Sanctions could not stop Russia’s trade growth — top security official
"Over the past two years, the Russian economy grew by 4.1%," Sergey Shoigu noted.

Restrictions could not stop Russia’s trade growth, while its external and internal state debt has reduced, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has told TASS in an interview.

"Over the past two years, the Russian economy grew by 4.1%," he said.

"The external trade also retained its positive dynamics. Despite sanctions, the past year’s trade grew by $3.8 billion, to over $716 billion. Proficit of the balance of foreign trade gained $7 billion, reaching approximately $146 billion," the Russian security official continued.

"Russia’s external and internal debt has diminished," he added. "Its financial and banking systems demonstrated resilience.".

Next few days to be very important for negotiations on Ukraine — Trump
The US leader also expressed confidence that a peace deal would get done soon, one that satisfies both Russia and #Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has said that the next few days will be very important for negotiations on a settlement in Ukraine.

"We want to end that war. We want to end it quickly. And I think we've made along a lot of progress, and we'll see what happens this next few days is going to be very important. Meetings are taking place right now," the American leader told reporters during a photo opportunity at his meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in the Oval Office of the White House.

He also expressed confidence that a peace deal would get done soon, one that satisfies both Russia and Ukraine. "I believe they will accept and I think we're going to get this over with, I hope so soon," Trump said.

Bonobos in #Congo form girl groups to fend off male aggression, study says.

Female bonobos find strength in numbers, teaming up to fend off males in the wild, a new study finds.

Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are among humans’ closest relatives. Scientists have long wondered why bonobos live in generally female-dominated societies since the males are physically bigger and stronger.

Three decades of observations in Congo — the only place the endangered bonobos are found in the wild — lend support to the idea of a sisterhood where female bonobos band together to assert their power.

These girl groups chased male bonobos out of trees, securing food for themselves, and females that grouped more ranked higher in their community’s social ladder, researchers found.

“It’s very clear that you don’t want to overstep as a male bonobo,” said study author Martin Surbeck from Harvard University.

Findings were published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology.

Female bonobos’ combined numbers seem to turn the tide against a male’s physical strength, Surbeck said. It’s one of the rare times such a strategy has allowed females to come out on top in the animal kingdom. Spotted hyenas similarly find power in groups.

Female bonobos linked up even when they didn’t have close ties, supporting one another against the males and cementing their social standing. The observations show how female bonobos work together to protect themselves from male violence, said biological anthropologist Laura Lewis with the University of California, Berkeley.

The findings support “the idea that humans and our ancestors have likely used coalitions to build and maintain power for millions of years,” Lewis, who was not involved with the research, said in an email.

#Iranian citizen arrested after paddleboarding across U.S.-Canada border.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents apprehended an Iranian citizen who Illegally entered the United States from Canada across the St. Clair River.

While patrolling the border, Marysville agents received reports of a person carrying a paddle board along the U.S. side of the St. Clair River near East China Township.

CBP agents say they quickly located and identified the 18-year-old man, who had just illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border through the St. Clair River. He was taken into custody.

“Incidents like this underscore the vital role the public plays in border security,” said Chief Patrol Agent John Morris of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Sector. “We rely on and value the vigilance and cooperation of our communities to identify and report suspicious activity, and their involvement remains essential to our mission.”

CBP officials say record checks revealed the man as Iranian national legally residing in Canada. He was processed for expedited removal and returned to Canada.

Members of the public are encouraged to report suspicious activity near the border by calling the Border Patrol’s 24/7 tip line at 800-537-3220.

Norway’s Queen Sonja leaves hospital after breathing problems

MASSAD BOULOS on #DRC congo

Global tributes pour in to honour #Pope Francis after his #death.

LYON, France — #Church bells tolled in mourning. Well-wishers flocked into pews. Tributes to Pope Francis poured in from around the world on Monday after the Vatican announced the pontiff’s death at age 88.

The 266th pope was praised for his groundbreaking steps to honor the poor and the vulnerable; seek to end conflicts like those in the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa; protect the environment; and guide the Catholic Church toward greater tolerance of gays and lesbians, among other things. Some critics say he didn’t always go far enough. Others said he went too far.

Many recalled his legacy as the first pope from Latin America, and the first Jesuit to reach the pinnacle of church hierarchy, one who stressed humility over hubris for a Church beset with scandal and indifference.

Here’s a look at some of the global reactions a day after his last public appearance on Easter Sunday to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.

-- U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who met with the pope on Easter Sunday before traveling to India, wrote on social media that his “heart goes out” to the millions of Christians who loved him, and said: “I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill.”

-- King Charles III praised the pope for his work on safeguarding the planet, and alluded to their multiple personal meetings -- including a private visit on April 10 at the Vatican. “We were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month,” the King wrote in a statement signed “Charles R.” It was the pope’s first known meeting with a foreign dignitary after he was hospitalized for five weeks with double-pneumonia.

-- Church bells tolled in honor of Francis, from the recently reopened Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to a lone bell at the St. Bartholomew Parish in Bulacan, in the Philippines, that was rung 88 times to signify “the 88 fruitful years of our dear Pope Francis,” the parish wrote on social media.

-- Martin Pendergast, secretary of the LGBT Catholics Westminster in London, recalled how Francis looked past sexual orientation and said he wouldn’t judge people who tried to carry out the will of God. “He was the first pope to actually use the word `gay,’ so even the way he speaks has been a radical transformation -- and some would say a bit of a revolution as well -- compared with some of his predecessors,” Pendergast said.

-- The Women’s Ordination Conference lamented Francis’ unwillingness to push for the ordination of women. “His repeated `closed door’ policy on women’s ordination was painfully incongruous with his otherwise pastoral nature, and for many, a betrayal of the synodal, listening church he championed,” the conference said. “This made him a complicated, frustrating and sometimes heart-breaking figure for many women.”

-- President Emmanuel Macron of France, a largely Roman Catholic country, focused on the pope’s impact on the church, writing on social media that “from Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest. For it to unite humans among themselves, and with nature. May this hope forever outlast him.”

-- Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, one of the few official visitors to see Francis during his recent hospitalization, alluded to the pope’s personal comfort and advice, saying it “never failed me, not even in times of trial and suffering.” She added: “We are saying goodbye to a great man and a great shepherd.”

-- Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te expressed condolences on social media and said people there would “continue to draw inspiration from his lifelong commitment to peace, global solidarity, and caring for those in need.” The Holy See is among Taiwan’s only 12 remaining diplomatic allies while China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has been poaching others.

-- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted the pope’s “extraordinary life story” and said “Pope Francis advanced a world view of inclusion, equality and care for marginalized individuals and groups, as well as responsible and sustainable custody of the natural environment.” Africa has seen some of the Catholic Church’s biggest growth in recent years.

-- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recalled the pontiff as an inspiration for the entire world, not just Christians. “He inspired millions, far beyond the Catholic Church, with his humility and love so pure for the less fortunate,” she said on social media. “My thoughts are with all who feel this profound loss.”

-- Israeli President Issac Herzog, whose role is mostly ceremonial, called Francis a man of “deep faith and boundless compassion.” Francis repeatedly criticized Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza and said allegations of genocide, which Israel has adamantly denied, should be investigated. “I truly hope that his prayers for peace in the Middle East and for the safe return of the hostages will soon be answered,” Herzog said on social media.

-- The Palestine Red Crescent offered condolences to Christians, calling the pope “one of the most prominent supporters of justice and human dignity, including his noble stances regarding the suffering of the Palestinian people and their right to freedom and justice.”

-- President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, said Francis leaves behind “a great human legacy that will remain etched in the conscience of humanity.”

-- President Alexander Van der Bellen of Austria recalled how the pope traveled to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a key landing point for migrants seeking to reach Europe, to meet with refugees and commemorate those who died while trying to cross the Mediterranean. The Austrian leader said on social media that the pope’s impact resonated in ways large and small: “He ensured that homeless people near St. Peter’s Square could shower. He criticized dehumanizing words and gestures. That was Pope Francis.”

-- President Vladimir Putin of Russia hailed the pope as a “consistent defender of the high values of humanism and justice” and alluded to the pontiff’s efforts to foster interfaith dialogue between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches. Last year, the pope suggested Ukraine should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out talks. Critics said that suggested he was siding with Russia. Francis tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality during the war, but that often was accompanied by apparent sympathy with Russia’s rationale for invading Ukraine -- like when he said NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion.

U.S. airstrikes killed 12 people in #Yemen’s capital, the #Houthi rebels say

Ukraine used US-made #HIMARS systems to violate Easter truce — Russian diplomat
According to Maria Zakharova, this was quite expected from the Ukrainian side.

The Ukrainian side violated the Easter truce using US-made HIMARS MLRS systems to deliver strikes, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on the US Department of States’ statement where it expressed the hope for the extension of the Easter truce between Russia and Ukraine.

"It (the ceasefire - TASS) was not observed by the Kiev regime during Easter. Notably, the used American weapons, HIMARS systems, to violate it," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to Zakharova, this was quite expected from the Ukrainian side. "Thus, during the moratorium on strikes on energy facilities, [Vladimir] Zelensky, who had agreed on it, targeted civilian energy infrastructure," she emphasized.

At a meeting with Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, on April 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an Easter truce until 12:00 a.m. Moscow time (9:00 p.m. GMT) on April 21. He also urged Kiev to follow suit. Gerasimov issued a corresponding order to Russian troops engaged in the special military operation. The truce came into effect from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (3:00 p.m. GMT) on April 19.

#Russia has announced a cessation of all hostilities until 00:00 Moscow time on April 21 and has urged Kiev to reciprocate, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated following a report in the Kremlin by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

Gerasimov informed the supreme commander-in-chief that the majority of the Kursk Region has been liberated from Ukrainian forces, and an enemy group has been encircled in a village in the Belgorod region.

TASS has reviewed the key points of the meeting.
Easter Truce

Guided by humanitarian considerations, Russia will halt all hostilities from 18:00 Moscow time on April 19 until 00:00 Moscow time on April 21.

"I order a ceasefire during this period. We expect the Ukrainian side to follow our example," Putin declared.

Russian troops "must remain vigilant to potential violations and provocations by the enemy, including any aggressive actions."

"We are aware that the Kiev regime has violated the agreement to refrain from strikes on energy infrastructure over 100 times."
Situation in the Special Operation Zone

"The situation along the contact line is stable and developing favorably for us. Russian forces are advancing systematically."

"In the border areas - specifically in the Kursk and Belgorod regions - after completing combat operations to secure these territories, reports will be provided separately."

Russia remains open to negotiations and welcomes the interest of the U.S., China, and other nations in pursuing a "just and peaceful resolution" to the Ukrainian crisis.
Gerasimov’s Report

Gerasimov reported that the Russian Armed Forces have liberated the majority of the districts in the Kursk Region previously invaded by Ukrainian forces.

"The main part of the region’s territory, covering approximately 1,260 square kilometers - 99.5% - has now been liberated."

"Operations to secure the Gornal area are nearing completion, with assault groups from the 810th Marines Brigade conducting combat missions against enemy units in Gornal and nearby groves."

Ukrainian units attempted to breach into Russian territory near Demidovka and Popovka in the Belgorod Region, but these efforts to insert significant enemy forces into Russian territory were thwarted.

"At present, there are no enemy forces in the Demidovka area; the territory has been cleared. Small infiltrated groups - up to 12 men - remain in the forest south of Popovka. These groups are under blockade, with ongoing efforts for their destruction and extraction, and the areas have been isolated.".