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RUSSIA'S ECONOMY

Regions stand to lose up to $2.9 billion due to special fiscal conditions — Putin

President Vladimir Putin stressed that "it is very important that the regions be given the right to reduce rates, based on the special tax regime"

Russian President Vladimir Putin Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

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Liberalization of business environment is best anti-crisis measure — Medvedev

ANOSINO (Moscow Region), January 29. /TASS/. Regions stand to lose up to $2.9 (300 billion rubles), if special fiscal conditions are set in place, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, at the government anti-crisis meeting.

President Putin stressed that "it is very important that the regions be given the right to reduce rates, based on the special tax regime."

"All of these business opportunities should be considered in the regional plans and actively used," the President said in his speech at the educational seminar for regional leaders.

"We specifically did not make any policy guidelines at the federal level, because certain positions could lead to serious shortfall in regional income. In some cases, up to $2.9 (300 billion rubles)," President Putin said.

He added that the federal government understands these issues, and understands that they would be solved better at a local level.

Putin said speculations on current economic environment are inappropriate and urged the governors to monitor regional pricing situation. "Times are challenging now but nothing unexpected took place. Crisis phenomena were predictable," the head of state said at a seminar for Russian regional and municipal executives.

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Russia must overcome outside pressure by strengthening economic sovereignty — Putin

Putin said that the action plan of the government in support of sustainable economic development and social stability was approved.

The head of state asked the governors to monitor the situation on food and essential goods markets, adding that nobody should speculate on the problems.

The president added that the government will continue to support important projects but using a discriminatory approach. "Sources of financing should be clearly defined," Putin said.

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Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields, ammo depots over past day — top brass

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Another US fighter jet narrowly avoided friendly fire in Red Sea — Fox News

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Russian forces increasing pressure on Ukrainian troops near Belogorovka in LPR — expert

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Keeping deaths of Russian journalists secret turns into global disgrace for West — MFA

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Damascus warns Iran against sowing chaos in Syria — foreign minister

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Ukrainian deserters abroad are hunted through Interpol — parliament member

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Sandu takes office as Moldova’s president for her second term

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Trump’s son posts image showing father buying Canada, Greenland on Amazon

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Gazprom expects EBITDA above $27.9 bln in 2024 — Deputy CEO

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Syria’s Interior Ministry calls on members of former regime to hand over their arms

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The head of state mentioned this when bestowing upon Mikhail Piotrovsky the Order for Merit to the Fatherland, first class

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Russian agency starts investigation into shipwreck in Mediterranean Sea

The fate of two crew members is currently being established

Transneft restarts oil intake by rail for export shipments in Far East

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Alexander Stepanov remarked that such attacks are virtually impossible to identify and track down

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Belousov and Austin had a phone call on July 12

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Trump doesn’t want repeat of Minsk agreements — Kellogg

He expressed hope that the US president-elect will be able to achieve a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine in a "relatively near term."

Putin to hold informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg

An informal meeting before the New Year is a long-standing tradition of the Commonwealth

Shopping mall in Russia’s North Caucasus city of Vladikavkaz catches fire after explosion

Regional head Sergey Menyailo said that the blast had killed a woman inside the building

Pope Francis opens Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica

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Situation with gas supplies from Russia to Europe difficult — Kremlin

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Over 20 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza — TV

Eight people were killed in Israel’s raid on the West Bank city of Tulkarm

Russia not to deviate 'one bit' from its main conditions in talks on Ukraine — speaker

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Biden considers new sanctions against Russian energy sector — The Washington Post

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Uzbek president arrive in St. Petersburg to attend CIS, EAEU summits

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At least 21 killed in post-election violence in Mozambique

Pascoal Ronda suggested that the opposition probably joined forces with Islamic terrorists

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According to Karin Kneissl, in some households, people are already paying more for electricity and heating than for their rent

Roscosmos, NASA synchronize timeframes for completion of ISS — CEO

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Initiative along entire frontline in Russian forces’ hands — Polish general

According to Waldemar Skrzypczak, Russian troops' daily advances amount to 1-2 kilometers (0.6-1.2 miles)

Mercenary from Norway faces criminal charges for incursion into Kursk Region

The investigation has found that Ocherkhadzhiyev personally participates in the armed conflict as a mercenary on Russian territory

Putin bestows order upon Hermitage director general

The head of the State Hermitage Museum now has the full set of Orders for Merit to the Fatherland

Israeli delegation leaving Doha talks for consultations — PM’s office

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said earlier in the day that the Qatari mediators continue consultations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip

Putin, Rakhmon converse briefly ahead of bilateral talks

The leaders had a warm greeting, hugged each other, exchanged a couple of phrases and proceeded to the hall, where the bilateral negotiations started

Almost 440,000 Russians sign up for military service this year — Medvedev

"The results of work over the year can already be assessed," the politician said

Former Austrian minister names 4 suspect countries in connection with Nord Stream sabotage

Asked what countries could be behind the attack, Karin Kneissl replied that, like in an Agatha Christie novel, "there are many suspects in this imaginary room"

Europe should support Sino-Brazilian initiative on Ukraine — Swiss newspaper

The article’s author believes that Russa’s absence during the peace conference in Burgenstock, Switzerland, was 'a crucial mistake'

Germany's new chancellor may lead the West in standoff with Moscow — expert

At the same time, Oleg Bondarenko said, without affordable energy resources, the decline of the German economy will continue with no chance of stopping in the foreseeable future

Russian embassy refutes reports on Sudan’s refusal to host Russian base

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Armored vehicle with Israeli commanding officers blown up in West Bank

The rest of the passengers in the vehicle did not get injured

Over 150 spontaneous graves found in Popasnaya in LPR

Around 250 people are still staying in the city

US ramping up biological warfare presence in Africa — Russia’s top brass

Major General Aleksey Rtishchev said that branches of the US National Naval Military Medical Center are stationed in Ghana and Djibouti where active work is carried out in natural disease foci, isolation and sequencing of pathogens

No Russians killed in Magdeburg car attack, information on injured being updated — embassy

At least five people got killed and 235 were injured as a result of the attack

Press review: US, Israel aim to curb Turkey’s gains while Moscow, Tehran strengthen ties

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, December 24th

Sunken tankers violated seasonal maritime traffic restrictions — authority

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Deployment of Moldovan troops to Transnistria to violate settlement accords — expert

On April 15, 2013, two explosions, with 12 seconds in between, happened in Boston’s downtown, near the finish line of the traditional marathon

Ukraine intensifies shelling of Kremennaya fourfold due to Russian successes — expert

As Andrey Marochko noted, the enemy's indiscriminate attacks on Kremennaya's civilian targets are ruled out, since Ukraine is attacking the city with drones, and "drone operators see the target"

IBA chief Kremlev slams as illegitimate organization

Umar Kremlev noted that the number of participants at World Boxing events was extremely low