Russia

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: The Russian consumer safety watchdog follows the information about outbreaks of new infectious diseases, and particularly monitors the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after reports on Disease X, the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare told TASS on Sunday.

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: US sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline are blatant protectionism aimed at advancing its liquefied natural gas on the European market, but the EU countries understand this and support the project, and thanks to this it will be completed, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told RBC TV.

"Certainly, this is blatant protectionism. The key idea why our colleagues from overseas are opposing Nord Stream 2 is linked first of all to the need to promote their own product, their LNG," Novak said.

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/: Russia reported 23,351 new COVID-19 cases in the past day, a record low since November 18, and the total caseload hit 3,260,138, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Monday.

The growth rate in new cases slowed to 0.7%. The lowest daily growth rates were registered in the Altai Republic (0.09%) and the Kostroma Region (0.1%).

03 Jan 2021; AA: More than 800,000 people in Russia were vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, the country’s health minister said on Saturday.

Giving details about the Sputnik V vaccine in Tver province, Mikhail Murashko said mass vaccination continues in the country.

Underlining that Russia started vaccinating people aged over 60, he said that more than 1.5 million vaccines have been delivered to various parts of the country.

MOSCOW, January 3. / TASS /: The Russian Strategic Missile Forces will conduct over 200 exercises of various levels in 2021, the Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

"In 2021, the Strategic Missile Forces will have than 200 exercises of various levels, including tactical and special tactical exercises with missile regiments and missile divisions, as well as a number of command-and-staff exercises with missile formations," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: Bitcoin rose by 13% to $33,006, updating the historical high, CoinDesk reported on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, Bitcoin rose by 9.8% to $32,054.

Bitcoin is a decentralized system of the eponymous cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology. It can be issued by any user who is a member of the system. The system concept was published in November 2008, but has exploded in popularity in recent years.

MOSCOW, January 3. /TASS/: Three Russians and one Ukrainian, who were earlier released in Libya, have arrived in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, Alexander Malkevich, told reporters on Sunday.

"The plane has landed, it is now on the runway. I’m on the airfield, I’m meeting them," Malkevich said.

According to him, those who arrived from Libya don’t have any documents, including passports.

Earlier, Malkevich said a group of Russians and one Ukrainian citizen, who had been kidnapped in Libya several weeks ago, were released.

MOSCOW, January 3./TASS/: The number of new coronavirus cases across Russia grew by 24,150 in the past 24 hours, which is the lowest figure since November 25, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told journalists on Sunday.

The overall number of infections has amounted to 3,236,787, it said. The growth does not exceed 0.8% in relative terms, it said.

The lowest pace of growth in coronavirus cases was reported in the Tuva Region, the Nenets autonomous region (0.1%) and in the Jewish autonomous region (0.4%).

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: The Zapad-2021 (or West-2021) Russian-Belarusian military exercise will focus on countering cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, Russia’s Western Military District said in a statement.

"The Zapad-2021 drills will focus on combating cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as on fire and electronic warfare activities against enemy formations, ways to train airborne troops’ vertical envelopment capability and rapidly shift between military activities," the statement reads.

MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/: The US has gone haywire with the idea of its exceptionalism, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday in an interview with the Youtube channel "Izolenta live."