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Coronavirus pandemic

Over 3,000 infected with coronavirus in Chile

Chile reported the first confirmed coronavirus case on March 3

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Coronavirus cases in Chile have jumped to 3,031, up by 293 cases in the past 24 hours, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said on Wednesday.

Manalich added that four people had died over the past day, so the death toll had risen to 16, while 234 patients had recovered.

Chile reported the first confirmed coronavirus case on March 3. On March 18 that South American nation closed borders for foreigners over coronavirus fears. On March 22 Chile declared a curfew from 10.00 p.m. to 05.00 a.m. The government announced a general quarantine in seven districts of capital Santiago.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. To date, more than 850,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 42,000 deaths have been reported.

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Taiwan records approach of seven Chinese PLA warplanes, five vessels

According to the statement, one of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern ADIZ air defense identification zone

Azerbaijan Airlines states its passenger jet crashed due to external mechanical damage

Azerbaijan Airlines earlier announced the suspension of flights to several Russian cities

Expert offers to use navy ships to escort tankers after Eagle S incident

Alexander Stepanov believes that NATO intends to lock the Kaliningrad enclave, to lock the Russian trade fleet in Neva estuary and to simultaneously block the Leningrad naval base

Flydubai cancels flights to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi until January 2 and 3, respectively

Flydubai advised passengers to contact the airline's contact center or relevant travel agents for information on rebooking or refund options for cancelled flights

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According to the report, Ukraine lacks personnel and Kiev has no confidence in further provision of military aid by the West

Putin forms scientific advisory board under Russian Security Council

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu will lead the board

FSB foils series of assassination attempts on senior Russian defense officials

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Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported the fires in Solomensky and Shevchenkovsky districts

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Ukraine’s army reports forced retreat to ‘last defensive line’ in Donbass area

Ukraine’s General Staff admitted earlier that the frontline situation remained tense for the Ukrainian army

Biden administration to send $1.25 bln in military assistance to Kiev — AP

The new package of aid to Kiev includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defense system, the agency said

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"Almost 8,000 people were employed in this work today," according to a statement by the region’s crisis center

Russia to press for progress on line of engagement — Putin

The President stressed that Moscow would move on in accordance with the plans it had outlined

Two families with children return to Russia from Syria — commissioner

An aircraft landed in the Moscow Region, Maria Lvova-Belova said

Pentagon mum on F-16 fighter jet downed in Zaporozhye Region

The US Department of Defense "has no statement or information to provide," a department’s spokesperson said

Serbia’s Vucic suggests Trump may bring ceasefire in Ukraine closer

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Norwegians who refused to rescue sailors from Ursa Major acted like non-humans — senator

Konstantin Kosachev noted that the West was in the habit of discussing values, but the true Western values are not about legalizing same-sex marriage or overthrowing unwanted regimes or supporting Ukraine

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Mohammed Al Sudani stressed that Baghdad respects the will of the Syrian people, hoping for progress toward a comprehensive political process

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Leader of the opposition Sacred Struggle movement Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan stated that the PM doesn't have the courage to run in the elections

CIA station in Kiev targeted in recent Russian attack, military expert reveals

According to Alexander Stepanov, strikes are systematic efforts to gradually wipe out the military capabilities of Ukraine

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Investigative Committee opens case against US mercenary who invaded Kursk Region

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German president dissolves parliament, schedules early elections for February 23

Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said that he had consulted with the leaders of all the parties represented in the Bundestag before making the decision and concluded that neither the current nor the new government, in any composition, would win a majority in the current parliament

Press review: US, Israel aim to curb Turkey’s gains while Moscow, Tehran strengthen ties

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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"

Ukraine receives first 100 mcb of LNG from United States

It was noted that this delivery was aimed at ensuring Ukraine's energy security and took place several days before the end of Russian gas transit through the country's territory

Russian MFA lists nine countries set to become BRICS partners from January 1

It is reported that Brazil’s BRICS chairmanship will announce the countries’ acquisition of the partner status as soon as it receives their confirmation

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On December 25, Reuters reported that Finland’s police and border guards have detained an oil tanker, which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands, suspecting that an anchor of the vessel may have damaged the EstLink 2 cable

Zelensky defines essence of next summit on Ukraine in four-letter explicit word — Lavrov

The first Kiev-initiated conference on Ukraine was held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on June 15-16

Houthis report attacking Santa Ursula vessel in Arabian Sea

The container ship Santa Ursula, sailing under the flag of Denmark, is bound from Spain’s Algerciras to the Omani port of Salalah, Marine Traffic data showed

Russian Railways tests robodogs for work on dangerous railway sections

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During the ceremony, the Russian Navy chief handed in the St. Andrew’s naval flag to the submarine commander, Captain First Rank Alexander Gladkov

NATO considers use of ATACMS missiles in Ukraine reckless, indiscriminate — NYT

The newspaper notes that, since Ukraine received an authorization from the UK and the US, Kiev carried out at least six missile strikes, using 31 ATACMS and 14 Storm Shadow missiles

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Oboronlogistics company blames loss of its ship Ursa Major on terrorist attack

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Russian forces break through Ukrainian defense lines in Kharkov Region — expert

Marochko added that the operation allowed Russian troops to "expand their zone of control" in the area

Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Makhachkala airports resume operations — Russian aviation agency

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Russia's energy sector, Mikhail Kovalchuk said, is the "greenest" because "everybody uses coal or something else, while Russia burns gas"

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The yuan exchange rate rose by 0.37% over the day to 13.45 rubles

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Dmitry Yadrov stressed that the plane’s commander tried to land in Grozny twice

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KazAeroNavigation’s flight director immediately notified all emergency services

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Spanish coordination center orders Norwegian captain not to take Ursa Major sailors

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Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet returns back to Baku shortly after takeoff

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Decision-making centers in Kiev may be targets of Russia’s strikes, says Lavrov

Moscow selects targets for strikes on the territory of Ukraine, proceeding solely from threats to Russia, the foreign minister stressed

Airstrikes on Yemen’s capital target airport, Houthi military sites — source

Powerful explosions are going off in the city, a Houthi source told TASS

Nearly 40 people killed, 100 injured in Gaza in past day — health ministry

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Turkish transport ministry’s experts to join AZAL plane crash investigation

"Our delegation will be working in coordination with Azerbaijan’s authorities <...> to explore all aspects of the incident within their competence," Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said

Astana, Baku to closely cooperate in investigating plane crash in Kazakhstan

According to the statement, Tokayev assured the Azerbaijani president that the Kazakh side would make every effort to ensure a thorough and objective investigation of all circumstances of the incident, and briefed him on the progress of the work of the special state commission tasked with investigating the crash

US debt to reach limit in mid-January, authorities to take extraordinary measures — Yellen

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Scholz could make unexpected steps in relations with Russia amid German crisis — analyst

According to the analyst, Scholz's recent phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin came out of left field for the German political community

Finnish police detain oil tanker on suspicion of damaging communication cables

It is also reported that the Eagle S "noticeably slowed down" presumably at the moment when the cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged

Russian security official says Poland gave Ukraine unusable helicopters

It is reported that corrupt Ukrainian officials will probably get their kickback from Poland, in another move that helps Ukraine’s downfall

Finnish president says situation 'under control' after cables damage in Baltic Sea

According to Alexander Stubb, the cables were "significantly damaged"

Relative of former Syrian president detained in Lebanon airport — report

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Russia’s 2,000th R-7 rocket delivers Resurs-P remote sensing satellite into orbit

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No confidence vote, Bundestag's dissolution, early elections: political crisis in Germany

Germany faces an acute crisis after the ruling coalition clashed on budgetary and economic policies, including aid to Kiev and easing the "debt brake" rule

US may face bankruptcy if situation with national debt does not change — Musk

The US national debt for the first time climbed above $36 trillion on November 15

Russia says it carried out 38 strikes with high-precision weapons over past week

Russia’s Battlegroup West has repelled 25 Ukrainian counterattacks over the past week, wiping out over 3,080 enemy servicemen and destroying a German-made Leopard tank

New Syrian authorities do not intend to annul agreements on Russian military bases

According to the source, the parties are holding negotiations to ensure that circumstances of force majeure, including military actions and regime changes in the republic, do not become a pretext for canceling the agreements

Europe must be punished, US ignored after hybrid war between West, Russia — Medvedev

According to the politician, Europe "became the primary stronghold of Russophobia globally," undermined the Istanbul agreements, initiated the sanctions campaign, and fueled the most extreme war factions without considering the losses suffered by both sides of the conflict

Bank of Russia raises dollar exchange rate for December 28 to 100.53 rubles

At the same time, the official yuan exchange rate was reduced by 3 kopecks to 13.4434 rubles

New Syrian authorities do not intend to annul agreements on Russian military bases

On December 9, a TASS source said that Russia has commenced the negotiations with the new Syrian authorities on the continued presence of its military bases

Politics discussed on board of ISS, but unlike on Earth crew members mingle — cosmonaut

According to Oleg Kononenko, there was no forbidden issues for the crew on board of the ISS

Plane crash in Kazakhstan claims 38 lives

29 people had been hospitalized

Russian-Iranian partnership agreement to be inked on January 17 — ambassador

The comprehensive strategic partnership treaty is expected to mark a significant step forward in the development of relations between Russia and Iran, which are growing rapidly

Russian fighters advance in Volchansk in Kharkov Region, force Volchya River — expert

Andrey Marochko added that Russian servicemen "start preparing the way for further advancement southwest of this locality"

Scholz says he would like to hold phone talks with Putin again

The German chancellor emphasized that he didn’t plan to "send German servicemen to this war"

IN BRIEF: Putin talks to reporters about Oreshnik missile, natural gas transit

The president noted that the most important thing in the coming year is "the well-being of the Russian people, standard of living, stability"

EU to impose new sanctions on ‘Russian shadow fleet’ over Baltic Sea incident

In addition, the European Union is strengthening protection of the bloc's undersea cables

Foreign powers seek to provoke mass riots in Syria — source

On December 27, security forces formed by the new Syrian government blocked districts of the city of Tartus, where Alawites organized riots

Georgian PM sees US sanctions on party founder as reward for protecting national interests

"This is just a reward for the defense of our country's national interests," Irakli Kobakhidze said

Germany seen defenseless against Russia’s Oreshnik missile system — report

Bild said the German Foreign Ministry commissioned an internal government analysis on defense from ballistic missiles

Parliament impeaches South Korean acting president

The impeachment was supported by 192 delegates with at least 151 votes required

NATO to boost military presence in Baltic Sea following cable incidents — Rutte

Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas attributed responsibility for the Baltic Sea incidents to the tanker fleet transporting Russian oil, even before the investigation concluded

Press review: Putin discusses EU gas supplies and Russia open to Ukraine talks with Trump

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, December 27th

Court fines TikTok $28,800 for violating procedure for restricting access to information

TikTok was twice brought to administrative responsibility under a similar article in 2024, having been fined 4 mln rubles ($38,277.7) in July and November

Ukraine’s General Staff admits tense situation along entire frontline

The Ukrainian army reported earlier on Friday that its forces were retreating to the border of the Dnepropetrovsk Region from the Kiev-controlled territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic "to the last defensive line" in that area

Russian MFA denies reports of talks with Baku, Astana on plane crash near Aktau

It also indicated that specialized agencies are investigating the causes of the crash

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

In general, "quite active hostilities" are taking place near Dvurechnaya and Lozovaya in the Kupyansk sector of the line of engagement, Andrey Marochko noted

Slovakia ready to host peace talks on Ukraine — Prime Minister

Robert Fico noted that Bratislava would be ready and hospitable