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☆ Russia claims capture of Ukraine's Soledar after ferocious fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian forces captured the town, long the focus of heavy fighting and bombardment, on Thursday evening, the defence ministry said. It said this would make it possible to cut off Ukrainian supply routes to the larger town of Bakhmut, to the southwest, and trap remaining Ukrainian forces there. "The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces," Moscow's defence ministry said. Prigozhin issued a premature claim earlier this week that Soledar had already fallen, and said the fighting there was exclusively being waged by his men. Ukraine says Russia is throwing wave upon wave of soldiers into a pointless fight for a bombed-out wasteland.

Share this -Link copiedMcCarthy elected speaker in 15th round McCarthy was elected House speaker Saturday shortly after midnight on the 15th ballot. Share this -Link copiedHouse reconvenes to hold 14th round of speaker votes The House has reconvened to begin the 14th round of speaker votes. Read the rest of the story, The House speaker election, in three charts. Share this -Link copiedHouse begins 13th round The House is beginning the 13th round of speaker votes. At least 14 House GOP flip to support McCarthy in twelfth speaker vote Jan. 6, 2023 01:52 Share this -Link copied

☆ U.S. announces $3.8 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, European allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced nearly $3.8 billion in security assistance for Ukraine and European allies on Friday, Washington's largest package since Russia's full-scale invasion began nearly a year ago. The $2.85 billion weapons package includes Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, armored personnel carriers, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition. New to this aid package are 50 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, armored tracked vehicles manufactured by U.S. defense firm BAE Systems . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Joe Biden for the "very powerful" security package during a video message on his official Telegram channel. For the first time, we will receive armored vehicles Bradleys, this is exactly what is needed," Zelenskyy said.

☆ U.S. announces over $3.75 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine, other countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The United States will provide more than $3.75 billion in military assistance to Ukraine and countries affected by the Russian invasion of its neighbor, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Friday. That authority allows the United States to transfer defense items like Humvees, trucks and munitions from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency. RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles, used for air defense, will also be sent to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stressed the need for better air defenses to curb Russian missile strikes that have damaged the country's energy infrastructure during winter. The United States and Germany have also pledged to send Patriot missile systems to repel Russian missile and drone attacks.

☆ Everything that could go wrong as the House speaker fight leaves the chamber leaderless
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House lawmakers are still not agreed on who will lead them. The lack of a speaker of the House has some very real consequences. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tamped down on any "significant risks" related to the delay. As we indicated above, the House can't pass its rules until it has a speaker. But House lawmakers have complained that they are unable to effectively coordinate due to their current unofficial status.

☆ US Army general retires without 'reprimand or admonishment' after spat over Tucker Carlson segment about women in the military
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Steve Beynon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"I retired honorably and without any reprimand or admonishment," Donahoe told Military.com in an interview. Military.com interviewed multiple women Donahoe frequently engaged with on Twitter, none of whom described his behavior as inappropriate. Multiple senior service officials and rank-and-file troops interviewed by Military.com blasted the Army's slow response, saying it suggested women serving at all is inherently political. "So let me be clear: I expect [Army] leaders to stand up for women — and all Soldiers — who are unduly attacked or disrespected." Related: 'The Army Gave a Hunting Permit to Radical Partisans': What a General's Bout with Fox Could Mean for Women

☆ Russia's foreign minister issues ultimatum to Ukraine to give up territory or the 'army will deal with the issue'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told Ukraine to give up territories Russia wants. He said if not, the Russian army would "deal with this issue," according to Russian news agency TASS. TASS reported that the territories Lavrov was referring to were the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Russia occupied the areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson early in the war, but Ukraine took Kherson back in November. The foreign minister made the comments after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday he was open to talks with Ukraine to end the war.

☆ Russia says 'quite old' U.S. Patriot missiles in Ukraine won't stand in its way
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington during which the Biden administration announced another $1.85 billion in military aid for Ukraine. Russia said that Ukraine acquiring Patriot missiles from the United States, announced during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, would not help settle the conflict or prevent Moscow from achieving its goals. Though the Patriot air defence system is widely regarded as advanced, President Vladimir Putin dismissed it as "quite old", telling reporters Moscow would find a way to counter it. At the same time, he said Russia wants an end to the war in Ukraine and that this would inevitably involve a diplomatic solution. The Biden administration announced another $1.85 billion in military aid for Ukraine, including a Patriot system, as Zelenskyy began his visit.

☆ North Korea Sending Arms to Russian Mercenary Group Fighting in Ukraine, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Gordon Lubold | Warren P. Strobel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A truck displaying the symbol ‘Z’ in support of Russia’s military in Ukraine parked outside a new building complex in St. Petersburg, Russia, controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who owns the Wagner Group. WASHINGTON—North Korea has sent a large arms delivery to the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary force whose influence and operations in Ukraine are growing, according to the Biden administration. North Korea last month shipped infantry rockets and missiles to the Wagner Group, which paid for the weaponry, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, said Thursday.

☆ North Korea has delivered rockets, missiles to Russian Wagner Group mercenaries for use in Ukraine, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea has delivered rockets and missiles to the Russian private military company known as the Wagner Group for use in Ukraine, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. “Today we can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for that equipment. Last month, North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner,” he said Thursday. There are likely to be more actions, like sanctions, taken against the Wagner Group in the coming days, Kirby said. After the White House said North Korea had supplied arms to the Wagner Group, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, “The U.K. supports the U.S. assessment that North Korea has completed an arms delivery to Russia for use by the Wagner Group, which paid for this equipment and has thousands of troops in Ukraine.

Share this -Link copied'It's too much for me': Zelenskyy begins speech by thanking U.S. Zelenskyy began his remarks before a joint meeting of Congress at 7:40 p.m. "I think we share the exact same vision, that of a free, independent and prosperous Ukraine," Biden said. The Ukrainian president added that the soldier told him that "many (of) his brothers, this system saved." President Joe Biden holds a medal presented to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Share this -Link copiedPhoto: Zelenskyy shakes hands with Biden as he arrives President Joe Biden welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House.

Some hardline Republicans have even urged an end to aid and an audit to trace how allocated money has been spent. The world is too interconnected to allow any country to stand aside and feel safe, Zelenskiy said as he appealed for bipartisan support. The United States also announced another $1.85 billion in military aid for Ukraine, including a Patriot air defence system to help it ward off barrages of Russian missiles. "We would like to get more Patriots ... we are in war," Zelenskiy told reporters at the White House. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington was seeing no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to engage in peacemaking.

☆ Peru declares Mexican ambassador in Lima persona non grata
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Biden to travel to Mexico City to meet with leaders of Mexico, Canada on Jan 9-10, article with imageAmericas category · December 20, 2022President Joe Biden will to travel to Mexico City on January 9 for a two-day trip where he will meet with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a call with reporters on Tuesday.

[1/2] People line up at a makeshift fever clinic set up inside a stadium, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China December 19, 2022. "We stand ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, anything else that we can be helpful with," he said. "We want China to get COVID right," Blinken said earlier this month. “China faces a very challenging system in reopening,” Powell said, adding that its manufacturing, exporting and supply chain remain critical. Officials set up health centers and apps that told people with symptoms how to avoid infecting others, he said.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzWASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden met Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso on Monday to discuss efforts to stem the flow of migrants to the United States as the White House faces increased pressure over its immigration policies. Together we've made historic strides on migration," Biden told reporters. "We have talked about migration and migration as a consequence of the economic problems of many countries in Latin America. Lasso visited the White House after former U.S.

☆ Beijing touts institutional advantages in fight against COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that China has "institutional advantages" to fight COVID after the United States said it could help with a surge of infections if Beijing requests assistance. Wang made the remarks in response to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby saying on Wednesday that the United States was prepared to help China deal with ongoing waves of COVID-19 infections if Beijing requested assistance. "We have institutional advantages, we will certainly be able to smoothly get through the peak of the epidemic," Wang told a regular news briefing. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/7] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers keynote remarks at a U.S.-Africa Business forum at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, U.S., December 14, 2022. "The United States is 'all in' on Africa's future," Biden told African leaders attending a three-day summit in Washington. Beijing has held its own high-level meetings with African leaders every three years for more than two decades. For their part, many African leaders reject the idea that they need to choose between the United States and China. "The fact that both countries have different levels of relations with African countries makes them equally important for Africa's development," Ethiopia's U.N. ambassador, Taye Atske Selassie Amde, told Reuters.

☆ U.S. ready to help China on COVID-19 surge if Beijing asks - White House
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to help China deal with a surge of COVID-19 infections if Beijing requests assistance, the White House said on Wednesday. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that China has not requested help at this stage. "We have made that point that we are prepared to help in any way they might find acceptable. China began shifting away from the "zero COVID" policy just this month, after protests against the economically-damaging curbs that had been championed by President Xi Jinping. The change has spurred concerns about a surge in COVID cases.

☆ ‘I want to talk’: Brittney Griner opened up during her long trip home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner didn’t want any alone time as soon as she boarded a U.S. government plane that would bring her home. I want to talk,” Griner said, according to Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who helped secure the basketball star’s release and bring her back to the U.S. last week. “It was really amazing.”Ultimately, Griner spent about 12 hours of an 18-hour flight talking with others on the plane, Carstens said. The U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected. But the U.S. was unable to secure the freedom of Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia for nearly four years.

Russia and Ukraine are not currently engaged in talks to end the fighting, which is raging in the east and south and reached Kyiv again on Wednesday. Zelenskiy said this week Russia should start withdrawing by Christmas as a step to end the conflict, Europe's biggest since World War Two. Moscow rejected the proposal outright, saying Ukraine must accept the loss of territory to Russia before any progress can be made. [1/5] Rescuers and police officers examine parts of the drone at the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack, as their attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 14, 2022. DRONES STRIKE KYIVViolence returned to Kyiv, with the first major drone attack on Ukraine's capital in weeks.

☆ Brittney Griner is 'getting appropriate mental health care' in Texas for 'reintegration back into American society,' White House says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Brittney Griner is getting mental healthcare at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. A White House official said Griner is working on her "reintegration back into American society." Griner was serving a 9-year sentence in Russia until the US agreed to a prisoner swap last week. After nine months in Russian custody, Griner touched down in San Antonio, Texas early Friday morning. Griner was detained in Moscow in February after officials said she had cannabis oil in her luggage.

☆ Despite GOP criticism of the prisoner swap that freed Brittney Griner, Fiona Hill said Trump was 'not particularly interested' in freeing Paul Whelan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Critics, including Trump, asked why Brittney Griner was freed while Paul Whelan remains jailed. Hill said Trump wasn't "particularly interested in Paul [Whelan]'s case" while in office. "If I made that deal the Dems would chant, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA!" "I also have to say here that President Trump wasn't especially interested in engaging in that swap for Paul Whelan," Hill said. However, she added, Whelan, Griner, and Reed were all caught up in what she called "political games" while doing things that "seemed completely ordinary."

He was interviewed by Maria Butina, a Russian gun-rights enthusiast-turned TV personality who now works for the network. Viktor Bout arrives at Westchester County Airport November 16, 2010 in White Plains, New York. When asked if he had a portrait of President Vladimir Putin in his prison cell, Bout said: “Yes, always. Griner, 32, returned to the United States early Friday after being released from custody in an exchange for an international arms dealer. The families of Griner and Whelan had urged the White House to secure their release, including via prisoner exchange if necessary.

☆ 5 key takeaways from Xi’s trip to Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Here are five key takeaways from Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Press Agency//ReutersDuring Xi’s visit, Saudi Arabia and China released a nearly 4,000-word joint statement outlining their alignment on a swathe of political issues, and promising deeper cooperation on scores of others. China is the world’s biggest buyer of oil, with Saudi Arabia being its top supplier. China is also keen to cooperate with Saudi Arabia on security and defense, an important field once reserved for the kingdom’s American ally. Saudi Arabia was, however, keen to reject notions of polarization, deeming it unhelpful.

☆ Russia and Iran exploring joint production of lethal drones, says US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia and Iran are exploring the joint production of lethal drones, NBC News reported. Russia launched fresh attacks on Ukraine on Saturday using Iranian-made drones, per reports. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine on Saturday morning using Iranian-made drones. Russia attacks Ukraine with drones ReutersThe UK's ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, said on Friday that Iran had transferred hundreds of drones to Russia since August, per The Guardian. On Tuesday, an unnamed Western official said that Moscow appeared to be running out of Iranian-made drones, but ABC News reported that it anticipated a "resupply."

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