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Russian tourists going on a ski trip will be the first international travelers to visit North Korea since the country’s borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown

(Reuters) — Ukraine suffered a massed Russian missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, its air force said, adding that Moscow had fired some of its most fearsome hypersonic missiles.

President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that Moscow would regard any move by Britain to deploy a military contingent to Ukraine as a declaration of war against Russia. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, made the comments in response to a visit by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Kyiv to announce an increase in military funding to help Ukraine purchase new military drones. «I hope that our eternal enemies — the arrogant British — understand that deploying an official military contingent to Ukraine would be a declaration of war against our country,» Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Medvedev, whose frequent and harsh public statements diplomats say give an indication of hawkish thinking at the top of the Kremlin, also asked how the Western public would feel if Sunak's delegation came under fire from cluster munitions in the centre of Kyiv, something he said had recently happened to Russian civilians in the city of Belgorod. Belgorod, in southern Russia, is located close to the Ukrainian border and has been targeted by Ukrainian rockets and drones in recent months. In the incident referred to by Medvedev on Dec.

BEIJING (Reuters) — China's 2023 two-way trade with Russia hit $240 billion, setting yet another new record, Chinese customs data showed on Friday, as the two countries pushed for closer economic ties even as the war in Ukraine raged on.

Ukraine war have fallen to an 11-month low as the price tag on the discounted oil rises, figures show. Since the invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, India has bought hundreds of millions of barrels of cut-price Russian crude, saving itself billions of dollars while bolstering Moscow's war coffers. The purchases have catapulted it to second place among Russia's customers behind China, and Indian officials have made no secret of their decision to prioritise national interest over international sanctions against Moscow. But the price of Russian crude has risen in the face of OPEC+ production cuts and increased demand from China, analysts say, making it less attractive to Indian customers. Indian refiners bought 1.45 million barrels per day of Russian oil last month, their lowest amount since last January and down nearly 16 percent from November, according to global energy trade intelligence platform Kpler. The «interplay between India and China» was a key driver of the change, Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler told AFP, «as both countries now vie for the same barrels». The biggest beneficiary of the change is Moscow: Russian crude has been trading above $85 per barrel, reports say, even though a coalition of the G7, EU and Australia imposed a $60 price cap a year ago. New Delhi's reduced imports will be welcomed by some European policymakers who have raised concerns over how Indian refiners have processed Russian crude into fuel for the European market, effectively bypassing the EU's sanctions. New Delhi and Moscow have ties dating back to the Cold War, and Russia remains by far the biggest arms supplier to the world's most populous country. India has shied away from explicit condemnations of Russia

missiles across Ukraine early Monday. 1. Russia said on Monday it hit military-industrial targets in Ukraine from sea and air.

Putin vowed on the eve of Orthodox Christmas to back soldiers who «with arms in hands» defend Russia's interests, ordering his government greater support of those who fight and calling on his people to be merciful and just. «Many of our men, our courageous, heroic guys, Russian warriors, even now, on this holiday, defend the interests of our country with arms in hand,» Putin said at a late Saturday meeting with families of Russian soldiers who have died in Ukraine.

Ukraine released images on Friday of what it said was a Russian Kinzhal ballistic missile, which it claimed earlier in the week to have downed using the US Patriot anti-aircraft system. Ukraine's state emergency service published photographs on its Telegram channel showing a crane extracting the remains of a missile from the ground. «In Kyiv, engineers neutralised the warhead of an enemy Kinzhal aerial hypersonic missile,» the government department said. AFP was not able to immediately verify the claim. Ukraine said on Tuesday it had shot down ten Kinzhal missiles Russia fired at the country, during a wave of massive strikes on Ukrainian towns which left six people dead. Kinzhal missiles make up part of an arsenal of weapons that Putin has claimed were indestructible because of the speed at which they travel, up to ten times the speed of sound. According to the British defence ministry, Moscow reserves these warheads for what it considers to be «high-value and well-defended» targets. Kyiv has repeatedly said the Patriot air defence system is vital to defending the country from Russia. Kyiv has urged for more Western military support, worrying about war fatigue in some countries as the conflict drags on for almost two years.

Russia plans to produce more than 32,000 drones each year by 2030 and for domestic producers to account for 70% of the market, the TASS news agency cited First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as saying on Saturday. Drones have been widely used by Moscow and Kyiv since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and both sides are sharply increasing military production as the war drags on. «The annual production volume of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — excluding educational UAVs — is planned at 32,500 units,» Belousov told TASS.

India paid an average of $85.42 per barrel for Russian oil in November, the highest since the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel to cut Moscow's revenue, preliminary government data shows. India paid 1.4% more for Russian oil in November compared to $84.20 per barrel in October, Reuters calculations based on government data show. The data also showed declining discounts for Russian oil narrowed the price gap with India's second largest oil supplier Iraq in November. India paid an average $85.73 per barrel for supplies from Iraq and $93.32/barrel for Saudi oil, the data showed. Since the imposition of the price cap in December 2022, India has mostly paid above the $60 ceiling for Russian oil that had still proved cheaper than the similar grades from elsewhere. June was an exception when prices were lower. Indian refiners buy Russian oil on delivered basis from from ports in Greece, South Korea and Spain, as well as directly from Russia. Sales from Russian ports at more than $60/barrel led to the U.S.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on the world’s biggest diamond mining company and its chief executive officer as part of what it says is its “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine in the war against Russia

India-made ammunition reaching Ukraine through Europe in the third quarter of last year. ET has learnt that the matter was raised by Moscow recently.

Ewan McGregor is slated to receive the Honorary Dragon Award at the upcoming Göteborg Film Festival in Sweden. The renowned actor, known for his roles in «Star Wars» and «Trainspotting,» will be present at the festival to accept the honor and take part in an Actors Talk. Additionally, McGregor will attend the Nordic premiere of his latest film, «Mother, Couch,» directed by Niclas Larsson. The festival will also feature a retrospective showcasing some of McGregor's most notable films. In a statement, Göteborg Film Festival Artistic Director Jonas Holmberg described McGregor as an androgynous symbol of the Cool Britannia era, a romantic icon for the millennial generation, and a franchise holder in the pop-cultural center of the galaxy. Holmberg praised McGregor's versatility, noting that he has demonstrated mastery in stylized extravagance, literary precision, and nuanced realism, establishing himself as one of the truly great actors of the current era.

snowstorms disrupting transportation and closing schools in Scandinavia while strong winds and heavy rain in western Europe caused flooding and at least one death. Temperatures fell below minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Nordic region for a second day in a row Wednesday. In Kvikkjokk-Arrenjarka in Swedish Lapland, the mercury dropped to minus 43.6 C (minus 46.5 F), the lowest January temperature recorded in Sweden in 25 years, Sweden's TT news agency reported.

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd and Oil India Ltd own 3.5% each, with PdVSA and Spanish energy major Repsol holding 71% and 11%, respectively.

BRICS bloc of top emerging economies, including India, Russia and China, has announced induction of five full members into it as part of an attempt to expand its strategic heft against the backdrop of Western dominance in world affairs. As Moscow assumed the presidency of BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the grouping has become a 10-nation body now with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joining it as new members.

Vladimir Putin on Monday after an unprecedented Ukrainian attack over the weekend on the Russian city of Belgorod that killed 25 people including five children. This came after Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities. Kyiv also said Russia had targeted the country with a "record" number of drones on New Year's Day, AFP reported.

By Vitalii Hnidyi

Artificial Intelligence ruled 2023-- its discovery, usage, abuse, and a potential threat to jobs-- the new year 2024 can expect a changed stance of this discovery- based on takes the seat of governance. 2023 saw AI boost stock prices, and a profound shift in how humans function. 2024 will see regulators all over the world scrambling to impose rules on this rapidly growing technology.

Mint examines the reasons and implications. The BRICs grouping, during its summit in South Africa in August, invited six countries including Argentina to join it as permanent members, effective 1 January, 2024. On Saturday, though, Argentina’s newly elected government announced it would not be taking up on the offer.

Russia, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar signed three documents relating to the Kudan Kulam Nuclear Power Plants, an MoU on cooperation in pharmaceuticals and healthcare and a Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations according to a release of the Ministry of External affairs. The EAM was on a visit to Russia from December 25 to 29 as a part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides. During his visit, Jaishankar called on Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and held discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov. «Three documents relating to the Kudan Kulam Nuclear Power Plants, an MoU on cooperation in pharmaceuticals and healthcare and a Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations were signed during the visit,» the Ministry of External Affairs said in a release.