Antony Blinken expressed concern over the establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Lachin corridor

"Secretary Blinken shared his belief that peace was possible. He also expressed the United States’ deep concern that Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Blinken, who spoke with Aliyev a day after his phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, underscored the importance of Azerbaijan-Armenia peace discussions and pledged continued US support.

On Saturday, Blinken told Pashinyan that direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to a durable peace in the South Caucasus.

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The Turkish National Intelligence Organization killed "the leader" of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, Daesh, banned in Russia) during an operation in Syria

"The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria," Erdogan said in an interview to Turkish broadcasters.

"Out national intelligence organization had been following so-called leader of Daesh Abu Hussein al-Quraishi for a long time. This person was eliminated during the operation conducted by the MIT in Syria yesterday. We will continue our fight with terrorist organizations, making no distinctions between them," he announced.

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Former member of the People’s Assembly of Moldova's Gagauzia Grigory Uzun and opposition candidate Yevgenia Gutsul are coming ahead in the election of the head of the autonomous territory

"The Central Election Commission of Gagauzia, based on preliminary data … has summed up the preliminary results: Yevgenia Gutsul - 14,890 votes, Grigory Uzun - 14,849," the CEC said in a statement.

The voter turnout in the Sunday election of the governor of Moldova's Gagauzia was over 57%, according to CEC, so the election was declared valid (at least 50% turnout was needed).

The election of Gagauzia's head (Bashkan of Gagauzia) took place in Moldova's pro-Russian southern autonomy on Sunday, with eight candidates on the ballot. Incumbent Governor Irina Vlah is not eligible for reelection since she has already served two consecutive terms.
If none of the candidates receives over 50% of the votes, a runoff will be held in two weeks.

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⚡️ The Russian Armed Forces hit 4 Ukrainian military artillery positions in the DPR, the Russian MoD said

▪️ The ministry added that Russian military aircraft near Avdeevka inflicted 2 strikes on the points of temporary deployment of reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while artillery destroyed a tank and 3 infantry fighting vehicles.

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'Amazing' Opportunity to Absorb Russian Culture: Zimbabwean Road to Yalta Festival Singer

🎵 Ahead of the final of the annual WWII song festival and competition that takes place on May 2 in Moscow, one of the singers, Yvonne P. Sauramba from Zimbabwe, expressed her impressions of Russia and its culture, sharing her experience of participating in the music event with Sputnik.

🗣"I’m so excited to be part of this festival The Road to Yalta and I do see it as an amazing opportunity for me to meet amazing artists from all over the world, as well as to experience what is like to be as a part of Russia," she said.

👉READ THE FULL STORY

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Turkiye expects the Black Sea Grain Initiative to be extended

"The favorable atmosphere with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, which was also present during the exchange of prisoners, has worked well in the grain corridor … We look forward to the continued operation of this mechanism, providing food to needy countries in Africa," Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish broadcasters.

Over the weekend a source close to the negotiations on the grain deal told Sputnik that there is no clarity regarding the prospects of extending the deal. The source said that Ankara and the United Nations are making some efforts in that respect, and Turkiye expects "Western partners to support our efforts."

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🏦 The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said on Monday that it had closed First Republic Bank and agreed upon a deal to sell its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co and National Association, making it the third major U.S. bank to fail in two months.

▪️ JPMorgan was one of several interested buyers, including PNC Financial Services Group and Citizens Financial Group Inc, which submitted final bids on Sunday in an auction being run by U.S. regulators, sources familiar with the matter said over the weekend.

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📹 Russian Armed Forces military engineer units within the special military operation

▪️ The sappers of the Russian Armed Forces perform service requiring the utmost skill and dedication. Their job offers them absolutely no room to make mistakes.

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The Vatican is on a peace mission aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine

"There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it," Pope Francis told reporters after his visit to Hungary on Sunday, adding that the Vatican is also ready to help "repatriate" Ukrainian children taken to Russia.

The Pontiff said that he thinks peace is “always made by opening channels” and that one “can never achieve peace through [their] closure.”

The Pope made it clear that “the Holy See is willing” to help "repatriate" Ukrainian children because “it is the right thing."

Earlier, the Russian Embassy in the US stated that Moscow has been doing "everything possible" for the protection and safety of the Ukrainian children who were forced to flee their country.

"We do our best to keep minors in families, and in case of absence or death of parents and relatives, to transfer orphans under guardianship," he embassy said in a statement on its Telegram page.

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Former UK PM Liz Truss has agreed to pay $15,000 bill for missing slippers and bathrobes as well as food and drinks from the government residence Chevening House

Truss received the invoice from the UK Cabinet Office, which claimed she used Chevening House for private parties shortly before assuming the prime ministerial office, several weeks ago, according to the report by the UK news outlet. On Sunday, media reported, her spokesman said the former prime minister "always paid for the costs of her personal guests," while the bill includes expenses for official meetings, therefore, the sum should be revised.

Another newspaper reported Truss had now agreed to "pay for anything missing" at the Chevening estate.

Earlier reports, citing sources, indicated Truss together with her advisers and allies from the Conservative Party held campaign meetings that occasionally turned into late night parties at Chevening House, to which she had access as then-Foreign Secretary.

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Mark Zuckerberg is steering Meta* into an unprecedented morale crisis

According to a US newspaper, Zuckerberg “has lost his vision and the trust of his workforce” amid economic tumult and waves of layoffs that rode roughshod over the company.

“It’s like they went from ‘move fast and break things’ to ‘slow down, break things,’ then ‘maybe fix it later on a case-by-case’” basis, one of the sources claimed.

Another insider underscored that “what was special about Meta was the trust.”

“We drank the Kool-Aid and really felt like it was our company [and] even willingly defended it when everyone said we were evil incarnate. But that’s been shattered, so it feels like a betrayal,” they added.

*Meta is banned in Russia over extremist activities

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

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces launched a group strike at the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine at night;

▪️ Near Ugledar, the command and observation post of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was hit;

▪️ In the DPR, up to 330 Ukrainian soldiers were destroyed in the day;

▪️ After the strike on the objects of the military-industrial complex, the work of enterprises for the production of ammunition and military equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces was disrupted;

▪️ Russian air defense systems destroyed eight Ukrainian drones in a day;

▪️ Russian troops destroyed up to 55 military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and two howitzers near Krasny Liman, and also stopped the actions of two deviation reconnaissance groups;

▪️ The losses of the Ukrainian Army in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region amounted to 55 soldiers;

▪️ The Russian army stopped the actions of five Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Kharkov region and the LPR;

▪️ Russian troops destroyed the ammunition depot of the 127th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kharkov region.

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🗣️"Essentially the United States, by threatening North Korea, is threatening China. Anything that relates to North Korea is simply a pretext and a stalking horse for China": KJ Noh, a journalist, political analyst, and teacher, speaks about the US’ real aim to harm China through its closest neighbor, North Korea

🎧Listen to more of Noh’s analysis in our podcast The Final Countdown

The Russian troops have destroyed up to 330 Ukrainian soldiers, a tank, four armored combat vehicles, four cars, and a 122-mm howitzer D-30 in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours

"Over the past day, the aviation carried out six combat sorties in this area. The group's artillery performed 64 fire tasks … up to 330 Ukrainian soldiers, one tank, four armored fighting vehicles, four cars, and the D-30 howitzer were destroyed in this direction," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The defense department added that an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian armed forces has been eliminated near the village of Novoukrainka in the Donetsk People's Republic.

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🗣️"Is the United States really fit to be hosting the United Nations when they engage in these kind of behaviors? ": a journalist and political analyst Caleb Maupin speaks about the provocations the Russian foreign minister had to face at the latest UN meeting

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

The Western countries are concerned over the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)’s unpreparedness for a counteroffensive against Russian troops

An anonymous Ukrainian serviceman told a UK newspaper that he hopes to get more combat experience before the AFU’s full-fledged offensive starts.

He admitted that the Ukrainian troops "are not ready", and that they "need to train more."

The soldier’s concerns "echo those of many in Washington and other European capitals that have poured billions into supporting Ukraine but worry about the state of its military after a punishing year," the newspaper pointed out. The news outlet also cited one of the Pentagon’s leaked defense documents as arguing that Ukraine might fail to amass sufficient troops and weaponry, and fall "well short" of its goals for regaining territory.

According to the magazine, both Ukraine and "its Western backers should prepare for the possibility that the counteroffensive will yield only marginal gains, or worse."

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New US bases in the Philippines may set Asia Pacific on fire

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is due to meet his US counterpart Joe Biden on May 1. The upcoming official visit to Washington will be the first by a Philippine president in more than ten years. Marcos Jr. has already pledged to forge "an even stronger relationship" with the US.

How are the US-Philippines Relations going? Is Manila on a war path?

📹 Russian drones ‘smoke out’ Ukrainian trenches

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Iran reopens diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia

Iran reopened three diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia on Monday, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

"Three diplomatic missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran — the embassy in Riyadh as well as the consulate general and the Iranian representative office at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah — have resumed operations," Nasser Kanaani was quoted as saying by a local news agency.

The reopening followed a China-brokered agreement to restore diplomatic ties reached by the two regional powers in March. Saudi Arabia is likewise expected to reopen its diplomatic outposts in Iran.

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During the early hours of May 1, 1945, soldiers of the Soviet Red Army scored a symbolic victory against the Nazi German forces in Berlin, planting the Victory Banner on top of the Reichstag building.

The banner was planted during the final stages of the battle for the German capital, with the Nazi troops surrendering shortly afterward. It also came not long after the infamous Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler committed suicide to escape retribution at the hands of the Soviets.

Read the full story of how the Victory Banner was hoisted at the Reichstag

Swedish city deletes ad over 'too many' white people

The city of Boras in Sweden removed a promotional video following criticism from a local newspaper that the video lacked diversity. The ad, produced by the municipal company Boras TME, depicted ordinary inhabitants of Boras engaged in everyday tasks but featured only white people.

The newspaper, Boras Tidning, argued that the lack of representation was alarming, prompting Boras TME to respond. The company admitted to the mistake and promised to create an updated version that represents diversity and inclusion. They also pledged to review other market material to ensure that diversity becomes more evident.

Boras is an industrial city in southern Sweden with about 66,000 inhabitants. According to the city's statistics, 32% of its population have a foreign background.

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