients who achieved the response according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

Such companies like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Celltrion, Novatris International AG, IQVIA, Sanofi, Galapagos NV, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, AbbottLaboratories, Covance, Merck KGaA, CentocorBiopharmaceutical and a pharmaceutical branch of Samsung were mentioned in the documents.

In addition, boxes containing many ready-made envelopes from logistics companies and containers for biomaterial with recipient addresses of laboratories in Switzerland, the UK and the US were found on the site of the hospital.

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❗️ Infants were used by major Western pharmaceutical companies for testing drugs during experiments that were held on patients of the psychiatric ward of the Mariupol hospital, according to documents seen by Sputnik.

The list of patients who were administered one of the drugs included infants under one year old. The drug was also administered to children aged from one to 11 years.

The documents were discovered by builders in the basement of hospital No. 7 in Mariupol during its restoration.

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Pentagon head Lloyd Austin handed over his duties to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, due to hospitalization, the press service of the Pentagon reported.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that Israel was carrying out strikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Reuters reported, citing the organization.

At the same time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had carried out strikes on targets in the Shaboura area of the city of Rafah.

"The IDF conducted a series of strikes on terror targets in the area of Shaboura in the southern Gaza Strip. The strikes have concluded," the IDF said on Telegram.

Israel has been pounding Rafah for several days in preparation for a ground offensive that aims to root out Hamas. The city is the last refuge for over a million Palestinians who were told to relocate south during the past four months of the Israeli military operation in the enclave.

The US, Canada, Germany and other Western allies of Israel have criticized the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ordering a ground operation in the packed city, warning of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

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The number of people killed as a result of Israeli strikes on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has risen to 100, Al Mayadeen broadcaster reported on Monday, citing medical sources.

Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had carried out strikes on "terror targets" in the Shaboura area of the city of Rafah. Later, Al Jazeera broadcaster reported that strikes claimed the lives of 63 people.

Over 230 people received injuries due to Israeli strikes, the report added.

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President Joe Biden cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a military operation in the city of Rafah if that operation did not include the evacuation of civilians in the area.

“A military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there,” the president reportedly told Netanyahu, signaling a growing impatience the White House feels towards the Israeli leader.

Hamas has warned Israel that an invasion of Rafah would “torpedo” hostage exchange negotiations. Rafah may be one of the last safe zones for Palestinians fleeing the war with well over half of Gaza’s population now living there in refuge.

Egypt has also threatened to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent into Rafah. The country is afraid that Palestinians may be pushed into the Sinai Peninsula which would then force Gaza’s main aid supply route to close.

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A new tourist zone is being built in the DPRK to receive Russian tourists, the government of Primorye (in the Far East of Russia) reported.

The new Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone is located on an area of 2.8 square kilometers, includes 17 hotels, 37 hotels, 29 different shops, a four-kilometer beach. It is expected to become operational "in the coming years".

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🇰🇵 North Korea developed a new guided projectile and control system for MLRS, according to DPRK state media.

The North Korean Academy of Defense Sciences has developed a new guided missile and control system for multiple launch rocket systems, the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.

The academy has already conducted test-firing of 240mm shells to assess their accuracy, the report said.

The development of the projectiles and their ballistic control system will "qualitatively change" the composition of the country's multiple launch rocket systems, the report added.

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Russia unveils neural network for drones to identify Ukrainian military equipment

The Russian company Hardberry-Rusfactor has developed a multipurpose neural network for all types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which will make it possible to identify Ukrainian military objects and equipment in the special operations zone, General Director Alexey German told Sputnik.

He explained that his company has developed the NAKA software, which, in particular, is capable of accurately detecting the Ukrainian army's Western-supplied military hardware, such as Leopard tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

According to him, the network's software is installed on the equipment that receives video from Russian drones equipped with special cameras.

"For example, an UAV transmits a relevant footage to the operator’s console, where NAKA highlights a certain area of the terrain in green and writes: This is a Leopard tank (or a Bradley vehicle)’ with the 85 percent accuracy," German said, adding that the network can also determine the exact location of the aforementioned vehicles.

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▪️For several years Ukraine's officials have been testing medical drugs on patients of the Mariupol hospital's psychiatric ward including infants under one year old

▪️Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, who had previously been criticized for concealing information about his hospitalization, was again moved to critical care unit due to bladder problem

▪️Israel carried out strikes in Rafah, the Palestine Red Crescent Society reports

▪️Ukraine and Israel aid bill without border control measures has passed a procedural vote in the US Senate

▪️Polish farmers spilled Ukrainian grain on the road in a protest against unchecked Ukrainian food imports

▪️Finland’s Alexander Stubb won the presidential race in the newest NATO member

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▪️Davos globalists see Putin and Trump as threat – Wall Street analyst told Sputnik

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In a procedural vote, the US Senate backed a bill to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel. What it means:

▪️ The vote took place on the day of the NFL Super Bowl - the most popular sports event in the US. In light of this, some Republicans accused their colleagues of trying to distract Americans.

▪️ It is still unclear when the final vote on the draft will take place. Even if the senators support the project, the House of Representatives is ahead and the opposition is stronger there.

▪️ In this regard, the New York Times notes that the "critical obstacle" has been overcome, but recalls about Trump - congressmen allegedly incited by him may ultimately vote against.

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