🪳 Let's add that to the piggy bank of phobias

🕋 Millions of people gathered at the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad to celebrate Ramadan in the holy city of Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Suddenly a heavy downpour began, and as soon as the rain stopped, hordes of cockroaches fluttered out of the ground, which caused a commotion, interrupting the prayer and scattering people in different directions.

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Chinese Defense Minister to Visit Russia on Apr 16-18

Minister Li Shangfu is due to arrive in Russia on April 16 for a four-day visit that comes at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu.

Commenting on the upcoming visit, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei told reporters that cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China contributes to the current Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive and strategic partnership.

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⚡️ Putin invited members of the Security Council to discuss an extremely important issue - Russia's information security

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 Pentagon leaks and the related arrest
🔺Next, we’ll talk about French protests
🔺Finally, we’ll speak about the growing conflict between Musk and Matt Thaibi

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

'Made in Russia' Stand Wins Top Award at Tashkent-Hosted Exhibition

The Russian Export Center (REC, part of VEB.RF) has clinched an award for being recognized as the organizer of the best national exposition at the 27th International Healthcare - TIHE 2023 exhibition in Uzbekistan for its collective stand under the ‘Made in Russia’ brand.

Russian companies' technologies have sparked great interest among industry experts from Uzbekistan. The Russian Export Center has organized a series of consultations for participants of the 'Made in Russia' stand with potential partners who are interested in the supply of Russian products.

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🗣️"They want a political settlement. Certainly, the United States seems to be opposed to any political settlement. I think that they are currently engaging in extraordinarily unethical, high-risk policy," scholar, educator, and journalist focusing on Asia-Pacific geopolitics KJ Noh speaks about the common desire for a political settlement of the Ukrainian conflict outside the US

🎧Listen to more of Noh’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

Russian Forces Sink Leopard 2 Tank in Kherson Area Swamp

The Leopard 2 tanks, which Western countries had earlier delivered to Ukraine, have been tracked by Russian forces on the battlefield in the Kherson area, an officer from a volunteer battalion has told Sputnik.

The officer, who only revealed his call sign, the Bull, referred to the Leopard 2s' shelling of Russian troops’ checkpoints in the area, also singling out “a story from colleagues”, who he said had captured one of those tanks.

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📹 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comments on Brazilian President Lula's de-dollarization initiative

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🛡 The Russian corporation Rostec announced the start of production for the needs of a special operation of high-class protection assault body armor Obereg.

▪️ The armor is able to stop the B-32 armor-piercing bullet from a sniper rifle: the shelling of a body armor plate from the SV-98 was shown at the training ground: the Obereg successfully stopped the bullet without breaking through.

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❗️ Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️Russia’s aviation and artillery have engaged the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the LPR and Kharkov region. The enemy's losses during the day amounted to up to 60 Ukrainian troops, two armored fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, and two D-20 howitzers.

▪️The Operational-Tactical Army warplanes, artillery and heavy flamethrower systems of the Russian Armed Forces have inflicted a fire damage on enemy units in the DPR and LPR. Total enemy losses amounted to up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer.

▪️The Wagner assault groups continue intensive fighting to occupy the western quarters of Artyomovsk.

▪️Over the past 24 hours, Russian aircraft made 14 sorties close to Artyomovsk and the Missile Troops and Artillery carried out 62 firing missions to support the Group’s actions. The enemy's losses amounted to up to 240 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, five armored fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, one Grad MLRS vehicle, as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers over the past day in this direction.

▪️Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces inflicted a fire damage on the Ukrainian units in the DPR and Zaporozhye region. Over the past 24 hours, up to 40 Ukrainian troops, two armored fighting vehicles, and one Msta-B howitzer have been neutralized in these directions.

▪️In Kherson direction, up to 35 Ukrainian troops, six motor vehicles, one Grad MLRS vehicle, and one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzers during the day.

▪️Operational-Tactical Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Russia have engaged 93 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions, enemy's manpower and hardware in 136 areas during the day.

▪️The air defense forces downed six HIMARS MLRS projectiles during the day.

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🇪🇺🇹🇼 The European Union's continuous deepening of cooperation with Taiwan is not indicative of any plans to recognize the island's independence

🗣 "We have one very clear policy when it comes to Taiwan, and that policy has not changed. It has always been the EU's one-China policy, which means that the EU continues developing friendly relations and deepening cooperation with Taiwan without any implication of diplomatic recognition," European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali told a briefing.

▪️ Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron paid an official visit to China, after which he said that Europe should not let itself be drawn into the confrontation between the United States and China over Taiwan conforming to "the American rhythm," calling on Europeans to "wake up" and think about their own interests.

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❗️ Suspected Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira will appear in federal court in Boston today at 10AM, US Attorney's Office says.

🗣️"All the US's offering Brazil is trying to force poverty, exacerbating neoliberal structural adjustments down their throat as conditionalities for any kind of loan from the institutions the US dominates, like the IMF and the World Bank. And you look at China, and China is willing to work jointly with Brazil to bypass using the dollar in transactions," co-editor of Brasil Wire and author Brian Mier speaks about US and Chinese approachs to establishing relations with Brazil

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

❗️ Teixeira, who was arrested in connection with the "leak" of documents from the Pentagon, was officially charged with the seizure, storage and transfer of classified information.

❗️ Teixeira's next court hearing will take place next Wednesday - Judge

How Ukraine Tries to Hijack Developing Nations' G-20 Agenda

🇮🇳 🌐 In June, India's Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar gave Europeans some food for thought when he suggested they should stop trying to project their own issues onto other countries.

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🪖 "Lucky man! C'mon go away. Are you alive?": the video from Sputnik's correspondent in Artemovsk caught the case when a helmet saved a Russian fighter from a Ukrainian sniper's bullet.

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Donbass Vets Share Stories About How War Came to Their Home in 2014

April 14 marks the ninth anniversary since Kiev began an ‘Anti-Terrorist Operation’ in the Donbass in 2014 aimed at crushing an uprising by residents opposed to the post-coup government. How did the militias arise? What motivated their members? What message do vets have for Westerners today? Sputnik reached out to them to find out.

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⚡️ French Constitutional Council approves raising the retirement age to 64