❗️The visit of the Chinese defense minister to Russia demonstrates the independence of cooperation between the two countries' armies and the deepening of mutual trust between Moscow and Beijing, the Chinese defense ministry said.

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 what’s behind the accusations of China having a “secret police station” in New York City
🔺Next, we’ll talk about the scandal surrounding Governor DeSantis and Disney
🔺Finally, we’ll speak about why European countries are banning Ukrainian grain

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Kremlin slams claims about 'Russian sabotage' at energy facilities in Northern Europe

A joint investigation by journalists from Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden said that Russia was allegedly preparing possible sabotage at energy facilities in the Nordic countries.

💬 "These media outlets of the mentioned countries, they made a mistake in their investigation. They again unreasonably prefer to blame Russia for everything. We would prefer that they pay more attention to the topic of the terrorist attack on Nord Stream and the need for a transparent, urgent, and broad international investigation of these unprecedented terrorist acts of sabotage," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

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🇬🇧🍲 UK inflation rate falls by fraction of percent — but food prices soar

Inflation in the UK fell less than forecast in March, while the rise in food prices accelerated to a 46-year high.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed the Consumer Price Index rate dropped from 10.4% in February to 10.1% in March — confounding economists predictions that it would fall to 9.8%.

But food and non-alcoholic drink price inflation hit 19.1%, the highest since August 1977. The statistics agency blamed the rise on high commodity and production costs — both of which are linked to sanctions and embargoes on Russian fuel, grain and fertilizer exports.

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🎥 240 years ago Catherine the Great signed a historical manifesto which led to Crimea’s accession to Russia

☝️Here’s how it happened

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⚡️The Russian Ministry of Defense says that airborne troop units have blocked Artemovsk from the northern and southern outskirts. Assault squads, supported by artillery, have liberated three blocks of the city, and efforts by Ukrainian troops to mount a counterattack have been quashed.

Taliban calls on Afghan media to fight western propaganda 🚫

🇦🇫 Abdul Kabir, a leading member of the Taliban* and third deputy PM of Afghanistan on Wednesday called on the Afghan press agencies to "present the true image of Afghanistan to the people and the world by exposing false propaganda" in the West.

* under UN sanctions for terrorism

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏃‍♀️ Easy ride: Scottish ultrarunner disqualified for using a car during marathon

Dr Joasia Zakrzewski, the 47-year-old GP from Dumfries had been caught at the M2L Ultra marathon after tracking data revealed that she reached a top speed of 35 miles per hour. Moreover, data showed that she took the main road rather than the race route.

The M2L Ultra is a 50-mile race from Manchester to Liverpool in England's North-West and part of the GBUltras. It is a challenging ultra-marathon that takes runners on a scenic journey between the two major cities along the Trans-Pennine trail, the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey.

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☦️The parishioners of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church who entered the sealed premises of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which had been sealed by authorities, found monks locked up there as hostages.

The Lavra's lawyer called the actions of the police who sealed off one of the monastery's premises illegal. A complaint has been filed against them, which will be considered by the state investigation bureau.

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❗️(1) Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 120 Ukrainian troops, one tank, two armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one Grad MLRS vehicle as well as one ammunition depot. In addition, actions of two sabotage and reconnaissance groups were thwarted;

▪️In Krasny Liman direction, Russian forces destroyed up 75 Ukrainian personnel and two armored fighting vehicles;

▪️In Donetsk direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 380 troops, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, five armored fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, one D-20 howitzer, and one Grad MLRS as well as one ammunition depot.

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❗️(2) Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Ukrainian losses in these directions amounted to up to 120 troops, two armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one Msta-B howitzer. In addition, actions of two sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were thwarted;

▪️In Kherson direction, up to 30 Ukrainian troops, two motor vehicles, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, one D-30 howitzer and one ammunition depot have been destroyed over the past 24 hours;

▪️Russian Aerospace forces shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jets and two Su-25 in the Donetsk People's Republic and Kharkov region. In addition, air defence forces shot down four HIMARS MLRS projectiles and six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in Kherson region, Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic.

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⚡️Robert Kennedy Jr announces bid for presidency, challenging Biden for democratic nomination

🇫🇷 Macron was booed during his visit to Alsace in eastern France. This is his first trip to the regions since the final adoption of the pension reform.

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🇷🇺 Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has made an inspection of combat duty in the Vladimirskoye missile force of the Strategic Missile Forces in the Kaluga region.

The defense minister checked the organization of combat duty of the strategic complex with intercontinental ballistic missiles.

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