Russia

MOSCOW, August 10. / TASS /: The organizers of an authorized rally in Moscow have approached the police department with information about impending provocations at the gathering on Saturday, the Moscow police press service informed TASS.

"The organizers of the rally on Sakharov Avenue approached the staff of the Moscow Police department with a statement that Lyubov Sobol and other participants in the rally were going to stage provocations during the event," the source said.

MOSCOW, August 10. / TASS /: Unregistered candidate for Moscow City Duma Lyubov Sobol was detained in Moscow, by the law enforcement authorities, the head of the human rights organization "Agora" Pavel Chikov told reporters on Saturday.

The organization's lawyer is providing legal counsel to Sobol.

"In Lyubov Sobol was detained," he said. Chikov also confirmed for TASS that police came to their client's apartment, but did not give any other information.

MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/: The Aerial Forest Protection Service and regional forestry services have extinguished 41 wildfires on the territory of over 23,000 hectares in Russian regions in the last 24 hours.

"According to regional forestries, 41 wildfires were extinguished on the territory of 23,676 hectares on August 9. As of 12am Moscow time on August 10, 219 wildfires are registered in Russia on the territory of 228,840 hectares, with active firefighting efforts underway," the press service of the Aerial Forest Protection Service said.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: The Russian Finance Ministry hopes that Russia's credit sovereign rating will be upgraded by other rating agencies after the decision by Fitch, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.

Tyumen, TASS, August 10: A member of the Russian Federal Guard is wounded, after a man opens fire during an identification check in Tyumen, Russian Federal National Guard Troops Service representative Valery Gribakin told TASS on Saturday.

"In Tyumen, a patrol stopped a suspicious citizen at one of the apartment buildings. As the officers approached, the man threw an unknown object in their direction and opened fire, wounding one of the patrolmen," Gribakin said.

10 August 2019; DW: Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of central Moscow to protest the upcoming city council ballot. Independent and opposition candidates have been barred from running.

Thousands of people gathered in the Russian capital Moscow on Saturday to protest the exclusion of opposition and independent candidates from the city council vote.

It is the third consecutive weekend of demonstrations to protest the exclusion.

10 August 2019; DW: The Defense Ministry initially released a lower death toll for the accident on Thursday. Details remain sparse, and it is unclear whether or not radiation was released as a result of the explosion.

Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom announced Saturday that five people had died and another three were injured in an explosion at a missile test site in the Arctic that took place on Thursday.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Two more participants in mass riots during an unauthorized rally in downtown Moscow on July 27 have been detained, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Friday.

According to official data, a criminal investigation against 12 people has been launched.

Two persons, Aidar Gubaidulin and Danila Beglets, born in 1993 and 1992, respectively, have been detained as part of a criminal case into mass riots and use of violence against law enforcement personnel.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Foreign media outlets interfering in Russia’s affairs particularly through publications concerning the recent unauthorized rallies in Moscow may be barred from working in the country, Head of the United Russia party’s parliamentary faction and State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov said in response to a TASS question on Friday.

RYAZAN, August 9. /TASS/: Russia’s Aerospace Force will employ the Kinzhal airborne hypersonic missile systems for the first time at the Aviadarts competition of the International Army Games, the Army Games’ press office reported on Friday.