The Foreign Ministry assessed the effect of the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia

“We are & nbsp; faced with this all the time. It is clear that & nbsp; we got used to, we adapted. I & nbsp; do not & nbsp; want to joke as & nbsp; what is & nbsp; because & nbsp; these are all not & nbsp; very good phenomena. The preoccupation is this, the programmed actions of the Western community in & nbsp; different formats on the & nbsp; Russian direction, it just hits & nbsp; eyes & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; he said & nbsp; in an & nbsp; conversation with & nbsp; Interfax. According to the Deputy Minister, those who & nbsp; count on the & nbsp; opportunity for Russia to consider the demands put forward by the West are naive. Ryabkov is convinced that nothing & nbsp; is worth the statements of Western partners about & nbsp; readiness to build constructive relations with &

14 new species of shrews have been discovered in Sulawesi

View this post on Instagram A publication from Rafa Malmagro ? (@malmagrok) On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, after almost a decade of searching, scientists have found 14 new species of shrews. This is the largest discovery of new mammals in the last 90 years, they say. In the period from 2010 to 2018, researchers studied a total of 1,368 individuals of shrews. DNA analysis showed that they belong to 21 species, and only 7 of them are known to science. The new species belong to the genus belozubok (Crocidura). They were divided into five species groups: “long-tailed”, “small-bodied”, “ordinary”, Rhoditis and “thick-tailed”. They differ in the proportions of the body, the length and thickness of the fur, as well as the color of the paws: in some animals they are white, in others they are dark. Shrews are a very diverse group of mammals. To date, 461 species of

In Russia, for the second day in a row, less than 28 thousand coronavirus cases are detected per day

Regions are leaders in the number of new cases: Moscow — 2283 (for all time – 2 000 067), Saint Petersburg – 1997 (827,293), Moscow region — 1683 (622 591), Krasnodar Territory — 749 (111 923), Krasnoyarsk Territory — 655 (165 571). Per day in 1076 cases died in Russia, which is four fewer people than yesterday (1080). The total number of deaths reached 296,180. 38,041 people recovered during the day, a total of 8,952,266. As of December 17 , the level of collective immunity to coronavirus in Russia has reached 58.2%. The authorities admit that due to the spread of the omicron strain, the timing of the introduction of the second vaccine may be adjusted. On December 16, the State Duma adopted in the first reading a government bill on the introduction of QR codes for visiting public places. The news is being updated.

Il-76 planes delivered humanitarian aid to Kabul

“They delivered 36 & nbsp; tons of humanitarian aid to & nbsp; Afghanistan & nbsp; & mdash; these are food, medicine and & nbsp; essentials & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; indicated by the correspondent with & nbsp; the place of events. Three aircraft took off from the & nbsp; Chkalovsky airport near Moscow. The operation to & nbsp; the provision of humanitarian aid was organized by the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. On December 2 & nbsp; three planes with & nbsp; evacuated from Afghanistan & nbsp; landed at & nbsp; Chkalovsky airfield. This evacuation was the third in & nbsp; a row. In total, military transport aircraft took out more than 380 citizens, including & nbsp; & mdash; residents of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and & nbsp; also Afghan students of Russian universities.

Scientists have found that omicron increases the risk of re-infection with covid by five times

According to a published study, before the appearance of a new type of virus in people who had undergone covid, natural immunity protected against re-infection for half a year in 85% of cases, but with omicron, this indicator decreased to 19%. At the same time, experts emphasize that at the moment there is no evidence that the new strain is less dangerous than delta. It is also reported that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, as well as the British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca, provide protection against infection only up to 20% of cases against the omicron strain, while it increases to 55-80% after booster vaccination. “The study provides further evidence of how strongly the omicron strain can evade the protection of immunity obtained either after infection or after vaccination,” said Neil Ferguson, a leading epidemiologist at the university and a member of the scientific advisory group on emergencies under the

Doctors from South Africa estimated the likelihood of hospitalization with omicron strain

In the Republic of South Africa (South Africa), where a new strain of the coronavirus “omicron” has spread, a decrease in the level of hospitalization has been recorded in recent days, Bloomberg reports, citing the country’s Ministry of Health. Now the fourth wave of coronavirus is taking place in South Africa, as previously announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. According to the head of the Ministry of Health Joe Faakhla, according to the results of the second week of the new wave, only 1.7% of those infected with COVID-19 were hospitalized. During the third wave, when the delta strain dominated the country, 19% of infected people needed hospitalization after two weeks. There were more asymptomatic cases of COVID than thought On December 14, Discovery Health, the largest private insurance company in South Africa, presented a study according to which the omicron strain causes a less severe course of coronavirus disease than

The United States announced a “significant” number of Russian military at the border of Ukraine

The United States continues to monitor the & nbsp; situation on the & nbsp; Russian-Ukrainian border, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a & nbsp; briefing According to & nbsp; he said, a large number of Russian troops are concentrated there. “ We & nbsp; do not & nbsp; observe any significant changes in & nbsp; the location of Russian troops near & nbsp; the border of Ukraine. There are still significant forces there '', & nbsp; & mdash; said & nbsp; he. In the & nbsp; answer to a journalist's & nbsp; question about & nbsp; is it possible & nbsp; is the expansion of the US military presence in & nbsp; countries on the & nbsp; eastern flank of NATO, Kirby said: 'I have nothing to report on & nbsp; a new rotation of forces concerning our NATO allies. We & nbsp; have significant funds in & nbsp;

Golikova urged to celebrate the New Year in COVID-free mode

Russian regions should increase the pace of vaccination against coronavirus before the New Year holidays, said Deputy Prime Minister and head of the operational headquarters for combating COVID Tatyana Golikova. “What is especially important, holidays should not lead to a new round of morbidity in Of Russia: it is mandatory to comply with restrictive measures and conduct COVID-free events,” she said. According to Golikova, the situation with coronavirus worsened in ten regions during the week: Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Ryazan, Tambov and Chelyabinsk regions, Altai, Bashkiria, Dagestan, and Chuvashia. In three subjects — Belgorod and Kaliningrad regions and Karachay-Cherkessia — improvement is observed. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the only region that has achieved collective immunity remains Sevastopol, where this figure is 88.7%. Collective immunity is the formation of a stratum of the population with immunity to the disease, sufficient for the further spread of infection to stop. According to

Poroshenko left Ukraine after trying to hand him a summons for interrogation

Former President of Ukraine, leader of the European Solidarity Party Petro Poroshenko went on a & nbsp; diplomatic visit to & nbsp; Turkey and & nbsp; Poland, the press service of the political force in & nbsp; Facebook. The politician's departure for the & nbsp; border took place on the & nbsp; that & nbsp; day when the investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of the country tried to hand him a summons for & nbsp; interrogation in & nbsp; a criminal case on & nbsp; illegal coal supplies from & nbsp; self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk people & nbsp; The & nbsp; video published by the department shows that & nbsp; Poroshenko ignored the bureau's employees and & nbsp; drove off in & nbsp; a car. The European Solidarity statement said that it was a pre-planned diplomatic tour. On December 18 and & nbsp; 19 &

The quieted Don: what will happen to the Open Skies Treaty after December 18

Russia finally withdrew from the & nbsp; Treaty on & nbsp; Open Skies (DON) & nbsp; & mdash; From & nbsp; 18 & nbsp; December, it will no longer & nbsp; be able to make observation flights over & nbsp; the territory of the & nbsp; NATO allies. Nevertheless & nbsp; less this will not & nbsp; prevent her & nbsp; from receiving information about & nbsp; their & nbsp; military facilities & nbsp; & mdash; for & nbsp; this Moscow has satellites. The key question in & nbsp; is, will the Republic of Belarus (RB), which worked in the & nbsp; document with & nbsp; Russia, remain in & nbsp; as part of a group of states. As Izvestia was told in the & nbsp; Permanent Mission of the & nbsp; RB at the & nbsp; OSCE, Minsk will make a decision on & nbsp; membership in the &