Russia

24 July 2019; DW: In August, Muscovites elect a new regional parliament. But protests have ensued because 19 opposition candidates have been barred from running. Dmitry Gudkov is one of them. He spoke to DW about the challenges he faces.

24 July 2019; DW: A day earlier Navalny had called on protesters to continue rallies against a decision to leave opposition candidates off local election ballot papers. He has faced repeated legal trouble, often tied to laws on protests.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said on Wednesday that he had been arrested ahead of planned protests in Moscow on Saturday, some weeks after he had been jailed for 10 days for breaking the country's strict protest laws.

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/: The most likely candidate for the post of the British prime minister Boris Johnson needs to understand that Tehran does not seek confrontation with London, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Al-Arabiya on Monday.

"Iran does not want confrontation with the UK, including on the issue of tankers," Zarif said.

"It is very important that Boris Johnson understands that Tehran does not seek confrontation but instead wants to rebuild good relations [between the two countries] based on mutual respect," he added.

GORKI, July 23. /TASS/: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that the campsite in the mountain-skiing complex "Kholdomi", located in Russia’s Khabarovsk Region, was operating in terrible violation of safety rules.

VLADIVOSTOK, July 23. /TASS/: The Indra Russian-Indian military drills will practice eight tactical episodes on the ground and generally focus on exercising command and control of all-arms forces in solving joint tasks, the press office of Russia’s Eastern Military District reported on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/: Twelve people, including seven children, have been injured in a blaze at a camping site in Russia’s Khabarovsk Region, one child was killed, the Russian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/: Two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers did not violate other countries’ borders during their scheduled flight over neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"On July 23, 2019, two Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces were performing a scheduled flight in the airspace over neutral waters of the Sea of Japan," the ministry noted.

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/: The escalation of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz may threaten security of navigation in the region, KUNA news agency quoted Kuwait's Foreign Ministry as saying.

"Kuwait is following with concern the developments in the region after the detention of the British oil tanker and stresses that such actions may lead to escalation of tensions and create a direct threat to navigation," a source in the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said.

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/: Russia’s Defense Ministry has dismissed reports that the Russian air task force’s aircraft have allegedly delivered an air strike against a marketplace in Syria.

"The statements by the anonymous representatives of the UK- and US-funded White Helmets organization that the Russian air task force’s aircraft have allegedly delivered a strike against a marketplace in the town of Maaret al-Numan (the province of Idlib) are a fake news story," the defense ministry stressed.

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/: Four Russian Su-25SM ground attack aircraft took part in the Kyrgyz army’s Sary-Tash-2019 military exercises, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported on Monday.

"The Russian planes delivered a missile strike against targets simulating notional armor and the amassment of illegal armed formations. The pilots also practiced overcoming air defenses by performing anti-missile maneuvering. The flights were conducted at speeds of 700 to 750 km/h and at an altitude of 300 to 3,000 meters," the press office said.