Esteban Carrillo, journalist and editor of The Cradle, joined us to discuss Macron’s moves towards China

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

🌋Roscosmos has released footage from a satellite showing the spread of an ash cloud after the eruption of the Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka.

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Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder and veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joined us to discuss the alleged intelligence leak that exposed US spying on adversaries and allies

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

🇺🇸 🇵🇭The US and the Philippines have commenced their largest joint military exercise in over 30 years, which is scheduled to take place from April 11 to 28. However, some people in the Philippines have taken to the streets of Quezon City to protest against the drills.

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Smart, Swift, Secure: What is Russia's Digital Ruble?

In December 2021, the creation of a prototype of the digital ruble platform was completed, and 12 banks expressed their desire to take part in its testing. Based on the results, a strategy for ushering in the digital currency will be developed.

The digital ruble is a proposed digital version of Russia's national currency. The Central Bank of Russia believes that the digital ruble can become a more accessible means of payment for citizens and businesses than cash or traditional bank transfers.

The digital ruble is expected to integrate with existing payment systems and be available for use by individuals and businesses alike.

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Buchenwald Resistance: Liberation of Nazi Death Camps

The UN designated April 11 as the International Day of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps to honor the memory of the courageous inmates who rebelled against their captors at Buchenwald, one of the largest death camps in Nazi Germany.

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🐢Every year, olive ridley turtles crawl from the Bay of Bengal 🇮🇳 onto Gahirmatha Beach to lay their ping-pong ball-sized eggs.

Learn more in our video.

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🇿🇼 🇷🇺💧Zimbabwe interested in Russia's help with water security – water resources agency

▪️Zimbabwe has expressed its interest in Russia's experience in resolving issues of water deficit, river recovery and ecological education, the Russian Federal Agency of Water Resources (Rosvodoresursy) said on Tuesday.

▪️The agency said its head, Dmitry Kirillov, has met with Zimbabwean Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Barbara Rwodzi.

▪️Kirillov said that Russia was open to an exchange of experience and knowledge, and noted that Russia had state-level "mechanisms and programs for protecting and recovering water bodies, solving water deficit problems and stimulating economic entities to lower water consumption and use water saving technologies"

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Global Thunder 23: What Message Do US’ Latest Nuclear Drills Send Russia?

The United States Strategic Command has begun its annual command and control drills, Global Thunder 23, to enhance nuclear readiness and assess operational readiness in coordination with allies. The drills involve US forces responsible for launching nuclear weapons against adversaries and typically include Britain, Canada, Denmark, Australia, and South Korea.

The drills aim to send a message to Washington's adversaries about its preparedness for nuclear warfare. The danger of such exercises is evident from history, with the Able Archer drills in 1983 nearly sparking a global nuclear holocaust.

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Turkiye in Venezuela: A Sanctioned Partnership

Turkiye has developed a new partnership with Venezuela that aims to help the South American country bypass US sanctions, which have caused a major contraction in its economy since 2014.

Turkish imports from Venezuela have increased by 523% since 2017, and Venezuelan imports from Turkiye have grown by 860% over the same period. The two countries have established consulates in each other’s second cities, and direct flights run on a daily basis. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro have made six presidential visits each in the last six years.

Turkiye has helped Venezuela cover its fiscal deficit by pledging to housing, healthcare, and schooling, with three Maarif international schools now operating in Caracas. Turkiye has also become a major supplier to Venezuela’s subsidized CLAP food scheme, which the government claims reaches 7.5 million families.

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Air Defense Force Commander: Russian Forces Have Shot Down 100 Bayraktar Drones During Special Op

Throughout the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian propaganda has often highlighted the effectiveness of Western-made military equipment, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles and M777 howitzers. However, Russian troops have demonstrated their ability to counter these weapons and have achieved success in the conflict.

"In 2022, expenditure of anti-air missiles during personnel training exceeded that of last year by a thousand times," Lieutenant-General Andrey Demin, commander of the Air Defense Forces and deputy commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces said.

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EU Cocoa Imports Associated With Deforestation in Ivory Coast

A recent study by researchers from the University of Louvain in Belgium has revealed that unregulated cocoa production in the Ivory Coast was responsible for 45% of the deforestation in the West African country between 2000 and 2019. The report cites untraced sourcing as being responsible for 60% of the deforestation.

The researchers recommend strongly enforced land-use policies and full farm-level traceability in the Ivory Coast, as well as requiring giant chocolate producers in Europe to prove that their products have not contributed to deforestation in the origin countries in Africa. Cocoa production plays a crucial role in the Ivorian economy, contributing significantly to the country's GDP and providing employment for millions of people.

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REC, Belveb and VEB.RF Will Finance Modernization of Grodno Azot

The Russian Export Center, Bank BelVEB and VEB.RF will jointly finance the reconstruction of the Ammonia-4 workshop of Belarus' Grodno Azot with a credit line of 3.25 billion rubles over seven years. The investment project is the first to be implemented by Grodno Azot under the "modernization map" program.

The REC group of companies, guaranteed by VEB, will provide financing, and Bank BelVEB will act as the agent bank. The project aims to increase ammonia output and reduce power consumption per unit. Bank BelVEB has been cooperating with Grodno Azot for over 15 years and plans to become a coordination center of the VEB.RF group in Belarus.

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Bombshell Docs Appear to Reveal Biden Admin's Direct Involvement in Raid on Trump's Estate

White House officials feigned ignorance over the August 2022 FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in search of classified documents, with President Joe Biden assuring he had “none, zero, not one single bit” of advance notice.

Trump has called the raid a coordinated element of a broader “witch hunt” against him by Biden and the Democrats.

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2024 Election, Charges & Nord Stream Sabotage: Trump Tells All in First Interview Since Indictment

Former US President Donald Trump gave a wide-ranging sit-down interview late Tuesday, marking the first official media appearance the ex-commander-in-chief sat down for after he was formally arraigned earlier this month.

The interview, given to Fox News' Tucker Carlson, was held at the Mar-a-Lago estate, the former president's Florida residence. It began with the former president recalling his recent arraignment, detailing that New York courthouse employees were crying and hopeful for his 2024 White House bid.

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Kornet: Most Fearsome Weapon of Russia’s Tank Hunters

The Russian military is training special “tank hunter” units designed to take on the German, British, and American armor being sent to Ukraine.

What sorts of weapons will Russian forces have at their disposal to counter the sophisticated Western heavy weapons platforms? What kinds of weapons will Russia’s tank hunters have at their disposal?

Sputnik explains

🇮🇹 Italy declares state of emergency for six months over influx of migrants

During a meeting on Tuesday, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that, since the beginning of 2023, there has been a sharp increase in migration flows in the Apennines. This led to a critical situation in a number of temporary accommodation centers for migrants, especially on the island of Lampedusa.

In this situation, it was proposed to take urgent emergency measures in order to normalize the situation in this "hot spot," in which 1,800 refugees were being accommodated while the center was designed to house only some 400 people.

The Italian Council of Ministers decided to declare a nationwide state of emergency at the proposal of Italian Civil Protection and Maritime Policies Minister Sebastiano Musumeci. The Italian government also decided to allocate 5 million euros ($5.46 million) from the National Emergency Fund while pending an accurate assessment of the real financial needs to solve the migration crisis, the statement said.

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Supply of MANPADS to Ukraine endangers global civil air traffic

💬 "Western weapons, including MANPADS and ATGWs, which find their way to Ukraine are spreading all over the world, to the zones of other regional conflicts, falling into the hands of organized crime, terrorists and extremists ... The necessity to raise the issue of security of civil air traffic in the world, including over Europe, will soon arise," The Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry added that Western arms "put into the hands of the criminal Ukrainian government and mercenaries are killing the civilian population, including women and children, in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions."

💬 "Residential areas of cities and civil infrastructure are under systematic shelling of Ukrainian artillery; the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is being shelled with all the ensuing threats of a nuclear catastrophe on the continent," the ministry said.

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❗️ Twitter legacy blue checks will be gone by next week, Musk says

Last year Twitter introduced a gold check-mark for companies and brands and has shifted government accounts to a gray check-mark. Subnoscription to the new Twitter Verified Organizations program will be in the future the only way to keep a gold or grey check-mark badge.

In his interview to British media, the Twitter CEO also reveals he wouldn't sell Twitter for same amount he bought it.

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🔥 Crews battle vast inferno as New Jersey wildfire consumes 500 acres

Local authorities said firefighters are struggling to extinguish a wildfire in Manchester Township in the north-eastern United States, which has already covered 500 acres and is 10 percent contained.

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🇹🇷 Depleted uranium shells supplies to Ukraine threaten humanity, Muharrem Ince says

Muharrem Ince, a Turkish presidential candidate from the Homeland Party (Memleket Partisi), has said in an interview with Sputnik that deliveries of munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine are a threat to humanity as a whole.

💬 "Signals, which are being sent through deliveries of munitions containing depleted uranium, pose a threat not only to Russia and Turkiye but to all of humanity. The entire humanity should oppose it," Ince said. "I think Britons should act more carefully on the matter," he added.

Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Turkiye on May 14. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, put forward by a six-party opposition alliance, is considered incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main opponent. The list of presidential candidates also includes Ince and Sinan Ogan of the ATA Alliance.

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