🇯🇵 Japan will take additional security measures at the upcoming G7 summit in Hiroshima following the recent explosives attack in Wakayama Prefecture involving Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

💬 "Measures have already been taken to increase security for leaders at the Hiroshima summit after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But after Saturday's incident, the number of security guards and police officers responsible for the safety of leaders and guests is likely to be increased," the head of Japanese security company CCTT, Hideto Osanai said.

▪️ He added that the Wakayama incident was the first time explosives had been used in an attempted attack on a high-ranking official.

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US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has lowered expectations before the Monday SpaceX Starship launch and has encouraged people to study the history of the Soviet N1 rocket

▪️ According to Elon Musk, "scrub" or postponement of the Starship launch will probably happen on Monday. The entrepreneur said that he was not sure what exactly could go wrong or else the support team would have tackled it.

💬 "Success is not what should be expected tomorrow - that would be insane," Musk told the Twitter space participants. "So I would encourage people to review the history of the Soviet N1 rocket, which has really a very impressive rocket design. But it never reached orbit."

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'Valuable Vector of Russia's Foreign Policy': Lavrov Starts Latin American Tour

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov begins his Latin American tour on Monday, during which he is due to visit Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

The Russian foreign minister announced the tour early last month, praising Latin American countries’ push for what Sergey Lavrov described as the qualitatively "new development of their regional cooperation."

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Norway Braces for Mass Wage Strike Amid Near-Record Inflation

Workers representing numerous Norwegian industries will go on strike on April 17 after failing to reach a wage deal with employers to make up for the unrelenting inflation.

Up to 25,000 union members will walk out this Monday as last-ditch talks led by a government-appointed mediator failed to produce an agreement on the salaries of about 185,000 workers, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) said in a statement.

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📹 The artillerymen of the Airborne Forces inflicted fire damage on the military facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the zone of the special military operation (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

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🇺🇸 US officials will travel to Central Europe and Central Asia in the next two weeks with the aim of countering sanctions evasion

💬 "Under Secretary [of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian] Nelson and Assistant Secretary [for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth] Rosenberg will use these trips to seek ways to collaborate more closely, share information, and discuss trade trends and enforcement priorities at all levels of the supply chain," the Treasury said in a statement.

▪️ Nelson will travel to Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany from April 16-April 22. Rosenberg will travel to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from April 23-April 28.

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❗️Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu

▪️ The unscheduled meeting between Putin and Shoigu takes place against the backdrop of a sudden inspection of Russia's Pacific Fleet.

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🇸🇩 Over 83 People Killed in Sudan clashes, WHO Says

Since April 13, over 1,126 others have been injured in Khartoum province, South Kordofan, North Darfur, Northern state and other regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) informed.

It added that fighting is now concentrated in the city of Khartoum, and many of the hospitals there report a shortage of blood transfusion equipment and medical supplies

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📹 Warships of the Pacific Fleet during a surprise inspection conducted an anti-submarine exercise in the Sea of Japan, as well as artillery firing at sea and air targets, our Sputnik correspondent reports

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📹 Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion, claims the US government had full access to everything on the social media platform, including private direct messages between users, according to an explosive new teaser clip shared by Tucker Carlson.

💬 “The degree to which various government agencies effectively had full access to everything that was going on on Twitter blew my mind. I was not aware of that,” Musk said in the new clip.

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'Unilateral Actions Unacceptable': EU Slams Poland, Hungary for Ban on Ukraine Grain Imports

The European Commission has lashed out at bans introduced by Poland and Hungary on imports of Ukrainian grain and other foods over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said in a statement on Sunday that such a trade policy was a matter of “EU exclusive competence,” making it clear that only the bloc could adopt legally binding decisions.

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❗️ Slovakia will suspend the import of grain and other selected products from Ukraine, said the Prime Minister

🇬🇧 The UK government is in talks to place a warship to the Indo-Pacific region for a permanent deployment, British newspaper reported on Monday citing a government source.

🗣 "The future is in Asia. We've got to have a presence in the Pacific to prevent China doing something ridiculous like invading Taiwan," the source was quoted as saying.

📌 The UK plans to deploy at least one Type-31 frigate, which will become a tipping point after five decades of UK military power's decline east of Suez, the newspaper added.

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❗️ Latest statements by Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ The prospects for the "grain deal" are not so bright; the situation with the fulfillment of the terms of the second part of the agreements has not proven.

▪️ Kremlin on Tokyo's protest against Russia's military maneuvers: all exercises are conducted in strict accordance with international law.

▪️ Kremlin on the need for the Russian fleet to pursue full combat readiness: times are turbulent, there is the threat of regional conflict.

▪️ The United States has never abandoned attempts to conduct intelligence activities in the Russian Federation, this will be met with opposition; the Russian special services are working.

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🇺🇸🧪 Russian Duma invites US ambassador to clarify the nature of biological programs in Ukraine

▪️ The lower house of the Russian Parliament (State Duma) invited US Ambassador Lynne Tracy to clarify the activity of US biological laboratories in Ukraine.

▪️ A parliamentary commission investigating outside interference in Russian affairs plans to hold a meeting on April 18 that will focus on compliance with current regulations on foreign agents and the work of foreign NGOs in Russia.

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🇷🇺🇧🇷 Russian FM Lavrov has arrived in Brazil for an official visit

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Google CEO: Society not Ready for AI Advancement

Google and Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai has hinted that society is not prepared for the swift advancement of artificial intelligence (AI).

In an interview with a US broadcaster, Pichai said that "We need to adapt as a society for it," arguing that jobs that would be disrupted by AI would include so-called "knowledge workers," such as writers, accountants, architects and even software engineers.

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⚡️ UK Parliament launches probe into Sunak over his declaration of interest