🇺🇸🚉 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.

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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.

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🌍 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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❗️Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ The investigation of the terrorist attack on the Nord Streams should be transparent;

▪️ The decision on the presence of Putin at the BRICS summit in South Africa has not yet been adopted;

▪️ US attempts to intervene in the internal affairs of Belarus require attention, but the Kremlin is sure that Belarus can prevent it;

▪️ Russia knows about the gross pressure of the West on countries that have not adopted the sanctions.

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US, Canada Reportedly Clinch Deal to Close Illegal Border Crossing Amid Surge in Migration

Quebec Premier Francois Legault had repeatedly requested that Canada’s federal government close the illegal crossing, arguing his province cannot sustain the increasing irregular flows of migrants coming through.

Canada has clinched a deal with the US on closing the illegal border crossing of Roxham Road between New York State and the province of Quebec, a Canadian news network reported.

The deal is set to be formally announced during a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa later on Friday.

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❗️ Latest Russian MoD statements on depleted uranium munitions:

▪️ Uranium compounds that penetrate the soil remain dangerous for people, animals and agricultural crops for a long time;

▪️ After the use of shells with depleted uranium in Ukraine, radioactive substances will be carried by cars to the surrounding area;

▪️ NATO soldiers also fell victim to the use of depleted uranium munitions in Iraq and Yugoslavia;

▪️ The danger of depleted uranium is that uranium dust accumulating in the kidneys, bone tissue and liver leads to a change in internal organs;

▪️ In Yugoslavia, NATO fired about 40,000 shells with more than 15,000 tons of depleted uranium. The United States used at least 300 tons of depleted uranium in Iraq;

▪️ In the former Yugoslavia, the incidence of cancer after hits by uranium munitions increased by 25%;

▪️ The West is well aware of the danger of depleted uranium ammunition;

▪️ As a result of the use of uranium ammunition in Iraq in 2005, the incidence of cancer there increased 40 times, to 1,600 per 100,000 population;

▪️ Only NATO countries have used depleted uranium ammunition in armed conflicts;

▪️ The particular cynicism of London's plans for uranium ammunition is that they were announced on the eve of the anniversary of the bombing of Yugoslavia.

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From ByteDance to Cambridge Analytica: Six Takeaways From TikTok CEO’s Testimony to Congress

Members of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee have held a meeting to hear testimony from TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew, whom lawmakers questioned about the platform’s data privacy practices and alleged ties to the Chinese government. Here are six takeaways from the hearing.

The testimony came as Congress and the Biden administration weigh potential measures to address Washington’s allegations of national security-related concerns about TikTok, including a possible full ban. The short video-sharing app has already been restricted by several entities within the US government.

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🇱🇧 In Lebanon, disgruntled depositors rioted outside the Central Bank.

These actions were prompted by the closure of banks and the appreciation of the dollar against the national currency, amid the economic and political crises in Lebanon.

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❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ The activity of units, air strikes and artillery fire of the Russian troops defeated the troops and equipment of the enemy in the Kharkov region and the LPR. Up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, two vehicles, a D-20 howitzer, and two Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery mounts were destroyed.

▪️ Air strikes, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems from a group of Russian troops hit enemy units in the LPR and DPR. During the day, up to 125 Ukrainian servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, as well as one Grad MLRS combat vehicle were destroyed in this area.

▪️ Near Donetsk, as a result of the activity of the Russian Armed forces units, air strikes and artillery fire, more than 380 Ukrainian military personnel, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, ten vehicles, a pickup truck, and two Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers were destroyed.

▪️ In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions, strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation, and artillery fire of the Russian Armed Forces defeated the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the DPR.

▪️ Up to 40 Ukrainian servicemen, two vehicles, a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, and one US-made M777 artillery system were destroyed in a day in Kharkov region.

▪️ Russia’s Operational-tactical and Army aviation and missile forces defeated 87 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at firing positions, servicemen and equipment in 109 districts.

▪️ A hangar with unmanned aerial vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed near a village in the Odessa region.

▪️ Air defense systems intercepted three rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the day.

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