Day: November 17, 2020

France on Tuesday urged Russia to clear up “ambiguities” over the ceasefire it brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, notably regarding the role of Turkey and foreign fighters. “We must remove the ambiguities over refugees, the delimitation of the ceasefire, the presence of Turkey, the return of fighters and on the…

The Belarus security services’ unprovoked violence against anti-government protesters is unacceptable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday while also criticizing protesters for “provocations” against officers. Peskov spoke after thousands of Belarusians took to the streets Sunday to protest the death of arts teacher and former soldier Roman Bondarenko in police custody last week. Bondarenko, 31,…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called on fellow members of the BRICS alliance of major emerging countries to mass produce Russian-made coronavirus vaccines.  Speaking during an online summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Putin encouraged the other four BRICS members to manufacture and distribute coronavirus vaccines developed by Russia.  “There are Russian vaccines, they…

Russian President Vladimir Putin resembles a local “ward boss” with nuclear weapons and a UN Security Council veto, former U.S. President Barack Obama wrote in the first volume of his memoirs that hit bookstore shelves Tuesday. Obama and Putin were often at odds during the U.S. president’s eight years in office despite his attempts at…

Russia has developed a smartphone app that alerts users of possible exposure to the coronavirus, the country’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has said. The app, with the working title “Stopcoronavirus. My Contacts,” scans the user’s surroundings in a 10-meter radius and measures how close and for how long they interact with…

Russia has measured its highest levels of air pollution in 16 years, according to expert analysis cited by the RBC news website Tuesday. Experts found three times as many “high” and “extremely high” air pollution instances in the first nine months of 2020 than in all of 2019, the outlet cited the Finexpertiza consulting firm…

Russia reported Tuesday a record high 442 new coronavirus-related deaths as the country’s regions struggled to cope with overflowing morgues and medicine shortages. While Europe has reintroduced new restrictions in response to a second wave of coronavirus infections sweeping across the world, Russia has refused to enforce a new nationwide lockdown. Health authorities on Tuesday recorded 22,410 new infections…

Azerbaijan’s military success confirmed by a Russian-brokered ceasefire has rapidly changed the map of the South Caucasus. Attention has now turned to the rich cultural heritage, in particular the Armenian churches falling under Azerbaijani control. Beyond preserving these precious monuments for future generations and as places of worship, this is a test of goodwill. Armenia…

A mutated version of the coronavirus strain that causes Covid-19 has been discovered in Siberia, the head of Russia’s consumer safety watchdog said Tuesday. “We’re seeing certain changes in the proteins, and these changes detected in Siberia allow us to assume that this region is forming its own version [of coronavirus] with certain mutations,” Rospotrebnadzor…

Russia will transition to primarily freeze-dried doses of its coronavirus vaccine by spring as a workaround to the logistical challenges of transporting liquid doses at controlled temperatures, Reuters reported Monday.  The Sputnik V vaccine’s liquid form must be stored at minus 18 degrees Celsius or below to maintain its stated 92% efficacy. Vaccine storage and…