Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine Corps independent geopolitical researcher and writer based in Bangkok, joins us to discuss Ukraine’s sovereignty which ‘was taken’ by the US, as well as the reasons why America is interested in the conflict

🗣️”It is just further proof that this is not about fighting for Ukraine's sovereignty. Its sovereignty ended in 2014. The decisions being made for Ukraine's future are being made in Washington,” he says

🎧Listen to more of Berletic’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

'Political Theater': Why Does US Seek Full Ban of TikTok?

TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew confirmed on Tuesday that the app now has around 150 million monthly active users in the US, who are coming to the platform "to connect, to share, to learn, or just to have some fun."

The Biden administration recently demanded that TikTok's Chinese owners must sell their stakes in the company or else face a nationwide ban. So why does Washington want to ban the short video-sharing app, and is it on the right side of the law?

Find out here

Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine Corps independent geopolitical researcher and writer based in Bangkok, joins us to discuss the UK’s decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium ammo

🎧Listen to more of Berletic’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

Dr. Richard Wolff discussed the multiple crises that the United States is facing in terms of its foreign policy, economy, politics, and military.

▪️ He cited inflation as a catastrophic problem, with the US experiencing an average of 7% inflation and some European countries experiencing even higher rates, which can price the West out of the market and change the structure of world trade.

▪️ He also mentioned that raising interest rates to slow down inflation could worsen the crisis for banks because of the effect on the value of government bonds held by banks.

⚡Pentagon: US carried out airstrikes in Syria after American forces were struck by 'Iranian' UAV near coalition base

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Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss the difficulties that the United States is currently dealing with in the face of China and the declassification of information about the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines

🗣️”Now China is strengthening its alliance with Russia and there's no easy way out for the US, and then in Germany of course the US faces a huge problem which is of course called Nord Stream where this seems more and more clear that the US is the one that blew up the pipeline,” he stated

🎧Listen to more of Lazare’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

US Conducts Airstrike in Syria After American Forces Struck by 'Iranian' UAV Near Coalition Base

The US Department of Defense announced late Thursday that it ordered airstrikes against targets in eastern Syria after a suspected Iranian drone struck a coalition base housing American forces.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted in a release issued by the Pentagon that the strikes were issued against "facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)."

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🇺🇸🚉 In the US state of Massachusetts, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying garbage has derailed.

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🇮🇱 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to postpone a visit to London for a day due to the refusal of a number of pilots to fly a plane with him on board, a British newspaper reported, citing a source.

💬 "It is understood that Israeli pilots have been refusing to take Mr Netanyahu to the UK," the UK government source said, as quoted by the newspaper.

▪️ The refusal of the pilots is associated with Netanyahu's plans to reorganize the Israeli legal system, which caused mass protests in the country, the newspaper added.

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Danish Energy Agency Invites Nord Stream Operator to Lift Object Found Near Pipeline

The Danish Energy Agency has invited the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, to take part in an operation to recover an object found near the gas pipeline.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that during a survey of the gas pipeline, Gazprom experts had found a certain "column" at a distance of about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the site of the explosion. It was installed in a vulnerable place, at the junction of pipes.

Learn more

Denmark Accused of 'Carelessness With Taxpayers' Money' as F-35 Hangars Double in Price

The construction price for hangars for Denmark's new fleet of F-35 fighter jets has been steadily climbing upward, forcing the parliament to fork out for the new facilities.

With the recent tranche, the 40,000 square meter premises at the Skrydstrup air base have doubled in price compared with the original plans from 2017.

Read more

🌍 Which African states are the happiest?

Sputnik has prepared an infographic that presents top 10 happiest countries in the continent, based on the 2023 World Happiness Report, published on International Day of Happiness by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network earlier this week.

Check out where in Africa people are more satisfied with their lives!

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📹 Airborne Troops' Grad MLRS crews destroy Ukrainian facilities and camouflaged positions (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

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🇮🇷 No Iranians were killed as a result of a US strike in Syria which hit a grain center and a rural development center in the province of Deir ez-Zor, rather than Iranian military positions, the regional broadcaster reported on Friday, citing sources in Syria.

▪️ A military source in Syria believes local groups could retaliate against US strikes, the broadcaster added.

📍 Earlier in the day, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the US Armed Forces carried out airstrikes on facilities of groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) after an Iranian drone attacked a coalition base in northeast Syria, killing one US contractor.

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