🇷🇺🇸🇱 Russia, Sierra Leone Agree to Boost Bilateral Ties, Moscow Says

Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has discussed boosting cooperation in various spheres with his Sierra Leonean counterpart, David Francis, during a phone call, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

🗣 "The foreign ministers have discussed current issues of bilateral relationships including prospects for boosting trade and investment ties. The diplomats have agreed to take further steps towards expanding cooperation in geology, energy, agriculture and education," the ministerial statement read

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

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 40 Ukrainian troops, two armored fighting vehicles, and two pickups;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to 80 servicemen, an armored fighting vehicle, two motor vehicles, and one D-20 howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, the Russian Army destroyed more than 410 Ukrainian troops, two armored personnel carriers, one tank, four armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer during the day;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, three sabotage and reconnaissance groups were suppressed. Ukrainian losses in these directions during the day amounted to 30 servicemen, one armored vehicle, two pickups, as well as two ammunition depots;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, and one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer;

▪️Russian aviation hit a Ukrainian MIG-29 fighter in the DPR;

▪️Russian air defenses destroyed 13 Ukrainian HIMARS MLRS rockets and one HARM anti-radar missile. In addition, 22 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the DPR hand LPR were destroyed.

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❗️LIVE NOW: Putin receives credentials of 17 ambassadors
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⚡️ Russia expects establishment of international commission to investigate the terrorist attack on Nord Stream, Putin says

'Pathetic Orientalism': TIME's Exclusive With Imran Khan Slammed, Fact-Checked by Pakistani Public

🇵🇰🇺🇸 Pakistani journalists have pointed to a string of factual errors about Khan's biography in the article, laying bare the blatant bias of the American publication.

💭 "They've written a typical commentary that does not beyond the West's binary, myopic & fallacious view of the Muslim world," one of the commentators on social media opined.

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❗️Key points of Vladimir Putin’s speech as he welcomes 17 new foreign ambassadors to Russia:

▪️Russia is open to dialogue with all countries, is not going to isolate itself;

▪️There is no bias or hostile intentions towards anyone;

▪️Putin expresses hope that the foreign ambassadors will be involved in political dialogue, humanitarian issues;

▪️Russia expects that its partners will adhere to principles of equality in bilateral relations;

▪️Putin informed the foreign ambassadors about Russia's new foreign policy concept;

▪️Relations with the US are in deep crisis;

▪️US support for “color revolutions,” including the one in Ukraine, in its foreign policy led to today's crisis;

▪️Moscow stands for building relations with the US based on principles of equality and non-interference in internal affairs;

▪️Relations with the EU recently deteriorated, Europe initiated confrontation with Russia;

▪️Russia and Denmark are historically close to each other, but today the Baltic Sea is restless;

▪️Relations with Norway are now reduced to a minimum, this is unlikely to serve the interests of the peoples of the two countries;

▪️Russia maintains relations with Equatorial Guinea, including on energy issues, within the OPEC+ framework;

▪️Russia and Oman aim to boost bilateral investments;

▪️Moscow will continue to support Syria in dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters and will support political recovery;

▪️Moscow values Mexico's balanced approach to solving world problems, wants to increase trade with the country;

▪️Russia will continue to fulfill its obligations on development in Abkhazia;

▪️Moscow supports the territorial integrity of Iraq and non-interference in the internal affairs of the country.

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📹 “Today, the Baltic Sea is in turmoil,” Vladimir Putin said about the Nord Stream attack while addressing Danish Ambassador Jakob Henningsen at the presentation of credentials ceremony

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📹 Relations between Russia and the EU have recently deteriorated as Europe initiated confrontation with Russia, Vladimir Putin says

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📹 “Russian-US relations are in deep crisis, unfortunately,” Vladimir Putin says.

Putin said the coup d'état in Ukraine in 2014 led to the current situation.

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🇹🇷The Turkish authorities are planning to introduce discounts on gas for the general public at a ceremony on April 20 in connection with the start of supplies from the Black Sea gas reserves to the national distribution system.

The introduction of Black Sea gas into Turkiye's national distribution network will ensure the country's gas security, media reported, adding that good news about the discounts would be announced directly by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The authorities are reportedly considering four formulas for providing gas discounts to the population. The first option provides for granting 100 cubic meters of gas at a time as a gift to all citizens, while the second option is a 15% discount on gas in residential buildings. The third formula provides for free monthly distribution of 25 cubic meters of gas to citizens for its use in the kitchen and bathroom for eight months until the end of 2023, and the last option is to provide gas free of charge in April.

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According to the financial statements of Cisco Systems' Russian subsidiary, the American network equipment and software manufacturer physically destroyed inventory in Russia worth $23.4 million due to the suspension of its business in Russia.

"The stocks were physically destroyed in January 2023, therefore the reserves against decreases in the value of tangible assets as at 31 December 2022 are shown at full stock value of 1,864,002,000 rubles," the company report reads.

The decision to dispose of the inventory was made in August of last year, and the destruction took place in January 2023. The equipment consisted mainly of spare parts for equipment. The reason for the destruction was the cessation of sales and services, as well as the suspension of licenses and services by Cisco.

In July to August, the company terminated most of its employment contracts, resulting in a total payment of $2.39Mln to employees and mandatory contributions to extra-budgetary funds.

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Bryce Greene, contributor to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, joined us to discuss the provocative war games conducted by the US towards China in order to maintain its primacy

🎧Listen to more of Greene’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary

Ancient Earth May Have Been Quite 'Slushy,' and Not Ball of Ice, Study Shows

The "Snowball Earth" theory suggests that between 700 million and 600 million years ago, Earth was completely covered in ice. However, new research by Chinese scientists challenges this long-standing theory and suggests that there were areas of "slush" that allowed oxygen to penetrate, providing a habitat for multicellular organisms.

The study sheds light on the conditions of the oceans billions of years ago and provides fascinating insights into the history of life on Earth.

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⚡️Ukrainian light-engine plane crashes in Russia’s Bryansk region, pilot detained by border guards, Russian FSB border department said

Bryce Greene, contributor to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, joined us to discuss the US empowering Taiwan in order to challenge China, as well as Western media misinformation

🎧Listen to more of Greene’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary

🇮🇹 Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized on Wednesday due to heath problems after suffering an infection, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani said.

"He is in intensive care because the problem, which was related to the infection, has not been solved. But he is able to speak, that's what I know," Tajani told reporters after the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, as quoted by am Italian daily. Tajani added that he had not yet spoken to the former prime minister.

Sources in Berlusconi's party confirmed to Sputnik that the 86-year-old lawmaker is conscious and in a stable condition.

Earlier, local media reported that Berlusconi had been readmitted to Milan's San Raffaele Hospital due to cardiovascular problems. The former prime minister was reportedly having difficulty breathing.

Berlusconi has been regularly examined at San Raffaele Hospital for many years. He spent four days there last week before being discharged on March 30.

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Chief market strategist Todd “Bubba” Horwitz joined us to discuss the oil production cut announced by OPEC+ amid ongoing economic upheaval

🎧Listen to more of Horwitz’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines