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Coronavirus pandemic

Updated at:

Albania expels Russian diplomat for breaching Covid guidelines

It is noted that the diplomat has been reported to breach the guidelines since April 2020

Tirana's main Skanderbeg Square AP Photo/Hektor Pustina

Tirana's main Skanderbeg Square

© AP Photo/Hektor Pustina

ZAGREB, January 22. /TASS/. The Albanian government has officially expelled a Russian diplomat from the country for violating epidemiological measures imposed to counter the coronavirus pandemic, Albania’s Top Channel TV reported Thursday.

"The Albanian government has declared Russian diplomat Alexei Krivosheyev, who was not following the anti-coronavirus measures, persona non grata, mandating that he leave the country within 72 hours from the official announcement," the channel quoted the statement by the Albanian Foreign Ministry.

At the same time, it is noted that the diplomat has been reported to breach the guidelines since April 2020. "Unfortunately, <…> the diplomat continued to violate the measures despite expressions of good will from both sides to stop these violations," the Albanian ministry underlined.

Moreover, the ministry underlined that the country seeks to improve friendly relations with Russia, voicing hope that Moscow will be understanding of "this decision made in the difficult period for the whole world."

According to Johns Hopkins University, Albania has recorded more than 69,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 1,200 deaths.

Middle East conflict

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Russia not setting preconditions for talks on Ukraine — Lavrov

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

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Russian MFA sees reports of potential deployment of EU troops in Ukraine as provocation

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Middle East in for ‘chaotic and violent’ time after change of power in Syria – analyst

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The attack resulted in the deaths of three individuals, with a fourth victim passing away from injuries at the hospital shortly afterward

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

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Azerbaijan Airlines plane made 2 circles near Kazakh airport before crashing — official

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Among other things, "members of the Commonwealth have been increasing cooperation in the fight against extremism, transborder crime, and drug trafficking, and everyday activities and contacts between security agencies have been established," the Russian president said

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Is Gaddafi's gloom prophecy in regard to Europe bound to be fulfilled?

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Trump’s son posts image showing father buying Canada, Greenland on Amazon

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Lavrov sees ceasefire in Ukraine as road to nowhere, calls for reliable agreements

The top Russian diplomat pointed out that those accords should first and foremost address the root causes of the Ukraine crisis

Sandu regime may seize Moldavan power plant in Transnistria — Russian Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova noted that "under such a scenario, the Russian peacekeeping presence in the region will be jeopardized"

Ukrainian intel agent plotted to plant bomb under car of Russian defense official — FSB

The Ukrainian intelligence services planned to detonate the explosive device remotely from the territory of Ukraine, the press office said

Russia ready for talks on Ukraine, only if those discuss essential topics — Lavrov

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Baku, Yerevan can jointly initiate dissolution of OSCE Minsk Group — diplomat

The spokeswoman went on to say that the stalemate began when Western countries de-facto blocked the work in this format

Bosphorus transit suspended due to malfunction of tanker en route to Russia

The Cordelia Moon is 274 meters long and 50 meters wide

Azerbaijan Airlines says its ill-fated jet underwent full examination in October

The aircraft’s crew chief, Igor Kshnyakin, clocked more than 15,000 hours of flight time

Expert sees the collective West behind Ursa Major terrorist attack

Alexander Stepanov emphasized that "the goal of the enemy’s terrorist campaign on international shipping routes was to disrupt trade and economic cooperation"

One of two power cables between Estonia, Finland fails for an unknown reason

Two sets of underwater high-voltage direct current power cables connect Finland and Estonia

Azerbaijani president on his way back home from Russia after AZAL plane crash

According to the press service, Ilham Aliyev has ordered the relevant government agencies to investigate the causes of the crash and take urgent action

Russian fighters control about 40% of Terny in Donetsk region, military expert says

Andrey Marochko added that Russian servicemen have advanced east of Yampolovka, bringing the distance between that village and Russia’s frontline positions to less than 1.2 miles

South Korean opposition launches impeachment proceedings against acting president

According to the law, an impeachment vote can take place no earlier than 24 hours after the initiative is introduced at a plenary session

Biden’s last aid package to Kiev won’t contribute to Ukraine’s security — Russian diplomat

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Press review: Middle East may host Putin-Trump talks as experts probe Kazakhstan crash

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, December 26th

US disrupts payment of Russian contribution to ICRC budget — Foreign Ministry

This is another example of a harmful impact of unlawful restrictive measures, the ministry said

Russia to donate 1 million euro to UN Climate Convention

The document says that the goal of the payment is to ensure the representation of Russian staffers in the convention’s secretariat

Russia sees US recommendation for its citizens to leave Belarus as provocation — MFA

According to Maria Zakharova, this is not the first statement of its kind from the US Department of State

Serious conflict between Israel, Turkey possible — Russian expert

"It’s important to note that the primary development in this context is the markedly increased role of non-Arab states in the region, particularly two key players," Vitaly Naumkin said

Russian emergencies minister expects more natural disasters due to climate change

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Israeli premier threatens Houthis with HAMAS, Hezbollah’s fate

Benjamin Netanyahu promised that "this lesson would be learned throughout the Middle East"

Zelensky as commander-in-chief loses trust of army, population — MP

Aleksandr Dubinsky recalled the unsuccessful financing of Ukraine in the middle of the year

Taxi ploughs into crowd of pedestrians in New York, six wounded — Fox News

Six people were hospitalized with injuries of varying degrees

Production of passenger cars in Russia up 25% in November to 80,400 units — Rosstat

11M 2024 production totaled 679,000 passenger cars

Mother, her 11-year-old son among victims of Kazakhstan plane crash — authorities

The emergencies ministry has published the official list of Kazakh citizens who perished in the crash

Scientists present Russia's first 50-qubit cold atom quantum computer — MSU

The experiment that allowed testing the supercomputer prototype took place on December 19, the Moscow State University said

Russian gas is most profitable for Europe in terms of price and logistics — Novak

In conditions of competing China, Europeans pay significantly more for US LNG than for Russian gas, the official noted

Russian troops liberate Novy Trud community in Donbass region over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted roughly 245 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed six enemy howitzers in its area of responsibility over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Development of gas pipeline route from Russia to China via Kazakhstan launched — Deputy PM

The capacity of the new gas pipeline should be 45 billion cubic meters per year, Alexander Novak said

Russia says Su-35S fighter jets provide cover to Aerospace Forces in Kursk Region

Also, one aircraft used onboard weapons systems to detect enemy air defense sites, according to the ministry

Thailand accepts invitation to become BRICS partner state — MFA

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Finnish company says power cable’s emergency shutdown due to sabotage

Finland and Estonia are connected by two sets of high-voltage submarine cables

Georgia became inconvenient for 'friends' after rejecting Ukrainian scenario — official

According to Kakha Kaladze, the country faced unprecedented pressure because of this

Astana, Moscow, Baku will not hide information on plane crash — Senate speaker

Maulen Ashimbayev warned against premature conclusions concerning an external impact on the plane based on photographs, noting that certain forces were trying to derive dividends

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