Day in History: December 21

Winter Solstice December 21 is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The sun above the horizon at true noon is at the minimum altitude. The height of the midday Sun above the horizon will hardly change for several days — it will seem to “stand still”. Hence the name of this astronomical phenomenon – the winter solstice. The first issue of Ogonyok magazine December 21 , 1899 in The first issue of the legendary Ogonek magazine was published in Russia. Initially, it was a weekly illustrated literary and artistic supplement to the newspaper “Birzhevye Vedomosti”. In 1918, the issue of the magazine ceased, but was resumed 5 years later. Until the mid-1980s, the magazine was a typical Soviet publication with ideological commentary and propaganda. In 1986, Vitaly Korotich was appointed editor-in-chief of Ogonyok, and the editorial policy changed dramatically. Ogonyok began to print facts, documents and analytics

The United States accused the creator of the monitoring system for the Kremlin of fraud

Five Russians, including & nbsp; including businessman Vladislav Klyushin, who was extradited & nbsp; last week to Switzerland from & nbsp; accusations of & nbsp; participation in the & nbsp; global scheme for & nbsp; insider information trading stolen from & nbsp; networks of American companies, according to the & nbsp; message from the US Department of Justice. The & nbsp; department noted that & nbsp; this illegal activity brought those who & nbsp; it carried out, tens of millions of dollars in profit. Klyushin is charged with conspiracy with & nbsp; to obtain illegal access to & nbsp; computers, and & nbsp; also fraud with & nbsp; securities. Together with & nbsp; him, 35-year-old Ivan Ermakov, 33-year-old Nikolai Rumyantsev, 43-year-old Mikhail Irzak and & nbsp; 42-year-old Igor Sladkov are involved in the case. “ Ermakov, Rumyantsev, Irzak and & nbsp; Sladkov remain at & nbsp; freedom '', & nbsp;

German Ambassador rejects statements about the politicization of the verdict in the Khangoshvili case

On December 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation declared two diplomats working at the & nbsp; Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Russia. & nbsp; As emphasized in the & nbsp; department, Russia took such a step in response to & nbsp; the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from & nbsp; Germany. “ Ambassador von Gayr took this message into account and & nbsp; called this measure unreasonable. He & nbsp; categorically denied the Russian government's accusations that & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; the verdict of the Supreme Regional Court of Berlin was politically influenced & raquo ;, & nbsp; & mdash; reported the German Embassy in & nbsp; Moscow. On December 15, a Berlin court sentenced 56-year-old Russian citizen Vadim Sokolov to & nbsp; life imprisonment in the & nbsp; case of & nbsp; murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.

Assistants to the leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States discussed negotiations within the framework of Russia's proposals

WASHINGTON, December 20 & nbsp;/TASS /. Aides to the presidents of Russia and & nbsp; the United States Yuri Ushakov and & nbsp; Jake Sullivan held a telephone conversation on & nbsp; Monday, during which they discussed negotiations on & nbsp; offered by Russia security guarantees. & Nbsp; This was reported by the White House press service. According to & nbsp; her testimony, Sullivan pointed to the & nbsp; willingness of the United States to participate in & nbsp; diplomatic efforts through & nbsp; numerous channels, including bilateral contacts, Council Russia & nbsp; & mdash; NATO and & nbsp; OSCE & raquo ;. “ He & nbsp; (Sullivan & nbsp; & mdash; comment TASS) made it clear that & nbsp; any dialogue should be based on & nbsp; [principles] reciprocity, take into account our concerns about the actions of Russia and & nbsp ; pass in & nbsp; full coordination

The Ministry of Health has included vaccination against covid in the national vaccination calendar

Vaccination against coronavirus is included in the national calendar of preventive vaccinations, which was approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The corresponding order was signed by the Minister of Health of the country Mikhail Murashko. “To approve the national calendar of preventive vaccinations according to Appendix No. 1; the calendar of preventive vaccinations for epidemic indications according to Appendix No. 2,” reads the document published on the official Internet portal of legal information. According to the order, the priority of the first level for mandatory vaccination against covid includes people aged 60 years and older, as well as medical, social services and education workers, people with chronic diseases, citizens living in cities with a population of one million people or more. The document explains that vaccination of children against covid aged 12-17 years is carried out voluntarily, upon written application of one of the parents. Earlier,

Ginzburg questioned the artificial origin of the omicron coronavirus strain

The scientist recalled that a large number of people with immunodeficiency live in the territory where omicron was first detected. COVID-19 can stay in the body of such patients for a long time and mutate, Ginzburg explained. The fact that the emergence of new strains of coronavirus in South Africa is due to a high proportion of HIV infections among the young population, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova said earlier. “They have an immunized layer there with various pathogens of infectious diseases, including, I do not exclude, coronaviruses of various genotypes, they were sick very often. Against this background, when a virus exists in one organism for a long time, it accumulates an infinite number of mutations,” the head of the Gamalei Center told Interfax. Ginzburg also recalled that “coronaviruses in general develop perfectly in animals, reproduce, exist and mutate in them.” In this regard, it cannot be ruled

Christmas in Europe: restrictions and losses

InIn the UK, the situation with Omicron is the worst in Europe. Over the past day, almost 83 thousand new cases have been identified in the country. Similar daily indicators have been held for several days in a row. The country has reintroduced measures such as the mandatory wearing of masks in shops and public transport and the observance of social distance, but doctors believe that this is not enough and call on the government to take more decisive action. The primary task of Downing Street’s scientific advisers is to prevent an increase in daily hospitalizations. According to their calculations, if their number reaches 3 thousand a day, the British health care system (NHS) may face collapse. The Scientific Council under the British government SAGE estimated that under the current state of affairs, the minimum daily mortality in England will be 600 people, the maximum – up to 6 thousand

In Ukraine, Poroshenko is suspected of treason – the purchase of coal from Donbass

On & nbsp; Monday, 20 & nbsp; December, investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation handed Poroshenko documents about & nbsp & quot; rabs & laquo; This case also includes the head of the political council of the OPLZ Viktor Medvedchuk, businessman Serhiy Kuzyara and & nbsp; ex-Minister of Energy Volodymyr Demchishin. Poroshenko is being investigated under & nbsp; articles & nbsp; Criminal Code of Ukraine “ Financing of terrorism '', “ ; Treason '', and & nbsp; also “ Creation of a terrorist organization. '' Last week, Poroshenko left Ukraine when they tried to serve him a summons to the & nbsp; court. European Solidarity reported that & nbsp; Poroshenko “ left for & nbsp; a pre-planned diplomatic tour to & nbsp; Turkey and & nbsp; Poland. '' Soon it became known that & nbsp; Poroshenko arrived in & nbsp; Istanbul, where he met with & nbsp./p>