#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 Minakov explains how he sought to leave the city as part of a Russian diplomatic convoy on April 6, but the convoy came under fire - presumably by US troops. He calls that day "his second birthday," after he survived the shelling.

💬 "Within seconds, there wasn't a single piece of glass left in
the car. It felt like the bullets were flying between all of us."

Read the full interview here

Sy Hersh Slams ‘Stupid’ NYT Story on ‘Ukrainian’ Trace Behind Nord Stream Blasts

Seymour Hersh claims to possess additional information supporting the involvement of the Biden administration in the Nord Stream attacks, but he cannot disclose it due to the risk of revealing his sources.

“Biden authorized the blast. And the people involved know what he did. You know what orders came. I know a lot more about this than I want to say. But I have to protect the people who talk to me,” Hersh said in an interview with Austrian media.

Read more

🇹🇿 🇮🇳 Tanzania and India switch from US dollar to national currencies in bilateral trade

In a move that could have far-reaching implications for the economies of Tanzania and India, the two nations have agreed to a new bilateral trade settlement arrangement that allows them to use their own currencies in transactions, the High Commission of India in Dar es Salaam said in a press release.

🗣 "Unlike the use of dollars, of which we don’t have control over, with the use of local currencies there will be predictability because in the process, we can fix the exchange rate," Donath Olomi, a trade and economist, told Tanzanian news outlet The Citizen.

According to Olomi, the use of local currencies will also simplify business transactions and cut bank charges since there will be no need to convert your currency into dollars

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

Japanese, German Defense Ministers Agree to Conduct Joint Military Exercises

During Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada’s recent visit to Germany, he and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, reached an agreement to enhance military cooperation through joint drills and the preparation of an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement. This marks the first visit of a Japanese defense minister to Germany in 16 years.

In 2022, the Japanese government approved a draft budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which amounts to a record-breaking 114.38 trillion yen ($862 billion). Additionally, the defense budget was increased to 6.8 trillion yen.

Read more

#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 Alexander Minakov, who is believed to be the first journalist in the world to report the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq, shares his harrowing experience after their convoy was hit by the shelling

💬 “I crawled over to the first car in which the ambassador was riding and saw the driver's head resting on the steering wheel. I realized he had been badly wounded or killed. I raised him up and he was moaning, his shirt was covered with blood. He had two gunshot wounds. Thank God we always carry a first aid kit.”

Read the full interview here

Burning of Quran by Ukrainian troops evidence of their Nazi ideology, Syrian observer says

Chechen Republic chief Ramzan Kadyrov promised to track down and punish Ukrainian servicemen who filmed themselves ripping apart a Quran and burning its pages in a viral TikTok video, asking Allah to “hasten” their “inevitable demise.”

Commenting on the footage, Syrian political analyst Usama Dannura said it shows that the direct allies of the Ukrainian regime include groups which, under the banner of liberalism and freedom, carry out acts to desecrate the Holy Book.

“The governments of the NATO countries indulge in these actions. Today they are supporting the Ukrainian Army with weapons, and this army insults the Islamic religion and its symbols,” Dannura said.

“In this act, the Ukrainian Army represents hatred itself as an ideology. The irreconcilable Nazi ideology of theses troops lies in their contempt for other religions,” the observer added.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Since March 2022, Afghan girls over the age of 12 have been prohibited from attending schools, and universities have been closed to women since December. Women are now required to cover not only their hair, but also their face, and the Taliban has implemented strict rules to minimize women's contact with unfamiliar men in the workplace.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that attitudes towards women's work outside the home vary significantly across different regions.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US Needs New Anti-War Movement to 'See Through Hypocrisy & Lies' of Media Justifying Invasions

As March 20 marks the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq under the false pretext of Baghdad's alleged development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), there are vital lessons to be learned.

"There needs to be a new anti-war movement, and it needs to see through the hypocrisy, the lies, the cynicism of the propaganda that comes from the mainstream media to justify these wars," said Richard Becker, the author of Palestine, Israel and the US Empire.

Read more