🇮🇱 A large-scale air parade on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the country's independence has been held in Israel

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🗣️”The bare facts are that is currently the US foreign policy is driven by ideologues. These are extreme neocons, and they want Russia to be destroyed”: journalist and political analyst Kiji Noh speaks about the neocons’ foreign policy vision and how they conduct it

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

Female US Army commander accused of harassing male soldiers and sexual assault

Col. Meghann Sullivan, 44, referred to as a “phenomenal engineer,” was the first woman to hold the role in the Army, serving for more than 20 years. Now, she is under harassment investigation.

Sullivan has been accused of alleged “forcibly kissing” a male subordinate and grabbing one below the belt, as well as harassing others.

Some of the incidents involved alcohol, according to sources close to the investigation.

It's unclear if Sullivan has been suspended.

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Taliban kills key Daesh member responsible for 2021 Afghan airport bombing, US official states

A Daesh-Khorasan* member, who was responsible for at least 170 Afghan civilians and 13 US service member deaths, has been killed by the Taliban**.

The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for the operation. It took weeks for the government to confirm the individual killed was the one they believe was responsible for the airport attack. According to the official, the US didn't coordinate with the movement.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other states.
**The Taliban is an organization under UN sanctions for terrorism.

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📹 Russia’s 152mm Giatsint self-propelled artillery howitzer continue missions in special military operation (video by Russian MoD)

The strikes wiped out the Ukrainian military’s strongholds, hardware, and fortifications.

This time, Giatsint-S crews destroyed Ukrainian anti-aircraft guns.

152mm fragmentation shells were fired at a range of about 15 kilometers. A reconnaissance system adjusted the fire and monitored the target engagement.

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Pentagon uses Ukraine as testing ground while prepping for 'clear' China standoff

Washington has a clear strategy focused on vying with Beijing. According to Kathleen Hicks, US deputy secretary of defense, the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine are providing important lessons for the US in the event of a potential conflict with China.

According to the interview, the US is experiencing difficulties in producing the necessary amount of weapons and will actively develop its military industry after years of stagnation caused by the end of the Cold War.

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Russia to take measures if Finland fails to resolve issue with Russian property

The Finnish authorities have yet to provide an explanation for their actions in seizing the property used by the Russian Center of Science and Culture in Helsinki.

Moscow has demanded clarification and threatened to take response measures if the situation is not resolved.

The Finnish authorities have temporarily banned any real estate activities on the land used by the center, citing concerns over EU sanctions, but the Russian Foreign Ministry argues that the property is owned by the Russian Federation and there are no grounds for seizure.

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McCarthy 'working through' GOP holdouts' concerns over debt ceiling bill as default 'X-Date' looms

GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy is working to convince hesitant Republicans to support his debt ceiling legislation.

While optimistic about passing the bill, divisions remain within the party, and the looming "X-date" adds pressure.

McCarthy's bill proposes a temporary $1.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling and includes spending cuts that some Republicans have concerns about, such as the repeal of green energy tax credits and a 20-hour-per-week work requirement for able-bodied Medicaid recipients without children starting in 2025.

McCarthy is resisting amendments to the bill, and GOP leaders plan to discuss final details with members on Wednesday.

The proposed bill is estimated to save taxpayers $4.8 trillion over 11 years.

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📹 Russian airborne artillerymen provide support to assault detachments near Artemovsk (Bakhmut in Ukrainian) (video courtesy of Russain MoD)

120mm Nona self-propelled guns crush Ukrainian military manpower and armor.

UAV operators ensure surveillance, fire control, and target acquisition.

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Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of America's Undeclared War, joins us to discuss Germany's poor position as Poland holds military exercises seemingly aimed at the country

🗣️”Nord Stream was the basis of an emerging German-Russian alliance, an alliance that Germany believed was for the good of Europe and that would benefit Europe, because it would supply it was clean with cheap energy. But now that alliance has been destroyed by the US and therefore, Germany has sort of been cut loose. And meanwhile, Poland is attacking it and taking advantage of the post-Nord Stream situation to attack Germany,” he stated

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

Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the creation of the so-called “Ramstein Format” to coordinate the provision of sophisticated Western weaponry to Ukraine in aid of NATO’s proxy war against Russia. Since then, over $70 billion in security assistance has been delivered.

What does this aid consist of? Who sent it?

US should provide cluster bombs to Ukraine – congressman

The Biden administration should consider providing Ukraine with cluster bomb munitions as there are two million available in US stocks to determine their effectiveness on the battlefield as Russia continues its special military operation, Congressman Joe Wilson said on Wednesday.

"I hope every effort will be made to look into providing the cluster bombs that we have two million available," Wilson said during a House Committee on Armed Services hearing.

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South African Sherpa lauds BRICS for 'championing' Global South's concerns

South Africa’s Sherpa has praised BRICS for representing the Global South's concerns, which is why many countries are interested in joining the economic bloc.

BRICS is regarded as the forum that is most aligned with creating a fair and inclusive global community. The group has become a champion of the Global South, addressing the unequal global political, financial, and trade architecture that favors the Global North.

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🇺🇸 DeSantis gearing up for 2024 election bid in early May

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may reportedly announce his participation in the 2024 presidential campaign as early as mid-May.

Reports indicated that some of DeSantis' supporters are urging him to announce his decision on May 11. However, individuals in the governor's inner circle reportedly believe it's far too soon and are calling for the political figure to make an announcement later in the year.

It's been suggested by US outlets that the arrival of political vendors in Tallahassee this past week is potentially a sign that an announcement could be imminent as vendors seek to obtain contracts with the DeSantis camp.

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🇺🇸📝 Joe Biden was caught with a cheat sheet – again

A photographer caught the president revealing a pre-written question from a reporter during a press conference at the White House Rose Garden. "Question #1" was handwritten on the note, showing that Biden should call on the journalist first after he finished his speech.

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🇺🇸 Tucker Carlson in first post-Fox commentary claims those in power 'resort to force' to kill debate

💬 "Debates like that are not permitted in American media," Carlson said. "Both political parties - and their donors - have reached consensus on what benefits them. And they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it. Suddenly the United States looks very much like a one-party state."

Carlson also said there are not many places left where Americans are saying "true things." But there are some, he added, and that is enough.

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☦️ "Stinky Swiss!": Ukrainian nationalists berate worshipper at Orthodox church

A Ukrainian activist in Kiev abused a reader who was visiting from an Orthodox church in Basel for refusing to speak Ukrainian. The guy in military uniform spends several minutes trying to get Dominik Milko to take up the Ukrainian flag, refusing to let him go until a police officer intervenes.

Yet Milko's troubles didn't end there. Another Ukrainian nationalist promised him a "biblical apocalypse” and even threatened him with bottle rape.

Milko came to Kiev to support the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but instead has come face to face with the persecution habitually dished out to believers.

The Kiev regime has been flagrantly abusing the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Authorities in Ukraine's capital embarked on a violent takeover of one of orthodoxy’s main shrines – the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

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🇦🇷🇨🇳 Argentina switches to payments for imports from China in yuan

Buenos Aires is switching to paying for imports from China in yuan against the backdrop of issues with maintaining reserves of the central bank, Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Tomas Massa said

💬 "The worst drought in our history reduced our exports by $15 billion and challenged us to maintain reserves to secure imports of goods and resources that are key to the country," said Massa.

He noted that such measures provide greater strength to the country's reserves.

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🇳🇬🕷 Nigeria's Spiderman: Cleaning Home

▪️Jonathan Olanlokun from Nigeria is demonstrating by example that it is not superpowers that make a man a superhero, but the desire to improve the world

▪️Donning a Spiderman costume regularly and going out to pick up litter, Olanlokun puts the spotlight on the problem of trash on the streets.

💭 "I clean up the streets, I tell people about how they can keep their environment clean but more people still don’t take me serious and I feel sad about this but that wouldn’t stop me from doing my good work," Nigeria’s Spiderman told media

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📹🇷🇺 Russia’s Uragan MLRS crews in action during special military op

Combat work takes several minutes from obtaining coordinates to the volley, after which the crews swiftly change their position.

The Uragan MLRS crews aim for Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities and logistics hubs located in the rear of the adversary’s defensive battle lines. Rocket artillery hits various area targets, such as ammunition storage bases, enemy equipment and formations of servicemen.

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