Can't Touch This: Ronaldo Barely Escapes Collision With Saudi Pitch Invader

Portuguese football ace Cristiano Ronaldo has managed to avoid getting injured during a suprise encounter with a pitch invader this week.

According to media reports, the incident in question occurred on Friday as CR7 was preparing for a Saudi Pro League match between his team Al-Nassr and Al-Taawoun.

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Russia's Gazprom Sees Very Big Prospects on Asian Gas Market, CEO Says

Russian energy giant Gazprom is looking to diversify its gas exports and sees the Asian market as particularly promising, its chief executive said in a TV show aired Sunday.

"We all know that the Asian market is the world’s most dynamic market right now. Its demand is growing and Russia sees very big prospects for Russian gas on this market," Alexey Miller said.

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🇩🇪 🔽 Germany has lost 100 billion euros (over $106.7 billion) amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine and the related increase in electricity costs, Marcel Fratzscher, President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), said.

💬 "The Ukraine war and the associated explosion in energy costs cost Germany almost 2.5 percent, or 100 billion euros in economic output in 2022," Fratzscher told the Rheinische Post newspaper, adding that these costs will continue to increase in the coming years.

▪️ Fratzscher said that Germany has been more affected by the crisis economically because it was more dependent on Russian energy, has a high proportion of energy-intensive industry and "is extremely dependent on exports and global supply chains."

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Missiles Launched by Pyongyang on Monday Fall Outside of Japan’s Exclusive Zone

North Korea launched several missiles on Monday, all of them landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japanese media report.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported earlier on Monday, citing the South Korean military, that Pyongyang test-fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.

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Talks on Extending Grain Deal to Enter Active Phase in Coming Days

Active negotiations on extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative, commonly known as the grain deal, are expected to start in the coming days, a source familiar with the matter told Sputnik.

"I think that the negotiations will enter an active phase already starting this week," the source said, adding that the talks will not be easy, "but work is underway."

Last fall, the grain deal, originally scheduled to expire on November 19, was renewed for another 120 days and is now set to expire on March 18, if not renewed again.

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🇺🇳 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the latest missile test-firing carried out by North Korea and urges Pyongyang to cease "provocative actions," Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said.

🗣 "The Secretary-General strongly condemns the launch of yet another ballistic missile of intercontinental range by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea," Dujarric said in a Sunday statement, adding that Guterres "reiterates his calls on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to immediately desist from taking any further provocative actions."

▪️ The Secretary General also called on Pyongyang to resume peace negotiations with the aim of achieving a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

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📹 Russia’s Msta-S self-propelled artillery guns and D-20 howitzers in combat as part of the special military operation (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

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Finnish MPs Getting Ready to Enter NATO Alone Despite Swedish PM's Warning

It will be bad for several parties if Finland were to be admitted to NATO alone, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said, warning against leaving Sweden out.

Kristersson also argued that the military cooperation between Sweden and Finland will be complicated if only the latter becomes part of the alliance.

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🇨🇳🇷🇺 Chinese car manufacturers had a 30% share of the Russian market last year following the exodus of the Western brands because of the sanctions. This year the projection is at 50%.

🗒 Coming up is my story and a video from the assembly line of AAT - Moscow's "Alpha Automotive Technologies" plant. The AAT has been working in partnership with Renault Russia for more than 15 years, and after Renault left the Russian market, it switched to making parts for locally-assembled Chinese brand "Haval"

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⚡️🇵🇰🇦🇫 Gunfire reported between Pakistan's security agencies and Afghan Taliban* on the Torkham border crossing

The reason for confrontation remains unknown at this moment.

*under UN sanctions for terrorism

📹 Have a look at Russia’s pavilion at the international arms exhibition IDEX-2023 that just kicked off in Abu Dhabi

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UN Security Council to Discuss Pyongyang's Missile Launches on Monday

An urgent meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) will be held later on Monday to discuss the latest missile tests carried out by North Korea.

According to the UNSC schedule, the meeting will be held at 15:00 (20:00 GMT on Monday).

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❗️ An air alert has been declared throughout Ukraine

The alert was also announced in Kiev, where "important partners" are expected this morning.

⚡️Ukrainian media reports allege US President Joe Biden arrived in Kiev for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky

❗️ Key statements made by Kremlin spokesman Peskov at a daily press briefing:

▪️ The Kremlin responded to the statements of Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who said that he would seek "the demilitarization of Transnistria."

▪️ Peskov said that Kishinev is slipping into anti-Russian hysteria and recommended "Moldovan counterparts to be more careful."

▪️ The Kremlin did not rule out that President Putin will meet with Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who will be visiting Moscow.

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❗️Confirmed: US President Joe Biden has made an unannounced visit to Kiev