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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Hamas has blamed the United States and its President Joe Biden personally for the Israeli Air Force strikes on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which caused numerous casualties, according to local media.

Hamas also called on international organizations, including the UN Security Council, to take urgent measures to stop the "Israeli aggression and genocide" against the civilian population of Gaza.

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💥Russian crews of T-80 tanks smashed the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk region.

In a few minutes the fortifications were destroyed and the enemy's advanced units, having suffered losses, were forced to retreat.

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❗️Two ports and the Black Sea shipyard were hit by Russian strikes on Nikolayev on the night of February 11, Sergei Lebedev, coordinator of the underground, told Sputnik.

Another wave of strikes hit the Nikolayev oil depot and the Zorya-Mashproekt plant, which manufactures military products.

In addition, on February 10, in the Kirovograd region, a strike was held at the Alexandria railway station, where convoys of military equipment and fuel were being transported.

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A joint IDF, ISA (Intelligence Support Activity) and Israel Police operation in Rafah overnight rescued two Israeli hostages, Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, who were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on 7 October, the IDF said.

"Both are in good medical condition and were transferred to Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital for medical examination," the IDF added.

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"The main thing for us is that they got acquainted with it," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the emotional reaction of the leaders of Germany and Britain to Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson.

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President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov urged Washington not to interfere in the internal affairs of the republic.

"I regret to note that the contents of your letter have signs of interference in the internal affairs of our state," reads the message distributed by Zhaparov's press service to Blinken.

Earlier, the US Secretary of State sent a letter to the President of Kyrgyzstan expressing concern about the draft law "On Non-Profit Organizations" being considered by the parliament of the republic.

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A secret financial organization, the International Institute of Banking Research, has been operating in Europe for more than 70 years, writes the Financial Times.

It is an exclusive secret club where bank chiefs communicate with all kinds of guests - from presidents and prime ministers to members of royal families and central bank executives.

The organization was founded in 1950 by the heads of banks in France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The FT writes that its meetings are held in luxury hotels and palaces, where a variety of sensitive topics are discussed, including global politics.

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❗️Russian forces struck troops and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 109 districts.

🇷🇺🪖 Other statements from the Russian Defense Ministry briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the Donetsk region, Russian troops repelled 13 attacks and total losses of the Ukrainian forces amounted to up to 240 soldiers, a tank, 2 M777 artillery systems and a D-20 howitzer. In south Donetsk. the enemy lost more than 165 soldiers.

▪️Near Krasny Liman, Russian forces improved the positions along the front edge ans repelled two attacks. Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 290 soldiers;

▪️In Kupyanks area, Russian troops repelled three attacks. Ukrainian forces lost up to 60 soldiers;

▪️Russian air defense destroyed 33 Ukrainian drones in a day.

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🤖 Russia's new unmanned cleaning robots are now used in Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin says.

These are not the first robots in use in Russia; earlier, footage of delivery robots moving in a large column, as well as the world's first regular electric river trams, appeared online.

Against the backdrop of Western sanctions, Russian developments in the field of robotics have not stopped, but are increasingly being introduced into people’s daily lives.

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TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" destroyed the fortified strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The control and correction of the target damage was carried out by the calculations of the drones, which transmitted the results of the combat work in real time to the command post.

The crews of the "Solntsepyok" systems carry out daily firing operations to destroy fortified long-term strongpoints, positions and shelters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' armored vehicles.

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🚀 69 years ago the government of the USSR decided to build a cosmodrome on the territory of the Kazakh SSR.

Today Baikonur is the largest operating cosmodrome in the world. On April 12, 1961 the Vostok-1 rocket was launched from the cosmodrome, a spacecraft that was the first in the world to put a man (Yuri Gagarin) into low-Earth orbit.

After the collapse of the USSR in 1994, the Kazakh authorities leased the Baikonur complex to the government of the Russian Federation for a period of 20 years. In January 2004, Putin and Nazarbayev agreed to extend the lease until 2050.

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GOP leadership sabotaging Donald Trump to help Ukraine – US Senator JD Vance

Trump’s reelection chances could be in jeopardy due to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s fanatical push for $60 billion Ukraine aid package, Vance argued in a column for The American Conservative magazine.

McConnell’s decision to push a Biden-backed border deal has created an unwinnable political predicament for Republicans, according to Vance. On the one hand, the deal is unacceptable to the vast majority of Republicans due to its weak border security measures. At the same time, however, McConnell’s support of the bill means that Democrats can now force a political crisis that will be blamed on Trump and his allies in Congress.

“The Republican establishment of Washington is so obsessively committed to Ukraine that they will use every tool at their disposal to apply pressure to other Republicans to write that big Ukraine check. The problem is that every time they apply pressure, they create an opening for Democrats and the media to tank our nominee,” Vance warned.

“For months, I have been confident that Donald Trump would be reelected as president. But this is how you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Republican establishment is going to war for more Ukraine money. They don’t care if a second Trump term is collateral damage.”

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❗️The United States and Britain are persuading other G7 countries to establish the post of "special envoy" for Ukraine and appoint the current NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia says.

It is assumed that this appointee will have permanent access to Zelensky, he will also block the steps of the Ukrainian leadership that are not coordinated with the United States and Britain, the agency notes.

The very introduction of such a position is being discussed due to the fact that the West fears betrayal by the Ukrainian elites, who may try to "play ahead of the curve" by switching to the side of future winners in advance, the agency adds.

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