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The production plant for the “Halberstädter sausages” has filed for bankruptcy. The background is apparently increased energy and personnel costs. The production company of the Halberstadt sausage and canning factory, Halko GmbH, has filed for bankruptcy. The company MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT confirmed this on Friday afternoon

Hamas claims to have disabled over 20 Israeli combat vehicles in past day SECURITY: PALESTINE-HAMAS-GAZA CAIRO, December 8. /TASS/. Supporters of the armed wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have taken out more than 20 combat vehicles of the Israeli military in the past 24 hours, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, said. "Over the past 24 hours, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades has completely or partially disabled 21 enemy combat vehicles across all battlefields in the Gaza Strip," Abu Ubaida said, as quoted on the radical group’s Telegram channel. He also claimed that the Palestinian resistance "blew up several shelters and buildings where [Israeli] soldiers were staying." "Some of them were killed or wounded," he said without giving an exact number of Israeli casualties. Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the border were killed and over 200 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. ТАСС 08.12.2023, 22:56 MSK

Kiev not in position to advance conditions for talks with Russia - Russian lawmaker POLITICS: DUMA-UKRAINE-TALKS-OPINION MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Ukraine is not in a position to advance any conditions for talks with Russia, a senior Russian lawmaker said. US Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer said earlier that the United States was making efforts to have Russia sit down at the negotiating table on settling the Ukrainian conflict by the end of the next year on conditions advantageous for Kiev. "The US principal deputy advisor, even responsible for national security, can unlikely dictate conditions for talks with Ukraine to Russia. The more so as Kiev is not in a position to advance its own conditions for negotiations. It would be a utopia to think that this position might change cardinally for the better for the Ukrainian army by 2024. Rather the opposite," said Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). He recalled Russia’s repeated statements that it doesn’t reject talks "but only after all the goals of the special military operation - the denazification and demilitarization of the Kiev regime - are attained and with due account of the fact that new territories are now part of Russia." "This is what we insist on," he stressed. In an interview with the 1+1 TV channel in November, David Arakhamia, head of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), claimed that it was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who prohibited Kiev from signing peace agreements with Russia following talks in Istanbul in late March 2022 and demanded that Ukraine continue military activities against Russia." ТАСС 08.12.2023, 23:17 MSK

US condemns thousands to death by vetoing UN resolution - Russia’s UN mission SECURITY: UN-RESOLUTION-GAZA-1 /updates/ UNITED NATIONS, December 9. /TASS/. The United States condemned thousands of Palestinian and Israeli civilians to death by vetoing a resolution calling for a ceasefire, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said. "Our American colleagues have condemned thousands - if not tens of thousands - more civilians in Palestine and Israel, including women and children, to death, along with the UN workers who are trying to help them. History will assess what Washington has done," he noted. "One can say many beautiful but empty words about democracy, human rights, peace, security, some rules and order, but today, we learned the true value of these words as two members of the UN Security Council preferred to remain complicit in Israel’s brutal massacre," the diplomat said. "Here at the council, we have nothing left to do but triple efforts to develop a decision that would ease the suffering of civilians within the limited and toothless framework that Washington and London have left us with," he concluded. Earlier, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates, which called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Thirteen out of the UN Security Council’s 15 members, including Russia and China, voted for the resolution, while the UK abstained. The resolution called for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages and urged the parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law. ТАСС 09.12.2023, 01:47 MSK

Some see Gaza conflict as source of enrichment, Russian diplomat says SECURITY: UN-RUSSIA-RESOLUTION-GAZA UNITED NATIONS, December 9. /TASS/. Innocent people must not be left to the mercy of those who see the conflict in Gaza as a source of enrichment, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said. "We expect the UN General Assembly to once again have its say. We cannot and must not leave innocent Palestinians and Israelis to the mercy of those who see war as a geopolitical game and a source of enrichment," he pointed out, addressing a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. "It is important to ensure the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2712, no matter how we feel about it. We expect that the UN secretary general will put forward proposals on organizing its monitoring as soon as possible," Polyansky added. On November 15, the UN Security Council passed a Malta-drafted humanitarian resolution aimed at providing assistance to children in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone. Twelve out of 15 members of the council supported the document, while Russia, the UK and the US abstained. The Security Council had rejected Moscow’s amendment to the resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. The document only called for humanitarian pauses for the provision of aid to civilians. On December 8, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates, which called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. ТАСС 09.12.2023, 03:05 MSK

Ukraine in talks on getting various Western warplanes, defense chief says UKRAINE: WEST-AIRCRAFT-SUPPLIES MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Kiev is in talks on getting various Western-made warplanes, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said. Meanwhile, Ukraine has not received US-made F-16 aircraft yet. "We are working on several aspects. First, we are working on related infrastructure and technical equipment, while pilots are undergoing training, as well as technical experts. That said, we will receive the F-16s in the short term. We have also placed some kind of medium-term orders for our defense forces. It’s about 2027-2030," he told the Rada TV channel, when asked if the first F-16 fighter jets would be delivered to Ukraine before the end of the year. "We aren’t discussing the F-16 alone. The list is long," Umerov went on to say. "There are no limits on the transfer of technologies and the use of various platforms, systems and weapons," he said in response to a question if, apart from the F-16s, Ukraine would also get other warplanes. The Ukrainian defense chief noted that Kiev would soon receive F-16 fighter jets but did not specify when that would happen. Reuters reported earlier that Ukraine had requested the US to provide it with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defense system, F-18 Hornet fighter jets, Apache and Black Hawn helicopters, C-17 Globemaster transport jets and C-130 Super Hercules military transport aircraft. According to the news agency, Ukrainian Defense Ministry officials presented a list of armaments the country needs at a closed-door session of a conference in Washington, which was attended by government officials and defense industry executives. F-16 supplies Ukraine has long been asking its Western partners to supply F-16 fighter jets. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted that F-16 jets could reach Ukraine no earlier than the spring of 2024. Kiev says it hopes that it will receive these aircraft in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that "there is not a silver bullet, not a single [weapons] system that by itself will fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield." ТАСС 09.12.2023, 04:24 MSK

Venezuelan president announces decrees on new province of Guayana Esequiba POLITICS: VENEZUELA-PRESIDENT-GUYANA CARACAS, December 9. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has signed decrees that actually incorporate the disputed territory of Guayana Esequiba into the Bolivarian Republic. Maduro announced the decrees at a rally in Caracas. One of the documents appoints the head of the new province. The president said that an office would open in the town of Tumeremo on Saturday that would issue Venezuelan IDs. Maduro also signed and announced a decree creating a high-level commission to protect Essequibo, which will be chaired by Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Another decree enshrines Venezuela’s updated map. One more decree orders the state oil company PDVSA to create a regional branch and rules "to begin the issuance of oil, gas and mining licenses throughout the country." Besides, Maduro announced a decree on the creation of Guayana Esequiba’s zone of integral defense. On December 6, Venezuela’s National Assembly unanimously voted to pass the first reading of a bill in defense of the Essequibo territory within Venezuela based on the results of a consultative referendum. The bill envisages creating a 24th Venezuelan province in Essequibo. Territorial dispute Venezuela and Guyana have been at odds over a 159,500-square-kilometer area west of the Essequibo River for more than a century. Tensions flared up after oil fields containing at least ten bln barrels of oil had been discovered in 2015 and Guyana provided the ExxonMobil company with a concession to explore oil in the offshore areas that had not been delimited. In April, the UN International Court of Justice found Guyana’s lawsuit against Venezuela on border demarcation based on the 1899 decision of a Paris arbitral tribunal to be admissible. The court ruling, which cited fake maps and huge pressure from the UK, handed 90% of the disputed area to London’s colony, British Guiana. Venezuela views Guayana Esequiba as its legitimate territory and believes that the dispute does not fall under the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and insists on direct border demarcation talks with Guyana, as provided for in the 1966 Geneva Agreement. ТАСС 09.12.2023, 05:02 MSK

West no longer sees Ukraine as something special, expert says UKRAINE: UK-SUPPORT-DECLINE-EXPERT LONDON, December 9. /TASS/. Western countries no longer see the Ukraine conflict as their own security issue, Jacob Kirkegaard, senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), told the Financial Times. "Ukraine is no longer special. It is no longer regarded as this issue of national security, of paramount importance for the EU, NATO, or the United States. Because if that was the case, people wouldn’t be playing politics with it," he said, as cited by the newspaper. "It is a devaluation of the Ukrainian war effort. There is no other way to put it, in my opinion. And that, for Ukraine, is a terrible situation," Kirkegaard added, commenting on the situation surrounding additional US and EU aid for Ukraine. According to the expert, Moscow’s "strategic decision to try to hold on longer than the West is working." The paper notes that the US Senate rejected the White House’s latest bid to pass legislation authorizing $60 bln in financial support for Ukraine. Next week, a summit of EU leaders will consider a proposal to provide 50 bln euros to Kiev based on a four-year assistance program. "Without one of those finance packages being approved, Ukraine’s long-term financial security would be in question. With neither, its future would be grim," the Financial Times writes. ТАСС 09.12.2023, 05:39 MSK

OPEC Secretary General calls for rejection of agreement to abandon fossil fuel at COP28 SOCIETY: UAE-OPEC-CLIMATE-SUMMIT-DOCUMENT DUBAI, December 9. /TASS/. OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais has urged member states of the alliance to reject all statements on gradual fossil fuels phase out suggested to be put on the final document of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). A respective letter (with its copy obtained by TASS) has been sent by the OPEC chief to delegations of all 13 OPEC nations, as well as ten countries that have joined the OPEC+ agreement. "I take this opportunity to respectfully urge all respected OPEC+ and non-OPEC countries that have joined the Charter of Cooperation to proactively reject any text or formula that targets energy i.e. fossil fuels rather than emissions," the letter said. The alliance’s member states realize the importance of tackling the climate change, though "the undue and disproportionate pressure against fossil fuels may reach a tipping point with irreversible consequences," Al Ghais noted. "It would be unacceptable that politically motivated campaigns put our people's prosperity and future at risk," he stressed. The secretariat of the Framework Convention on Climate Change released late on Friday a draft of the COP28 final document, which contains a few options of the future use of fossil fuel, including provisions on its gradual phase out. ТАСС 09.12.2023, 08:46 MSK

US, South Korea, Japan agree measures to counter threats posed by Pyongyang - official SECURITY: SKOREA-NKOREA-US-JAPAN SEOUL, December 9. /TASS/. The US, South Korea and Japan have agreed new measures to counter threats posed by North Korea, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. "We've also launched new trilateral initiatives to counter the threats posed by the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea], from its cybercrime and cryptocurrency money laundering to its reckless space and ballistic missile tests," Sullivan noted, as cited by Reuters. White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said earlier that Sullivan was holding consultations with Japanese National Security Secretariat Secretary Akiba Takeo and South Korean National Security Office Director Cho Taeyong. According to the news agency, Sullivan added that the parties' coordinated efforts would also target potential threats of economic coercion. ТАСС 09.12.2023, 07:30 MSK

Dispute between Venezuela, Guyana must be resolved peacefully - Russian diplomat POLITICS: FOREIGN-MINISTRY-LATIN-AMERICA-SETTLEMENT-1 /updates/ MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Russia insists that the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the status of the Essequibo region be resolved by peaceful means with a mutually acceptable solution, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "We insist that this is a matter of Venezuelan-Guyanese relations, which should be settled in the spirit of good neighborliness by means of peaceful mutually acceptable solutions complying with international law and bilateral agreements, as well as current national laws," she said. Moscow calls on the sides "to refrain from any steps that can disbalance the situation and incur mutual damage," she stressed. "We object to external pressure and interference in the affairs of sovereign states, moreover when they have sensitive issues in bilateral relations which require ‘prudence’ from third countries both at the public and private levels," the diplomat pointed out. Tensions over Essequibo Venezuela's National Assembly (parliament) on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill on the protection of Guyana-Essequibo within Venezuela on first reading, based on the results of a consultative referendum. The bill provides for the establishment of Venezuela’s 24th state of Guyana-Essequibo in the disputed territory. The US on Thursday announced the start of joint air exercises with Guyana's military amid the soaring tensions in the country's territorial dispute with Venezuela. Venezuela and Guyana have been at odds over a 159,500-square-kilometer area that sits west of the Essequibo River for more than 100 years. The territory, known as Guyana Essequibo, makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 283,000 of the country’s little more than 800,000 residents. The dispute escalated in 2015, when oil fields containing at least 10 billion barrels were discovered in the area and Guyana granted a concession for the development of oil fields on the non-delimited shelf to ExxonMobil. In April, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that it has jurisdiction over the dispute in Guyana’s lawsuit concerning border demarcation with Venezuela on the basis of the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 (Guyana v Venezuela, Paris), which, under pressure from the United Kingdom, ceded control over 90 percent of the disputed territory to Guyana, a British colony at that time. However, Venezuela, which insists on its sovereignty over Essequibo, does not recognize the ICJ’s jurisdiction over the dispute and demands direct border demarcation talks with Guyana, as stipulated by the 1966 Geneva Agreement. ТАСС 08.12.2023, 21:01 MSK

Russia ranks third in terms of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Spain this year, according to data released by the Spanish energy company Enagas. Spain purchased the equivalent of 67,209 GWh of LNG from January to November 2023 from Russia or 39% more, compared to 48,406 GWh in the like period of 2022. Russia ranks third among gas suppliers to Spain this year after Algeria and the United States. In November 2023, Spain received 6,439 GWh of LNG from Russia (5,953 GWh in November 2022). In June 2023, Russia topped the list of gas suppliers to Spain. In 2022, Russia was fourth in terms of gas supplies to the Kingdom, behind only the US, Algeria and Nigeria. ТАСС 07.12.2023, 20:11 MSK

May 30, 2023 will go down as a historic date in human history. For the first time, the regional conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated into a de facto direct war of aggression by the USA on the capital of the Russian Federation. Of course, the drone attack on Moscow from Ukraine only caused damage to the structure of some buildings. However, the political damage caused between the major nuclear powers USA and Russia is far more dramatic. The danger of World War III can no longer be dismissed - but it can still be averted if Washington changes leadership in Kiev. a comment from Vlad Georgescu In fact, US President Joe Biden has to realize that there cannot be peace negotiations between Zelensky and Putin. But unlike the hopes and wishes that Putin would die as a result of illness, attempted coups or accidents, Biden should think pragmatically: There can no longer be peace with Zelensky after the drone attack on Moscow. The alternative to Zelensky exists. On the one hand, the mayor of Kiev, Klitschko, would be hardliner enough not to be considered a traitor in Ukraine if he negotiated with Putin. On the other hand - and more importantly - Klitschko could end the Zelensky era without there being a loss of face in Moscow and Washington due to the expected peace negotiations. And they are urgently needed. Since May 30th at the latest, many hawks in Moscow have seen Putin as too hesitant - or weak. If he doesn't respond to the drone attacks, or responds inappropriately, his era could actually end soon. But contrary to American hopes, neither Boris II nor a dove of peace will rule the Kremlin. On the contrary. If Putin falls, those forces that see preventive nuclear strikes against the West as an effective means of national defense will follow. And so, in order to support Putin, who is now acting more prudently, the USA must end the comedian's hour in Kiev. The presidential change, with Zelensky in his well-earned retirement outside Ukraine, and Klitschko as the new strong man at the top of the country, would also pave the way for direct negotiations between Washington and Moscow. Especially since another hope of the Americans WITHOUT this option mutates into a deadly illusion: The USA itself, contrary to the Americans' perception, is by no means far enough away from what is happening in Europe to be spared. This means that Russian allies, such as Iran or Syria, can carry out hybrid attacks on the USA on site via existing sleeper cells. The war would then not only come to Moscow - but immediately back to Washington. One thing is certain: every war, whether proxy or not, has a phase of combat. And towards the end, as the US President should also know, there is a phase of negotiation. The drone attack on Moscow should therefore be seen as a turning point. It's about the direct war between the USA and Russia, with all its consequences. Or it's about the presidential change in Kiev, as a new diplomatic beginning. The article first appeared on augenauf.blog on May 30, 2023

Russia, Saudi Arabia commending OPEC+ efforts - joint statement URGENT MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Russia and Saudi Arabia rated high the successful efforts of OPEC+ countries to increase the stability of global oil markets. "In the field of energy, the two sides commended the close cooperation between them and the successful efforts of the OPEC+ countries in enhancing the stability of global oil markets," according to the Joint Statement after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. The two parties "stressed the importance of continuing this cooperation, and the need for all participating countries to adhere to the OPEC+ agreement, in a way that serves the interests of producers and consumers and supports the growth of the global economy," the document reads. ТАСС 07.12.2023, 14:43 MSK

Kremlin calls for 'patience' on Putin's 2024 presidential bid SOCIETY: KREMLIN-PRESIDENT-ELECTIONS-1 /Updates, adds info after 2nd para/ MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. There have been no statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin about his intention to run for president in the upcoming elections so far, it’s important to "be patient," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "So far there have been no statements from Putin, so let's be patient here," the Kremlin spokesman said. Peskov did not comment on the Kremlin’s vision of the campaign and its outcome. "I consider this part of the question absolutely inappropriate. We have all the rights and duties granted by the Constitution to citizens in connection with the election campaign," he said. The Federation Council at a plenary session on Thursday adopted a resolution to schedule presidential elections in Russia for March 17, 2024, it will come into force from the moment of its official publication. According to the electoral legislation, the Federation Council decides on the date of the elections. The upper house of parliament sets the date no earlier than 100 days and no later than 90 days before the election day. ТАСС 07.12.2023, 14:47 MSK

Russia, Saudi Arabia to work on increasing mutual investments URGENT MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to continue efforts of increasing mutual and joint investments in the two countries. "The two sides stressed their keenness to continue working to enhance mutual and joint investments in the two countries, enable the private sector, exchange visits, hold joint investment forums and events, develop the investment-attractive environment, provide the necessary enablers, and solve any challenges in this field," according to the Joint Statement after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. ТАСС 07.12.2023, 14:47 MSK

The Bundeswehr is receiving 53 new engines for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle. A contract was recently concluded between the Bundeswehr procurement office and the company Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH, formerly MTU Friedrichshafen. With a volume of more than 129 million euros, this contract is the highest-volume order in the context of replacement parts demand in recent years. In order to ensure the long-term operational readiness of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, the engines must be subjected to a general overhaul at specified intervals. For this purpose, the Bundeswehr needs sufficient replacement engines as a so-called circulating reserve. The general overhaul of the Puma's engines takes place every 1,000 operating hours, after a mileage of 10,000 km or every ten years. To do this, the engines must be removed from the armored personnel carriers in advance of subsequent maintenance and replaced with other engines. According to the contractor, the duration of the general overhaul is approximately one year. With the contract now concluded, the Bundeswehr will have sufficient replacement engines, which at the same time significantly increases the operational readiness of the vehicles for training, exercises and operational obligations. Delivery of the first engines is planned for May 2024 and will be completed in stages by June 2025.

Israel failing to create winning image - Hamas official POLITICS: PALESTINE-ISRAEL-ARMY-HAMAS CAIRO, December 5. /TASS/. Israel has failed to paint a winning image, either politically or militarily, Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said. "After 60 days of the war, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his army have failed to paint an image of victory, both in political and military terms. Their dream will never come true no matter how long this war lasts," he said in a televised address aired by the Al Jazeera television channel. "It is impossible to defeat Hamas, impossible to defeat our Palestinian people. We confirm that Netanyahu and his General Staff are getting bogged down in Gaza deeper and deeper," he added. On November 22, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect at 7:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on November 24. The deal stipulated the release of Israeli women and children being held hostage in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons. The sides extended the ceasefire several times but on the morning of December 1 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities placed the blame for the resumed hostilities on the United States. ТАСС 05.12.2023, 23:04 MSK

Hermitage cat finally caught after roaming museum halls for two months SOCIETY: PETERSBURG-HERMITAGE-CAT-RESCUE ST. PETERSBURG, December 6. /TASS/. Workers of St. Petersburg’s famous Hermitage Museum, with the assistance of the Koshkispas animal rescue service, have finally managed to catch a museum cat, which was hiding in ventilation pipes in daytime and roaming museum grounds at night for two months. The story of the cat’s rescue was published on the official website of the museum, which is known to keep several dozens of rat-catching cats in its basement. "Pasha, a Hermitage cat, has accidentally found its way to the museum proper, sneaking to the area of upper coatrooms. Startled by a crowd of people (the coatrooms are always a busy place!), the animal rushed into an available opening and secreted itself in a ventilation duct. The cat left its hiding place only at night, and this led to even more problems," the museum said on its website. The personnel of the Hermitage Museum was worried about the cat's life. They feared that it might get stuck somewhere inside the museum walls: the building’s ventilation system has lots of branches and offshoots and measures around 50 meters from top to bottom. "For two months, Pasha refused to go out in daytime, although sometimes, at night, it took a nap in the administrator’s armchair near the entrance. We tried to call it, tried to lure it out with cat goodies, we even set up a cat trap. However, Pasha kept staring blankly at us from a dark opening, motionless. Sometimes, it even ran away from rescuers, going deeper into dark tunnels," museum officials said. Animal rescuers were called in to save the cat, but, despite their best efforts, night duties inside the museum produced no result until the trespasser finally gave up. "The animal eventually decided to run out, heading to an empty section of the coatroom, and laid there, frozen in place by the stress it had endured. This is where we finally managed to catch it with a hand net, put it in a box and take it to the cat house in the basement with an escort of museum security guards," Hermitage said, assuring that the cat is feeling well and is now in the company of other museum rat catchers. The cats have been living in the Hermitage, originally a tsar’s palace, since the 18th century. They were taken there after Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of the city's founder Peter the Great, issued an order to bring mice-catching cats from the city of Kazan, famous for its rat hunters at that time. Now, from 50 to 70 rat-catching cats roam the Hermitage’s basement and they also appear on the neighboring embankment and square. Their population is regulated to avoid territorial disputes. In the recent years, the cats of the Hermitage have become a popular tourist brand in the city. The city has even established a special holiday - the Day of the Hermitage Cat. Apart from that, it offers a tourist trail, Cats of St. Petersburg. In 2015, the British press put the Hermitage Museum cats on the list of the world’s most unusual tourist attractions. One of the Hermitage cats, white-furred Achilles, was an official oracle of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and will go on predicting the outcomes of FIFA World Cup matches in 2018. ТАСС 06.12.2023, 07:20 MSK

Anti-Russian sanctions ineffective, but create problems for US businesses - ambassador POLITICS: US-RUSSIA-SANCTIONS-AMBASSADOR WASHINGTON, December 6. /TASS/. The United States’ anti-Russian sanctions are not producing the desired effect, but create problems for US businesses, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said. Commenting on the new sanctions imposed by the United States against citizens and companies from Russia and other countries, the ambassador said: "Sanctions do not work against Russia. The Russian economy is standing firmly on its feet and is developing. Any attempts to force us to change our policy are doomed to failure. These are obvious facts that all true professionals agree with." "Thousands of anti-Russian restrictions create serious problems for the US private sector. Firms and corporations are losing huge incomes from leaving the Russian market and abandoning our energy resources, as well as other goods," he was quoted as saying on the Russian embassy’s official Telegram channel. "In order to achieve its foreign policy goals, Washington, using the sanction bat, is actually sacrificing the interests of its allies - this time Belgium, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Germany. Doesn’t the US really understand that in this way it is sawing the dollar branch on which the American economy sits?" he added. The US Department of the Treasury said it had added 13 individuals and 20 companies to its Russia and Belarus blacklists. Among the blacklisted individuals are citizens of Russia, Belarus, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. The list of legal entities includes companies from Belarus, Cyprus, Belgium, the Netherlands and China. ТАСС 06.12.2023, 07:45 MSK

Trump says won’t be a dictator if elected president POLITICS: US-TRUMP-PRESIDENT NEW YORK, December 6. /TASS/. Former US President Donald Trump said he would not be a dictator except for Day One if he is re-elected in 2024. "I want to close the border and I want to drill," Trump said at a town hall event in Iowa hosted by Fox News. The United States holds a presidential election in November 2024. On April 25, the incumbent 46th US president, Joe Biden, declared his candidacy for re-election. Trump announced his campaign for a presidential term in November 2022. ТАСС 06.12.2023, 09:26 MSK

Bitcoin surpasses $44,000, first time since April 5, 2022 ECONOMY: BITCOIN-PRICE-DYNAMICS MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. The price of Bitcoin rose above $44,999 for the first time since April 5, 2022, according to Coindesk platform. Thus, as of 21:44 Moscow time, the price of bitcoin grew by 4.98% to $44,075. By 21:55 Moscow time, Bitcoin had slowed down and was at $43.743 thousand (+4.76%). Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown person or a group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without intermediaries. ТАСС 05.12.2023, 22:32 MSK

UN Security Council to discuss arms supplies to Ukraine on December 11 UKRAINE: UN-RUSSIA-SESSION-WEAPONS-1 /Updates/ UNITED NATIONS, December 5. /TASS/. The UN Security Council will convene on Russia’s request on December 11 to discuss Western arms supplies to the Kiev government, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Tuesday. "At 3:00 p.m. New York time on December 11 [8:00 p.m. GMT] a [Security Council] meeting on Western arms supplies to Ukraine will be held on Russia’s request," he wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that Russia is planning to invite "a very interesting" person to deliver a report to the Council. Polyansky also said that Russia would hold an informal Arria-formula UN Security Council meeting on December 8. "We will try to invite those who directly participated in these unfortunate events, which in many respects determined Ukraine’s sad future," he said. In his opinion, Western diplomats are "doing their best to keep the issue of Ukraine in the focus of the UN Security Council." "At the same time, they are absolutely comfortable with their outrageous double standards. Over the two months of the Israeli massacre they have not yet requested a single meeting on Gaza. Moreover, they requested a meeting on humanitarian situation in Ukraine on December 6," the Russian diplomat said. ТАСС 05.12.2023, 23:23 MSK

Caspian ‘five’ to ramp up dialogue on trust-building measures in military area POLITICS: MFA-CASPIAN-DIALOGUE MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Foreign Ministers of the five Caspian states (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan) called to intensify negotiations on development of an agreement on trust-building measures regarding military activity in the Caspian Sea, says the joint statement, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website. "The ministers […] noted the necessity to intensify the negotiation process in order to finalize the following five-side draft treaties: on negotiated trust-building measures in the area of military activity in the Caspian Sea," the statement reads. The sides also emphasized the importance of further work on the draft protocol for the Tehran convention on monitoring, assessment and exchange of information on the condition of the Caspian Sea water environment. "The sides endorse the initiative on establishment of a working group on the issue of the shallowing of the Caspian Sea and task the [high-level working group on Caspian Sea issues] to pay special attention to this topic within the currently carried out review of cooperation in the Caspian region," the document reads. ТАСС 05.12.2023, 23:37 MSK

Hamas losing control of Gaza Strip - Israeli defense minister DEFENSE: ISRAEL-HAMAS-GAZA-1 /updates/ TEL AVIV, December 5. /TASS/. Hamas is losing control over the Gaza Strip, with its armed units sustaining losses, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant has said. "Hamas is losing control, sustaining losses and this is due to the resolute and strong actions by the Israel Defense Forces who are acting from the air, from the sea, and on the ground in coordination with intelligence. Our results are considerable, impressive and precise," he told a news conference. The minister admitted that the army has to "pay the price" sustaining losses b but Israel would not give up. "There is only one way to justify the victims and this is a victory. And the victory must be unequivocal and lead to the implementation of all our goals - the extermination of Hams, its complete disarmament and the return home of those kidnapped," he stressed. According to Galant, Israel "is waging the most just war: and is fighting for the very possibility to exist. "That is why we will spare no effort, we will involve the whole society, the Israel Defense Forces to ensure that Hamas ceases to exist in the Gaza Strip as an organization. We will do this whatever it may take," he said. Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. ТАСС 05.12.2023, 23:54 MSK

Netanyahu rejects possibility of international participation in demilitarization of Gaza DEFENSE: ISRAEL-PALESTINE-GAZA-DEMILITARIZATION-1 TEL AVIV, December 6. /TASS/. The Gaza Strip must remain demilitarized after Israel’s military operation in the enclave, and the Israel Defense Forces should be in charge of the process, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. "Gaza must be demilitarized, and there is only one force capable of doing this, namely the Israel Defense Forces. No other international player can be put in charge of this," he told reporters. "We saw what happened in other places, where international forces were deployed for demilitarization. I’m not going to turn a blind eye to this and to make such decisions," the Israeli prime minister added. He went on to declare that Israel will accomplish its military operation in Gaza despite mounting international pressure. Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on the morning of December 1 that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip. ТАСС 06.12.2023, 00:02 MSK