🚨Trump takes aim at WOKE academia: Foreign funding & accreditation come under scrutiny

The US president has introduced a set of executive orders zeroing in on foreign donations to US universities, with Harvard again at the forefront.

🔍What do the new rules include?

🟠Beefing up the enforcement of the Higher Education Act of 1965, requiring schools to disclose foreign gifts of over $250,000 annually.

🟠Focusing on university accreditation, criticizing agencies for emphasizing "woke ideology" and diversity standards over merit.

Trump has described accreditation as a “secret weapon” in his efforts to address issues within academia.

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🎉 Russian Cosmonauts join the launch of St. George Ribbon campaign from space

Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky and Kirill Peskov took part in the launch of the St. George Ribbon campaign aboard the International Space Station, marking the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and the campaign’s 20th anniversary.

💬 "It is a great honor for us to join the traditional and beloved St. George Ribbon campaign, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War," Ryzhikov said in a video message.

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📹 The Ukrainian military command abandoned its soldiers with severe injuries on the battlefield, ignoring their pleas for help, a PoW told Sputnik.

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🇷🇺🚀🇨🇳 Shooting for the moon: Russia and China join forces in space

On Space Day, celebrated in China on April 24, let’s explore the key milestones of Russia–China space cooperation.

☢️🌚 Nuclear power on the Moon

🔸 China could install a nuclear power plant on the Moon to support the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) it plans to build with Russia, according to a presentation by Pei Zhaoyu, Chief Engineer of the Chang’e-8 mission set for 2028.

🔸 China aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. The Chang’e-8 mission to the lunar south pole will lay the groundwork for constructing a permanent manned base, says the China National Space Administration.

🤖 Resources and robotics

🔹 Russian Space Agency Roscosmos also presented plans at the Shanghai conference to explore mineral and water resources on the Moon, including potentially using lunar materials as fuel.

🔹 Between 2033 and 2035, Russia and China plan to deploy a joint nuclear power plant on the Moon to power the ILRS, addressing the lack of solar energy during the Moon's 14-day nights, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov told Sputnik last year.

🔹 By April 2025, 17 countries and organizations have joined the Russo-Chinese ILRS project. China aims to expand this to 50 partners, focusing on BRICS and Global South nations.

🌝 Step-by-step plan for the Moon base

In 2022, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) outlined a plan for 2023-2027 to build the International Scientific Lunar Station in three stages by the 2030s:

1️⃣Joint Russo-Chinese missions will scout the Moon, identify the best location for the base, test high-precision soft landing technologies and collect rock samples.

2️⃣Construction of orbital power and communication hubs, bulk cargo drops and the use of smart tech, mini rovers and even a hopping robot for lunar logistics.

3️⃣Expanded surface exploration, station modules supporting deeper scientific research, tech tests and ultimately—human exploration.

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☦️Archbishop Markell: Bessarabian Metropolis a POLITICAL TOOL of Romania, undermining Moldova’s sovereignty 🇲🇩

💬 "The Romanian Orthodox Church is part of the government, it’s a branch of the state and receives a salary," Archbishop Markell said. "The Bessarabian Metropolia is a political, man-made creation. It is not a church."

🛫 Last week, Moldovan authorities TWICE prevented Archbishop Markell from flying to Israel on Good Friday to participate in the ceremony of receiving the Holy Fire in Jerusalem. He named the Metropolis of Bessarabia as one of the groups that did not support his efforts to bring the Holy Fire to Moldova.

☦️ The Bessarabian Metropolis often urges Moldovan parishes to join, while the Romanian Patriarchy remains silent on the schism in Moldova, issuing only brief statements.

☦️Moldova’s Orthodox Church, part of the Russian Orthodox Church, serves 70% OF THE POPULATION, but the Bessarabian Metropolis – since 1992 – represents 10-20% of believers. Despite calls for dialogue, the Moldovan government REFUSES TO ENGAGE.

🤐In a broader crackdown, the government has ARRESTEDг political figures, SHUT DOWN opposition media and BLOCKED over 100 Telegram channels ahead of last years elections.

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🌍🌍🌍 Brazil’s BRICS presidency: Four key moves to strengthen the bloc

🇧🇷💬 There are four ways Brazil’s BRICS presidency can help cultivate the association, Fabiano Mielniczuk, Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, told Sputnik at the International scientific conference ‘New world order: formation of a multipolar world and the role of Russia.

🤝 Brazil aims to mediate conflicts and promote agreements based on mutual respect and diversity within the group, Professor Mielniczuk said. Additionally, Brazil is actively engaging in discussions on the institutionalization of BRICS, working to clarify membership criteria without making the organization rigid, he added.

🇧🇷🇷🇺 Brazil is also expected to push forward Russian initiatives from 2024, particularly regarding trade in local currencies, which is gaining traction in Brazilian diplomatic circles. Lastly, Mielniczuk highlighted Brazil’s bold leadership on issues like artificial intelligence and the digital economy, stressing the need to view data as a commodity.

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🗣Global uncertainty: post-cold war systems in question

Governments struggle to navigate increasingly complex world

💬 “It will probably still take some time, a few years, before new perspectives on a new world order emerge, as we said today, or rather a new international system,” French history Professor Pascal Cauchy told Sputnik at International scientific conference on the ‘New world order: formation of a multipolar world and the role of Russia'.

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❗️Trump is set to meet with Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor of The Atlantic, who kicked off the SignalGate scandal with his exposé of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s messaging app chats.

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🇧🇪Belgium on the table: Dutch politician proposes division between France and Netherlands

At a dinner with French Ambassador François Alabrune, Dutch parliamentary speaker Martin Bosma, a member of the Party for Freedom, casually suggested splitting Belgium between France and the Netherlands, according to journalist Petra de Koning’s column in the NRC newspaper.

He proposed Flanders join the Netherlands and Wallonia become part of France. No word from Belgium yet—perhaps they’re still digesting the idea.

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💸 EU energy crisis: chasing ‘freedom’ at the cost of its wallet

The European Union’s anti-Russia stance burned cash and left it with sky-high energy costs, while India and China thrive.

EU leaders are in London for a Summit on Energy Security, but many economies are stuck below 1% growth since 2022, thanks to skyrocketing costs from ditching Russian supplies, global energy expert Dr Mamdouh Salameh explains.

💬 "Many large European companies were forced to relocate to seek lower energy costs with Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe, experiencing some de-industrialization."

The situation worsened with Donald Trump’s trade levies, especially his demand that Europe buy an extra $350 billion in US LNG – at twice or triple the price of Russia’s cheaper, abundant piped gas or even its LNG.

Hungary's and Slovakia’s smart pragmatism has secured cheap piped gas and oil from Russia, in sharp contrast to the rest of the EU that “pays a premium for US LNG.”

Despite EU opposition, those countries show that economic needs trump politics.

The EU’s “fanatical adherence” to green policies backfired—solar and wind costs soar, storage issues and intermittent supply along with the bloc’s own sanctions on Chinese renewable kits make things worse.

Under US pressure, the EU’s enmity towards Russia has clouded its judgment – leading to sky-high energy costs.

Its economy remains “anemic, compared with the vibrant and growing economies of China and India.”

💬 “Common sense dictates that the EU should put its enmity towards Russia aside and resume its imports of Russian oil, piped gas and LNG if they want to rebuild its economy.”

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🥴 Ursula in la-la land: European Commission President claims EU emerged stronger after cutting down on Russian energy deliveries

Speaking at an energy summit in London, von der Leyen insisted that Europe strengthened its energy resilience by rejecting Russian oil and gas.

She conveniently forgot to mention that hundreds of major European manufacturers have been forced to shut down production in Europe and leave the EU amid the bloc’s loss of competitiveness against China and the US, with the region facing its worst deindustrialization crisis since WWII.

Germany, the EU’s traditional industrial powerhouse, has balanced on the brink of recession, with one in three businesses planning job cuts in 2025, according to a recent German Economic Institute survey.

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🗣 Trump convinced Russia and Ukraine ‘both want peace, but have to get to the table’

🔸 Speaking to Norway’s prime minister in Washington on Thursday, Trump complained about the “long time” his administration has waited for talks to start and said “I don’t like that it takes long at all.”

🔸 “We have…about 5,000 young people a week that are dying in that ridiculous war. I started out because I didn’t like all the money that we were paying and then I realized how many people were dying, and that’s by far the more important element right now.”

🔸 Trump confirmed that he had his own “deadline” for reaching an agreement, but did not name a date.

🔸 He added that he believes there's a consensus in NATO on ending the conflict.

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◻️ EU energy crisis: chasing ‘freedom’ at the cost of its wallet

◻️ Ukraine faces DEFAULT RISK on $600 million payment in may

◻️ Shooting for the moon: Russia and China join forces in space

◻️ ICC COMPLETELY FAILS in its main task – Russian Security Council deputy head

◻️ Archbishop Markell: Bessarabian Metropolis a POLITICAL TOOL of Romania, undermining Moldova’s sovereignty

◻️ Brazil’s BRICS presidency: Four key moves to strengthen the bloc

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🤔 US to demand Russia acknowledge Ukraine’s right to a military

Trump special envoy is planning to ask President Putin to accept Ukraine’s “right to have its own army and defense industry” during the next talks.

That's according to sources speaking to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.

Russia has made its conditions for ending its special military operation crystal clear: demilitarization, de-Nazification, and a non-aligned, non-nuclear Ukraine.

In the spring of 2022, Russia laid out a peace agreement, but according to President Putin, the Zelensky regime and the West tossed it “into the dustbin of history.” The deal? A Ukrainian army capped at 85,000 troops and a 15,000-member National Guard.

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😏 How do you like it, Donald? Iran building massive border wall with Afghanistan🇮🇷🇦🇫

The new $3.4B barrier is designed to help fight drugs and weapons smuggling, human trafficking and illegal immigration, prevent border clashes with terrorists and criminal gangs, and secure the movement of people and goods between the two countries.

🔸 The wall consists of reinforced concrete slabs measuring 4 meters high and 1.1 meters thick, with a razor wire topper.

🔸 It’s also being fitted with equipment the Army Ground Force engineers responsible for construction say is “at the cutting edge of technology,” including cameras and sensors, other smart electronic monitoring and surveillance equipment, precision-guided and network-centric defenses.

🔸 When all is said and done, the wall will span over 900 km. Up to 75 km have been completed to date, with 300 km+ more under construction in northern Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province. The project is set to be completed in three years.

🔸 Local authorities have dubbed the wall “one of the most important active and strategic projects” being undertaken by Iran today, given the pressing need to deal with border issues.

🔸 Besides security, Iran has struggled to accommodate an influx of up to 5 million Afghan refugees who fled Afghanistan after the collapse of the US puppet government and rise of the Taliban in 2021.

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🚨📹 India stops flow of Indus River to Pakistan

Social media footage allegedly shows one of the four dams on the Indus river, which is flowing from India to Pakistan.

Pakistan's National Security Committee said earlier that any attempt to divert the water flow would be considered an act of war.

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❗️ Russian FM Lavrov: Russia is ready to reach a deal on Ukraine, but some of its elements need to be "fine-tuned".

"There are several signs that we are moving in the right direction. First of all, because President Trump is probably the ONLY leader on earth who recognized the need to address the root causes of this situation," Lavrov told CBS News.

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