Foreign ministers of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are set to meet on May 1 to continue consultations on Syria's readmission to the League of Arab States

"Jordan will host tomorrow, May 1, a meeting of foreign ministers of the Kingdom of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt with Syria's foreign minister. This meeting is a follow-up to the consultative meeting of the Gulf countries, [as well as] Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, which was held on April 14 in Jeddah," the statement read.

The 22-nation Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 after war broke out in the country. Several member states then recalled their ambassadors from Syria in protest of the policies of President Bashar Assad, accusing his government of alleged cracking down on protesters. Years later, some of them have begun taking steps to reengage with Damascus and reopen embassies.

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📹 Sputnik correspondents were among the first to visit the surviving Soviet weapons depots near Soledar

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📹🇷🇺 Assault detachments of the Russian Armed Forces receive awards

Departmental decorations were handed out right on the front line.

Assault detachments operate along the most difficult areas of the line of contact. All mobilized personnel have been trained at firing ranges and training centers before being sent to engage in combat operations.

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🗣 The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the IOC's initiative to admit transgender people to the Olympic Games

💬 “Such innovations threaten the existence of women's sports, because now men who have changed their sex and have a clear physical advantage can now be allowed to compete. What principles of fair play and access to sports without discrimination, which Thomas Bach cares about so much, can we talk about in this case?“, the ministry said.

▪️ In 2021 Laurel Hubbard became the first transgender to compete in the Olympics. The representative of New Zealand failed to perform a single successful snatch in the weightlifting competition in the weight category over 87 kg.

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😵 The Indian community was deeply insulted after the Ukrainian Defense Ministry posted a blasphemous picture of Hindu Goddess Kali

❓The department deleted the post from the official page but the “work of art” - as they called it - already went viral. What's more, no official comment followed the insulting post.

Indian journalist Shubhangi Sharma wrote on her Twitter: “This centuries-old obsession with disparaging Goddess Kali Ma continues to run deep in the West. It’s replete with ignorance and bigotry and no matter how woke the new generations get, some malicious fixations will remain deeply entrenched forever”.

Another tweet by an Indian media outlet also said that the Ukrainian officials posted a highly insulting and hateful content portraying Hindu Godess Kali.

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

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 70 Ukrainian troops, five armored vehicles, a D-20 howitzer, and one vehicle with ammunition;

▪️In the Krasny Liman area, Ukrainian losses amounted to 75 soldiers, two armored vehicles and D-20 and D-30 howitzers;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces destroyed more than 575 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, three armored vehicles, two armored combat vehicles, an Akatsiya and Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions, Ukrainian losses amounted to 85 soldiers, one tank, two armored vehicles and D-20 and D-30 howitzers;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian forces neutralized up to 20 Ukrainian troops and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️The actions of two Ukrainian sabotage groups were thwarted in the Kupyansk direction in the Kharkov region;

▪️Russian air defense systems also intercepted a Mi-8 helicopter, four HIMARS missiles, as well as 14 Ukrainian UAVs in the LPR, DPR, and Kharkov region.

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Freedom, Roots & Fusion: SA Singer Pilani Bubu on Features of African Jazz

🎷 On April 30, the world marks International Jazz Day, which unites people across the globe in a great celebration of jazz music, paying tribute to its roots, appreciating its legacy and promoting its further development. On this occasion, Sputnik Africa sat down with South African singer Pilani Bubu to discuss the role of jazz on the continent.

According to Bubu, jazz provides a platform for Africans not only to express themselves, their feelings and aspirations through the power of music, but bring their ethnic and cultural traits to the genre in a way that transcends national boundaries.

🗣"And in a big bucket of jazz, what you hear is the tonality of identity," she stressed.

👉 READ THE FULL STORY

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📹🇷🇺 Tornado-G MLRS roving crew engages enemy positions

▪️ Artillerymen of the Russian Armed Forces have hit an area where the Ukrainian troops are recovering their combat efficiency.

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China’s Ukraine peace plan: ‘Platform to start process of political settlement of Ukraine conflict’

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the promotion of peace and talks during his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and China's Foreign Ministry announced plans to send an envoy to Ukraine to facilitate communication with all parties.

Noh called the 12-point plan a "mixed bag" but said it could serve as a platform for moving toward a political settlement. Russian authorities have expressed their willingness to negotiate, but Ukraine has rejected diplomatic solutions and made unrealistic demands, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

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Kishinev says EU should support Moldovan farmers harmed by cheap Ukrainian imports

On Friday, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia agreed with the European Commission's proposition to lift national restrictions on Ukrainian import of grains and crops. In turn, the EC pledged to provide 100 million euros ($109 million) of financial aid for these countries' farmers.

"Moldova should be introduced into this calculation formula, since the Moldovan farmers' situation is no different. I think, it is even more volatile as Moldova is not a EU member and does not have access to the subsidies the European farmers receive, they [the Moldovans] are even poorer. The decision on money allocation should be made," Moldovan Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Bolea was quoted by Moldovan media.

He said that EU can use various formulas in order to calculate the amount of potential aid for the Moldovan farmers who have sown the fields with wheat, corn and sunflower.

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Polls open in Paraguayan presidential elections

Polls have opened in Paraguay for the presidential elections where Santiago Pena from the ruling Colorado Party and Efrain Alegre from the Authentic Radical Liberal Party are the main contenders.

Along with the president, Paraguayans are also electing vice president, lawmakers and governors, and the new president will take office on August 15 for a five-year term.

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Unexplained upsurge of US brain abscesses puzzles doctors

There has been a significant increase in cases of brain abscesses among children in Nevada, and similar cases have been reported in other parts of the US.

This infection involves a collection of pus and infected material within brain tissue, and it typically requires surgical treatment. Doctors are urging the CDC to investigate this issue further.

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Two Chinese nationals dead after vssel capsizes in Philippines

On Friday night, a Sierra Leonean technical vessel MV Hong Hai189 collided with tanker MT Petite Soeur, which was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, near the Corregidor Island in the Philippines. As a result, MV Hong Hai189 capsized.

"Twenty crew members were thrown overboard, including 16 Chinese nationals and four Philippines' citizens. At the moment, 12 Chinese crew members have been rescued, two unfortunately died, and another two are searched for," the Chinese embassy's statement read.

Also, three out of the four Philippine citizens were rescued and one died, the embassy added.

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G7 сountries advocate for global AI governance

At a meeting in Japan, the digital and technology ministers of the G7 stressed the significance of international discussions on AI governance and the need for interoperability between AI regulation frameworks.

They advocated for the adoption of international technical standards for trustworthy AI and the development of policies to address the negative impact of AI on society. Additionally, they agreed on five principles to underpin AI governance, including respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Officials from India, Indonesia, and Ukraine also attended the meeting, and Japan will host the G7 summit in May 2023.

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Merkel says many nations were not interested in diplomatic solution of Ukraine conflict

"I used everything at my disposal to prevent this situation. The fact that I couldn't do it does not prove me wrong to try," Merkel said in an interview with the German media, published on Saturday.

"To my great disappointment, there were quite a few [officials] who was not so interested in it," the former chancellor said.

While she was a chancellor, only France and Germany stood for the Ukraine conflict's settlement in the Council of the European Union, and Ukrainian President told her that the Minsk agreements were unfeasible, Merkel added.

"It was important to me - and I always tried to achieve this - that we did not limit our ideas too much," she said.

For instance, if someone thinks that negotiations must be reopened sooner or later, they should not be silenced right away, Merkel added.

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