‼️ Five strong explosions heard in Kherson ➡️ LIVE UPDATES

Five powerful explosions were heard in Kherson, presumably, the air defense systems of the Russian Armed Forces were activated, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

No traces of air defense missiles are visible in the sky, but the sounds of at least five strong explosions were heard shortly after Sunday midnight.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🌐 Comcast says 2-gig speeds are rolling out now to ‘millions’

Comcast plans on bringing multi-gig internet speeds to 34 cities across the US by the end of this year, and will later expand its reach to more than 50 million households by the end of 2025.

According to a press release, the company has already started rolling out 2-gig speeds over its broadband network in Colorado Springs, CO; Augusta, GA; Panama City Beach, FL; and Philadelphia, PA.

Customers in these cities will also get to take advantage of upload speeds that Comcast says are five to 10 times faster than what it currently offers.  The company is currently in the process of transitioning to the new standard and achieved 4Gbps upload and download speeds during a test in January.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Unions blast rail move to delay shipments before deadline

The heads of the nation’s two largest rail unions said Sunday that the freight railroads’ move to begin delaying some shipments ahead of this week’s looming strike deadline is only an attempt to get shippers to increase the pressure on Congress to intervene and block a work stoppage by imposing a contract on workers.

Five of the 12 railroad unions that together represent 115,000 workers had already reached tentative agreements  that will deliver 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses over a five-year contract that’s retroactive to 2020.

The Association of American Railroads trade group put out a report last week estimating that the economy would take a $2 billion a day hit if the trains stop moving and passenger traffic would be disrupted nationwide.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

A recession in Europe, caused by a reduction in Russian gas supplies, could be beneficial for the US; however, the US will suffer if Moscow refuses to export oil, the Washington Post reports, citing sources.

The impact on the United States from a European recession would probably be "modest and manageable," since trade with Europe accounts for less than 1% of the US GDP, a senior administration official told the newspaper on condition of anonymity, referring to estimates from the US Treasury Department and Council of Economic Advisers.

Despite gaining from a recession in Europe, the US could suffer should Russia decide to stop oil exports completely, the newspaper warned.

🗯"If Europe plunges into a depression after Russia shuts off energy exports and oil rises to $150 a barrel - there’s a possible impact to the US there that’s really bad," Matthew J. Slaughter, an economist at Dartmouth College, told the outlet.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Buckingham Palace invited only US President Joe Biden and his wife to the funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II, without inviting the American leader to come with a delegation, CNN reported, citing an unnamed representative of the White House.

▪️According to the source, the palace sent an invitation "only to the (US) President and the first lady," due to the full occupancy of the event.

▪️However, in the past, US presidents were invited to attend state funerals with a delegation, including the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013).

⚡️Two people shot dead in Marseille, France, Police say

📊🇯🇵The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet has plunged to 41%, while the disapproval rating reached 48% for the first time ever for Japan's current government, Asahi newspaper reports, citing data from a public opinion poll.

▪️The fall in the government's approval reflects its unpopular decision to hold a state funeral for late former prime minister Abe at the state's expense, as well as the revelation of connections between politicians and deputies from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church, whose members are commonly known as 'Moonies'.

▪️Criticism of the church appeared following reports that the murder suspect felt that his life had been ruined because the Unification Church had taken all the family’s money through his mother’s donations.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Kherson and the Kherson region are not in danger; the Russian Army has built protective lines around the perimeter of the region, the deputy head of the regional administration says.

❗️Dmitry Medvedev compared the current negotiating position of the Russian Federation on Ukraine with a child's warm-up, adding that in the future it would demand the total surrender of the Kiev regime

❗️Russia’s FSB announced they have prevented a series of terrorist attacks aimed at the civil and military administration officials of the Kherson region and the Republic of Crimea

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹The Russian MoD has published footage showing Su-35 fighters in combat action

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

"There are some injured, a man from the apartment number 2. He was wounded in today's shelling."

A woman from the DPR, showing shell fragments, speaks about the Ukrainian Army's destructive bombardment