Russia

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the remark by European Medicines Agency (EMA) Chairwoman Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, who compared the idea of emergency authorizations of the Sputnik V vaccine to "playing Russian roulette," as incorrect and regrettable.

"As for this regrettable statement, it is incorrect to say the least. The demand for the vaccine and the vaccination campaigns in many countries indicate its relevance and popularity," Peskov told journalists Tuesday.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: About forty companies in Russia were attacked by using vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server software, press service of Kaspersky Lab reports on Sunday.

"On March 2, Microsoft reported a series of attacks using vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Exchange Server. Kaspersky Lab specialists register an increase in attempts to exploit these vulnerabilities in order to penetrate corporate networks for purpose of stealing confidential data and probably for use of cryptoware. As much as 40 companies have already been attacked in Russia," Kaspersky said.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: More than 300 mln people worldwide have already been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, according to TASS estimates based on government, expert and mass media reports.

Approximately 301.4 mln people have been vaccinated by now, which is 2.5 times above the number of COVID-19 infection case. Therefore, about 3.8% of the planet population was vaccinated.

About 70% of the global population should be vaccinated to achieve the herd immunity, the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier.

MOSCOW, March 8. /TASS/: The number of coronavirus cases in Russia per day increased by 10,253 over the past day, this is the lowest figure since October 3. The total number of cases has reached 4,333,029, the federal operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus told reporters on Monday.

In relative terms, the increase in new cases, according to the headquarters, was 0.24%.

The lowest growth rates were recorded per day in the Sakhalin region (0.02%) and the Republic of Tyva (0.03%).

08 Mar 2021; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will today embark on a four-day official visit to the Gulf region which will include visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, his ministry announced yesterday.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: Joint Russian-Belarusian drills of the Russian Airborne Troops and the Belarusian Special Operations Forces will be conducted in March in the territory of the two countries, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

According to the ministry, the first joint Russian-Belarusian tactical exercise held in 2021, dedicated to peacekeeping, will be conducted from March 9 to 20 at the Polivno training range in the Ulyanovsk Region.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: Confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 10,595 in the past twenty-four hours to 4,322,776, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

The coronavirus growth rate equaled 0.25%, the crisis center said.

The lowest growth rates were registered in the past twenty-four hours in the Republic of Tyva (0.04%) and the Magadan Region (0.06%), the latest figures indicate.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: Configuration and orbit of a new orbital station being developed in Russia are being currently discussed at the Roscosmos space agency, state corporation’s General Director Dmitry Rogozin said.

"We are discussing configuration and orbit of a new station," he wrote on his Facebook page in response to a question of one of the users whether there were plans of development of the station’s base module.

MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/: Oil has spilled into the Ob River in the Khanty-Mansi Region (Yugra) located in Western Siberia, and the source of water pollution is being established, the head of the regional branch of the Federal Supervisory Natural Resources Management Service, told TASS on Saturday.

"Yes, there is such a fact. Search teams are working. There are two pipes of different companies and it is being established which of them [caused the spill]," Sergei Pikunov said when asked about an oil spill into the Ob River floodplain.

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/: Many representatives of diplomatic community in Vienna as well as members of various international organizations have displayed interest in inoculation with Russian preparations, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov stated on Sunday.