The US Senate has confirmed army veteran and Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth as the next secretary of defense on Friday. Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in the chamber and cast the tie-breaking vote, sealing Hegseth’s appointment. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Mitch McConnell broke ranks and joined …
Read More »Two confirmed dead in Russian train crash
At least two people are confirmed to have died in a train crash in Russia’s northern Komi Republic on Wednesday, Russian Railways has said. The train was carrying 215 people from the city of Vorkuta above the Arctic circle to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk when it derailed. Nine …
Read More »Death confirmed in mall blaze near Moscow
At least one person died on Friday in a major blaze at a shopping mall just outside Moscow, according to a top firefighting official. The inferno spread over some 7,000 square meters before rescuers managed to contain it, preventing damage to nearby buildings. The fire broke out at the retailer …
Read More »US should pay compensation if Covid-19 claim confirmed – Russia
The US may owe the world huge compensation for the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian State Duma, said on Wednesday. He cited remarks made by the chair of The Lancet commission on the disease, who suggested the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have originated …
Read More »Gas cut-off date for Finland confirmed
Natural gas supplies to Finland will be halted starting this Saturday, Russian company Gazprom Export said on Friday, confirming earlier reports by Finnish state-owned energy group Gasum. “As of the end of the working day on May 20 (the payment deadline stipulated by the contract), Gazprom Export did not receive …
Read More »Сase of rare disease confirmed in England
A rare case of monkeypox has been confirmed in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Saturday. The agency emphasized that monkeypox is a rare viral infection that doesn’t spread easily between people. For most, it is a mild disease that disappears within a few weeks but some …
Read More »Russia’s top banker confirmed
The Russian State Duma voted on Thursday to extend Elvira Nabiullina’s term as the governor of the country’s central bank for another five years. On March 18, President Vladimir Putin submitted a proposal to the lower house of the Federal Assembly to nominate Nabiullina to serve another term. Her current …
Read More »Ukraine World Cup playoff decision confirmed
Ukraine and Scotland will meet in their rescheduled World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal on June 1, UEFA has confirmed, with the winners facing Wales four days later. The initial match between Ukraine and Scotland had been scheduled for March 24 but was postponed due to the conflict with Russia. There …
Read More »Children’s deaths confirmed following US raid in Syria
At least six children have been killed and one seriously injured in the Syrian village of Atmeh, where, as US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi was “taken off the battlefield.” “UNICEF confirms that at least six children were …
Read More »Largest ever lightning bolt confirmed
A lightning flash that occurred in April 2020 has been confirmed as the world’s greatest in length, beating the record of 440.6 miles (709 km) set in 2018. The bolt extended across the US states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The record-breaking bolt, measuring 477.2 miles (768 km) was confirmed …
Read More »