🇳🇱 The Netherlands has allocated 40 million euros ($44 million) to the World Bank's support program for Ukrainian farmers, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher said on Saturday.

🗣 "This week we contributed EUR 40 million to the @Worldbank's @IFC_org [the International Finance Corporation]. This provides Ukraine's farmers access to finance, and ensures more food security," Schreinemacher said on Twitter.

📍 The International Finance Corporation is a member of the World Bank Group focused on raising private investments in developing countries.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🤖 Elon Musk created a new artificial intelligence company that will be incorporated in Nevada, a recent filing has revealed.

▪️ The new company, called X.AI Corp., appears to be part of Musk's plan to make a rival effort to OpenAI, the company that launched ChatGPT in November, US media reported, citing state filings and researchers familiar with the billionaire's recruiting campaign.

▪️ The filing, which registers the firm as a domestic corporation in Las Vegas, lists Musk as its sole director and Jared Birchall as its secretary. Birchall is known for serving as Musk's right-hand deputy and fixer, having been at the helm of the tech giant's family office Excession.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US, Japan & South Korea Discuss Regularizing Military Drills to Counter Pyongyang

Top security officials from the United States, Japan, and South Korea in a joint statement said they discussed the regularization of military exercises to deter and respond to North Korea's missile threats.

Earlier in the day, North Korean state media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided the first test-fire of the new-type Hwasongpho-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Read more

Putin Attends Orthodox Easter Service at Moscow Cathedral

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, located a few hundred meters from the Kremlin, for the Orthodox Easter service.

The midnight mass is led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin is also attending the Easter service.

Read more

Ukrainian troops have shelled the city of Donetsk overnight and some of the rockets fell near the cathedral, where the Orthodox Easter service was taking place, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

▪️ Ukrainian forces fired a total of 20 rockets at the Voroshilovsky District of Donetsk at around 03:25 a.m. local time on Sunday (00:25 GMT), the Donetsk People’s Republic's (DPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes (JCCC) said on Telegram.

▪️ A Sputnik correspondent reported that some of the rockets landed near the Svyato-Preobrazhenskyy cathedral in central Donetsk, where the Orthodox Easter service was taking place (Orthodox Christians are celebrating Easter this year on April 16).

▪️ People were forced to evacuate from the cathedral, according to the Sputnik correspondent.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Former CIA Director: Marjorie Taylor Greene 'Not Fit to Hold Public Office'

During an interview, former CIA Director John Brennan criticized the actions of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and argued that she is not fit to hold a public office due to her past and current comments.

He specifically mentioned her recent defense of Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who was arrested and charged for leaking sensitive and classified military documents, including information about national security issues.

Read more

🇭🇺 Hungary has followed Poland's lead and banned imports of grains, oilseeds and a range of other agricultural products from Ukraine until June 30, 2023, Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said on Saturday.

🗣 "The [Hungarian] government is committed to protecting the interests of the Hungarian farming community, so in the absence of any meaningful EU measures, it temporarily bans imports of grains and oilseeds, as well as several other agricultural products produced in or coming from Ukraine, into Hungary, as Poland did," the statement read.

📍 The ban is set to remain in place until June 30, 2023, according to the statement. By that time, Budapest expects the European Union to work out measures to support European farmers and revise the regulations on duty-free imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US Community College Enrollment Down Nearly 40 Percent Over Last Decade

Enrollment in community colleges has declined by nearly 40% since 2010. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of students enrolled in public two-year colleges fell from seven million in 2010 to 4.5 million in 2022.

The low tuition rate of community colleges has helped low-income students achieve their academic goals. Additionally, community college students enjoy a sense of community, with many first-generation, low-income students finding a supportive environment.

Read more

Biden Approves Alaska LNG Project, Angering Environmental Advocates

The Biden administration on Thursday approved exports of liquefied natural gas from the Alaska LNG project, reports media. The Department of Energy has approved the Alaska Gasline Development Corp project to export LNG to countries with which the US does not have a free trade agreement.

Supporters of the roughly $39 billion project expect it to be up and running by 2030 if it receives all necessary permits. The LNG would be exported mainly to Asian countries.

Read more

🇸🇩 The Sudanese army shared a video of 35 armed vehicles seized from the Rapid Support Forces camp in the southern city of ad-Damazin

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

🇲🇽 At least twenty gunmen attacked visitors at the La Palma swimming resort in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, leaving seven people dead, media report.

▪️ The attack occurred in the municipality of Cortazar on Saturday. At least 20 attackers with assault rifles opened fire on people in the recreation area, local press said.

▪️ At least seven people (three women, three men and one child) were killed as a result. The gunmen reportedly took some of the security cameras from the resort with them before fleeing.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Murder of Orient Express? Luxury Train Operator to Drop UK Service Due to Brexit Security Checks

The operator of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) luxury train has cut the UK leg of the trans-European route due to Channel crossing delays caused by Brexit-related biometric passport checks, according to a British newspaper.

The Belmond company has decided to scrap the London-to-Folkestone section of the legendary journey because the new checks significantly complicate the process of crossing the UK border to Calais, France.

Read more

Brazilian President Warns US Against 'Encouraging' Ukraine Conflict

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has warned Washington against further instigating the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia continues its special military operation.

He told reporters after his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing that "the United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace."

Read more

🇦🇷 More than 40,000 cases of dengue fever have been registered in Argentina since January 1, the country's health ministry said on Sunday.

💬 "The Ministry of Health informs [you] that up to the epidemiological week 14 of the year 2023, 41,257 cases of dengue have been registered in the country, of which in 37,914 cases the infection took place within Argentina," the ministry said in a statement.

📍 Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted through mosquito bites. According to the World Health Organization, there is no specific treatment for the fever, and the vaccine against it is only recommended for people with a history of dengue infection. There are four serotypes of the virus, which means that one can get infected with four different types of dengue.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇬🇧 UK Prince Harry had a heart-to-heart conversation with his father, King Charles III, before agreeing to attend his upcoming coronation, the British tabloid reported on Sunday, citing sources.

▪️ Earlier in the week, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying Prince Harry would attend the coronation, but his wife Meghan Markle would remain in California with their children. Previously, the couple did not want to come to the coronation because Buckingham Palace refused to invite one-year-old Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie, who turns four the same day as the king is crowned, to the event.

📌 The sources said the king and the prince had a heart-to-heart talk before the latter agreed to attend the ceremony, and there was a "willingness and wanting to mend on both sides."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 The Pacific Fleet's Air Defense enters combat duty, positioned in new areas, as part of the Pacific Fleet's snap combat readiness inspection (video by Russian MoD)

▪️ S-400 SAM systems, Pantsir-S AAMGS, and radar stations with various operating ranges were alerted for air defense in the new positioned areas to repel any air attack in the district.

▪️ During the marches, the personnel trained to repel attacks by the sabotage and reconnaissance groups of a mock enemy, as well as detect aerial targets using Pantsir-S systems.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Bavaria Urges Germany's Federal Government to Devolve Nuclear Power Plant to Local Control

The German state of Bavaria is urging the federal government to grant it decision-making autonomy on the future of the recently-deactivated Isar 2 nuclear power plant, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder said on Sunday.

On Saturday, Germany switched off its last three functioning nuclear power plants — Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 — as a part of the country's nuclear phase-out policy.

Read more

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

▪️ Russian artillery neutralized Ukrainian units in Kharkov region and the LPR. The enemy losses were 35 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles and 1 D-20 howitzer.

▪️ The attacks, launched by Ground-Assault and Army aviation, artillery, and heavy flamethrower systems, have resulted in the neutralisation of Ukrainian units in the LPR and DPR. The enemy losses were up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, 1 armoured fighting vehicle, 2 motor vehicles, and 1 D-30 howitzer.

▪️ Near Donetsk, Wagner assault troops have liberated two neighbourhoods in the north-western and south-eastern part of Artyomovsk during an offensive. Airborne Troops units were constraining the enemy movement on the flanks of the assault troops.

▪️ Russian aviation and artillery operations have resulted in the neutralisation of Ukrainian units in the DPR. The enemy losses were over 45 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles and 1 D-30 howitzer. One U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-37 counterbattery warfare radar has been destroyed in Zaporozhye region.

▪️ In Kherson region, as a result of shelling, enemy losses were over 30 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 motor vehicles and 1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer.

▪️ Operational-Tactical Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Russia have neutralised 92 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 127 areas.
Air defence facilities have intercepted 10 projectiles, launched by HIMARS and Smerch MLRS, as well as 3 HARM anti-radar missiles. In addition, 4 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down in the LPR and DPR.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇿📹 About 30-35 thousand people are participating in an anti-government rally on Wenceslas Square in the center of Prague

▪️ The participants want to draw the attention of the authorities to the rapid deterioration of the standard of living of ordinary citizens, who have recently been hit by a rise in the price of energy, products, and gasoline.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡ French journalists have arrived in the city of Gulyaipole, Zaporozhye region, likely to prepare provocative videos about alleged Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure - Russian MoD