🇰🇵 North Korea tested a nuclear-capable underwater weapon system again on March 25-27

The Haeil-1 underwater nuclear attack drone, deployed in Wonsan Bay, reached the target point on March 27 after cruising along a jagged and oval course simulating the distance of 600 kilometers in the East Sea of Korea for 41 hours and 27 minutes, state media reports. The drone successfully set off the test warhead underwater, the report said.

The reliability of the weapon system was verified, and all tactical and technical specifications were correctly estimated during the test.

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🇺🇳 The UNSC failed to adopt a Russia-drafted resolution asking for a UN-led investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. China, Russia and Brazil voted in favor of the resolution and all the other members abstained.

💬 "There was, as usual, big pressure from the part of our western ex-partners," Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy told Sputnik. "They were making it absolutely clear that they are not interested in the voice that would uphold rational position."

But the pressure from the UNSC was a positive sign because it shows that there is a desire to see a swift and transparent investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage.

💬 "I think that many members who were speaking they made their position absolutely clear in the explanation of the votes, which was that they are in favor of transparent and I'd say swift investigation, so there were a lot of signals to the authorities of Denmark, Sweden and Germany to finish this investigation, to brief the Council about concrete results," Polyanskiy said.

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🍦🇺🇸 Biden begins White House press conference after Nashville tragedy with joke

The US President started his speech with a humorous remark about his love for Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams - particularly the chocolate chip flavor. He quipped that he had only come to the gathering because he had heard there would be ice cream.

The shooting outside the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee left three children under the age of 10, and three adults dead. One of the victims, 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, is listed on the school's website as Head of School and was described by one parent as "a saint".

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said during a press conference that officers had identified the shooter as 28-year-old female Audrey Hale. Hale identified as a transgender male and is believed to be a former pupil of the school, Drake added. Hale was also killed by police who responded to the shooting.

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Denmark Holding Largest Artillery Drill on Its Soil Since Cold War

The soldiers will spend the four-day drill practicing firing rockets, grenades and mortars and will be accompanied by F-16 fighter jets in the air, warships in the water, and military vehicles in the countryside. The formal goal of the drill is to strengthen military cooperation between NATO member states.

"Across the participating NATO countries, we must show that we can coordinate the technology and soldier standards so that we can shoot with each other's guns, planes and ships and hit precisely what we need to," Danish Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Riishoj said in a statement.

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🇷🇺🚀 Two Pacific Fleet (TOF) missile boats test-fired Moskit anti-ship cruise missiles and destroyed a mock target in the Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan

💬 "A missile gunboat strike group consisting of 2 missile ships conducted a joint missile strike against a sea shield simulating a combat ship of a simulated enemy. The target, which was about 100 kilometers away, was successfully hit by a direct strike from two Moskit cruise missiles," the Navy reported.

According to the naval forces, the safety of the test-firing was ensured by surface ships and aircraft from the Northern Fleet's naval aviation.

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❗️Minsk hosting nukes without having direct control over them does not violate the NPT, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

💬 "Military cooperation between Belarus and Russia is carried out in strict accordance with international law. The training of Belarusian pilots capable of flying aircraft with specific munitions, the modernization of such aircraft, as well as the deployment of nuclear warheads on the territory of Belarus without transferring control over them to Minsk, as well as access to relevant technologies, in no way contradict the provisions of Articles I and II of the NPT," the ministry said in a statement.

Deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of another country is not an innovation in military cooperation between non-nuclear and nuclear powers, the ministry said, adding that NATO has long been practicing joint nuclear missions.

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🇨🇳 Beijing regrets UNSC failed to reach consensus on Russia's draft resolution on Nord Stream

💬 "The draft resolution proposed by Russia offers important options for finding out the truth, but the UN Security Council was unable to reach a consensus, China expresses regret in this regard," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a briefing.

The US is constantly striving to conduct so-called investigations against many developing countries, but in the case of the Nord Stream blasts, Washington is secretive, the diplomat said, pointing to double standards.

China hopes for a speedy progress in the investigation so that the truth is revealed to the world and the perpetrators are punished, the spokeswoman added.

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🇷🇺🇺🇸 Washington must stop using human rights to play geopolitical games, Russia's Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said.

💬 "I am convinced that the attempts to use the doctrine of human rights to play geopolitical games destroying sovereignty of nations and to justify Western political, financial, economic and ideological dominance, should cease," Antonov said in an interview due to to be aired to coincide with the 'Summit for Democracy'. co-hosted by the US on 29 and 30 March.

He said that in today's complex and turbulent world, it is important to protect and preserve fundamental international principles, such as sovereign equality and non-interference in the affairs of other states.

💬 "This would be true democracy and would prevent a slide into chaos. Russia is ready for such work," Antonov said.

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🇨🇩📹 A video showing nine Congolese miners suddenly jumping out of a collapsed gold mine and tumbling down a steep slope as onlookers cheer has gone viral in the Democratic Republic of Congo

▪️Within two minutes a total of nine men leap out of the rubble alive and well.

▪️Unfortunately, such accidents are common in the country, especially at small artisanal mining areas such as the site in South Kivu province that collapsed after heavy rainfall

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☢️📊 On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow and Minsk had agreed in principle that, without violating its obligations under the New START Treaty, Russia will be able to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He added that, for a long time now, the US had placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of allied countries, NATO countries, and in Europe.

Take a look at Sputnik’s infographic showing atomic arsenals in the region.

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Swedes Expected to Become Minority in Their Own Country's Two Largest Cities

Despite being regularly laughed off by the press and politicians as a "right-wing hoax" and a "racist trope," a drastic population shift is clearly taking place. Sweden has until recently remained a largely homogeneous society, yet several decades of massive immigration starting from the 1980s altered its demographic composition beyond all recognition.

Among others, Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans have formed sizable communities in recent years alone, having eclipsed the traditional Finnish minority. While similar trends are being witnessed in neighboring Nordic nations and Western Europe at large, Sweden seems to be miles ahead. The rise in the percentage of people with a non-European background has risen very markedly from having been next to non-existent in the 1960s to an estimated 19% in 2022.

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❗️Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️Moscow regrets that the UN Security Council failed to adopt Russia's draft resolution on a probe into the Nord Stream blasts;

▪️Russia will do everything in its power to initiate an international investigation into the Nord Stream attack;

▪️Relations between Russia and Germany leave much to be desired;

▪️Germany is actively arming Ukraine, and getting more and more involved in the conflict;

▪️Putin and Lukashenko at a meeting of the Supreme State Council will discuss issues related to security against the backdrop of actions by unfriendly countries.

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🇨🇳 Taking part in the Boao Forum for Asia Dr. Carl F. Fey, professor of strategy at the Norwegian Business School, gave an interview to Sputnik in which he explained how international instability can be overcome when no one is ready to talk.

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📹 Dr. Carl F. Fey, professor of strategy at the Norwegian Business School, told Sputnik what role forums such as the Boao Forum for Asia - in which he participates - play in an unstable world.

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📹 Zafar Uddin Mahmood, Policy Advisor to the Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia told Sputnik in an interview how he believes international instability can be overcome when no one is ready to talk.

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