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Alrosa digs up record-breaking, 800-mln year-old diamond

The gemstone has an unusual structure, with one diamond freely moving inside the other one

© Alrosa Press Service

MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russia’s top miner Alrosa unearthed a double diamond in Yakutia, estimated by researchers to be more than 800 million years old, the company reported on Friday.

The gemstone has an unusual structure, with one diamond freely moving inside the other one. The gem therefore looks like a traditional nesting doll. This unique diamond is the first of its kind ever in the industry’s history, specialists say.

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Gem-quality rough diamond weighing almost 100 carats mined at Alrosa’s deposit

Despite its complex structure, the diamond’s weight is just 0.62 carats, Alrosa reported. The space of the inner cavity is 6 cubic millimeters and the weight of the diamond nesting inside is 0.02 carats.

Alrosa mines diamonds in the Sakha (Yakutia) and Arkhangelsk Regions. In 2018, the mining giant produced more than 36.6 million carats of gemstones, while selling more than 38 million carats. In addition, the producer rang up $4.5 bln in sales revenues.

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Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

The group contains US finance and justice ministers, representatives of Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, as well as the European Commission

Iran may break through Israel’s air defenses in major attack by drones, missiles — expert

Iran has the region’s largest arsenal of ballistic missiles, estimated to number in the low thousands, Behnam Ben Taleblu noted

Russian sovereignty over southern Kuril Islands indisputable, diplomat says

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the southern Kuril Islands were an integral part of Russia under international law based on the outcome of World War II

Russia bans 235 Australian local government officials from entering country — MFA

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MiG-31I fighters receive air refueling system

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Russian software sales soaring over last four years — Minister

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Funding needs to be restored to UNRWA before end of investigation — Russia’s UN envoy

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Ukraine turns from sovereign country into Western protectorate, Hungarian PM says

Viktor Orban noted that there should be a buffer zone between NATO and Russia and Ukraine could serve as one

Ukrainian military under constant gunfire by Russian troops near Urozhainoye, says POW

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US deploying missiles in Philippines to endanger global security — Russian envoy

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Putin points to high risk of new epidemic outbreaks

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Shoigu visits presentation of over 30 promising weapons, including robotic vehicles

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US retrieves weapons previously banned under INF treaty — Russian ambassador

Anatoly Antonov emphasized that such steps were another powerful blow to strategic stability

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Kremlin condemns 'illegal' seizure of villa from Russian businessman

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France-Russia relations hit rock bottom — ex-envoy to Paris

Alexander Orlov noted that recently French President Emmanuel Macron "has made a number of questionable moves that have increased the divide" between both countries

Georgia’s parliament approves first reading of foreign agent bill

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Ukrainian president signs law tightening mobilization rules

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Maria Zakharova noted that Moscow would not be surprised if it turned out that the US and the EU had imposed their plans on Yerevan

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Slovakia to oppose Ukraine’s NATO membership bid — PM

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Israel planned to strike back at Iran on April 15, but decided to postpone, Axios reports

Israel told the US administration about the decision to wait, according to a US official

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Russian diplomat challenges France to stop arming Kiev amid Olympic truce talk

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Former Ukrainian PM points to motive behind mobilization exception for law enforcement

Nikolay Azarov noted that currently, law enforcement’s main job in Ukraine was to tighten the screws on the country’s population

Industrial building damaged, civilian injured after drone crash in Russia’s Rostov Region

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Georgian president says she will veto law on foreign agents

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Humanitarian efforts in Gaza doomed without durable ceasefire — Russia’s UN envoy

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German police apprehend two suspected Russian spies — media

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Press review: Ukraine, Israel vie for EU’s attention and Georgia passes controversial bill

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Georgian protests against foreign agent bill reek of US influence — Medvedev

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Russia assumes that Security Council will soon return to Gaza ceasefire issue — diplomat

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Majority of France opposes confrontation with Russia — expert

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Hossein Amir-Abdollahian added that prior to the attack, Tehran said that it would not target US military infrastructure in the Middle East "except in a situation where the United States wants to take military measures in support of Israel"

Russian artillery thwarts Ukrainian army’s rotation near Kupyansk — underground resistance

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EU leaders urge to adopt proposal on using incomes from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

The EU, the US, Japan and Canada have frozen Russian assets worth a total amount of around $300 bln

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China to act over possible US measures for alleged support of Russian defense sector

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Russia-China military-technical cooperation not directed against other states — diplomat

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Weather balloon neutralized in Russia’s central Kaluga Region — authorities

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Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement

Vladimir Zelensky asked his country’s supporters to provide "everything that helps to hold the frontline," including shells, military vehicles and drones

Ukraine to lose at least 10 mln citizens over mobilization law — political scientist

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No snap elections before delimiting borders with Azerbaijan, Armenian PM says

Nikol Pashinyan said about it, replying to a question from a resident of the borderline village of Berkaber about the necessity to hold snap elections before delimiting the border with Azerbaijan

Russian, Turkish senior diplomats discuss situation in Gaza

"The meeting focused on the situation in the region," said in the statement

US asking UNSC members to reject resolution on Palestine, hoping to avoid veto — media

UNSC approval would mean neither "statehood nor self-determination" for the Palestinian people, the State Department argued

Israel plans to send 'painful message' to Iran in response to attack — newspaper

According to the report, Israel’s war cabinet will meet on April 16 for a third straight day

Israeli Air Force strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The IDF also said that its soldiers were forced to open fire in the area in order to "remove an imminent threat"

Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

Investigators have established that the funds that were received through commercial organizations, such as the oil and gas company Burisma Holdings operating in Ukraine, have been used to carry out terrorist acts in Russia and abroad

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

According to the media outlet, "the US administration will support the plan for a military operation in Rafah put forward earlier," which provides for dividing the city into numbered sectors that will be mopped up one by one

Both main US parties threatened Telegram, co-founder says

"So we got two letters that said: whatever we do, we would be violating the US Constitution," Pavel Durov said

Russia says its forces repel four Ukrainian counterattacks in Kupyansk area

The Ukrainian army losses were up to 70 servicemen, three motor vehicles, a D-30 howitzer, 2 Plastun-3000 electronic reconnaissance stations and a Nota electronic warfare station

FSB declassifies documents revealing Ukrainian infiltration of Red Army units during WWII

Russia’s Federal Security Service has made the memo public on the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of Western Ukraine

Yerevan's refusal to delimit borders with Baku to escalate regional tensions — PM

Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that the demarcation process also involves risks, but they are manageable, after which "Armenia will become ten times stronger"