World News

Belarus leader would ‘not hesitate’ to invite Russian troops if needed

Belarus would not hesitate to invite Russian troops if needed, President Alexander Lukashenko said, although he said there was no need for them now. Russia has maintained close military and…

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Russia blames software glitch after space station briefly thrown out of control

A software glitch, and possible lapse in human attention, were to blame for throwing the International Space Station out of control, but work was proceeding to activate a newly attached…

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Moscow cancels glove-wearing requirement as COVID-19 situation improves

Moscow on Friday abolished a widely-flouted requirement for people to wear gloves in public places and shops as daily coronavirus cases in the Russian capital stayed below 4,000, down from…

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Mixing Russia’s Sputnik V, AstraZeneca shots proves safe in small trial -RDIF

Trials mixing a first dose of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine with AstraZeneca’s shot revealed no serious side effects and no subsequent cases of coronavirus among volunteers, the Russian Direct…

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Moldova president nominates former finance minister Gavrilita as new PM

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Friday she was nominating former Finance Minister Natalia Gavrilita to become the new prime minister. Gavrilita needs to be approved by parliament, where Sandu's…

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Russia’s daily COVID-19 deaths reach record high for third time

Russia reported 799 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, an all-time high it has reached three times in the last month amid a surge in cases blamed on the infectious Delta variant.…

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UPDATED: Armenia wants Russian army outposts on Azerbaijan border amid tensions

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed on Thursday that Russian border outposts be stationed along the length of Armenia's border with Azerbaijan after a rise in tensions between Yerevan and…

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Russia beefs up Tajik base, warns of ISIS fighters in Afghanistan

Russia said it was beefing up the combat capabilities of its military base in Tajikistan and training local soldiers, as Moscow warned that Islamic State militants were moving into neighbouring…

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Ukraine expects more vaccines, plans new rules for unvaccinated travellers

Ukraine expects to have secured more than 47 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a televised government meeting on Wednesday.…

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UPDATED: Ceasefire called after three Armenian soldiers killed in clashes with Azerbaijan

Armenia said on Wednesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in an exchange of gunfire with Azerbaijan and Interfax reported that both sides had later accepted a Russian…

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Ukrainian president fires head of the armed forces, citing disputes

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed the head of the armed forces, Ruslan Khomchak, his spokesman said at a briefing on Tuesday, citing tensions between the armed…

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Putin says Russian navy can carry out ‘unpreventable strike’ if needed

The Russian navy can detect any enemy and launch an "unpreventable strike" if needed, President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday, weeks after a UK warship angered Moscow by passing the…

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Photo Story: Russia Navy Day preparation in Kronstadt

Russian Borei-class (Project 955A) nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine K-549 Knyaz Vladimir during a preparation for a navy parade in the Gulf of Finland near Kronstadt, Russia. Traditionally the Russia Navy…

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Russia reports nearly 24,000 new COVID cases, Moscow may have passed peak

Russia on Saturday reported nearly 24,000 new COVID-19 cases and a repeat all-time high in the number of daily deaths, at 799, but some officials suggested that infections, especially in…

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Russia excludes senior Communist candidate from parliamentary vote

MOSCOW, July 24 (Reuters) - Russian electoral authorities on Saturday barred a well-known Communist Party candidate from running in September's parliamentary election, the latest high-profile opposition figure to be disqualified…

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Russia disconnected from global internet in tests

Russia managed to disconnect from the global internet during tests in June and July, the RBC daily reported on Thursday, citing documents from the working group tasked with improving Russia's…

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Gamma coronavirus variant detected in Russia

The Gamma variant of the novel coronavirus, first found in Brazil, has been detected in small quantities in Russia, the Interfax news agency cited the developer behind Russia's EpiVacCorona vaccine…

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Germany commits to action if Russia uses energy as weapon -U.S.

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - Germany has committed to take steps to curb Russia's ability to export energy should Moscow pursue aggressive actions against Ukraine or use energy as a…

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Push to get wary Russians vaccinated leaves some COVID clinics short

Alexander tried three times over 10 days to get his first dose of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in his home town of Vladimir. Twice, supplies ran out as he…

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Photo Story: Presentation of Russia’s new fifth-generation fighter at MAKS 2021

A prototype of a Russia's new fifth-generation light multipurpose single-engine fighter Checkmate presented during the MAKS-2021 International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia. MAKS 2021 International Aviation…

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Russia reports 24,633 new COVID-19 cases, 719 deaths

Russia reported 24,633 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 4,007 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,982,766. The government coronavirus task force said 719…

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Russia says it successfully tested hypersonic missile praised by Putin

Russia said on Monday it had successfully tested a Tsirkon(Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has touted as part of a new generation of missile systems without…

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Pro-Western party PAS wins Moldova election, preliminary data shows

Pro-Western Moldovan President Maia Sandu's PAS party won the country's snap parliamentary elections, data from the central election commission showed on Monday, on a platform of fighting corruption and carrying…

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Engine failure forced Russian plane to make hard landing, investigators say

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian investigators said on Saturday engine failure had caused a small passenger plane to make a forced landing in Siberia a day earlier, flipping the aircraft upside…

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Azerbaijan’s January-June oil output falls to 17.2 mln tonnes

Azerbaijan's oil and gas condensate output fell to 17.2 million tonnes in the January-June period, from 17.9 million tonnes a year earlier, the State Statistics Committee said, amid a global…

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Belarus police raid homes and offices of journalists, rights activists

Belarusian police searched the offices and homes of journalists and human rights activists for the third successive day on Friday, extending what rights activists say is a new crackdown on…

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Russia warns Britain: Sail near Crimea again and your sailors will get hurt

A senior Russian security official warned Britain not to sail its warships near Russian-annexed Crimea again unless it wanted its sailors to get hurt. The warning, issued by Mikhail Popov,…

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Belarus seeks Russia’s help in response to EU sanctions

Moscow (dpa) - Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, under pressure due to European Union sanctions, sought further support from Russia on Tuesday at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. "The dynamics are wild.…

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European efforts to assess Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine stymied by data gaps

The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine have repeatedly failed to provide data that regulators deem to be standard requirements of the drug approval process, according to five people with knowledge…

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Russia reports 25,140 new COVID-19 cases, 710 deaths

Russia reported 25,140 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 5,403 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 5,808,473. The government coronavirus task force said 710…

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UPDATED: Pro-Western party wins Moldova election, preliminary data shows

Pro-Western Moldovan President Maya Sandu's PAS party won the country's snap parliamentary elections, data from the central election commission showed on Monday, on a platform of fighting corruption and carrying…

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Moldovans elect new parliament amid concerns over corruption, stalled reforms

Moldovans will vote in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday in which pro-Western President Maya Sandu hopes to win a majority to fight corruption and carry out reforms she says…

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Belarus sees little impact on debt from EU sanctions, to rely on Russia and Asia

The Belarus finance ministry sees little impact from European Union sanctions on its ability to service its external debt obligations, it said in a statement to Reuters, adding that Russian…

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Russia reports highest daily COVID-19 case rise since early January

Russia reported 25,766 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the most confirmed in a single day since Jan. 2, as authorities struggled to suppress a surge in infections blamed on the…

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Russia detains medical worker for selling fake vaccine certificates

Russian police said they had detained a health worker in the Kaliningrad region for allegedly selling fake coronavirus vaccination certificates. Moscow and several Russian regions have resorted to tough measures…

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Developer says Russia’s CoviVac COVID-19 vaccine effective against Delta variant

The developer of CoviVac, one of Russia's vaccines against COVID-19, said on Wednesday it is effective against the highly infectious Delta variant, TASS news agency reported. Russia is trying to…

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Russia says Afghan situation can swiftly worsen, pledges help if needed

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the situation in Afghanistan had a tendency to swiftly deteriorate and said Moscow was ready to defend its regional allies if…

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Belarus leader threatens to halt transit of EU goods via his country to east

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, on Tuesday threatened to stop the transit of European Union goods via his country to Russia and China in retaliation for EU sanctions. The 27-nation…

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Russia reports record 737 COVID-19 deaths

Russia reported a record 737 deaths from coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours on Tuesday, pushing the national death toll to 139,316. The country confirmed 23,378 new COVID-19 cases, including…

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UPDATED: Plane with 28 on board crashes into sea in Russia’s far east -RIA

A Russian Antonov An-26 airplane with 22 passengers and six crew members on board went missing on Tuesday in the far east Kamchatka peninsula in Russia, the country’s emergencies ministry…

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Vaccinate or repent, Russian church says amid hundreds of daily COVID-19 deaths

Russia's powerful Orthodox Church admonished people refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, calling them sinners who would have to atone for the rest of their lives, as the country reported…

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Kremlin warns provocations’ like UK warship episode demand tough response

A British warship's entry into what Moscow considers Russian territorial waters near Crimea last month is the kind of provocation that demands a tough response, the Kremlin said. President Vladimir…

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Russian finance ministry to buy $4 billion worth of gold, FX in July

Russia's finance ministry said on Monday it would buy 13.5 billion roubles ($184.25 million) worth of foreign currency a day between July 7 and Aug. 5, an increase in the…

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U.S. hints at further sanctions on Belarus

Washington hinted at the possibility of further economic sanctions against Belarus in a strongly worded speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday. The United States announced targeted sanctions…

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Azerbaijan says Caspian gas platforms safe amid reports of fire

Azerbaijan's state energy company, SOCAR, said on Sunday its offshore gas platforms in the Caspian Sea were safe after media reports of a large fire in the area. Videos and…

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Azerbaijan hands over 15 Armenian prisoners in return for minefield maps

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan handed over 15 prisoners of Armenian origin to Armenia on Saturday in return for maps detailing the locations of 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, Azerbaijan's foreign…

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Ukraine investigates cause of man’s death after COVID shot

KYIV, July 3 (Reuters - Ukraine's health ministry is investigating why a 47-year-old man died four hours after he received a shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the ministry said…

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Russia reports record daily COVID-19 deaths for fifth straight day

Russia on Saturday reported 697 coronavirus-related deaths, the most confirmed in a single day since the pandemic began and the fifth day in a row it has set that record.…

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Russian warplanes practice bombing enemy ships in Black Sea drills

Russian warplanes practiced bombing enemy ships in the Black Sea during training exercises, Russia said on Saturday, amid friction with the West over NATO drills in the region and following…

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Ukraine to look into causes of man’s death shortly after COVID vaccination

Ukraine's health ministry is investigating why a 47-year old man died just four hours after he received a shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, the ministry said late on Friday.…

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Belarus closes border with neighbouring Ukraine

Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko ordered the closure of the border with Ukraine, seeking to block what he called an inflow of weapons to coup-plotters detected by his security services, BelTA…

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Opposition in Armenia contests PM Pashinyan’s vote win via court

Armenia's opposition alliance, led by former president Robert Kocharyan, has asked the constitutional court to overturn the results of a June 20 election which it lost, the TASS news agency…

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Russian navy conducts live fire exercise in Black Sea as Ukraine, NATO drill

Russian warships have carried out a live fire training exercise in the Black Sea, the country's Black Sea fleet said on Thursday, as Ukraine and NATO countries held military drills…

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Moscow begins booster vaccine campaign as Russia’s COVID-19 cases surge

Health clinics in Moscow will begin offering booster vaccine shots against COVID-19 on Thursday, the city's mayor said, as Russian officials scramble to contain a surge in cases blamed on…

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Putin signs law forcing foreign IT firms to open offices in Russia

sident Vladimir Putin has signed a law that obliges foreign social media giants to open offices in Russia, a document published by the government on Thursday showed, the latest move…

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Putin says UK warship near Crimea wanted to test Russia’s military response, says time will come when he will name possible successor

A British warship that Russia says illegally entered its territorial waters near Crimea earlier this month did so to observe in detail how Russian forces would react, President Vladimir Putin…

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UPDATED: Putin says he received Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19

President Vladimir Putin told Russians on Wednesday to get vaccinated against COVID-19 amid a wave of cases and said for the first time that he had received Russia's Sputnik V…

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