Day: December 14, 2020

Rouhani says Iran can move beyond row with Turkey over Erdogan poem

Rians World

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday Tehran could move past a diplomatic quarrel with Turkey over a poem recited by President Tayyip Erdogan during a visit to Azerbaijan, which Tehran had called a threat to its territorial integrity.

Iran summoned Turkey’s envoy last week after Erdogan recited an Azeri-Iranian poem lamenting the 19th century division of Azerbaijan’s territory between Russia and Iran. Tehran appeared concerned his remarks questioned Iran’s territorial integrity and could fan separatist tendencies among its Azeri minority.

https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-turkey-azerbaijan/rouhani-says-iran-can-move-beyond-row-with-turkey-over-erdogan-poem-idUSKBN28L1XF?il=0

‘Small Boats’ Seen in Vicinity of Tanker Rocked by Explosion Off Saudi Coast, Report Says

Rians World

Earlier, media reported that an explosion had taken place aboard the BW Rhine, a Singapore-flagged oil tanker, off the Saudi port of Jeddah in the Red Sea. Saudi ships have previously faced similar attacks in the body of water by Yemen’s Houthi militia. Riyadh launched a military operation in Yemen to try to oust the Houthis in 2015.

The captain of the BW Rhine has told Al Arabiya TV that “small boats” were seen nearby before the tanker was rocked by an explosion in Jeddah after midnight early Monday.

Russia’s Angara A5 ‘eco-space rocket’ successfully fires payload into orbit for first time in 6 years

Rians World

The Russian Space Forces have conducted a successful second test launch of the Angara A5 heavy-lift space launch vehicle, six years after the first test flight in 2014.

Launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Mirny, about 800km north of Moscow, the rocket was fired into the sky at 8.50am Moscow time.

The rocket flew for a little over 12 minutes before a mock spacecraft payload separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle and entered into orbit. Initially, the rocket launch was planned for late November, but was postponed to December due to technical reasons.

https://www.rt.com/russia/509609-angara-eco-space-rocket/

Italy’s Etna eruption launches flaming debris in the air & creates LAVA FOUNTAINS

Rians World

Sicily’s Mount Etna erupted Sunday night, producing flaming lava fountains while launching fiery debris hundreds of meters in the air, as a thick plume of ash and smoke coated the surrounding area.

The 3,329-meter (10,922-foot) volcano, Europe’s largest and considered to be the world’s second-most active after Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea, erupted at 9:20pm local time Sunday following a magnitude-2.7 earthquake. The quake was among 17 recorded in the area in the past 24 hours.

https://www.rt.com/news/509573-mount-etna-erupts-lava-ash/

Hundreds of endangered seals mysteriously found dead on shores of Russia’s Caspian Sea, and nobody knows why

Rians World

Disturbing images have emerged after 272 endangered Caspian seals were found washed up on the beaches of Dagestan. The mammal can only be found in the world’s largest inland body of water, which borders five Eurasian countries.

According to Rosrybolovstvo, the Federal Agency for Fishery, 272 carcasses were found on beaches from a settlement called Sulak in the north of the republic, all the way south to the border with Azerbaijan. The agency also noted that the seals are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

https://www.rt.com/russia/509542-caspian-seals-found-dead/