{{dayPoint.date | date : 'd MMMM yyyy'}}

{{newsPoint.title}}

{{newsPoint.title+ ' '}}

{{newsPoint.subtitle}}

One of biggest Democratic donors says Biden should step aside

US President have to to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Donald Trump at the elections, Reed Hastings said

US President Joe Biden AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

US President Joe Biden

© AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

NEW YORK, July 4. /TASS/. One of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, urged US President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

"Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous," he told The New York Times.

According to the report, Hastings was among the first donors to publicly speak about Biden, although many of them said privately that Biden should stop his campaign.

Bloomberg reported earlier that dozens of Democratic MPs are set to sign a letter, demanding that Biden withdrew from the presidential race. They fear that the 81-year-old incumbent’s continued candidacy would lead to a Republican sweep of Washington and an unchecked Donald Trump presidency, the news agency wrote.

The first televised debates before current and former presidents took place in Atlanta on Thursday. Biden and Trump were prohibited from having speech points during the debates. According to a CNN express poll, two thirds of the viewers said that Trump won the debate.

Previously, The Wall Street Journal reported that a panic sparked among the US Congressional Democrats over what they consider Biden’s unsuccessful performance at the debates. Some Dems hope to find a new candidate for the upcoming elections.

The presidential elections in the United States will take place on November 5. Trump has already secured enough delegates’ votes to be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. Biden, who runs for re-election, has secured enough Democratic votes. Their candidacies will be officially approved by their parties later this summer.

Tags

United States Joseph Biden Donald Trump

Military operation in Ukraine

Orban says he suggested that Putin consider ceasefire in Ukraine

Orban said that he had earlier made the same proposal during a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who rejected the idea

Ukrainian S-300 missile launcher wiped out with Russia’s Iskander missile system

Motor vehicles and artillery personnel were also wiped out

Transformation of Russian economy is marathon with barriers — Central Bank chief

"We therefore need to estimate forces and understand how we work with constraints," Elvira Nabiullina added

Bulgaria to propose Russia-Ukraine peace talks at NATO summit — PM

Dimitar Glavchev doubted that Bulgaria could expect a mediator’s status as both sides should be willing to accept this

Orban says he prepared his visit to Russia under veil of secrecy

His trip to Russia became public knowledge when a Hungarian government plane requested permission to enter Polish airspace

Conservative Party suffers historic defeat, results of UK Parliament elections

On Friday morning, Keir Starmer should be received by King Charles III who will instruct him to form a new government

Final consumption expenditures decline in GDP

The gross accumulation share moved up from 19.7% in the first quarter of 2023 to 21.4% of GDP in the first quarter of this year

Russian defense ministry reports losses among Russian troops during special operation

Konashenkov also said that several Russian soldiers have been taken prisoner

Kiev gives no thought to ceasefire as pretext for martial law will disappear, says Putin

"Once they have to end martial law, they will have to hold elections, as the presidential election did not take place on schedule," the Russian president went on to say

Biden to drop out of election race, to be replaced by Harris, Trump thinks

The US presidential candidate said that it will be easier to compete against Harris whom he considers "pathetic"

Program of Modi’s visit to Russia to be extensive — Kremlin

Modi will travel to Russia on an official visit on July 8-9

Improvement of Russia’s positions to push West to talks on Ukraine — UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya does not believe that the potential election of Donald Trump as the next US president will cardinally change the American policy in this area

Russia’s international reserves down $5.5 bln in June — Central Bank

Currency reserves lost $4.19 bln and totaled $418.972 bln as of the end of June

Conflict in Ukraine could be stopped if strong foundation for peace is created — Erdogan

According to the statement, the Turkish leader affirmed Ankara's intention to "continue to strive for peace"

Russia’s nuclear doctrine may become more specific over time — senior diplomat

Sergey Ryabkov noted that Russia’s approach to the issue may change if its adversaries continue the escalation

Press review: US, Russian defense chiefs touch base and new sheriff in town at NATO

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, June 27th

Intensity of provocations on Ukrainian border doesn’t decline — Belarusian military

Vladimir Kupriyanyuk said such actions not only pursue reconnaissance purposes, but also are part of attempts to get explosives and other capabilities into Belarus to support potential sabotage activities

Putin says Orban came to Moscow also as president of EU Council

Hungary will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council for the next six months

David Lammy appointed as UK Foreign Secretary, John Healy as Defense Secretary

In 2020-2021, David Lammy served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice

Georgia’s Defense Ministry regrets its joint exercise with US postponed indefinitely

The document emphasizes that the Georgian-US exercises are beneficial for both countries

UK government shift to have no bearing on dialogue with Moscow — senior official

Lord Richard Balfe also emphasized that the West will have to "come to terms with the reality," admitting that Crimea and Donbass are now Russian constituencies

Russia strikes Ukrainian military-industrial, energy sites over week — top brass

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 13,525 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past week, according to the Defense Ministry’s latest data

As US allows hitting Russian regions, Ukraine goes on mass killing of civilians — diplomat

Rodion Miroshnik mentioned how a shell fell on a section of an apartment building, completely destroying it, in the Belgorod Region and how a long-range ATACMS missile hit a crowded beach in Sevastopol on June 23 in a terrorist attack

Major powers to arrange talks between Russia, Ukraine — Hungarian PM

Meanwhile, Viktor Orban pointed out that Hungary "would like to encourage the parties" to launch talks

Enemy probes Crimean defenses by launching decoy targets — Sevastopol governor

"The enemy is actively probing the peninsula's defense system now," Mikhail Razvozhayev said

Ukraine withdraws from CIS agreement on transit

Ukrainian authorities regularly announce the withdrawal from agreements made earlier with Russia, Belarus, and within the CIS framework

Russia, Iran finalize integration of national payment systems — Iran’s Central Bank head

Bank cards of Iran’s Shetab system can be used as Amber smart cards in all ATMs across Russia

US to announce steps to enhance Ukrainian air defenses at NATO summit — official

Washington will be looking "to announce significant enhancements for Ukraine's defense capabilities," high-profile US official specified

Russia uncertain if Ukraine would reciprocate with ceasefire — Putin

The Russian president said that Moscow ultimately "faced deception again as all agreements [involving the troops withdrawal], which had been reached in Istanbul, were thrown in the trash"

Joint Armenian-US Eagle Partner drills to be held in Armenia July 15-24

The exercise will focus on stabilization tasks between conflicting parties during a peacekeeping mission

Russia reduces gasoline supplies to friendly countries by 70% in July

The Ministry of Energy believes that the current production volumes of gasoline and diesel fuel are sufficient to fully meet the demand during the high season

Five civilians killed as result of Ukraine’s attack on DPR during day

26 more were wounded

Russia’s Battlegroup East wipes out roughly 120 Ukrainian troops in past day

"During active operations, the battlegroup's units foiled enemy attempts to strengthen their positions along the front line and reinforce strongholds by rotating troops as they improved their forward edge positions," Battlegroup Spokesman said

Tires production in Russia may grow by 5% in 2024

"The annual capacity is about 70 mln units which almost fully cover the domestic market need in the car and truck tire segment," the statement reads

Press review: SCO summit ushers in new deals and zooming in on Russia-India ties

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, July 5th

Putin, Orban discuss Ukraine, resumption of broad dialogue

Russia and Hungary continue to cooperate based on the principles of pragmatism and mutual benefit in a number of areas, primarily in the energy sector

DPR sends over 80,000 tons of grain to Turkey in six months

According to experts, the grain meets phytosanitary requirements

Pezeshkian wins Iranian presidential race — electoral body

Voter turnout reached 49.8%, the election official said

Russia could resume relations with Tokyo if Japan rejects hostile policies — diplomat

According to Andrey Rudenko, "the way to the resumption of bilateral political dialogue and practical cooperation can only be opened by Japan's revision of its hostile course toward Russia, which should be supported by concrete steps"

Much-vaunted Patriots can’t even defend themselves

In the course of the special military operation, it was confirmed that Russian air defense systems have the potential to repel strikes by all types of enemy air attack capabilities

Visit to Moscow fuels confidence in Paks NPP project - Hungary’s Foreign Minister

Everything is ready for the two new units of the Paks NPP to be commissioned at the start of the next decade

Ukraine’s 2014 coup was CIA’s political mistake — Putin

The Russian president noted that the US agency had achieved its goal of changing the government but failed to see what it would evolve into

Orban says Putin rules ‘real empire’

Orban said that talking with the Russian president was "special"

Russian mortar crew destroys another Bradley IFV near Avdeyevka

Russian servicemen also destroyed a recovery detachment that came to save the vehicle’s crew, the Defense Ministry said

US-made Patriot systems failed even to protect themselves — Russian general

In the course of the special military operation, Russian air defense systems confirmed their potential to repel strikes by all types of enemy air attack capabilities, Andrey Semyonov said

Reformist Pezeshkian leads in Iran’s presidential run-off — Reuters

The country’s Election Office will publish the outcome of the run-off presidential vote in the next few hours

Biden to hold bilateral meetings, including with Zelensky, on sidelines of NATO summit

Washington will host the NATO summit on July 9-11

US official sees China-Russia ties posing long-term challenge to European security

US official said that theNATO’s summit communique would have "strong language" on China

Tankman who hijacked Ukrainian tank gets Russian citizenship

Maxim Likhachev described it as a "long-awaited document"

EU rules out official communication with Russian president, top diplomat says

Josep Borrell emphasized that the fact that Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU does not entitle it to represent the union on the international stage

Slovakia’s PM says would have joined Orban on Moscow visit — AFP

Robert Fico addressed the nation for the first time after the May 15 attack

Pink Floyd founder Waters confesses now he has more respect for Putin — Daily Telegraph

Large group of Democratic donors call on Biden to end his reelection bid — WP

The authors of the letter said that a potential second term of the former president, Republican Donald Trump, posed "profound risks" to America

Syrian presidential advisor al-Shibl dies in hospital after car crash

The driver survived and has been detained

Much is to be done to reach peace between Russia, Ukraine — Hungarian PM

The talks between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban lasted for two and a half hours and were also attended by the two countries’ foreign ministers and other members of delegations

Over 120 foreign delegations visited Russia exhibition — official

"These were guests from the Commonwealth of Independent States, Asia, the Arab world, Europe, South America, and the US," Anastasia Zvyagina said

Hamas rejects presence of foreign forces in Gaza

According to the statement, Hamas "will not tolerate any patronage or solutions imposed from outside"

Unaware of decline of its military industry US gets trapped in Ukraine — French historian

Emmanuel Todd believes that "one of Washington's goals is to prevent a rapprochement between Russia and Germany"

Russia faces unprecedented air defense challenges during special op — general

The use of factory-made and improvised unmanned aerial vehicles, which are made with special composite materials to reduce their visibility and are capable of flying at extremely low altitudes, has become unprecedented, Andrey Semyonov said

Nine airplanes routed to alternate airfields amid poor weather in Moscow Region

Specialists of the Air Transport Agency and the State Air Traffic Control Corporation intensified monitoring of air transport operations in Moscow

Russian forces slowly advance in all areas of special operation — senior officer

Major General Apty Alaudinov said Akhmat units had spent about a month in the Kharkov area

BRICS must balance expansion with continued effective cooperation — Russian diplomat

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Russia’s BRICS presidency "is focused on forming a new category of partner nations"

Russian wrestlers turn down invitations to compete at Paris Olympics — source

A total of 16 wrestlers qualified for the Olympic tournament

Pentagon says iteration of US-Georgia military exercise postponed indefinitely

According to the the US Department of Defense, the decision was due to the Georgian government’s statements about the attempts of the United States and the West "to open a second front" against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine

Voting at Iran’s runoff presidential election over election headquarters

Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian and conservative contender Saeed Jalili are vying for the presidential office

Hungarian PM leaves Moscow before rainstorm — diplomatic source

Orban held two-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow

Top Hungarian diplomat says Orban's visit to Moscow to help resolve Ukraine crisis sooner

It was a very open discussion and I think it was helpful in terms of finding a solution to this war, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said

IAEA will ultimately say who shells Zaporozhye NPP — Russian diplomat

Mikhail Ulyanov said Russia is convinced that "sooner or later" evidence will emerge, and then the organization's secretariat will have to name the culprit

Biden says is able to counter Putin, contain China

US President also said that he is the only persone, who can hold the North Atlantic Alliance together

Russian-Chinese partnership amid US pressure is beneficial to whole world — Chinese expert

Zhou Weidi recalled that in recent years, Chinese-Russian trade and economic relations have continued to develop dynamically, maintaining a positive momentum

Press review: Russia sees US behind Sevastopol attack and Serbian arms flowing to Kiev

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, 24th

London to increase spending on defense, support for NATO, Ukraine — defense secretary

Government now is totally committed to 2.5% of Defense spending, to NATO, to the nuclear deterrent and to support for Ukraine

Orban rejects EU leaders’ criticism of his visit to Moscow

Hungarian Prime Minister said that EU bureaucracy has done nothing to promote the normalization between the conflicting sides

Orban says Putin more than 100% rational person

According to Orban, Russian president is a coolheaded, "very cautious" and punctual politician

Putin unlikely to congratulate Starmer on election win — Kremlin

Keir Starmer took over as head of cabinet following the parliamentary elections held on July 4

Hungary won’t respond to EU criticism about Orban’s trip to Moscow — foreign minister

European Council President Charles Michel and top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had no EU mandate to negotiate with Russia

Russia intends to create single carbon neutrality instruments in SCO

Major efforts by Moscow are underway in this direction, Boris Titov said, adding that centers on certification and support of sustainable development standards work in the Central Bank and largest lenders

Shelling attack on disabled substation meant to prevent its restoration — activist

"Ukrainian troops hit the already ruined substation because they want to exclude the very possibility of resuming power supplies to Energodar," Alexander Malkevich said

Putin meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Kremlin

On June 2, Viktor Orban visited Kiev as the leader of the European Council presidency nation, where he met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky

Change of Prime Minister in the UK does not arouse optimism in Moscow — Kremlin

According to Dmitry Peskov, the UK Labour Party is not "inclined to any kind of flexibility and are not inclined to be creative in normalizing the British-Russian bilateral relations"

Putin says discussed principles of Europe’s future security architecture with Orban

The talks between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban lasted for two and a half hours and were also attended by the two countries’ foreign ministers and other members of delegations

SCO unites most major non-Western players — US expert

"The SCO summit in Astana is an expression not of an anti-Western bloc, but of a large and resilient neutral bloc that encompasses most major players in the non-Western world," he said

Third Patriot system arrives from Germany to Ukraine — ambassador

According to Martin Jaeger, the crew of the system had completed training in Germany

At least 27 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip — Al Jazeera

The number of fatalities in the Israeli raid on Jenin in the West Bank has risen to seven, with the Israeli army invasions currently underway

Russia urges to end Ukraine conflict, not to put it on hold — Putin

According to the Russian leader, "this should not be merely a truce or a temporary ceasefire, nor some kind of pause that the Kiev regime could use to recover losses, regroup and get rearmed"

Russian forces using drones to destroy Ukrainian army’s logistics — Ukrainian soldier

Russian troops destroy dozens of Ukrainian transport vehicles every day

Putin-Orban talks conclude after over 2.5 hours

The talks between Putin and Orban took place with the participation of delegations which included the top diplomats of both countries

Almost 70% of Chasov Yar liberated — lawmaker

There is concrete, there are concrete fortifications, as it is not a bare steppe, said Viktor Vodolatsky

Russia strikes Ukrainian military-industrial sites, oil refinery over past day — top brass

Russia’s Dnepr Battlegroup inflicted roughly 140 casualties on the Ukrainian army in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported

Serbia vows unwavering Russian support despite Western pressure — deputy PM

Aleksandar Vulin stressed that the republic will not agree to join anti-Russian sanctions

Bank of Russia sees complication of situation with cross-border payments

Elvira Nabiullina added that the business is adapting to the situation and the Central Bank is helping it in this aspect

Press review: Putin takes meetings with world leaders and Biden donors run for the hills

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, July 4th

France defeat Portugal to make it to UEFA semifinals on penalties

France will play vs Spain in Munich on July 9

Kazakhstan ready to provide venue for Armenia-Azerbaijan talks

We are ready to provide a site for peace negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, the Kazakh presidential press service said

Russian combat aircraft destroying military targets over Black Sea — governor

Mikhail Razvozhayev urged city residents and guests to remain calm, observe security measures and stay in temporary shelters or safe places

Lavrov hails Putin-Orban talks in Kremlin

The Russian president and the Hungarian prime minister held talks which lasted over two and a half hours

Labour leader Keir Starmer takes office as UK prime minister

He is the third UK prime minister during the reign of Charles III who took the throne less than two years ago

One third of all downed Ukrainian manned aircraft was destroyed by MANPADS — general

Andrey Semyonov added that crews of radar stations and anti-aircraft missile systems have been constantly adapting to new threats, improving the existing ways of countering air-borne enemy capabilities and developing new ones

Spain earns win over Germany to advance to Euro 2024 quarterfinals

Spain has advanced to the semifinals of an UEFA Euro tournament for the second time in a row

Putin congratulates Pezeshkian on his election as Iranian president — Kremlin

Putin noted that Moscow and Tehran "efficiently coordinate efforts in resolving the pressing issues of the international agenda"

Russian forces liberate Sokol village in DPR

According to the military agency, units from Battlegroup Center liberated the village and improved their tactical position