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Lithuania to hold presidential election, citizenship referendum

Eight candidates are running for presidency

VILNIUS, May 12. /TASS/. Lithuania will hold the next presidential elections, for the eighth time during years of independence.

Eight candidates are running for presidency. According to experts and opinion polls, three favorites are incumbent president Gitanas Nauseda, prime minister Ingrida Simonyte, and independent candidate - counsel Ignas Vegele. The president is elected for the term of five years.

Lithuanian citizens will simultaneously vote in a referendum on double allegiance introduction. This is the second attempt - the similar referendum in 2019 was recognized as held but no required votes were cast in its support.

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Taiwan says 20 Chinese aircraft approach island

The Taiwanese military "monitored the situation and responded accordingly"

Kremlin says Kiev’s decision to restrict transit of oil from Russia political

"The situation is rather critical for our clients, though it does not depend on us," Dmitry Peskov said

Russia's global South partners understand goals of special military operation — Ambassador

According to Anatoly Antonov, nations of the world majority demonstrate their commitment to the struggle aimed at establishing an equal dialogue

West resists efforts to form fair multipolar system — Russian ambassador to US

According to Anatoly Antonov, countries realize that the West’s neo-colonial practices of resorting to force for solutions lead to nothing good, and many examples can be seen in history

Russia ready for dialogue with all countries interested in Eurasian security — diplomat

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin stressed not all of the global players demonstrate such a constructive approach as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

Air defense forces destroy over10 UAVs in Russia’s Rostov region

According to governor Vasily Golubev noted that there were no casualities

Russia focuses on its interests in deciding Taliban’s place in banned organizations list

Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov noted that movement is not on the list of terrorists in every country in the region

American General calls for injecting major dollars into Latin America a la 'Marshall Plan'

According to Laura Richardson, such measures are essential due to the fact that Moscow and Beijing, unlike Washington, finance and help build infrastructure in Latin American countries experiencing economic hardships

Ukrainian army attacks over 20 residential areas in Russia’s Belgorod Region in past day

Two drones were launched and 14 projectiles were fired at three villages in the Belgorodsky District

Biden uttered "personal insults" addressed to Putin — Kremlin spokesman

Dmitry Peskov said that Biden took the liberty of making such statements virtually every day

Almost all opium poppy crops in Afghanistan destroyed — Russian Ambassador

There are 5% or less left, Dmitry Zhirnov said

US may stop helping Ukraine in future, says Blinken

Nevertheless, the US Secretary of State recalled a security agreement recently inked by the US and Ukraine

Battlegroup West howitzers destroy Ukrainian drones warehouse, takeoff point

The artillerists helped the infantry to advance and capture more advantageous lines

Parliament speaker highlights Russia’s ongoing support for Nicaragua

Volodin pointed out that 45 years ago, the Nicaraguan people had chosen their own path

Top Hungarian diplomat accuses Zelensky of pushing NATO toward conflict with Russia

Peter Szijjarto warned that neither Kiev’s accusations nor Brussels’ criticism would have any impact on his country’s actions

Hungary sees Ukraine’s sanctions against Lukoil as ‘unfriendly decision’— Szijjarto

Peter Szijjarto noted that the ban by the Ukrainian authorities on the transit of Russian oil through its territory was illegal because the supply of raw materials via the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia was exempt from EU sanctions

Taiwan says 20 Chinese aircraft approach island

The Taiwanese military "monitored the situation and responded accordingly"

Russia’s flour exports can be halved in 2024/2025 agricultural year — industry expert

According to the presentation, flour exports from Russia at the end of the 2023/2024 agricultural year amounted to 1.1 million tons

Taliban turn into Moscow’s allies in fight against terrorism — Russian envoy

According to Dmitry Zhirnov, terrorists captured across Afghanistan are held in solitary confinement in the country’s largest Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the capital Kabul

Russian Armed Forces repel five enemy attacks

According to senior officer of the group’s press center Yaroslav Yakimkin, the group's units defeated the manpower and equipment of three Ukrainian brigades

Russia found ways to keep defense industry going despite Western sanctions, Blinken admits

The US Secretary of State noted that the restrictions had created a "growing powerful weight on Russian economy and Russia's future"

Contacts between Russia and Taliban grow closer — Ambassador

Afghan delegations took part in the International Economic Forum Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum, the IX St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, and other events

Most CIS countries not affected by global Microsoft outage

The airport of Minsk operates as normal, with flights departing and arriving without delays

MAKS-2024 aerospace salon will be held online — Rosoboronexport

The MAKS air show is held once every two years

Global IT outage has not affected operation of Russia’s largest banks — VTB, Sber

"All Sber’s systems are operating normally, we are not seeing any failures," the bank said

WSJ reporter Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of espionage

Evan Gershkovich didn’t plead guilty

Software update that crashed Windows could have been released without testing — researcher

Arutyun Avetisyan said the outage affected Russia only a little because Crowdstrike stopped serving Russian customers in 2022

West trying to make another anti-Russia out of Finland — Security Council

Washington, 'under NATO’s umbrella,' has turned Finland into a dependent semi-vassal,"Rashid Nurgaliyev pointed out

2016 World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan

Sports include eagle hunting, bone throwing and kok-boru, a Central Asian form of polo in which two teams battle for control of a decapitated goat carcass

Russia delivers 11 strikes at Ukrainian air bases, military, energy sites over week

Almost 20 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Russian troops over the week, the ministry reported

Russia to wrap up special operation by end of year — Chechen commander

According to Major General Apty Alaudinov, the Kiev regime has already realized that "the war has already been lost"

Hungary believes intensity of conflict in Ukraine will soon escalate radically — Orban

"We can assume that tensions will not decrease and the parties will not start searching for a way out of the conflict without significant external involvement," the Hungarian PM said in his address to Brussels

Moscow analyzing new EU sanctions rules on control of companies — Kremlin

In particular, criteria for determination of control of companies have been revised to 50% and higher whereas previously the issue was about holding more than 50% of capital

Russian troops strike Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 160 casualties on Ukrainian troops in its area of responsibility over the past day, the ministry reported

F-16's no match for Russian jets in air combat

F-16 is inferior in maneuverability to the latest generation of Russian thrust-vectoring aircraft, French aviation expert Cyrille de Lattre said

Boris Johnson believes Trump has courage to end conflict in Ukraine

According to UK ex-prime minister, "defeat for Ukraine would be a massive defeat for America"

Israeli declaration against Palestinian state violates international law — senator

The deputy speaker of the upper house of Russia’s parliament said that the resolution passed by Israel’s parliament is deeply regrettable and frustrating

Houthis report striking Tel Aviv with drone overnight

The Houthis used a novel UAV dubbed Jaffo which, according to the rebels, is capable of bypassing air defense systems

Woman attempted to commit suicide in Ukraine due to denied draft deferment for husband

The woman was hospitalized

Senior Russian diplomat says US ambassador’s criticism ridiculous, refers it to NATO

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin regretted that some delegations had used the meeting to again make unfounded accusations against Russia and lambaste its actions

Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan to develop eastern route of North-South corridor

The document was signed at the first transport trade and export forum North-South in Kazakhstan’s Aktau

Press review: Russia eyes response to US weapons in Germany and EU looks to militarize

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, July 19th

US-led coalition’s aircraft violate Syrian airspace six times in past day

Microsoft says root cause of global outage resolved

During the day, there have been reports of outages of Windows-based computer devices from different countries

IOC declares Olympic truce

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be hosted by the French capital of Paris between July 26 and August 11

Sanctions show London's lack of ideas for Ukraine — Russian Embassy

Diplomats also believe that the team of the new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer "realizes the senselessness" of the actions taken

Russian Defense Ministry publishes losses of Ukraine’s National Guard

On April 18, the Defense Ministry made public the first lists containing personal data of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action

Two Ukrainian soldiers killed in unsuccessful attempt to launch explosive-laden drone

Fellow Ukrainian servicemen "did not even try" to render first medical aid to the wounded, Andrey Marochko said

UNSC passes resolution establishing informal working group on sanctions

The Malta and the US-drafted document was passed on the consensus basis

Orban sees Trump election victory as best hope for Ukraine peace

The Hungarian prime minister also reiterated his key conclusions from trips to Ukraine and Russia, outlined in a letter to European Council President Charles Michel that was published by the Hungarian government on July 18

Musk says Biden won’t be allowed to stay in the race

The businessman didn’t elaborate on who will convince the president to drop out

Putin discusses security provision at mass events with Security Council members

The Russian president gave the floor to Federal Security Service (FSB) Head Alexander Bortnikov for a report

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Tucker Carlson earlier told the media that he was able to speak privately with the Russian president after the recording of the interview

Russian prosecutors say Gershkovich spied on Uralvagonzavod company on orders from CIA

The reporter was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison

Palestine sees ICJ ruling on Israeli settlement policies as historic

The Palestinian leadership called on the international community to oblige Israel to "end its colonial project completely, immediately, without restrictions or conditions"

BRICS to suspend admitting new members for a while — Lavrov

"By the overwhelming majority, the ten nations decided to ‘take a pause’ with new members to ‘take in’ the new members who have doubled the association," he said at a meeting with speaker of Belarus

Microsoft failure shakes Western industries, while sanctions work in Russia's favor

Earlier, Russia’s media watchdog said that it had not been notified by Russian companies about any problems caused by the Microsoft outage

Ural Airlines plane lands safely in Russia after one engine failed

Prosecutors are investigating the incident

Microsoft outage 'dress rehearsal' for cyber warfare — expert

Australian information technology expert Richard Buckland emphasized that the disruption was not deliberate

Biden forgets Pentagon head’s name in BET interview, calls him simply ‘black man’

After Joe Biden was unable to recall Lloyd Austin’s name, he mentioned Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a black woman

Moscow court fines Google $44,942 over refusal to delete fake information

It is not specified which publications on the Internet caused the protocol to be drawn up against the company

Moscow's import substitution measures cushion impact of Microsoft system failure — expert

Valentin Klimov stressed that Russia started planning for these contingencies a long time ago

Russian diplomats in France barred from contact with national athletes, fans at Olympics

Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov added that the staff of the Russian diplomatic mission will also be denied access to Olympic sports facilities

Musk calls global Windows outage 'biggest IT fail ever'

Earlier, the businessman reported that the social network X, which he owns, is operating normally amid a large-scale outage in the systems of Microsoft Corporation

Biden orders to stage poll on Harris prospects in election race — TV

According to ABC, the US President has become more responsive to calls for withdrawing from the race

North Korean leader meets with Russian military delegation

The need for the military cooperation between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Russia for purposes of supporting mutual security was discussed

Hungary’s Orban says keeping peace mission’s next steps under wraps to avoid interference

The Hungarian prime minister also pointed out that the recent assassination attempts against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and ex-US President Donald Trump were in fact targeting all politicians belonging to the "peace party"

Russia helps Africa no strings attached, unlike West — diplomat

Oleg Ozerov noted that the West’s arrogance, its use of the language of dictation and patronage "find no understanding with the Africans"

Energy facilities in three Ukrainian damage suffer damage

Air raid sirens went off and blasts were reported in several regions of Ukraine on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday

Ukraine plans to end hostilities, engage in talks with Russia — NYT

According to the report, "Ukraine is pursuing a plan for a negotiated end to the fighting"

18 Ukrainian drones shot down over Kursk Region during day

According to the acting governor, seven settlements in the Kursk Region came under shelling attacks by Ukrainian troops and four settlements, as well as the Krupets crossing point were attacked by Ukrainian drones during the day

Israeli airstrikes kill 11 in northern, central Gaza Strip

According to the broadcaster, six people were killed in Israeli attacks on a residential building and a group of civilians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza

Putin offers condolences to Vietnam’s president over death of Communist Party chief

The Russian president met with Nguyen Phu Trong in June during his visit to Vietnam

Trump speaks with Zelensky over phone to discuss conflict in Ukraine

US ex-president noted that the Ukrainian leader also condemned the assassination attempt and congratulated him on the successful Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Number of canceled US flights due to Microsoft outage surpasses 2,300

It was noted that 8.9% of all domestic flights in the United States are currently cancelled

Russian, Afghan businesses refuse dollar in favor of rubles and Afghani — Ambassador

Dmitry Zhirnov noted that economic relations between Russia and Afghanistan, as well as the volume of trade between the countries are growing

FACTBOX: What is known about global Windows outage

It is reported that failure in operation of the data storage cloud platform Microsoft Azure resulted in cancellation of at least 130 and delay of over 200 flights of American airlines

Terrorism, drug trafficking increasingly likely to spread from Afghanistan — CSTO chief

Imangali Tasmagambetov pointed out that CSTO records additional challenges stemming from "the signs of competitiveness for natural resources of that region, primarily for water, which may spark interstate conflicts"

FSB reveals Wehrmacht general’s testimony on how Hitler perceived enslaving Russia

The FSB published the testimony by former commandant of the Mogilev fortified area Major General Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff who had surrendered to Soviet troops

Microsoft's global outage has no effect on Russia's NPPs — Rosatom

The Rosenergoatom Concern also denied a report about a radiation accident at the Rostov nuclear power plant

Trump says US fiasco in Afghanistan 'emboldened' Russia to launch special op in Ukraine

The politician said that the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was "the worst humiliation in the history of" the US

France to form a Ukrainian army brigade in 2024 — TV

The Ukrainian military will practice at training bases in France, where French servicemen are normally trained before departing to missions overseas, France 3 television reports

Russian President Vladimir Putin's trust rating remains stable — poll

The Russian government’s approval rating stands at 52.3%

Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Belgorod Region leave six civilians injured in past day

Five of them suffered injuries in the town of Shebekino

Infantry fighting vehicles to be protected against strike drones — developer

"The list of activities is extensive, from anti-drone canopies to active protection," the spokesperson of the company said

Ukrainian opposition leader sends letter to Trump saying Kiev had motive to kill him

"Physical elimination of political opponents and political corruption are links in a chain for those who are seeking to stay in power and are profiting from the war in Ukraine by means of selling weapons to Ukrainian neo-Nazis," Viktor Medvedchuk stressed

Over 30 foreign mercenaries killed in Kharkov Region since May — official

The bodies of mercenaries are secretly airlifted by helicopters from Kharkov Airport to western Ukraine on a 24-hour basis

Biden’s withdrawal from US presidential race only matter of time — media

According to the report, "senior Democrats are actively planning next steps should Biden decide to leave the ticket"

Biden says he will resume campaigning next week

US President had to suspend participation in his election campaign after testing positive for Covid

Israel strikes Hezbollah weapons depots in southern Lebanon

During the strike, secondary explosions were identified in the area, suggesting the presence of additional weaponry in the structure

Blinken says global tech outage due to glitch, not malicious attack

Over the course of Friday, massive outages of Windows-based computers have been reported from all around the world by international banks, airlines, news media and other companies

Zelensky plans personal meeting with Trump

He also congratulated US ex-president on his nomination as the Republican Party's presidential candidate and condemned the assassination attempt against him

London’s support for Kiev only leads to Ukraine’s further collapse — Russian embassy

The embassy noted that "the new Labor government in the United Kingdom has managed to inherit their predecessor’s bad habit of playing 'the Ukrainian card' in any ambiguous situation and boost its self-esteem on the international arena through Ukraine"

Tel Aviv attacked by Iranian drone launched from Yemen — IDF

"Iran supports, funds, and arms its proxies in the region, in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, as seen last night," Spokesman Daniel Hagari said

Trump says he seeks re-election as US president to save democracy

The Republican candidate vowed to restore peace and harmony across the world if re-elected president

Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan says Taliban ‘pushes’ IS out

Dmitry Zhirnov said that movement would put more pressure on them if the US did not block Afghanistan's national assets

Election fraud so rampant in US, 'mannequin' can be elected president — Tucker Carlson

"With enough cheating that could happen," the american journalist said, speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Experts say three weapons fired at Trump rally

Forensics expert Robert Maher suggested that "the gunman was about 360 to 393 feet from the podium"

Russia vows to safeguard security amid NATO's naval buildup in Black Sea — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov also pointed out that the presence of non-regional countries in the Black Sea "is quite tightly regulated by the Montreux Convention"

US Republicans divided over support to Ukraine — prominent member

Donald Trunp "made it clear he'd like to end that war", a former Republican presidential contender Asa Hutchinson has told

Russia may deploy nuclear missiles in response to US missile deployment in Germany — MFA

According to Sergey Ryabkov, given the combined capacities of NATO countries, Russia needs to calibrate its response, without feeling any "internal constraint" in terms of what to deploy, where and when