Magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurs in Azerbaijan

No injury or damage reported

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. A magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in Azerbaijan Tuesday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported Monday.

The epicenter was located 43 km northeast of the city of Khachmaz, population 37,100. The focus was 35 km deep.

No injuries or damage were reported.

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Azerbaijan

Fire at Tupras oil refinery extinguished

No one was injured in the fire, the company said in a press release

Restrictions under New START treaty don’t apply to Oreshnik missile — Russian diplomat

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Zelensky shook up by Russia’s response to permission to attack it — Lavrov

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No existing missile defense system can counter Oreshnik — US expert

Theodore Postol also vehemently rejected suggestions that the Oreshnik system represents previous outdated developments of Moscow

Netanyahu convenes security cabinet amid talks on Lebanon

Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office, noted that "the agenda of the meeting will be announced at a later date"

Russia may soon push Kiev troops out of Kursk Region — Ukrainian battalion commander

It is noted that Russia has about three times as many men as the Ukrainians in the Kursk Region and six times as many explosive drones

Russia will respond 'in every way' to Seoul’s arms supply to Kiev — MFA

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko called on South Korean to soberly assess the situation and refrain from "reckless steps"

Netanyahu may accept ceasefire in Lebanon to stop Hezbollah bombings — diplomat

According to al-Maliki, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only obstacle to a ceasefire in Gaza

UK mercenary taken prisoner in Russia’s Kursk area — source

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Russia’s launch of new missile illustrated assured retaliation capability, lawmaker says

Andrey Kartapolov also noted that the enemy currently has no defenses against the Oreshnik.

US missile defense base in Poland long among Russian army’s targets — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova stated that the US-NATO construction project, ongoing for nearly a decade with complete disregard to Russian security concerns, has consistently been a focus of Russia's attention

France, UK may deploy troops to Ukraine following ceasefire — expert

According to Elie Tenenbaum, European countries may send troops to east Ukraine to ensure the observation of a ceasefire regime and guarantee Kiev’s security

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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Europe's 'hotheads' for sending troops to Ukraine, but there is no unity — Kremlin

"Earlier, of course, such ideas were heard from different European capitals, but various counterarguments were also voiced not in favor of this idea," Dmitry Peskov noted

US needs Ukraine's rare earth metals, including lithium — Lavrov

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Press review: Russian air defenses can down Western missiles as EU conducts live exercise

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Lebanon wary of reports of potential ceasefire with Israel

Beirut is cautious for now because it is dealing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "and all previous deals with him have failed," Lebanese Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab pointed out

British mercenary claims he was sent to Russia’s Kursk Region against his will

The captive explained that he had served as a private in a battalion for four months

'Western vector' leaves Ukraine poorest country in Europe — politician

Ukrainians have never seen the promised freedom, Viktor Medvedchuk noted

Kremlin spokesman says missiles like Oreshnik are developed in secrecy

Dmitry Peskov said that he himself did not know about this work before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced it

No int’l restrictions on deployment of Oreshnik systems — senior Russian diplomat

When asked if the 1998 Russian-US memorandum of understanding on notifications of missile launches remained in effect, Sergey Ryabkov answered in the affirmative

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According to preliminary information, the incident occurred at about 8 p.m. (local time)

Trump promises to impose 10% tariffs on goods from China, allegedly due to drug smuggling

"The Chinese authorities promised to take action to ensure the end of drug trafficking, but, as the president-elect has said, they never did and the flow of Chinese drugs continues in unprecedented amounts," US president-elect said

Scholz vows to continue supporting Ukraine following his chancellor nomination

The German chancellor listed supporting Ukraine at the top of his priorities should the SPD win and form a government

Europe unable to wage war attrition on Russia — Ukraine’s ex-commander-in-chief

According to Zaluzhny, European countries lack munitions to shoot down air bombs

Turkey to investigate causes of Russian Superjet emergency at Antalya airport

The Turkish side will also provide information on the progress of the investigation

US, European officials suggest returning nukes to Ukraine — NYT

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US Justice Department drops federal cases against Trump — transition team

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Large number of Ukrainians to lose mobilization exemption after February 28 — deputy

In recent months, the number of Ukrainian employees with exemptions from military service has increased from 900,000 to 1.6 million

Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields, energy sites over day — top brass

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French politician calls for protests against deployment of Western troops to Ukraine

Florian Philippot called on his supporters to rally "in support for peace and against this madness" on December 1

Putin has high hopes for cancer vaccine being developed in Russia

Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency Veronika Skvortskova briefed the Russian President on the vaccine's development

Russia encircles largest Ukrainian fortification in southern DPR — security services

"The enemy positioned in the fortified area in Velikaya Novoselka in the south of the DPR is already trapped in a kill zone," the source said

Georgescu wins first round of Romania’s presidential vote as ballot tally ends

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who leads the Social Democratic Party, ended up third with 19.15% of the vote

German activists demand compensation from Ukraine for Nord Stream explosion

The statement’s authors stressed that blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines was not aimed at Russia alone but "above all, was directed against Germany, its interests, and economy"

Russia to develop bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan — Shoigu

He pointed out that to this end, Russia will continue to support Kabul's integration into regional structures and associations

Zelensky begs ‘for his country to be flattened’ — US journalist

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West beginning to realize only part of Ukraine will remain — Lavrov

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Apart from that, one violation of the deconfliction protocols of December 9, 2019 linked with the flights by the US-led coalition unmanned aerial vehicles was reporte

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Asked whether the ICC warrant might cause a rift among Western countries with different approaches to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Andrey Baklanov replied he was skeptical this might ever happen

Kremlin explains why Oreshnik missile came as surprise

"I am sure that neither of us is even aware right now of any new future developments," Dmitry Peskov said

Denmark, its neighbors hold talks with China about damaged cables under Baltic Sea-report

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