MOSCOW, April 22: Russia will take into account threats posed by NATO’s uncontrolled nuclear buildup, as well as UK’s and France’s nuclear plans, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik.

“All potential threats to our country will be considered within the framework of the Russian nuclear deterrent development strategy,” Grushko said.

According to him, the “uncontrolled buildup of NATO’s nuclear potential” will require Russia to “carefully consider the issue in its own military development and planning.”

“The UK previously announced an expansion of its nuclear capabilities, including under anti-Russian slogans. It’s also quite clear who Paris’s nuclear rhetoric and practical actions in this area are aimed at. It’s worth noting that such plans are being developed against the backdrop of the large-scale militarisation of the European continent,” Grushko noted.

(UNI)

BUCHAREST, Apr 22 : A priceless golden helmet dating back 2,500 years was returned to Romania on Tuesday after the national heirloom was stolen from a Dutch museum where it was on loan last year.

The ornate Cotofenesti helmet and three golden bracelets – some of Romania’s most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilisation – were taken from the Drents Museum in January 2025 in a raid which shocked the art world and devastated Romanian authorities.

But after 14 months of investigations, diplomatic tensions, and three suspects in an ongoing trial, most of the artifacts arrived at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport on Tuesday from where authorities transported them under guard to Bucharest’s National History Museum. They were displayed in a glass cabinet, flanked by masked, armed guards.

Cornel Constantin Ilie, the museum’s interim director, said that the artifacts have been returned “not as simple patrimony items, but as relics of our historical memory, as the legacy of a civilisation that continues to define us”.

“For us, this is a moment of joy, but also of contemplation,” he said. “For months, we have lived with the fear that part of our past could be lost forever. Today we can say that an essential part of this treasure has returned.”

Robert van Langh, the Drents Museum director, described the recovery and return of the relics as “an emotional moment for all involved,” and acknowledged “the grief, the anger and now the relief have naturally been even greater” in Romania than in the Netherlands.

“Romanian national heritage has returned home,” he said. “The impact of this robbery was already significant in the Netherlands, but here it must have been truly unparalleled… The police and judicial authorities of both countries have done extraordinary work.”

Dutch prosecutors unveiled the recovered items at a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen earlier this month. The whereabouts of the third golden bracelet remains unknown, but van Langh vowed the search would continue and that a judicial verdict is expected in the coming weeks.

During its disappearance, the golden helmet was slightly dented, while the recovered bracelets were in perfect condition.

Romania’s Minister of Culture Demeter Andras Istvan said the return of the artifacts had shown “how strong the connection between heritage and collective consciousness can be.”

“This entire episode reminds us at the same time how exposed heritage can be. It can be exposed to violence, illegal trafficking, negligence, oblivion,” he said.

After the raid, Dutch authorities were left with grainy security footage of three people wrenching open a museum door with a crowbar, after which an explosion was seen. Before its recovery, there were fears the helmet may have been melted down because its fame and distinctive appearance made it virtually unsellable.

The artifacts will be exhibited to the public in Bucharest before undergoing some restoration work, the museum’s interim director said.

“We believe that the public has the pleasure of celebrating them… not only as splendid objects, but as a witness to an ordeal, an almost irreparable loss, and a return that we owe to the operation between institutions and the perseverance of the authorities,” he said. “Today, these treasures returned home.” (AP)

PRAGUE, Apr 22: Thousands of high school and university students marched through the Czech capital on Wednesday to protest against a government plan to overhaul and reduce funding for public radio and television.

“We won’t let you take the media,” protesters chanted. Smaller protests were organized across the country.

The new coalition government led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis drafted the plan to scrap the fees that individuals, households and businesses pay to access the outlets.

Instead, the public media would be fully dependent on the state budget. Critics say that would compromise their independence.

The draft of the plan would significantly reduce public media’s current budgets. It still needs approval from the government and Parliament.

The media’s labor unions said they were ready to go on strike if the government goes ahead with the legislation, which could take effect next year.

The Vienna-based International Press Institute said it fears that the motivation behind the proposed changes is to “weaken the broadcasters’ financial and editorial independence and compromise their ability to fulfill their public service remit.” (AP)

WASHINGTON, Apr 22: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran is collapsing financially, ”starving for cash,” and want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately as they are losing 500 million US Dollars a day. ”Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day,” he said

He also claimed that Iranian military and police are complaining that they are not getting paid.

”They (Iran) want it open so they can make 500 Million US Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!),” Trump said on his social media platform.

He said Iran says they want it closed because they want to ”save face” as the US has it totally blockaded.

Trump said people had approached him four days ago, saying, Iran wanted to open up the Strait, immediately.

”But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included,” Trump warned.

Renewing his attack on Democrats and US media, especially Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, Trump said They should never be allowed to ‘demean’ or criticise ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, which had totally obliterated the Nuclear Dust locations to the point where ”bloodthirsty Iran” has been unable to get to it, or dig it out.

He claimed that US Space Force has cameras on every inch of the three sites that were hit last June.

‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ is the code name for the June 22, 2025, US military strike against Iran’s critical nuclear facilities.

The strikes focused on three primary nuclear infrastructure sites: Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, Natanz Nuclear Facility and Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre.

The operation saw a massive display of U.S. air and naval power, involving 7 B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers that flew an 18-hour mission directly from the United States, GBU-57A/B  Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), 30,000-pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs, used in combat for the first time, 30 Tomahawk Missiles launched from a US submarine, over 125 aircraft, including F-35 and F-22 stealth fighters to suppress Iranian air defences.

According to US officials and satellite imagery the sites sustained “extremely severe damage”. The Pentagon estimated the strikes set Iran’s nuclear program back by roughly two years.

(UNI)