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Coronavirus pandemic

Updated at:

Some 72 COVID-19 cases recorded among those arrived at Beijing Olympics

As many as 2,586 delegation members arrived in China, some 171 of which were athletes and officials and 2,415 others were the representatives of other interested parties

© AP Photo/David J. Phillip

BEIJING, January 23. /TASS/. Chinese authorities have registered some 72 COVID-19 cases among members of foreign delegations, who arrived in Beijing, the Olympic Organizing Committee said on Sunday.

According to the statement published on the official website, from 00:00 on January 4 to 23:59 on January 22 local time, as many as 2,586 delegation members arrived in China, some 171 of which were athletes and officials and 2,415 others were the representatives of other interested parties. As a result of the COVID-19 testing, 72 cases of the infection were recorded among the representatives of other interested parties. Currently, no COVID-19 cases have been detected among athletes and officials.

The document unveiled that some 39 COVID-19 cases were identified during testing at the airport and another 33 cases were confirmed in the special areas where athletes and other delegation members will live, train and participate in competitions. The movement inside these areas is strictly regulated, while going beyond them is prohibited.

On Sunday, as many as eight members of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) arrived in Beijing. Andrey Konokotin, the head of the Russian team’s mission to the Olympics, told TASS that their COVID-19 test results were negative.

The 24th Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing on February 4-20 and the Paralympics will take place on March 4-13. Beijing will be the first city in the world to host both the Summer (2008) and the Winter Olympic Games.

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Chancellor Scholz opposes assistance to Ukraine at expense of Germany’s future

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Scholz promises to transfer sixth IRIS-T system to Kiev by yearend

Ukraine and Germany also discussed further defense cooperation

Russia says its FPV drones disrupted Ukrainian troops rotation in Sumy Region

The ministry provided live-recording footage showing direct hits on Ukrainian military vehicles

Borrell calls on EU to play ‘military role’

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Trump plans to appoint special envoy on Ukraine to hold peace talks with Russia — TV

According to the source, the job is not expected to be a salaried role

ISS orbit raised by almost 5 km before launch of Progress MS-29 spacecraft — Roscosmos

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Police revokes citizenship of 1,300 foreigners since year’s start

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Russian forces strike Ukrainian military airfields, energy sites over past day

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US administration always seeks to weaken Russia — Lavrov

The foreign minister pointed out that the Americans had long declared the idea that "there should be no country in the world more influential than the United States"

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Bank of Russia sets dollar rate at 98.37 rubles for November 14

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Russia has written off $20 bln worth of African debts — MFA

Mikhail Bogdanov added that it allows using those debts "to implement socio-economic projects directly in the country"

Ukraine moves medics, non-combat personnel to infantry to counter Russian advance

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Russia set to deepen cooperation with China in law enforcement — top security official

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Turkey invited to join BRICS as a partner state, says minister

Omer Bolat recalled that at the last BRICS summit in Kazan, the sides "considered the applications of Turkey and several other countries"

Two injured in bridge collapse in Crimea

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Trump’s return to power unlikely to change US approach to Ukraine crisis — Lavrov

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Russian Su-34 bomber strikes Ukrainian troops in borderline Kursk area

Russian tactical aircraft pilots conduct sorties at any time of day or night in any weather conditions, using various armament

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Ukraine's Kurakhovo Reservoir dam blast to help, not hurt Russian troops — expert

At least ten Ukrainian troops were killed

People evacuated from Brazil’s Supreme Court after blast nearby — agency

According to Reuters, Brasilia’s military police confirmed that a body was found near the court building

Russian delegation at COP29 in Baku is first carbon-neutral

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54 countries vote against resolution on combating ne-Nazism

116 countries, including Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Serbia, and Syria, supported the document

Attempts being made to drag Syria into armed confrontation in Middle East — diplomat

According to Alexander Lavrentyev, the top priority today is to prevent such attempts

Discussion of coal export quotas continues — Russian Energy Ministry

"We would like to note that the rise in any tariffs adversely affect profitability during the period of low international coal prices," the ministry said

West attempted to prevent Russia-Africa ministerial meeting, diplomat says

African countries realized that "this pressure contradicts their own national interests", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said

Not all Republicans support Trump in refusing further military aid to Kiev — newspaper

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Czech intelligence warns of crime surge after Ukraine conflict ends

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Medvedev characterizes Great Britain as eternal adversary of Russia

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Kremlin spokesman denies media reports of phone call between Putin, Trump

Dmitry Peskov described the Washington Post and Reuters reports about the alleged telephone conversation as "the most remarkable example of the quality of the information that is published nowadays, sometimes even by quite respected outlets"

Musk doubles down on his opinion about 'endless war' in Ukraine

Earlier, the entrepreneur opined that the bloodshed in Ukraine would end soon

Russia inks first deals to deliver Su-57 fifth-generation fighter to foreign customers

Alexander Mikheyev also explained the expectations and effect of the demonstration of Russian military hardware at Airshow China in Zhuhai

There is chance to stop war in Middle East under Trump — Russian diplomat

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Ukraine ran out of the Soviet-made ammunition for this type of artillery pieces back in 2022

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Lukashenko tells Putin situation is "starting to get tense with Wagner"

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Ukrainian forces ready to withdraw from Kurakhovo, but no order yet — serviceman

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Russia open for contacts with Trumps’ team on Syria — Russian diplomat

Alexander Lavrentyev stressed that all parties to the conflict must be involved in talks so that a lasting peace in Syria could be achieved

US plans to remove 'arrogant' Zelensky and stage 2025 elections in Ukraine — SVR

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Erdogan praises Russia, China for backing arms embargo on Israel

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Russian troops liberate Rovnopol community in Donbass region over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North destroyed an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) production workshop of the Ukrainian army and inflicted roughly 110 casualties on enemy troops in its area of responsibility in the Kharkov Region over the past day

Kiev wants to mobilize 160,000 people to survive until Trump's inauguration — MP

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Kiev's Western allies begin to acknowledge need for territorial concessions — report

The diplomats see this approach as "land in exchange for Ukraine’s security"

Russian forces gain foothold near Kupyansk as Kiev begins to retreat

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Baltic Sea will never turn into 'NATO lake' — Russian MFA

Maria Zakharova emphasized that the Baltic Sea "will always be a common space for all of the region’s countries without exception"

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Russian stock indices mixed on Wednesday — market data

The ruble-denominated MOEX Russia Index gained 0.26% to 2,763.99 points

DPR head Pushilin visits Ugledar, says town badly destroyed

Denis Pushilin added that "it is almost impossible to find an undamaged building"

Russia to hold Astana-format summit in 2025 — Russian diplomat

Alexander Lavrentyev noted that despite the fact that the exact date of the summit has not yet been agreed upon, meetings in the Astana format are held regularly at other levels

Too early to talk about meeting between Assad, Erdogan — Russian diplomat

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Trump does not rule out he may run in next US presidential election

Trump's participation in the next US election would be against the Constitution

Russian Battlegroup North artillery units hit Ukrainian weapons, manpower in Kursk Region

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Scholz calls for doing everything to prevent escalation of Ukraine conflict

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Nearly 4,000 people cross into Syria from Lebanon in past day — Russian military

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Trump to end NATO’s obsession to get on Russian territory — White House ex-strategist

Steve Bannon noted that Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement seeks to completely cut funding to Ukraine. According to Bannon, Europe, including Italy, will follow Trump’s lead, and, if "they [Europe and Italy] truly believe what they have been saying in recent years, they should be ready to pay"

Businessmen in Germany, Russia again eager to interact more, says executive

Ulf Schneider expressed his gratitude to representatives of the Russian business community for their continued efforts to involve Western businessmen in work in Russia despite the challenging political climate

Ukraine aims to call up 1 mln people in eastern areas by end of 2024 — official

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Iraqi Shiites say they attacked ‘vital targets’ in Israel

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Israel delivering strikes on refugee camps in Gaza — TV

At least ten people have been killed, Al Jazeera reported

Russian citizenship approvals down 44% since January — ministry

According to Irina Volk, police are also clamping down on groups and individuals that help bring people into the country illegally, leading to a 2.5-fold increase in the detection and preliminary investigation of such crimes

Russian frigate carrying hypersonic weapons embarks on first deployment in distant waters

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US State Department insists DPRK troops engaged in Russia’s borderline Kursk Region

Patel also insisted that "Russian forces have trained the DPRK soldiers in artillery, in UAV, and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, which are critical skills for frontline operations"

Explosion of Kurakhovo reservoir dam disrupts water supply

Roman Pukalov noted that the blast killed many fish in the reservoir, washed away fertile soil, and inundated potentially hazardous sites, including cemeteries, cattle burial grounds, and fertilizer depots

Trump to rely on forces that brought him to power — Russian presidential aide

Nikolay Patrushev agreed that Trump, when he was still a candidate, "made many statements critical of the destructive foreign and domestic policies pursued by the current administration"

Russia elected to UN Committee for Program and Coordination

Apart from that, director of the Russian foreign ministry’s personnel department Andrey Ivanov, was approved as a member of the International Civil Service Commission in 2025-2027

Russia supports new UNSC draft resolution on Gaza — envoy

Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya noted that Resolution 2735 was only a tool to gain time for Israel

Biden assures Trump of smooth transition

Republican President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on January 20, 2025

First S-550 air defense systems enter service in Russia — source

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Israel achieves its goals in conflict with Hamas, time to 'end the war' — Blinken

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US missile defense base in Poland to defend US, Europe alike — Polish foreign minister

Radoslaw Sikorski also expressed hope that the base will never go into action

Kalashnikov holding starts supplies of civilian drones

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Next-gen Su-57 shows strength of Russia’s defense sector — diplomat

Maria Zakharova pointed out that military experts had praised the "unmatched capabilities" the plane displayed at the Airshow China in Zhuhai

Trump announces appointment of senior White House officials

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Russia to ensure parity in response to US missile defense system in Poland — Kremlin

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Finnish government requests EU sanctions exemption for Russian owners of sports arena

Finland's Foreign Ministry will need to obtain unanimous approval from EU countries

FACTBOX: What we know about night-time drone attacks on Russian regions

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Countries will line up for Russian gas when US stops exporting LNG — Serbian president

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Russian diplomat hails Odessa woman as defender of truth after flag protest

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Trump 'demonstrates affinity' for Russian President Vladimir Putin — newspaper

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Bulgarian president calls for using all diplomatic opportunities to end Ukraine conflict

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