Wuhan Lab 'Leak' Yarn Returns: How US Reporter Pours Gasoline Into Washington's War Machine

The US Energy Department has claimed that the COVID pandemic most likely stemmed from a laboratory leak, the Wall Street Journal broke on Sunday, citing a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and US lawmakers.

"It is becoming clearer by the day that the government of the United States has become so delusional with its own lies that it is becoming violent against anyone exposing them," Scott Bennett, former US Army psychological warfare officer and US State Department counterterrorism analyst, told Sputnik.

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⚡️ US Treasury Secretary Yellen reportedly arrives in Kiev to meet Zelensky

John Ross, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, joins us to discuss US attempts to destabilize China, drawing parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan

🎧Listen to more of Ross’s views in our podcast By Any Means Necessary: Where Does the Movement Go From Here

📹 Footage from the meeting between the US Treasury secretary and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

❗️ During a surprise visit by the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen told Zelensky that the first transfer of $1.25 billion of the $9.9 billion in US budgetary support would be made during the first three quarters of 2023.

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📹 In French cities, as well as in Milan, Genoa and Girona, over the weekend, on the initiative of the StopKillingDonbass movement, actions were held in support of the population of Donbass and against the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

🇫🇷 In France, protesters gathered in Roanne and Versailles in front of the buildings of the military company Nexter, which also produces Caesar howitzers, which Paris supplies to Kiev.

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📹 Combat work of the crews of the T-90M Proryv (Breakthrough) tanks at the front in the special operation zone (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

💥 The crews of the modernized T-90M Proryv strike at the water crossing, manpower and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Reconnaissance groups transmit the coordinates of the camouflaged targets of Ukrainian nationalists to tank crews.

📌 Adjustment of fire is carried out from drones.

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'Made in Russia' Chocolate, Oatmeal, Sauces Bound for Asia and Middle East

Russian exporters held about 500 B2B meetings with partners from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and other countries of Asia and the Middle East at the Gulfood 2023 event. The export potential of the deals negotiated at the 'Made in Russia' stand organized by the Russian Export Center (REC, part of the VEB.RF) exceeded $36.9 million, the center said.

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Brits Face Rising Household Bills Even as Watchdog Lowers Price Cap

Europhile Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt signalled a return to austerity when he was brought back into government in October during Liz Truss' short-lived stint as PM. He now plans a £500 cut to her Energy Price Guarantee scheme.

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What led to the current situation in Ukraine? Brian Becker, host of the Socialist Program, joined us to discuss the reasons behind Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and how the conflict could have been avoided

💬“…and at the same time, the US not only didn't listen and didn't negotiate, but actually started pouring in billions of dollars of additional heavy weaponry into Ukraine.”

🎧Listen to more of Becker’s views in our podcast By Any Means Necessary: Where Does the Movement Go From Here

🔺More saber-rattling: Zelensky claims Ukraine is preparing to attack Crimea
🔺Anti-war protests erupt in Europe: protesters demand the West stops arming Ukraine
🔺What lies behind the US call to vote in the elections in Nigeria?

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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⚽ Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has won FIFA's best men's player award

Earthquake Damage in Turkiye Estimated to Exceed $34 Billion

The two recent massive earthquakes in Turkiye caused around $34.2 billion in direct damages, and the costs of reconstruction could potentially be twice as large, the World Bank said in a new assessment on Monday.

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France's 'Unprecedented' War Games Underway as Paris Builds Up Military Might

More than 7,000 soldiers are currently taking part in France’s biggest military exercise in decades, which is dubbed Orion 23 and is scheduled to be wrapped up in May.

Apart from French soldiers, troops from the US, the UK and Spain are involved in the drills that will simulate parachute operations and amphibious landings along the Mediterranean coast.

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📹 Combat work of the crew of the Zoopark artillery reconnaissance complex (video by Russian MoD)

The uniqueness of the special machine lies in the fact that at a safe distance, specialists are able to detect a flying enemy projectile, a mine, a rocket, and even a shot from a tank gun. In two seconds, the complex calculates the reverse flight path with an accuracy of several meters, determining the coordinates of the place where the ammunition was fired from.

📌 The received coordinates are transmitted to the crews of multiple launch rocket systems, which immediately open fire on the enemy.

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Diplomacy Instead of Arming Ukraine: How Peace Movement is Scaling Up in Europe

A wave of anti-war protests has swept through Europe last weekend. Thousands of demonstrators in Germany, France and Italy rallied against arms supplies to Ukraine, warning that the NATO-fanned military escalation is fraught with the risk of sparking World War III.

"Sentiments in European societies about the conflict in Ukraine should be measured in terms of penetration of cognitive warfare," Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels, told Sputnik. "The powerful US machine has compacted two-thirds of the sentiment on the idea that the war will end only with a Ukrainian victory."

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Shaken, With a 'Sweet Tang of Rape': James Bond Novels Rewritten at Publisher's Behest

Ian Fleming’s novels about the adventures of probably the most famous fictional spy in the world, 007 James Bond, have been rewritten to take modern sensitivities into account, a British newspaper has reported.

This revelation comes as the Bond novels are expected to be reissued in April on the anniversary of the release of Casino Royale, the first book of the series.

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Over 3,000 Sign Petition Against Ukraine Church Persecution

Over 3,000 individuals and entities, including Orthodox religious institutions across the world and US lawmakers, have signed a petition urging western religious, education and other organizations to condemn Kiev's persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The list of petitioners includes the Moscow Patriarchate, Constantinople Patriarchate, Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Patriarchate of Antioch, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, Orthodox Church in America, along with other Christian churches and jurisdictions in North America and other countries.

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US Uncovers Over 3,800 Cases of Child Worker Abuse, Launches Crackdown

The Biden administration is responding to the burgeoning problem of child labor exploitation, especially of migrant children, with tougher new measures designed to punish violators after discovering thousands of cases of abuse, the Labor Department said in a press release.

"In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of labor laws," the release said on Monday.

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NATO & Fruitless Talks: West Could Have Sat Down at Negotiating Table Long Ago If It Wanted - Peskov

The West could have sat down at the negotiating table on security long ago if it wanted to, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a recent interview with the Izvestia daily, underscoring that while the talks would have been difficult, Western countries have refused to do so.

"The situation has changed radically. Even when the president, before deciding to start the special military operation, formulated draft security treaties that were sent to Washington, Brussels and Vienna, and when we, in fact, heard that they were not ready to talk about anything with us," Peskov said.

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US Must Reconsider Anti-Russian Policy to Return to Full-Scale New START, Envoy Says

For a return to the full-scale operation of the New START Treaty, the United States must reconsider its aggressive anti-Russian policy, Russia's Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

"To create the conditions for a return to full-scale operation of New START, Washington must reconsider its hostile anti-Russian policy. So far we see exactly the opposite: the United States is not ready even for symbolic positive gestures," Antonov told reporters.

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New Report Adds Credence to Theory That CIA Gave Info Leading to Nelson Mandela’s Arrest

In 1962, when Nelson Mandela was arrested by South African police shortly after returning to the country, it led many to speculate that the CIA may have been involved in helping the South African police find the then-controversial revolutionary.

Richard Stengel, a former editor for TIME and the author of Mandela’s Way and a podcast chronicling his conversations with the future South African president noscriptd Mandela: The Lost Tapes, wrote an article on Monday outlining the evidence supporting the theory so far and a few more tidbits that add more credence.

Classified CIA documents released in 2017 but not reported on until Stengel’s article on Monday, confirm the CIA thought the African National Congress (ANC), of which Mandela was a part of, was “communist-dominated” and dubbed Mandela a “probable communist.” Another declassified document hints the CIA was monitoring his movements outside of South Africa.

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