🇷🇸 Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Western officials, in conversations with him, admitted involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

▪️ Speaking on Serbian TV channel, Vucic said that due to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, conversations with Western representatives have become more demanding and tough, including on the settlement in Kosovo.

🗣 "I was told: 'We have a war under way in Europe, we are participating, though we don't say it.' And they say that we [Belgrade] will lose a lot or everything unless we behave properly," he said.

▪️Vucic said Western officials announced a possible termination of investment in Serbia, withdrawal of already invested capital, shutdown of enterprises and suspension of its European integration if Belgrade remains intractable.

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The number of child suicides in Japan in 2022 is likely to have reached a record high, having exceeded 500 cases for the first time in Japan's history, Japanese broadcaster reported on Tuesday, citing government figures.

▪️ The broadcaster cited the Japanese Health Ministry as saying that 512 students killed themselves in 2022, up 39 incidents compared to the previous year. Poor academic performance, entry exams, and worries about their future were among the main reasons for child suicides in the past year.

▪️ According to the report, among those students who committed suicide last year, 352 were in senior high school (up 38 compared to 2021), 143 were in junior high (down five compared to the past year), and 17 were in elementary school (up six students).

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Danes Lose Public Holiday For First Time in 250 Years Over Military Spending

Danes will work an extra day as the coalition government led by the Social Democrats decided to abolish the historic Great Prayer Day public holiday despite widespread discontent and protests.

Public holidays in Denmark were last abolished in 1770 when the nation faced somewhat similar fiscal issues and the Danish state coffers badly needed more money. Today, however, the state's meddling in the realms of holidays and pay was met with political resistance and called "startling and controversial" by experts.

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China Blasts TikTok Ban, Says Push Shows US Insecurities Over 'Young People's Favorite App'

The US ban on TikTok on federal government devices is a sign that Washington is insecure in its position in the world, says Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok as a "national security threat," a move that was decried by democratic critics as a dangerous step for free-speech. TikTok sold portions of its US branch to American companies to prevent the ban.

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PSG President Investigated Over Alleged Kidnap & Torture Plot in Qatar, Reports Say

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi is being investigated over the alleged "kidnapping and torture" of Franco-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane in Qatar, the allegations were sparked by documents containing "sensitive information" about the business aspects of the 2022 World Cup.

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📹 Biden's battle with teleprompter at Virginia event doesn't always end in president's favor

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Russian troops defeated a Ukrainian unit near Artemovsk in the DPR, named after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the commander of the assault unit told Sputnik. He showed the trophy his unit took away from the battles.

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Greta Thunberg and environmental activists continue blocking government buildings in Oslo, with the protest ongoing for several days. According to local media, the police took Thunberg away, while several other people were arrested.

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🇷🇺Russia's top diplomat seemed to be in an upbeat mood this morning when meeting with his Indian colleague Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

ℹ️Moscow and New Delhi both take part in G20, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Russia-India-China format.

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❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️The Russian Army has thwarted a massive drone attack on Crimea by Ukrainian forces, 6 UAVs shot down, four more disabled via electronic warfare;

▪️Russian troops eliminated to 90 Ukrainian servicemen and destroyed three pickup trucks and one D-30 howitzer in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Ukrainian losses in the Krasniy Liman direction amounted to more than 150 servicemen, with four armored fighting vehicles as well as Msta-B and D-30 howitzers destroyed;

▪️Russian forces eliminated up to 190 Ukrainian servicemen, destroyed two armored fighting vehicles, 16 motor vehicles, as well as two D-30 and one D-20 howitzers in the Donetsk direction;

▪️A Ukrainian ammunition depot was destroyed near Ochertino in the DPR, and another one was destroyed near Aleksandrovka in the Kherson region;

▪️Ukrainian losses in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions amounted up to 80 servicemen, with one tank, four armored fighting vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer destroyed.

▪️Russian troops eliminated up to 85 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, three armored fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, and two Akatsia self-propelled howitzers in the Kherson direction.

▪️The Russian Air Force shot down a Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft near Druzhkovka in the DPR.

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down 15 Ukrainian UAVs.

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Peruvian Man Caught Carrying Ancient Mummy in Delivery Bag

A young man in Peru has been caught carrying around a mummy wrapped in his saddle bag. Police officers were carrying out a routine check when they found that the 26-year-old man's thermal bag bearing the name of a Latin American food delivery app, contained a mummy estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old.

The man told police that “Juanita” was his "spiritual girlfriend” whom he would occasionally take out to show his friends in the neighborhood. “At home, she’s in my room, she sleeps with me. I take care of her,” he was reported as saying.

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📹 Footage of a FPV kamikaze UAV called Boomerang in action has been unveiled by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In the drone world, FPV stands for “first-person view” and it means that the pilot can see what the drone sees. An FPV drone is easier to control, than a conventional one, and is able to follow a route or chase a target at speed up to 170 km/h.

In addition, the Boomerang drone has no satellite communication, so anti-drone guns are powerless against it.

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