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MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia has registered its first two cases of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus in its nationals returning from South Africa — where the variant was first detected — the country’s health agency said on Monday. “Two citizens who returned to Russia from South Africa have been diagnosed with the Omicron coronavirus strain,” the Rospotrebnadzor health agency said in a statement. The agency said that all Russians […]
MOSCOW, Russsia (AFP) – Russia has dismantled a notorious facility dubbed the “whale jail” that kept dozens of the mammals in cramped conditions, causing an international outcry. Almost 100 whales were kept in the secretive facility in Srednyaya Bay near the far eastern town of Nakhodka in 2018, before being released after an intense campaign by animal rights and environmentalist groups in 2019. The animals were captured to perform in aquariums. The environmental prosecutor’s office […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Russia and a number of Southeast Asian countries kicked off their first ever joint naval exercise along the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes, on Wednesday, Indonesia’s navy said. The drills come at a time of growing tensions in the Pacific, particularly around the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety. All ten members of ASEAN, Southeast Asia’s regional bloc, participated in Wednesday’s […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military will re-inforce deployments and bases directed at China and Russia, while maintaining forces in the Middle East adequate to deter Iran and jihadist groups, the Pentagon said Monday, referencing results of a review. The US Defense Department will be upgrading and expanding military facilities in Guam and Australia, underscoring its focus on China as the country’s leading defense rival, officials said. The details of the “global posture […]
GRAMOTEINO, Russia (AFP) — More than 50 people were reported to have died Thursday after smoke filled a Siberian coal mine and a rescue effort ended in tragedy. Senior managers at the mine in Russia’s Kemerovo region had been detained for suspected safety violations, after the latest deadly accident to hit the country’s vast mining industry. Russian news agencies quoted local authorities as saying that 52 people were dead, including miners and six rescuers who […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The backers of Sputnik V on Wednesday said the Russian vaccine provides longer immunity against coronavirus than Western jabs using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which supported the vaccine’s development, said the Sputnik vaccine is 80 percent effective against coronavirus between six and eight months after the second dose. The country has recorded more than 9.4 million coronavirus cases, the fifth-highest number in the world, and […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday he had had a third dose of a Covid vaccine, as the country struggles with a fresh wave of the virus. “I had it two hours ago,” Putin said on state television channel Rossiya 24, assuring viewers that his booster injection of the Sputnik vaccine had been painless. The authorities are struggling to convince people to get vaccinated against Covid, even as a fresh […]
by Evan GERSHKOVICH MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday admitted to destroying one of its satellites during a missile test, but rejected US accusations that it had endangered the International Space Station. US officials on Monday accused Russia of a “dangerous and irresponsible” strike on a satellite that had created a cloud of debris and forced the ISS crew to take evasive action. The move reignited concerns about an escalating arms race in space, […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States denounced Russia on Monday for conducting a “dangerous and irresponsible” missile strike that blew up one of its own satellites, creating a debris cloud that forced the International Space Station’s crew to take evasive action. Washington wasn’t informed in advance about the test, only the fourth ever to hit a spacecraft from the ground, and will talk to allies about how to respond, said […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The developer of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V has said Moscow should make jabs mandatory as inoculation rates remain low despite record deaths and campaigning by authorities. His call came as Russia reported a record 1,239 Covid deaths in a single day Wednesday. Only 34 percent of the country is fully vaccinated, even though Sputnik V — the world’s first Covid vaccine — has been widely available since December last year. […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow on Thursday shut shops, schools and restaurants for 11 days in a bid to stop a surge in coronavirus infections and deaths that came after vaccination efforts stalled. All non-essential services, including retail outlets, restaurants, and sporting and entertainment venues will be closed until November 7, along with schools and kindergartens. Only shops selling food, medicine and other essentials will remain open, as authorities try to tackle a coronavirus […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Fifteen people died as a result of a fire at a Russian explosives factory southeast of Moscow on Friday, local authorities said. The government of the Ryazan region, where the factory is based, said “15 people died and one person has serious burns” and is in critical condition. It said one more person is missing. © Agence France-Presse
