Lavrov: Trump election would not change US-Russia relations
The re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States would not change the “destructive” American policy towards Russia, according to what was stated by Moscow’s Foreign Minister, Serghei Lavrov, in an interview with CBS. “I don’t think there is any difference – Lavrov said in the interview, reported by the Russian agency Ria Novosti – because there is a tendency towards the destruction of Russian-American relations, of their foundations, including agreements on strategic stability, equality, mutual trust, inspections, transparency and so on”. All this began to be erased “at the time of the presidency of Bush Jr.”, added the Russian Foreign Minister. According to Lavrov, “those who ignored the good intentions that Putin showed in his first two mandates (from 2000 to 2008, ed.), who miscalculated, are the ones who need to think again.” Instead, he concluded, “we see the current generation of politicians in the United States who have not learned a single lesson from the unacceptable policies that the US pursued after the collapse of the USSR.”
China: at least 50 injured in 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Xinjiang
The provisional toll from the violent 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck Wushi county, Aksu prefecture, a remote area of Xinjiang in China during the night is at least 50 injured. The quake, which at the time would not have caused casualties, was recorded at 2.09 local time (5.09 pm on Monday in Italy), according to the latest findings released by the China Earthquake Networks Center, in a vast sparsely inhabited area. The epicenter, with a depth of 22 kilometers, was identified in a town in Wushi county, within the mountainous border area between China and Kyrgyzstan. According to the Xinjiang Earthquake Agency, there are five villages in Wushi county most directly affected, located within 20 kilometers of the epicenter. The rescue efforts, which mobilized dozens of people and vehicles, found the collapse of residential houses and the unusability of some roads, helping several dozen injured people, according to authorities cited by state media. The most serious were transported to hospital. Within a few hours of the main earthquake, an earthquake swarm was recorded with further earthquakes with a maximum magnitude of 5.3, recorded shortly after 9am local time. The tremors were felt mainly in the Aksu area, but also in various cities and prefectures in Xinjiang, including Urumqi, Hotan and Kashgar.
Ukraine: Russian attacks on Kiev and Kharkiv, one dead and several injured
New Russian attacks on Kiev and Kharkiv, which caused a total of one death and several injuries. According to reports from the capital’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, a woman was killed and four people were injured after debris from a missile landed on a residential building and a kindergarten. In Kharkiv an area of residential buildings was hit and several people were injured.
7.1 magnitude earthquake in Xinjiang, China
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a sparsely populated part of China’s western Xinjiang region, injuring six people and damaging or collapsing more than 120 homes in freezing weather. The earthquake shook a mountainous county in Aksu Prefecture shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday and about 200 rescuers were sent to the epicenter. The earthquake knocked down power lines but electricity was quickly restored. The train service was suspended during safety checks but no problems were found and the service was restored. Numerous aftershocks were recorded, the strongest of which was magnitude 5.3.
China: deaths from landslide in Yunnan rise to 11
The confirmed deaths due to the massive landslide that hit the remote village of Liangshui in China on Monday, in the city of Tangfang and part of the southwestern province of Yunnan, have risen to 11. Rescuers, state media reported, are still busy searching for dozens of missing people who ended up under around 300,000 cubic meters of soil and rock. The Xinhua news agency reported that teams on the site were now in a “race against time”, even more so after a night of sub-zero temperatures. “Search and rescue efforts continued throughout the night,” added the agency, which said the disaster “was an effect of the collapse of a rock ridge” from the mountains in the area. A few hundred rescuers, dozens of fire engines and other heavy equipment were sent to the scene, also considering that the affected areas are covered in snow. President Xi Jinping himself has ordered “every possible and all-out effort” to search for the missing.
Israel: 21 soldiers killed during the night
Twenty-one soldiers were killed last night in ongoing fighting in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza. This was announced by military spokesman Daniel Hagari. This is the most serious episode for the Israeli army since the beginning of the war. Notably, the Israeli army claims that 10 soldiers were killed in an attack in central Gaza. Soldiers were preparing explosives to demolish two houses in central Gaza when a militant threw a grenade at a nearby tank. The explosion triggered the explosives.
Ukraine, air alert declared over the entire country
Air alert across Ukraine for missile attack by Russia. This was reported by Rbc Ukraine which reports Russian cruise missiles launched towards Ukrainian territory. “Missile danger in the southern and eastern regions due to the threat of launching cruise missiles from Tu-95MS aircraft,” reads the message from the Kiev Defense Forces.
At 6 am local time the Air Force reported that the first group of missiles was flying over the Sumy region in the direction of Poltava. The first group of missiles enters Vinnytsia airspace, heading west.
The second group is located on the border between the Poltava and Kiev regions, heading west.
Rockets move along the border between Kiev and Cherkasy regions.
Franco Pregnancy
deputy editor-in-chief