🗣️ On the prospects of the Ukrainian counteroffensive:

“The political clock is running down. We have elections coming in the United States, from the autumn that will become the major priority. We have elections coming in Britain and of course, as the elections start-up in Britain, we may be very fervently supporting Ukraine in this war. But nonetheless, domestic issues will begin to become more important and elections anyway can throw up all kinds of unpredictable elements… So there are these political factors that are playing in,” Alexander Mercouris, writer and international affairs analyst, host of The Duran on Youtube, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of Mercouris’ analysis in our podcast New Rules

👉 Watch the full episode of our show on YouTube or Rumble

🇬🇧🪖British army may start recruiting autistic people

Some neurodivergent individuals, such as those with dyslexia and dyspraxia, already serve in the armed forces, but British military official Andrew Murrison said he wanted to look into recruiting more personnel with autism, Asperger's, and ADHD, who may "have skills and attributes that other people do not have."

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🇷🇺🇳🇪 Russian flags flying high in Niger following new leadership’s takeover

Fabric sellers in Niger say they’ve been flooded with a multitude of orders for the colors of the Russian and Nigerien flags.

Various experts attribute the phenomenon of locals seeking out Russian flags to a revival of pro-Russian and pro-Soviet sentiments in Africa, with the Russian Federation being seen as a viable alternative to the West.

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🇺🇸 F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots barely getting off the runway

The White House confirmed in mid-July that it would allow European allies to start training Ukraine’s pilots to fly American-made F-16 fighter jets and would “provide the necessary tools for Ukrainians to begin the training “as soon as Europeans are prepared."

Kiev might be clamoring for American-made F-16s amid its faltering counteroffensive, but the first Ukrainian pilots to undergo training on the fighter jets most likely will not be ready to fly them until next summer, according to a US report.

👉​Follow the link for more details

🇷🇺🛠 Rugged Russian ingenuity: Repair units adapt mortar shell to be fired by RPG launcher

Nazim, a commander of a Russian repair squad, says the adapter allows the grenade launcher to be turned into a small handheld mortar.

Take a look!

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YouTube terminated the channel of Scott Ritter, a former American intelligence officer

#SputnikInfographic 🇷🇺 The Russian Lancet drone is considered one of the main threats to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. UAVs (drones) from the Russian Kalashnikov arms have shown high efficiency in the zone of a special military operation, which was the reason Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an increase in their production.

📊 Take a look at the Sputnik's infographic showing the main characteristics of the drone

🇳🇪 West's concern for 'democracy' in Niger masks 'lust' for uranium

Regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened Niger with invasion to overthrow the new military leadership on behalf of Paris and Washington. But author and historian Dr Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, Texas, said the US and NATO were too tied up in Ukraine to credibly threaten the West African country directly.

Western leaders' stated fears for democracy in Niger hide their true "lust" for the West African nation's resources, says a US historian.

👉 Follow the link for more details

🇺🇸⚖️ US Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced the appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation who will also provide a public report explaining the decision on whether to prosecute him once the probe is completed.

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🇳🇪 African Union backs up ECOWAS resolutions on Niger

🗣 "The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, expresses his strong support for the decisions adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on anti-constitutional change in Niger," a communique issued by the union read

The chairperson also called on the military leadership in Niger "to urgently halt the escalation of relations with the regional organization ECOWAS, including the cessation of the continued sequestration of President Bazoum in worryingly poor conditions"

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🇷🇺🇺🇳 Russia has requested an open meeting of the UN Security Council over the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine on August 17 - acting permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the UN

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🇨🇳🛢🇸🇦China's demand for Saudi oil primed to surge despite global output cuts

Purchases of Saudi crude are about to grow in September compared to August, with Saudi Aramco supplying additional term cargoes to refiners such as China's Rongsheng Petrochemical and other customers in Asia.

China is prepped to accept the delivery of almost 40 percent extra crude oil from Saudi Arabia in the upcoming month as a large Chinese oil refinery commences intake of more oil under a recently negotiated deal.

👉 Follow the link for more details

🇷🇺⚔️ Kupyansk clashes: Ukraine forces face encirclement amid Russian advance

Russian forces have advanced to within less than 7 km of Kupyansk, a Kharkov region town helping hold Ukrainian defensive lines together. What’s the area’s strategic significance? And what would its loss mean for Ukraine militarily?

Sputnik reached out to veteran Russian military intelligence officer Anatoliy Matviychuk for his assessment.

#SputnikInfographic 📊BRICS unites the world's largest developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and a number of other countries intend to join the economic bloc.

🖼Check out Sputnik's infographic to find out which nations expressed a desire to join BRICS

#SputnikInfographic 🇳🇪After the military takeover in Niger, there has been a lot of discussion around the world about a possible military intervention in the country. But what chances of success would such a venture have?

📊 Take a look at Sputnik's infographic showing Niger's military capacity in the face of a potential invasion

🇺🇸💳📈 White House denies reality as US citizens' credit card debt tops $1 trillion

Americans are up to their necks in more debt than ever. Aquiles Larrea, CEO of Larrea Wealth Management, and Todd 'Bubba' Horwitz, chief market strategist at BubbaTrading. com, linked that to the real inflation rate felt by consumers.

Record-high consumer debt belies the Biden administration's claims to have tamed inflation, two market experts say.

👉Follow the link for more details

🇵🇱 What is Poland's role in Ukraine and could Warsaw go through with plans to invade?

Russian officials have expressed growing concern about suspected plans by Poland to seize western Ukraine, either to turn it into a NATO protectorate or outright annex it. What are the chances of this happening? What’s the current state of Polish-Ukrainian relations? And how has Poland been affected by the Ukrainian crisis?

👉Sputnik explains

🇺🇸💵 Corruption case: Did Joe Biden benefit from Hunter's cash bonanza?

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has identified over $20 million in payments from foreign sources to the Biden family. Does the expose cast a shadow on President Joe Biden?

House GOP investigators released a third bank records memorandum as part of their investigation into the family of President Joe Biden on August 9.

The memorandum indicated that during Joe Biden's vice presidency, his family collected over $20 million from Ukrainian, Kazakh, Chinese, Russian, and Romanian nationals in exchange for protection, assistance, and access to the then-veep. According to the investigators, Joe Biden's son, Hunter, was selling the family "brand" for top dollar.

👉 Follow the link for more details

🇺🇸🇨🇳Biden's China 'ticking bomb' remark shifts attention from US economic woes

Biden threw into doubt China's ability to prosper on Thursday by saying that the nation was "in trouble", during his speech at a political fundraiser in Park City, Utah, adding that 'China was growing at 8% a year to maintain growth, but now close to 2% a year."

However, in reality, in the second quarter of 2023, the Chinese economy expanded by 6.3% year-on-year, showing faster growth compared to the 4.5% recorded in the first quarter.

👉 Follow the link for more details

🧦 AI-Powered ‘Smart' socks give hope to dementia patients

Looking not much different from ordinary hosiery and even machine-washable, these socks are able to track heart rate, sweat levels, and the movement of individuals who wear them, according to researchers from the University of Exeter, UK. The caregivers can access a patient's metrics on a special app.

The “SmartSocks,” as they have been named, would alert caregivers to any distress experienced by people suffering from such a condition.

According to their creators, socks can recognize early telltale signs of distress, alert caregivers of an increased risk of agitation, and do not need recharging.

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🇭🇺🇹🇷 Orban and Erdogan to hold Hungary-Turkiye meeting on August 20 in Budapest

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a visit to Budapest on August 20 to hold a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and discuss security, defense industry, and economic issues, Orban's spokesman Bertalan Havasi said on Friday.

Turkey and Hungary are preparing for a regular meeting of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council that will take place in Budapest late in 2023, the report said.

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