⚡️ Brent crude falls to less than 76$ per barrel – for the first time since September

⚡️Brent oil price dips below $73 per barrel for first time since mid-September

⚡️WHO assesses new COVID strain as worrying, Botswana spreads faster than Delta

🇺🇸🇱🇻🇸🇪 Here is the agenda of Antony Blinken’s trip to Latvia and Sweden for NATO and OSCE meetings next week:

▪️The secretary will focus on Belarus and Russia as well as economic cooperation;
▪️discuss transatlantic unity and support for Ukraine with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Riga;
▪️assess the situation on the Russian-Ukraine border together with NATO and OSCE;
▪️no announcements are planned concerning a permanent US presence on NATO's eastern flank, but the country will continue evaluating its posture there

🦠 The new coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa and Botswana has an "extremely high" number of mutations.

Following the discovery, several countries have already banned flights from the region – among them the UK, Austria, and Israel.

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📈🛬 The US will decide on whether to ban travel from South Africa over the danger of a new COVID-19 variant as soon as it collects enough data, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN.

When asked whether the new strain has already reached the US, Fauci replied that "anything is possible" but "there is no indication that it has right now."

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⚡️WHO brands new COVID strain Omicron, says this variant may have growth advantage

⚡️ Biden confirms air travel restrictions from South Africa and 7 other countries effective November 29

Trade unionists and workers' rights activists protested in front of Amazon UK centers in connection with the epidemic of workplace accidents on the eve of Black Friday.

A study conducted by GMB showed that the number of ambulance calls to the company's enterprises increased by almost 50 percent in the run-up to the pre-Christmas sales.

Giving 'Black Friday' a whole new meaning

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⚡️ Shots fired at North Carolina mall, unconfirmed reports say

⚡️ Shots prompt lockdown at North Carolina mall, reports say

Thanksgiving Day couldn't avoid commentary from BLM activists.

🗣 "You are eating dry turkey and overcooked stuffing on stolen land," BLM's national arm wrote on Twitter.

The post included a graphic repeating the "stolen land" claim.

🗣 "You are on stolen land. Colonization never ended, it just became normalized," the post said.

🧐 Are there any holidays Americans could celebrate without a sense of guilt?

Police are responding to a shooting at a shopping mall in the city of Durham, North Carolina in which at least one person was reportedly shot, a Durham Police Department spokesperson told Sputnik

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🦃 A live turkey stumbled upon one of his counterparts roasting in the oven on Thanksgiving.

The video ends with the narrator reassuring his girlfriend with beautiful feathers: "It's okay," because "you don't know him."

(don't show this video to vegans)

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⚡️ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency order on Friday over the COVID-19 omicron variant

Check out some news you may have missed:

▪️NBA superstar LeBron James has been fined $15,000 for an obscene gesture during a game against the Indiana Pacers.

▪️Procter & Gamble has recalled over a dozen Old Spice and Secret sprays "due to the presence of benzene detected" in them.

▪️Stephen Sondheim, an Oscar-winning composer and lyricist, has died at the age of 91.

▪️Alabama AG Steve Marshall has fined the city of Montgomery $25,000 for removing the Confederate president's name from an avenue.

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🚨 A knife-wielding man was shot and killed after trying to crash the gate of a San Diego military base.

The incident reportedly occurred around noon on Friday, when a car tried to enter the Marine Corps Recruit Depot through the Gate 5 checkpoint but was stopped by the guards there.

The person then left the vehicle with a “knife and hostile intent”, ignoring several commands to stop, after which he was shot by base personnel.

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🛬❌ The US has banned flights from eight southern African countries starting Monday after a new COVID variant was discovered in the region.

President Biden calls it a "precautionary measure until we have more information".

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📹: A teenager sucker-punched a woman in Brooklyn after she told the girl to wear her mask.

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💸 President Biden’s first National Christmas Tree Lighting will cost taxpayers $139,000, TMZ reports, citing federal documents.

Christmas is truly a season of giving.

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