World News

Russia reports 13,721 daily COVID-19 cases, 371 deaths

Russia reported 13,721 new coronavirus cases, including 6,590 in the capital, on Monday, after the number of daily infections rose sharply last week and Moscow declared a four-day public holiday…

Read More Here

Russia’s new COVID-19 cases rise to highest since February

Russia on Sunday reported 14,723 new COVID-19 cases, including 7,704 in Moscow, the largest one-day national caseload since Feb. 13. The number of new infections in Moscow was the most…

Read More Here

Russia tests COVID-19 vaccine as nasal spray for children

Russia has tested a nasal spray form of its COVID-19 vaccine that is suitable for children aged 8-12, and plans to launch the new product in September, the scientist who…

Read More Here

Moscow residents told to stay off work to combat COVID-19

Moscow's mayor has effectively declared a public holiday for all of next week to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases. Sergei Sobyanin announced the decision on Saturday, saying it would…

Read More Here

Putin says relations with U.S. at lowest point in years

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with NBC News ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden next week, said U.S.-Russia relations are at their lowest point in…

Read More Here

Russia’s new COVID-19 cases at fresh three-month high

Russia on Friday reported 12,505 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, its highest number of daily infections since late February, taking the national tally to 5,180,454 since the…

Read More Here

Putin to arrive in Geneva on June 16 for Biden summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Geneva on June 16, the same day he is set to meet U.S. President Joe Biden there, Russia's TASS news agency quoted his…

Read More Here

Condemnation after groups linked to Navalny declared ‘extremist’ by Russian court

A Russian court on Wednesday outlawed groups linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after declaring them “extremist”, a move that bans his allies from elections and will further strain…

Read More Here

Russia’s new COVID-19 cases reach three-month high

Russia on Wednesday reported 10,407 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, its highest number of daily infections since early March, taking the national tally to 5,156,250 since the…

Read More Here

Belarus introduces prison sentences for taking part in protests

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday signed into law prison sentences for people taking part in protests or insulting state officials, part of an unprecedented crackdown by the veteran leader…

Read More Here

Aeroflot restores Soviet-era routes at home amid closed borders -CEO

Russia's top airline Aeroflot is restoring Soviet-era routes hoping that direct flights which bypass traditional hubs help increase traffic amid closed borders, CEO Mikhail Poluboyarinov told Reuters. Like many other…

Read More Here

Kremlin critic Navalny is returned to prison facility after hunger strike – TASS

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been returned to the original correctional facility where he had been serving out a sentence after he recovered from a hunger strike at a hospital in a different prison, the TASS news agency reported on Monday. The 45-year-old opposition politician had…

Read More Here

Putin signs law taking Russia out of Open Skies arms control treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday that formalises Russia’s exit from the Open Skies arms control treaty, a pact that allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries.…

Read More Here

Russia reports 9,145 new COVID-19 cases, 399 deaths

Russia reported 9,145 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 2,897 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,117,274. The government coronavirus task force said 399…

Read More Here

Kyiv seeks EU support to revive war-ravaged businesses in eastern Ukraine

Kyiv is proposing a multi-billion dollar investment plan for towns and businesses along the conflict line with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, hoping to show its citizens that siding with…

Read More Here

Putin plans to offer vaccinations to visiting foreigners for a fee

Russia may provide coronavirus vaccinations for a fee to foreigners who travel to the country, President Vladimir Putin told an economic forum, as Moscow seeks to enhance its global reputation…

Read More Here

Russian charter flights to Egypt to resume in coming days

Russian charter flights to Egyptian resorts are expected to resume in the coming days after a years-long hiatus, the Interfax news agency cited the boss of Aeroflot as saying on…

Read More Here

Russia’s RDIF says no bad side-effects found in trials on combined AstraZeneca/Sputnik V vaccine

No negative side-effects were detected during trials of a combined COVID-19 vaccine using AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s shots and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the Interfax news agency reported. Russia may…

Read More Here

UPDATED: EU to ban Belarus overflights from midnight

European Union ambassadors on Friday adopted a plan to ban Belarus airlines from flying over EU territory or landing in EU airports, three diplomats said. The decision is part of…

Read More Here

Opposition decries ‘hostage’ video as Belarus airs confession of detained journalist

Detained journalist Roman Protasevich appeared on Belarusian state television on Thursday, tearfully confessing to his role in anti-government protests in an interview which the opposition said was made under duress.…

Read More Here

Russia to quit accord that eased Cold War travel curbs for U.S. diplomats

Russia plans to announce its withdrawal soon from a post-Cold War agreement with the United States that eased restrictions on diplomats travelling around each other’s countries, Russia’s deputy foreign minister…

Read More Here

Russia to remove dollar assets from National Wealth Fund

Russia will completely remove U.S. dollar assets from its National Wealth Fund (NWF), while increasing the share of the euro, Chinese yuan and gold, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on…

Read More Here

Russia says Nord Stream 2 pipeline almost complete, 100 km left

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea is almost complete with just 100 kilometres (62 miles) left to build, TASS news agency quoted Russian deputy prime minister…

Read More Here

Germany denies incoming flights from Russia

Air traffic between Germany and Russia was disrupted on Wednesday due to a dispute over flight approvals. The responsible Russian authority did not give timely approval for June flights by…

Read More Here

Azerbaijan says forced around 40 Armenian troops to retreat after border incursion

Azerbaijan's defence ministry on Wednesday said around 40 Armenian military personnel had crossed into Azeri territory on Tuesday evening and were forced to retreat. There was no immediate response from…

Read More Here

Belarusian prisoner tries to cut own throat in court hearing

A Belarusian prisoner detained in a crackdown on protests tried to cut his own throat during a court hearing on Tuesday after being told his family and neighbours faced prosecution…

Read More Here

Russia’s CoviVac more than 80% effective against COVID-19

Russia's third vaccine against COVID-19, CoviVac, is more than 80% effective according to preliminary data, the Interfax news agency cited the vaccine's developer as saying on Wednesday. The Chumakov Centre…

Read More Here

‘Together Again’: ‘Russian Davos’ to go ahead in person with Putin, despite pandemic

Thousands of officials and executives will gather in person in St Petersburg this week - and President Vladimir Putin will give a speech - as the annual economic forum Moscow…

Read More Here

Belarusian opposition leader believes blogger tortured

Belarus's leading opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Monday that detained blogger Roman Protasevich had been beaten and tortured in jail. A lawyer who visited Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega said he was…

Read More Here

Russia reports 8,475 COVID-19 cases, 339 deaths

Russia on Monday reported 8,475 COVID-19 cases, including 2,614 in Moscow, pushing the national infection tally to 5,071,917 since the pandemic began. The government coronavirus task force said that 339…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Russia to deploy military units near border, tells U.S. to expect ‘uncomfortable’ signals

Russia said on Monday it would send what it described as 'uncomfortable' signals to the United States ahead of a summit between the two countries' leaders next month and announced…

Read More Here

Russia vows to defend Belarus if EU sanctions Minsk

Russia will defend Belarus and help it if the European Union imposes economic sanctions on Minsk over the grounding of a plane and arrest of a dissident blogger, the RIA…

Read More Here

Hollywood actor Seagal joins pro-Kremlin party

Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, a long-time admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has joined a pro-Kremlin party, the the party said on Sunday. Seagal received a party membership card of…

Read More Here

Death threats and arrests: Belarus opposition media struggles at home and abroad

In an elegant apartment building in central Warsaw flying a red and white flag from its first floor balcony, a symbol of the Belarusian opposition, remnants of the anti-government media…

Read More Here

Russia reports highest number of daily COVID-19 cases since March

Russia reported 9,694 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the highest number since the end of March, which took the national tally to 5,063,442 infections. The Russian coronavirus task force said…

Read More Here

UPDATE – Russia approves Air France, Lufthansa routes avoiding Belarus

Air France and Lufthansa have received approval from Russia for flight routes to the country that avoid Belarusian airspace, the airlines said on Saturday. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency…

Read More Here

U.S. to re-impose sanctions on Belarus firms over plane incident

The Biden administration said on Friday it is drawing up a list of targeted sanctions against key members of the Belarusian government following the former Soviet republic's forced landing of…

Read More Here

Putin offers Belarus leader support against West in Ryanair plane standoff

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday offered his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko support in his standoff with the West over his handling of the grounding of a passenger jet and the arrest of a dissident blogger. The West has accused Belarus of piracy…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Ryanair says Belarus refused pilot’s request to contact airline, Lithuania trying to identify those disembarked in Minsk

Belarusian air traffic control refused a request by a Ryanair pilot to contact the airline after being told of an alleged bomb threat, leaving him with no alternative but to…

Read More Here