Malicious Intent Suspected as Finnish Church Burns to Ashes on Christmas

A preliminary investigation has been launched into a fire that completely destroyed a historic wooden church in the municipality of Rautjarvi in the region of South Karelia in southern Finland.

The authorities said they had “reason to suspect” that the blaze that razed the Rautjärvi church was started intentionally, which is why the incident is being looked into as a case of aggravated property damage.

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❗️A number of North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border, fighter jets and attack helicopters have been mustered to intercept them, a South Korean media outlet reports.

⚡️North Korean drones have penetrated into the territory of South Korea up to the outskirts of Seoul, a South Korean media outlet reports, citing sources.

The South Korean capital is located very close to the border - about 30 km from the presidential palace.

🔭Shortly before people across the world prepared to celebrate Christmas, the European Space Agency has released a spectacular image of the snowy Martian surface that looked like a veritable “winter wonderland.”

▪️The image in question, taken by the space agency’s Mars Express spacecraft, shows an area of Mars in the Ultimi Scopuli region near the planet’s southern pole.

▪️While this scene may indeed look like a winter landscape, the picture was actually taken on May 19 this year, when it was spring in Mars’ southern hemisphere and the ice there was actually “starting to retreat”, as ESA points out.

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🇧🇷Brazil's incoming Justice Minister Flavio Dino has pledged to reevaluate the procedures for the January 1 inauguration of President­­-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after an explosive device near capital Brasilia’s international airport was deactivated Saturday.

💬“President Lula's inauguration will take place in peace. All procedures will be reassessed, with a view to strengthening security. And the fight against terrorists and rioters will be intensified. Democracy has won and will win,” Dino tweeted on Monday.

▪️In a separate tweet, he said that he would propose the creation of "special groups to combat terrorism and irresponsible weaponry."

▪️This came after Police Chief Robson Candido told reporters about the arrest of a man suspected of planting and possessing explosive devices late last week.

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💃 Russian synchronized swimming champion Kristina Makushenko made one of the most original versions of Wednesday's viral dance from the hit Netflix series.

It took four hours to shoot the video underwater. Her effort was definitely not in vain.

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Medvedev Says Russia Will Do Everything to Prevent Third World War, Nuclear Disaster

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that Russia would do everything to prevent a third World War or nuclear disaster, and that global tensions were likely to continue "indefinitely" until Russia receives necessary security guarantees.

"If we do not receive them [suitable security guarantees], the tension will persist indefinitely. The world will continue to teeter on the brink of a third World War and a nuclear disaster. We will do everything to prevent them," Medvedev said in his article for Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

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📹 A South Korean news outlet has published footage showing the fragments of the crashed South Korean KA-1 attack aircraft.

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

▪️ In the Kharkov region, up to 20 Ukrainian soldiers, an infantry fighting vehicle and two vehicles were destroyed as a result of a concentrated fire strike on the accumulation of troops and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

▪️ In the DPR, Russian artillery defeated the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

▪️ In the LPR, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group and a mortar crew were destroyed. The losses of the enemy in this direction amounted to more than 30 troops, two armored combat vehicles and two pickup trucks;

▪️ As a result of a strike on the command post of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the city of Kramatorsk, DPR, more than 35 Ukrainian troops, including five senior officers, were killed. The total losses of the enemy per day in this direction amounted to up to 100 military personnel, four infantry fighting vehicles and eight vehicles;

▪️ In the DPR, Russian ground forces and artillery defeated Ukrainian units. More than 40 Ukrainian troops, two armored combat vehicles and three pickup trucks were destroyed.

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▪️Russian missile forces and artillery hit 63 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 79 districts. In the DPR, the points of temporary deployment of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as foreign mercenaries, were hit;

▪️ During the counter-battery fight in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Zaporozhye region, two Ukrainian Grad rocket launchers were destroyed;

▪️Three Ukrainian D-30 howitzers were destroyed in the areas of the settlements of Torskoe, Vodyane and Maryinka in the DPR;

▪️In the area of the settlement of Georgievka in the Donetsk People's Republic, an M777 artillery system manufactured by the United States was destroyed, from which residential areas of the city of Donetsk were being shelled;

▪️Near the city of Kramatorsk, DPR, a Ukrainian weapons repair and restoration center was destroyed, which contained two US-made HIMARS rocket launchers, two Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, five D-30 howitzers and three units of special vehicles;

▪️Air defense systems destroyed seven Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in a day.

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📹 Russian paratroopers' training at a firing ground in the rear area of special military operation (video by Russian MoD)

Two companies of paratroopers practice their tactics to overcome mines and repel fire attacks.

Paratroopers carry out tasks with the fire support of combat vehicles and AGS-30 anti-personnel automatic grenade launcher system.

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🌍 🇺🇸 Kwanzaa: A Feast Celebrating African Roots, Heritage and Culture

On December 26 each year, some African-Americans begin to put new lights up and decorate their homes in celebration of the seven-day Kwanzaa holiday, one day after the world celebrates Christmas.

What is known about the holiday created 56 years ago and celebrated, according to estimations, by about 12 million Americans?

👉🏽 Read the full story

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What Are Gas Prices in Russia Right Now?

International oil prices increased shortly after the US and its allies slapped packages of sanctions on Moscow over its ongoing special operation in Ukraine. The surge was only natural, given that Russia retains its position as one of the world’s key energy suppliers.

Gasoline prices in the US and beyond remain unpredictable despite recent minor falls in pump prices, especially now that Russia, one of the world's main energy suppliers, has signaled its readiness to cut oil production in response to the EU’s price cap.

But what about gasoline prices in Russia itself? Let’s take a look.

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Woman Who Stabbed Date During Sex 'to Avenge Soleimani' Pleads Not Guilty

“The US killed Soleimani. Lots of blood spilled. So, I feel like, it's fair that American blood be spilled”: Nika Nikoubin told police that she had stabbed her date in order to avenge the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in 2020.

The woman pleaded not guilty to stabbing her hookup date during sex, media reported

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Why Do GOP-Run States Bus Migrants to Democratic-Run Ones?

The US remains in the grip of a migration crisis, with the Biden administration unsuccessfully trying to tackle ever-increasing southern border arrivals in an attempt to rectify the situation.

Three busloads of migrants from Texas were dropped off outside the Washington DC home of US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Christmas Eve in an apparent escalation between the Biden administration and the governors of southern GOP states, such as Arizona and Florida, over White House migration policy.

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📹 Footage of the landing of migrants at the residence of Kamala Harris on December 25.

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⚡️ China will lift quarantine measures for international arrivals from January 8, health authorities announced on Monday after nearly three years of strict border restrictions due to the pandemic.

The National Health Commission announced the easing of measures against COVID-19 in an online notice, noting that travelers would only need a negative PCR test to enter China.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Predicts Downfall of Western Economic Leadership

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that the West was bound to lose its leading role in the global economic hierarchy.

"The revision of risks and threats stemming from such dependence [on western leadership] is progressing rapidly. I assure you that we will soon see the West's capacity to steer the global economy shrink drastically," he told Russian media.

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📊 Sputnik has prepared an infographic comparing the US defense budget with nine of its closest competitors.

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