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On this episode of Direct Impact, Rick Sanchez takes a look at two very different state visits occurring almost concurrently at different ends of the globe. First there was the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kiev, where he promised democracy would return to Ukraine (one day) and gave a bizarre rock and roll performance at a Kiev bar. He met a very different reception in Kiev than in China a few weeks ago, where officials hardly gave him the time of day. Meanwhile, just after his inauguration, Vladimir Putin is visiting Beijing to full pomp and ceremony. Correspondent Manila Chan joins Rick to talk about this, as well as the recent attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s life. Then guest KJ Noh, an East Asia expert, joins Rick to discuss the tightening relationship between Russia and China both economically and militarily. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Czech President Petr Pavel called for a compromise in the Ukraine conflict as it is ‘naive’ to think that Kiev can retake its lost territories. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

President Putin was guided through the stands and exhibits at the 8th Russia-China Expo in Harbin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

The US Congress briefly became an episode of Jerry Springer on Thursday, courtesy of those two bastions of intellectual prowess, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Engaging in a verbal wrangle reminiscent of Frost-Nixon, the pair clashed over Greene’s criticism of another member’s fake eyelashes (yes really). Cue the kind of back-and-forth usually found in a ladies’ bathroom after too much Bacardi, including MTG implying her opponent was a brainlet, and a formidable knock-out blow from AOC in the form of, ‘Oh, girl. Baby girl, don’t even play!’ Comments from internet users that the pair should ‘settle this the old fashioned way – with jello wrestling’ do not represent the views of us here at RT, as we don’t particularly wish to see or hear these two any more than is necessary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Russian helicopters from the Black Sea Fleet have destroyed a fleet of over a dozen Ukrainian sea drones heading towards Crimea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Three waves of unmanned sea vessels were spotted, and all three were destroyed by helicopter machine gun fire. The first attack at 2pm local time saw 11 drones destroyed, followed by another drone an hour later. A second attack at 7:30pm resulted in the destruction of three more drones. A video of the operation was shared on Telegram by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The latest attack comes as Ukrainian forces step up their drone and missile operations, while Russian troops continue to advance, particularly in the Kharkov Region. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

An unnamed St. Louis police officer may now be called the baddest cop in town after a video of him lighting up a cigar during an arrest has gone viral, forcing the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to launch an investigation into the matter. Footage posted online shows the officer pinning a man to the ground with his knee while leaning forward to a lighter's flame with the cigar in his mouth. Bystanders and the suspect are heard joking with the officer that they also had lighters to offer. ‘Pull your lighter out, bro,’ one witness shouted before quickly rolling that idea back. ‘No, don’t pull it out. They might think you got a gun.’ At one point, the detained man makes an unsuccessful effort to free himself, while the unwavering officer takes a few puffs. According to the St. Louis Police Department, the officer in question had been working his second job at the popular downtown nightclub, when the lounge staff requested him to remove the suspect from the venue, who was ultimately arrested for trespassing on private property and resisting arrest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Peru’s government has officially classified transgender people as suffering from mental illness, prompting praise from some and outrage from others. A decree signed by President Dina Boluarte last week defines ‘transsexualism’ and ‘gender identity disorder in children’ as mental illnesses, with the Health Ministry explaining that this was to ‘guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health’ under the national health insurance plan. LGBT groups have raised concerns that this could lead to stigmatization and persecution of people with gender dysphoria, and leading activist Jheinser Pacaya has accused the government of having ‘nothing better to do than to include trans people in the category of mental illness.’ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

A racoon ran out on the field during a MLS match, and the rodent managed to elude players and security for 161 seconds before he was trapped by staff with a trash can. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

This is the horrifying moment a normal drive became a narrow brush with death for a truck driver in Louisville, Kentucky. 26-year-old Sydney Thomas was making her way over the Clark Memorial Bridge on March 1, when a vehicle swerved in front of her and crashed. The impact caused Sydney to lose control of the truck, which smashed through the railings and was left dangling precariously over the side of the bridge, ready to drop at any moment into the Ohio River. Sydney was eventually rescued by firefighters, but not before spending almost 30 minutes stuck in the cab of her truck, wondering if the river was the last thing she’d ever see. The driver of the swerving vehicle, meanwhile, has been charged with four counts of wanton endangerment (and must be thanking his lucky stars there isn’t a death by dangerous driving charge in there too). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Bogota police used tear gas and water cannons to stop protesters using Molotov cocktails amid clashes near the National University of Colombia. The students are protesting against privatization and other campus issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

The EU seems to be drifting further from its leaders' idealistic vision of the so-called 'European garden', with authoritarian liberalism leading to violence against those who dare to voice an alternative opinion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

There are many ways for an aspiring liberal democracy to prove itself worthy. For example: start a proxy war, auction sovereign resources, pledge allegiance to LGBTQ. It seems as if Taiwan’s ruling party has been determined to check all the boxes when it invited drag queens to perform at the Presidential Office and meet its leader Tsai Ing-wen. Nymphia Wind, the first person from East Asia to win the RuPaul’s Drag Race crown, gave an athletic performance in front of a bust of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China and father of the modern Chinese revolution. ‘This is probably the first presidential office in the world to host a drag show,’ Nymphia told Tsai after her performance. Tsai and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party have championed LGBTQ+ rights and were the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019. Taiwan’s capital Taipei also hosts East Asia’s largest Pride march annually. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

A US State Department deputy spokesperson admitted that the situation for Ukrainian troops on the battlefield is ‘incredibly dire.’ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

RT had an opportunity to speak with Alexey Likhachev, Russian State Atomic Energy corporation CEO, who said Russia and China will deepen cooperation in the atomic energy field. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

'There's do doubt about that' – President Putin said that the world is becoming multipolar right before our eyes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

'We will look into possible consequences' – Putin commented on the possibility of French troops entering Ukraine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Putin noted that the fact that the German economy is going down means that the rest of the European economy will follow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Putin said that since they don’t want to see Russia at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, than Russia doesn't interested in it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

European attitude towards the sanctions imposed on them by the US shows that they are nothing more than America's vassals, Putin stated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

President Putin said that he never rejected negotiations with Ukraine and the peace deal was not reached because Russia was deceived. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

'We have no plans to capture Kharkov right now,' - President Putin said during press conference in Harbin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Putin spoke about how important it is to overcome the desire to make life easier for yourself and start exercising every day, despite the laziness inherent in all people. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Putin praised Chinese cuisine, explaining how he could not resist the temptation and ate more Peking duck than he actually planned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for any inconveniences and restrictions his visit caused to the locals in Harbin as high security was in place. ‘It’s not my fault,’ Putin jokingly said. ‘But the local security here has been working quite diligently,’ he added. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/RT_com

During a visit to Harbin Polytechnic University, Vladimir Putin shook hands with an advanced robot. (Signaling that Russia is not an enemy, in case AI takeover really happens one day, you know) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com