In recent years, gangland violence and organised crime has soared in Sweden, with shootings and explosions linked to mob wars appearing in the headlines ever so often. While numerous reports have suggested a connection between violent crime and immigration, the authorities have been largely powerless to solve the problem.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Twitter agreed to pay a $150 million penalty fee to the US government for alleged data privacy violations, the Justice Department said in a press release.

Immigrants from Latin America have reacted with disgust as they’re forced to endure dangerous refugee camp conditions while 100,000 Ukrainians get to jump to the front of the line under Biden’s so-called “Uniting for Ukraine” plan.

The US government’s ongoing pressure campaign for more Saudi oil seems unlikely to meet with success, with the Gulf state’s foreign minister saying yesterday “the kingdom has done what it can” in terms of production.

Colin Kaepernick won the 2013 NFC championship, in just his ninth start in the league. Only a few years later, after protesting police violence during the national anthem, he was out of the league completely.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Local law enforcement near Dallas, Texas, arrested a teenage boy at Berkner High School after receiving reports from a witness who saw him walking with a rifle toward the school, the Richardson Police Department said in a press release.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The United Nations Security Council will vote on Thursday on a US-drafted resolution to tighten sanctions on North Korea in light of Pyongyang's numerous missile launches this year, a source told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A 71-year old woman who wrote fictitiously about how to murder one’s spouse was convicted by a US jury on Wednesday for actually murdering her own husband, the New York Times said in a report.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The apathy to mass shootings institutionalized by the US government, which is addicted to death at the highest levels, will make it impossible to avoid incidents like this week's elementary school massacre in Texas, prominent gun violence prevention advocate, Pastor Mike McBride, told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Israeli officials have told the United States that Jerusalem eliminated the senior Iranian officer who was allegedly responsible for killings of Israelis and other foreigners around the world, the New York Times reported.

The HIV treatment maraviroc prevents the creation of a receptor that HIV needs to infect cells. Now, scientists believe they may have found another purpose for the drug.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Haitian government has asked Washington to lift an arms embargo to help law enforcement deal with local gangs as the issue escalates, the Metropole radio reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to increase accountability for police misconduct in order to build trust between the American public and law enforcement.

After Israeli snipers gunned down Palestinians near the Gaza border fence in 2018, Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and humiliated him with a public security check, causing Israel to respond in kind.

So far, the ninth Summit of Americas, to be held in Los Angeles in early June, is threatening to end up in President Joe Biden's humiliation after Washington excluded Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the upcoming event.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israel has rejected a US request to allow Germany to give Ukraine anti-tank missiles produced at an Israeli-owned plant, American media reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - The United States will maintain the sanctions it has imposed on Russia even if Moscow unblocks Ukraine's sea ports to allow for grain exports amid the special military operation, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

Former US Vice President Mike Pence declared that he’s open to running for the presidency in 2024, even if his former running mate Donald Trump seeks a return to the Oval Office. In a New York Times interview published Monday, Pence reportedly answered in the affirmative when asked if he’d run against Trump, saying “We’ll go where we’re called.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has backed off his posturing a day prior, when he called for a quick vote on gun control legislation already passed by the House. Instead, he’s calling on Americans to vote for more pro-gun control candidates in November.

Plant-based meat alternatives are growing exponentially in the US, reaching $1.4 billion in sales in the United States in 2020. But lab-grown meat that is chemically identical to real meat is set to become another alternative in the coming years.

The Western alliance spent 78 days bombing Yugoslavia in 1999, contaminating the Balkan nation with at least 15 tonnes of highly toxic depleted uranium (DU) munitions. Serbian attorneys have filed multiple lawsuits against NATO, but have yet to receive any formal admission of wrongdoing by the alliance for its actions.

Ex-Clinton campaign manager Robert Mook admitted under oath that Hillary Clinton greenlit the spread of the Trump-Alfa Bank story to the press even though the narrative's accuracy rang alarm bells. Following the exposure, former Trump officials and conservative media pundits raised awareness about Hillary's role in peddling the Russia hoax.

NATO countries have pledged tens of billions of dollars’ worth of support to Ukraine in recent months, including a $40 billion package signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday which promises $6 billion for security assistance, $8.7 billion to replenish stocks of US arms already sent, and $3.9 billion for US European Command operations.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Nuclear aspects of the deal with Iran on its atomic research have been "pretty much finalised" but the talks have stumbled on non-nuclear issues, the head of the UN atomic watchdog IAEA said Wednesday.

In response to the Tuesday shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Democrats have pushed for new legislation to restrict would-be buyers' ability to purchase firearms, but the conservative gun lobby remains staunchly against any such controls, creating yet another political impasse.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The United States is expanding its smuggling trade of oil and grain from Syria, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has rejected Japan’s protest over joint overflights with China as "groundless" and absurd," the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Berlin has delivered or promised to send more than two billion euros’ worth of military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank and anti-air missile systems, armoured vehicles, grenades, helmets, and millions of rounds of ammunition, plus heavy equipment like anti-aircraft tanks and long-range howitzers.

A senior US Treasury official is arriving in India on Thursday to persuade the Narendra Modi government to reduce purchases of Russian oil. New Delhi has so far refused to join Western sanctions on Russia, saying it prioritises its national interests.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has conducted a series of maritime and aerial drills in the seas surrounding Taiwan in recent weeks, including deployment of its largest-ever carrier battle group and a joint bomber patrol with the Russian Air Force.

An outbreak of monkeypox began in early May after cases were confirmed in two British citizens who had just returned from Nigeria. Soon, similar cases were reported in Europe and the US.

At least 19 children and two adults were killed after a shooting took place at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. The 18-year-old suspect was gunned down by the police.

Yasin Malik was arrested in 2019 in a two-year-old case of “terror and separatist funding” following a suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in Pulwama, India-administered Kashmir.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - President Joe Biden is planning to visit Texas after the elementary school shooting in the city of Uvalde that resulted in the death of 21 persons, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The People’s Liberation Army conducted large-scale “joint combat readiness patrols” in the sea and air space around Taiwan on Wednesday in the wake of comments by US President Joe Biden on Monday threatening to involve the US militarily if the PRC invades the island, citing a “commitment” to Taipei. Beijing slammed the comments as unacceptable.

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Sputnik) - The grandmother of the Uvalde elementary school shooting suspect Salvador ramos is still alive after being shot, CNN reported on Wednesday citing Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez.

The British supermodel, who dated Johnny Depp in the 1990s, appeared via a video link at the actor's defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

After Sweden and Finland formally handed over their applications for NATO membership on 18 May, Turkey - a member of the bloc - said it would say no to the two countries’ bids due to their alleged open support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party and Kurdish YPG militia, which are deemed terrorist organisations by Ankara.

The former porn star best known for claiming she engaged in a liaison with ex-President Donald Trump when his wife Melania was pregnant with their son, Barron, has since penned a book, “Full Disclosure”, offering lurid details of her alleged tryst.

The Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ), along with several other organisations, has filed a petition with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg seeking to unblock Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik.

Footage of the 'Ukraine Defence Contact Group' video conference showed at least four blue-and-yellow banners on poles between US flags hanging upside down with the yellow band uppermost — the colours of the comical 'Minions' from the animated film Despicable Me, not Ukraine.

The brash-mouthed business mogul whom Democrats and media pundits alike predicted would launch a major new war during his term in office became the first president since Jimmy Carter not to enter US forces into a major new conflagration, but did reduce global strategic stability by pulling out of treaties with Russia and sabre-rattling with Iran.

JOHANNESBURG (South Africa) (Sputnik) - France must leave the African continent, as its interference in political affairs of African nations and exploitation of their economies hampers progress of the region, South Africa's opposition party Economic Freedoms Fighters (EEF) told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – All of the 21 victims in Tuesday's school shooting in Texas were killed inside the same classroom when the shooter barricaded himself inside, spokesperson for the Texas Department for Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez said on Wednesday.

France has failed to escape the inflation crisis that is haunting Europe and being driven by rising food and energy costs. The calamity has been blamed on factors ranging from a global supply chain crisis and the COVID-related economic downturn to the bloc’s rejection of cost-competitive and reliable Russian energy supplies.

In March, access to several Russian media outlets, including Sputnik and RT, was suspended in the EU as part of sanctions against Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine.

Chancellor Sunak implemented a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty on 23 March after average prices soared to 166.8p per litre of petrol and 180.3p per litre of diesel. On Monday, MPs in parliament debated calls for a 40 percent cut to fuel duty and VAT after more than 102,000 signatures were collected under a petition outlining the proposals.

Imran Khan, who was ousted from power last month, called for a mass sit-in protest in Islamabad, demanding an immediate election in Pakistan. The former prime minister alleged that Washington conspired to have him removed from power for pursuing an independent foreign policy.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been facing allegations of detaining more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in far-western Xinjiang under a security crackdown that Washington denounced as a “genocide” – something Beijing has repeatedly denied as “the lie of the century”.

The Indian Army's combat aviators are trained to fly attack helicopters and perform combat search and rescue (CSAR), artillery lift, combat transportation, logistics relief, military prisoner transportation and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) in wartime and during natural disasters.