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Ukraine hopes to thrash 55 mln tonnes of grain

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich forecasts the harvest of grain crops at 55 million tonnes in 2011

KIEV, November 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich forecasts the harvest of grain crops at 55 million tonnes in 2011. Yanukovich has made a statement at a festive meeting on the occasion of the Day of Agriculturists in Kiev on Friday.

“We have already collected more than 50 million tonnes of grain and expect a total of about 55 million tonnes that may be a historic record for the country,” the president said.

Ukraine is leading for the barley export, is ranked third for the corn export and eighth for the wheat export, he said.

Yanukovich also urged to finalize the agrarian reform quicker that is seeking to “to create a transparent mechanism of the land circulation on the basis of a common state land registration system.” “We should do all for the agrarian reform to protect first of all the interests of peasants, did not allow their deprivation of land property, contributed in exercising their rights and curbed the schemes of shadow privatization of agrarian lands,” the president noted.

Economic entities of all types have harvested 39.2 million tonnes of grain against 46 million tonnes in 2009 in Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Statistics Committee said.

Bombs with power of 13 kilos of trotyle found in Russia’s Kabardino-Balkaria

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Chinese analyst sees US veto on Palestine as reflection of arrogance, double standards

Wang Wen stated that it’s still very hard to achieve a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Kiev ordered mandatory evacuation from Kharkov Region to accommodate mercenaries

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Lavrov labels way West ramping up sanctions against Russia as mindless

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Russian Cabinet expands list of perfumery, cosmetic products subjected to import duty

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US gives nod to Israeli operation in Rafah in exchange for canceling major attack on Iran

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Military base near Iran’s Isfahan hit following attack — newspaper

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Polish premier refuses to hand over his country’s Patriot systems to Ukraine

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Russia delivers 34 strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure over week — top brass

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West wants to make Transnistria hotbed of tension — Lavrov

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About 30 events in 26 countries to be held as part of Russian Film Festival — minister

The geography of work in the culture sphere was wider before but "all the horizontal ties are kept," Olga Lyubimova noted

North Korea conducts new anti-aircraft missile test — KCNA

A power test of a super-large warhead designed for "Hwasal-1 Ra-3" strategic cruise missile was held as well

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Death toll in Gaza Strip since tensions escalated exceeds 34,000 — Health Ministry

It is reported that just over the past 24 hours alone, 42 people have been killed and 63 wounded

American Abrams tanks vulnerable even to Soviet-era weapons, says expert

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William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

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Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia, became full-fledged members of BRICS from January 1, 2024

Kremlin declines to comment on alleged assassination attempt on Zelensky in Poland

The Security Service of Ukraine announced earlier that in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies in Ukraine and Poland it thwarted an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky

No plans for pauses in fighting if talks on Ukraine begin, Lavrov says

The Russian foreign minister emphasized that the situation on the ground had changed significantly

Russia’s defense chief inspects production of tanks, flamethrowers at Siberian enterprise

Sergey Shoigu handed down an instruction for the defense enterprise to ramp up the production of T-80BVM tanks, the Defense Ministry said

Russian economy proves resilience amid large-scale sanctions — IMF

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Putin signs law on holding World Friendship Games

Funding will be provided from the federal, regional and local budgets, as well as taxes from gambling transferred to the organizer

KazMunayGas, Sibur, Sinopec sign protocol on plant construction in Kazakhstan

Construction of the plant in the Atyrau region is planned to be completed by 2029

NATO discussing transfer of ‘deep precision strike capabilities’ to Ukraine — Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg said NATO believes Ukraine has the right to strike "legitimate military targets" inside Russia

Armenia has to define CSTO’s zone of responsibility on its territory, says Lavrov

On March 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan asked its CSTO partners to answer where the CSTO's zone of responsibility in the republic was

West can’t comprehend Russia’s resilience — Lavrov

"They would have been scared had anyone come down on them with similar ferocity," the Russian foreign minister added

Armenia’s relations with Russia not at their highest — top diplomat

Ararat Mirzoyan also said that Yerevan is currently making efforts to expand cooperation with the European Union and the United States

Israeli aviation strikes towns in Gaza Strip

According to Al Jazeera, air strikes hit the towns of Deir al Balah and Rafah

US House passes procedural vote on Ukraine aid bill

It cannot be ruled out that the House of Representatives may pass this package as early as Saturday

French president says creating Israeli-type air defense network for Ukraine impossible

Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves

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World’s anti-doping agency WADA still waits for Russia’s 2023 financial contribution

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BRICS looking at creating common digital payment platform

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Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian prosecutor general

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It has reached 911 centimeters

Ukraine’s new ethnic minorities law insufficient to protect Magyars — Hungarian president

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US-led coalition’s aircraft violate Syrian airspace 13 times in past day

Two shelling attacks on the positions of Syrian government army by the Jabhat al-Nusra groups were reported in the Idlib de-escalation zone

Iran threatens to attack Israel's "nuclear centers" in case of aggression on its part

Ahmad Haqtalab argued that Israel had been conducting "subversive and terrorist activities" against the Islamic republic's nuclear infrastructure for year

Hungary to not intervene in Ukrainian conflict on any side, PM says

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Russia ready for Ukraine talks, but not with Zelensky — Lavrov

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Russian economy positively influences neighboring countries — Deputy PM

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Russian government increases customs duties on beer from unfriendly countries

This measure is not a prohibitive one and will make it possible to make competitive conditions equal for Russian producers, the ministry said

Major Western investor accuses Zelensky's office of extorting millions of euros

Arnulf Damerau said that he provided details of the meeting, along with evidence and a list of names of those involved, to US and European intelligence agencies

G7 leaders to decide on Russian assets use — Italian Deputy PM

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Izvestia correspondent Semyon Eremin killed in special operation zone

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran

Russia knows French military instructors working in Ukraine — Lavrov

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Russian stock indices rising on Friday

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Security guarantees on Ukraine did not apply to Crimea, Donbass — Lavrov

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Ukrainian POW exposes poor battlefield performance of NATO-supplied Javelins, NLAWs

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