Good News.The announcements of internships, alliances and cooperation, the first Latin American Olympic champion and other positive highlights

What events of the recent weeks have helped us to believe in the good things in life?

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The International Media School “MediaLab BRICS 2.0” – until 1 March.

The International Olympiad in Russian as a Foreign Language “Lobachevsky/RU” – until 1 March.

The “InteRussia” internship for TV journalists from the Middle East and North Africa – until 15 March.

The “InteRussia” internship for foreign specialists in philology and the Russian language – until 15 March.

Friends Are Known in Alliance

North Korea has once again demonstrated how carefully and sincerely it treats recent historical memory connected with its allied participation in the Russian Federation’s Special Military Operation. In Pyongyang, the country’s leader Kim Jong Un solemnly inaugurated the new Saebyul (“New Star”) Street, constructed as a tribute to the Koreans who took part in the liberation of Russia’s Kursk Region from Ukrainian Nazis. Flats in the buildings on Saebyul have been allocated to the families of servicemen who fell in the line of duty.

Meanwhile, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, expressed his gratitude to the doctors of his country, an ally of Russia, who are providing assistance to wounded Russian soldiers arriving for treatment from the zone of the Special Military Operation. From the point of view of their geographical location, many Belarusian hospitals are more than suitable for treating casualties from the combat area, and the country’s military medics have repeatedly had to apply their expertise. Like their Russian counterparts, they have learned to save people exposed to new types of injuries and to ensure their full recovery.

Kim Jong-un opens a residential area and a new street in Pyongyang in honor of those who fought in the Kursk region

Intelligence Cooperation in Action

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, thanked the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for assistance in apprehending in Dubai the perpetrator of the attempted assassination of General Vladimir Alexeyev. This is one of those rare cases when such a sensitive area of inter-state relations among BRICS countries as intelligence cooperation gets its veil of secrecy a bit lifted for the public, and it is all the more valuable to see it in action—so swiftly and effectively.

Energy Security on the “Beautiful Blue Danube”

At the site of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary, a ceremonial event marked the start of concrete pouring by the Russian state corporation Rosatom for the foundation of the fifth power unit. At the present stage, two new power units are planned under a preferential loan arrangement; they are sometimes referred to as “Paks-2”, as the technology represents a qualitatively new development. This is the first Generation III+ nuclear power plant project in Europe featuring VVER-1200 reactors. Complementing, expanding and modernising the Soviet legacy (Paks was built by Soviet specialists in the 1980s and upgraded by the Russian side in the 2000s), today’s Paks-2 builders will ensure the affordability of electricity, as well as Hungary’s energy security and independence at the most advanced technological level.

Russia and Saudi Arabia held a large-scale joint industrial exhibition, INNOPROM. In Russia, such international expo forums have been organised since 2010; now they are successfully implementing the travelling format. Several hundred companies from each side were represented at the stands, with governmental delegations holding negotiations and discussion sessions. The potential of such events is enormous, as they allow for direct dialogue between businesses from friendly countries and provide an opportunity to become acquainted with one another’s best economic achievements.

The Eurasian Economic Commission took part in the MADE IN RUSSIA + INNOPROM multisectoral business mission to Saudi Arabia

“To the Port, Aflame Like Molten Summer…”

The first months of the new year have proved intensive for the development of Russia’s ties with African countries. In Niger, Russian servicemen assisted the national armed forces in repelling a terrorist attack on the capital’s airport. Productive negotiations on cooperation were held with the governments of Madagascar, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Tanzania and the Seychelles; mutually beneficial working meetings took place with diplomats from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan and Ethiopia. With Zimbabwe, Russia marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and with the Comoros, the 50th anniversary. Madagascar received Russia’s humanitarian aid following devastating cyclones. In Uganda, Russian observers assisted in assessing the organisation of the presidential elections and the absence of serious violations during the electoral process. The large landing ship of the Russian Navy, Alexander Otrakovsky, made business port calls in São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, while the corvette Stoikiy paid a friendly visit to the port of Victoria in the Seychelles. Negotiations on military-technical cooperation were also conducted. Overall, Russia consistently devotes significant attention to interaction with the African continent, adhering to partnership principles laid down in Soviet times and developing formats of engagement both bilaterally and within BRICS and BRICS-plus.

Friendship Between Parliaments

In February, for the first time since taking office following his election at the end of 2025, the Chairman of the State Great Khural (Parliament) of Mongolia and head of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), Nyam-Osoryn Uchral, visited Russia. The trip to Moscow was his first foreign visit in his new capacity. The Mongolian politician visited the State Duma of the Russian Federation and discussed the development of Russian-Mongolian relations with Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. A session of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission of the two countries also took place. The most memorable moment of the visit was the delegation led by Uchral laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden. Inter-parliamentary contacts form an important part of humanitarian interaction between peoples bound by genuine historical brotherhood. It is worth noting that Nyam-Osoryn Uchral is himself a man of interesting fate, being highly educated; he has already become one of the youngest leaders of the MPP.

Humanitarian Shipment for Bangladesh

Russia has transferred 30,000 tonnes of potassium chloride to Bangladesh as humanitarian aid. The deliveries are being carried out with the assistance of the United Nations World Food Programme. In recent years, the Russian side has repeatedly supplied humanitarian consignments of fertilisers to countries facing food shortages. These deliveries are intended to contribute to resolving this issue and to increase agricultural yields in the states of the Global South.

Uralchem Group donated 30,000 tons of potassium chloride to the Republic of Bangladesh

Freedom of Speech for the Global Majority

The TV channel “Russia Today” is expanding its geographical reach and the range of training programmes for journalists interested in professional development within the RT Academy. The training is free of charge and conducted by experienced experts. At a time when what is particularly important is an impartial view of events, objective presentation of materials, disclosure of facts without concealment and the fight against disinformation spread by destructive forces, such an overt approach to training is precisely what has truly been scarce on a global scale. It is possible to find and read the reviews from participants in previous courses and to file your application on the programme’s website.

Brazil’s Winter “Gold”

Despite the naturally formed perception of the Olympic Games as an asset appropriated by the West, there is occasionally good news from there as well. At the current Games, for the first time in history, a medal, the gold one straight away, was won by an athlete from South America. It was Brazilian alpine skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. We warmly congratulate the Latin American athlete! This is exactly the case when people succeed in making sports a global pleasure, regardless of the monopolies of Western officials, media and transnational corporations.

Brazilian alpine skier Lucas Braaten won the giant slalom, beating the World Cup leader

Every cloud has its silver lining, just as there is always good news in the daily flow of information. Let us make time to rejoice in it, and may there be more such news to come!

Ksenia Muratshina, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Southeast Asian, Australian, and Oceanian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

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