🤔 After the introduction of anti-Russia sanctions last year, Western media predicted the "collapse" of the Russian economy. However, non-Western nations, mainly India and China, not only continued — but even increased oil purchases from Russia.

📈See for yourselves in our infographic how India's purchases of Russian crude surged dramatically despite Western hysteria.

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⚡️ Turkiye decides to start ratification progress for Finland’s accession to NATO, Erdogan says

Norwegian Oil Giant Pockets Fivefold Profits, Accused of Profiteering

The state-owned company Petoro, which manages the government's directly owned shares in Norwegian oil and gas operations, released a fresh annual report, posting a colossal revenue of NOK 528 billion (nearly $50 billion), five times greater than the yearly average.

Countries ranging from Germany and Poland to Brussels itself, have lambasted Norway's oil behemoth for supposedly profiteering, as European nations labor under the twin burdens of a cost of living crisis driven by rocketing energy prices and inflation. Poland has even urged Norway to share its "excess, gigantic" profit with Ukraine, accusing Oslo of indirectly "preying" on the conflict - a thought shared by some guilt-ridden Norwegians.

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Shoigu Nominates Pilots Involved in MQ-9 Reaper Drone Intercept for State Awards

"Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu has put forward for state awards the Su-27 jet pilots, who prevented an American MQ-9 drone from violating the boundaries of the area of temporary airspace use, established for the special military operation," the ministry said in a statement.

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❗️Moscow lambasts ICC arrest order against President Putin as null and void

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday stressed that the court's ruling has no legal significance, dismissing it as completely meaningless.

"The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no significance for our country, including from a legal point of view," Zakharova said on Telegram.

"Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations under it. Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible "recipes" for arrest coming from the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us," she stressed.

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Margaret Kimberley, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents,” joined us to discuss the system of capitalism

🎧Listen to more of Kimberley analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

Dmitry Medvedev has on social media illustrated the "significance" of the decision of the International Criminal Court.

US Silicon Valley Bank's Former Holding Company Says Filed for Bankruptcy Protection

First Republic Bank, a medium-size private lender, received a $30 billion cash infusion from a group of large US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, among others.

The move comes amid fears of a contagion effect after the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. First Republic's share price had plunged nearly 70 percent, leaving investors jittery that the lender might be next in line to face a bank run, and about 70 percent of its deposits are uninsured, which is the third highest after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

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Independent journalist, researcher with CODEPINK, and author Nicolas Davies joined us to discuss the US attempts to hold its dominant position while China is gaining strength

🎧Listen to more of Davies’ analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

📹 Russian Giatsint-B 152mm towed howitzers in action in the special military operation

Artillerymen are working in the most difficult conditions every day. It takes only a few minutes to go from receiving a target assignment to destroying Ukrainian strongholds, hardware, and fortifications

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Don't Fear the Reaper

Russia and the US inched a step closer to a direct military clash on Tuesday after a pair of Russian jets took emergency measures to try to force a US Reaper drone flying in the direction of a no-fly zone off Crimea to change course.

What tools and means donations have to detect foreign drones and bring them down?
What Happens if a Military Drone Loses Its Signal?
How are Military Drones Detected and Are They Difficult to Spot?
What are the Best Defenses Against Drones?

Sputnik explains

🇷🇺 Russia's President Vladimir Putin will address the participants of the Russia-Africa parliamentary conference on March 20

▪️According to presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov, the meeting is a preparatory event for the second Russia-Africa Summit which will be held in Saint Petersburg in July. He stressed that Putin will take part in the conference offline.

▪️More than 40 countries of the continent and over 200 African parliamentarians are expected to participate in the conference.

▪️Furthermore, approximately 100 different events will be held before the July forum, as well

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Kiji Noh, journalist and political analyst, joined us to discuss the AUKUS submarine deal between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, the role that Australia plays as ‘a US vassal,’ and the US strategy to build an Asia-Pacific NATO under the guise of its policy of ‘deterrence of China’s aggression'

🗣️“Let's make it clear, Australia has never had an independent foreign policy,” he added

🎧Listen to more of Noh’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines

📹 Russian T-90M tank crews are intensively training to destroy NATO tanks in Ukraine - the American M1 Abrams, the German Leopard 2, and the British Challenger 2, the Defense Ministry said

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Recession, Insolvency, Derivative Risks: Why Looming US Crisis Could be Worse Than in 2008

According to analysts, when it comes to derivatives, the problem is that the amount of these loosely regulated speculative bets have reached hundreds of trillions of dollars, with around 90% of them being concentrated in four big American banks, namely J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and Bank of America.

According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the derivatives bubble may be as much as $600 trillion. If it bursts, this could throw the financial system into mayhem.

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