US air defence systems have shot down an armed drone that targeted Ain al-Asad Air Base, which hosts Iraqi and US armed forces.

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The vandalised Soviet memorial complex in Berlin's Treptower Park is being cleaned up

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⚡The US will deploy one Patriot missile system in Slovakia - Defense Secretary Austin

The first fully commercial mission to the International Space Station has started: a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Crew Dragon has been launched from the Florida spaceport.

The mission commander is Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut, the other three crew members are entrepreneurs from the US, Canada and Israel: Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe.

The move to deploy a Patriot missile defence system to Slovakia follows Bratislava’s earlier agreement to donate an S-300 air defence system to Ukraine.

"Their deployment length has not yet been fixed, as we continue to consult with the Slovakian government about more permanent air defence solutions," Pentagon Chief Austin said.

❗Moscow urges West to stop supplying arms to Kiev in connection with the Ukrainian forces' strike on Kramatorsk - Russian Foreign Ministry

Kiev is accountable for the strike on Kramatorsk - Russian Foreign Ministry

🎥WATCH LIVE | Biden and Harris deliver remarks after Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

⚡Radio communications indicate 'significant numbers' of foreign mercs stuck in Mariupol: Russian MoD

The Russian Defence Ministry's latest statements:

▪Russian air defence systems near the settlement of Novomikhailovka have shot down a Ukrainian Su-27;

▪The Russian Aerospace Forces have hit 54 Ukrainian military targets;

▪A large warehouse of rocket and artillery weapons near the settlement of Nimirovskoye in Odessa region has been destroyed by high-precision missiles;

▪Since the beginning of the special operation, 126 Ukrainian aircraft, 421 UAVs, 2,024 tanks, 225 rocket launchers, 876 field artillery and mortars have been destroyed;

▪An analysis of the impact radius of the missile that hit Kramatorsk confirms that it was launched from the Ukrainian Army-controlled area;

▪Ukraine is expected to continue its provocations and rocket attacks on communities where civilians are located;

▪"Without any doubt", Mariupol will be liberated by the troops of the DPR and units of the Russian armed forces

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❗ Europe is already close to the limit on sanctions against Russia, said the Russian envoy to the EU

💻Joe ‘big guy’ Biden appeared 41 times in Hunter’s laptop, analysis of emails shows

❗EU publishes fifth package of sanctions against Russia, they come into effect

⚡Will Smith banned from attending any Academy events for 10 years after Chris Rock slap

"Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards," the statement read.

MORE DETAILS: https://sputniknews.com/20220408/will-smith-banned-from-attending-any-academy-events-for-10-years-after-chris-rock-slap-1094600471.html

🇺🇸🇨🇳🏔 "America’s a nation that can be defined in a single word…I was in the foothills of the Himalayas with Xi Jinping, traveling with him, that's when I traveled 17,000 miles when I was Vice President. I don't know that for a fact."

What was that? 😅

‼️Three teens were shot, one fatally, near the South Bronx high school campus. A teenage girl was fatally shot and two other teens were wounded as they walked home from school in a shooting near a South Bronx high school Friday, sources said.

The shooting erupted near University Heights High School’s South Bronx Campus on E. 156 St. near St. Ann’s Ave. about 1:40 p.m., police sources said. The gunman pulled out a gun and fired off six shots, striking two 16-year-old girls and a 17-year-old boy walking home from school, police, and sources said.

One of the girls was shot in the chest. She was rushed to Lincoln Hospital but could not be saved. The other 16-year-old girl was shot in the shin and the 17-year-old boy was shot in the buttocks. They were taken to the same hospital in stable condition.

None were the intended targets, a police source said. Police were scouring surveillance footage to identify the shooter Friday afternoon, police said. There were no immediate arrests.

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🦠😷While much of the United States has reported a plateau in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, New York City and Washington, D.C., have been battling a swift rise in cases in the last two weeks as the virus has again upended Broadway and the halls of the federal government.

Cases have doubled in Washington and have risen about 60 percent in New York City since the last week of March, according to New York Times databases. Although caseloads have been relatively low in the weeks since the Omicron surge receded, the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant is contributing to a new wave in some places, especially in the Northeast.

Across the United States, caseloads have stopped falling, and have started to rise in states including Alaska, Vermont, Colorado, Rhode Island, and New York. Experts have been warning that another surge was coming since the recent surge in Europe, where past virus waves have been a harbinger of what was to come in the United States.

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