As a result of the tornado that took place on December 24 in the United States, at least 11 people died. It is reported by Reuters with reference to local authorities. Tornadoes in Mississippi killed seven people and left one missing. About 40 people were injured. According to the state governor Phil Bryant, the tornado damaged more than a hundred buildings, and a state of emergency was declared in some areas of the state. Three people died in Tennessee and one person in Arkansas.

About 200 militants of the Somali group Al-Shabaab, associated with Al-Qaeda, swore allegiance to the Islamic State (the organization is recognized as terrorist and is banned in the Russian Federation) . Associated Press reports. The splinter group is based in northern Kenya, near the border with Somalia. At least three people were killed as a result of her attacks.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the threat of blocking in "one or two markets" would not affect the company's privacy policy, as the app is popular "among tens of millions of users in dozens of markets." According to Durov, Telegram will not give out users' personal data and encryption keys to third parties.

Rosselkhoznadzor announced a temporary ban on the import of pig products from Ukraine to the Russian Federation due to the spread of African swine fever there. The decision will come into force on January 1, 2016. We are talking about a ban not only on pork, but also on any products that somehow contain meat or other organs of pigs, as well as hunting trophies.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has temporarily suspended Russian Alexei Lovchev, who in November 2015 won the gold of the World Championship and set a world record. Ipamorelin, a peptide hormone that enhances the release of growth hormone, was found in his doping test. The federation also suspended the Russians Olga Zubova, Olga Afanasiev and Alexei Kosov and 13 other athletes, including representatives from Belarus, Azerbaijan and Moldova.

The Central Bank of Russia explained how currency exchange will be carried out in Russia from December 27, 2015. When buying or selling currency for less than 15 thousand rubles, a passport is still not needed. In case of a transaction for a large amount, you need to provide a passport, the bank will draw up a questionnaire with the personal data of the client on its own.

State Duma deputies Andrei Lugovoi and Vladimir Parakhin proposed to impose VAT on the sale of applications (and software in general) and content in Russia by foreign companies. The bill is posted on the State Duma website. We are talking about selling music, movies, books, games and so on. Now Russian companies pay VAT , but foreign suppliers do not. As compensation, it is planned to provide Russian companies with a VAT deduction on sales of software abroad.

The former head of the ROC department for interaction with society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, explained his dismissal by the fact that disloyal employees are now being expelled from the church. “I think there is now an attempt to exclude any independent voices in the church, any people who can speak out loudly and independently. But no one will take my voice and my position away from me, ”said Chaplin.

What we know about German Klimenko, thanks to two recent interviews Photo: Alexey Nikolsky / TASS / Scanpix German Klimenko has officially agreed to become Vladimir Putin's advisor on the Internet. Within a few days of accepting this responsibility, Klimenko managed to grant several interviews to the Russian media, including a pair of particularly noteworthy conversations with the independent outlets Dozhd and Vedomosti .

LUKOIL has decided to sell its filling stations in the Baltics. According to the head of the oil company Vagit Alekperov, now his employees are looking for a buyer for assets in Lithuania and Latvia. Estonian filling stations were sold in the summer of 2015. Alekperov explained that LUKOIL decided to sell gas stations due to anti-Russian sentiment in Lithuania and Latvia.

Musicians and promoters opposed the "spiritual and moral" regulation Photo: Zurab Javahadze / TASS On Thursday, December 24, well -known Russian musicians prepared an open letter, which opposed sharply against the bill adopted by the State Duma in the first reading of the bill on the regulation of concert activity. The letter was signed by Boris Grebenshchikov, Zemfira, Gleb Samoilov, Vladimir Shakhrin, Alexei Kortnev, participants of the Quartet and "; In total - more than 20 people.

Russian musicians wrote an open letter demanding not to adopt a law regulating concert activities. The text of the letter was published on Facebook by the leader of the Aquarium group, Boris Grebenshchikov. According to the musicians, the law, which allows organizing large concerts only for persons who have joined a special organization and paid an annual fee, does not take into account the interests of artists and spectators.

What we know and don't know about a gruesome incident in the Arctic Screencap: YouTube Video footage has appeared online showing a polar bear writhing on the ground in agony. The incident occurred several months ago in the Arctic on Wrangel Island, where there is a natural reserve by the same name. The lured animal grabbed either a firecracker or a flare, suffering serious injuries to its jaw.

The Meshchansky Court of Moscow dismissed the claim of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who was convicted in Russia for preparing terrorist attacks in Crimea, against the FSB and a number of media outlets, including Channel One, VGTRK and NTV. Sentsov filed a defamation lawsuit because the FSB and federal TV channels reported his involvement in the attacks even before he was convicted.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the Russian Orthodox Church's outspoken spokesperson, has been dismissed from his position, according to the news agency Interfax . Chaplin has refused to comment. According to RIA Novosti , the Moscow Patriarchate Synodal Department is combining Chaplin's department with another branch, putting both offices under the management of Synodal Information Department head Vladimir Legoyda.