Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Egypt on Tuesday, 23 January, to join his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in laying the foundation of El-Dabaa, Egypt's first-ever nuclear power plant (NPP). Both Putin and Sisi will take part in an official ceremony of the final stage of pouring the concrete of the fourth reactor of Dabaa developed by the Russian state atomic energy corporation ROSATOM in Dabaa city, located in the Mediterranean Marsa Matrouh province, about 320 kilometres northwest of the capital Cairo, Egyptian news outlets reported. The long-awaited NPP, which will operate with a 120-megawatt capacity for...

While speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York City on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States of providing Ukraine with "old junk" weapons while building up its military complex. In November, The Washington Post reported that of the $68 billion in military aid Congress approved for Ukraine, nearly 90 percent went back to the U.S. to build new weapons or replace ones sent to Ukraine from American stockpiles. The Post wrote that a Ukrainian official said "every single state in the U.S. contributes to this effort," thus creating more American jobs. The...

New edict affects all of Moscow's historic holdings across three continents, including former imperial colonies in the US. Russia has laid the groundwork for expanding its soft power across North America and Asia with a new decree Vladimir Putin signed last week. The new order provides funds to search, register and provide legal protection to Russian properties abroad – including land and buildings located in former Russian Empire and Soviet Union territories. Among the areas affected by the new decree is Alaska, which was sold to the United States in 1867 and still hosts communities with close links to Russia....

Ukraine's successful suppression of the Russian Black Sea fleet has resulted in Kyiv's grain exports rising to their highest levels since the invasion by Moscow began. -snip- Russia's Black Sea fleet flagship Moskva was destroyed by Ukraine in the early days of the war. The losses have continued since then, with British Defence Secretary Grant Shapp saying last month that Russia had lost 20 percent of its Black Sea fleet over the course of four months. Significant recent losses include the December destruction of large Russian landing ship Novocherkassk and last week's revelation that Ukrainian drones sank a Tarantul-class corvette...

Russia's parliament is considering new legislation which would give the state the power to seize the property of people convicted for defamation of the armed forces or for calling publicly for actions that undermine state security. -snip- The move has drawn comparisons with the witch hunts of the 1930s under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin with their 'enemy of the state' rhetoric, and could affect thousands of Russians who have spoken out against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has dubbed the new bill...

Kazakhstan has agreed to help Russia alleviate its chronic shortage of chicken eggs only to spark grumbling from domestic consumers in border areas who now say there is not enough for them to buy. The pledge of assistance arrived at a meeting on trade issues between Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and his Russian counterpart, Alexei Overchuk, in Astana on January 17. Eggs featured on the agenda. As the Russian state statistics service has reported, the price of the commodity soared by more than 61 percent last year, prompting the government in Moscow to adopt some radical fixes. One...

Parts of Russian-annexed Crimea were left without electricity on Thursday after an emergency shutdown at a power plant, Russian-installed officials said. It was not clear what caused the shutdown.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, Vladimir Putin has another battle on his hands: the one to rein in soaring egg prices. Moscow is scrambling to contain a flare-up in basic food costs that's driven up inflation and caused long queues outside supermarkets that hearken back to when the country was a part of the Soviet Union. Eggs have come to symbolize the economic disruption that Russia is facing, with prices jumping 42% in the 12 months prior to November 2023, per data from the country's statistics agency Rosstat. They've become so expensive that shops in some regions are...

Ukraine said on Monday that it downed two Russian military command aircraft over the Sea of Asov, saying it had carried out a 'successful' mission against Moscow's forces. Officials said the country's air force took out an A-50 radar-detection plane worth £260 million, as well as an IL-22 aerial command plane, as they flew over the Sea of Azov on Sunday. The Sea of Azov lies between Russia and Ukraine, but Moscow controls its entire coast after seizing large swathes of southeastern Ukraine during its invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. 'Minus an enemy long-range radar detection aircraft, A-50,...

Russian-state television pundit Aleksandr Sytin recently warned that life "keeps getting worse" in Russia amid its war with Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, claiming to seek the "denazification" of the Eastern European country's government and hoping for a quick victory. Nearly two years later, Ukraine's stronger-than-anticipated defense effort has blocked Russian advances, and both sides continue fighting for control of eastern Ukrainian territory. The Russian military has faced myriad challenges amid the conflict, including troubles recruiting and maintaining well-trained, disciplined troops. Military analysts have noted that Putin's troops lack motivation, and questions...

Russia's egg shortage is being exacerbated by bird flu-riddled imports from Turkey, one of the country's biggest trading partners and a NATO member, according to a recent report citing a Russian government official. More than one-fifth of the eggs imported from Turkey were found to be infected with the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza, as well as other dangerous ailments including salmonella and botulism, Russian authorities warned. -snip- Russia's attempt to pivot to Turkey for emergency egg supplies in January now appears to have backfired, as the delivery of the first batch of Turkish eggs was promptly followed by reports...

Three Pennsylvania State Troopers and seven other individuals spent several hours inside a building on Amos Miller’s Lancaster County farm while conducting a search on Jan. 4, 2024, eventually leaving with multiple coolers containing Miller’s property. Attempts were made by The Lancaster Patriot to enter the facility during the search, but a Pennsylvania State Trooper said, “we’re conducting a search warrant inside this building right now,” and told the reporter to leave the building until the search was completed. The search was conducted by employees of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, with Pennsylvania State Police offering assistance as needed. A...

The Russian government is taking urgent measures to stabilise the situation in the local egg market where prices have soared more than 40% this year. Egg farmers claim that the industry is in “a perfect storm”. -snip- Russia’s federal veterinary watchdog Rosselhoznadzor recently greenlighted egg imports from Turkey. This country, alongside Azerbaijan, is expected to help Russia to fill the gap in the egg market, the agricultural ministry commented. The price hike has happened due to a perfect storm in the Russian egg industry, Leonid Kkolod, an independent agricultural analyst, told the local press. Over the past 2 years, Russian...

Russia's egg crisis spiraled out of control this week after an attempt was made on the life of the head of a poultry farm in the Voronezh region, with prices for the staple food item continuing to climb. Gennady Shiryaev, the 59-year-old head of the Tretyakov Poultry Farm, the largest in the western Voronezh region, was driving home when an unknown person fired two shots at his car. Shiryaev told Russian news outlet Kommersant that he wasn't injured in the assassination attempt. "There were two shots, it didn't hit me," Shiryaev said. Russia has seen an unprecedented surge in egg...

Vladimir Putin has been mocked by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko over Russia’s shortage of eggs. Mr Putin’s ally confronted him over the skyrocketing prices of the kitchen staple, with the entire exchange caught on camera at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council session in St Petersburg. At the event Mr Putin, 71, was also spotted bizarrely stretching his feet as he waited to greet several fellow ex-Soviet republic leaders, including Mr Lukashenko, 69. Former farm boss Mr Lukashenko teased the Russian leader that Belarus’s agricultural industry was in better shape than Russia’s. He said: ‘We have achieved a high level of...

In a move signaling ongoing economic collaboration, Russia has welcomed a second shipment of eggs from Azerbaijan, reflecting the countries’ mutual trade efforts to address domestic demands and bolster their economies. This latest import, consisting of 18 tons of table eggs, marks a continuation of Azerbaijan’s role in supplying eggs to meet Russian consumption needs amid price surges and tax suspensions on egg imports. Addressing the Egg Price Surge Russia’s government, grappling with a significant 15.1% price hike in November and a 40.3% increase since January, has taken decisive action. By suspending import taxes on eggs from January 1 to...

A new study on egg consumption in healthy young adults finds that whole eggs increase beneficial nutrients without negatively impacting heart disease or diabetes markers. The research also highlights gender-specific dietary responses and sets the stage for future studies on personalized nutrition. New research broadens the understanding of the nutritional impact of egg consumption in young, healthy adults. Are eggs good for you? Scientists have been studying this divisive question for years. Some have found that egg intake increases LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and inflammatory markers associated with heart disease and diabetes, while others have highlighted the benefits of egg...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal jury in Illinois ordered $17.7 million in damages — an amount tripled to more than $53 million under federal law... The jury ruled last week that the egg producers used various means to limit the domestic supply of eggs to increase the price of products during the 2000s. The time frame of the conspiracy was an issue throughout the case; jurors ultimately determined damages occurred between 2004 and 2008... Food manufacturers joining as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the egg producers are Kraft Foods Global, Inc., The Kellogg Company, General Mills, Inc. and Nestle USA,...

CHICAGO — Prosecutors on Thursday accused a Chicago woman of encouraging her 14-year-old son to shoot two people during an altercation at a fast food restaurant over the weekend, resulting in one man being killed. The boy did not shoot the second person. Now the mother and son are both charged with first-degree murder. “It is, in this court’s opinion, highly disturbing that the defendant would encourage her 14-year-old son to be armed with a firearm and fire shots at a victim on the streets of Chicago,” Judge Barbara Dawkins said during Carlishia Hood’s bail hearing on Thursday. She ordered...

Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday on FNC’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that President Joe Biden will not run in 2024 because “there’s something wrong” with him. Host Tucker Carlson asked, “Do you think Biden will stay in the race?” Trump said, “Look, I watch him just like you do, and I think it’s almost inappropriate for me to say it. I don’t see how it’s possible. There’s something wrong. I saw his answer today on television about whether or not he was going to run to a very nice guy named Al Roker. You can’t get a softer question than...