Month: August 2023

«Ракети постійно змінюють маршрут» – Ігнат розповів подробиці чергового удару РФ по Україні

«Поки черговий пише буквально три слова повідомлення: «рухається в сторону Києва», ракета вже змінює напрямок, рухається в інший бік. Потім знову змінює напрямок, і знову» …

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Romania Aims to Double Ukrainian Grain Transit Capacity

Romania aims to double the monthly transit capacity of Ukrainian grain to its flagship Black Sea port of Constanta to 4 million metric tons in the coming months, particularly via the Danube River, Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said. Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain exporters and Russia has been attacking its agricultural and port infrastructure after refusing to extend a year-old safe passage grain corridor brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. The attacks included Ukraine’s inland Danube ports of Reni and Izmail.  Before Russia pulled out of the safe passage corridor, the Danube ports accounted for around …

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Russia Faces Sharp Decline in Ruble’s Value Against Global Benchmarks

Nearly 18 months after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government is facing significant economic challenges, with the country’s currency, the ruble, plunging in value on global markets. On Monday, the ruble’s value accelerated its monthslong decline against benchmark currencies, like the U.S. dollar. With the Russian central bank calling an emergency meeting for Tuesday, the exchange rate was above 100 to the dollar, a roughly 30% decline in value since the beginning of the year. Russia also revealed that the country’s current account balance, which tracks the relative value of goods and services exported from and imported …

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US Commits New $200 Million Aid Package for Ukraine

The United States announced Monday a new security assistance package valued at $200 million for Ukraine. U.S. officials say it’s the first installment of a $6.2 billion aid package previously authorized under presidential drawdown authority guaranteeing the speedy delivery of existing Pentagon stockpiles to Ukraine. The aid includes air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities, and additional mine-clearing equipment, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who plays a central role in coordinating drawdowns, said in a statement. Two U.S. officials told the Reuters news agency last Monday that the U.S. government would commit the $6.2 billion in funds to …

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Britain Rejects Claims It Was Slow to Evacuate Asylum-Seekers After Bacteria Outbreak

Britain’s government Monday rejected claims that it was slow to evacuate asylum-seekers from a barge moored off the south coast of England once traces of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease were found in the ship’s water system. In the latest critique of the government’s ballyhooed efforts to control migration and reduce the cost of housing a rising number of asylum-seekers, local health officials said over the weekend that the barge operator was told about the bacteria last Monday — the day before asylum-seekers were moved onto the Bibby Stockholm. But Health Secretary Steve Barclay said ministers weren’t informed about …

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Popular Mountain Gorge in Crete Closed After Earthquake Triggers Rockslide

Authorities on the Greek island of Crete have ordered the temporary closure of mountain gorges popular with hikers after an earthquake triggered a rockslide and seriously injured a Spanish tourist. The closure of the Samaria Gorge in southwest Crete — along with several others in the White Mountain range — was ordered Monday, a day after the region was rattled by a magnitude 4.9 quake. The temblor triggered the evacuation of more than 600 people Sunday along the 16-kilometer (10-mile) Samaria hiking trail. A 45-year-old Spanish hiker was transported by helicopter to a state hospital in the port city of …

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US Tracks 4 Russian Military Aircraft Near Alaska

The U.S. military has confirmed that four Russian military aircraft were tracked operating near the U.S. state of Alaska late Sunday and early Monday. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that it had “detected and tracked” the aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). “The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” NORAD said in a statement Monday. The ADIZ is international airspace directly next to sovereign airspace “that requires the ready …

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‘Bring It On’: Australia, England Primed for Blockbuster World Cup Clash 

Australia and England clash in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday in Sydney in the latest installment of a long-standing sporting rivalry between the countries. Co-hosts Australia have the nation behind them for the first World Cup semi-final in their history and Stadium Australia will be heaving with an anticipated crowd of about 80,000. Their heart-stopping penalty shootout win over France in the quarter-finals on Saturday was one of the most-viewed television sporting events in Australia in almost two decades.   But England are the European champions and will be favorites to reach the final of the World Cup …

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Poland Detains 2 Russians for Distributing Wagner Material

Polish authorities arrested two Russians and charged them with espionage for allegedly distributing propaganda material on behalf of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Monday on social media that the country’s internal security service and police arrested the Russians, and that the accused had distributed the materials in the cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Polish authorities said the Russians distributed about 300 leaflets with links to Wagner recruitment websites and were in possession of 3,000 pro-Wagner items. The Russians were identified only as Aleksiej T. and Andriej G., and were due to receive up to $5,000 …

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