Tag: Russia

Russia reports record virus deaths second day in a row

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Friday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll for a second day running, as a third wave of infections persists despite efforts from authorities to boost vaccinations. A government tally showed 815 fatalities over the past 24 hours and 22,277 new cases. Russia, the fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, has since mid-June been hit by a new wave of infections driven by the highly […]

One dead, 17 injured after explosion on Russian bus

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A woman was killed and at least 17 other people injured in an explosion on a bus in western Russia, local authorities said early Friday. Several of the wounded were in serious condition. “So far there is nothing to indicate that this was a terrorist attack,” Sergei Sokolov deputy governor of Voronezh, where the explosion occurred, told the Interfax news agency. The bus driver told state-owned Russia-24 news channel that there […]

Helicopter with 16 people on board crashes in Russian far east

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A helicopter with 16 people on board, including 13 tourists, crashed in Kamchatka in Russia’s far east on Thursday, the local government said in a statement. The helicopter came down in Lake Kuril in the Kronotsky nature reserve, the statement said. According to preliminary information, “there were three crew members and 13 passengers on board”, all tourists, it added. Rescuers and divers were dispatched to the scene. According to a local […]

Putin orders reinforcements to fight Siberia wildfires

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered officials Tuesday to send in reinforcements to fight forest fires that continue to tear through Siberia. Wildfires have ripped through Siberia’s forests with growing intensity in recent years, which Russian weather officials and environmentalists have linked to climate change and underfunded forestry management services. Putin ordered Russia’s emergencies ministry to “increase the group for extinguishing fires” and “raise the intensity of the work of aviation” in […]

Vietnam makes test batch of Russia’s Sputnik V jab

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia announced Wednesday that a batch of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine was produced for the first time in Vietnam, which is battling a new wave of Covid-19 infections. The test batch was produced in partnership with Vietnam’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Vabiotech, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which financially backed Sputnik V, said in a statement. The first samples from the batch will be shipped to the vaccine’s developer — […]

Russia’s S-500 missile system hits test target

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Tuesday it had successfully test-fired its new S-500 air defence missile systems at a southern training range and hit a high-speed ballistic target. Russia says the S-500, which is expected to have a maximum firing range of 600 kilometres, is the most advanced anti-missile system in the world and is capable of countering attacks from space. Its development however is years behind schedule. The military had previously said the […]

Russia says India will produce 300 million Sputnik V doses each year

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said on Tuesday a deal had been struck with Indian vaccine maker the Serum Institute to produce 300 million doses annually. “The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement. Sputnik V was registered by Russia in August […]

Contact lost with plane in Russia’s Far East, 28 on board: reports

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Contact has been lost with a passenger plane carrying 28 people in Russia’s Far East, news agencies cited emergency services as saying on Tuesday. The An-26 was flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in the Kamchatka Peninsula when it did not make a scheduled call-in, the Interfax, RIA Novosti and TASS agencies quoted local officials as saying. The report said the 28 on board included six crew members and that there were […]

Russia virus cases soar again as Delta strain sparks resurgence

by Anna SMOLCHENKO MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Sunday counted more than 25,000 new daily infections after a week of record death tolls as the highly contagious Delta variant propels a global resurgence of the pandemic. The coronavirus has killed nearly four million people worldwide, forcing numerous nations to reimpose restrictions well over a year after the outbreak of the pandemic. Moscow has so far ruled out a new lockdown, but Sunday’s 25,142 infections […]

Russia sets another Covid record as world battles Delta variant

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia reported its fifth record for daily Covid-19 deaths in a row on Saturday, as countries around the world rush to contain the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. The variant has propelled a resurgence of the virus which has already killed nearly four million people, forcing numerous nations to reimpose restrictions well over a year after the pandemic first swept the world. Indonesia imposed a partial lockdown […]

Covid-19 curbs reimposed in Moscow as Asia-Pacific outbreaks flare

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Work-from-home restrictions were reimposed in Moscow on Monday as Russia tried to contain a deadly coronavirus wave fuelled by the Delta variant, while several Asian nations also tightened curbs to contain growing outbreaks. While many wealthy countries have brought down infections through rapid vaccinations, outbreaks are still raging from Bangladesh and Indonesia to South America — many fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant that was first detected in India. […]