🚀 Many countries are interested in flying their astronauts on Russia’s Soyuz, however, it is too premature to talk about any advancement in ongoing talks, Roscosmos Human Space Flight Programs Executive Director Sergei Krikalev told Sputnik.

💬"There is interest in participating in flights," Krikalev said. "In fact, the negotiations are ongoing with many countries. There have been talks with India, there were conversations with Mongolia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and others. Well, in short, all this is still a conversation at a preliminary level. That is, it is still too early to talk about some kind of advancement."

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⚡️ Moscow 'considering all options' to establish reasons for terrorist attacks on Nord Stream pipelines - Russian Foreign Ministry to Sputnik

🇮🇷 The West, having imposed sanctions against Tehran and Moscow, suffered from these sanctions itself and faced an energy crisis, Iranian deputy energy minister Ahmad Asadzadeh told Sputnik on Thursday.

💬 "Now the world needs gas and oil. It would be good to treat this topic carefully, to take a transparent position. Sanctions against Iran and Russia are not good for the West, it will suffer from them. Today there is a gas crisis in Europe, there are problems. The same is true for oil," the minister said.

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⛪ 🇸🇪 Faced with ballooning energy costs and unable to pay for heating bills, the Church of Sweden is closing down its houses of worship this winter.

▪️ So far, there is no aggregate figure on how many churches will be completely closed across the country. The pastorates and the congregations are self-determining and there have been no orders from the dioceses. However, it is absolutely clear that many will resort to the most drastic solution.

▪️ Among others, Skara pastorate has decided to completely close 11 of its 16 churches over the winter due to exorbitant electricity prices.

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❗️ Russia decides to allocate $1.5 billion loan to Belarus for import substitution, agreement signed or to be signed soon - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk to Sputnik

📹 Russia's MoD has published footage depicting mobilized personnel attending combat training in Leningrad region.

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🌐The BRICS will strengthen amid new political conditions, remaining one of the principal instruments of the global economy, Russian Ambassador to Brazil Aleksei Labetskiy said.

👉The Ambassador added that BRICS is a settled format of international cooperation. The organization is admired by both separate countries and other international bodies and has a constantly expanding agenda.

🤝The BRICS unites Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa. Argentina and Iran, among many other countries, are willing to join the organization.

🇶🇦 🇨🇿 Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, has interrupted his visit to the Czech Republic and left the country ahead of schedule, not having been there for a whole day out of the planned three.

▪️ He managed to negotiate with President Zeman and met with the Prime Minister of the Republic, Petr Fiala.

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❗️Ex-policeman reportedly kills at least 32 in shooting attack on children's center in Thailand

📹 Footage allegedly from the scene where an ex-cop reportedly shot at least 32 people.

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❗️ The EU adopts its eighth package of sanctions against Russia.

▪️ New EU sanctions against Russia expand the ban on imports and exports of goods, including steel products, machinery, chemicals, plastics, and cigarettes.

▪️EU sanctions provide for a ban on the sea transportation of oil from Russia at a price above the established ceiling from December, while petroleum products are banned from February.

▪️The EU sanctions extend the ban on the import and export of goods, including steel products, machinery, chemicals, plastics and cigarettes, and also provide punishment for participants in schemes to circumvent sanctions.

▪️The new package of EU sanctions introduces a ban on the maintenance of crypto wallets of citizens and residents of Russia.

▪️The package also includes a ban on EU citizens holding senior positions in a number of Russian state-owned companies.

▪️The EU has imposed a ban on the provision of IT, engineering and legal services to Russia.

▪️EU sanctions against Russia provide punishment for those who circumvent them.

📹 Russia’s MoD published footage showing the Western Military District’s air defence units.

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❗️ Kiev decided on the "impossibility of negotiations" with President Putin at the behest of the West - Russian Foreign Ministry