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Conflict in Syria

Two blasts in Damascus leave 40 killed, 120 injured - TV

The Syrian authorities have not published official data on the victims

BEIRUT, March 11. /TASS/. At least 40 people were killed and 120 got injured in two blasts in Damascus on Saturday, Lebanon’s Al-Manar television reported.

The Syrian authorities have not published official data on the victims.

Earlier on Saturday, SANA reported a double explosion in Damascus’s Bab Musalla district. The agency said self-made explosive devices went off near the Bab Saghir city cemetery.

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Syria Syrian conflict

Middle East conflict

Houthis say attacked US aircraft carrier in Red Sea, shot down US fighter jet

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Yemen’s Houthis announce hypersonic missile strike at military facility near Tel Aviv

Israel’s Ynet media outlet reports that at least 30 people suffered injuries after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel

Hungarian PM highlights need to lift sanctions on Russia once Ukraine conflict is resolved

Viktor Obran added, however, that only a couple of EU countries shared Hungary’s position

Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Rylsk damages 12 buildings — governor

Three of them are not subject to restoration, Alexander Khinshtein said

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Putin calls Oreshnik missile development ‘an historic event’ for space rocket industry

Russian President also said that he had handed down direct instructions to produce and test-fire the Oreshnik hypersonic missile

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US Navy cruiser mistakenly downs F/A-18 fighter over Red Sea

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US defense companies capitalize the most on Ukraine conflict — Russia’s UN envoy

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West should consider Putin's words on Oreshnik missile duel — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" is firmly rooted in the mentality of the NATO regimes not at all as hypothetical assumptions

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NATO spies study damage from Oreshnik at Yuzhmash — expert

Alexander Stepanov emphasized that both Kiev and its Western allies are closely scrutinizing the consequences of the strike on the plant

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Putin opens new transport infrastructure sites in Russian regions via video link

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Ukraine to halt Russian gas transit on January 1, 2025 — Ukrainian PM

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Putin responds to question about Russia's weakness by quoting Mark Twain

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Mourhaf Abu Qasra becomes top Syrian defense official in transitional government — TV

According to Al Watan newspaper, Abu Qasra was the commander of the military wing of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham movement

Possible arrival of new Russian envoy before Trump’s inauguration depends on US — diplomat

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Russian cancer vaccine to be free of charge — top oncologist

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Trump wants NATO countries to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP — FT

The sources also told the Financial Times that Donald Trump intends to continue the military aid to Ukraine despite the statements he made during his presidential campaign

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Both freight trains loaded with coal collided at the Bushulei-Zhireken railway section

Russia to retaliate against Ukrainian strikes, just as Putin said — Kremlin

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Response to Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Rylsk to come shortly — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya warned as he denounced the attack as yet another unambiguous step by the Kiev regime toward escalation

Putin to extend New Year greetings to peoples of several unfriendly countries — Kremlin

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Oil supplies to Hungary via Druzhba pipeline resume — top Hungarian diplomat

Reuters reported earlier that oil supplies to Belarus and EU countries via Druzhba had been suspended on December 19 due to technical problems

CIA station in Kiev targeted in recent Russian attack, military expert reveals

According to Alexander Stepanov, strikes are systematic efforts to gradually wipe out the military capabilities of Ukraine

Kremlin mum on reports about Slovakian prime minister's plans to visit Moscow

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the Slovak prime minister intended to hold talks with Putin on December 23 amid Vladimir Zelensky's refusal to extend gas transit through Ukraine

Brazil unveils BRICS logo for 2025

The emblem is based on the kapok tree growing in the Amazon, painted in the colors of the national flags of the community's states

Russia’s Battlegroup South liberates settlement of Ostrovskogo in DPR — Defense Ministry

"The enemy lost up to 285 troops, two armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, a D-30 122 mm howitzer, a US-made M119 105 mm howitzers and five field ammunition depots," the ministry added

Russia has confidence in its weapons, senior diplomat says

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also stressed that the recent developments had shown that the US policy of establishing a system of increasingly layered missile defenses was wrong

Russia’s international reserves up by $3.8 bln to $618.2 bln over week — Central Bank

Russia’s international reserves are highly liquid foreign assets available with the Bank of Russia and the Russian government

Artyom military plant reportedly on fire after explosions in Kiev

The Artyom plant is known for producing air-to-air missiles, as well as equipment for aircraft

Civilian manufacturers ramp up drone production to 40,000 units per month

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Kiev takes out its anger for military defeats on Russian people — diplomat

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Russia ready to normalize relations with US without detriment to its interests — Putin

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Baltic states threaten mass deportation of Russians, take lead in Russophobia — statement

The Foreign Ministry noted that the facts of discrimination and persecution of Russians are often ignored by the official leadership of countries and international human rights agencies, leading many victims to remain silent

Putin agrees 'Russian world' now faces war

The Russian leader also agreed with Sergey Mironov, head of the "A Just Russia - For Truth" faction in the Duma, who said that "the birth rate is insufficient, because the matter concerns extinction"

IN BRIEF: What is known about drone attack on residential buildings in Kazan

TASS has gathered the main information about the incident