Day: October 26, 2020

A third attempt at halting weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh collapsed quickly on Monday with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading accusations of violating the U.S.-brokered ceasefire within minutes. As fighting over the disputed region enters its second month, international mediators are scrambling to bring a stop to frontline clashes and shelling of civilian areas that have…

The dispute between Turkey and Greece over energy-rich waters in the Mediterranean should be settled on the “basis of international law”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. The discovery of huge natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has exacerbated tensions between Ankara and Athens following Turkish exploration operations in waters claimed by Greece…

Around 85% of Russian volunteers who receive the country’s highly touted coronavirus Sputnik V vaccine report no side effects, according to the developer of the adenovirus-based shot.  The state-run Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology became the first in the world to register a Covid-19 vaccine in August before final clinical trials began the…

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said supporters launched Monday a nationwide strike after her deadline expired for strongman Alexander Lukashenko to step down. “Today the People’s Strike is beginning,” Tikhanovskaya said on her Telegram channel. “Employees of state factories and enterprises, transport workers and miners, teachers and students have gone on strike since this morning.” All…

Russia has confirmed 1,531,224 cases of coronavirus and 26,269 deaths. Oct. 26: What you need to know today Russia confirmed 17,347 Covid-19 cases Monday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,531,224 and setting a new record for daily infections. A total of 219 people have died in the past 24 hours. People with high temperatures will no longer be allowed…

Airstrikes by Damascus regime ally Russia killed 78 Turkey-backed rebels in northwestern Syria on Monday, a monitor said, in the bloodiest surge in violence since a truce almost eight months ago. More than 90 others were wounded when Russian warplanes targeted a training camp of the Faylaq al-Sham faction in the Jabal Duwayli area in…

Later this week, one of the fastest growing Russian businesses of the last decade will launch on the Moscow stock market  — the latest in a small flurry of Russian public offerings set to close out the year. Property developer Samolet was founded just eight years ago, but it has grown aggressively, building more than…

At least one out of every five Russian lawmakers currently have or have had coronavirus, the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament told President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The 450-member State Duma went partially remote last month to limit the spread of Covid-19 after more than a dozen federal lawmakers were hospitalized with the…

Russia has opened a Defense Ministry representative office and donated 10 armored vehicles to the Central African Republic in Moscow’s latest effort to expand its influence on the continent, Reuters reported Saturday. The moves come amid President Vladimir Putin’s push to revive Soviet-era influence and challenge other powers’ foothold in resource-rich Africa. In the conflict-torn…

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to the man who introduced Vladimir Putin to his ex-wife and is godfather to their eldest daughter. It was warm and friendly and suggested I ask my questions now, despite a pending meeting.  “I fear if you try me later you won’t reach me,” Sergei…