Новости за 21.12.2016

The United States has extended its sanctions against Russian to blacklist 17 additional entities related to various projects in Crimea, which the U.S. considers to have been unlawfully annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

A waxwing on a rowan tree in Omsk, Russia.

RN-Exploration, a subsidiary of Russian oil major Rosneft, and Cuba’s Union CubaPetroleo (Cupet) signed an agreement on cooperation at Cuban brownfields, Rosneft said on Dec. 21.

Changing times: Vladimir Putin is set to tackle corruption, increase the health and education budgets and normalize relations with the West. Source: AP

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a Franco-Russian resolution determining how the humanitarian mission will be conducted in the Syrian city of Aleppo following its recapture from rebels by forces loyal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

The Jaish al-Fatah armed coalition, which includes the Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham extremist group (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, outlawed in Russia), has claimed responsibility for the murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, the Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper reported in its online version on Dec. 21.

Fabien Baussart, the head of the Paris-based Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CFPA), a French think tank “focused on geopolitics, government policies & private industries interests,” has proposed the candidacy of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Russians will be spending freely to mark the New Year, according to a study by professional services multinational Deloitte & Touche. It found the New Year holiday budget of the average Russian will rise by 2 percent compared with 2015.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has sent the Pentagon a document that lists the country's top defense priorities. The list does not include Russia, which is considered the "No. 1 threat to the United States" by the outgoing administration, reports Foreign Policy magazine, citing the document.

The assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov has been the top story for the Turkish press. Yet there is very little information on what the Turkish law-enforcement agents did to detain the killer.

The Kremlin regrets that Washington continues its destructive policy against Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Dec. 21, stressing that Moscow will take adequate measures in response to the latest expansion of sanctions.

The number of suspects linked to the murder of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey that have been arrested has risen to 13, Turkey’s TV Channel Haber 7 reported on Dec. 21.

In 2016, property prices in Moscow stopped growing for the first time since 2000. Demand dropped because of the financial crisis, while supply – thanks to a large amount of new construction – rose. RBTH has compiled a map of the most expensive and most affordable districts of Moscow as of November 2016, on the basis of data provided by the Inkom Real Estate agency. We also asked Tranio.com property broker expert Yulia Kozhevnikovа to compare property costs in capital cities in different countries. Читать дальше...

A total of 60 fatal cases of poisoning with the bath lotion containing alcohol have been registered in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, the press service of the regional Health Ministry informed TASS on Dec. 21.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the mourning ceremony for Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov on Dec. 22, so the president’s annual press conference will be postponed to Dec. 23, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.