Новости за 31.12.2016

Citizens of Russia, friends, the year 2016 is coming to a close. It was a challenging year, but the difficulties we faced have brought us together and allowed us to reveal enormous resources for our movement forward.

Hollande said on Saturday in a New Year address to French people that he was going to visit Iraq on January 2.

An Italian orchestra conductor who told children at a Disney Christmas concert in Rome that Santa isn't real has been fired and organizers have distanced themselves from his remarks.

The Russian Defense Ministry's center for Syrian reconciliation has registered 13 violations of the ceasefire regime in Syria in the past 24 hours.

The threat posed by the two terrorist suspects, detained Wednesday in Spain, was eliminated, the state’s Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said on Saturday.

The inclusion in Donald Trump's inauguration as US president of a 'prosperity gospel' preacher whose church solicits donations in exchange for blessings and has been investigated by the US Senate is infuriating some of his evangelical supporters.

Despite last week's statement by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari that Boko Haram was "on the run" with no place to hide, the terrorist's group leader has issued a new video statement saying he is "well and alive" and that "the battle is just beginning."

A national conference to establish a federal state in Syria has to be held soon, as the crisis in the country is entering a new phase, the Consecutive Board of the Movement for a Democratic Society said in a statement obtained by Sputnik on Saturday.

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a draft resolution submitted by Russia and Turkey on a comprehensive resolution of the Syrian crisis, including the ceasefire regime and political talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups in Astana, Kazakhstan in January 2017.

Unlike most people this lucky guy is willowy enough for this amazing ladder trick.

US President-elect Donald Trump's election promises to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports and his decision to pick "China hawk" Peter Navarro as head of the newly created White House National Trade Council prompted a heated debate over the possibility of a trade war between Washington and Beijing.

In 2017, the world will closely watch Donald Trump become United States president, developments in Syria and the elections in Germany and France. Among other important issues on the global agenda will be the crisis in eastern Ukraine, the peaceful dialogue on Syria and Western sanctions against Russia.

A total of 16 people in China were sentenced to up to five years in prison over human organs trade, media reported on Saturday, citing a local court in east China's Shandong Province.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani welcomed Saturday the latest Russia-backed nationwide ceasefire in Syria, and reaffirmed the intention to work in the framework of Moscow-Tehran-Damascus cooperation on the Syrian issue.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and diplomat Thomas Graham are currently considered by the media to be the main candidates for the post of US ambassador to Russia. In an interview with Radio Sputnik political expert Vladimir Batyuk noted the appointment of a new ambassador will be crucial for the normalization of relations between the two countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the Syrian settlement and Israeli–Palestinian conflict resolution over the phone on Saturday, the Kremlin's press service said.

The Obama administration's latest anti-Russia sanctions resemble nothing so much as vengeance toward US President-elect Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Sputnik. Russian newspaper Vzglyad echoed Zakharova, suggesting that Hillary Clinton's team could have been behind the White House's latest move.

The Russian government has decided to adopt the federal budget for the year 2017 and for the 2018-2019 planned period.

News is supposed to inform people about something unusual. But these news stories have taken the biscuit in terms of their absurdity.

As part of a global counter-terrorism strategy, the 'Prevent' legislation in the UK is considered by large factions of the Muslim communities as a contentious policy that has created an entire community of suspects worldwide, according to a London-based NGO.

The special plane, which is set to carry back home the Russian diplomats expelled from the United States by President Barack Obama's decision earlier this week, has landed near Washington, Russian Embassy spokesman Nikolai Lahonin told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

Investment banks have called Russia the favorite in 2017 among emerging markets. This is according to a Bloomberg 2017 investment forecast spelled out on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Saturday discussed over the phone the Syrian ceasefire agreement, preparations for Astana talks on Syria and cooperation on the ultimate resolution of the crisis in the Arab country, the Kremlin's press service said.

The Ahrar-ash Sham rebel group voiced opposition to the ceasefire regime in Syria because it was influenced by forces which are hostile to a peaceful settlement in Syria, Alexei Pushkov, a member of Russia's Federation Council, stated.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry on Saturday denied media reports alleging that a fire occurred at the building of the US embassy on the Novinskiy boulevard in Moscow.