Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, November 19. /TASS/: Biocad company plans to start producing 1 mln doses of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in December 2020, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian pharmaceutical company Dmitry Morozov said on Thursday at the 13th St. Petersburg International Innovation Forum.

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/: Russia has laid the scientific groundwork for a new weapon to replace the Iskander tactical missile system, Russia’s Missile Forces and Artillery Chief Lieutenant-General Mikhail Matveyevsky said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper on Thursday.

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/: Russia saw a new high of 23,610 coronavirus cases over the past day and the total case tally rose to 2,015,608, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Thursday.

The average growth rate increased to 1.2%.

Moscow confirmed 6,438 coronavirus cases in the past day versus 4,174 a day earlier. This is the highest growth rate since November 9. A total of 533,068 people have contracted the virus in the capital, according to the crisis center.

19 Nov 2020; MEMO: Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned Israel's decision to build 1,257 new settlement units in the illegal settlement of Givat HaMatos, which divides occupied East Jerusalem from the West Bank.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: Russia’s Investigative Committee (IC) has charged four members of the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra (outlawed in Russia) in absentia with the death of Russian air pilot Roman Filipov and put them on the international wanted list, IC spokeswoman, Svetlana Petrenko told the media on Wednesday.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, November 18. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin notes the complicated situation in the country due to the spread of the coronavirus. The head of state has assured that this issue is always closely monitored by the authorities.

"Unfortunately, our situation is not a simple one," Putin said at the beginning of his video conference with cabinet members on Wednesday. He proposed to discuss the issues of fighting the coronavirus infection. "By all means, lately this always remains in our field of attention, in our field of vision," the head of state emphasized.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: The Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, has approved a law on raising personal income tax rate from 13% to 15% for incomes that exceed 5 mln rubles ($66,123) a year. The bill was initiated by the Russian government.

The law was drafted by the order of President Vladimir Putin to create an additional source of funding for the treatment of children with severe life-threatening and chronic diseases, including rare ones.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases rose by 20,985 over the past day, the lowest figure since November 11, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

Russia’s coronavirus case tally grew to 1,991,998, according to its data.

The lowest growth rates over the past day were recorded in the Dagestan Republic, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region (0.6%), Kalmykia and Tatarstan (0.7%).

MOSCOW, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin defended a ceasefire deal he brokered between Azerbaijan and Armenia after France called for him to fix “ambiguities” in the text.

Putin said the deal laid the basis for “long-term normalisation” for the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

However, he admitted that the ceasefire, which allowed Azerbaijan to consolidate major territorial gains after several weeks of bitter fighting, had not solved the “problem” of the final status of Karabakh.

MOSCOW, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday praised the BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- for their close coordination on international and regional issues.

The BRICS are strengthening cooperation to combat terrorism, illegal drugs and corruption, Putin said during the 12th BRICS summit hosted by Russia via video conference.