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.

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🇹🇿 🇮🇳 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

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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.

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#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.

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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.

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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.

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Investigators Find 'DNA Materials' on Yacht Allegedly Linked to Nord Stream Blasts

German investigators have discovered hair on clothing that was left behind on a yacht allegedly involved in the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines. The materials were sent for DNA analysis.

The sailing yacht Bavaria Cruiser 50, named Andromeda, was rented by unidentified individuals. The email address used to rent the yacht suggested a possible connection to Ukraine.

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NYC Opera Should Pay Russian Singer Anna Netrebko $200,000 for Canceled Performances

A court has ordered the Metropolitan Opera to provide compensation to Anna Netrebko for the cancellation of 13 opera performances. The reason for the cancellations was Netrebko's refusal to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for the special military operation in Ukraine launched in February 2022.

The Met previously claimed that Netrebko had violated its conduct clause by not complying with its demand to denounce Putin.

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Scientists Discover New Schizophrenia Risk Genes

New research has shown that individuals with schizophrenia have a higher occurrence of rare protein-truncating variants (PTVs) compared to those without the condition. The study also identified two new risk genes, SRRM2 and AKAP11, by comparing the gene sequences of individuals with schizophrenia and healthy individuals.

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#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 Minakov says the US military displayed utter disregard for human life, describing an attack on a hotel containing foreign media workers on April 8, 2003

💬 “They knew very well that many foreign journalists - European, American, Russian - lived in the Palestine Hotel. And when on April 8 an American Abrams tank opened direct fire from a bridge on the Palestine Hotel, three people were killed: two Spanish journalists and a Reuter’s camera operator - a good friend of mine, a Ukrainian named Taras Protsyuk, with whom we used to work in Chechnya. Several people were wounded, a Japanese man lost his leg.”

Read the full interview here

📹 2A36 Giatsint-B and 2S1 Gvozdika artillery guns in combat action (video courtesy of Russia's MoD)

Fire is adjusted by an unmanned aerial vehicle, the camera monitors target engagement.

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#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 US Military Operation Against Saddam Hussein: ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’

Iraqi Freedom was a land and air operation by the anti-Iraq coalition forces (the US, the UK and several other countries) aimed at destroying the political regime of Saddam Hussein and seizing key assets (major cities, oil production areas) on the territory of Iraq. Official Washington initially called the military operation in Iraq "Shock and Awe".

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 North Korea has test-fired an unspecified ballistic missile that traveled 800 kilometers (497 miles) toward the Sea of Japan, South Korean media reports.

💬 "While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance in preparation against the possibility of additional launches, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a statement.

The latest test-firing comes three days after Pyongyang launched a Hwansong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in response to joint military drills held by the United States and South Korea over 11 days called "Freedom Shield 23." Pyongyang condemned the drills, calling them preparations for a "war of aggression."

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🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin has paid a visit to Mariupol, inspecting the city infrastructure and talking to local residents, the Kremlin press service informs.

💬 "In particular, they discussed the construction of new residential microdistricts, social and educational facilities, housing and communal services infrastructure, medical institutions," the Kremlin said.

According to the Kremlin, Putin flew to Mariupol by helicopter and then traveled around several city districts by car, making stops to talk to local residents.

💬 "The head of state also inspected the coastline of Mariupol near the yacht club, the theater building, memorable city sites," the Kremlin said. Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin reported to the president on the progress of construction and restoration work in the city and its vicinity.

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🐼😴 A contented panda from Moscow Zoo is enjoying a long lie-in on Saturday morning!

We at Sputnik hope you are following the panda's good example this weekend. But for those of you for whom bed has little allure, we’re always on duty to keep you up to date with all the latest developments in India and around the world!

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