Sport

Senator Kosachev announced the right of Moscow to use the army when attacking Russians abroad

Photo: Sergey Pivovarov / RIA Novosti

Russia does not plan to be the first to attack Ukraine, but our country has the right to use the army to protect its citizens abroad in the event that they are threatened with an attack. Konstantin Kosachev, vice-speaker of the Federation Council, told Interfax about this.

He recalled that after the conflict in South Ossetia in 2008, amendments were made to the federal law “On Defense”, making it possible to quickly use the RF Armed Forces abroad.

The senator added that “Russia has never attacked anyone first,” but he is concerned about the situation in which Ukraine may try to forcefully resolve the problems in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“Ukraine is being pushed to try to solve the problems of the South-East by military means,” Kosachev said. “Moreover, the provocateurs both inside and outside Ukraine understand exactly what will happen in this case.

Earlier, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko also spoke about Moscow's lack of plans to attack Ukraine. According to her, neither the country's leadership, nor 80 percent of Russians who consider Ukrainians a fraternal people, see this as meaningless.

On Sunday, December 26, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow has no plans to invade Ukraine. He stressed that our country does not start armed conflicts on its own.

Former head coach of the Russian national team Plyushchev: it's too early to make predictions about the result at the MFM

Vladimir Plushev. Photo: Vladimir Trefilov / RIA Novosti

Former head coach of the Russian national and youth hockey teams Vladimir Plyushchev commented on the performance of the Russians at the 2022 World Youth Championship in Canada. The specialist spoke in an interview with the Lenta.ru correspondent.

He noted that it is too early to make predictions about the result of the team in the tournament. “It will be possible to talk about this only after it becomes clear who we are getting into the playoffs. In the meantime, our team needs to win the remaining matches in the group, and our team is very strong. The meetings with Slovakia and the United States will be difficult, ”Plushev said.

The coach also spoke about the weaknesses in the game of the Russian youth team. “We need to improve in technical and tactical actions. In the match with a strong rival – the Swedes – our team acted a little straightforwardly, the guys wanted to take the Scandinavians unceremoniously, ”Plushev added.

The Russians played two matches at the 2022 World Cup. In the first meeting, Sergey Zubov's team lost to Sweden (3: 6), and in the second game they defeated Switzerland (4: 2). At the group stage, the Russian national team will also meet with Slovakia on December 30, and play with the United States on January 1.

German Foreign Minister Berbock: Nord Stream 2 plays an important geostrategic role

Photo: Thomas Trutschel / globallookpress.com

The Nord Stream 2 (SP-2) gas pipeline plays an important geostrategic role; it cannot be considered a private commercial project. This was stated by the head of the German Foreign Ministry, Annalena Berbock, in an interview with the DPA agency.

The Minister indicated her disagreement with the position of the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who believes that the certification process for Nord Stream 2 should not have political overtones, and the new gas pipeline is a joint commercial project. “The last few years, even considering the different perceptions [of the project] in Europe, have clearly shown the geostrategic role played by Nord Stream 2,” said Berbock.

The Foreign Minister recalled the mutual agreement between Berlin and Washington on Nord Stream 2, in which the parties agreed to introduce a new package of economic sanctions in the event of Russian speculations on the energy market. “Even the previous government of Germany, together with the US administration, made it clear that energy resources cannot be used as a weapon and that this would have significant consequences. And that also holds true, ”added Berbock.

Earlier, Germany prepared for power outages amid insufficient gas supplies from Russia due to the suspension of certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Otherwise, Germany will not be able to implement an energy transition, which consists of abandoning nuclear power and ending the production of electricity from coal.

On December 27, US President Joe Biden signed the country's defense budget for 2022. The law provides for funds to contain Russia, but the document rejected new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Russian Olympians and Paralympians to be vaccinated by the end of the year on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers

Photo: Globallookpress.com

The Cabinet of Ministers of Russia instructed to organize vaccination against COVID-19 for the participants of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Telegram channel URA.RU informs about it.

The corresponding decision was made by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. Domestic Olympians, as well as Paralympians, must be vaccinated by the end of 2021.

On December 27, it became known that the Russian government urgently allocated funds to provide visas for domestic athletes before the Beijing Olympics. Half a billion rubles will be spent for these purposes.

The Beijing Olympics will take place from 4 to 20 February. Russia will play at the Games in a neutral status due to the sanctions of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

“Gazeta.Ru”: the cost of clothes in 2022 will grow by an average of 20-25 percent

Photo: Christophe Gateau / globallookpress.com

In 2022, clothes in Russia will rise in price by 20-25 percent on average, analysts warned. At the same time, premium-segment items will become more expensive by 40 percent, and the cost of mass-market products will increase by 10-15 percent. This is reported by “Gazeta.Ru” with reference to market representatives. The rise in prices is associated with the rise in the cost of raw materials and transport services around the world.

Moreover, to a greater extent, the jump in prices will affect winter jackets, said the head of the Baon retail chain Ilya Yaroshenko. “To a greater extent, this will affect down jackets, there will be maximum growth for them, but for the rest of the goods it is also inevitable,” he stated. For her part, the General Director of Fashion Consulting Group Anna Lebsak-Kleimans believes that prices will grow especially strongly next year in the premium segment, and this will affect not only Russia, but the whole world as a whole.

Earlier, retailers warned Russians about the rise in prices for artificial Christmas trees, as well as real trees, up to 30 percent due to rising purchase prices and logistics costs. The prices for pyrotechnics for the holidays have also become higher: by the end of the year, their cost may soar by 60-70 percent.

Norwegian Klebo wished Russian Bolshunov to be in the best shape at all starts

Photo: @johanneshk

Norwegian skier Johannes Klebo wished Russian Alexander Bolshunov to be in the best shape at all starts. The sportsman's reasoning is given by TV2.

“I do not hope that he will be injured or sick. I want him to be in better shape. In this case, it is most interesting to compete, ”Klebo said. The Norwegian also ran into a response from the Russian. “Let's talk on the track,” Bolshunov said.

This season, Bolshunov won one victory at the World Cup stages and took third place one more time. In the overall standings, the Russian closes the top three.

Klebo tops the list of the best skiers in the World Cup. In second place is the Russian Sergei Ustyugov. From December 28 to January 4, athletes will take part in the Tour de Ski.

American woman overpaid for a helicopter ticket due to excess weight and lost 58 kilograms

Photo: Yulissa Tagle / Unsplash

The 120-kilogram US resident was forced to overpay for a helicopter flight due to her excess weight and lost 58 kilograms in a year. Reported by 7NEWS.

41-year-old Sabrina Osland from Minnesota said that she never seriously monitored weight and healthy eating. She gained and lost weight, and due to her busy work schedule, she often ate unhealthy foods.

The American decided to lose weight after she went with her son on a trip to Alaska. For one of the days they had a helicopter tour planned, but before the flight, the woman was told that due to her excess weight, she would have to pay twice as much. “If the weight of the passenger was above a certain mark, he had to pay for the second ticket, because the other tourist would have to wait for the next flight,” said Osland.

The woman was shocked by what happened, and she decided to lose weight by all means. By that time, she weighed over 120 kilograms. The American woman began with a daily walk of half an hour. When Åsland was strong enough, she began taking longer walks and added strength training in the gym to them.

The COVID-19 pandemic that began soon not only did not interrupt her studies, but even benefited. “I no longer had excuses that the work schedule was too tight and so on. I thought, “I have no more excuses,” recalls the American.

In addition, Åsland has completely changed her attitude to food. She only started eating when she was really hungry and choosing only healthy foods, and not those that cook faster, as it was before. “My thinking completely changed, and I realized that I needed to return to the very basics, start listening to the real needs of the body,” said losing weight.

During the year of the beginning of regular classes, the woman managed to lose weight from 120 to 61 kilograms. Those who want to lose weight Osland advises not to wait for quick results and not get upset because of temporary failures. She admitted that there were days when she exercised worse than usual or ate something harmful, but this did not affect her psyche. The American believes that the main thing is to always give 100 percent and gradually move from one success to the next.

Earlier it was reported that a 100-kilogram resident of India lost 20 kilograms and shared the secret of success. The man said that he decided to lose weight because he could no longer wear his favorite clothes.

Girl-fighter Valerie Loreda from Bellator posts photo from NBA match in mini-shorts

Photo: @valerieloureda

American female mixed martial artist (MMA) Valerie Loreda posted a photo in mini shorts. The post is available on Instagram.

The 23-year-old American attended a National Basketball Association (NBA) match with the Miami Heat. Loreda is a native of Miami. In the photo, she is posing in denim mini shorts. The publication received more than 156 thousand likes per day.

On December 26, Loreda also delighted fans with a photo in short shorts. The picture was taken in the New Year theme.

The athlete regularly publishes candid pictures. Loreda is considered one of the sex symbols of MMA. She has 880 thousand followers on Instagram.

Loreda is best known for her performances at Bellator. She has four wins and one defeat. In her last fight on November 21, she was stronger than Taylor Turner.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov: talks with the United States on security guarantees may take place on January 10

Photo: Emin Jafarov / Kommersant

Negotiations between Russia and the United States on security guarantees may take place on January 10, but there is no final agreement on the date yet. This was stated by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov in a conversation with RIA Novosti.

According to him, at the meeting Moscow will insist on discussing a draft security guarantee treaty. The Russian side has already submitted proposals on the agenda of the talks, “but in Washington they are talking about some abstractions,” Ryabkov said.

Earlier, RIA Novosti, citing Western media, noted that the United States and the Russian Federation would hold arms control talks on Ukraine on January 10. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Washington and Moscow agree to use three tracks of negotiations. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko added that in addition to this, the Russian side is working on the timing and format of the Russia-NATO Council meeting.

The Russian national team player scored three goals in two MFM matches and repeated Ovechkin's achievement

Photo: Geoff Burke / Reuters

The forward of the Russian youth ice hockey team Matvey Michkov repeated the achievement of the Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, set in 2003. The correspondent of “Lenta.ru” informs about it.

The 17-year-old Russian, having scored a goal in the World Youth Championship game against Switzerland, brought the number of goals scored in the tournament to three. 18 years ago, Ovechkin also had three goals after two MFM matches. Then the Russians won gold medals.

On November 13, Michkov scored a goal for the main Russian team. The forward, who at that time was 16 years old, updated Ovechkin's record, becoming the youngest author of a goal in the match for the national team.

Michkov plays for SKA. This season, the forward has played 13 matches in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), in which he scored two goals and made three assists.