In the United States presented a new package of sanctions against Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine

The document is called the Deterrence of Authoritarian Warfare Act of 2022. It suggests the introduction of personal sanctions against President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and other representatives of the country's leadership in in the event of an invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. “President [US Joe] Biden doesn’t seem to understand that America needs to show strength and resolve, not weakness. I urge my Senate colleagues to work with me to pass this bill before it's too late  — Rubio said in a statement. In addition, the document provides for the introduction of a ban on  transactions with Russian companies in energy, financial, mining and aerospace sectors, and imposes sanctions against the SWIFT international interbank system if it does stop providing services to Russian banks and  ;companies subject to sanctions. In a separate paragraph, Rubio mentioned sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Earlier, a similar package of sanctions was proposed by Democratic senators led by

Sergei Sobyanin: We must prepare for any scenario of a pandemic

Incidence of COVID-19 in Moscow is growing due to the spread of the omicron strain, Sergei Sobyanin said in an interview with the Rossiya 1 TV channel. “To date, it is safe to say that more than half of the patients are infected with the omicron strain. And this week, the incidence rates per day will already be about six to seven thousand new diseases identified. This is already quite a lot. But I think this is not the limit. The incidence will continue to grow next week, taking into account the picture that we see in other countries and cities,” said the Mayor of Moscow. According to Sergei Sobyanin, it is premature to call the new strain less severe. “We also want it to be like this, but we need to prepare for any scenario. Indeed, we see that the number of cases of moderate and severe course of the

The Pentagon accused Russia of looking for an excuse to invade Ukraine

“Without going into too much details, we have information that shows that Russia is already working actively to create a pretext for potential invasion, advance into Ukraine», — Kirby said at the briefing.  Basically we have information that they deployed a team of operatives to conduct a false flag operation. An operation that should look like an attack on them or Russian-speaking people in Ukraine as justification for invasion  — he added. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation noted that Kyiv sent half of the entire personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine to Donbass. Moscow expressed concern about the transfer of military equipment from NATO countries to the Russian borders and the increase in the number of Western instructors in the Donbass. Western countries continue to provide military support to Ukraine, including by supplying weapons used in Donbass.

A unique ecosystem has been found in Antarctica

A breeding colony of 60 million fish has been discovered in Antarctica’s ice-covered Weddell Sea. The previously unknown ecosystem covers an area the size of Malta. https://t.co/9HOrso7EHy — CNN (@CNN) January 14, 2022 These are fish with a transparent head and blood, and the only vertebrates that do not have red blood cells. To survive at low temperatures, the body of ice fish produces an antifreeze protein that stops the growth of ice crystals. It is reported that the colony covers an area of more than 240 square kilometers and is a concentration of fish nests-pits about 15 centimeters deep and 75 centimeters in diameter and lined with small pebbles. On average, the nests are located at a distance of about 1.7 meters from each other, and each of them contains about 1500-2500 eggs. It is noted that the breeding colony was first discovered in February 2021 by the German

“Swim in the snowdrifts”: Sakhalin residents dive into the snow en masse (video)

View this post on Instagram Publication by Roman Lankis (@lankisr) In mid -January on Sakhalin was hit by a powerful snow cyclone. Due to record snowfalls, an emergency mode has been introduced in some areas. It is reported that in just the first day, 34% of the average monthly precipitation fell in the region. Schools have been temporarily closed in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, public transport is not working, and local residents are hopelessly trying to find their cars in giant snowdrifts. Some can’t even leave the house because of the snow-covered doors. But, despite the real collapse, the residents of Sakhalin are not discouraged. A funny challenge called “Swim in snowdrifts” appeared on social networks, in which people dive into two-meter mountains of snow. View this post on Instagram Publication from Kuzbassovets_v_shoke (@kuzbassovets_v_shoke) View this post on Instagram Post by Maxim Kapitonov (@kapitonov22) View this post on Instagram A post by Tatiana (@6844tatiana)

The royal family of the Netherlands has promised not to ride in the “Golden Carriage”, reminiscent of the colonial past

Until 2015, the Dutch monarchs traditionally came to the official opening of parliament in a “Golden Carriage” (De Gouden Koets). It is now in the Amsterdam Museum. However, anti-racism activists drew attention to one of the images adorning the carriage, which, in their opinion, glorifies the colonial past of the country. The drawing applied to the carriage doors is called “Tribute from the Colonies”. It depicts several Africans and Asians presenting gifts, including cocoa and sugar cane, to a seated white woman, symbolizing the Netherlands. At the same time, one of them is on his knees. A man is sitting next to a woman, holding out a book to a little boy. As the author of the work, the artist Nicholas van der Waay, said in 1896, this book symbolizes the “gift of civilization” presented by the Netherlands to its colonies. In his video message, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

Omicron is detected in half of the COVID-19 Muscovites, Sobyanin said

“The situation is getting more complicated every day due to the fact that Omicron is beginning to dominate the proportion of cases. Recent studies gave 41%, but today it is safe to say that more than half of the cases are those with omicron,” the official said on the Rossiya 1 TV channel. According to him, this suggests that the dynamics of the spread of this variety of SARS-CoV-2 is increasing. Since December 20, 729 cases of infection have been registered in the capital. Omicron is a strain of coronavirus, or B.1.1.529, found in Botswana and South Africa in early November. According to experts, it is characterized by increased transmissivity. According to data at the end of December, a new variant has already been identified in 110 countries of the world, it is spreading faster than the “delta” and is becoming dominant. Vaccination remains the most reliable method of protection. According

Hordes of raging monkeys terrorize Thai city

Lopburi has long been known in the country for its huge population of macaques, which attracts tourists from all over the world. Locals even hold an annual festival in honor of primates. Usually, the monkeys were plentifully fed by tourists, but during the pandemic, the locals also began to throw them food. Since the beginning of the coronavirus quarantine, 6 thousand Lopburi macaques have become more aggressive: now they penetrate into homes and steal everything that is bad. One abandoned cinema even became their “base”: locals say that anyone who tried to enter was attacked. In addition, violent clashes between rival packs of monkeys sometimes block roads. Residents assume that the animals were brought to the city by the felling of a nearby forest. City services lure primates with fruit into cages and take them away for sterilization, but they simply can’t keep up with the growth in the number

Astrophysicists have created the largest map of the universe

This isn’t just a pretty picture; it’s the biggest map of the universe yet. Earth is in the lower-left looking out over 5 billion light-years, and each colored point represents a galaxy of hundreds of billions of stars: https://t.co/yJ9eM0Abey ? D. Schlegel/Berkeley Lab/DESI pic.twitter.com/uJtaTT3zbD – WIRED (@WIRED) January 13, 2022 Three-dimensional computer scan of the DESI Universe. The ground is at the bottom left. Each colored dot represents a galaxy, which, in turn, consists of 100 billion or 1 trillion stars. A group of scientists from the Kit Peak National Observatory in Arizona has been collecting and combining images of different parts of the universe taken by the DESI astronomical instrument mounted on the Mayall telescope for six years. Astrophysicists Release the Biggest Map of the Universe Yet – https://t.co/DD74DeA3VL After just seven months, a huge team of scientists who work with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument have already mapped