❗️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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇳 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🇺🇸 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇩📹 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

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

☢️📊 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

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.

Read more

❗️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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇳 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 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.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Catch our Fault Lines show, where we provide updates and analysis on all the most vital stories! Here's our line-up for today:

🔺To kick things off, we’ll be discussing the continuing banking crisis
🔺Next, we’ll cover the protests in Israel and France
🔺Finally, we’ll speak about the Trump indictment saga

More trending stories coming your way! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 7am EST|4am PST|1pm CET via the website or app!

📻Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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

▪️Russian air defense systems intercepted a US-made GLSDB missile for the first time;

▪️Ukrainian losses in the Donetsk direction amounted to 240 servicemen;

▪️Russian troops eliminated up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Ukrainian losses in the Krasny Liman direction amounted to 125 servicemen, with eight pieces of equipment;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated up to 18 Ukrainian servicemen and five vehicles in the Kherson direction;

▪️Ukrainian losses in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions amounted to about 20 servicemen;

▪️Russian air defense systems intercepted 18 HIMARS MLRS rockets;

▪️Russian troops destroyed a Ukrainian S-300 air defense radar in the Kherson region.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Japan's Opposition Blasts PM Kishida's Silence on Depleted Uranium Ammo to Ukraine

The head of the Japanese government ostensibly dodged giving a direct answer, saying something to the effect that, “despite studies on the negative effects on human health, no concrete results have been obtained”.

Taro Yamamoto, leader of the opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, slammed the lack of response as sending a "bad message," and added, as a parting "broadside", that Kishida himself was "from Hiroshima.”

Read more

🇬🇭 🇺🇸 US VP Kamala Harris has no moral right to talk about human rights in Ghana, local MP says

Harris, who is in Ghana on the first leg of her Africa tour, said that she had raised the issue of human rights with the country’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, at the same time arguing that LGBTQ rights are a human rights issue.

🗣 “Do you think the Parliament of Ghana is going to be guided by the opinion of the vice president of the country that is one of the biggest abusers of human rights? Please,” Ghanaian MP Samuel George has told local radio.

George mentioned Monday’s shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, which saw at least six people killed, including three children, by a 28 year-old former student, who has been identified in US media as a transgender person.

The politician’s remark comes amid debate in Ghana’s parliament on a bill that is expected to criminalize advocacy for gay rights in the country and imprison those who identify as LGBTQ

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

🇬🇧 Food price inflation in the United Kingdom has hit a record high of 17.5 percent, which could increase the average annual household grocery bills by £837 ($1,029), UK data analytics and consulting company Kantar said on Tuesday.

💬 "Grocery price inflation has climbed again to reach 17.5 percent over the four weeks to 19 March 2023, a record based on our latest market data. Households are now facing an £837 increase in their annual shopping bills if they don’t change their shopping behavior," the consulting company said.

📍 Home food sales as a whole rose 8.6 percent in 12 weeks since the beginning of the UK sales year, the statement read. Grocery store traffic also increased in March, with each household going to stores more than four times a week, which is the highest rate since the beginning of the pandemic except for the Christmas period, according to the statement.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt