Day: May 23, 2019

Russian investigators say they have found drugs in the apartment of detained former minister Mikhail Abyzov, Interfax reported on Thursday. Abyzov, 46, faces up to 20 years behind bars on suspicion of embezzling $62 million. The former minister of a since-disbanded Open Government Affairs post denies the charges. A forensic analysis showed that a “narcotic substance”…

Russia is using rail, storage tanks and ships to remove contaminated oil from an export pipeline, and has so far extracted around 2 million tons of the tainted oil — or over a third of volumes hit, industry sources and data showed. A month ago, Russia had to stop exports via the Druzhba pipeline to Poland…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino thanked Russia on Thursday for hosting the “best World Cup ever” as President Vladimir Putin presented him with a state award for his role in making last year’s tournament possible. In a Kremlin ceremony broadcast on television, Putin thanked “all those who helped to make this dream come to life,” including the…

The son of LUKoil chief executive Vagit Alekperov is Russia’s richest heir with an expected inheritance of $21.8 billion, according to rankings published by Forbes Russia on Thursday. Forbes estimates that the 48 ranked sons and daughters of Russian tycoons are set to inherit a combined $238 billion from their parents. Last year, the business…

An elite school in central Russia has drawn national attention after it lowered passing grades for boys because its headmaster says girls are better students and boys grow up to lead the country. A bulletin posted on the wall of the school in the city of Perm showed that the passing grade was set at…

A Danish adherent of the Jehovah’s Witnesses jailed for six years in Russia after being found guilty of organizing a banned extremist group lost his court appeal on Thursday, a spokesman for the group said. Armed police detained Dennis Christensen, a builder, in May 2017 at a prayer meeting in Oryol, some 200 miles (320…

Nearly half of Russians support equal rights for members of the LGBT community, marking the highest level of support in 14 years, according to the independent Levada Center pollster. Since Russia banned the display of “gay propaganda” to minors in 2013, authorities have refused to authorize gay pride events across the country and polls have…

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar’s almost two-month assault on the capital, Tripoli, has stalled and he can’t take the city, according to a Russian special envoy to the oil-rich North African state. “It was absolutely predictable that Haftar would get bogged down,” said Lev Dengov, who forecast a lengthy stand-off. The leader of the self-styled…

A resident of the Russian city of Yekaterinburg has filed a lawsuit with Europe’s human rights court for his detention during rallies against the construction of a church on park grounds. Daniil Pugin was one of dozens detained amid spontaneous and unauthorized protests at the proposed construction site last week. A state-sponsored poll published Wednesday…

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is increasingly turning to allies Cuba, China and Russia to offset a health crisis caused by U.S. sanctions, a minister said on Wednesday. Venezuelans have been suffering dire shortages of medicines and health equipment for several years as it has spiralled into economic chaos and political conflict. The opposition blames…