❗️ Russian Foreign Ministry: What the employee of The Wall Street Journal was doing in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism.

🇷🇺🇮🇷🇨🇳 The joint military exercises of China, Russia and Iran have made a positive contribution to maritime security, as well as to regional peace and stability, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday.

🗣 "The exercises have further strengthened the traditional friendship and practical cooperation [of the navies of the three countries], and made a positive contribution to maritime security, regional peace and stability," Tan told reporters.

▪️ The drills that took place from March 15-18, also have increased the ability of the three countries' navies to jointly carry out a variety of military tasks at sea, the official added.

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❗️ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the detention of WSJ correspondent Evan Gershkovich: "I repeat once again, it is not about suspicion, he was caught red-handed."

▪️ In addition, Peskov said that there are no obstacles for the further work in Russia of representatives of The Wall Street Journal, who are conducting "normal journalistic activities."

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🇨🇳🇧🇷 China and Brazil have concluded an agreement on the bilateral trade in the Chinese yuan and are planning to expand the cooperation in food and mineral extractions sectors, the Chinese vice minister of commerce, Guo Tingting, said on Thursday.

💬 "An agreement on settling payments in yuan has been signed with Brazil, which greatly facilitates our trade. We are planning to expand cooperation in the field of food and mineral extraction, and to search for a possibility of exporting goods with high added value from China to Brazil and from Brazil to China," Guo said at a business forum in Beijing, as quoted by Brazilian newspaper.

▪️ On Wednesday, Brazil and China announced the establishment of a clearing house that would provide for the settlements without using the US dollar, as well as lending in national currencies to facilitate and reduce the cost of transactions and get rid of dollar dependence in the bilateral relations.

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🇷🇺❄️Extreme Yakut rider Duguidan Vinokurov reached the end of his almost 800-kilometre route from the Pole of Cold, the village of Oymyakon, to the settlement of Seymchan in Magadan on Thursday.

Learn more about his incredible journey in our video!

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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 Biden’s Summit for Democracy
🔺Next, we’ll cover the Taiwanese president’s visit to the US and China’s reaction to it
🔺Finally, we’ll speak about the runaway barge carrying 1,400 tons of methanol

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

❗️Russia’s MoD briefing on the special military operation’s progress in Ukraine:

▪️ As many as 50 Ukrainian servicemen and two automobiles, were destroyed in the Kharkov Region and the Lugansk People's Republic.

▪️ In the Donetsk People's Republic and the LPR, the Russian army destroyed up to 130 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, a Grad MLRS installation, and an Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer.

▪️ In the DPR, the Ukrainian military lost over 340 military personnel and mercenaries, two tanks, four IFVs, six armored combat vehicles, nine vehicles, one Uragan MLRS, as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers.

▪️ Over 25 Ukrainian servicemen and two armored fighting vehicles were destroyed in the Zaporozhye Region and the DPR.

▪️ In the Kherson Region, as many as 25 Ukrainian servicemen, 11 vehicles, and three D-30 howitzers were wiped out.

▪️ The Russian army eliminated 93 Ukrainian artillery units in firing positions, besides manpower and equipment, in 107 districts in a 24-hour period.

▪️ A Ukrainian Air Force Mi-8 helicopter and two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defenses.

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What is the US Plan for Developing Hypersonic Missiles?

The US Air Force (USAF) plans to end a hypersonic weapons program under development by Lockheed Martin Corp., Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Andrew Hunter told the House Armed Services Committee.

According to Hunter, the USAF “currently intend to pursue follow-on procurement” of the hypersonic weapon known as ARRW, though it will conduct two additional flight tests of it to accumulate important data.

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❗️ Moscow court arrests WSJ reporter in espionage case

Musk Blames Fed's Policy for Eroding US Dollar’s Value

American billionaire investor Elon Musk has blamed the US Federal Reserve’s tight monetary policy for hurting the US dollar’s position as a global safe-haven currency.

"Serious issue. US policy has been too heavy-handed, making countries want to ditch the dollar," Musk wrote on social media.

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❗️ Nine US service members were killed in Black Hawk helicopter crash over Kentucky, US media reports citing an army official.

China’s Response to Ukraine Crisis to Determine Its Relations With EU, von der Leyen Says

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU’s relationship with Beijing is very important and will be "a determining factor for our future prosperity and national security". Von der Leyen stressed that the European Union believes that it is critically important to keep lines of communication with China open.

“We need to reinforce the institutions and systems in which countries can compete and cooperate and from which they benefit this is why it is vitally important that we ensure diplomatic stability and open communication with China,” von der Leyen said during her speech on EU-China relations at the Mercator Institute for China Studies.

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Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine Corps independent geopolitical researcher and writer based in Bangkok, joins us to discuss Washington’s attempts to ignite a proxy war between China and Taiwan

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

☦️ Parishioners sing at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra’s entrance.

The commission for the inventory of property, which is not allowed onto the monastery’s premises, did not rule out that they would need police assistance if they were not granted access.

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🇮🇳🎉 India celebrates Ram Navami, a Hindu festival honoring the birth of Lord Vishnu's incarnation, Lord Rama.

Enjoy the festive mood of this event in our video!

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🇺🇸 US Congresswoman for Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Thursday that her resolution to audit "every single" taxpayer dollar for Ukraine was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

💬 "I’m happy to announce that my resolution to audit every single American taxpayer dollar sent to Ukraine has PASSED the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The American People deserve to know where all of their money is being sent," Greene wrote on social media.

📍 The committee passed the motion in a 90-20 vote.

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📹 Videos that emerged online show Christian faithful gather in front of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and pray, preventing the government commission sent to do an inventory of the monastery from entering.

🗣 "We do you no harm, let us pray for our husbands” and “You are at war with God”: with these words, the parishioners of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra encountered members of the commission of the Ukrainian authorities.

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🇺🇳 The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the freezing of a part of Iran's assets by the United States is illegal and a compensation is required to be paid, Vice-President of the Court Kirill Gevorgian said on Thursday.

🇺🇸🇮🇷 The United States violated its obligations under the Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights of 1955 with Iran, and thus has to pay compensation to Tehran for the consequences and violations of international obligations, according to Gevorgian.

📌 The amount of compensation will be determined at a later stage of the proceedings, according to the court's decision.

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⚡️ Ukrainian court rejected the claim of the Ukrainian Patriarchal Church to invalidate the unilateral termination of the lease agreement for the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, said the Minister of Culture of Ukraine.

Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Ted Cruz’s amendment that would have empowered the US president to wage war against Iran

🗣️”What happened the last time a president was unilaterally allowed to wage war? Well, we had the war in Iraq, which was a disaster for everybody. No war should ever happen. But this one was built on lies, lies that the US government told resulted in the destabilization of Iraq, the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions of innocent people, and increased terrorism and hostility to the United States. Nothing, nothing positive came from it. And now, Ted Cruz and 41 of his associates want to march off in that direction again,” he stated

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

Tsai's US Visit Can't Curb China's Growing Political Clout Worldwide

Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen's "transit visit" to the US is consistent with Washington's policy of having close relations with the island while maintaining the appearance of non-official ties, Ross Feingold, a political risk analyst, told Sputnik, adding that Beijing could respond with military exercises and restrictions against Taipei.

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