The Dispatch

Photo Story: Religious service marking the Day of Saint George in Georgia

Georgian people light candles during an Orthodox religious service marking the Day of Saint George at a church in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Saturday 23 November 2019. Every year people flock…

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Russian Watchdog Detects ‘Radiation Incident’ in South China Sea

The Russian government’s consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said Friday it has detected a “radiation incident” in the South China Sea. “Based on data received from the Global Environmental Monitoring System,…

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Photo Story: Monument of Mikhail Kalashnikov unveiled in St. Petersburg

A view of the monument of the famous inventor of weapons Mikhail Kalashnikov after an opening ceremony of the monument, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the inventor in Artillery…

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Tanker driven ashore during a heavy storm near Odessa, Ukraine

The tanker ‘Delfi’, was driven ashore during a heavy storm near the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine, on the evening of Friday 22 November 2019. The tanker from Moldova…

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Russia bans sale of smartphones without Russian-made software

Russia has passed a law banning the sale of certain devices that are not pre-installed with Russian software. The law will come into force in July 2020 and cover smartphones,…

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Photo Story: Christmas decoration set up in front of the Kremlin

Workers install decoration on a Christmas tree in front of the Kremlin in Moscow. Muscovites are preparing to celebrate New Year's Eve on 31 December and Christmas which is observed…

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Ukrainians mark the anniversary of the Euromaidan Revolution in Kiev

Ukrainians lay flowers at the memorial for Maidan activists or 'Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred', who were killed on the Maidan during anti-government protests in 2014, not far from Independence…

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Ukrainian ships captured by Russia back in the Ukraine

The Ukrainian naval boats 'Berdyansk' and 'Nikopol' stand in the port of Ochakiv near Odesa, Ukraine, on the night of the 20 November 2019. On the morning on 25 November…

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Bloggers, journalists may now be labelled ‘foreign agents’ in Russia

Rights activists warned of greater curbs on media and online freedom in Russia as MPs backed a controversial bill that could lead bloggers and independent journalists to be labelled "foreign…

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Photo Story: Christmas decoration set up in Minsk

Belarussian communal workers over the weekend set up a framework for a Christmas Tree in downtown Minsk, Belarus. Photo: EPA-EFE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

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Belarus holds parliamentary polls

Belarusians head to the polls Sunday to elect members to the ex-Soviet republic's rubber-stamp parliament. The elections are being closely watched by the West to see how much President Alexander…

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Deadly shooting at a college in Russia

A handout photo made available by the Investigative Committee of Russia shows an exterior view of a Amur College of Construction and Public Utilities building in Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region, Russia,…

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UN court says it has jurisdiction in Ukraine-Russia case

In a legal victory for Kiev, the United Nations’ highest court ruled Friday that it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine alleging that Russia breached treaties on terrorist…

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Troop withdrawals in eastern Ukraine to start today

Troop withdrawals in a village in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine will begin on Saturday at 1000 GMT, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in…

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Russian helicopters patrolling Syrian-Turkish border

Russia has deployed military helicopters to patrol an area near Syria’s border with Turkey in order to help protect Russia military police working on the ground, the Interfax news agency…

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Photo Story: Preparations for historical Battle of Moscow parade

Russian soldiers in historical uniforms pose during the re-enactment of a scene as they take part in a rehearsal of the 78th historical parade marking the anniversary of the Battle…

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High-ranking police chief gunned down in Moscow

A gunman killed two men in Moscow on Saturday, with Russian authorities confirming one of them was high-ranking police officer from the southern state of Ingushetia, Ibragim Eldzharkiev. The second…

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Bulgaria and Ukraine issue formal protest over Macron’s migration remarks

Bulgaria and Ukraine issued diplomatic protests over remarks by Emmanuel Macron about migrants coming to France from those countries. In an interview published Thursday in conservative weekly magazine Valeurs Actuelles the…

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Russia says it’s already too late to replace new START treaty

Russia said on Friday there was no longer enough time left for Moscow and Washington to negotiate a full-fledged replacement for the New START nuclear arms control treaty before it…

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Turkey, Russia start joint patrols in northern Syria

Turkish and Russian troops are jointly patrolling a Syrian region under a deal that halted a Turkish incursion against Kurdish fighters. The patrols aim to check that all fighters have…

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New Russian controls on the internet

A law introducing new controls on the internet has come into force in Russia amid concerns it may be used by the government to silence its critics. The so-called "sovereign…

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Ukraine and separatist troops begin withdrawal from Luhansk town

The Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists on Tuesday said they had begun withdrawing troops from a key area of war-scarred Luhansk in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. Large parts of the eastern…

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Russian agent Maria Butina arrives in Moscow

Maria Butina (R) smiles after her arrival at Sheremetievo Airport in Moscow, Russia, 26 October 2019. According to media reports, Russian Maria Butina was released from US prison on 25…

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Russia sends state-of-the-art air defence system to Serbia

Russia's defence ministry announced that it has sent its advanced air-defence S-400 missile system to Serbia for a joint exercise. The S-400 and a Pantsir anti-aircraft gun and missile system will be deployed at Batajnica base outside…

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Russian soldier shoots dead eight fellow soldiers

Russian serviceman shot dead eight fellow soldiers and injures two more on base in Siberia, officials say. The Russia news agency Interfax said that the soldier, a conscript, was detained.…

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Turkey, Russia broker deal on further withdrawal of Kurdish YPG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a joint news conference with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the two leaders had agreed to a further withdrawal of Syrian…

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Photo Story: The mining dam tragedy in Russia

Handout photos made available by Russian Emergencies Ministry shows Russian rescue workers on site after a mining dam of the gold mining technological reservoir burst on the Seiba River near…

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Three US diplomats held near Russian test site where mystery blast killed five

Three American diplomats were briefly detained in Russia near the military test site where a mysterious explosion released radiation in August, several Russia state news agencies have reported. The US…

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Possible Putin-Trump meeting in Chile in November

The Kremlin said on Friday that it would look into the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit…

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Alexei Leonov, the first man to conduct a spacewalk, has died

Alexei Leonov, a Soviet-era cosmonaut, who was the first man to conduct a spacewalk in 1965, died in Moscow on Friday aged 85 after a long illness. The Russian…

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Ukraine president says ‘no blackmail’ in phone call with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Thursday his controversial July call with President Trump involved no bribe, blackmail or quid pro quo, as impeachment-minded Democrats claim. Zelensky spoke at a daylong…

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Photo Story: Autumn in St Petersburg

People walk on a sunny day in the seasonal colored Lower Park in Peterhof Palace, near St. Petersburg, Russia. The Peterhof Palace is a group of buildings and gardens commissioned…

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Five dead in military aircraft crash-landing in the Ukraine

A handout photo made available by Ukraine's State Emergency Service shows the damaged Antonov An-12 military aircraft after its emergency landing in Lviv region, western Ukraine. On Friday morning, the…

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Photo Story: Federica Mogherini visits Moldova

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (L) shake hands with President of Moldova Igor Dodon (R)…

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Soyuz MS-12 space capsule lands in Kazakhstan

The Russian Soyuz MS-12 space capsule lands about 150 km (90 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Nick Hague, Russian…

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Ukraine signs key agreement with pro-Russia separatists

Ukraine has signed an agreement with pro-Russia separatists allowing for local elections to be held in separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. It could pave the way for further peace talks.…

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Unable to accept its decline, West subverts international law to suit its needs, Russia’s Lavrov tells UN

While crediting the United Nations for preventing ‘World War III’, the Foreign Minister of Russia lamented to the General Assembly on Friday that the number of conflicts on the planet…

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Russia bans smoking on apartment balconies

The Russian emergencies ministry announced that smoking on the balconies of apartment blocks would be banned under new fire regulations. Under the new rules, "open fire" is prohibited on apartment…

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Installation of Soyuz rocket booster in Kazakhstan

The Soyuz booster rocket FG with Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft attached, is rolled out to the launch pad by train at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, 23 September 2019. The launch…

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Several arrested in child abuse network crackdown in Georgia

Law enforcement and judicial authorities from Australia, Georgia and the USA, supported by Europol, dismantled an organised criminal network involved in the production and distribution of child sexual exploitation material.…

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Photo Story: Amazing interactive model of Moscow

People observe the interactive model of the metropole at the pavilion 'Model of Moscow' in the 'Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy', commonly known as VDNH (or VDNkH) park,…

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Photo Story: Ukrainian animal rights activists rally in Kiev

Dogs hold placards reading 'You need to respect their life rights!' and 'I'm not a fur coat!' during a rally advocating for animal rights, in downtown Kiev, Ukraine on Sunday.…

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Al Bano to be removed from Ukraine blacklist

Italian singer-songwriter Al Bano is to be removed from Ukraine's blacklist for those who have allegedly supported Russia's illegitimate claim to Crimea, his lawyer has announced. "It's," His lawyer, Cristiano…

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Russia’s ruling party loses a third of seats in Moscow election

Russia’s ruling United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, has lost a slew of seats in the Moscow parliament, RIA news agency said on Monday, suggesting a tactical voting…

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Russians head to the polls in local and regional elections

Muscovites head to the polls to elect a new city council on Sunday. There is little hope that opposition parties will make substantive gains. But, after a violent crackdown, resentment…

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Kremlin critic Navalny’s offices raided

Russian security forces have raided three of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s offices in Moscow on the eve of a local election where he is advocating voters to unseat Kremlin-backed candidates.…

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Putin’s anger at the arrest of Russian manager in Naples

A top manager at ODK, a state-run Russian firm that produces engines, has been detained in Naples at the request of the United States which accuses him of "economic spying",…

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Photo Story: 15th anniversary of Beslan hostage tragedy

People form the name 'Beslan' with candles lit during a commemoration ceremony on the Nevsky prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the night of the 03 September 2019. Russians on…

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Photo Story: Cadets of the Russian Nakhimov Naval Academy in St. Petersburg

A cadet yawns, as Cadets of the Russian Nakhimov Naval Academy attend a ceremony at the start of the school year known as 'Day of Knowledge' in St. Petersburg, Russia,…

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Russia assumes presidency in UN Security Council

Russia will hold the monthly presidency of the UN Security Council in September, which this year coincides with the opening of the 74th session of the General Assembly on September…

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Russian warning on US strikes in Syria

The Russian military said on Sunday that the United States had carried out air strikes in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone in breach of previous agreements, inflicting numerous casualties and endangering…

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Georgia reports military buildup along border with South Ossetia

Georgia said it had observed a "mobilisation of military equipment and personnel" in the separatist region of South Ossetia after an ultimatum issued by the breakaway territory expired. Georgia warned…

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Russia unveils competitor to Boeing and Airbus

Russia unveiled on Wednesday its new passenger plane MC-21, billed as a competitor to Boeing and Airbus even as the project is overshadowed by sanctions and setbacks with its predecessor,…

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Photo Story: Ukraine celebrates National Flag Day

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) reviews the Guard of Honor during the National Flag Day celebration at the St. Sophia square in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, 23 August 2019. Ukrainians mark…

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Leading Russian opposition politician Navalny released from jail

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was released on Friday after 30 days in prison. Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic, was jailed on charges of violating Russia’s protest laws after he…

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Russia medical workers fear ‘radioactive’ contamination

Russian medics who treated radiation victims after a military explosion in the Arctic had no protection and now fear they were irradiated themselves as they were not informed that the…

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EU against Russia’s return to G7

The European Union is against making any unconditional invitation to Russia to let it rejoin talks among the G7 world leaders, a senior official with the bloc said. This week…

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