🏙 Lightning strikes the spire of the World Trade Center building in New York

The One World Trade Center, which stands at a height of 541 meters (1,776 feet) including its spire, is the seventh-tallest skyscraper globally. It has been struck by lightning on multiple occasions, with nearly 190 lightning strikes recorded from 2015-2020, as reported by AccuWeather.

On Friday night, tornadoes and severe winds swept through various regions in the US South and Midwest, causing at least 26 fatalities and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. According to the New York Post, New York City was also expected to experience severe thunderstorms and winds of up to 60 miles per hour.

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🇷🇺 🇿🇦 The United Russia Party has held bilateral talks with a delegation from South Africa, deputy head of the party’s commission on international cooperation Andrey Klimov says

▪️ A delegation from the ANC visited Russia at the invitation of United Russia and participated in the party's organizing committee, according to Klimov.

▪️ Earlier, on March 31, the party held the major Forum of Supporters Against Modern Neocolonial Practices, where representatives from China and countries in Africa, Latin America, as well as other states spoke, Klimov added

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152mm D-20 howitzers in action (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

Artillerymen conduct counter-battery warfare, destroying MLRS, mortar crews, and other targets, the coordinates of which are transferred by reconnaissance teams.

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🌸 The blooming apricot is one of the symbols of Armenian cultural heritage and national identity. Every spring, the country’s picturesque landscape is dotted with beautiful apricot blossoms, creating a stunning display of natural beauty.

The blooming season, which typically occurs in late March or early April, is eagerly awaited by locals and visitors alike, who flock to orchards and parks to witness the colorful spectacle.

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Franz Mullner, an extreme athlete from Australia, has amazed people with his exceptional strength and set a new world record by pulling an 81-ton train for a distance of 10.6 meters in Peru. His impressive feat has garnered attention and admiration from many around the world.

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🇺🇸Former governor of the US state of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson announced on Sunday his decision to run for president in 2024 from the Republican Party, calling on former US President Donald Trump to abandon plans for reelection.

"I have made a decision. And my decision is, I'm going to run for president of the United States," Hutchinson said in an interview with a US broadcaster.

The former governor said Trump should withdraw from the presidential race in view of his indictment.

"I don't believe he should be the next leader of our country," Hutchinson added.

On Thursday, the Manhattan Grand Jury voted to indict Trump on charges related to his alleged role in a hush money payment and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels during the lead-up to the 2016 election. Trump denies the allegations, as well as the affair, and has characterized the case as a "witch hunt" and political persecution.

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🇱🇰Sri Lanka is interested in broadening transport and air traffic cooperation with 🇷🇺Russia, Sri Lankan Minister of Transport and Highways and Minister of Mass Media Bandula Gunawardana told Sputnik.

📍Russia and Sri Lanka restored flights in October 2022, after the incident with the Aeroflot flight.

🇹🇷🇺🇸 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that his doors are closed to US Ambassador to Turkiye Jeffry Flake who has met with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu

💬 "Joe Biden's ambassador visits Kemal. Shame on you, think with your head. You are an ambassador. Your interlocutor here is the president. How will you stand up after that and ask for a rendezvous with the president? Our doors are closed for him, he can no longer come in. Why? He needs to know his place," Erdogan said on Sunday, as quoted by a Turkish newspaper.

Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Turkiye on May 14. Kilicdaroglu, put forward by the opposition six parties alliance, is considered Erdogan's main opponent. The list of presidential candidates also includes Muharrem Ince from the Homeland Party and Sinan Ogan, supported by the ATA Alliance.

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Who Was War Correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky?

The Donbass fighter-turned-war correspondent was killed in an explosion at a St. Petersburg café on Sunday. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the incident. Who was Vladlen Tatarsky?

Here’s what we know

‼️ The number of people injured in the St. Petersburg cafe explosion rises to 32, 10 in serious condition

❗️A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck in the waters of Avacha Bay in Russia’s Far East, according to the geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Baby Steps Toward Peace: What to Expect From Russia-Iran-Syria-Turkiye Meeting in Moscow

The deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Iran and Turkiye are preparing to hold quadripartite talks in Moscow this week. The negotiations, expected to stretch out over two days, will be the first direct talks between Syrian and Turkish officials since December, when Moscow hosted the two countries’ defense and intelligence ministers – the first of their kind in more than a decade, to explore a possible normalization of ties.

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Finland Facing Likely Rightward Turn as 'Rock Star PM' Loses Election

Incumbent Prime Minister Sanna Marin appears to lose her job despite the fact that the 37-year-old was repetitively hailed as the nation's most popular prime minister in the 2000s and was likened to a "rock star" due to her penchant for glamorous photo sessions and magazine cover appearances and fans flocking to take selfies with her during public events.

Marin also earned herself the nickname "party PM" as her name often made headlines in connection with parties and scandals allegedly involving drugs, which she vehemently denied.

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❗️Poland has handed over several MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, said Marcin Przydacz, the head of the international policy bureau of the Polish president's office

📹 Russian paratroopers get unmatched flamethrowers for special op

The heavy flamethrower system TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" (Scorching Sun) was developed based on the TOS-1 "Buratino" in 2001. This type of firepower system is designed to incapacitate an enemy's lightly armored vehicles, cars, buildings, fortifications and manpower at a distance of up to six kilometers.

Russian airborne troops for the first time in history received the TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" heavy flamethrower systems, and they will be used in the special operation zone in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry revealed.

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📰❌ Twitter removed the verification mark from the main account of American newspaper The New York Times

This happened after the outlet (which is worth well over $6 bn) refused to pay the monthly fee of $7 for the mark according to the social network's new requirements. Now, the newspaper's account - which has 55 million subscribers - is no different from other unofficial profiles.

💬 "The real tragedy of @ NYTimes is that their propaganda isn't even interesting", Elon Musk wrote on Twitter, criticizing the decision.

Twitter's owner announced some time ago that verified users had until 1 April to buy a premium subscription or lose their verification check mark.

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❗️️Daria Trepova has been detained on suspicion of having been involved in the St. Petersburg café explosion