Russia

KRASNODAR, January 22. /TASS/. Eight out of twelve sailors rescued after fire onboard two vessels in the Black Sea are Turkish nationals, the Turkish consulate general in Russia’s Novorossiysk told TASS on Tuesday.

Earlier reports said there were a total of 31 people onboard the two vessels, twelve sailors have been rescued and ten have been found dead.

"We know that eight Turkish nationals have been rescued. <...> The bodies [of those killed] have not been yet identified," a spokesperson said.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Moscow on Tuesday. The Japanese prime minister is currently in Russia on a working visit.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. US national Paul Whelan, suspected of espionage in Russia, had documents containing state secrets at the time of his detention, lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told TASS.

"I can confirm that at the time of his detention, Whelan had some documents containing state secrets, but I cannot go into details," the lawyer said.

In this regard, Zherebenkov cited the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statements. "I am not allowed to comment on the case files but since this information was mentioned in the Foreign Ministry’s statements, I can confirm it," he said.

21 Jan 2019; DW: Two vessels, one of them an oil tanker, caught on fire after the deadly explosion in the Kerch Strait. Several sailors remain missing. The narrow waterway is a source of particular tension between Russia and Ukraine.

At least 10 sailors were killed and 14 had to be rescued after two ships went up in flames near the Crimean Peninsula on Monday, Russian officials said. Another 10 people remain missing, according to a Russian naval official quoted by the Interfax news agency.

YAKUTSK, January 20. /TASS/. Italian extreme sports lover Paolo Venturini ran nearly 40 km in northern Yakutia’s Oymyakon region where temperature hit minus 52 degrees Celsius, the local department for external relations told reporters on Sunday.

"Paolo Venturini ran for three hours, 54 minutes and 10 seconds covering the 39.12 km from Tomtor to Oymyakon with the temperature of minus 52 degrees," the department’s press service said.

TEL AVIV, January 21. /TASS/. Israel used the mechanism of urgent contacts with the Russian military during strikes against targets in Syria last night, Israel Defense Force spokesman Jonathan Conricus told a news briefing for foreign media on Monday.

"The deconfliction mechanism in Syria is supported by both parties - Israel and Russia. It is being used at the moment while we are having this conversation. It was routinely employed in accordance with the standard procedures last night," Conricus said.

NALCHIK, January 21. /TASS/. Russia’s oldest woman, Nanu Shaova, a native of Russia’s North Caucasian Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, has died at the age of 128, the local administration said on Monday.

"Nanu Shaova, a centenarian from the village of Zayukovo, Kabardino-Balkaria’s Baksan district, and Russia’s oldest woman, according to the Russia Book of Records, has died at the age of 128. She would have turned 129 in May. The administration of the Baksan district offers its most sincere condolences to her family," it said in press statement.

MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. The Baltic Fleet’s corvettes escorted the US Gravely and Porters destroyers, which have entered the Baltic Sea, the Russian National Defense Management Center told reporters on Monday.

"The Baltic Fleet’s forces escorted the US Navy’s guided missile destroyers Gravely and Porter, which have entered the southern part of the Baltic Sea’s waters," the center said.

The Russian Navy’s Boiky and Soobrazitelnyy corvettes are monitoring the US warships’ activity.

MOSCOW, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Two pilots have been found and rescued at sea following a collision between two Su-34 fighter jets over the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

The pilots were brought up on board rescue choppers and their conditions are satisfactory, the ministry said in a statement.

16 Jan 2019; AFP: Russia on Wednesday dismissed as ridiculous reports questioning whether US President Donald Trump has acted as an agent for Russia as controversy mounted over his alleged ties to the Kremlin.

Trump has denied explosive news reports that he hid details of discussions with President Vladimir Putin and that the FBI investigated him as a potential national security risk who might be acting on behalf of Russia.