News From Sputnik, Page 988

Deepfake Voice Recording Fools Quarter of People – Study

A group of researchers at University College London (UCL) has found that people are experiencing more and more difficulty distinguishing between human and machine interlocutors when talking on the phone.

Macron Rejects Ex-French Economy Minister Breton as Possible EU Commission Head

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – French President Emmanuel Macron does not want to see European Commissioner for Internal Market and former French Economy Minister Thierry Breton as the new European Commission president, an American newspaper reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Raging Canadian Wildfires Account for 25% of Global Carbon Pollution

Worldwide, record-high temperatures have been shattered this year and the planet recently experienced its hottest days in the last 120,000 years.

Fitch Downgrade of US Credit Rating Is ‘Historic Failure of Leadership’ – Senator

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Fitch Ratings reduced the credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+ earlier this week, citing debt issues that jeopardize the American economy.

China Seeks to Limit Children to 2 Hours on Cell Phones Per Day

China’s top internet regulator has proposed a new rule that would limit the amount of time minors can spend on cell phones each day.

Trump Indictments Will Give Him Campaign Platform

TV and radio personality and author Edward Woodson and Mitch Roschelle, media commentator and thought leader, argued that the charges against the 45th president were purely political and could even favor the presumed Republican candidate.

Atomic Partnership: Russia Delivers Nuclear Reactor to Chinese Power Plant

Russia has successfully delivered a nuclear reactor vessel and other equipment for Unit 7 of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in China, Atomstroyexport JSC representatives told Sputnik on Thursday.

Ukraine Using Colorful Toy-like Bombs to Kill Civilians as West Runs Out of Ammo

When it comes to the use of artillery and missiles, Ukraine’s strategy has baffled Western and Russian observers alike, with troops expending precious and dwindling stocks of NATO-caliber ammunition to terror bomb civilians in the Donbass. Now, the Ukrainian military appears to have found a low cost, barbaric workaround.

UK Orchestrated ICC Arrest Warrant Against Putin – Moscow

Bank of England Raises UK Interest Rate to Fresh 15-Year High of 5.25%

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Bank of England said on Thursday that it had decided to raise its base interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, the highest figure since 2008.

US Credit Downgrade Signals ‘Great Global Shift to Multipolar World Order’

US markets posted major losses Wednesday on news of Fitch’s decision to downgrade the US’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ on expectations of a “fiscal deterioration” in the nation’s finances and a growing debt burden. Sputnik reached out to economists and finance experts for insights into what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Russia Counterattacks in Donetsk Direction, Ukraine Lost up to 380 Soldiers

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian forces have engaged in counterattacks in the Donetsk direction where the Ukrainian military lost up to 380 soldiers in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

China Enlists Public Support to Promote Private Sector Investment

China’s latest policy thrust serves to put private and government-owned companies on an equal footing and to infuse confidence and encourage robust investment opportunities in the private sector.

This Pre-Historic Whale May Have Been The Heaviest Animal Ever

Whales are marine mammals belonging to the infraorder Cetacea. They are massive creatures with impressive diving and vocalization skills. They have a unique feeding and communication system and can live for over a hundred years.

Thai Prime Minister Election Postponed Until After Court’s Decision

BANGKOK (Sputnik) – Another round of the election for next prime minister of Thailand, scheduled for August 4, was postponed and may take place in mid-August, Thai Parliament Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said on Thursday.

Is Biden Preparing to Dump Ukraine For Taiwan?

US President Joe Biden is reportedly seeking congressional approval for financing military aid for Taiwan as part of the supplemental budget for Ukraine. What’s behind the move?

Kremlin Aware of Kiev’s Involvement in Crimean Bridge Attacks

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has always been aware of Kiev’s involvement in the attacks on the Crimean bridge, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, commenting on statements by Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

US Conducts First Ever Live Firing of ATACMS Missile in Australia – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The US military test-fired an MGM-140 ATACMS long-range tactical surface-to-surface ballistic missile for the first time in Australia during the Talisman Sabre 2023 exercise in late July, the Australian Defence Magazine reported on Thursday.

Iran Launches Surprise Military Drills in Persian Gulf

Naval forces of the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday launched surprise military drills in the Persian Gulf.

Ireland Will Not Follow Sweden and Finland’s Route to NATO

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Discussions of Ireland possibly joining NATO were sparked by an alleged sighting of Russian ships close to Ireland’s north-west and south-west coastline in March. Some view the security consultations that followed the incident as an attempt to push Ireland into the alliance.

Donbass Official Reports Dwindling Deliveries of Western Military Equipment to Ukraine

The US and its allies have given Ukraine close to $100 billion in weapons, military equipment and ammunition over the past 18 months – more than what Russia spends on defense in a whole year. The support has not helped Ukraine’s military punch through Russian defensive lines, with some NATO officials openly starting to blame […]

Watch Syrian Special Forces, Russian Air Power Conduct Massive Nighttime Drills

The first-of-their-kind exercises come amid escalating regional tensions and the scaling up of the illegal US military presence in and around Syria, whose government Washington has failed to sanction into submission after a decade-long CIA dirty war.

Russian Air Defense Forces Shot Down 6 Drones in Kaluga Region – MoD

Russia (Sputnik) – Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine tried to attack facilities in Moscow and the Moscow Region with three drones, two were destroyed by air defenses over the Odintsovo and Naro-Fominsk districts, one was suppressed by electronic warfare systems and crashed into a tower of the Moscow-City business center.

France Moves to Block US Buyout of Reactor Parts Supplier Amid Covert Energy War

France is one of the few countries in Europe that hasn’t plunged into an energy crisis amid the West’s “economic total war” against Russia thanks to its nuclear power plants, which provide it with up to 70 percent of its electricity. But the recent military takeover in Niger, plus tensions with Moscow, threaten to deprive […]

China’s Rare Earth Metals Ban Hits US Chip Trade Restrictions Where It Hurts

Peter Arkell, chairman of the Global Mining Association of China who has been running a consulting business in the PRC for almost 20 years, said that Beijing’s restrictions on the export of rare earth metals were a predictable response to Washington’s trade war.