Russia’s Mail.Ru Group buys 48% in VKontakte for $1.47 billion

On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel

Another source said MiG-31I differs from previous MiG-K option by "different engines, avionics and missiles"

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the mobilization law passed by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in the second and final reading on April 11

The European Commission suggested introducing duties on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus earlier

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

Ahmad Haghtalab pointed out that the Iranian Army and other security forces protect Iranian nuclear facilities using the most advanced equipment, so "national nuclear centers are completely safe"

Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport suspended their operations until 10:30 a.m. local time

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Israel will "most likely" respond to the recent Iranian attack

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

Infrastructure is required to implement the investment project, both power transmission lines and the railroad, Andrey Chibis noted

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

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

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Russia and Argentina maintain a good dialogue at various levels

The Russian president pointed out that Moscow’s "program of assistance to the African countries in sanitary and epidemiological well-being provides for the delivery of ten mobile high-containment biological laboratories"

Dmitry Peskov underscored that Moscow has already made its position clear on this matter

Cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in the military-technical sphere contributes to enhancing security of Russia and China and "is not directed against third countries," Maria Zakharova stressed

The first Konteiner radar went on combat duty in the Volga area region of Mordovia on December 1, 2019

Tasnim refuted foreign media reports about an incident at a nuclear site in Isfahan

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

Fu Cong denied claims that direct talks with Israel are a vital precondition for Palestine’s UN membership

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

The law enforcement employees exert efforts to identify the instigators of this crime, Igor Krasnov said

A total of 12 countries, including Russia and China, voted in favor of the document

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"

Vasily Nebenzya described the US veto as a "fruitless attempt to stop the inexorable course of history"

Yury Popov said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria

Yevgeny Pogrebnyak said that he was treated well by Russian troops in his captivity

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

It is reported that the US has benefited from more favorable conditions in terms of energy prices, something that has been quite a serious factor for Europe, not a positive factor for Europe

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Kiev required US-made Patriot systems and Italian-French Samp-T theatre antimissile systems

State trials of S-500 are under way at a testing range in southern Russia

"Without noticing it themselves, they spoke the language of an ultimatum," Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova underlined

Dmitry Polyansky said "this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War"

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

The report did not specify which facilities in Israel had been attacked with hypersonic missiles

"The overwhelming support for Palestine’s membership makes it crystal clear that the State of Palestine is worthy of its rightful place among member states of the United Nations," Amar Bendjama said

"This is a plan of extremist government", Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour said

Igor Kimakovsky said that Ukrainian forces suffered heavy casualties among personnel and military hardware, including Western equipment

US deputy envoy Robert Wood also noted that "Hamas - a terrorist organization - is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza, an integral part of the state envisioned in this resolution"

Murmansk authorities said earlier that the capacity of the port of Lavna under construction on the western coast of the Kola Bay is planned to be involved in transshipping export cargoes from Belarus

The movement called upon the international community to "break free from Washington’s influence and support the struggle of the Palestinian people"

Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Gustavo Petro’s initiative, "being committed to promotion of Colombia’s candidacy"

According to the General Administration of Customs of China, in 2022 the volume of Chinese-Ukrainian trade fell by 60% to $7.65 bln

The Russian embassy has called attempts to probe into the alleged involvement of Russian special services in the development of rumored plans for attacks on military facilities in Germany "absurd and ridiculous"

The two other State Duma members mentioned in the verdict alongside Karpov are Viktor Kazakov and Georgy Karlov

According to Maria Zakharova, Moscow "regards this provocative attack as the latest move by the German side aimed at further twisting history, painting the course and outcome of World War II in an anti-Russian manner"

"In any case, whatever the modality of providing this aid, de facto it is about provoking Ukraine into further hostilities down to the last Ukrainian, putting guarantted money in the pockets of the US," Dmitry Peskov said

The changes were attributed to reconstruction works on the Russian side of the checkpoint Ivangorod

Kazem Jalali noted that Iran had demonstrated its ability to ensure security and nudge the region toward a de-escalation

According to the minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in the event that Israel uses force against Tehran's interests, "the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to use its right to give an immediate and decisive response that will make them regret"

Israeli sources also said that they did not understand why the Pentagon had leaked information about Israel's involvement in the attack to the media

Russian forces improved their frontline positions and repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack in the Donetsk area where the enemy lost roughly 590 troops over the past day, the ministry reported

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

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, April 15th

According to Bloomberg, Israel informed the United States about its plans to strike Iran within the next 24-48 hours

Earlier it was reported that the German automobile concern Mercedes-Benz plans to sell its enterprise located in the Solnechnogorsk district of the Moscow region

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

According to the official, the investigation established that Mikhail Maurov planned to travel to Ukraine to join the ranks of a right-wing Ukrainian organization called the Freedom of Russia Legion

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, April 17th

Anatoly Antonov has urged the US "not to open Pandora's Box" and follow Russia’s suit "by taking all necessary steps to ensure global stability and predictability"

According to the newspaper’s assessments, Russia "has never been closer to its goals" in the special military operation zone

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"

Maria Zakharova described France’s decision to place its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, directly under NATO control as a symbolic move marking the end of "the era of an independent Paris in the international arena"

The final rehearsal of the military parade will take place on May 5

More than 100 employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies are fencing the shores and filling the least reliable dam segments

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

Military commanders of Ukrainian army brigades "lack both personnel and the required amount of equipment" while Russian troops enjoy a considerable superiority, especially in artillery, Sergey Krivonos noted

The Russian defense minister has given his instructions to speed up the introduction of promising weapons that have been tested in the special military operation zone into service with the Russian Army

On April 10, the vehicle was also spotted when the North Korean leader visited Kim Jong Il Military and Political Academy

Donald Tusk said that German Chancellor’s call to send more air defense systems to Kiev had no relation to Poland, provided the country's geographical position near the frontline

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

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, April 18th

According to the RuStore press service, over the past six months the number of applications from Chinese developers has grown fivefold

Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin also said that an explosive device had detonated in the Kievsky District of Donetsk, injuring a man born in 1964

The minister also inspected the training process in Omsk Armor Engineering Institute

Earlier, the media reported, citing a US official, that Israel had launched a missile strike on a site in Iranian territory

"China always opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," Liu Pengyu said

The agreement allows "Venezuelan prosecutors to participate in training sessions free of charge and paves the way for Venezuelan students to receive higher education in our university," Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said

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

Igor Krasnov reiterated the importance of control over anti-corruption measures and related legislation

israeli Permanent Representative Gilad Erdan was to address the council after Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour

According to Iranian media reports, three drones were downed by air defenses in the skies over the city of Isfahan

The plane crashed in a field in the Krasnogvardeysky district of southern Russia’s Stavropol Region

Sergey Ryabkov said that "very soon, Russia and Iran will have new additional opportunities to discuss the situation in the Middle East in general, as well as details of what is going on there at this point"

"I think that the decision has been taken by the member-states - all 27 have agreed that we use the windfall profits following our proposal," Ursula von der Leyen said

The Moscow Film Festival was founded in 1935, which makes it the world’s second oldest film festival after the Venice event

"The Israeli forces carry out strikes at humanitarian forces, block their access, slow down the cargo clearance," Vasily Nebenzya said

In Mahmoud Abbas' opinion, Washington’s foreign policy constitutes "an outrageous aggression against the international law"

"We will keep working to rebuild ties that will enable us to upgrade and train our forces in accordance with NATO standards," Luis Petri noted

Evacuation campaigns are regularly organized by the Kiev government, under the pretext of security issues

The Ukrainian army used the outbuilding as an ammunition depot, which accommodated about 15 fighters at the time of the air strike, spokesman Sergey Lebedev specified

Maria Zakharova also pointed to the fact that Ukraine's special services do not give up attempts to "massacre their former compatriots"

"The UN history has precedents when states were not admitted on their first try. The number of attempts is not limited," Nadezhda Sokolova said

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the reports of the strike

Maria Zakharova noted the need to "wait for official information from the investigation"

"The West is not only taking state assets and private property, but also threatening to destroy the major civilian infrastructure facilities, which were built with investments and then miraculously blown up, and they have now threatened insurance," Maria Zakharova said

"The experienced and all-too-familiar Hollywood touch can be seen behind these rallies," the politician pointed out

The exact location of the damaged pipeline or the causes of the incident is not reported

The agency said it and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed their Polish counterparts about the alleged assassination attempt

According to the Al Hadath television, a military bus was ambushed by members of the Islamic State terrorist group