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Coronavirus pandemic

Global coronavirus cases double, exceeding 200,000, reports say

The global death toll has reached 8,125

MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus cases across the world has doubled since March 6, exceeding 200,000, as seen from data collected by TASS correspondents based on statements by officials and experts from countries hit by the outbreak. On March 6, about two and half months into the epidemic, the number of confirmed cases reached 100,000.

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The global death toll has reached 8,125. The estimated average death rate currently stands at 4.06%. The rate is 3.98% for China, where the outbreak has passed its peak, and 4.11% for the rest of the world.

Among countries with over 1,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the death rate is the highest in Italy (7.95%). Iran is second (6.54%), followed by Spain (4.07%).

According to the Russian coronavirus response center, 147 cases have been identified in the country so far.

Quarter of Russian speakers in Latvia supports Moscow’s policy — Latvian president

Edgars Rinkevics said that the country's leadership is "keeping an eye on this and trying to get in contact with the Russian-speaking population"

Press review: Putin comes out with peace plan and tough road ahead post-Ukraine summit

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, June 17th

Ukrainian parliament will not oppose against Zelensky on peace proposals — politician

"They are fully under external control of the collective West," Viktor Medvedchuk said

Some Ukrainian legislators begin to discuss Putin’s peace proposal — Duma speaker

"Actually, according to our information received over the parliament’s channels, some Verkhovna Rada deputies have already begun doing that," Volodin added

Russia’s defense chief listens to reports on special military operation in command center

As the ministry specified, Andrey Belousov also listened to a report on coordinating the work of Russian peacekeeping units and the commandant’s service in new Russian regions

Zelensky should think about Putin’s peace proposal, Kiev’s situation’s worsening — Kremlin

Peskov stressed that "every time Putin voices peace initiatives and when attempts are made to enter the political and diplomatic channel, there are certain conditions on the ground, each time they worsen for Ukraine."

Peace process without Russia inconceivable — Swiss president

Amherd said that in Burgenstock, they "will be making that first crucial step. It is up to us to make sure it is followed by a second."

Conference on Ukraine reveals differences in viewpoints — Swiss president

The final communique of the conference was supported by 80 out of 91 participating countries

Battlegroup Center improves tactical position in 24 hours — Russian Defense Ministry

"Four counterattacks by assault groups of the 23rd, 110th mechanized and 68th ranger brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces were repelled," the ministry added

France turns down Russian request to hold UNSC meeting on downed plane Wednesday — mission

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting at 3:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday

Russian forces receive new batch of Su-34 bombers

Rostec First Deputy CEO Vladimir Artyakov said the bombers are intensively used in Ukraine operation

Houthis claim Verbena vessel attacked by them sinks in Gulf of Aden

Attecked ship "is at risk of sinking in a few hours," the Houthi spokesman said

Kiev recognizes need for talks with Moscow to resolve conflict

Both sides' voices need to be heard to settle the conflict, Dmitry Kuleba said

Russian troops strike Ukrainian army, equipment in 110 areas over past day

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 405 troops in battles with Russian forces in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported

Russian forces develop Perun strike-transport drone — top brass

According to the Defense Ministry, the drone operates on Russian software and is capable of carrying cargo weighting up to 200 kilograms

Ukraine, international creditors have not reached agreement on debt restructuring

According to the report, Ukraine's Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko said "talks would continue and he expected the government to reach an agreement by August 1"

Path to nuclear-free world getting harder, Japanese official says

Yoshimasa Hayashi emphasized that under such circumstances, practical efforts should be made to achieve nuclear-free world

Russian team wins 160 medals during first three days of BRICS Games

The competition will end on June 23

Putin made it clear that conditions for peace in Ukraine will be set by Russia — opinion

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with senior officials of the Russian foreign ministry on June 14 that a peace solution to the Ukrainian conflict is impossible without Russia’s participation and an honest dialogue with it

Global expenditure on nuclear weapons hits record $91.4 bln in 2023, report shows

The United States remains the largest investor in nuclear weapons as it spent $51.5 bln on its nuclear arms in 2023

Ukraine ready to pay West in people’s organs for military assistance — Russian diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Kiev regime is rapidly turning the country into a global hub of human organ trafficking

SVR chief expects Putin’s visit to North Korea to yield positive results

Sergey Naryshkin added that there could be "certain provocations from the West" to press the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the utmost

Putin to discuss partnership, international issues in Vietnam — Kremlin

"It is planned to discuss the status and prospects of further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam," the Kremlin’s press service said

United Russia to hold international inter-party forum in Vladivostok

Delegations from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Laos, Tajikistan, Thailand, Venezuela and other countries will take part in the forum

NATO holds consultations on putting nuclear weapons on alert — chief

Jens Stoltenberg refused to go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stores

Engagement between both parties needed for peace in Ukraine — Indian foreign ministry

India was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Pavan Kapoor

BRICS Plus to empower previously unheard nations — Thai ruling party head

According to Paetongtarn Shinawatra, "BRICS Plus is more than just a platform with great prospects," as its potential is bigger than anything that has been created before

Iran calls on G7 not to link conflict in Ukraine to its relations with Russia

The spokesperson emphasized "Iran's unwavering commitment to human rights"

French far-right politician says talking to Russia only way out of Ukraine quagmire

Marine Le Pen clarified that she still supports military and civilian assistance to Kiev, but said that anti-Russian sanctions should be thoroughly thought-out before being imposed

Hostage takers in Rostov detention center eliminated, hostages safe — authorities

A criminal case has been opened into the hostage taking

Obama leads frozen Biden off stage — Republican Party

Former US President had to help Joe Biden to find the exit after his speech, said representatives of the National Committee

Hezbollah leading region to dangerous escalation — Israeli army spokesman

According to the Daniel Hagari, Hezbollah's actions "jeopardize the future of Lebanon" and play into the hands of Hamas radicals

EU extends sanctions due to reunification of Crimea with Russia

Earlier, the EU adopted an indefinite strategy of non-recognition of Crimea's accession to Russia, to which all countries of the EU and candidate countries are obliged to adhere

US rejects WTO, puts pressure on competitors — Putin

"It is enough to look at how they are draining European economies that are balancing on the brink of recession," the Russian leader stressed

Russia categorically against West's attempts to 'play nuclear card' — Lavrov

The top Russian diplomat stressed that "an alliance is being shaped between the United States, South Korea and Japan" on the Korean Peninsula

Kremlin views NATO’s rhetoric on putting nukes on alert as escalation

Unlike Western officials, the Russian president never talks nukes "at his own initiative as he takes the issue seriously," Dmitry Peskov said

Criminals who took hostages in Rostov accused of preparing terrorist act in 2023

As the court found, being followers of a radical ideology, Akiyev, Gireyev and Tsitskiyev voluntarily united to commit terrorist crimes

China cautions against potential provocations in South China Sea

Earlier, the China Coast Guard reported that a Philippine supply vessel had collided with one of its boats in waters near the disputed Ren’ai (Ayungin) reef in the South China Sea

Certain countries offer Ukraine communication channels with Russia, Kiev says

Switzerland hosted the conference on Ukraine on June 15-16 at the Burgenstock resort

NATO to build three large bases to supply weapons to Ukraine, Orban says

The Hungarian Prime Minister expressed concern that should these bases be built in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and other Ukrainian neighbors they will "become military targets"

Impact of Swiss conference on Ukraine 'next to nil' — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov reiterated that anyone who is interested in a real conversation can take a look at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent peace proposal

Cuban president praises Russian Navy ships’ visit to Havana — ambassador

According to Viktor Koronelli, Miguel Diaz-Canel left notes in the books of the honored guests

Press review: G7 to tap iced Russian assets for Ukraine loan and BRICS candidates unveiled

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, June 14th

Number of supporters of Burgenstock final document reduced to 78

Two countries has been removed from signing final communique

Four conditions for negotiations with Kiev: what Putin said at Foreign Ministry

Russia considers Ukraine's neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear status and the lifting of all Western sanctions as a necessary condition

Danish F-16’s to be priority target for Russian forces if supplied to Ukraine — MP

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said earlier after a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that Kiev expects Denmark to supply F-16 fighter jets in the near future

Russia ranked world’s second largest military power — GFP

More than 60 individual criteria were factored into the rankings, including the number of military troops, financial and logistics capabilities, as 145 world powers were considered

New Russian regions not going back to Ukraine, end of story — Putin

"The people of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions expressed their position in referendums," the Russian president reiterated

Premature to discuss US military bases popping up in Armenia — Russian intel chief

Earlier, the final joint statement of the Armenia-US strategic dialogue session indicated that the sides would strengthen interaction in the security field and aim to raise the status of cooperation to the level of strategic partnership

Putin to visit North Korea on June 18-19 — Kremlin

North Korea’s Kim paid an official visit to Russia in September 2023

Thailand's ruling party reaffirms willingness to join BRICS as soon as possible

Thailand is ready to continue to cooperate with all those countries that support multilateralism, said Nalini Thavisin, head of the international committee of the Pheu Thai Party

French far-right politician calls for overhauling EU

Marine Le Pen also said the association had turned toxic and pointed to the need to reform the EU to give member states more powers

About 20 NATO countries involved in conflict in Ukraine — lawmaker

"I believe they are in a state of war with Russia," Sergey Tsekov said

Kiev expects limited effect from deliveries of F-16 fighter jets

"Of course, everything depends on the number and modification of aircraft that will be delivered to Ukraine," Ilya Yevlash said

Russia wins 33 gold medals on fourth day of BRICS Games

The Russian team also won 28 silver and 18 bronze medals

Explosion reported at military proving ground in Czech Republic

According to the Czech army, nine servicemen sustained wounds

Russian MP slams Burgenstock conference’s document as void and dead

Addressing the closing ceremony, Swiss President Viola Amherd admitted that different viewpoints had been voiced during the conference

There may be no Ukraine in 50 years due to US betrayal — Tucker Carlson

US is selling off lands in Ukraine to foreign investors, and will flood country with third-world migrants, journalist stated

Final document of conference in Burgenstock backed by 80 countries out of 91 — organizers

Among the countries that supported the document are includes Switzerland, Turkey, EU countries and the USA

Four settlements in Kursk Region shelled by Ukrainian troops during past day

Drone attacks were reported near the Krupts crossing and in the villages of Troitskoye and Sergeyevka

Putin’s proposals need to be discussed to save world — diplomat about Swiss forum

Putin put forward new peace proposals seeking to resolve the conflict in Ukraine

Israeli military successfully intercepts suspicious aerial target — army

No air raid sirens were activated in accordance with protocol

Ukrainian troops in Volchansk will soon be trapped in a pocket — Russian lawmaker

As the State Duma deputy Viktor Vodolatsky noted, despite the fact that it is a small city, it is heavily fortified

Unfreezing of Russian assets tied to peace process, support for Ukraine — Meloni

The G7 said in the joint statement that Moscow should pay Ukraine for damage, which the World Bank estimates at $486 billion

Putin’s peace initiative being last chance to save Ukrainian state — politician

"The peace proposals returns not only the peace to Ukraine but also rights of Ukrainian citizens," Viktor Medvedchuk said

Second Ukraine summit bound for greater failure than first — Crimean official

Georgy Muradov noted that the Ukraine summit in Switzerland was simply a propaganda stunt by the Kiev regime, as Western countries have no desire to tackle the real issues at the root of their conflict with Russia

Russia to give military-technical response if F-16 jets appear over Ukraine — Lavrov

Russia had presented "a very serious demarche" within the framework of the UN Security Council panel "nuclear five" in connection with the possibility of F-16 aircraft being prepared for transfer to Ukraine to carry nuclear weapons

NATO chief, Zelensky’s reaction to Putin’s peace proposals quite predictable — Kremlin

This was not a warning, neither was it an ultimatum as Zelensky nervously took it, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said

Exchanges between Russia, North Korea hit record high in 2024, Seoul notes

Bilateral exchanges between Russia and North Korea have intensified since the second half of 2023

West to stop Kiev from responding to Putin’s peace initiatives — politician

"So the collective West is losing more than acquiring from the standoff with Russia," Viktor Medvedchuk said

Press review: G7 pushes EU to tap Russian assets and BRICS sends strong message to West

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, June 11th

Ukraine conference in Switzerland risks failing short — Bloomberg

Аgency pointed out that the meeting’s attempts to find a path for a "just peace" may be futile

Resolutions of conference on Ukraine senseless without Russia — lawmaker

The conference in Switzerland has predictably failed, said Russian lawmaker

Kiev keeping peace talks from happening — Russian lawmaker

"As for statements about both parties needing to be present, evidently, there was no need for this carnival sideshow to utter trite things," Dmitry Belik noted

Six drones downed over Russia’s Belgorod, Voronezh, Lipetsk Regions — top brass

Russian forces foiled the Kiev’s attempts to carry out attacks on Russian facilities with fixed-wing drones, Defense Ministry reported

Russia to continue establishing buffer zone until Ukraine stops shelling attacks — Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier in the day that Russia offers a new peace proposal on settling the conflict in Ukraine

Heightened nuclear rhetoric from US has global community on edge — Russian envoy

Against the background of the United States’ statements, Mikhail Ulyanov did not rule out the possibility of Russia making changes to its nuclear doctrine as well

Stoltenberg using bully tactics with NATO nuke arsenal comments — Russian intel chief

"As far as I can tell, no special significance should be given to it. We should keep a cool head," Sergey Naryshkin said

Kremlin to continue cooperation with friendly signatories to communique from Ukraine forum

Swiss President Viola Amherd said that the conference held at the Burgenstock resort on June 15-16 had revealed differences in viewpoints and that her country was ready to organize another summit

Conference in Burgenstock calls for Ukraine’s sovereignty over ZNPP

The communique was not signed by 13 participating countries

Biden didn't freeze on stage, he greeted crowd — White House spokesman

Repuplicans' interpretation of Biden's actions inLos Angeles is wrong, Andrew Bates said

Sweden says Russian military aircraft violated its airspace

The Swedish Armed Forces claim that they had to scramble two JAS-39 Gripen fighters to force the military jet to leave the country’s airspace

Five Palestinians killed in Israeli army attack in Gaza — TV

Several other people were seriously wounded

Ukrainian lawmaker says conference in Switzerland was a failure

According to the Ukrainian lawmakers, the conference in Switzerland was not meant to look for ways of settling the conflict

US, South Korea, Japan may sign agreement to combat nuclear threat — minister

The agreement could be reached before the inauguration of the next US president in January 2025

Russia to consider Georgia’s request to scrap visa requirements — Kremlin spokesman

Earlier, Solidarity for Peace representatives asked Putin to fully abolish visa requirements for Georgian nationals

Trump attributes presence of Russian ships at the port of Havana to Biden's weakness

Former american president added that neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor other foreign leader have any respect for Joe Biden

Bern sees no problems with Putin’s participation in potential conference on Ukraine

According to Swiss President Viola Amherd, such exceptions are possible when the participation of government officials in conferences are needed

Trump vows to halt ‘never-ending’ payments to Kiev if winning election

Ex-US President repeatedly stated earlier that he would be able to stop the conflict in Ukraine in case of his return to the White House

Pentagon not denying report on its discrediting of Chinese vaccines

US military also said that it counters China in the information space

Russian government approves list of unfriendly countries and territories

The countries and territories mentioned in the list imposed or joined the sanctions against Russia after the start of a special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine

Nuclear powers continue to modernize their arsenals — report

In January 2024, there were some 12,121 nuclear warheads in the world, of which 9,585 were on alert

Ukrainian strikes kill over 20 Russians, wound more than 60 over week — senior diplomat

Rodion Miroshnik noted that the Ukrainian armed forces are beginning to target civilian infrastructure in Russian frontline settlements more and more

German politician calls for heeding Putin's initiative for Ukraine

Ukraine's long-term nuclear-free status and renunciation of NATO membership ambitions, Sahra Wagenknecht said, are Russia’s demands that are easy to understand

If Putin’s Ukraine peace proposal rejected, next offer to be tougher — Russian intel chief

Earlier, the Russian leader presented new peace proposals on settling the Ukraine conflict

G7 has no right to represent international community — Chinese Foreign Ministry

Lin Jian pointed out that the G7 "has long deviated from the original intention of coordinating and stabilizing the international economic environment"

Russia makes another real peace proposal to Kiev — Putin

Vladimir Putin emphasized that Russia's plan would mean ending the conflict once and for all, not freezing it

Ukrainian drone shot down over Krasnodar Region — defense ministry

At about 10:00 p.m. Moscow time (7:00 p.m. GMT) on June 16, 2024, another Kiev regime’s attempted terrorist attacks on facilities in Russia’s territory with the use of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles was thwarted

Former Austrian Foreign Minister Kneissl confirms West’s plans to split up Russia

Some people in the Atlantic Council, and this is not only Americans, but also British, even German and Austrian scholars, said that Russia could be divided just as the Federation of Yugoslavia was divided

Document of Ukraine’s surrender to be Russia’s next proposal to Kiev — diplomat

Konstantin Gavrilov said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposals were realistic

Macron not deaf to Russia's warnings on sending troops to Ukraine — Russian intel chief

Earlier, the French president suggested that he would consider sending troops to Ukraine if Russian forces break through the front line, and Kiev requests help