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Von der Leyen endorsed for second term as European Commission head

As many as 400 delegates voted for von der Leyen’s nomination with 89 votes against

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

© AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

BUCHAREST, March 7. /TASS/. The European People’s Party (EPP) endorsed the incumbent president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, 65, for a second five-year term as the chief of the Commission at a gathering in the Romanian capital.

As many as 400 delegates voted for von der Leyen’s nomination with 89 votes against.

Her nomination did not come as a surprise as she was the only candidate from the EPP.

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Middle East conflict

Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip exceeds 45,200 — health ministry

More than 107,600 people received wounds

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Musk believes Germany’s Scholz should step down after car drives into crowd in Magdeburg

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Putin sends greetings on Russia’s Energy Industry Worker’s Day

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Russia’s international reserves up by $3.8 bln to $618.2 bln over week — Central Bank

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Drone attack triggers fire at fuel infrastructure facility in Russia’s Oryol Region

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Kiev takes out its anger for military defeats on Russian people — diplomat

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Ukrainian lawmaker slams Zelensky for trying to bribe Slovak PM

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Putin to extend New Year greetings to peoples of several unfriendly countries — Kremlin

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Maximal costs of Nord Stream pipeline repair to be 633 mln euro

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Assad allegedly hands list of military targets over to Israel before leaving Syria — media

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Four new Russian regions moving toward self-sufficiency at a rapid pace — Putin

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Ukraine’s General Staff admits tense situation along entire frontline

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Ukraine to halt Russian gas transit on January 1, 2025 — Ukrainian PM

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Magnitude 5.3 earthquake rocks South Africa

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Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Rylsk damages 12 buildings — governor

Three of them are not subject to restoration, Alexander Khinshtein said

Russian missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov to become world’s strongest warship after upgrade

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Baltic states threaten mass deportation of Russians, take lead in Russophobia — statement

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Perm sub with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles to enter service with Russian Navy in 2026

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Moscow lets US media freely work in Russia, despite opposite situation in US, Putin says

The Russian President stressed that, judging by the questions coming from the Western media as well as those who pay their salaries in the US, there is a clear desire to portray Russia as being in bad shape

Almost 20 drones downed over four Russian regions, Black Sea last night

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Oreshnik test launch forces London to take a step back — Russian ambassador

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Kiev to face more destruction after its UAV attack on Kazan, Putin warns

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The document pointed out that during the talks in Cairo, representatives of the radical groups "discussed with the mediators the development of indirect negotiations [with the Israeli side] on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and a hostage exchange agreement"

Airborne troops from Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr wipe out enemy position in Kherson region

A Russian airborne crew hit the target by firing a 120-mm mortar gun on a Ukrainian temporary position

Putin meets with Federation Council Speaker Matviyenko in Kremlin

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Hungarian PM highlights need to lift sanctions on Russia once Ukraine conflict is resolved

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NATO prepares for war with Russia, Moscow takes these risks into account — senior diplomat

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Zelensky actually flips the bird to Trump by insulting Putin, Medvedev says

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Russia to retaliate against Ukrainian strikes, just as Putin said — Kremlin

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Alexander Stepanov emphasized that both Kiev and its Western allies are closely scrutinizing the consequences of the strike on the plant

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Russia to invite World War II allies to next year’s Victory Day parade

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The US Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill a day before

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"It is very important to talk about these statements by the president in the context of the question he was asked," Dmitry Peskov pointed out

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Russian sleeper agents open up about secret trip to 2018 World Cup

The married couple, Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, returned home as a result of an exchange

Three of eight drones that attacked Kazan targeted defense industry facilities — head

The Tatarstan head Rustam Minnikhanov also noted that all operational services worked well when dealing with the aftermath of the drone attack

Key rate, inflation and criticism of Central Bank: statements by regulator’s chief

The Bank of Russia has taken a pause in raising the key rate, though a long period of tough monetary policy will be required to bring inflation back to the target

Trump wants NATO countries to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP — FT

The sources also told the Financial Times that Donald Trump intends to continue the military aid to Ukraine despite the statements he made during his presidential campaign

Press review: Who benefits from Russian general's murder as Trump lacks Kremlin strategy

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, December 18th

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

Series of explosions rock central Kiev — eyewitnesses

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported about explosions in the capital, and local authorities informed about the work of air defenses

Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine ready to join Russian Navy — Sevmash Shipyard CEO

Project 885M nuclear-powered submarines carry Oniks and Kalibr-PL cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons

Strike on SBU control center response to Russian general’s assassination, expert says

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Two freight trains collide at Trans-Baikal Railways, traffic suspended

Both freight trains loaded with coal collided at the Bushulei-Zhireken railway section

Putin responds to question about Russia's weakness by quoting Mark Twain

The president noted that Russia had become much stronger over the past two or three years as it became a truly sovereign country

US confirms strikes on Houthi command posts in Yemen

CENTCOM forces also shot down several Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea

Ukraine loses over 300 troops, two Bradley vehicles in Kursk Region in past day

Eight motor vehicles and two electronic warfare stations were also destroyed? the ministy added

Ukraine's refusal to transit Russian gas will hit EU economies hard — French expert

According to Jacques Sapir, the decision not to extend transit contracts was no surprise given the political landscape

What is known about Russia’s retaliatory strike on Ukraine after attack on Rostov Region

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

Air raid alert issued in six Ukrainian regions

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Russia ready to normalize relations with US without detriment to its interests — Putin

The previous generation of Russian politicians chose the course towards the country’s destruction for the sake of joining the so-called civilized world but this was what the West wanted, President Vladimir Putin

West should consider Putin's words on Oreshnik missile duel — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" is firmly rooted in the mentality of the NATO regimes not at all as hypothetical assumptions

Syria's new authorities appoint Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister

The SANA news agency said al-Shibani previously headed the political department of the National Salvation Government

IN BRIEF: What is known about drone attack on residential buildings in Kazan

TASS has gathered the main information about the incident

Novak assumes price of US LNG at least 30-40% higher than of Russian pipeline gas for EU

Russia’s Energy Minister adding that the US LNG is "uncompetitive as of today"

ISS orbit raised ahead of launching Soyuz manned spacecraft

As preliminary data suggest, the ISS orbit was raised by 2.3 km to 416.43 km above the Earth’s surface

Embassies of 12 countries closed in North Korea amid shortage of goods

All foreign personnel of international humanitarian organizations have also left, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said

Magdeburg attacker may be charged with murder of 5, attempted murder of 205 — prosecutor

The motive for committing the crime could have been dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany, Dr. Horst Nopens, Head of the Magdeburg Public Prosecutor’s office, said

Mourhaf Abu Qasra becomes top Syrian defense official in transitional government — TV

According to Al Watan newspaper, Abu Qasra was the commander of the military wing of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham movement

Eight people killed in Israeli strike on school in Gaza Strip

According to the TV channel Al Jazeera, the refugees were housed at a school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood

Aleppo taken by 350 militants while 30,000 gov’t troops retreated without fight — Putin

The Russian president recalled that no Russian land troops had been deployed to Syria, with Russia having only an airbase and a naval base

BRICS is approaching G20 format, Brazilian foreign minister says

According to Mauro Vieira, during Brazil's BRICS chairmanship in 2025, the country's leadership plans to organize several important high-level meetings and events, including negotiations between foreign ministers and heads of state

Kremlin mum on reports about Slovakian prime minister's plans to visit Moscow

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the Slovak prime minister intended to hold talks with Putin on December 23 amid Vladimir Zelensky's refusal to extend gas transit through Ukraine

Possible arrival of new Russian envoy before Trump’s inauguration depends on US — diplomat

"However, since he is a very prominent and experienced diplomat, I think the host country should have no doubt that he will show a high level of professionalism and his efforts will aim to at least slightly improve bilateral relations," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov noted

Oreshnik’s launch is sudden, undetectable by satellites — analyst

The range of the Oreshnik system is up to 5,500 kilometers

Russia-US dialogue on Ukraine can be conducted on different platforms — senior diplomat

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Press review: Putin outlines Russia's future goals and Tehran faces energy blackout riots

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, December 20th

Russia has confidence in its weapons, senior diplomat says

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also stressed that the recent developments had shown that the US policy of establishing a system of increasingly layered missile defenses was wrong

Slovak PM to visit Moscow for talks with Putin, Serbian president says

"Robert Fico will travel to visit Putin as a European countries leader," Aleksandar Vucic said

Russian troops liberate two communities in Donbass area, Kharkov Region over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup Center inflicts 480 casualties on Ukrainian army over past day

US defense companies capitalize the most on Ukraine conflict — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya referred to data from the SIPRI which put last year’s revenues from sales of arms by the world’s top 100 largest businesses in the industry at $632 billion