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Crisis in Belarus

About 250 protesters detained in Minsk on Sunday

According to the Minsk police, protesters in a number of Minsk neighborhoods blocked traffic along streets

© Stringer/TASS

MINSK, November 29. /TASS/. Around 250 people were detained in Minsk during unauthorized mass protests, Minsk’s police spokeswoman Natalia Gausevich said on Sunday.

"About 250 people were detained in Minsk on charges of violating the law on mass gatherings," she said.

According to the Minsk police, protesters in a number of Minsk neighborhoods blocked traffic along streets. "To ensure safety of road users the police had to squeeze the protesters out of the roadways," Ganusevich said, adding that the police had issued numerous warnings about the inadmissibility of illegal actions and had to detain the most active protesters.

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Chinese analyst sees US veto on Palestine as reflection of arrogance, double standards

Wang Wen stated that it’s still very hard to achieve a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Ukrainian military reportedly uses HIMARS rocket launcher to attack Gorlovka

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US veto for Palestinian membership proves Washington’s anti-Palestinian stance — Hamas

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William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

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The group contains US finance and justice ministers, representatives of Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, as well as the European Commission

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Maria Zakharova also pointed to the fact that Ukraine's special services do not give up attempts to "massacre their former compatriots"

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Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that the demarcation process also involves risks, but they are manageable, after which "Armenia will become ten times stronger"

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Ahmad Haghtalab pointed out that the Iranian Army and other security forces protect Iranian nuclear facilities using the most advanced equipment, so "national nuclear centers are completely safe"

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Fu Cong denied claims that direct talks with Israel are a vital precondition for Palestine’s UN membership

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"The UN history has precedents when states were not admitted on their first try. The number of attempts is not limited," Nadezhda Sokolova said

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Ahmad Haqtalab argued that Israel had been conducting "subversive and terrorist activities" against the Islamic republic's nuclear infrastructure for year

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Yury Popov said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria

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Israeli sources also said that they did not understand why the Pentagon had leaked information about Israel's involvement in the attack to the media

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Kremlin condemns 'illegal' seizure of villa from Russian businessman

Dmitry Peskov underscored that Moscow has already made its position clear on this matter

Number of applications in RuStore surpasses 37,000

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Tehran’s two major airports cancel international flights — Mehr

Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport suspended their operations until 10:30 a.m. local time

Colombian president displays interest in country’s entry into BRICS

Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Gustavo Petro’s initiative, "being committed to promotion of Colombia’s candidacy"

Ukrainian military under constant gunfire by Russian troops near Urozhainoye, says POW

Yevgeny Pogrebnyak said that he was treated well by Russian troops in his captivity

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Russia can join top three countries by lithium reserves — governor

Infrastructure is required to implement the investment project, both power transmission lines and the railroad, Andrey Chibis noted

Iran suspends flights above several cities amid reports of air attack — IRNA

Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran

Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian prosecutor general

The law enforcement employees exert efforts to identify the instigators of this crime, Igor Krasnov said

Iran tells US about April 13 attack on Israel, it does not want escalation — top diplomat

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian added that prior to the attack, Tehran said that it would not target US military infrastructure in the Middle East "except in a situation where the United States wants to take military measures in support of Israel"

Ukraine convicts 12th world chess champion for recognizing Donetsk, Lugansk republics

The two other State Duma members mentioned in the verdict alongside Karpov are Viktor Kazakov and Georgy Karlov

Palestinian president says US veto immoral, runs counter to global community’s will

In Mahmoud Abbas' opinion, Washington’s foreign policy constitutes "an outrageous aggression against the international law"

US names lack of reforms as reason to block Palestinian membership resolution

US deputy envoy Robert Wood also noted that "Hamas - a terrorist organization - is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza, an integral part of the state envisioned in this resolution"

Press review: Ukraine, Israel vie for EU’s attention and Georgia passes controversial bill

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, April 18th

MiG-31I fighters receive air refueling system

Another source said MiG-31I differs from previous MiG-K option by "different engines, avionics and missiles"

Major Western investor accuses Zelensky's office of extorting millions of euros

Arnulf Damerau said that he provided details of the meeting, along with evidence and a list of names of those involved, to US and European intelligence agencies

Agents in Ukrainian, Poland foil attempt to kill Zelensky, security officials in Kiev say

The agency said it and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed their Polish counterparts about the alleged assassination attempt

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source

The first Konteiner radar went on combat duty in the Volga area region of Mordovia on December 1, 2019

Sounds in Isfahan due to air defense work to repel attacks by suspicious objects — general

According to Iranian media reports, three drones were downed by air defenses in the skies over the city of Isfahan

Putin points to high risk of new epidemic outbreaks

The Russian president pointed out that Moscow’s "program of assistance to the African countries in sanitary and epidemiological well-being provides for the delivery of ten mobile high-containment biological laboratories"

Ukraine turns from sovereign country into Western protectorate, Hungarian PM says

Viktor Orban noted that there should be a buffer zone between NATO and Russia and Ukraine could serve as one

US did not 'endorse' Israel’s retaliatory attack, but was warned about it — TV

According to Bloomberg, Israel informed the United States about its plans to strike Iran within the next 24-48 hours

US blackmails other countries at United Nations — Russian mission

Dmitry Polyansky said "this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War"

Kiev lacks both troops and equipment near Chasov Yar in DPR, says retired general

Military commanders of Ukrainian army brigades "lack both personnel and the required amount of equipment" while Russian troops enjoy a considerable superiority, especially in artillery, Sergey Krivonos noted

Ukrainian front may collapse this summer — newspaper

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Russia will not 'shake up' relations with Argentina due to its partnership with NATO — MFA

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Russia and Argentina maintain a good dialogue at various levels

Russia, Iran maintain contacts on nuclear security - deputy foreign minister

Sergey Ryabkov said that "very soon, Russia and Iran will have new additional opportunities to discuss the situation in the Middle East in general, as well as details of what is going on there at this point"

Nearly half of those present in UN Security Council hall walk out before Israel’s address

israeli Permanent Representative Gilad Erdan was to address the council after Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour

G7 foreign ministers set to call on all sides to exercise restraint in Middle East

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Israel will "most likely" respond to the recent Iranian attack

Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement

Vladimir Zelensky asked his country’s supporters to provide "everything that helps to hold the frontline," including shells, military vehicles and drones

Vehicles, equipment participating in Victory Day parade depart for Moscow — ministry

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Founder of neo-Nazi cell in Crimea flees to Georgia — source

According to the official, the investigation established that Mikhail Maurov planned to travel to Ukraine to join the ranks of a right-wing Ukrainian organization called the Freedom of Russia Legion

Press review: Iran fires back at Israel and Russia, West spar over AI rulebook

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, April 15th

EU border checkpoint closest to Russia’s St. Petersburg to cut its working hours

The changes were attributed to reconstruction works on the Russian side of the checkpoint Ivangorod

Pipeline explodes in Kharkov Region

The exact location of the damaged pipeline or the causes of the incident is not reported

Israeli Air Force attacks airfield in southern Syria during strike on Iran

According to local sources, a radar station located at a military site along a highway connecting the towns of Qarfa and Izraa was disabled in the attack

US deploying missiles in Philippines to endanger global security — Russian envoy

Anatoly Antonov has urged the US "not to open Pandora's Box" and follow Russia’s suit "by taking all necessary steps to ensure global stability and predictability"