Russian team continues to lead medal count at BRICS Games after third day of competition

On Saturday, Russian athletes won 38 gold, 28 silver, and 16 bronze medals. In total, the Russian national team has won 78 gold, 52 silver, and 30 bronze medals.

The Belarusian athletes are in second place, with 13 gold, 26 silver, and 28 bronze medals.

Meanwhile, the Chinese team is in third place, having 11 gold, 9 silver, and 6 bronze medals.

The fifth BRICS Games, which began earlier this week in Kazan, will run until June 24. The event brings together some 5,000 athletes from over 90 countries to compete for 387 medals.

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💬 Trump promised he would deal with the “never-ending” multi-billion dollar payments to Ukraine if he wins the election:

"I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that's ever lived. Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion... It never ends. I will have that settled prior to taking the White House as president-elect," he said.

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US tried to provoke China into attacking Taiwan, Xi reportedly told von der Leyen

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about attempts by Washington to provoke Beijing into attacking Taiwan, the Financial Times reported.

China’s president delivered the cautionary message in April 2023 both to von der Leyen and to officials in his own country, according to insiders.

The gist of Xi’s warning was reportedly that the Biden administration was trying to goad the People's Republic of China (PRC) into invading Taiwan, but the Chinese leader would not be taken in that easily.

The FT report comes amid heightened US-China tensions. Beijing has referred to the Taiwan issue as a "red line" that must not be crossed in its relations with Washington. China has also urged the US not to send wrong signals to Taiwanese separatists.

However, while White House officials make public claims about continuing to support the one China policy, in effect they have been stoking tensions by embarking upon massive joint drills in the region and funneling weapons packages to Taiwan.

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◾️ Ex-CIA analyst weighs in on who in Ukraine could negotiate with Russia

◾️ Why did Colombia’s president refuse to participate in the Swiss-hosted summit on Ukraine?

◾️ US tried to provoke China into attacking Taiwan, Xi reportedly warned von der Leyen

◾️ Ukrainian ship hit by Houthis sinks in the Gulf of Aden

◾️ Anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv lit a fire on a street, urging Israel to strike a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

More stories

◾️ British Army delays provision of new badges due to paranoia over ‘Chinese spying’

◾️ Why were Israeli companies banned from participating in military expo in Paris?

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News.ru war photojournalist Nikita Tsitsagi was killed in an attack by Ukrainian forces near Ugledar, the outlet reports:

"Our correspondent Nikita Tsitsagi died in a drone attack by Ukrainian forces. It happened in the area of the St. Nicholas Monastery near Ugledar, where Nikita was planning to make a report," the statement says.

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❗️ Prisoners in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don take two employees hostage

◾️ A group of prisoners in a pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, who were previously accused of terrorist charges, have taken two employees hostage.

◾️ Representatives of law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor's office have arrived at the pre-trial detention center to carry out negotiations and free the hostages, a source told Sputnik.

◾️ The number of inmates involved in the hostage-taking incident is believed to be six or seven, the source said.

◾️ The prisoners are armed with fire axes and rubber batons, the source added.

◾️ Traffic has been restricted near the pre-trial detention center, while the facility itself is functioning normally and the situation is under control, a spokesperson for the center said.

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Strong police presence near the pre-trial detention facility in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don where two employees were taken hostage

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Muted mikes and no live audience: what to expect from first Biden-Trump 2024 campaign debate

White House incumbent Joe Biden and ex-POTUS Donald Trump are scheduled to have their first in-person debate of the 2024 presidential campaign on June 27.

Here’s what to know about the first Biden-Trump face off:

◾️ The June 27 live debate will be hosted by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash at CNN’s studio in Atlanta; the September event will be broadcast by ABC.

◾️ Unlike previous election debates, there won’t be a live audience present, ostensibly to avoid disruptions. Reports claim the request for an empty TV studio came from the Biden team.

◾️ Trump and Biden will stand at lecterns on stage, with their positions determined by a coin flip. All they can take with them is a pen, a notepad, and a bottle of water.

◾️ Don’t expect any opening statements from the candidates – only a two-minute closing statement from each one.

◾️ After being asked a question, each candidate will have two minutes to reply. One-minute rebuttals and responses to the rebuttals will follow. Another minute can be used at the discretion of the moderators.

◾️ Red lights will flash to remind the candidates that they have five seconds left to respond. When the time has run out, the lights will turn solid red.

◾️ The candidates’ microphones will be muted during the debate except for when it is their turn to speak. The mikes can be cut off if they speak out of turn.

◾️ In a new feature, two commercial breaks from corporate sponsors will be injected into the 90 minutes of debate time. Campaign staff will not be allowed to interact with their candidate during the breaks.

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❗️ Gunfire shots were heard near the pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don, where two employees had been taken hostage, Sputnik correspondent reports.

Two ambulance cars have arrived at the scene.

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❗️ Hostage-takers in pre-trial detention center in Rostov region liquidated, Russian Federal Penitentiary Service said.

The employees have been released and they were not injured, the statement said.

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Putin's Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, on negotiations with Ukraine:

◻️ Zelensky is not the person with whom agreements on Ukraine can be formalised in writing; de jure, it would be illegitimate.

◻️ Let's see if Zelensky is ready to do everything possible to not worsen the situation further.

◻️ Putin does not reject the possibility of negotiations with Ukraine, noting that there are legitimate authorities there.

◻️ The current dynamics on the front lines demonstrate that the situation will only deteriorate further for Ukrainians.

◻️ Agreements on Ukraine are the result of complex expert negotiations, balancing interests and considering realities, and it will be the same this time.

◻️ A politician who prioritises the interests of the homeland over his own would consider such peace initiatives from Putin.

◻️ Putin's peace initiatives are made with consideration of realities on the ground.

◻️ Developing a security guarantee system is difficult, but if the Kiev regime shows sobriety, it should be done.

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❗️Russian Armed Forces liberated the settlement of Zagornoye in Zaporozhye Region, said the Russian Ministry of Defence.

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🇷🇺🪖 Latest statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

◾️ Over the past day, Ukrainian losses in battles with the Russian Armed Forces amounted to 1,360 soldiers and a Leopard tank;

◾️ Ten Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defenses;

◾️ Russian troops repelled counterattacks by Ukrainian forces and took more favorable positions on the front line.

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💬 Even if people like Zelensky publicly dismiss Putin's peace initiative, there will be more sober heads in Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

There is no doubt that Putin's peace initiative will be scrutinized, he added.

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Twelve countries participating in the conference on Ukraine in Switzerland did not support the final declaration, the organizers said.

Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, Vatican, India, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, United Arab Emirates did not sign the final declaration.

Earlier, Reuters quoted Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer as saying that the final declaration of the conference on Ukraine in Switzerland would not have unanimous support.

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What’s behind Zelensky rejecting Putin’s peace proposal?

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the new peace initiatives proposed by Russia because he is afraid his political career will end once the conflict is resolved, British expert Alexander Mercouris said on his YouTube channel.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has been “calling time on him, saying that Zelensky is no longer the legitimate president of Ukraine,” the expert noted.

“The moment peace negotiations were to begin, Zelensky’s political position in Kiev would collapse, and he would have to step down,” the analyst said. He added that Zelensky’s very political survival in Kiev “is linked to the continuation" of the conflict.

The stark reality of the situation, according to Alexander Mercouris, is such that “this is the last chance” the Ukrainians and their Western sponsors have to come to some sort of terms. If the conditions laid out by Moscow are not accepted, the bloodshed will continue, and Russia will win, “as all trends on the battlefield prove,” he noted.

Furthermore, in speech on June 14, Putin gave a very clear warning that “the West is acting very dangerously," Mercouris pointed out, with its "unending escalations, talk of military strikes deep inside Russia, talk about deployment of Western troops to fight in Ukraine, plans regarding the F-16 fighter jets.”

All this brings “a very real risk of all-out nuclear exchange” closer, the British analyst warned.

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Market share of Russian gas soars, overtaking US LNG imports to Europe

The share of Europe's gas imports from Russia overtook US supplies for the first time in almost two years in May, the Financial Times reluctantly acknowledged.

Russia’s piped gas and LNG shipments accounted for 15 percent of total supply to the EU, UK, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Switzerland, according to data provided by Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS). The surge occurred despite a much-touted EU intention to wean itself completely off Russian energy as part of the West’s sanctions campaign. LNG from the US made up just 14 percent of supply to the European market in May – the lowest level since August 2022, as per ICIS.

The publication rushed to blame “one-off factors” for the trend, underscoring “the difficulty of further reducing Europe’s dependence on gas from Russia.” It added that several East European countries still rely on Russian energy imports.

ICIS head of gas analytics Tom Marzec-Manser was quoted as voicing surprise at how the market share of Russian gas was inching higher in Europe “after all we have been through, and all the efforts made to decouple and de-risk energy supply.”

Since the US availed itself of the opportunity to overtake Russia as a supplier of gas to Europe in September 2022, it has accounted for about a fifth of the region’s supply since 2023, the publication noted.

Russia cautioned that sanctions against it, including attempts to part ways with Russian energy imports, would have long-term backfiring consequences. The warning fell on deaf ears, with the US raking in profits as the EU grappled with an energy crisis.

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Why the new stealthy Russian nuclear submarine scares the West so much

A British tabloid made a startling discovery this week: it turns out that Russia has weapons capable of wreaking untold devastation upon its enemies.

What got The Express’ knickers in a twist this time was the K-564 Arkhangelsk, a Yasen-M class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine that recently underwent sea trials and is expected to enter service in December.

While the newspaper fears that this submarine “could be undetectable by Western adversaries” and could pose a serious threat to “NATO military bases, naval convoys, and onshore critical infrastructure during a crisis,” it remains to be seen what Arkhangelsk is truly capable of.

Here is what is currently known about the sub:

◻️ It can dive up to 600 meters deep and has a maximum speed of 16 knots on the surface and 31 knots underwater;

◻️ The submarine has a crew complement of 64 and an endurance of about 100 days, limited by food and maintenance requirements;

◻️ The vessel’s armament includes 533mm torpedo tubes and vertical launch silos for Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. Both Kalibr and Zircon missiles are nuclear-capable.

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Russians dominate hurdles at BRICS Games: three medals secured

Russian athlete Artem Makarenko won the gold medal in the men's 110-meter hurdles at the BRICS Games, with former world champion Sergey Shubenkov taking silver.

Makarenko completed the distance in 13.55 seconds, with Shubenkov just 0.15 seconds behind. China's Zhang Zizijun finished third at 0.24 seconds after the leader.

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Belarus's Elvira Graborenko claimed victory with a time of 12.81 seconds, followed by Russia's Viktoria Pogrebnyak with 13.13 seconds and another Belarusian, Svetlana Parahonko on 13.15 seconds.

The BRICS Games are being held from June 12 to 24, with around 5,000 athletes from more than 90 countries competing in 387 medal events.

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Russia demands that relevant international organizations condemn the killing of journalist Nikita Tsitsagi, who died after a strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk People's Republic, stated Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova.

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