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Construction of World's Longest High-Speed Tunnel Completed in China's Xinjiang - reports

China has completed the construction of the world's longest expressway tunnel, Tianshan Shengli, that will link the southern and northern parts of the Xinjiang autonomous region, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

The 14-mile tunnel is expected to reduce travel time across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes once in operation in 2025, the news agency reported.

The project is also crucial for the regional capital of Urumqi in northern Xinjiang and Yuli County in southern Xinjiang, cutting travel time between the two locations from about seven hours to just over three hours, the report said.

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There are no prerequisites for the end of the Ukrainian conflict or any of its phases now, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik

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Ukrainian soldiers should be banned from entering Poland — Polish Sejm MP
 

"We know perfectly well what happens to soldiers who stop being on the front. Unfortunately, they tend to organize crime, so we cannot allow them to come to Poland," Polish Sejm deputy Witold Tumanowicz said.

 
He also noted that not a single Polish soldier should be in Ukraine.

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❗️Ukrainian forces attacked settlements in the Belgorod region using more than 30 ammunition and more than 20 drones; one person was injured, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said

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Ukraine’s ‘second front’ in Africa: Zelensky ‘will bite the dust’ there – analyst

The Kiev regime opening a “second front” in Africa is “a desperate move aimed at media sensation, with no clear vision and strategy,” Professor Alexis Habiyaremye, Research Chair in Industrial Development at the University of Johannesburg, told Sputnik.

Context for Ukraine in Africa:

🟠It is unclear what Ukraine's strategy in Africa is “beyond participation in destabilization” of the continent, he said, mentioning the Confederation of Sahel States, which are “led by a vision of sovereignty that is stronger than Ukrainian hatred and racism.”

🟠“African countries are motivated by the determination to wrest their full independence from the neocolonial Western powers, while Ukraine is acting erratically based on anger and frustration. [Volodymyr] Zelensky and his agents will certainly bite the dust in Africa,” Habiyaremye stressed.

🟠Ukrainian intelligence services “have unashamedly claimed to collaborate” with terrorist groups in Africa, “hoping to destabilize Russian security partners, and by doing so, to discredit Russia,” the analyst added, pointing to “the blanket impunity granted to Ukraine by its Western backers.”

Why is the effort fruitless?

👉The professor singled out the Sahel region, where he said the Kiev regime relied on “French logistics and American satellite technology” to help “terrorists ambush troops of Malian Armed Forces.”

👉“By allying itself with terrorists to attack African countries, Ukraine has squandered any possible goodwill it could hope to get from Africa and the rest of the Global South. It is therefore unlikely to achieve anything of significance as it tied its lot with that of the terrorists,” Habiyaremye concluded.

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier said that, unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, Ukraine decided to open a “second front” in Africa, pandering to terrorist groups in such countries as Mali and Niger, which have severed diplomatic relations with Kiev.

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❗️Russian forces have liberated the settlement of Novoolenovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced

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🎄🎉 Russia's president congratulated a number of foreign leaders on New Year and Christmas, the Kremlin said.
 
However, Putin did not congratulate Biden and other leaders of the largest unfriendly countries.
 
Of the European leaders, Vladimir Putin only delivered New Year greetings to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, as well as Pope Francis.

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 530 soldiers, a tank, an infantry fighting vehicle and four armored personnel carriers in the Zapad battlegroup’s combat zone;
 
▪️ As a result of the actions of the Russian Sever and Dnepr battlegroups, Ukrainian forces lost up to 140 servicemen;
 
▪️ Ukrainian forces lost up to 175 servicemen in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's area of responsibility;
 
▪️ As a result of the actions of the Tsentr Battlegroup, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 420 soldiers, two tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, and a number of armored personnel carriers and Snatch armored vehicles;
 
▪️ Russian air defense systems shot down four HIMARS missiles and 65 Ukrainian drones.

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Israel considers remaining in southern Lebanon after the 60 days stipulated in the ceasefire agreement - report
 
The IDF may extend its presence in the country due to the slow deployment of the Lebanese army and the presence of a significant number of weapons and Hezbollah infrastructure, the Israel Hayom newspaper reports.

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Arrest warrant sought for South Korean president on charges of treason
 
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has requested an arrest warrant for ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law, the Korea Times reports.
 
Yoon is accused of insurrection and abuse of power, the article notes.
 
Previously, the CIO had already summoned President Yoon three times for questioning, but he failed to appear in court.

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