Breaking News — January 10, 2018

The US Air Force sent three B-52H strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons to Europe on Tuesday. Two bombers landed at Fairford airbase in England. Due to bad weather conditions the third one landed at the British airbase Mildenhall. The aim of this airlift as well as missions and tasks assigned to the US Air Force’s strategic aviation in Europe are unknown.

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In the Crimea, the creation of an anti-aircraft defense ring without dead zones was completed, with the help of divisions of the Sevastopol and Feodosiya S-400 divisions deployed in different parts of the peninsula. The tasks of the units include the tasks of cross-firing potential missile threats from Ukraine, including those aimed at the Crimean bridge. This was announced today by the State Duma deputy from Sevastopol Dmitry Belik. He noted that the deployment of the S-400 air defense systems in Sevastopol is a warning signal to Ukrainian missile developers.

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The authorities of Malaysia signed an agreement with the US company Ocean Infinity on the resumption of searches for Boeing flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014. This was reported by the Minister of Transport of the country Liow Tiong Lai. Searches will resume in the middle of January. Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Transport said that a 25 thousand sq.km search zone had already been determined, located north of the previous operation area in the southern Indian Ocean.

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Ukrainian nationalists intend to continue actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. This was stated in the radical organization C14. Its representatives demand «at the state level» to explain to people that the UOC is a part of the Russian Orthodox Church, and consequently «an enemy religious resource». Earlier the radicals blocked the entrance to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra for several hours, claiming that «the headquarters of the separatists» is located there.

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In Ukraine, dozens of protesters blocked the movement towards three border crossing points on the border with Poland. They also blocked the international route Kiev-Kovel-Yagodin, in the Lyuboml district of the Volyn region. The participants are opposed to the new customs regulations that have entered into force since the beginning of 2018, limiting the duty-free import of goods to Ukraine in excess of € 150 and weighing more than 50 kg.

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Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Bogdanov and Palestinian Ambassador Abdel Nofal discussed the situation on the Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip, which was heated after the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The meeting was held on the initiative of the Palestinian side. Particular attention was paid to the topical issues of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and the problems of restoring Palestinian unity, including the Russian efforts to assist this process.