Twitter, Facebook Take Fresh Steps to Curb Election Manipulation

Twitter and Facebook on Thursday announced moves to thwart efforts to deceive or divide voters as the U.S. nears a contentious presidential election. Twitter unveiled new steps to prevent the spread of content from “state-affiliated media” used to advance a government’s political agenda — a move affecting key outlets from Russia and China. Facebook, meanwhile, said it…

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15-Year-Old Girl Dies in Monastery Captured By Rogue Priest

A 15-year-old girl living in a Russian Orthodox monastery controlled by a defrocked coronavirus-denying priest has died, Interfax reported Wednesday. The Sredneuralsk women’s monastery near Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg has been under the control of Father Sergei Romanov since he forced out its mother superior in June. Since then, Russian media outlets have reported…

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Moscow City Workers, Medics to Have Early Coronavirus Vaccine Access – Bloomberg

Moscow city government employees and healthcare workers are being offered early access to Russia’s coronavirus vaccine as the country rushes to approve what it says is the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Officials in recent weeks have said Russia aims to launch mass production of a coronavirus vaccine next month and produce “several…

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Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Surpass 870K

The highest number of new cases were in Moscow, the western Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiysk and Sverdlovsk in the Urals. Russia’s fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures. Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military…

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U.S. Offers $10M Reward Against Russian Election Interference

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday offered a $10 million reward aimed at preventing foreign interference in the November election, as the State Department accused Russia of waging an increasingly sophisticated disinformation campaign. The reward marks one of the most public signs that members of President Donald Trump’s administration are taking election meddling seriously, despite…

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Explosive Fertilizer Confiscated From Russian Businessman’s Ship Linked to Beirut Blast – Mediazona

Nearly 3,000 tons of a highly explosive fertilizer that caused Tuesday’s devastating blast in Beirut came from a ship owned by a Russian businessman, the Mediazona news website reported Wednesday, citing Lebanese television and members of the ship’s crew. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a statement Tuesday that 2,750 metric tons of ammonium…

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Russia’s Coronavirus Cases Surpass 866K

The highest number of new cases were in Moscow, the western Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiysk and Sverdlovsk in the Urals. Russia’s fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures. Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military…

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Siberia’s ‘Gateway to the Underworld’ Expands Amid Record-Smashing Heat Wave

Record-setting summer temperatures across Siberia are opening up the Batagaika megaslump, which locals call the “gateway to the underworld,” at an unprecedented pace, scientists say. The Batagaika crater in the eastern Siberian republic of Sakha appeared in the 1960s after forest in the area was cleared, causing the land to sink. Currently the world’s largest…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Aug. 4

Russia has confirmed 861,423 cases of coronavirus and 14,351 deaths. Aug. 4: What you need to know today The World Health Organization on Tuesday urged Russia to follow the established guidelines for producing safe and effective vaccines after Moscow announced plans to start swiftly producing COVID-19 jabs.  Moscow authorities have issued 5,000-ruble fines ($68) to more than 40,000 people…

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Russia Sparks Backlash for Allowing Deforestation, Construction Along Lake Baikal

A new Russian law that allows deforestation and construction near the shores of Siberia’s Lake Baikal has sparked backlash among environmental activists who say the law threatens protected natural areas. Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake, has been plagued with environmental problems caused by industrial pollution, mining and agricultural run-off. Plans to construct a…

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Russian Mercenaries in Belarus Say They Were ‘On Their Way to See Hagia Sophia’ – Investigators

Some of the 33 Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus told investigators they were on their way to Istanbul to see the Hagia Sophia, the head of Belarus’ Investigative Committee told President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus authorities detained the men last week for allegedly plotting to destabilize the country ahead of the country’s Aug. 9 presidential election.…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Aug. 2

Russia has confirmed 850,870 cases of coronavirus and 14,128 deaths. Aug. 2: 3 things you need to know today Authorities in Moscow have issued sweeping fines for violating face mask and glove requirements in recent weeks as the city looks to enforce coronavirus safety rules, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday. Russia confirmed 5,427 new coronavirus infections Sunday, bringing the country’s…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | Aug. 1

Russia has confirmed 845,443 cases of coronavirus and 14,058 deaths. Aug. 1: 3 things you need to know today Authorities in Moscow have issued sweeping fines for violating face mask and glove requirements in recent weeks as the city looks to enforce coronavirus safety rules, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the Russian capital has…

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Russia Charges Rapper’s Widow With Murder After Finding Dismembered Body

Russian investigators on Friday charged a rapper’s widow with his murder after discovering his dismembered body. Investigators said they found fragments of the body of Ukrainian rapper Alexander Yushko, who performed under the stage name Andy Cartwright, in a flat in the northwestern city of St. Petersburg on Wednesday. The Investigative Committee, which probes major…

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UK Names Media Mogul Yevgeny Lebedev to House of Lords

Russian-British media owner Yevgeny Lebedev has been appointed to the House of Lords in Britain. Queen Elizabeth II conferred Lebedev’s lifetime peerage on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said. Lebedev owns Britain’s Independent and Evening Standard newspapers. His father, Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev, is co-owner of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper in Russia. In…

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Russia Records Over 5,400 Coronavirus Cases Amid Vaccine Race, Lifted Lockdown

The highest number of new cases were in Moscow, the western Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiysk and Sverdlovsk in the Urals. Russia’s fatality rate has remained low compared to other badly-hit countries, raising speculation that Moscow could be underreporting figures. Russian authorities began easing anti-virus measures in June ahead of a massive World War II military…

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The third layer of the reactor building inner containment has been erected at power unit No.1 of Rooppur NPP

The works on erection and concreting of the reactor building inner containment third layer sections of Rooppur NPP power unit No.1 being constructed in Bangladesh (the General Contractor – JSC Atomstroyexport is included in the Engineering Division of ROSATOM) have been completed. All works on the third layer were performed by TrestRosSEM LLC specialists for…

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Coronavirus in Russia: The Latest News | July 31

Russia has confirmed 839,981 cases of coronavirus and 13,963 deaths. July 31: 3 things you need to know today Authorities in Moscow have issued sweeping fines for violating face mask and glove requirements in recent weeks as the city looks to enforce coronavirus safety rules, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the Russian capital has…

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Tens of Thousands Rally in Belarus Despite Pre-Election Crackdown

Tens of thousands of supporters of President Alexander Lukashenko’s top election rival on Thursday rallied in the Belarussian capital Minsk despite an increasing crackdown on the opposition. The rally came as Belarus authorities accused top members of the opposition of collaborating with Russian fighters to destabilize the ex-Soviet country. Backers of political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a…

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