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On this episode of Direct Impact Rick Sanchez looks at a recent address by House Speaker Mike Johnson at Columbia University. In his speech, Johnson lambasted student protestors gathering against what they call a genocide in Gaza, calling the students lazy, and arguing that they support the slaughter of Israelis. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in China in a push to sever Sino-Russian ties, as Ukraine and the West struggle to come to terms with Russia’s overwhelming military superiority in the conflict. Rick is joined by academic and author George Szamuely. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

France's president says the EU needs to engage with other parts of the world to demonstrate that it's not merely a puppet of the US. RT contributor Rachel Marsden reports. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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

Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza has resulted in casualties beyond the war-torn strip; it has dealt a blow to international humanitarian law as well as free speech across the Western world. Perversely, being pro-Palestinian and pro-peace is being condemned as antisemitic. CrossTalking with Lionel, Sherifa Zuhur, and Romana Rubeo. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

Alejandra Marisa Rodriguez looks like your standard beauty pageant hopeful. Demure, slender, almost impossibly beautiful. And last year, she wasn’t even allowed to enter, because she was over double the age limit. This year, as she turned 60, she became comfortably the oldest ever winner of a Miss Universe award, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rodriguez, a lawyer and a journalist, attributes her shockingly youthful appearance to a diet of intermittent fasting, a strict fitness regimen, and her divorce. ‘I was encouraged by friends who told me that I had to enter because I also have or had that prejudice of age,’ she said after being crowned. The competition had previously stipulated all entrants must be between the ages of 18 and 28 since 1958; however, that limit was lifted this year. ‘Beauty has no expiration date. To be beautiful, you just need to trust yourself and be authentic,’ she said. She will now go on to compete in the national competition on May 25. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Russian capital has been hosting a Russia-Africa forum, and we heard from South African BRICS Youth Association chairman Raymond Matlala, who explained why his nation values its relations with Russia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

Representatives from around the world have gathered for the XII International Meeting of High-Ranking Officials Responsible for Security in Saint Petersburg, and RT had a chance to speak with Sri Lanka's Defense Ministry Secretary, who says that the forum is uniting all nations against terror, adding that he himself fought against it for more than 30 years. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 talks to Russian top banker Sergey Storchak on the US sanctions, BRICS, the dollar and the national currencies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

As deepfake technology gets more realistic, it's entered a stage where it risks triggering geopolitical conflicts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Students from at least 24 universities across the United States have now joined the movement, which began at Columbia University in New York City last week, calling for universities to cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies that enable its war in Gaza. Although some students have been rather clear in their demands, others are just supporting the cause. Yet, despite the protesters having been largely peaceful, they have been met by a heavy-handed response. In just a week, more than 100 protesters were arrested at Columbia, 133 at New York University, 40 at Yale University, and over 100 at the University of Texas and University of Southern California. Texas governor Greg Abbott said the demonstrators ‘belong in jail’ and all participating students should be expelled, while US House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the National Guard to be deployed on protesting campuses. In an even greater display of authoritarianism, US Senator Tom Cotton has demanded that the Biden administration immediately deport all foreign nationals, in particular those on student visas, who have ‘expressed support for Hamas’. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Crews of the Msta-S self-propelled guns destroy several NATO-made armored personnel carriers in the South Donetsk direction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

French President Emmanuel Macron joined in a star-studded charity soccer match to raise money for hospitalized children, but the way the players treated him you’d think he was the one they were raising money for. A second half foul on former Arsenal forward Robert Pires saw journalist Jacques Vendroux’s side awarded a penalty, with the match poised for a tense ender at 4-3. Up stepped the hero of the hour-and-a-half Macron (well, as up as he is able to step) who nervously placed the ball, took a half-hearted run up and scuffed the ball slowly towards the bottom corner of the goal. Whether out of pity, charity, good humor or fear of reprisal, the keeper was generously rooted to the spot. Following the match, Macron posed alongside French footballing royalty, such as Didier Drogba, Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc and Arsene Wenger with a novelty oversized check for €57,500 ($61,700), the amount raised by the match. Which is somewhat low, considering that everyone who was involved in it is a multimillionaire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Hundreds of Ukrainians staged a protest in Warsaw on Wednesday, rallying against Kiev’s new mobilization rules. Under the new rules, men between the ages of 18 and 60 can no longer receive documents at consular offices outside Ukraine, with the intention that Ukrainian men of fighting age abroad will be forced to return and be conscripted. Wednesday’s protest saw around 300 men gather at the Passport Service Center in the Polish capital, demanding passports and other documents which had been denied to them. This follows remarks from Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who said that Poland would be willing to ‘help’ Kiev repatriate fighting-age men. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

There are many exciting things you can do on an air mattress. The second most exciting is likely this man’s attempt at paddling across the flooded Dnieper River in order to flee Ukraine into Moldova. As you can imagine, this did not work. Ukrainian border security spotted the man, who was easily identifiable as the only many in the area floating across an international border on a mattress, and rushed to detain him, partly for his own safety and partly to stop him committing the crime of leaving Ukraine. He is now facing charges of crimes against the Ukrainian border. The man had apparently been set up by a group of anonymous individuals via an instant messaging app, who promised to show him the way to leave Ukraine – for a price, of course. This forbidden international air mattress knowledge apparently came at a cost of €4,000, €2,000 of which was payable upfront ($2,150 and $4,300, respectively). Damn, inflation really is expensive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

China has sent three taikonauts onboard the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to rotate with Shenzhou-17 crew in orbit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

Turkish leader Erdogan stated that his country is significantly scaling back its level of trade with Israel while meeting with his German counterpart. RT’s Yasin Eken reports -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 is taking part in the plenary session of the RSPP in Moscow. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) is a non-governmental organization promoting the interests of the country’s business community. The RSPP brings together thousands of leading Russian companies, as well as representatives of industrial, scientific, financial and commercial organizations from all over the country

Crews onboard Russian Su-34 jets delivered strikes on Ukrainian strongholds using ODAB-500 aviation bombs with a universal planning and correction module. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

Nearly 160 long-finned pilot whales were found stranded on the western Australian coast with at least 26 dying before wildlife authorities could begin a rescue attempt. The cause of the mass beaching is unknown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

The US has secretly shipped ballistic missiles to Ukraine – before the approval of the aid package, according to an anonymous American official who has been cited by the Western media. We discussed this new US support for Ukraine and Kiev's toughened mobilization law with a panel of guests. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

Nearly a hundred people arrested at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles on trespassing charges during a pro-Palestine rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that despite the impossibility to produce everything that the state needs within its own borders, the country must come up with its own unique solutions and services and implement them in core sectors in order to ‘unleash Russia’s immense potential’ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Deputy Foreign Minister and BRICS sherpa Sergey Ryabkov is holding a press conference in Moscow. The key priorities of the Russian chairmanship of BRICS and its plans for 2024 are expected to be discussed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 his speech at the meeting of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the country’s economy is showing positive trends in spite of all the external pressure. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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://x.com/RT_com

Replying to a question on Russia’s reaction to news Poland is planning to deploy nukes on its territory, Russian Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov stated that despite the situation being merely talk for now, it might become a ‘dangerous game to continue’ should the situation escalate any further -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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

Austin police clash with pro-Palestine protesters as they try to prevent them from marching through campus of the University of Texas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom over censorship, truth over narrative. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Telegram: t.me/rtnews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RT_com