❗️Latest statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin:

▪️Moscow and Minsk have agreed to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus without violating obligations under the Start treaty;

▪️The construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is to be completed on 1 July;

▪️The West's supply of ammunition to Ukraine is only an attempt to prolong the conflict;

▪️Total number of tanks in Russia will be more than three times greater than the number of tanks in Ukraine;

▪️Russia is able to respond to depleted uranium ammunition, Russia has plenty of such weapons, but it has not used them yet;

▪️The West will increase the production of weapons, but it will be very difficult, even more difficult for other countries than for the United States.

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⚡Putin 'Fully Agrees' With Conclusion That Nord Stream Blasts Were Handiwork of US Intel

⚡Russia is completing the construction of a storage facility for its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus - preparing the Belarusian aviation for possible deployment

Protests against pension reform continue in France. Demonstrators have been taking to the streets and it's capital, Paris, as well as other cities, are inundated in unrest. Protectors blocked roads in Toulouse with burning debris and bins.

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Poland: Germany Not 'As Generous As It Should Be' In Sending Support to Ukraine

Berlin has been rebuked by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for not "sending more weapons, more ammunition, and giving more money to Ukraine, because it is the richest and the biggest country by far".

"They have still not been as generous as they should have been... I still encourage them to be so," he added.

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Army medics tend soldiers and civilians during special military operation (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

Army surgeons save hundreds of lives. Operating theaters are open round the clock as medics remove shrapnel and stitch up patients.

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EU’s Hawkish Top Diplomat Claims China’s Ukraine Peace Plan ‘Not Sufficient’ to End Crisis

EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has claimed that China's 12-point peace plan for Ukraine is "not sufficient" to resolve the conflict. He also accused China and India of "taking advantage of the situation" in Ukraine, and claimed that China's President Xi Jinping urged Putin not to use nuclear weapons.

US President Joe Biden has dismissed the peace plan outright, and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said it would be meaningless unless Beijing demonstrated it was "on our side".

A White House spokesman said any ceasefire stemming from Xi's visit to Russia would be "unacceptable".

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US Must Worry About 'Chinese Hypersonic Threat', Lawmaker Says, as American Tests Show No Progress

The US has been investing heavily in the development of hypersonic weapons in recent years, but the results remain questionable: in 2021 the testing program ended with three consecutive failures, after which - at the beginning of 2022 - funding was halved from $161Mln for the purchase of new prototypes to $80Mln. "There are things that we need to worry about: finance, research, development, and growth in areas such as hypersonic threats, especially from China," US House Representative Doug Lamborn said during an event at the CSIS research center in Washington, pointing out that "the US does not possess viable tech in this sphere to be on a par with its counterparts yet". Read more

Brazil's triple Formula One champion Nelson Piquet used a racist slur during an interview last year, which was presumably addressed to British Formula-1 Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.Nelson Piquet must pay 5 million reals ($953,050) by decision of a Brazilian court. Piquet was punished for racist and homophobic comments against F1 star Lewis Hamilton.

The Briton himself said he has been surrounded by racism all his life and called for an end to racial slurs in motorsport.

"It’s more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action," he said on Twitter.

Nelson Piquet later apologized for his comments, but said he did not racially insult the Briton, and it was all about mistranslation.
Piquet's words were condemned by Formula One, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and Mercedes, Hamilton's team.

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How Has Ukrainian Conflict Affected the EU's Well-Being?

This week, the European Council promised UN chief Antonio Guterres that they would offer unwavering support to Kiev until Russia is defeated, including political, economic, military, financial, and humanitarian aid. However, just how successful has the EU been in the US-led proxy conflict with Russia in Ukraine?

How Has the Ukrainian Crisis Affected EU Countries?
How Long Can EU Last Without Russian Gas?
How Has EU Military Assistance to Ukraine Affected Regional Security?
Which European Countries Have 'Helped' Ukraine the Most?
Which European Countries Have Been Least Affected by the Ukrainian Crisis?
Why is Ukraine so Important to the EU, and Could Ukraine End Up Joining?

Sputnik explores

Swedish PM Says Finland Will Join NATO Earlier Than His Country

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that Finland is likely to join NATO before Sweden because of Turkey's opposition to Sweden joining the alliance.

"Currently everything indicates that Finland will join [NATO] earlier than Sweden," Kristersson said at a conference of Sweden's Moderate Party, which he leads.

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🇭🇳 The Foreign Ministry of Honduras has announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

💬 "The Secretary of State in the Offices of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation, with instructions from the President of the Republic, has communicated to Taiwan the decision to break diplomatic relations," the ministry said on Twitter.

According to the statement, Honduras recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate government. Taiwan responded to Honduras with reciprocal measures.

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❗️China and Honduras established diplomatic relations on Sunday, after the Central American country severed ties with Taiwan, Chinese media reports.

The Foreign Ministry of Honduras said in a statement on Saturday that it had communicated to Taiwan the decision to break diplomatic relations. According to the statement, Honduras recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate government.

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Western Officials' Africa Visits Are 'Charming Exercise to Protect Material Interests,' Experts Say

At the end of March, Belgian King Philippe's first multi-day state visit to South Africa became yet another among Western officials' and leaders' trips to Africa, which have significantly intensified in recent months.

The increasing frequency of Western countries' top officials' visits to Africa is part of the West's effort to keep its foothold there, as well as to counter China and Russia's activity in the region, Ian Liebenberg, professor of politics at the University of Namibia tells Sputnik, adding that the concern with the continent is a "competition for hearts and minds."

What are the hidden motives behind the intense tours of Western politicians to Africa?

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🇺🇸 Former US president Donald Trump slammed the New York District Attorney’s investigation into him in a speech during his campaign’s first rally for the 2024 election.

The former head of state told his supporters in Waco, Texas, "The district attorney of New York under the auspices and direction of the 'department of injustice' in Washington DC was investigating me for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair."

In his speech, Trump dismissed the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into an alleged $130,000 payment on Trump's behalf to an adult film actress named Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

💬 "I never liked 'Horse Face'," Trump said, in an off-color reference to Daniels. Adding that if he’d decided to have sex with someone, "that wouldn't be the one." But "there is no one" else he’s interested in outside of his marriage, he insisted, adding: "We have a great First Lady."

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👮 Kanye West says he ‘likes Jewish people again’ after watching the 2012 buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street.

💬 "Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump street made me like Jewish people again," the hip-hop icon wrote in an Instagram post published Saturday, in a reference to the film’s Jewish co-star.

"No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people," insisted West, who now legally goes by the abbreviated moniker "Ye."

On the other hand, "no Christian can be labeled [an] antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew," he continued. "Thank you Jonah Hill I love you," the post concluded.

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🛰 WATCH the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launch a heavy lift LVM3 rocket carrying 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit.

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💁‍♀️ Mississippi TV host Barbie Bassett reportedly lost her position with WLBT after she quoted a Snoop Dogg lyric suggesting that the words could be considered "racially insensitive"

The incident occurred on March 8, while Basset was on air discussing Snoop Dogg’s latest addition to his Cali Wine Collection, and said "Fo shizzle, my nizzle," which - depending on whom you ask - may simply mean "for sure, my friend"... or include a euphemism for a racial slur.

Reports note that Bassett is no longer listed as a member of the WLBT news team and she hasn’t been on air since the incident.

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⚡️ Putin: West starting to create a new Axis like the one built by fascist Germany and militarist Japan

▪️Last year NATO agreed on a new strategic concept for the bloc, declaring the alliance global, while earlier this year the UK and Japan signed an agreement on mutual openness, that is, on establishing contacts and developing relations in the military sphere, Vladimir Putin said.

💬 "This is precisely why Western analysts themselves say ― it's not us, they say ― that the West is beginning to build a new axis, similar to the one created back in the 1930s by the fascist regimes in Germany and Italy and militarist Japan," the president said.

▪️Commenting on statements that Moscow and Beijing are creating an axis that poses a threat to the West, Putin said Russia is not creating a military alliance with China.

💬 "Yes, we also cooperate in the military-technical sphere. We do not hide it, everything is transparent. There is nothing secret there," he said.

▪️Putin added that Russia and China conduct joint exercises, but Moscow also holds drills with other countries.

💬 "We continue [the drills] even despite the events in Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson. We still continue. It's all transparent. But this is not a military alliance. And what is the US doing? They are creating more and more alliances," the president said, adding that this gives grounds for analysts to say that the West is building a new axis.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 China and Russia became world leaders in the trade surplus in 2022, breaking their own records for this indicator, according to Sputnik calculations based on data from national statistics.

China's trade surplus grew by 30% last year to an all-time high of $877.6 billion, the data showed. Russia increased its surplus 1.7 times over the year to a record $333.4 billion, moving up to second place among major economies.

Saudi Arabia, which had its highest trade surplus since 2012 at $221.3 billion, ranked third.
The absolute leader in trade surplus growth in 2022 was Canada, where the index jumped 4.8 times — from $3.65 billion to $17.45 billion. At the same time, the only country that managed to move from a trade deficit to a surplus last year was Nigeria.

As a result, 26 major economies recorded a trade surplus of $2.45 trillion in 2022, compared to 32 countries with $2.1 trillion a year earlier. The study was conducted by Sputnik on the basis of data from the national statistical agencies of the world's 60 largest economies.

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Jittery US Customers Pulled Almost $100Bln in Deposits Amid Banking Crisis, Fed Data Shows

Despite assurances offered by regulators that the banking system was "sound and resilient," apprehensive US customers collectively withdrew close to $100 billion from bank accounts in the wake of the recent bank collapses, according to Federal Reserve data.

Warning of "exceptionally high" uncertainties and heightened risks to financial stability, when higher interest rates are being increasingly resorted to as a tool to battle raging inflation, the IMF stressed the continued need for policymakers' vigilance.

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