Biden joined Kamala Harris' first campaign speech by phone

President Joe Biden called into Kamala Harris' new campaign headquarters when she spoke to staff by phone, but without video.

He was last seen in public on Wednesday, July 17th.

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❗️About 50 foreign instructors were killed as a result of a Russian Iskander strike on the point of deployment of mercenaries in Dergachy, Kharkov region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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Key points by Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov:

on stealing Russian assets:

▪️Europe's theft of Russian assets will not go unanswered. Russia will work out possible legal prosecutions of those involved;

▪️Using Russian assets to help Ukraine is the worst path Europe has taken;

on updated US' Arctic strategy:

▪️Russia takes a responsible position in the Arctic, and works to ensure that the region does not become a "territory of discord";

▪️Cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic contributes to an atmosphere of stability and predictability;

on relations between Turkiye and Syria:

▪️This is very important. Russia is interested in helping Turkiye and Syria establish relations. The issue of organizing contacts between representatives of Turkiye and Syria is on Russia’s agenda.

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💬"Look at how the EU treats Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, just for saying they should all be making compromises instead of war," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

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❗️The Russian forces have liberated the settlement of Ivano-Darievka in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

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❗️Another Abrams destroyed

The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost another Abrams tank to the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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French hospitality: Cardboard beds for Olympics guests

Athletes arriving at the Olympic Village were surprised to find that they would have to sleep on cardboard beds. Not everyone appreciated the eco-friendly approach of the organizers. 

"The first night on cardboard beds. Already had a massage to undo the damage," Australian water polo player, Tilly Kearns, wrote on social media.

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❗️Russian air defense systems hit 15 HIMARS rockets and 151 Ukrainian drones.

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s weekly briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️The Russian Tsentr Battlegroup repelled six Ukrainian counterattacks, with the enemy losing over 405 militants;

▪️The Russian Dnepr Battlegroup destroyed a Ukrainian drone field ammunition depot;

▪️The Russian Vostok Battlegroup struck the manpower of four Ukrainian brigades, Ukrainian territorial defense, and the national guard, with enemy losses up to 115 militants;

▪️The Russian Sever Battlegroup struck four enemy brigades in the Kharkov region, with the enemy's losses up to 170 militants;

▪️Ukrainian losses in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone amounted up to 490 militants, along with an American armored personnel carrier and two field depots;

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 750 militants in the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone;

▪️Russian forces destroyed a mobile radar for detecting and tracking low-altitude targets ST68, and a Ukrainian drone production facility.

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What benefits could the new Russian-Iranian gas project bring?

The new joint Russian-Iranian venture to supply Russian natural gas via pipelines should help Iran become a natural gas hub and “optimize” the natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the country, Igor Yushkov, an expert with Russia’s National Energy Security Fund, tells Sputnik.

The project may open new possibilities to re-export Russian gas to countries such as India, Yushkov says.

“India is a large market for natural gas, which keeps growing to boot,” he remarks, arguing that there is plenty of room for both Russian and Iranian gas on the Indian market.

He was echoed by Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund. “It is possible to build a pipeline from Iran to India,” he says, adding that it may be beneficial for Russia to acquire India in terms of purchasing Russian natural gas.

Mitrakhovich notes that building such a natural gas pipeline would require either working out an agreement with Pakistan – if the pipeline from Iran to India were to be built through that country – or constructing a direct underwater pipeline from the Iranian to Indian coast.

The overall successful implementation of this Russian-Iranian project, however, would require dealing with a number of issues such as, for example, the problem with building an undersea pipeline across the Caspian Sea to ship natural gas directly from Russia to Iran. Namely, building such a pipeline would require consent of all the Caspian littoral states, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, aside from Russia and Iran.

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