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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📹 “You grow up much faster there”: A drafted student of the DPR told how his life has changed since the beginning of the conflict.

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⚡️North Korea tested two ballistic missiles on Sunday morning, both of them covered a distance of 500 kilometers (310 miles), Japanese State Minister of Defense Toshiro Ino said at an emergency briefing.

⚡️Japan has protested to North Korea through diplomatic channels in connection with the launches of two missiles, Japanese State Minister of Defense says

‘Ghost of Soviet Union’ Still Haunting Washington, Russian Ambassador Says

In its relations with Russia, the United States is still driven by a "Cold War" mentality and finds it hard to accept the changes on the international arena, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with Newsweek.

💬"Washington seems to need to constantly assert itself through competition with Russia. It looks as if the 'ghost' of the Soviet Union is still haunting the corridors of power in the American capital, and the ‘Сold War’ has not ended at all," Antonov said.

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🇺🇸US President Joe Biden has been roasted for making a couple of anti-Irish comments during his address to US veterans in Delaware

🗣During his speech, the President joked: "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid. I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter so, you know, I got a little Italian in me now."

▪️These words went viral on social media making users suggest that Joe Biden was repeating an anti-Irish statement as well as getting his wife’s genealogy wrong.

▪️Mary Olohan, a reporter for a US media outlet, outlined that Biden’s dig at the Irish was a ‘hate crime’.

▪️In addition, Conservative digital strategist Greg Price explained Biden’s latest embellishment, noting that "Jill Biden's father's name is Donald Jacobs," adding, "Giacoppa is apparently the Italianized version of Jill Biden's maiden name lol."

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🇦🇷President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez says he will not travel to Qatar for the final match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

💬"Like millions of compatriots, I will enjoy the World Cup Final at home. I will live this fantastic moment as before, together with my people. The best of ours will be on the field and glorious fans will be in the stands," Fernandez said on Twitter on Saturday.

⚽️On Sunday, December 18, Argentina will play against France in the finals of the FIFA World Cup.

🇫🇷French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he would travel to Qatar on Sunday to attend the World Cup final.

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🇬🇷The Greek parliament has adopted the 2023 budget, which will include defense spending worth 5.65 billion euros ($5.9 billion), Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said.

💬"This [defense] budget will change from 6.39 billion euros in 2022 to 5.65 billion euros in total for defense in 2023," Panagiotopoulos said on Saturday, during the discussion in parliament of the state budget for fiscal year 2023, as broadcast by Greece’s defense ministry.

According to Greek media reports, the budget was adopted by the votes of the ruling New Democracy party, while all opposition parties voted against it.

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❄️Record snowdrifts have grown in Moscow - from 33 to 38 centimeters, Phobos (Russia's weather investigation center) told Sputnik

📌The leading specialist of the weather center said that there have never been such snowdrifts on this day in the city's meteorological history, according to the statistics.

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