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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📹 Russian paratroopers employ a Typhoon multipurpose armored vehicle during the special military operation

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Hunter Biden Countersues Computer Repair Shop Owner

Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, has taken legal action against the owner of a computer repair shop in Delaware who shared information from his discarded laptop regarding alleged attempts to influence US elections and inappropriate business activities. Biden's legal action is in the form of a countersuit.

"Biden accused Mac Isaac and other persons of six counts of invasion of privacy, including conspiracy to obtain and distribute the private information ... the suit argues that the object of allegedly invading Biden’s privacy and disseminating his data was not for any legitimate purpose but to cause harm and embarrassment," the report said.

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YouTube Reinstates Trump's Account as Social Media Giants Retreat From Post-J6 Ban

"Starting today, the Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and can upload new content. We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election," YouTube said on its official press account on Twitter.

Trump's account on the video hosting site was banned on January 13, 2021, six days after clashes between his supporters and police at the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

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Finland's NATO Membership Not Complete Without Sweden: President

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier announced the initiation of the ratification process for Finland's NATO application, which is expected to be finalized before Turkiye's presidential election in May.

"It is very good to hear this news ... The Turkish parliament starts to work with the ratification of Finnish membership ... But we have a neighbor, Sweden. What I now say is not only due to the fact that they are nice people and we have excellent relations with our neighbor. But I have a feeling that Finnish NATO membership is not complete without Sweden, we have so much common interest," Finnish President Sauli Niinistov said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara.

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❗️US support of the decision of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin is "reminiscent of sluggish schizophrenia," the Russian Embassy in the United States says.

💬 "Allowing unacceptable remarks about the Russian leader, the US authorities deliberately keep silent about their own atrocities in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Libya and Vietnam. Moreover, in an attempt to protect its citizens from international prosecution by all available means, the United States even takes odious measures. For example, unprecedented economic sanctions that were imposed on the leadership of the Court, including ex-Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who initiated an investigation into US atrocities in Afghanistan. What independence and impartiality can we talk about?" the Russian embassy said commenting on the US reaction.

The embassy added that Washington supports the "unprecedented legal bacchanalia" unleashed by the ICC in order to protect its own geopolitical interests, despite the fact that neither the US, nor Russia, recognize the court's jurisdiction.

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MRO Probe Discovers Relict Salt Glacier Near Mars Equator, Study Reveals

"This region of Mars has a history of volcanic activity. And where some of the volcanic materials came in contact with glacier ice, chemical reactions would have taken place at the boundary between the two to form a hardened layer of sulfate salts," says Sourabh Shubham, co-author of the study. "This is the most likely explanation for the hydrated and hydroxylated sulfates we observe in this light-toned deposit."

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🌾 The Black Sea grain deal has been instrumental in bringing down global food prices and it needs to run at its full potential, Olof Skoog, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the UN said.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said during the same meeting that if the US and the EU sincerely want the Black Sea Grain Initiative to be further extended, they have two months to lift the sanctions regime imposed on Russia’s agricultural sector.

The grain deal was brokered by the UN and Turkiye between Russia and Ukraine in July 2022 to facilitate exports of grain and fertilizer from Black Sea ports amid hostilities. It was renewed for 120 days in November 2022 and would be due to automatically renew for another 120 days on March 18 unless either of the signatories object. Russia said on Monday it did not mind extending the deal but only for 60 days, which was confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday.

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📹 A Russian Lancet kamikaze drone destroyed a Czech-made RM-70 MLRS in the Avdeevka direction, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

The ministry added that the Russian drone is in effect used to destroy the military equipment of the Ukrainian troops, such as artillery pieces, tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems.

Earlier this month, a well-placed source told Sputnik that Russia's Izdeliye-52 (Lancet) had been modernized based on the experience of using it during the special military operation in Ukraine. The basic version of the drone has been significantly upgraded and now has a more powerful warhead, a new optoelectronic guidance system and a control system with updated software.

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🇷🇸🎾 The world's number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, officially withdrew from the 2023 Miami Open

He had not been allowed to enter the US because he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Serb applied for special permission to enter the US, but did not succeed.

💬 "Obviously, we're one of the premier tournaments in the world, we'd like to have the best players that can play. We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that's out of our hands. We tried, and he wasn't able to play," Miami Open tournament director James Blake said.

His place in the main draw will be taken by Colombian player Daniel Elahi Galan. Sebastian Korda will also miss the competition in Florida and will be replaced by Denis Kudla. Djokovic is scheduled to play on the clay of the Monte Carlo Masters from 9 April.

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🇷🇺 Russia's flag was unfurled at the top of Ak-Kaya (White Rock) mountain to celebrate the anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia (video courtesy of the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Crimea)

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Greeks Bemoan Aging Infrastructure, Maintenance Issues in Wake of Deadly Train Crash

Greek citizens blame aging public infrastructure, lackluster maintenance and staff cuts as well as EU-imposed austerity policies for the recent train collision that killed nearly 60 people, according to the people surveyed by Sputnik.

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🇵🇸 Palestinians consider Russia to be one of the main supporters of their drive for self-determination and independence, head of international relations office of Palestinian movement Hamas, Musa Abu Marzouk, told Sputnik following his visit to Moscow and talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

The senior official pointed out that this week's visit to Russia was different from the previous ones because of the changes that are taking place in the region and in the world, as the special military operation in Ukraine "caused great turmoil in the world and in the international system."

Palestinians need consultations, information exchanges and constant reminders of their rights to ensure changes in the Middle East, the senior official said.

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Absurd ICC 'Warrant' Under US Aegis Proves Russia 'Faces Implacable Enemy It Must Defeat'

Firstly, the absurdity of the ICC's "warrant" lies in the mere fact that the prosecutor's office has "done no independent investigations on the issue raised regarding children," Christopher C. Black, an international criminal lawyer with 20 years of experience in war crimes and international relations, told Sputnik.

💬 "The ICC has no jurisdiction over Russia or its officials. Russia is not a party to the Rome Treaty, nor is the USA and China. The ICC has no jurisdiction to issue a warrant against a Russian official," stated Black. However, he added:

"They will argue that a letter that Ukraine sent to the ICC in April 2014 in which Ukraine stated it acceded to ICC jurisdiction, even though not a member of the Treaty, gives it jurisdiction. But the legitimacy of that letter is questionable since it was sent by the NATO imposed coup regime just after the coup of 2014 in Ukraine so any lawyer would argue it had no legitimacy since it was not filed by the legitimate government of Ukraine but a NATO puppet government."

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📹 Ukrainian troops in Ugledar are using civilians and social infrastructure as cover, as can be seen on footage recorded by a UAV operator of the Viking special forces detachment

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⚡️ Pakistani police have entered the property of the country's former PM Imran Khan, local media reports

SpaceX loses lawsuit against Ukrainian company Starlink over name

According to the Ukrainian online news outlet, the Kiev Economic Court rejected SpaceX's claim for early termination of registration of its Ukrainian namesake in early March. In November, Ukrainian media reported that SpaceX, which operates Starlink, filed a lawsuit against Starlink LLC and intellectual property agency Ukrpatent citing trademark infringement.

However, the Ukrainian Starlink filed for trademark registration in 2010 and was registered a year later, while Musk's Starlink Ukraine obtained the rights to its trademark in 2020.

The founder of Starlink LLC said, as quoted by Ukrainian media, that SpaceX officials contacted him back in 2021, urging him to ditch the brand name. The owner did not rule out negotiations with the US company on condition that he would be compensated for the losses associated with rebranding.

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ICC Has Been 'Weaponized to Buttress US Imperialism' & 'Deserves to be Abolished'

"No one from the West was ever indicted" after the establishment of the ICC in 2002, said professor Alfred de Zayas, former UN independent expert on international order.

💬 "In 20 years it only indicted Africans and for that reason it was rightly called neo-colonial. Now it indicts Putin, revealing its flagrant Western bias. Since the entry into force of the Rome Statute there have been thousands of war crimes under the responsibility of NATO governments… War crimes have been documented in NATO wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. Why has no one ever been indicted there?" the author of 10 books, including "Building a Just World Order," asked.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳🇮🇷 Russia, China, and Iran have finished the Maritime Security Belt-2023 joint naval exercises in the Arabian Sea, the Russian Northern fleet said

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Majority of Russians Support Reunification With Crimea, Poll Shows

The majority of Russians (86%) believe that the 2014 decision to incorporate the Crimean Peninsula into Russia was correct, and 56% of those surveyed feel proud of the reunification, a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center has shown.

Crimea became part of independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but was incorporated into Russia nine years ago after a referendum on March 16, 2014.

Before the inhabitants of the Crimean Peninsula had attempted to hold an independence referendum for several times, however, that was deemed illicit.

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🇨🇬 🇷🇺 Russia's multinational energy corporation, PJSC Lukoil Oil Company, is in talks with the Republic of Congo about cooperating in new oil projects as an operator, said Ivan Romanovsky, Luckoil's vice-president for America, Africa and the Middle East, after a meeting with the Congolese Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua

▪️ Romanovsky said that Lukoil is working in Congo at the Marine XII project operated by Italian business. He added that this project is very important for Lukoil.

🗣 "Lukoil is focused on development in the Republic of Congo. First, we are interested in projects where Lukoil could act as an operator. We have discussed such opportunities," he said.

▪️ At present, Lukoil's sole involvement in the Republic of Congo is as a participant in the Marine XII oil and gas project. The Russian company bought 25 percent of the project from British company New Age M12 Holdings Limited in 2019. Italian Eni (project operator, with 65 percent) and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Congo (10 percent) are the other participants in the project

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