The 73-year-long war: how Cold War rivalries set off the Korean conflict

On Sunday, thousands in Korea marked the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War, the most destructive event in the peninsula’s history, and a month from Wednesday, the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting in that war will also be commemorated.

Sputnik takes a look back at the conflict

🗣️”Not only does it make them look like fools, it makes them look like dishonest, hypocritical fools, which is certainly not the message that you want to be giving in the international arena”: KJ Noh, peace activist, teacher, and writer, told Sputnik

#SputnikInfographic First trials of 🇷🇺 Russia's Poseidon super torpedoes are scheduled for this summer, Sputnik learned last week.

Check out Poseidon's characteristics in our infographic!

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🇷🇺 Putin visited the Juma Mosque in Derbent, Republic of Dagestan, where the Mufti presented the Russian leader with a Quran as a gift

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Quran burning in Stockholm does not affect the US' position on Sweden's NATO accession, the US State Department stated.

🗣️”The geographic position [of South Korea], its proximity to China and Russia are making it basically the keystone in the US encirclement of China and Russia. So the US is there to stay because it's just too important a place for it, for the US military, to apply pressure on China and Russia”: Greg Elich, Korea Policy Institute board member and a contributor to the collection Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy, told Sputnik

📹 The combat work of Russia’s 152 mm howitzer guns in the zone of the special military op

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Turkish Foreign Minister slams another Quran-burning incident in Sweden

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that another incident of Quran burning in Sweden was unacceptable and accused the Stockholm authorities of "complicity in a crime."

Earlier in the day, media reported that the Swedish police allowed a protest action featuring the burning of a Quran near the main mosque in Stockholm on the first day of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's major holidays.

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🔺Unrest in France: Protests erupt in Paris after police shooting
🔺US deputy secretary of state and China's ambassador hold talk
🔺A warming in the Asia region? South Korean president is to “strengthen strategic communication to promote friendship between South Korea and China."

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📹 Artillery of the 150th division of the Russian Armed Forces destroyed the enemy's temporary deployment point in the zone of the special military op

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West's ‘foolish’ regime change policy only drives Russia and China closer

The Sino-Russian partnership can’t be budged by events even as dramatic as an aborted mutiny because their mutual survival depends on staying united in front of NATO’s expanding attempts to hem them in, an expert told Sputnik.

Read Thomas W. Pauken II's full analysis

🎙 Join your #AfroVerdict host and listen in on their discussion with Anil Sooklal, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa, about the role of BRICS in championing the cause of the Global South in the rapidly developing multipolar architecture.

The Wagner Group could possibly continue its work in the Central African Republic, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, explaining that there is cooperation at the state level between Russia and the CAR, while the military advisors would continue their operations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier announced that the work of Russian instructors in the CAR would continue, with several hundred individuals currently present in the country.

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China models ‘total war’ scenario amid Beijing-Washington tensions over Taiwan

Chinese Navy scientists have modelled a scenario of a “total war” with a hypothetical “alliance” to test and evaluate the performance of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s new weapons. The scenario was published on a Chinese defense news website.

The researchers explained that the “total war” means that all available resources and efforts of the country are mobilized towards prevailing over an enemy. The resources include not only the military but also the civilian population and the economy.

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US $42 billion high-speed internet project could break big telecom monopolies

According to technologist Chris Garaffa, the majority of Americans are at the mercy of established telephone service providers who dominate the fixed-line internet market.

Garaffa supports the Biden administration's bipartisan initiative to improve high-speed internet access, stating that it will help reduce bills and inequality. Although the infrastructure project is overdue, Garaffa welcomes it.

He also highlights the allocation of funds among the US states and territories, emphasizing that Texas, for instance, will receive a significant amount of money, reflecting the state government's failure to ensure adequate internet access for its residents.

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🇺🇸🇵🇱 US State Dept. OKs possible $15 billion sale of missile defense systems to Poland

Poland has requested to purchase "two of a two-phase program for an Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System enabled PATRIOT Configuration-3+ with modernized sensors and components," including 48 PATRIOT M903 Launch Stations, up to 644 PATRIOT Advanced Capability 3 Missile Segment Enhanced missiles, 48 Launcher Interface Network Kits, 12 Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors and 12 Large Tactical Power Systems for the sensors.

The DSCA said that the proposed sale will "support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives" of the US by strengthening the security of a NATO ally and will enhance Poland's missile defense capabilities, noting that the sale will "not alter the basic military balance in the region."

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Raytheon calls in retired engineers to restart production of Stinger missiles

💬 "Stinger's been out of production for 20 years, and all of a sudden in the first 48 hours [of Russia's special military operation], it's the star of the show and everybody wants more ... We're pulling test equipment out of warehouses and blowing the spider webs off of them," Raytheon President Wesley Kremer said.

He added that it was impossible to use 3D printers and automation to speed up the manufacturing process as it would require redesigning the weapon and a lengthy weapon certification process.

"You'd have to redesign the entire seeker in order to automate it," he said, adding that the company must assemble the weapons by hand - the same way they were built four decades ago.

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🇲🇦🇸🇪 Morocco recalls ambassador from Sweden over Quran burning in Stockholm

The Swedish charge d'affaires in Rabat was also summoned to the Moroccan ministry and was informed of Morocco's "most vigorous condemnation of this offense and rejection of this unacceptable act."

💬 "This new offensive and irresponsible act disregards the feelings of more than a billion Muslims during this sacred period of the great pilgrimage to Mecca and the blessed feast of Eid Al-Adha," the ministry said.

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