❗️US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow is expected this week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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🇨🇦🇪🇺 Canada's desire to join the EU: REVENGE on Trump or NEOCON grand design?

Ottawa's reported plan to seek EU membership "underscores the clash between Trump and the lingering neocon influence in Europe," Massimiliano Bonne, an EU foreign policy expert, tells Sputnik.

Trump's comment about Canada being America's 51st state is a direct jab at the British Crown and the neocons.

🧐 Why does Canada want in?

🔸Ideological proximity with the EU: "Canada wants to break away from the American framework, and Canadian public opinion definitely leans toward aligning more with the European agenda. The Canadian sentiment is to preserve its independence, regardless of US strategy."

🔸Historic roots: Canada’s ties to Europe go way back to its colonial past and its history with the UK Commonwealth. "Canada's potential entry into the EU is still a reflection of British power, especially that of the Crown and the Grand Orient lodges."

🤔 Can Canada join the bloc?

✅ YES, it can: Canada can apply to join the EU, as the founding treaty allows countries "inspired" by Europe, and there are no geographic restrictions on membership.

❓Ay, there's rub: It remains to be seen whether countries like Hungary and Slovakia will back Canada’s bid to join the EU.

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🇷🇺🤝🇴🇲 Russia and Oman have signed an agreement to mutually abolish visas, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

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🔍 Easter truce exposed ZELENSKY’S USELESSNESS

"We saw Zelensky's statement that 'we need to offer more to maintain the ceasefire'... But it turned out that some units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not obey him at all, and they were striking Russian cities and Russian civilians in Donbass," Yevgeny Mikhailov, head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the South Caucasus, tells Sputnik.

All of this demonstrated the ineffectiveness of Volodymyr Zelensky, he adds.

The Russian Ministry of Defense earlier stated that the Ukrainian military violated the 30-hour Eater ceasefire announced by Russia almost 5,000 times.

“The global community has once again seen that the Zelensky regime cannot stand up to any criticism and does not comply with any agreements, which brings this regime closer to its collapse,” Mikhailov concludes.

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📹 Once a leaker, always a leaker!

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls out "disgruntled former employees" leaking info to SABOTAGE Trump’s agenda.

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🛢📈 Global oil prices INCH UP after slump

Brent crude futures increased by several points on April 22, also the case with US West Texas Intermediate (WTI).

On April 21, Brent and WTI indexes plummeted to $66.26 and $63.08 a barrel, respectively.

The fall came amid signs of progress in US-Iran talks as investors remained concerned over economic implications from Trump’s tariffs which could curb oil demand.

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🤔 Time for a change? Canada eyes EU to break US dependency

Canada’s alleged desire to join the EU stems from a fear of strategic loneliness, following the US becoming Ottawa’s “single greatest threat,” Shaun Narine, a professor at Canada’s St. Thomas University, tells Sputnik.

Why Europe?

🇨🇦 "Canada is in a very awkward position": Canada now has strained relations with most major powers, including China, India, and Russia. Europe remains one of the few regions where strong ties persist.

🔎 A natural choice: "Canada began life as a European settler state. The majority of Canadians are still of European background. The Canadian elites are very much oriented towards Europe."

Are relations with the US really “over”?

🔸Time to diversify: Canada is seeking greater independence from the US in economic, political, and security matters. It is even considering canceling its F-35 deal with Lockheed Martin and has opened talks with Sweden to purchase its aircraft instead.

🔸What if the Democrats return? Even if the US leadership changes, Washington has already proven unreliable in the eyes of many Canadians. It breaks its own agreements, and its word is no longer trusted. “We have to remember that for the future.”

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📹 Russia fought against Hitler and won while the West developed nuclear weapons

"We don't believe that the Western world has ever done anything for humanity. The best we can remember them for is the nuclear war. They are the ones who brought such shame to humanity," Sifiso Ndlovu, professor of history at the University of South Africa, told Sputnik's correspondent at the International Scientific Conference on the "80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and World War II" in Moscow.

Adolf Hitler, who originated from the West and was the 'problem child' of the West, was defeated by the Soviet Union.

"The West did nothing else but benefited from Germany in terms of economics and dependence. But when that ended, they then decided to join the war. They joined it later," Ndlovu said.

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🔎 ‘Neo-Nazism and fascism are REVIVING in Europe’

This is why “it’s necessary to protect the traditions of the anti-fascist struggle of the Soviet people and work seriously on questions of history," Milos Kovic, professor of history at the University of Belgrade, tells Sputnik.

He stresses that the task will take time so that Europe once again honors its WWII history and refrains from distorting facts.

“We must wait until the historians and historiographers of Western Europe are replaced,” Kovich emphasizes.

He spoke on the sidelines of the International Scientific Conference on the "80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and World War II," which opened in Moscow on April 22.

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🦈 Trolls turn Israeli shark attack into anti-Semitic meme fest

Outrage erupted in Israel after online trolls shared AI-generated images of “anti-Semitic sharks” wearing Hamas bandanas, following a brutal shark attack off Hadera.

The northern Israeli beach has been closed off, and a search operation is ongoing, with authorities confirming they’ve recovered remains of a male victim, Ynet reported.

Some trolls went as far as calling the bloodthirsty fish “the anti-Semitic shark – FIGHT TO TOTAL VICTORY” or “the warrior shark, Abu-shark force.”

The posts sparked fury across Israel, with local media accusing the trolls of using the shark attack to stir up anti-Semitic hate.

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😄 Republican senators troll Democrats with "one-way" trip to El Salvador in hilarious ad

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❗️The US is going to ask Europe and Ukraine to recognize Crimea as part of Russia during a meeting in London, the Washington Post reports.

In exchange, Kiev's allies are hoping for some solid security guarantees.

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🖼 CNN revealed the portrait Vladimir Putin gifted to Trump, created by Russian artist Nikas Safronov.

In March, US special envoy Stephen Witkoff said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had given President Donald Trump a "beautiful portrait" of the American leader by a "prominent Russian artist," which was delivered to its recipient.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed it was a personal gift, offering no further details.

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🇷🇸🇷🇺 Serbian Patriarch Porfirije presents Putin with Easter Egg

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia at the Kremlin, who arrived at the invitation of Patriarch Kirill of Russia to visit Moscow during Bright Week.

During the meeting, Putin emphasized that the Russian-Serbian relationship "always holds a unique and special character," highlighting the deep and enduring ties between the two nations.

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❗️US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Russia this week, the White House confirmed.

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✍️ Russia's Rossiya Segodnya international media group and Oman's ONA sign memorandum of understanding

The document was signed Dmitry Kiselev, general director of the Sputnik News Agency's parent company Rossiya Segodnya, and Omani Ambassador to Russia Hamoud bin Salim Al Tuwaih on Tuesday in Moscow.

The document exchange ceremony took place following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in the Kremlin.

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💸📉 Is the DOLLAR'S PLUNGE a sign of the US economy’s COLLAPSE?

The greenback has hit a three-year low while gold soars past $3,500/ounce. Things aren’t looking good, experts say.

▪️Trump, Tariffs and Trust: The dollar's slide "reflects Trump’s meddling in Fed policy via tariffs and eroding trust in the US financial system,” Paul Goncharoff, financial analyst and general director of Goncharoff LLC, tells Sputnik.

▪️Further de-dollarization? If the Fed gives in to Trump’s pressure, it would signal faltering financial health - shaking confidence in the dollar, accelerating de‑dollarization and triggering the sell‑off of US monetary assets, the analyst argues.

▪️Is default around the corner? A default – of one form or another – now looms over the dollar and US debt, according to Goncharoff. Who outside the US would risk sovereign or corporate funds in these increasingly chaotic instruments?

▪️Rising gold spells trouble for USD: "The higher gold travels, the less value is placed in the US dollar, and eventually in time the US dollar and the Fed will have to accept some form of newly realigned secondary role in global finance."

▪️Bitcoin reserve won't help: No Bitcoin reserves or Hail Marys can halt the decoupling now, the expert warns. With few buyers of US debt, who will fund America’s print‑and‑spend party - and in what currencies or commodities?

▪️Trump's mission is not impossible: Trump’s short‐term goal is to devalue the dollar to curb imports and cut the deficit and debt service, Massimiliano Bonne, a EU foreign policy analyst, tells Sputnik.

▪️Two-pronged strategy: Trump’s two‑pronged strategy starts with tariffs designed to scare foreign central banks into easing policy and cutting rates while keeping US imports affordable, according to the analyst. The tariffs are a tactical move to force negotiation.

▪️Significant global negotiation: "And here comes the second phase: the significant global negotiation. A major, structurally bilateral negotiation, unfolding in an almost geometric sequence," Bonne asserts.

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🇲🇩❌ Chisinau bans Victory Day celebrations in city's main square

"The [city] authorities announced a surprise... On May 9, only one ideologically correct celebration will be held on the main square, namely Europe Day. There will be no mention of Victory Day," said Aleksei Petrovich, the head of the Coordinating Council of Russian compatriots of Moldova, as well as the Pobeda National Committee.

According to him, a European village will be set up in the square on May 9, with participation from the government, the president of Moldova, and 21 European embassies.

No alternatives have been offered for those wishing to celebrate Victory Day. Most likely, they will be directed to nearby streets, creating a risk of overcrowding.

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