Day: July 16, 2020

Russia has confirmed 752,797 cases of coronavirus and 11,937 deaths. July 16: 3 things you need to know today Britain’s cybersecurity agency on Thursday accused a hacking group it said “almost certainly” operates as part of Russian intelligence services of trying to steal information on coronavirus vaccines. Russia plans to conduct Phase III trials of its experimental coronavirus…

The mayor of Russia’s Arctic city of Norilsk has accused regional authorities of dramatically underreporting coronavirus cases and ignoring the scale of its outbreak, the Tayga.info news website reported Thursday. Mayor Rinat Akhmetchin painted the dire picture in a letter to the governor of the Krasnoyarsk region where Norilsk is located and the chairman of the regional…

Britain’s cybersecurity agency on Thursday accused a hacking group it said “almost certainly” operates as part of Russian intelligence services of trying to steal research into potential coronavirus vaccines. The National Cyber Security Centre said the attacks by the group APT29 were ongoing but targets have so far included UK, U.S. and Canadian vaccine research…

Britain, the United States and Canada on Thursday risked worsening fraught diplomatic ties with Russia by accusing Moscow-linked hackers of targeting labs in their countries conducting coronavirus vaccine research. The three governments pointed the finger at the Kremlin, saying that a hacking group called APT29 was “almost certainly” linked to Russian intelligence. In a separate claim, London…

Britain on Thursday accused “Russian actors” of seeking to disrupt last year’s general election by circulating leaked trade documents between London and Washington. The government launched an investigation into the source of the leak, after details of talks with the United States on a possible post-Brexit trade deal were published on social media site Reddit.…

Russia plans to conduct Phase III trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine in the Middle East as well as at home, the head of Russia’s sovereign fund told Reuters on Thursday. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev said he expects Phase III trials involving several thousand people to begin after a 100-person Phase…

Russia is among dozens of countries that have violated women’s rights during childbirth amid restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Open Democracy advocacy group said Thursday. Women in at least 45 countries faced treatment that defied World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines this spring and summer, Open Democracy’s investigation said. These include forcibly separating…

Smoke from raging forest fires in Siberia was filling cities Thursday as officials scrambled to prevent the flames from reaching homes. More than 100 firefighters and volunteers were trying to douse the flames of a fire outside the city of Yugorsk in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, just one of several areas affected. “A fire line…

A police major in Far Eastern Russia has fallen to her death from a window after testifying against her boss in a criminal extortion case, news outlets reported Thursday. Security cameras reportedly captured the lifeless body of criminal investigation officer Yekaterina Mishkina, 37, near a nine-floor apartment building in the city of Khabarovsk more than…

Fierce fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued for a fifth day on Thursday, with at least 16 soldiers on both sides killed. Both sides also reported the other attacking civilian settlements in what appears to be a widening conflict. The Azerbaijani authorities said that Armenian artillery fire killed one civilian, Aziz Azizov of the village Aghdam in…

As Russia has begun reporting fewer coronavirus infections in the past month, its authorities have made several announcements that appeared to suggest it was reopening its borders to foreigners. This week, authorities said they will lift self-quarantine requirements for arriving citizens and foreigners alike. Starting Wednesday, Russia has also started negotiations with other countries to…

The United States on Wednesday accused a Russian mercenary group of laying landmines in and around Tripoli and imposed sanctions over its alleged cooperation with Sudan’s ousted dictator. The Pentagon’s Africa Command said it had “verified photographic evidence” that the Wagner Group, a private security operation allegedly sponsored by the Russian government, planted mines “indiscriminately”…

A pair of notorious Russian pranksters known for posing as foreign officials in prank calls with European politicians have hoodwinked Poland’s newly re-elected president this week. Vladimir Kuznetsov, one half of the duo known as Vovan and Lexus, poses as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the English-language call, where he congratulates Polish President Andrzej Duda…

A recent heatwave in Siberia that saw temperature records tumble as the region sweltered in 38-degrees-Celsius highs was “almost impossible” without the influence of manmade climate change, leading scientists said Wednesday. An international team of researchers found that the record-breaking warm period was more than 2 C hotter than it would have been if humans had…

Russian police detained over 140 people including a high-profile Moscow deputy after Kremlin critics protested Wednesday against changes to the constitution, the OVD-Info monitor said. The group, which tracks arrests at political protests, said 142 people were detained Wednesday evening. Many people including journalists were put in police vehicles, AFP correspondents said from the scene.…