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Coronavirus pandemic

About 500 people in Moscow suspected of having COVID

Up to 80-90% are likely to be confirmed, according to the Moscow mayor

© Vyacheslav Prokofyev/TASS

NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 24. /TASS/. About 500 people in Moscow are suspected to be infected with the novel coronavirus, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Tuesday.

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"Currently, we have about 500 people with suspected coronavirus. Some of the cases are not confirmed. Up to 80-90% are likely to be confirmed. It means 400-500 more cases. The dynamics are high. This is a serious situation," he said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

"Quite a lot of people are staying at home after returning from abroad, untested. Those who can afford it, are just staying at home, in self-isolation, and feel all right," he noted.

"But there are much more of those infected. That is why, seeing this dynamics, we have begun to take other measures and expand testing," Sobyanin added.

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Kremlin spokesman clarifies Putin’s statement about Oreshnik 'duel'

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Syria's new authorities appoint Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister

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Scholz, German Interior Minister booed during visit to terrorist attack site — newspaper

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Ukrainian lawmaker slams Zelensky for trying to bribe Slovak PM

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Mother of missing US reporter thanks Putin for promising help in locating her son

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Putin to extend New Year greetings to peoples of several unfriendly countries — Kremlin

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Baltic states threaten mass deportation of Russians, take lead in Russophobia — statement

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Ukrainian troops struggling to escape being trapped in Lozovaya in Kharkov region — expert

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Russian sleeper agents open up about secret trip to 2018 World Cup

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All foreign personnel of international humanitarian organizations have also left, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said

Artyom military plant reportedly on fire after explosions in Kiev

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Eight people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip — TV

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces shelled a residential building in Deir al-Balah and a downtown Khan Yunis

Putin challenges West to try to intercept Oreshnik missile in Kiev

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Kiev takes out its anger for military defeats on Russian people — diplomat

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Yemen’s Houthis announce hypersonic missile strike at military facility near Tel Aviv

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Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov praised the new mechanisms for accelerating the introduction of advanced weapons and equipment developed by the civilian defense industrial complex in the interests of the Russian army

Persecution of Orthodox Church to come back to haunt Ukraine — Putin

"The ongoing situation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a gross violation of human rights, religious freedoms," the Russian President noted

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"Robert Fico will travel to visit Putin as a European countries leader," Aleksandar Vucic said

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US defense companies capitalize the most on Ukraine conflict — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya referred to data from the SIPRI which put last year’s revenues from sales of arms by the world’s top 100 largest businesses in the industry at $632 billion

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No injuries or damage were reported

Kremlin mum on reports about Slovakian prime minister's plans to visit Moscow

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the Slovak prime minister intended to hold talks with Putin on December 23 amid Vladimir Zelensky's refusal to extend gas transit through Ukraine

West should consider Putin's words on Oreshnik missile duel — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" is firmly rooted in the mentality of the NATO regimes not at all as hypothetical assumptions

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Damage to Portuguese Embassy in Kiev caused by Ukrainian air defense — Russian diplomats

Reporters are ramping up Russophobia, distorting the facts while writing on this matter, the Russian Embassy in Portugal said

Assad allegedly hands list of military targets over to Israel before leaving Syria — media

According to the Turkish newspaper, the former Syrian president did it to ensure his own safety

NATO prepares for war with Russia, Moscow takes these risks into account — senior diplomat

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Turkish president calls on West to stop Israel in Syria before it’s too late

"All international mechanisms need to be effectively employed in order to prevent Israel from exploiting the situation in Syria," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said

Russian cancer vaccine to be free of charge — top oncologist

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IN BRIEF: What is known about drone attack on residential buildings in Kazan

TASS has gathered the main information about the incident

Putin sends greetings on Russia’s Energy Industry Worker’s Day

Russian leader stressed that, thanks to their dedication, 'the industry is becoming more and more high-tech with every new year'

IN BRIEF: Magdeburg Christmas market attack kills 11, injuring roughly 80 others

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Putin suggests Zelensky may flee abroad, says Russia would take him in

"But he will be taken care of by those people whose interests he is serving now," the Russian leader said

Russia’s Battlegroup South liberates settlement of Ostrovskogo in DPR — Defense Ministry

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It does not mean there will be no such risks in the future but it is very important in this regard for the financial stable to remain stable, Elvira Nabiullina said

Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine ready to join Russian Navy — Sevmash Shipyard CEO

Project 885M nuclear-powered submarines carry Oniks and Kalibr-PL cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons

Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Rylsk damages 12 buildings — governor

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Ukraine's refusal to transit Russian gas will hit EU economies hard — French expert

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