✈️The Russian government announced Saturday that an extra 6 billion rubles ($94 million) in national reserve funds would be allocated to the civil aviation industry to ensure safety and regularity of flights.

💬"The government has allocated an additional 6 billion rubles to support the air traffic management system in the face of external restrictions. The money will be disbursed from a reserve fund to support aeronautical servicing of at least a million flights," the official statement read.

▪️The money will go to the State Air Traffic Management Corporation, which is tasked with creating an economic system for air traffic management and ensuring the safety of civil aviation flights.

▪️It comes on top of 15 billion rubles allocated by the government in September, bringing the total funding in 2022 up to 21 billion rubles.

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❗️Russian MoD’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️Russian Forces performed massive missile strikes on the military control systems, military-industrial complex and the energy facilities of Ukraine that provide them with high-precision, long-range air and sea-based weapons. The aim of the strikes was achieved and all assigned targets were hit;

▪️Russian troops destroyed the radar stations of four Ukrainian S-300 missile system in the Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated up to 40 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed a Ukrainian armored combat vehicle and four other vehicles near Kupyansk;

▪️Russian troops eliminated and wounded up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and two pick-up trucks near Krasny Liman;

▪️Russian Forces eliminated more than 30 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed seven vehicles near Donetsk;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated up to 35 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed two armor carriers in the DPR;

▪️Russian troops eliminated two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the DPR;

▪️Russian troops hit 53 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions;

▪️The Russian Army hit a temporary deployment point of foreign mercenaries near Krasny Liman;

▪️Russian air defense destroyed two Ukrainian UAVs, as well as intercepted three Uragan rockets and four HIMARS rockets.

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UK Sounds the Alarm Over NHS' 'Biggest Crisis in History'

More than 70% of the British public support current industrial action by NHS nurses, an Ipsos poll has concluded.

The strikes come as more than 40,000 NHS employees left their job in the UK over the past 12 months to the end of June 2022 following a seven-year public sector pay freeze introduced under PM David Cameron.

Newly-qualified nurses earn $33,300, meaning that they are unable to pay their bills, especially amidst soaring inflation. Some reports even suggest that nurses have no other choice but to eat patients` leftover food.

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Polish Police Chief Says Ukrainians Presented Him With Combat Grenade Launchers Instead of Used Ones

Polish Police Chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk, who was recently injured after one of two grenade launchers presented to him by Ukrainian officials exploded at his headquarters, has told a Polish media outlet that the hand mortars were most likely military-grade weapons rather than used ones.

Szymczyk said that the incident took place when he attempted to move the gifts to the back of his office. He added that the moment he started to rearrange one of the grenade launchers vertically on the floor, an explosion occurred.

“The powerful blast ripped through the floor and damaged the ceiling,” the police chief pointed out.

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Iranian General Claims No Enemy Would Dare Threaten Tehran

The Islamic Republic of Iran has significantly increased its military forces, claiming that an attack on the country today is almost impossible, says a senior Iranian military official.

Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali added that it was Iran's enemies' reluctance to recognize its role in the region that made them try to harm the country.

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Lethal Injection: Chemical Execution Method Turns 40

Despite being proposed as early as the late 19th century and used by the Nazis to kill people during the first half of the 20th century, lethal injection became a legal execution method only in 1982.

Forty years ago the United States introduced a method of execution that has since become a primary method for carrying out capital punishment in the country – lethal injection. First used in Texas in 1982, lethal injection has since been used to end the lives of over 1,300 death row inmates.

What complicates the use of injections and how humane is this type of execution? Read about the history of lethal injections in our article.

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📹 “He got scared, and cried, but calmed down”: A three-year-old boy from Donetsk has almost got used to life under constant shelling.

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🇮🇳 Sputnik's video on the oppressed Dalit or "untouchable" community of more than 200 million people. Living in the most difficult conditions, Dalits have increasingly organized mass protests in recent years, demanding an end to caste inequality.

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⚽️ Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 in World Cup third-place playoff

Moscow Lambasts Moldova's Move to Revoke Licenses of Russian-Language Channels as Censorship

Moscow qualified Kishinev's decision to revoke the licenses of six Russian-language channels broadcasting in Moldova as political censorship and urged international organizations to assess the actions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

"We consider this ban an unprecedented act of political censorship, an affront to the principle of media pluralism, and a flagrant violation of the right to free access to information, to which the political leadership of the republic have regularly proclaimed their adherence," she said in a statement.

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Russian Olympic Committee Says Doping Ban Expired With No Grounds for Extension

Russia's ban on participating in major international sporting events which was imposed two years ago due to "doping violations," expired on Saturday, the head of the national Olympic Committee said.

"The two-year ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency and ruled on by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on December 17, 2020, expired today. As expected, there was no reason to extend it and there couldn't have been any. We have turned over that page," Russian Olympic Committee chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov said on social media.

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Merry Christmas: What Presents Should You Avoid Giving?

What could be better than celebrating Christmas with a gift from the heart? However, everything could be overshadowed if you give the wrong gift.

A new survey shows that there are things that are best not to give. Read our article so as not to be mistaken with your Christmas shopping these holidays.

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🥳 On December 17, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces celebrated their 63rd anniversary (video courtesy of Russia's MoD)

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📹WATCH: Russian mobilized troops continue their military preparation at a training ground in Sakhalin (video courtesy of Russia’s MoD).

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Two-Year Old Miraculously Survives in Uganda After Hippo Tries to Swallow Him

Despite its cute and clumsy appearance, hippos are among the world's deadliest land animals. These creatures are very aggressive and do not like it when someone enters their territory, and have a habit of charging boats and capsizing them.

Two-year-old Iga Paul has survived in Uganda after being swallowed by a hippo while playing near Lake Edward where his family lived.

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Global Coal Production to Hit Record 8.3Bln Tonnes in 2022 Amid Energy Crisis: IEA

World coal production is set to reach a historic high in 2022 amid the energy crisis, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) released Friday.
"Global coal production is forecast to rise by 5.4% to 8,318 mt in 2022, a new all-time high and well above the record set in 2019," the Coal 2022 report read.
The IEA also predicts that global coal production will peak in 2023, only slightly above the 2022 level before falling to 8,221 million tonnes by 2025.

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Comet Strike Might Have Brought Life to Europa

Europa is Jupiter's sixth most distant satellite. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. A new study suggests that life may exist on it.

The impact of comets and asteroids on Jupiter's natural satellite, Europa, could have transported the critical ingredients for life found on Europa's surface to its hidden ocean of liquid water. A new study showed this was possible even if the meteor didn't pierce the gas giant's icy moon shell.

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📹WATCH: Russian 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery units perform combat tasks as part of the special military operation in Ukraine (video courtesy of Russia's MoD).

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Why Zelensky's Conditions for Peace Talks are Far From Reality?

During the period of the special military operation in Ukraine, five rounds of negotiations have already taken place between Moscow and Kiev. However, they were not successful and finally came to a standstill in May.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently made several contradictory statements concerning possible peace talks with Russia.

Let’s look into why Zelensky’s conditions for talks are a far cry from reality.

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