In Germany, customs investigators conducted searches in connection with possible circumvention of sanctions when supplying engineering parts and chemicals to Russia. We are talking about three companies that, according to investigators, could organize the export of prohibited products worth millions of euros, the Frankfurt am Main customs investigation department said in a statement.

On April 2, the Parliament of Moldova denounced the agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as the associated protocol and charter of the CIS. The press service of the parliament reported this. The initiator of the exit was the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The department said that one of the key principles on which the CIS was created - mutual recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of borders - was violated by Russia.

Israeli scientists have developed a plant that simultaneously produces five psychedelic substances - DMT, psilocybin, psilocin, bufotenine and 5-methoxy-DMT. In nature, each of these compounds is found in different organisms: DMT in plants, psilocybin and psilocin in mushrooms, bufotenine and 5-methoxy-DMT in the skin of the Colorado toad. The study was conducted by a team of scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and published in the journal Science Advances.

The US authorities removed Delcy Rodriguez, the interim president of Venezuela, who took this post after the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro, from the sanctions list. This is stated in a press release from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury.

Argentina declared Iranian Charge d'Affaires Mohsen Tehrani persona non grata and demanded that he leave the country within 48 hours, the republic's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, Reuters reports . The reason was a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, published on Wednesday, in which Argentine President Javier Miley and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno were accused of complicity in military strikes on Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote an open letter to Americans, calling for them to “look beyond the stream of distortions and manufactured narratives” and questioning whether Washington’s policies truly reflect the “America First” principle. He also asked whether the United States was acting as a “proxy for Israel,” ready to fight “until the last American soldier.” The letter was published on the website of the state news channel Press TV on the evening of April 1.

Media company Thomson Reuters supplies US Immigration Police (ICE) with personal data on millions of people, including through the artificial intelligence system Palantir, which the agency uses to select neighborhoods in which to conduct raids. This is evidenced by documents and sources that 404 Media has reviewed . Thomson Reuters sells personal information under the CLEAR brand.

North Korean citizens received 36,413 visas to Russia in 2025—almost four times more than a year earlier (9,239). This was reported by Vedomosti with reference to data from the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The vast majority of visas—35,849—were issued for educational purposes. In 2024, there were 8,616 such visas. Other categories included 266 humanitarian, 72 tourist, 47 business, 6 private and 33 service visas.

Iran transferred fighters from the Iraqi Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi to its territory, presumably to suppress possible protests. Armed forces were seen in several cities in the southwest of the country: Abadan, Khorramshahr, Ahwaz, as well as in the provinces of Ilam and Bushehr.

US President Donald Trump made a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, April 2. He convinced the Americans that the war would soon end, but at the same time he threatened new strikes on Iran and allowed the possibility of exiting the conflict without opening the Strait of Hormuz. Markets reacted accordingly: oil prices rose and stock markets fell. Key points from Trump's speech are published by Reuters.

The amount of untaxed wealth of the world's richest people hidden offshore could be around $3.55 trillion. This data is provided by the British charity Oxfam. The organization provides estimates for 2024. Global GDP at that time was estimated at $111 trillion. Thus, we are talking about approximately 3.2% of global GDP. Oxfam provides other comparisons: this amount is greater than the GDP of France and more than twice the combined GDP of the world's 44 least developed countries.

Russia will send another oil-laden vessel to Cuba after the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin broke the island nation’s maritime blockade this week, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said at the Energoprom-2026 forum. “A major meeting took place yesterday in St. Petersburg. Representatives of Cuba were in attendance. Cuba is under a complete blockade, it has been cut off. Where did the oil shipment come from? A vessel of the Russian Federation broke through the blockade.

Apple has confirmed that it will no longer process payments from mobile phone numbers in Russia. Without funds in the account balance, users will not be able to renew subscriptions to iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and other services. Since April 1, iPhone users in Russia have lost the ability to top up their Apple ID balance from their mobile account. The corresponding instructions to the Big Four operators were given at a meeting at the Ministry of Digital Development on March 28.

The Russian Ministry of Justice included the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in the list of foreign and international organizations whose activities are recognized as “undesirable” in the country. The corresponding entry was published in the register on the department’s website. As follows from the Ministry of Justice, the decision to recognize the organization as “undesirable” was made by the Prosecutor General’s Office on March 19, 2026.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa has called on countries on the continent to borrow, increase tax revenues and tap pension and sovereign wealth funds to build the infrastructure needed to participate in the “artificial intelligence boom.” The report was published on Thursday at a meeting of African finance ministers in Morocco, Reuters reports. More than 50 countries on the continent risk missing out on AI-driven economic modernization due to lack of infrastructure, the commission warns.