The Swiss Parliament voted against the recognition of Palestine

The deputies of the Swiss National Council did not support the proposal to recognize the State of Palestine. Sixty-one votes were cast for its recognition and 131 against, the press service of the parliament reported.

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Russia legally cannot do anything due to the fact that the United States did not allow ex-intelligence officer Scott Ritter to attend the SPIEF, he is not a Russian citizen, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"This is just another example, in addition to numerous examples, that confirm that the United States, which calls itself the leader of democracy around the world, has long been a police state," Lavrov added.

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The German Prosecutor General's Office does not comment on an additional request from Russian colleagues in connection with the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream Pipelines, a representative of the department's press service told Sputnik.

"I ask you to understand that we will not respond to your request," said a representative of the German Prosecutor General's Office when asked whether they received an appeal from Russia and whether the agency intends to send a response.

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❗️Biden did not rule out that Ukraine will remain outside NATO, but the United States will continue to supply it with weapons.

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NATO cobbling together scheme to move troops from US to Europe – reports

The US-led military bloc is preparing land corridors that would enable US troops to rush to the frontlines in the event of a European war, the Telegraph reported. The move seeks to stave off a potential “Russian attack.”

In theory, US soldiers could arrive at one of five designated ports and then be transported along predetermined logistics routes on the continent. According to the plans, American forces would land in the Netherlands and then be taken to Poland via Germany by train. Other potential options include utilizing ports in the Balkans, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Greece, and Turkiye.

“In these corridors, national militaries will not be restricted by local regulations and will be free to transport consignments without normal restrictions,” the report said.

The notion of a war with Russia in Europe appears to be fueled by militaristic hysteria. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that Moscow has no intention of attacking NATO nations, and the alliance has stated that it would not deploy its forces in Ukraine.

Additionally, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has poured cold water on the aggressive suggestions made by French President Emmanuel Macron, indicating that there will be “no boots on the ground” in Ukraine.

The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted the vulnerability of Kiev's logistics bases to Russia’s pinpoint strikes.

According to Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, Commander of NATO's Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), larger bases, like those seen in Afghanistan or Iraq, are no longer feasible as they can be targeted and destroyed with ease.

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❗️Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov shared details about the foreign participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that starts on Wednesday:

▪️Participation of representatives from 136 countries has been confirmed;

▪️Oman received honorary status of a guest country; a representative delegation will arrive, headed by the minister of industry and trade;

▪️The presidents of Bolivia, Zimbabwe and Abkhazia will come to the forum;

▪️On June 5, Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with the heads of international news agencies at the SPIEF;

▪️On June 6, Putin will meet with the leaders of Bolivia and Zimbabwe;

▪️Russian President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart from the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik will discuss the UN General Assembly resolution on Srebrenica at a meeting on June 6;

▪️Putin will share his vision of the situation in the global economy and politics at the SPIEF's plenary session (June 7), and will assess the Russian economy in the conditions of the special military operation;

▪️After the plenary session on June 7, Putin will meet with representatives of the Women in Business organization.

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Will Asia-Pacific nations yield to Zelensky’s demands on more Ukraine aid?

“Yankee vassals South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia will get terrific pressure from Washington” to keep the Zelensky regime supplied with weapons," China expert Jeff J. Brown tells Sputnik, commenting on Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent surprise visit to the Shangri-la Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

“Singapore sits on the fence. All the other Asian countries will smile at Uncle Sam and ignore the begging,” Brown, who is also the author of The China Trilogy and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, says.

He adds that “comparatively weak” Asia-Pacific nations “have to suck up to Washington” because otherwise, the US will use “its imperial toolbox to keep them subordinated: assassinations, blackmail, bribery, extortion, fake news and false flags – on top of blockades, boycotts, sanctions and tariffs.”

According to Brown, although those nations prefer cooperating with such countries as China and Russia, “Uncle Globocop is always there to apply muscle.”

“Thus, multipolar Asia-Pacific countries will show that they are listening to Ukraine, play along and then likely do little to nothing to help,” the expert concludes.

During the visit to the Shangri-la Dialogue forum, Zelensky met Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and heads of Asia-Pacific countries to discuss further assistance to Ukraine and support for the so-called “peace summit” in Switzerland slated for mid-June.

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No man's war: Australia struggles to recruit soldiers, ready to hire foreigners

Australian authorities are loosening recruitment criteria and will even allow foreigners to join the ranks of the military to address personnel shortages, according to a report by Bloomberg. Permanent residents who have lived in Australia for 12 months will be allowed to enlist.

Currently, Australian defense forces are experiencing a shortfall of 4,400 troops, while the government plans to have 80,000 military personnel on full-time service by 2040, adding more than a quarter.

It seems that military service is not very popular in Australia - but why?

The most obvious answer is an extremely competitive job market - why bother enlisting when there is an opportunity to earn a higher salary in a friendlier environment.

This notion is supported by the fact that after the temporary negative impact of the COVID pandemic on employment figures, Australians were more eager to join the military ranks. However, after the economic recovery began, experienced specialists quickly left the armed forces.

The Australian government plans to strengthen its military in the wake of the alleged "China threat". In September 2021, the UK and US persuaded Australia to form the AUKUS trilateral security network and convinced its government to buy a batch of nuclear-powered submarines armed with conventional weapons (which caused a diplomatic conflict between Canberra and Paris, as Australia had to forgo the French submarines).

Commenting on the establishment of the pact, experts stressed that Washington is using Australia to maintain American hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region, virtually dragging the whole continent into the conflict it has nothing to do with.

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Houthis’ new ballistic rocket strike on Israel ‘largely demonstrative in nature’ – analyst

The Houthis are increasing their capabilities in rocket science, but they are very far from the heights of technological progress, while launches against Israel are more of a demonstrative nature, Igor Korotchenko, a Russian military analyst, tells Sputnik.

Yemen-based Houthi fighters said on Tuesday they had used the 'Palestine' rocket for the first time in an attack on the port city of Eilat in southern Israel.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree insisted that the rocket had “successfully achieved it objective,” despite the Israel Defense Forces claiming they had intercepted “a missile in the skies over the Red Sea.”

The Palestine rocket is a ballistic surface-to-surface missile that the Houthis had made on their own, Xinhua has reported. It uses projectile motion to deliver its warhead on a target and is powered only during relatively brief periods of the flight.

The rocket is “obviously better [in terms of combat capabilities] than the [unsophisticated] Qassam shells that the Palestinians are firing at Israel,” Korotchenko points out.

The Houthis have achieved certain success and continue to demonstrate their abilities to block the passage for merchant vessels of particular countries through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the military analyst argues. However, their rocket attacks on Israel are more kind of a "foreign policy operation, propaganda, and forceful demonstration," he concludes.

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What’s special about the new Kalashnikov Granat-4 drone?

An upgraded version of the Granat-4 drone has entered mass production, Russia’s legendary military manufacturer announced. The UAV is widely used in the special military operation for round-the-clock air reconnaissance and high-precision targeting.

The Kalashnikov group noted that, unlike its predecessor, the new Granat-4 is capable of identifying targets for subsequent strikes with such precision-guided munitions as Krasnopol, Kitolov, and Gran.

Granat-4 is specifically designed for radio monitoring and aerial surveillance of the terrain using a built-in digital camera, video recorder, active monitoring equipment, and thermal imager in near real time.

Key technical characteristics of the Granat-4 drone:

▪️dual axis gyro stabilized platform;

▪️cameras with visible and infrared range;

▪️laser rangefinder-pointer of up to 3 km;

▪️6 hour flight time;

▪️70 km flying distance;

▪️100 km/h cruising flight speed

▪️500-2,000 m operating altitude range.

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In anticipation of SPIEF 2024: We bring you Putin’s best statements from last year

What can we expect from Vladimir Putin at the forum this year? Which topics will the president pay special attention to?

Write your guesses in the comments👇

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Russia joins BRICS’ progressive taxation: How high are income taxes now?

The recent reform proposed by the Russian Finance Ministry introduces a progressive system of taxation. Just like in other BRICS countries, people with a lower income will pay less taxes than those with a higher one. How does it work in the bloc’s nations?

🇷🇺Russia

Personal income tax: remains flat at the level of 13% for the majority of Russians who make up to $27,000 a year. Tax payers with incomes between $27,000 and $56,200 pay 15%. The highest income tax of 22% is for those making over $562,000.

Tax deductions: for low-income families with children; for investors; reimbursement for expenses on healthcare and education.

🇨🇳China

Personal income tax: poorer citizens with incomes of less than $5,040 a year pay a “symbolic” tax of 3%.

For incomes between $5,040 and $21,000 the rate is 10%.
For those with incomes of $21,000-$42,000 a year it is 20%.
For those above $186,000 a year, tax reaches 45%.

Tax deductions: expenses on rent, education and care for old parents are not taxed

🇮🇳India

Personal income tax: for people making between $3,600 and $14,400 a year there are progressive tax rates of 5%, 10% and 15%.
Having reached the level of $14,400, people start paying 20% tax.

Tax deductions: expenses on education for children and mortgages.

🇧🇷Brazil

Income tax: incomes of up to $5,200 are not taxable. The lowest tax for the poor is 7.5%, there are also rates of 15% and 22.5%. For people who make more than $11,000 a year (the majority) the rate is 27.5%. A relatively high tax rate is compensated by deductions.

Deductions: expenses on education for children, on healthcare and payments to pension funds.

🇿🇦South Africa

Income tax: ranges from 18% to 45%, depending on the income. Income below $12,800 is taxed by a 18% rate.

Tax deductions: for people over 65 and 75 years of age, smaller amounts of their incomes are taxed.

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The Election Commission of India has officially confirmed the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance in the country's parliamentary elections

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