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Coronavirus pandemic

New coronavirus strains will emerge, no need to be alarmed, expert says

Specialists think that existing vaccines work against Omicron strain, Alexey Mazus also noted

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. New coronavirus strains will continue to appear and there is no need to be alarmed about this, chief non-resident HIV expert of the Russian Health Ministry and Moscow’s Healthcare Department Alexey Mazus said at a press conference on Moscow’s public health experience in HIV and COVID-19 on Tuesday.

"The tension that emerged with the appearance of a new strain (Omicron - TASS), is harmful, from my point of view. We have a novel infection, a novel virus, and yes, it will mutate. We will also definitely see new viral strains, it should be perceived calmly. This is not the most severe strain," he said in response to a question as to how serious the threat of the Omicron strain was.

The expert stressed that specialists think that existing vaccines work against the new coronavirus variant.

The coronavirus B.1.1.529 variant, denoted as Omicron, was discovered in November in southern Africa. Over recent weeks, it has become the dominant strain in South Africa, causing a new wave of infections. The new strain has also been detected in dozens of countries, including Russia. According to available data, it has higher transmissibility, while a number of experts think that it is easier to get over.

Roscosmos chief notes high quality of Vostochny space center’s construction

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

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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

Hamas grateful to Erdogan for his support — TV

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Russian forces pummel Ukrainian army, equipment in 133 areas over past day

Russian troops took better frontline positions in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported

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

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

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

Iran tells US about April 13 attack on Israel, it does not want escalation — top diplomat

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"

Majority of France opposes confrontation with Russia — expert

Laurent Briard believes that French President Emmanuel Macron crossed a line when he announced he was considering sending French troops to Ukraine

Ukrainians abroad storming embassies to avoid mobilization, Russian diplomat says

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Crimea, Donbass to forever remain within Russia, Slovak PM tells national parliament

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source

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

Georgian president says she will veto law on foreign agents

According to Salome Zourabichvili, she is certain that the parliamentary majority will override her veto

'Iron Dome' can't fully protect from UAV swarms — Chinese expert

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New US bill calls for $26 bln in assistance to Israel

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

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Georgia’s parliament approves first reading of foreign agent bill

Protests against the bill have been held outside the parliament building since Monday

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Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

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US assured Israel that Iranian drones will be intercepted — US journalist Hersh

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Israel says its jets attacked Hezbollah air defense site in eastern Lebanon

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Russian government approves list of unfriendly countries

There are two countries on the list

Russian software sales soaring over last four years — Minister

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Xi Jinping proposes four principles for resolving Ukrainian crisis

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Israeli Air Force strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

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G7 countries to continue examining possible ways of using frozen Russian assets

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Kiev continues to openly announce terrorist attacks on Russia — diplomat

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Sergey Ryabkov stressed that the attacks on the nuclear facility "must be stopped"

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Number of people convicted of high treason in Russia last year revealed

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Shoigu tests commando vehicle, calls for additional machineguns

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The President of the United States has made that very clear

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

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Romania now hosts as many as 11 F-16 jets for training of Ukrainian pilots

The ministers expressed their willingness to find a way for the center to continue to operate beyond 2025

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

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Protesters give Georgian government one hour to revoke foreign agents bill

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

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Top British diplomat refused to recognize Voronezh and Rostov as part of Russia — source

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Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement

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West silent on Ukraine's threats to attack Crimean Bridge — MFA

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

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Slovakia to oppose Ukraine’s NATO membership bid — PM

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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

US believes that Russia tested 9M729 missile for range beyond 500 km

"All NATO allies agree that the 9M729 is not compliant with the INF Treaty," the US embassy’s spokesperson said

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

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

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Both main US parties threatened Telegram, co-founder says

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

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

VTB CEO calls for SWIFT to be fully abandoned in payments

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Russian PM signs off on plan for regions to accommodate evacuees from Palestine

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry is assigned to oversee the process of sending the evacuees to their respective regions in accordance with an annex to the directive

Iranian president warns of 'terrible response' to any action against country

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

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Iran withdraws officers out of Syria due to Israel’s potential strike — newspaper

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

Russia maintains constructive dialogue with both Iran, Israel — Kremlin

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