Hou Yu-ih, the candidate of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang party, conceded defeat in the island's general election on Saturday and asked voters for forgiveness.

"I have disappointed everyone. I am here to express my deepest regret. Please forgive me," Hou said in his address to voters.

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❗️The pro-independence candidate of Taiwan's ruling party, Lai Ching-te, claims victory in the election for the island's head of administration.

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Some of Epstein’s victims ‘fearing for their safety’ after documents’ release, judge says

Lawyers failed to properly redact some of the hundreds of documents tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case, which had a negative impact on the late convicted pedophile’s victims, District Judge Loretta Preska has admitted.

“Counsel is thus reminded of the human cost of inadvertently disclosing the names and identifying information of Does [Epstein’s victims], who should have remained under seal,” Preska pointed out.

The victims and others “have reported fearing for their safety and the safety of loved ones,” the judge said, adding that their reputations and personal relationships have been affected.

Earlier this month, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed hundreds of documents connected to Epstein, identifying multiple individuals, some of which include prominent politicians and notable public figures.

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📹 Motorized rifle units of the Vostok Group of the Armed Forces are improving their skills with rocket-propelled anti-personnel flame throwers in the Donetsk region.

Under the supervision of experienced instructors, the servicemen carried out live firing with Mukha RPG-18 anti-tank grenade launchers and Shmel RPO-A rocket-propelled anti-personnel flame throwers. These types of weapons during the special military operation show high effectiveness against enemy armored vehicles, including those of Western production.

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Gonzalo Lira: A Requiem from the Donbass

Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) reflects on Gonzalo Lira’s death in a Ukrainian prison following months of abuse and medical neglect by the Zelensky regime.

“All those who speak truth to power in Ukraine, as Gonzalo may well have done, do so at their peril. They are ‘heroes’ exactly because they risk their lives to do so. It is a dangerous business. Those who risk their lives sometimes lose them. Gonzalo was not the first, and he will not be the last. A war zone under Nazi occupation is a dangerous place, and mistakes can be extremely painful or even deadly.

Gonzalo did not deserve what happened to him in any way, but he made a fatal mistake and underestimated the evil of his enemies. He could have left when he had the chance, and he should have. God rest his soul.”

Read full obituary here

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Zelensky wouldn't have a chance if we shot it [US financing of Ukraine] down, Donald Trump Jr. said

We're literally creating an oligarch class of billionaires in Ukraine with whatever's being siphoned off, whether it's Zelensky [or anyone else], Trump Jr. said.

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US-led attacks on Yemen sow division among Washington's allies

Italy, France and Spain have refrained from either providing support to the US-UK bombing or signing a joint statement approving of the strikes.

According to Reuters, all three countries essentially lean towards a more peaceful approach to the current crisis in the Middle East instead of going in guns blazing as the United States tends to do.

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Taiwanese elections will not change the main direction or development of relations on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, Chinese authorities have claimed

Beijing will promote a peaceful development of relations with Taipei and the "reunification of the motherland". China will work with political parties and all sectors of Taiwan's society to promote exchanges and cooperation, according to authorities.

China will firmly oppose any actions aimed at achieving Taiwan's independence, including by interference by external forces. Taiwanese elections show that the Democratic Progressive Party does not represent mainstream public opinion on island, Beijing added.

Earlier, pro-American candidate Lai Ching-te from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party officially won the election to the island's leader, securing 40.05% of the vote, the Central Election Commission said after counting ballots from all polling stations.

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The United States and UK are carrying out strikes on a naval base in the city of Al Hudaydah in western Yemen, a source told Sputnik.

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Russia discovers largest gold field since 1991

The discovery of more than 100 tons of gold has been confirmed at the Sovinoye gold mine in the easternmost Russian federal entity of Chukotka. It is the largest field found since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

The information was revealed by a mining division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom, which said in a statement that drilling was carried out year-round in conditions of continuous permafrost.

“Over the past three years, 123 wells with a total length of more than 32 km have been drilled. All prospecting, topographic-geodetic, geological-geochemical and geophysical work has been completed,” according to the company.

The Sovinoye mine’s annual output is expected to stand at three tons of gold starting from 2029, the company said.

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The speaker of the US House of Representatives announced that a congressional delegation intends to visit Taiwan in May

"I am hopeful the United States and Taiwan together will continue promoting the principles of liberty, opportunity and security for all freedom-loving countries and our partners in the Indo-Pacific," Mike Johnson wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

At the same time, President Joe Biden said the US does not support Taiwan's independence after Lai Ching-te, pro-independence candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party officially won the regional leader's election.

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📹 Russia's TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" crews destroyed several Ukrainian strongholds in the Novomikhailovka area

The heavy flamethrower systems of the Vostok Battlegroup literally razed the fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into dust, making it easier for assault groups of motorized rifle units to capture enemy strongholds.

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Win some, lose some: Taiwan’s pro-independence party wins regional leader election but loses control of parliament

The victory of the pro-independence DPP party in the recent election in Taiwan is “a victory for the Western empire,” says Jeff Brown, author of The China Trilogy and editor at China Rising Radio Sinoland.

According to him, the Western powers, “along with vassals South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, all three heavily occupied by American troops,” will make the most of this situation to “frustrate and irritate Beijing” while China “will continue to publicly bluster about these ongoing insults, while doing everything possible to avoid a hot war in East Asia.”

“DPP leaders are American satraps and the US will use their subordination to abuse the Taiwanese people as geopolitical pawns,” he notes.

Meanwhile, Beijing-based China expert, author, and columnist Francesco Sisci pointed out that while the “most hostile to Beijing" candidate won the regional leader’s election, the island’s parliament is now dominated by a split majority of two opposition parties who are “looking for a new engagement with Beijing.”

He also argued that “neither side wants to push the situation farther,” referring to the relations between Taiwan and mainland China.

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📹 Russia's Grad MLRS crews from the Dnepr Battlegroup obliterate Ukrainian positions on the right bank of the Dnepr River.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip residents exceeds 23,843, according to the Gazan Health Ministry;

▪️Israel planning to conduct an operation on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt;

▪️Netanyahu, after 100 days of war, said that nothing will stop Israel from moving towards victory;

▪️Israel announced the destruction of Hamas' operational headquarters, its command center in the Gaza Strip;

▪️The Israeli army announced attacks on missile launch sites in Lebanon.

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New ‘Turtle’ drone carries shells, provisions for Russian soldiers in Ukrainian conflict zone

A new prototype wheeled drone dubbed Cherepakha (lit. turtle) has recently been deployed with one of the Russian military units in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

Despite being relatively slow-moving, the new drone is stealthy and can move several hundred kilograms of cargo such as mortar shells, ammo or ration packs, sparing solders the need to lug all that weight around on their backs.

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Thousands of people gathered in Washington on Saturday to hold a rally in support of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The start of the demonstration was scheduled for 13:00 local time (18:00 GMT). After that the activists gathered at Freedom Plaza near the Capitol, from where, as planned, they marched through the streets of the US capital to the White House.

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