{{dayPoint.date | date : 'd MMMM yyyy'}}

{{newsPoint.title}}

{{newsPoint.title+ ' '}}

{{newsPoint.subtitle}}

UFC chief clears Russians to fight at int’l competitions under national flag colors

The ban for all athletes was introduced by the UFC in the spring of 2022

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) allowed all fighters, including from Russia, to compete under the national flags of their countries, UFC chief Dana White said in a statement on Sunday.

"Flags are back," the MMAJunkie official website quoted White as saying at a news conference. "I was on vacation during the Mexican Independence Day, and the no flag thing drove me crazy."

"We’re bringing flags back.’ It drove me crazy," White stated. "There’s a lot of things that go on in a company this big…. Sometimes things are done for the intentions of the right reasons, or whatever. Everybody in this room knows the way that I feel about a lot of things."

"When the decision was made to do this, I was just like, ‘Eh, what’s the big deal if they don’t have flags?’ Mexican Independence Day flipped the switch and I was like, ‘That’s enough of the no flags thing.’ Flags are back. If any flags hurt your feelings, too… bad," he added.

A ban in regard the Russian national flag was initially introduced by the UFC in the spring of 2022.

The UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship) is the largest MMA (mixed martial arts) promotion event around the globe featuring the world’s most elite fighters. A number of Russian fighters have stepped into the octagon at UFC events.

IOC’s ban on Russia’s international participation

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

At its session on January 25, 2023, the IOC Executive Board put forward a proposal to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.

FIDE postpones decision on easing sanctions against Russian chess players

Sixty-six delegates voted in favor of consultations with the IOC and IPC on the partial qualification of Russian and Belarussian chess players

Russian diplomat slams Pact for the Future as serious blow on UN

"The United Nations had infringed upon its own principles to pander to a group of delegations from the ‘beautiful garden,’ who have usurped the talks from the very beginning," Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said

UK Foreign Secretary offends memory of fallen, accusing Russia of fascism — embassy

The embassy said that it took note a long time ago of "propensity for inappropriate and provocative statements"

Russian forces hit command post of Ukraine’s Donetsk task force deployed in DPR

127 Ukrainian artillery units in firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 138 areas, the Russian Defense Ministry said

Ukraine participates in NATO’s counter-drone drills for first time

The document says that "more than 60 counter-drone systems and technologies such as sensors, drone-on-drone systems, jammers and cyber interceptors were tested live" during the exercise

Hezbollah confirms death of its commander in airstrike on Beirut

Together with Ibrahim Aqil at least six commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force died in the airstrike

Russia says battlegroup West struck 4 Ukrainian brigades

Enemy lost up to 420 troops

EU will grant loan to Kiev that will be paid from frozen Russian assets — EC president

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that 35 billion euros is the part which the European countries will contribute to the 45 billion euro loan approved by the G7 in Italy in the summer

IRGC says exposed network of 12 Israeli agents in 6 Iranian provinces

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has blamed Israel for seeking to spread the conflict onto Iran’s territory and destabilize the situation inside the country

Russian prime minister approves list of countries imposing destructive attitudes

It includes the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and other states

Lavrov says he agrees with Trump about destructiveness of sanctions for US dollar

The Russian foreign minister stressed that, despite the continued dependence of many economies on the dollar, the risk of this phenomenon has already been recognized

Scholz speak in favor of reforming UN Security Council

At the same time, he said that he doesn’t understand Russia’s position on the Pact for the Future, which was adopted ahead of general discussion of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly

Russia keeps balance in relations with Muslim countries — Muslim Board

Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin added that Russia was originally formed in the bosom of three monotheistic religions and for more than 1,000 years has continued and consolidated the tradition of communion, good-neighborliness and brotherhood of religions

Kremlin slams Poland's idea to revise Crimea's status 'absurd'

"Russian territory and Russian regions cannot be the subject of any discussion or transfer to anyone," Dmitry Peskov emphasized

Russia's newest satellites to change course of Ukrainian conflict — former UN inspector

According to Ritter this conflict would become "unsustainable for the Ukrainian sometime by the end of summer, early fall"

Russian aviation hit 20 areas of deployment of Ukrainian troops in Kursk Region

Russian warplanes hit 13 settlement in the Sumy Region as well, the Russian defense ministry said

Ukrainian troops captured: situation in Kursk Region

In total, the enemy has lost over 11,800 servicemen since fighting began in the region

Modi, Biden discuss cooperation between India, US

The meeting took place on the sidelines of a summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which includes Australia, India, the United States and Japan and is also known as QUAD, in Wilmington, a city in Delaware

Russia says drone shot down over Kursk Region

The Kiev regime made an attempt to carry out a terrorist attack with a fixed-wing drone on sites on the territory of the Russian Federation

Press secretary refuses to discuss possibility of Putin’s marriage

On Monday, some media reported Putin’s ex-wife had married again

Moscow views transfer of Russian aircraft to Ukraine by Portugal as hostile move — MFA

According to Maria Zakharova, it is evident that in this way Lisbon "is seeking to faithfully demonstrate its allied zeal and obedient compliance with the trajectory imposed on the Europeans by their handlers from across the ocean"

Press review: Israel declares new phase of war and Russia boosts drone production

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, September 20th

ITAR-TASS: 110 years of agency history in pictures

The history of Russia's central state information agency ITAR-TASS in pictures

Russia, Vietnam have similar views on many international problems — newspaper

According to the Hanoi Times, as of April 2024, Russia was implementing 186 investment projects worth around $985 million in Vietnam

Ukraine spends over $150 billion on military needs, but it's not enough — Defense Ministry

Rustem Umerov did not specify for what period exactly the specified amount was spent

Four people dead, dozens injured in Alabama shooting — report

According to the report, two men and a woman died at the scene

FIDE postpones decision on easing sanctions against Russian chess players

Sixty-six delegates voted in favor of consultations with the IOC and IPC on the partial qualification of Russian and Belarussian chess players

Medvedev allows use of nuclear weapons by Russia when ‘patience runs out’

The politician underscored that no one really needs a nuclear conflict - it is "a very bad story with a very difficult outcome."

Theft of Russian assets to nullify trust towards EU — MFA

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the European Union had lost independence

Russia ready to help Brazil with hosting BRICS Games — head of Duma’s sports committee

Oleg Matytsin hopes that the BRICS Games will be held in an open format

Macron calls for reviewing ties with Russia

The French president also called for bigger presence of "densely populated countries, which did not exist when the current world order was only forming" in international organizations

West switches to open support for Kiev's terrorist attacks against civilians — MFA

"The West continues to supply arms and money to the Kiev regime, propose pseudo-peace initiatives, and try to rally as many countries as possible to their side," Maria Zakharova said

Russia to push for multipolar world order jointly with global majority — diplomat

The event will be held in New York on September 22-23 in the runup to the 79th session of the UN General Assembly

Israel wants no war with Lebanon — ambassador to UN

Unless de-escalation is reached through diplomacy, Israel will have no other choice except to use all means for protection of its citizens, Danny Danon said

Senior Russian diplomat meets with UN coordinator for Gaza in New York

"The sides exchanged views on the current situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict amid the continuing Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip," the press service of the Russian mission to the United Nations said

Poll reveals what Russians think about office love, polyamory

It is noted that opinions are changing not only about relationships with colleagues, but also about romance between a subordinate and a supervisor

Russia’s battlegroup West repels three Ukrainian counterattacks in past day

The Ukrainian army losses in the responsibility zone of the group include a tank, three armored combat vehicles, six vehicles, a Bogdana 155mm self-propelled artillery mount and roughly 600 servicemen

Military record launch of 10 shells at northern Israel from Lebanon

According to its information, the shells were launched in the direction of the Jezreel Valley in the Lower Galilee

Kremlin spokesman says West ‘obsessed’ with fighting Russia until Ukraine runs out of men

Peskov was commenting on NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's recent statement that there is no need to be afraid of using Western weapons for strikes deep inside Russia

Russia says its Iskander missile destroys US-made HIMARS in Sumy Region

The crew of an Iskander tactical missile system of the Russian Armed Forces carried out a missile strike on the position of an M142 HIMARS of Ukrainian forces in the settlement of Shaposhnikovo

Putin bids last respects to his demised first judo coach Rakhlin

Rakhlin has trained Vladimir Putin for 11 years

Second rocket attack launched on Israeli territory from Lebanon — TV

According to Al Jazeera TV channel, the target of the shelling were cities in the northern part of the Jewish state

Israel verifying reports about Hamas leader Sinwar’s possible death

According to Kan, so far it is impossible to confirm these reports

QUAD leaders oppose unilateral actions that hinder peace in the Middle East

"We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region," said a joint statement by the leaders

Conflicts in space to increase over time, German general predicts

"The enemy views our space capabilities, both civilian and military, as targets," Michael Traut, the head of Germany's Military Space Command, noted

UN General Assembly has lost its viability, says Brazilian president

"The pandemic, conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the arms race, the climate crisis have revealed the limitations of multilateral formats," Inacio Lula da Silva said at the Summit of the Future at the UN headquarters

Russia will not 'shoot itself in the foot' by halting gas supplies — Lavrov

According to the top Russian diplomat, for many decades, since the times of the Soviet Union, since the 1970s, Moscow has been establishing mutually beneficial cooperation in gas supplies

Ukraine puts pressure on FIDE General Assembly over admission of Russians — source

The General Assembly, which will consider the issue of the full-fledged return of Russian and Belarusian players, is being held on September 21-22

Hezbollah attacks Israeli Ramat David air base for second time

Movement used two types of rockets: Fadi-1, with a range of 80 km, and Fadi-2, with a range of 105 km

Ukrainian forces lost up to 520 troops in Battlegroup West zone of responsibility

The enemy also lost six vehicles, a UK-made 155-mm Braveheart self-propelled howitzer, two 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer and two electronic warfare stations

Hollywood action star Jackie Chan says he loves Russia, thanks his fans

The actor wished that the friendship between China and Russia would last forever

Zelensky may be overthrown if Ukraine fails to hold elections — Ukrainian MP

Ukraine is still facing the question of the legitimacy of power in the absence of parliamentary and presidential elections, which cannot be held during martial law

Russian priest sentenced to 14 years in prison over child molesting

In 2011, priest Gleb Grozovsky, who was a priest at the Ascension Cathedral near St. Petersburg, sexually abused an underage girl

UNGA member countries adopt Pact for the Future, despite Russia’s objection

Along with Russia, Belarus and Nicaragua, delegations from North Korea, Syria, Sudan, and Iran voted against

Middle East to see no big war, but confrontation will continue — expert

The main external actors of the Middle East situation are the United States and Iran, Boris Dolgov, a leading research fellow of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, says

CERN's turn away from Russian scientists has positive aspects — Kurchatov Center chief

This is quite obviously a positive development for us in some respects, Kovalchuk said

Ukrainian minister says West pledged funds for making missiles, drones in Ukraine

We have developed a missile program, Ukrainian Defense Minister said

Russia says 15 drones shot down over 5 Russian regions, Sea of Azov overnight

Voronezh Region Governor Alexander Gusev said the situation didn’t warrant a drone attack alert

Putin, Berdimuhamedow discuss partnership, international meetings

Putin earlier sent a message with birthday greetings to the Turkmen president

Israeli air force attacks 290 Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon in 24 hours

According to IDF, 180 targets were hit

Russian forces strike Ukrainian energy facilities, troops last night — top brass

Overnight, the Russian Armed Forces launched a group strike on energy facilities that supply electricity to Ukrainian defense plants and drone production cites as well as Ukrainian troops

New Russian combat equipment in 2024

Medvedev says Trump assassination attempt could be orchestrated by Kiev

The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, recruited mercenaries for the Ukrainian army

Tatyana Bakalchuk: I dared to take risks and it paid off

The CEO of Wildberries, Russia’s largest Internet retailer, in a TASS special project on Top Business Officials

Russia’s response to long-range weapons supplies to Kiev will be brutal — MFA

"The opponents in Washington, London, and other places clearly underestimate the degree of danger of the game they continue to play," Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Ryabkov said

Russian Su-34 bomber destroys Ukrainian manpower, equipment in Kursk area

After receiving a confirmation from reconnaissance that the Ukrainian army’s temporary disposition location had been destroyed, the crew safely returned to the airfield of departure

UN General Assembly adopts resolution on Golan Heights — results of vote

Russian ambassador’s escort car drives into mine in Pakistan, policemen injured

Russian diplomats were not hurt

Press review: BRICS challenges existing security concepts and Europe's economy in trouble

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, September 13th

Source reveals number of people detained in shooting in downtown Moscow office

"Yesterday, 13 people were detained and questioned, today 14. As far as I understand, the Investigative Committee intends to detain them all," the source, one of the participants in the trial, which took place in the Basmanny court, said

Zelensky says Ukrainian troops in extremely difficult situation in two DPR areas

The situation on the frontline remains extremely difficult, Ukrainian President said

Ukrainian troops retreat from village near Artyomovsk in DPR — Russian officers

The enemy fled from near Andreyevka where it has long been holding positions, it has retreated, law enforcement officers said

Iran's supreme leader calls on Islamic countries to sever economic ties with Israel

"The Zionist regime is committing crimes shamelessly and without hiding it," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said

Press review: US shifts rhetoric on Ukraine and walkie-talkie explosions rock Lebanon

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, September 19th

Pagers used in Lebanon blasts not made in Bulgaria — intelligence

Specialists also found out that Bulgaria’s Norta Global Ltd and its owner, linked by the media to the pager blasts, "had no involvement in the purchase or sale of such goods in Bulgaria’s jurisdiction"

Bundestag members address Cabinet with query regarding Ukraine’s attack on Kursk Region

The legislators are asking whether German weapons are used by the Ukrainian forces in their incursion into the Kursk Region

Russian aerospace forces strike four terrorists bases in two Syrian governorates

They left the al-Tanf area, Oleg Igansyuk, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said

Cessna-182 makes emergency landing in Moscow Region — Investigative Committee

No one was hurt, a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee’s Western interregional investigative department for transport said

Neglect of Russia’s interests makes lasting settlement in Ukraine impossible — MFA

At the same time, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova explained that Russian representatives "have not participated in any meetings within the framework of the ‘Buergenstock process’ and are not going to participate in any

Explosions in Lebanon pose interest for Russian intelligence — Kremlin spokesman

According to Dmitry Peskov, Moscow has not discussed the events in Lebanon with regional actors

Russia ready for talks with Turkey on Su-35, Su-57 fighters

Russia earlier noted its readiness to participate in the program of developing the Turkish TF-X fifth-generation fighter

Israel wants to drag whole region into war, engages in terrorism, says Erdogan

The Turkish President said he would address the UNGA to ask the participants to remember "the need for taking action against genocide in the Gaza Strip and Israel's aggressive policies"

Ukraine’s forces in Ugledar virtually encircled — sources

"Most positions around the city, including those at the most important sites and heights are Russian, the whole city is exposed to fire," the sources explained