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Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

Another batch of relief aid delivered from Russia to Syria’s quake-ravaged Latakia

The Russian emergencies ministry told TASS on April 12 that it planned to deliver 160 tins od relief aid to Syria by some ten flights of the ministry’s Il-76 planes

BEIRUT, April 21. /TASS/. Another batch humanitarian assistance has been delivered from Russia to Syria’s earthquake-ravaged Latakia governorate, the SANA news agency reported on Friday, citing the Latakia international airport director.

According to the agency, the Russian plane has delivered 16 tons of humanitarian assistance.

The Russian emergencies ministry told TASS on April 12 that it planned to deliver 160 tins od relief aid to Syria by some ten flights of the ministry’s Il-76 planes.

Two powerful 7.7-magnitude and 7.6-magnitude earthquakes rocked Turkey’s south-eastern Kahramanmaras province on February 6. The tremors, followed by thousands of aftershocks, were felt in eleven provinces as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria. The death toll from the quakes exceeded 50,000. Following the earthquakes, Russia’s emergencies ministry has delivered around 300 tons of humanitarian assistance to Syria.

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Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli troops continue raids in West Bank — TV

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli security forces have killed at least five people over the past 24 hours

Iran has no plans to immediately retaliate to attack on its soil — agency

"We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack," a senior Iranian official reported

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

Language policy of Moldovan government is Russophobic — head of Gagauzia region

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Kremlin declines to comment on alleged assassination attempt on Zelensky in Poland

The Security Service of Ukraine announced earlier that in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies in Ukraine and Poland it thwarted an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky

Death toll in Gaza Strip since tensions escalated exceeds 34,000 — Health Ministry

It is reported that just over the past 24 hours alone, 42 people have been killed and 63 wounded

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Dmitry Polyansky noted that the IAEA chief is being very cautious about the issue of attacks on the nuclear facility

Drones downed over Isfahan cause no damage, says Iranian foreign minister

It is reported that several drones had been intercepted by the national air defense forces over Isfahan

Russian government increases customs duties on beer from unfriendly countries

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Press review: Biden backs aid to Israel, Ukraine and Russia assets giving West legal fits

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, April 19th

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Lavrov says Borrell let it slip that Europe ‘fighting against Russia’

Russia’s top diplomat noted that Josep Borrell may made the statement in a moment of weakness

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

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Russian economy proves resilience amid large-scale sanctions — IMF

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Ukrainian drone damages energy infrastructure in Russia’s Kaluga Region

There are no casualties, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said

EU ministers to discuss use of Russian assets for Ukraine on April 22 — EU official

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North Korean leader arrives at public event in Aurus luxury car gifted by Putin

On April 10, the vehicle was also spotted when the North Korean leader visited Kim Jong Il Military and Political Academy

World’s anti-doping agency WADA still waits for Russia’s 2023 financial contribution

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said in February that the Russian side had agreed with WADA to pay the membership fee for the year of 2023

Hungarians in western Ukraine should get their rights back, Budapest says

"The Hungarian community’s opportunities to use its native language in the fields of education, culture, media and self-governance have been significantly limited," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto specified

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

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

French president says creating Israeli-type air defense network for Ukraine impossible

Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves

Russian stock indices rising on Friday

The MOEX Russia Index edged up by 0.44%, the RTS Index surged by 1.13%

Ukrainians abroad storming embassies to avoid mobilization, Russian diplomat says

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Unidentified man attempts suicide outside courthouse where Trump trial is underway

The man set himself on fire

Russia has significant amount of West’s funds in case of confiscation of its assets

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No plans for pauses in fighting if talks on Ukraine begin, Lavrov says

The Russian foreign minister emphasized that the situation on the ground had changed significantly

Russia’s export duty on wheat to be $37.42 per metric ton from April 24

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Ukrainian POW exposes poor battlefield performance of NATO-supplied Javelins, NLAWs

He also revealed that some weapon batches contained anti-armor systems whose service life had expired

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Putin signs law on holding World Friendship Games

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Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia, became full-fledged members of BRICS from January 1, 2024

West can’t comprehend Russia’s resilience — Lavrov

"They would have been scared had anyone come down on them with similar ferocity," the Russian foreign minister added

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Sergey Ryabkov said the US seeks to maintain military superiority in a great variety of areas

Final statement by G7 top diplomats to call for supplying more air defenses to Kiev

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Kiev required US-made Patriot systems and Italian-French Samp-T theatre antimissile systems

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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Vladimir Saldo called on other Ukrainian servicemen to switch to the Russian side and request the corresponding assistance

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US House passes procedural vote on Ukraine aid bill

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Polish premier refuses to hand over his country’s Patriot systems to Ukraine

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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

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

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The sources said that Iranian forces managed to destroy several small drones near the city of Tabriz, about 800 kilometers from Isfahan

Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

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US volunteer Russel Bentley missing in Donetsk killed — RT editor-in-chief

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Switzerland does not suit Russia for negotiations on Ukraine — Lavrov

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Armenia’s relations with Russia not at their highest — top diplomat

Ararat Mirzoyan also said that Yerevan is currently making efforts to expand cooperation with the European Union and the United States

Russian forces destroy Ukrainian command post, two S-300 missile launchers over day

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Iran threatens to attack Israel's "nuclear centers" in case of aggression on its part

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

Russia knows French military instructors working in Ukraine — Lavrov

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US gives nod to Israeli operation in Rafah in exchange for canceling major attack on Iran

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BRICS looking at creating common digital payment platform

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that BRICS nations have already established a special channel for information exchange between their central banks

Russia’s defense chief inspects production of tanks, flamethrowers at Siberian enterprise

Sergey Shoigu handed down an instruction for the defense enterprise to ramp up the production of T-80BVM tanks, the Defense Ministry said

Russia delivers 34 strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure over week — top brass

The Ukrainian army lost more than 3,550 troops, four tanks and five armored combat vehicles in battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk area over the past week, the ministry reported

NATO discussing transfer of ‘deep precision strike capabilities’ to Ukraine — Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg said NATO believes Ukraine has the right to strike "legitimate military targets" inside Russia

Russia won’t allow NATO to move closer in Ukraine — Lavrov

There is still no full clarity regarding the future of Ukraine's western regions, the Russian foreign minister went on to say

Blast rocks military base south of Baghdad — Reuters

According to the news agency, one PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded

Russian economy positively influences neighboring countries — Deputy PM

In 2023 the Russian economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, Alexey Overchuk said

Kiev ordered mandatory evacuation from Kharkov Region to accommodate mercenaries

Evacuation campaigns are regularly organized by the Kiev government, under the pretext of security issues

North Korea conducts new anti-aircraft missile test — KCNA

A power test of a super-large warhead designed for "Hwasal-1 Ra-3" strategic cruise missile was held as well

Armenia has to define CSTO’s zone of responsibility on its territory, says Lavrov

On March 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan asked its CSTO partners to answer where the CSTO's zone of responsibility in the republic was

Two people killed in borderline Belgorod Region in Ukrainian drone attack — governor

According to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, a private residence in the village of Poroz caught fire when the unmanned aerial vehicles dropped two explosive devices

Two pilots of jet that crashed in southern Russia hospitalized

The plane crashed in a field in the Krasnogvardeysky district of southern Russia’s Stavropol Region

French, US, British nukes all interwoven — Russian diplomat

Maria Zakharova described France’s decision to place its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, directly under NATO control as a symbolic move marking the end of "the era of an independent Paris in the international arena"

Israeli aviation strikes towns in Gaza Strip

According to Al Jazeera, air strikes hit the towns of Deir al Balah and Rafah

S-500 system to be supplied to Armed Forces after 2015

Victor Gumenny said the advanced systems may solve the tasks of air-space defence and may fight hypersonic weapons

West close to sending military to Ukraine, this would 'drag Europe to bottom' — Orban

"This military whirlpool can drag Europe to the bottom. Brussels is playing with fire and angering God," the Hungarian prime minister said

Russian military base may appear in CAR’s eastern region — President Touadera

According to the president, this step will help strengthen his country’s defense potential and contribute to bolstering the national armed forces’ capabilities

Ukrainian drones continue to fly over Zaporozhye NPP — press service

On April 19, the Ukrainian military attacked the training center of Zaporozhye NPP again, but the drone was neutralized over the roof of the building

Russia ready for Ukraine talks, but not with Zelensky — Lavrov

The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation took place in early March 2022 in Belarus, but they did not bring tangible results

US 'not forgetting' to help itself with aid to Ukraine — Kremlin

"In any case, whatever the modality of providing this aid, de facto it is about provoking Ukraine into further hostilities down to the last Ukrainian, putting guarantted money in the pockets of the US," Dmitry Peskov said

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

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According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an Aerospace Forces’ Tu-22M3 bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to the airfield

G7 leaders to decide on Russian assets use — Italian Deputy PM

Recommendations on opportunities of using frozen Russian assets in interests of Ukraine will be presented before the G7 summit in June 2024

Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

Investigators have established that the funds that were received through commercial organizations, such as the oil and gas company Burisma Holdings operating in Ukraine, have been used to carry out terrorist acts in Russia and abroad

Russia not to go for settlement on Ukraine based on 'Zelensky formula' — Lavrov

The top Russian diplomat referred to a swindling trick used by a thimblerigger who puts a small round object, such as a ball or pea, under one of three thimbles or cups and asks the player to guess under which the object is, while unfairly manipulating this object

Lavrov speaks of West’s agony, Russia’s approach to any future talks with Kiev

The Russian foreign minister also described Armenia and Russia as more than formal allies

Lavrov labels way West ramping up sanctions against Russia as mindless

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Participation in ‘Columbine’ movement may result in life sentence — Prosecutor General

Earlier, the "Columbine" movement was recognized a terror group