themoscowtimes--2020-09-04--NATO to Meet on Poisoning of Putin Critic Navalny

The poisoning of Alexei Navalny will be discussed at an urgent NATO meeting on Friday after European leaders threatened fresh sanctions against Moscow , which has furiously denied targeting the Russian opposition leader .
The 44-year-old lawyer , one of President Vladimir Putin 's chief critics , fell ill on a flight last month and was evacuated to Germany for treatment .
Western leaders have demanded answers from the Kremlin after Berlin said there was `` unequivocal evidence '' that he had been afflicted by the infamous Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok .
The same substance was used against Russian ex-double @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the English town of Salisbury two years ago , and Germany 's claim prompted widespread condemnation .
Germany will brief a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at 12:30pm Brussels time ( 1030 GMT ) , with the alliance 's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to hold a press conference after it concludes .
The Skripal case — the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II — prompted NATO to expel seven Russian diplomats in retaliation .
The EU 's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell earlier called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ probe into the poisoning and said the 27-nation bloc would not rule out sanctions .
Brussels condemned `` in the strongest possible terms the assassination attempt , '' the Borrell statement said .
The EU said the use of chemical weapon `` is completely unacceptable under any circumstances ( and ) constitutes a serious breach of international law and international human rights standards . ''

The poisoning of Alexei Navalny will be discussed at an urgent NATO meeting on Friday after European leaders threatened fresh sanctions against Moscow, which has furiously denied targeting the Russian opposition leader.
The 44-year-old lawyer, one of President Vladimir Putin's chief critics, fell ill on a flight last month and was evacuated to Germany for treatment.
Western leaders have demanded answers from the Kremlin after Berlin said there was "unequivocal evidence" that he had been afflicted by the infamous Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
The same substance was used against Russian ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English town of Salisbury two years ago, and Germany's claim prompted widespread condemnation.
Germany will brief a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at 12:30pm Brussels time (1030 GMT), with the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to hold a press conference after it concludes.
The Skripal case — the first offensive use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II — prompted NATO to expel seven Russian diplomats in retaliation.
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell earlier called on Moscow to cooperate with an international probe into the poisoning and said the 27-nation bloc would not rule out sanctions.
Brussels condemned "in the strongest possible terms the assassination attempt," the Borrell statement said.
The EU said the use of chemical weapon "is completely unacceptable under any circumstances (and) constitutes a serious breach of international law and international human rights standards."


themoscowtimes--2020-09-04--Russia Records 30K Excess Deaths in July, Most Monthly Fatalities in Decade

Russia recorded more than 30,000 excess deaths in July as the coronavirus pandemic continued to sweep across the country , @ @ @ @ @ ’ s statistics service Rosstat has shown .
A total of 181,479 deaths were registered @ @ @ @ @ to data compiled by regional registry offices — compared to an average of around 150,000 @ @ @ @ @ .
That tally means more people died in July 2020 than in any of the @ @ @ @ @ a spate of devastating wildfires killed tens of thousands across Russia in August 2010 .
@ @ @ @ @ summer months to record a higher number of deaths than during the winter .
The @ @ @ @ @ over a possible dramatic undercounting of Covid-19 fatalities in Russia .

Russia recorded more than 30,000 excess deaths in July as the coronavirus pandemic continued to sweep across the country, new data from the country’s statistics service Rosstat has shown.
A total of 181,479 deaths were registered in July 2020, according to data compiled by regional registry offices — compared to an average of around 150,000 over the previous five years.
That tally means more people died in July 2020 than in any of the previous 119 months, since a spate of devastating wildfires killed tens of thousands across Russia in August 2010. It is typically rare for summer months to record a higher number of deaths than during the winter.
The data once again raises questions over a possible dramatic undercounting of Covid-19 fatalities in Russia.


themoscowtimes--2020-09-04--Belarus Opposition Leader Urges Sanctions in UN Address

Belarus opposition challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Friday appealed for help from the United Nations and called for sanctions against those @ @ @ @ @ and rights violations in her ex-Soviet country .
Addressing a meeting of the UN Security @ @ @ @ @ Tikhanovskaya said the global body should urgently send a mission to Minsk .
`` Today @ @ @ @ @ .
Peaceful protesters are being illegally detained , beaten and imprisoned , '' said Tikhanovskaya @ @ @ @ @ ask the UN to send immediately a monitoring mission to Belarus to document the situation @ @ @ @ @ Tikhanovskaya , an English teacher by training , said in English .
Tikhanovskaya said Belarus @ @ @ @ @ was `` morally bankrupt '' and the international community should help put an end to @ @ @ @ @ dignity in the middle of Europe . ''

Belarus opposition challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Friday appealed for help from the United Nations and called for sanctions against those responsible for alleged electoral fraud and rights violations in her ex-Soviet country.
Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council by video link, Tikhanovskaya said the global body should urgently send a mission to Minsk.
"Today my country is in turmoil. Peaceful protesters are being illegally detained, beaten and imprisoned," said Tikhanovskaya, 37.
"We ask the UN to send immediately a monitoring mission to Belarus to document the situation on the ground," Tikhanovskaya, an English teacher by training, said in English.
Tikhanovskaya said Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko's regime was "morally bankrupt" and the international community should help put an end to "cynical disregard for human dignity in the middle of Europe."


themoscowtimes--2020-09-04--Germany Finds Nerve Agents in Navalny’s Blood, Skin, Urine, Water Bottle – Spiegel

German medics have found traces of the toxic substance used to poison prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in his blood @ @ @ @ @ a water bottle he drank from , the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday it had unequivocal proof that Navalny was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent from @ @ @ @ @ doctors and government officials said their tests did not reveal any poison in the opposition @ @ @ @ @ he was treated in Siberia before being evacuated to Berlin .
Traces of Novichok were @ @ @ @ @ ’ s blood , urine and skin samples , Der Spiegel reported , but also @ @ @ @ @ Navalny ’ s family turned over to the doctors in Berlin .
“ Navalny had @ @ @ @ @ after he had already been poisoned , and so he left the traces of the @ @ @ @ @ Spiegel reported .

German medics have found traces of the toxic substance used to poison prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in his blood, skin, urine and a water bottle he drank from, the German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday.
The German government said Wednesday it had unequivocal proof that Navalny was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok family. Russian doctors and government officials said their tests did not reveal any poison in the opposition leader’s system when he was treated in Siberia before being evacuated to Berlin.
Traces of Novichok were not only found in Navalny’s blood, urine and skin samples, Der Spiegel reported, but also on a water bottle that Navalny’s family turned over to the doctors in Berlin.
“Navalny had probably drunk from the bottle after he had already been poisoned, and so he left the traces of the poison there,” Der Spiegel reported.


themoscowtimes--2020-09-04--Russia Defies West as NATO Urges Cooperation Over Navalny

Russia defied threats of new Western sanctions Friday in a staring match over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny , as @ @ @ @ @ Novichok nerve agent programme .
A new crisis in ties between Russia and the West @ @ @ @ @ this week there was `` unequivocal evidence '' that President Vladimir Putin 's top foe @ @ @ @ @ infamous Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok .
Western leaders and many Russians have expressed horror at @ @ @ @ @ is the first known use of chemical weapons against a top opposition leader on Russian @ @ @ @ @ fell ill on a Siberian flight last month and was evacuated to Germany for treatment @ @ @ @ @ an artificially induced coma for the past two weeks .
The Kremlin has denied the @ @ @ @ @ , and on Friday Putin 's spokesman indicated that Moscow would not budge .
`` @ @ @ @ @ including poisoning were considered from the very first days , '' Dmitry Peskov told reporters @ @ @ @ @ doctors , this theory has not been proved . ''

Russia defied threats of new Western sanctions Friday in a staring match over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, as NATO demanded Moscow uncover its Novichok nerve agent programme. A new crisis in ties between Russia and the West broke out after Germany said this week there was "unequivocal evidence" that President Vladimir Putin's top foe had been poisoned using the infamous Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Western leaders and many Russians have expressed horror at what Navalny's allies say is the first known use of chemical weapons against a top opposition leader on Russian soil. The 44-year-old lawyer fell ill on a Siberian flight last month and was evacuated to Germany for treatment. He has been in an artificially induced coma for the past two weeks. The Kremlin has denied the Russian state is to blame, and on Friday Putin's spokesman indicated that Moscow would not budge. "A whole number of theories including poisoning were considered from the very first days," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "According to our doctors, this theory has not been proved."
Over the past few days pro-Kremlin figures have wheeled out a number of eyebrow-raising theories including that Navalny might have been poisoned by Germans in Berlin or have poisoned himself. On Friday, a toxicologist told Russian reporters the opposition politician's health could have deteriorated due to dieting, stress or fatigue, insisting no poison had been found in his samples in the Siberian city of Omsk where he was treated for the first two days. "The patient used diets to lose weight," the chief toxicologist for the Omsk region, Alexander Sabayev, said. "Any external factors could have triggered a sudden deterioration. Even a simple lack of breakfast." Russia has in the past denied responsibility for a 2018 Novichok attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England, as well as a litany of similar incidents. NATO demands transparency In Brussels, NATO called for an international probe into Navalny's poisoning and demanded Moscow reveal details of its Novichok nerve agent programme to the OPCW global chemical weapons watchdog. After an emergency meeting of NATO's ruling council, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said all members were united in condemning the "horrific" attack on Navalny. Germany briefed the other 29 nations on the case and Stoltenberg said there was "proof beyond doubt" Novichok was used. "The Russian government must fully cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on an impartial international investigation," Stoltenberg said. The Novichok attack on Skripal in 2018 led to seven Kremlin diplomats being expelled from their NATO mission. While Stoltenberg did not rule out a similar reprisal this time, he stressed that the Navalny poisoning was quite different from the Skripal attack, which happened on the soil of a NATO member.