Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of thousands of people in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk took to the streets on Saturday, protesting the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders.

MOSCOW, July 16./TASS/: The final, phase 3, trials of a Russian vaccine against coronavirus developed by the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology may be completed quicker than in other countries, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, told the Vesti news program on Rossiya-1television on Thursday.

"This is the final phase that is necessary to put the vaccine into active use. And we believe that Russia will possibly go through this phase quicker than other countries," Dmitriev said.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: The United States will have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to make its existing missile shield efficient against hypersonic missiles, chief of the Russian National Centre for Nuclear Risk Reduction Sergei Ryzhkov said in an interview published by the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper on Friday.

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/: Moscow’s Basmanny Court arrested three more people involved in the case of trading in toddlers of surrogate mothers, while putting the fourth under house arrest, court spokeswoman Irina Morozova told TASS.

The newly arrested include a gynecologist, an interpreter and a surrogate motherhood center CEO.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: About 150,000 troops, over 26,000 weapon systems, 414 aircraft and 106 warships are involved a snap combat readiness check that kicked off for Russia’s Southern and Western Military Districts, the Airborne Force and marine infantry of the Northern and Pacific Fleets, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu announced on Friday.

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/: A criminal case has been opened against two directors of medical centers, three doctors, and three more staffers with the charges of trafficking children born by surrogate mothers, Investigative Committee’s spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told TASS.

"During investigative activities and active search measures eight members of the criminal group have been detained. Among the accomplices are three doctors of private medical centers, two heads of commercial organizations, and their staff," she said.

ST. PETERSBURG, July 16. /TASS/: An official ceremony of hoisting the St. Andrew’s Russian naval flags took place on Project 03160 ‘Raptor’ two patrol boats in Kronshtadt in northwestern Russia, the press office of the Pella Shipyard (the boats’ builder) reported on Thursday.

"Therefore, the boats officially entered service with the Baltic Fleet. Both boats were delivered to the state customer ahead of schedule. The acceptance/delivery certificates were signed on July 8, 2020," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/: Moscow’s municipal authorities hope to avoid another ‘severe outbreak' of the coronavirus infection in the Russian capital, and a new lockdown is very unlikely, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station on Thursday.

"I believe we still have more chances to avoid this [a new lockdown in the city]. It’s clear that there are risks and we need to look at them straightforwardly. But I hope we will still manage to avoid any severe outbreaks," Sobyanin said.

MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/: Washington’s threat to impose sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and the second line of the TurkStream gas pipeline projects within the framework of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is an undue pressure on the European business and unfair competition, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s central bank will consider cutting interest rates next week, but it has already used much of its room to ease policy and foresees limits to what it can do in the future, Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin told Reuters.

The central bank slashed its key rate by 100 basis points, the biggest cut in five years, to a record low of 4.5% at its last meeting. It was the third reduction this year as it copes with a contracting economy and low inflation.