17 Bodies Found After Helicopter Crashes in Far East Russia’s Kamchatka

Rescuers on Sunday said they found 17 bodies after a helicopter with 22 people on board crashed in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula in the Far East. The helicopter went missing shortly after takeoff Saturday, carrying 19 tourists and 3 crew members, according to authorities in Kamchatka, a picturesque region popular among adventure tourists and known for its active…

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An Apple for the Tsar

Apples are not at all as simple as they seem. Although they seem ordinary, no other fruit has left such a large trace in world history. In Russia, cultivated varieties of apples appeared in the 11th century during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. It is believed that the first apple orchard was planted on…

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5 Killed, Dozens Injured in Attack on Russia’s Belgorod Region

At least five people were killed and 37 others injured in Ukrainian airstrikes on Russia’s Belgorod region Friday evening, local authorities said. Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov accused Ukrainian forces of using “Vampir” multiple-launch rocket systems with cluster munitions in the attack on the city of Belgorod and its surrounding areas. Among the dead were…

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Russia Labels Meduza CEO Timchenko ‘Foreign Agent’

Russian authorities designated Galina Timchenko, the exiled founder and CEO of the independent news website Meduza, as a “foreign agent” on Friday. The Russian Justice Ministry accused Timchenko of opposing the country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and spreading “inaccurate information aimed at forming a negative image of the Russian armed forces.” Timchenko served as…

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Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Nikolay Spassky, Deputy Director General of ROSATOM, held consultations with the IAEA delegation

Delegation of the Agency also visited some events of ROSATOM. The delegation from the IAEA Department of Safeguards led by its head Massimo Aparo, Deputy Director General of the Agency, visited Russia on August, 26-29, 2024. Consultations with Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Nikolay Spassky, Deputy Director General…

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Russia Claims Capture of 3 More Villages in Eastern Ukraine

Russia’s military said Friday that it captured three more villages in eastern Ukraine, where its forces continue to advance even as Kyiv mounts a major cross-border incursion into Russian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces gained control of towns and villages in Ukraine’s partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. Among the settlements captured…

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Delays and Rising Costs Hamper Russia-China Trade in August – Reuters

Russian payments for Chinese goods faced increasing delays and rising costs this past month due to stricter banking compliance in response to U.S. threats of secondary sanctions, Reuters reported Friday, citing Russian sources familiar with the matter. Chinese state banks have reportedly halted transactions with Russian companies “en masse,” leaving payments worth billions of yuan…

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Newspaper Publisher in Siberia Jailed 8 Years Over War ‘Fakes’

A court in Siberia’s republic of Altai sentenced a newspaper publisher to eight years in prison for spreading “false information” about the Russian military, the internet rights group Setevye Svobody (Net Freedoms Project) said Friday. Sergei Mikhailov, who ran the “Listok” weekly newspaper in the regional capital of Gorno-Altaisk, was arrested in April 2022 after…

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Pro-War Singer Shaman Performs for Soldiers and Evacuating Children in Kursk Region

Pro-war singers Shaman and Grigory Leps visited southwestern Russia’s Kursk region on Thursday to entertain wounded soldiers and send off children who were being evacuated from their homes as Ukraine’s incursion in the area continued into its fourth week. Between air raid alerts, acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov shared videos on Telegram of Shaman and…

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Ex-Deputy Defense Minister Arrested for Fraud in Russian Military Theme Park Scandal

Former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov was arrested on fraud charges related to a sprawling military theme park outside Moscow, federal investigators announced Thursday. Popov is accused of misusing Patriot Park resources for personal gain, allegedly coercing the park’s contract workers into performing unpaid construction work at his private property in the Moscow region between…

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Russia’s Media Regulator Tells Internet Providers to Stop Speeding Up YouTube – Reports

Russia’s media regulator has warned internet providers to stop efforts that speed up YouTube loading speeds, an apparent acknowledgment of government attempts to throttle the popular video streaming platform, the independent news outlet Sotavision reported late Wednesday. Roskomnadzor’s control and regulatory arm, the main radio frequency center GRChTs, sent out the warning message following reports…

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Alexey Likhachev, the Head of ROSATOM, and Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, have discussed the progress of El-Dabaa NPP project implementation

They noted a fast pace of construction of the power units. Alexey Likhachev, ROSATOM Director General, and Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, held negotiations on August 28. A fast pace of construction of the power units was noted. The meeting was also attended by Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy…

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1 Killed, 2 Injured in Strikes on Russia’s Belgorod Region

Ukrainian strikes on the southwestern Belgorod region killed one person and injured two others, regional authorities said early Thursday. “The town of Shebekino was targeted by Ukrainian forces” and “unfortunately, one person was killed,” Belgorod region Governor Vyachelsav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Two other people were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, he said, while the airstrikes…

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Russia Bans 92 U.S. Citizens Over ‘Russophobic’ Policies

Russia has permanently banned 92 U.S. citizens from entering the country in response to the Biden administration’s “Russophobic” policies, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry said that the move was a response “to the Russophobic course pursued by Joe Biden’s administration with the declared aim of delivering a strategic defeat to Moscow, which includes…

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Activist Alleges Cover-Up After Discovery of Russian Soldiers’ Graves in Murmansk

At least 165 graves of Russian soldiers have been uncovered in the Arctic city of Murmansk, a significantly higher death figure than local authorities have publicly acknowledged, opposition activist Violetta Grudina said Wednesday. Grudina, an exiled former regional coordinator for Alexei Navalny’s now-banned political network, said the graves were found in a separate section of…

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Jailed Anti-War Journalist Ponomarenko Threatens Self-Harm Over Prison Abuse

Siberian journalist and activist Maria Ponomarenko, imprisoned under Russia’s wartime censorship laws, threatened to cut her wrists in protest against the abuse she says she has endured while incarcerated. Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison in February 2023 for spreading “fake news” about Russia’s 2022 bombing of a theater in Mariupol, Ukraine —…

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Russian Internet Providers Work to Speed Up YouTube – Kommersant

Russian internet providers have started implementing workarounds to speed up YouTube amid what appears to be a government effort to throttle the video streaming platform, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday, citing industry insiders. The move comes nearly a month after online users in Russia started experiencing sharp declines in YouTube loading speeds. These disruptions coincided…

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France, UAE Hacked Telegram Founder Durov’s Phone in 2017 – WSJ

French and Emirati spies hacked Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s iPhone in 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The joint spy operation code-named “Purple Music” reportedly stemmed from concerns about the Islamic State’s use of Telegram, a private messaging app, for recruitment and plotting attacks — and came years…

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Indonesian Embassy in Moscow Says Unaware of Citizens Recruited for Ukraine War

Indonesian authorities have “no information” to confirm earlier reports alleging that their citizens are being recruited to fight in Ukraine, the Southeast Asia country’s embassy in Russia said in a statement sent to the Moscow Times. “So far, the Embassy has no information that may corroborate the alleged involvement of Indonesian nationals fighting for either…

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Russia’s FSB Arrests 6 Suspected of Plotting Terror Attack in Ingushetia

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested six “adherents of an international terrorist organization” in the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, state media reported Wednesday, citing law enforcement officials. According to the FSB, the six arrested men were planning an attack on the police and an Orthodox church. Authorities say all of those who were arrested…

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Mysterious Company Disappears After Posting Russia’s Third-Highest Profit – RTVI

A little-known company that posted Russia’s third-highest profit in just one year has vanished as mysteriously as it appeared, according to a new investigative report by the broadcaster RTVI. Banknota LLC, registered in June 2023, reported 3.7 trillion rubles ($40.4 billion) in revenue and 3.4 trillion rubles ($37.1 billion) in net profit last year — or about…

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Kremlin Warns France Against Trying to ‘Intimidate’ Telegram Founder Durov

The Kremlin said Tuesday that France had leveled “very serious” charges against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and warned Paris against trying to intimidate the tech entrepreneur after he was arrested in Paris over the weekend. French prosecutors accuse the 39-year-old billionaire of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram — charges his company denies.…

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Ukraine Launches Attack on Belgorod Region, Pro-Kremlin Sources Say

Ukrainian forces launched an attack on border posts in the southwestern Belgorod region, Telegram channels linked to Russian security services said Tuesday, as regional officials reported an attempt “to break through the border.” The Mash Telegram channel reported that around 200 Ukrainian soldiers were deployed near the Nekhoteyevka checkpoint and another 300 near the Shebekino checkpoint,…

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UN Nuclear Agency Chief Warns of Nuclear Risks During Kursk Plant Visit

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi on Tuesday warned during a visit to Russia’s Kursk nuclear plant that its proximity to ongoing fighting was “extremely serious” following Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into the southwestern Kursk region earlier this month. Grossi said his tour enabled him to “look at the most important parts” of the plant, which is…

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Torrential Rain Floods Streets of Sochi

Heavy rain overnight Monday triggered partial flooding in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and its surrounding areas, local authorities said.  Sochi Mayor Andrey Proshunin said the Khostinsky district, located on the foothills of the western Caucasus mountains, received around 12.5 centimeters (4.9 inches) of rain between Monday night and Tuesday morning. “After midnight,…

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