Russia charts new course for BRICS nations as presidency begins

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Grand plans have been outlined for the BRICS emerging market nations as Russia begins its presidency of the group on Wednesday.Transforming the BRICS assembly of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa into "a full-scale mechanism of strategic interaction on key issues of global policy and economics" is a "top...

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Russia extends winter package of gas prices for Ukraine

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Russia is again offering Ukraine a $100 discount per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, extending the so-called winter package into the second quarter.Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported this proposal. The gas price for Ukraine with the discount from April 1 will be $250 per 1,000 cubic meters, an almost 25% decrease...

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Both Russia's president, government focused on anti-crisis plan — Kremlin spokesman

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not afraid of high ratings of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said on Tuesday after a roundtable discussion at TASS reviewing Putin’s 15 years in power."The president has said it more than once that he is not in the habit of being preoccupied with...

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Russia completes its Gonets orbital group — company president

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The launch of three Gonetsk satellites from the Plesetsk space center Tuesday has completed the formation of the orbital group of the eponymous satellite communications system, Gonets Satellite System company president Dmitry Bakanov said Tuesday."After the launch of this block of three Gonets-M space apparatuses,...

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Russia's Aeroflot plans to obtain 50 new Sukhoi SuperJets by 2016

NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 31. /TASS/. Russia’s biggest air company, Aeroflot, plans to enlarge its fleet with 50 new Sukhoi SuperJet 100 airliners by 2016, Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev said on Tuesday at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin."As of today, we have 18 state-of-the-art Sukhoi SuperJet planes and we hope to receive 50 more...

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Activists decry Russians' increasing sympathy for Stalin

“This is a very troubling signal. And it is a testimony not even of the citizens’ attitude to Stalin, but rather of the relations between the state and a person. Stalin is perceived as a symbol of a powerful and potent state. The fact that Stalin and his policies were inhumane becomes of secondary importance,” the head of Memorial, Arseny...

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Putin's giant pike was real — Kremlin spokesman

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The 20-kilogram pike that Russian President Vladimir Putin hooked during a fishing trip in Siberia in 2013 was a fair catch, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday."The pike was real, no matter what you say," Peskov told reporters during a roundtable discussion at TASS, reviewing Putin's 15 years in power.The...

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Russian army to have more than 350,000 contract servicemen by year end

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. More than 350,000 contract servicemen will serve in the Russian army by the end of the current year, but the Defense Ministry is not going to abandon the conscription, head of the General Staff’s main mobilization organization department Lieutenant General Vasily Tonkoshkurov told reporters on Tuesday."It is planned...

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Russia’s losses from Crimea integration estimated at $150-200 bln — ex-finance minister

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The Russian economy’s total losses from Crimea’s reintegration are estimated at $150-200 billion over 3-4 years, ex-Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin said on Tuesday.Kudrin made his statement at a round table discussion held at TASS news agency on the fifteenth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's election as Russia's president."During...

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​Russell Brand blames ‘mental illness plague’ for Germanwings crash

Brand has spoken out against the media’s “stigmatizing” coverage of Andreas Lubitz, the 27-year-old co-pilot who is alleged to have deliberately crashed flight 4U 9525 into the French Alps. In the latest episode of his YouTube show, The Trews, he attacks FOX News’ coverage of the crash, branding the channel a “propaganda machine” that fuels...

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Russia needs to hop off the 'oil needle' and develop small business — TASS research center

MOSCOW, March 31 / TASS / Russia soon needs to focus on getting rid of its oil dependency and develop small business and improve living standards, said Semyon Sorkin, Chief of the TASS Research Center during the round table discussion at TASS dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia on Tuesday."Over...

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Kremlin refutes allegations of Russian troops in Ukraine

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Moscow "strongly refutes" allegations about the presence of Russian Armed Forces units in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday."We are absolutely not ashamed to talk about it, and we openly talk about it," Peskov said at the roundtable at TASS devoted to President Vladimir Putin’s 15 years in...

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Saving face: Spanish hospital performs world's most complex ‘face transplant’

Physicians in Barcelona performed what they call a 'face transplant', although no information about a donor was made available.The 27-hour-long surgery was performed at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital back in February, the hospital said in a statement.It was conducted by a huge team of 45, which included physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists...

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​‘Extradite Obama to Israel, lock the b*stard up’: UKIP candidate resigns over FB post

Jeremy Zeid, who was standing as MP for Hendon in northwest London, said Obama should be locked up like a Nazi war criminal. His comments were in response to news the US government had declassified documents revealing the existence of Israel’s nuclear program, which is officially secret.Zeid is a Jewish decorator from Kenton in northwest...

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​Visa to pay $60mn guarantee as it misses April 1 data deadline

Visa will pay roughly $200-300 million a year, or about $60 million per quarter, says RBC citing sources close to the Central Bank of Russia.READ MORE: Visa, MasterCard to pay $3bn to stay in Russia - Morgan Stanley Visa apparently won’t manage to meet the target date, so it will continue to use capacity in the US after April 1, said the...

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Putin’s address at UN General Assembly’s anniversary session quite likely — Kremlin

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The address of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the anniversary session of the UN General Assembly is highly probable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday."It is quite likely that such a trip and an address will take place," Peskov said, adding that no final decisions on this issue have been taken...

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Kazakhstan should seek access to major regional markets — Nazarbayev

ASTANA, March 31. /TASS/. Kazakhstan needs to seek access for domestic manufacturers to major regional markets, including the Eurasian Economic Union, incumbent Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said in his election program."In the course of Kazakhstan’s integration policy over the previous years in general the most important tools...

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Diplomat says Belarus-US relations 'normalizing'

MINSK, March 31. /TASS/. Relations between Belarus and the United States have improved thanks to mutual effort and are on course for a "certain normalization", Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Guryanov said on Tuesday.Full-fledged partnership had always been a goal in dealings with Washington, Guryanov told a televised question-and-answer...

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Istanbul prosecutor taken hostage in courthouse by leftist activist

Savvier Mehmet selim kiraz I rehin aldik http://ift.tt/1I07nyT — aysekosan123@gmail.c (@aysekosan123) March 31, 2015 http://ift.tt/1I07nyV — aysekosan123@gmail.c (@aysekosan123) March 31, 2015 Special police forces entered İstanbul courthouse for a possible operation to rescue prosecutor held hostage byDHKP/C http://ift.tt/1I07nyX — Abdullah...

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Ukraine’s military prosecutors accuse National Guard of $217,000 combat helicopter fraud

KIEV, March 31. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Main Military Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday it had launched a criminal probe against the country’s National Guard and an exporter company over the illegal sale of two Mi-24R combat helicopters at considerably understated prices."The crime was exposed by investigators of the Main Military Prosecutor’s...

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Siberian farmer fined $188 for emptying dung cart near bank

NOVOSIBIRSK, March 31. /TASS/. A district court in Novosibirsk, Siberia's largest city, fined a local farmer $188 on Tuesday for emptying a dung cart in front of a Sberbank branch office in February as a protest against the bank's credit policy.Alexander Baksheyev stuck gallows-shaped posters reading "Bankers are people's enemies" and "Down...

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Controversial opera canceled in Siberian theater after scandal

NOVOSIBIRSK, March 31. /TASS/. New Director of the Novosibirsk State Theater of Opera and Ballet Vladimir Kekhman has canceled the controversial Tannhauser production, the theater’s press service told TASS on Tuesday.The Tannhauser opera was staged at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater in December 2014. The production stirred heated...

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Spy services in ‘tech arms race’ against ‘dark side of globalization’ – MI6 chief

Speaking at his first public engagement since taking the helm of the security agency last year, Alex Younger said the country was facing threats from agents who were “unconstrained by the ethics of law.” Younger told a privately invited audience in London that traditional modes of spying were increasingly becoming interspersed with “technological...

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Putin to head to US for major UN event – report

Kommersant Daily quoted sources “close to the presidential administration” as saying that Putin’s trip to the United States was already in the preparatory stage. The newspaper also claimed that a source in the United Nations’ secretariat confirmed this.However, all the sources noted that Putin’s plans would become clear only in early August....

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‘PRESS logo makes you target’: Killing journalists should be war crime, AP chief says

The AP president and CEO, Gary Pruitt, pointed to the increasingly upside down nature of conflict coverage, wherein reporters used to be seen as impartial civilians covering the fighting, but have since been counted as full participants, targeted for their work. An updated legal framework should reflect this, according to Pruitt."It used...

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Test launch of Russia's new RS-26 ballistic missile successful — designer

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The test launch of Russia's solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile RS-26 in mid-March was successful, a senior official at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology told TASS on Tuesday."Yes, the launch was successful," said Vladimir Georgiyevsky, an assistant of the general constructo...

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Russia insists on take-or-pay term for gas supplies to Ukraine

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russia insists on retuning to take-or-pay term for supplying Russian gas to Ukraine, despite the extension of winter package conditions, a source close to negotiations told TASS Tuesday.Gas supplies to Ukraine in the second quarter should be implemented in accordance with the currently effective contract between...

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Russia needs serious reform, economic growth program — ex-finance minister

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russia needs a serious program on new reforms and economic growth rates, former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin said on Tuesday.The ex-finance minister spoke at a roundtable discussion devoted to 15 years since Vladimir Putin was elected as Russia’s president."Unfortunately, during the current period of Putin’s presidency,...

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Russian strategic missile force drills involve over 3500 troops

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. More than 3,500 troops and 300 equipment units are involved in maneuvers of the Orenburg missile formation, spokesman for the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) Colonel Igor Yegorov told TASS on Tuesday."In accordance with the plan of the Strategic Missile Forces’ training in the period from March 31 to April...

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Russian airborne force unit to get new combat gear for Arctic mission

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Paratroopers of the Airborne Forces formation in Ivanovo (Central Russia) will get new combat garments for the Far North and transpolar missions, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman for the VDV Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Meshkov said on Tuesday."The new outfit is to ensure comfortable conditions for the body in the...

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Russia's participation largely contributes to Paris Air Show popularity — chief executive

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The international Paris Air Show at Le Bourget largely owes its popularity to Russia’s participation, one of the world leaders in aircraft industry, the show’s chief executive and chairman Emeric d'Arcimoles said Tuesday."Russia is a traditional contributor to the Paris Air Show, and its participation largely contributes...

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Russian lawmaker criticises US for hampering formation of pan-European space

YEREVAN, March 31. /TASS/. Forming a pan-European space along the West-East line is hampered by Washington’s pressure, Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin said on Tuesday."US and Brussels themselves drive Russia and its allies to build a new cooperation axis along the North-South line," Naryshkin said."We see that Washington’s pressure...

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Australia’s expanded sanctions against Russia come into force

SYDNEY, March 31. /TASS/. Australia’s expanded sanctions against Russia, first announced on September 1, 2014, came into effect on Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said.The sanctions include restrictions on export and import of arms and related materiel, export to Russia of certain items for use in petroleum exploration...

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Ukraine's Donetsk republic accuses Kiev forces of truce breaches over past 24 hours

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military shelled populated areas on the territory controlled by the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) 19 times over the past twenty-four hours, the DPR Defense Ministry said on Tuesday."Overall, 19 instances of shelling by the Ukrainian military involving tanks, air defense weapons, mortars and small...

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Shots fired in Virginia hospital during prisoner escape - reports

The incident happened in Invoa Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, Fairfax County Police spokesperson Ellen Pittman told CBS news.She confirmed shots had been fired, but it was unclear who fired them or if anyone in the hospital was injured.Trailer w addl equipment joins police @InovaHealth Fairfax Hosp that's locked down: "Active...

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US oil production growth at record 100-yr high in 2014

This is the sixth consecutive year that the US, with the help of horizontal drilling and fracking, has increased crude production.Surges in output hailed from fracking states such as North Dakota, Texas, and New Mexico, the EIA’s report, published on Monday, said. The US shale revolution has made the US a net exporter and not an importer...

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Media: heads of Russian state-owned companies no longer obliged to disclose financial data

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree which excludes 23 top managers of state-owned companies and members of their families from the list of those who are obliged to disclose income information to the media, Kommersant newspaper citing a copy of the decree reported Tuesday.Now only heads, their...

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Third of Ukraine’s GDP left in self-proclaimed republics — interior minister

KIEV, March 31. /TASS/. A third of Ukraine’s GDP has remained on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), Ukrainian Interior Ministry Arsen Avakov said on Tuesday."It is difficult to speak about reforms when 30% of GDP has been left on the territories [of the self-proclaimed republics]. It...

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Economic analogue of USSR takes real shape

Under the conditions of low oil prices, the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union face serious economic problems. The population of the Eurasian Economic Union will increase by 50 percent as compared to the population of Russia. The dollar should not exist for us when we live within our own count...

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Massive power cut has struck across Turkey

A widespread power shortage has been confirmed in 23 Turkish provinces, including Ankara and Istanbul. The subway system is at a standstill and flights across the country have also suffered setbacks.Turkey’s Anadolu agency reports that the outages struck around 10:36am Turkish time, according to officials. Eleven out of 16 flight radar receivers...

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‘Emergency alert’ sparks panic among TV viewers nationwide

A test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) began shortly before noon on Monday and was seen by millions of television viewers in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, DC, Infowars reported.READ MORE: March to martial law? Undercover Special...

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Russia FM: situation in Yemen should not escalate into conflict between Arabs and Iran

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Moscow cannot allow for the situation in Yemen to turn into an open conflict between the Arabs and Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday."It should not be allowed to deteriorate into a Sunni-Shia standoff," Lavrov said. "We have been warning about the serious threat of such a split inside...

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Explosive device detonated at railway station in Ukraine’s Kharkiv

KIEV, March 31. /TASS/. An explosive device has detonated in Ukraine’s Khrakiv at the Osnova railway station, press secretary of the Kharkiv prosecutor Vita Dubovik told journalists on Tuesday."Around 03:00am Moscow time on March 31, an explosive device detonated under a moving train at the Osnova railway station in Kharkiv. Five meters...

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Evidence of torture in east Ukraine presented to Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly

HANOI, March 31. /TASS/. Video footage and printed matter in English giving evidence of violence against civilians of Ukraine’s southeast, including torture, have been presented at the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam.The documents were prepared and presented by the Russian parliamentary delegation. "The world...

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Lavrov: Chances to reach Iran nuclear deal ‘pretty good’

Lavrov interrupted his participation in the talks in in Switzerland's Lausanne on Monday for a meeting with a delegation from Vanuatu, a small Pacific nation recently devastated by a cyclone.Later on Tuesday he is to return to the negotiations, which are in a make-or-break phase.The chances of a breakthrough in the talks are high, but success...

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Greece PM says his Moscow visit will lay new basis for Russian-Greek ties

ATHENS, March 31. /TASS/. The visit to Moscow due on April 8 is expected to lay the new foundation for the Russian-Greek relations, Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman on Tuesday."This is a possibility for their true reset and for giving a new impetus...

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Launching New Development Bank priority for BRICS — Brazilian diplomat

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 31. /TASS/. Launching the New Development Bank (NDB) and creating a reserve currency pool will be one of the top priorities for the BRICS countries during Russia’s presidency in the organization, Brazil’s sous-sherpa at BRICS, Director of Regional Mechanisms of the Foreign Ministry of Brazil Flavio Damico told TASS...

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Japan extends North Korea sanctions as abduction investigation stalls

TOKYO, March 31. /TASS/. Japan has extended for two years unilateral sanctions against North Korea expiring on April 13, citing no progress in the investigation into abductions of Japanese nationals, the Japanese government reports on Tuesday.The sanctions include a ban on trade with Pyongyang as well entry ban for North Korean ships into...

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Red alert: Beijing partially bans traffic on heavy pollution days

Four types of pollution alerts, blue, yellow, orange and red, will be issued on ‘heavy pollution’ days, according to Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau. The term will be applied if the Air Quality Index tops 200. Orange and red alerts are to be announced 24 hours before these heavily polluted days, Yao Hui, deputy head of the bureau,...

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