themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russian Security Agency Tails Navalny, Putin Confirms

A media investigation claimed this week that Federal Security Service ( FSB ) chemical weapons experts had shadowed Navalny on more than 30 trips since 2017 , including on the day he was poisoned in August 2020 .
Russia ’ s domestic security agency tails Alexei Navalny because he is backed by U.S. intelligence , President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his first public comments on a high-profile media investigation into the opposition figure ’ s poisoning .
Putin called the joint investigation by the Bellingcat investigative outlet with CNN and Russian and German outlets “ an attempt to legitimize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The outlets said they had traced phone records and flight manifests obtained by Bellingcat .
“ As if we don ’ t know that [ U.S. special services ] trace locations ?
Our FSB and other security services know this of course , so they use their phones without hiding locations , ” Putin said during his annual end-of-year press conference .
“ If that ’ s the case — and I assure you that ’ s the case — it means that [ Navalny ] has the support of U.S. intelligence agencies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case… then our special services of course have to keep an eye on him , ” he confirmed .
The Russian president went on to deny that Navalny , who he only referred to as “ the patient at the Berlin hospital , ” was poisoned .
Scientists from Germany , France , Sweden and the global chemical-weapons body have established that Navalny was exposed to the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok when he fell into a coma on Aug. 20 .
“ Who needs him ?
If someone wanted to poison him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Putin said , accusing U.S. intelligence of “ pulling a trick to attack ” him personally .
The president ’ s reaction follows dismissals of the Navalny poisoning investigation by Russia ’ s top diplomat as well as state television pundits .
The latter have claimed that the media report was a joint operation by U.S. and British intelligence and called for an investigation into how the private phone and flight records had been obtained .
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Britain-based Bellingcat of being a Western intelligence front .

A media investigation claimed this week that Federal Security Service (FSB) chemical weapons experts had shadowed Navalny on more than 30 trips since 2017, including on the day he was poisoned in August 2020.
Russia’s domestic security agency tails Alexei Navalny because he is backed by U.S. intelligence, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his first public comments on a high-profile media investigation into the opposition figure’s poisoning.
Putin called the joint investigation by the Bellingcat investigative outlet with CNN and Russian and German outlets “an attempt to legitimize materials from the American special services.” The outlets said they had traced phone records and flight manifests obtained by Bellingcat.
“As if we don’t know that [U.S. special services] trace locations? Our FSB and other security services know this of course, so they use their phones without hiding locations,” Putin said during his annual end-of-year press conference.
“If that’s the case — and I assure you that’s the case — it means that [Navalny] has the support of U.S. intelligence agencies. And if that’s the case… then our special services of course have to keep an eye on him,” he confirmed.
The Russian president went on to deny that Navalny, who he only referred to as “the patient at the Berlin hospital,” was poisoned. Scientists from Germany, France, Sweden and the global chemical-weapons body have established that Navalny was exposed to the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok when he fell into a coma on Aug. 20.
“Who needs him? If someone wanted to poison him, they probably would have finished the job,” Putin said, accusing U.S. intelligence of “pulling a trick to attack” him personally.
The president’s reaction follows dismissals of the Navalny poisoning investigation by Russia’s top diplomat as well as state television pundits.
The latter have claimed that the media report was a joint operation by U.S. and British intelligence and called for an investigation into how the private phone and flight records had been obtained.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Britain-based Bellingcat of being a Western intelligence front.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russia's Coronavirus Testing Slows Amid Surge in Cases – Reuters

Russia has carried out 10 % fewer coronavirus tests so far in December than it had by the same time @ @ @ @ @ 's ongoing surge in new infections , Reuters reported Wednesday .
Coronavirus tests fell by @ @ @ @ @ in the first two weeks of December compared to the first two weeks of November @ @ @ @ @ its own calculations of official coronavirus task force figures .
Reuters said it spoke with @ @ @ @ @ who said healthcare workers had been informally instructed to reduce testing due to shortages of @ @ @ @ @ also said it spoke with patients , doctors and officials in 11 Russian regions who @ @ @ @ @ can wait days or face outright refusals to be tested .

Russia has carried out 10% fewer coronavirus tests so far in December than it had by the same time last month despite the country's ongoing surge in new infections, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Coronavirus tests fell by 825,000 (11%) in the first two weeks of December compared to the first two weeks of November, Reuters said, citing its own calculations of official coronavirus task force figures.
Reuters said it spoke with officials in three Russian regions who said healthcare workers had been informally instructed to reduce testing due to shortages of doctors.
The news agency also said it spoke with patients, doctors and officials in 11 Russian regions who said people with Covid-19 symptoms can wait days or face outright refusals to be tested.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Putin Says Will Get Vaccine When Possible for Age Range

The 68-year-old Russian president said at his annual end-of-year press conference that he had not been vaccinated yet , but `` will definitely do so as soon as it becomes possible '' according to expert advice .
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will receive the Russian-developed Sputnik V coronavirus jab once it is approved for people his age , praising the vaccine as safe and effective .
Putin claimed Russia had become the first country in the world to `` invent '' and start producing a vaccine , which he described as being around 96-97 % effective , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August announced the registration of the Sputnik V jab — named after the Soviet-era satellite — ahead of large-scale clinical trials involving some 40,000 volunteers .
The vaccine 's developers said interim clinical trial results showed the vaccine to be more than 90 % effective .
Russia earlier this month started a large-scale public vaccination drive , offering the jab initially to people in high-risk groups .
Putin said Thursday that by the start of next year Russia will have access to `` millions of doses of the vaccine . ''
He also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , saying the country met the challenge `` with dignity and , in part , maybe even better than other countries in the world . ''
Yet he conceded that there were a `` huge number of problems '' associated with the pandemic .
Russia has the fourth-highest virus caseload in the world , registering nearly 3 million infections since the start of the pandemic .

The 68-year-old Russian president said at his annual end-of-year press conference that he had not been vaccinated yet, but "will definitely do so as soon as it becomes possible" according to expert advice.
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will receive the Russian-developed Sputnik V coronavirus jab once it is approved for people his age, praising the vaccine as safe and effective.
Putin claimed Russia had become the first country in the world to "invent" and start producing a vaccine, which he described as being around 96-97% effective, according to experts.
The Russian leader in August announced the registration of the Sputnik V jab — named after the Soviet-era satellite — ahead of large-scale clinical trials involving some 40,000 volunteers.
The vaccine's developers said interim clinical trial results showed the vaccine to be more than 90% effective.
Russia earlier this month started a large-scale public vaccination drive, offering the jab initially to people in high-risk groups.
Putin said Thursday that by the start of next year Russia will have access to "millions of doses of the vaccine."
He also praised Russia's handling of the pandemic, saying the country met the challenge "with dignity and, in part, maybe even better than other countries in the world."
Yet he conceded that there were a "huge number of problems" associated with the pandemic.
Russia has the fourth-highest virus caseload in the world, registering nearly 3 million infections since the start of the pandemic.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russia Probes Coronavirus Hospital Oxygen Supply Deaths

Some 40 intensive care patients were moved in early November from a maternity ward converted into a Covid-19 hospital in the city of Kursk south of Moscow after an oxygen supply malfunction was detected .
Russian authorities are investigating the deaths of 14 coronavirus hospital patients after an oxygen equipment breakdown last month , authorities and state media said Wednesday .
“ Within a few days , 14 patients died because they were in serious condition , ” the state-run TASS news agency quoted regional prosecutors as saying .
Federal inspectors uncovered unspecified maintenance violations in the oxygen supplies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the prosecutors were cited as saying .
Investigators opened a criminal case into manslaughter , which carries a prison sentence of up to four years , the Kursk branch of Russia ’ s Investigative Committee said .
In October , authorities in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don opened an investigation into the deaths of several Covid-19 patients due to a hospital oxygen shortage .
Two senior health officials have resigned or been dismissed in the wake of the scandal .
Kursk and Rostov are two of the scores of Russian regions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been hit hard by the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak this fall .
Russia ’ s far-flung regions account for 70 % of active Covid-19 cases .

Some 40 intensive care patients were moved in early November from a maternity ward converted into a Covid-19 hospital in the city of Kursk south of Moscow after an oxygen supply malfunction was detected.
Russian authorities are investigating the deaths of 14 coronavirus hospital patients after an oxygen equipment breakdown last month, authorities and state media said Wednesday.
“Within a few days, 14 patients died because they were in serious condition,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted regional prosecutors as saying.
Federal inspectors uncovered unspecified maintenance violations in the oxygen supplies and opened an administrative case against hospital administrators, the prosecutors were cited as saying.
Investigators opened a criminal case into manslaughter, which carries a prison sentence of up to four years, the Kursk branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
In October, authorities in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don opened an investigation into the deaths of several Covid-19 patients due to a hospital oxygen shortage. Two senior health officials have resigned or been dismissed in the wake of the scandal.
Kursk and Rostov are two of the scores of Russian regions with poorly funded healthcare systems that have been hit hard by the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak this fall. Russia’s far-flung regions account for 70% of active Covid-19 cases.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Vaccine Fears Slow Moscow’s Sputnik V Rollout

As a teacher at a large school in Moscow ’ s southern suburbs , Nina Zhukova should have been one of the first to receive the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine being offered to priority workers across the Russian capital .
Instead , having already contracted and recovered from the virus in the autumn , Zhukova is determined not to be vaccinated .
“ I wouldn ’ t get vaccinated even if I hadn ’ t had Covid , ” she told the Moscow Times .
“ I ’ m just not a big believer in Russian medicine.
” Zhukova isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia ’ s anti-coronavirus campaign .
Though Sputnik V , the first coronavirus vaccine in the world to receive regulatory approval , has demonstrated an impressive 91.2 % efficacy , widespread public distrust of the vaccine ’ s development process means take-up remains low .
The Moscow Times has previously reported that Moscow doctors are unwilling to receive a vaccine many regard as unproven , with regulatory approval granted based on test results from much smaller groups of volunteers than is standard , and before the completion of Phase III trials .
Scenes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the mass vaccination program indicate that other workers eligible for the jab feel the same .
So far , the mass rollout of Russia ’ s vaccine that began on Dec. 4 has been aimed at key workers in certain government-designated sectors , with initial access to the inoculation limited to medics , social workers and teachers .
Though the vaccine is still off-limits to the over-sixties , the range of eligible recipients has since been progressively widened to include cultural , manufacturing and retail workers as well as municipal employees , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now underway in all of Russia ’ s 85 regions .
Even so , the precise number of Russians to have received the vaccine is unknown .
On Dec. 10 , Alexander Gintsberg , head of the Gamaleya Institute , which developed Sputnik V , told state television that over 150,000 people had already received the vaccine nationwide , the most in any country in the world .
However in Moscow — the first Russian city to embark on a major vaccination push — the true picture remains unclear .
Five days into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin — who has said the city will have to inoculate between six and seven million residents over the coming months — announced that over six thousand people had received Sputnik V. With 70 specialist clinics across the capital administering the vaccine , Sobyanin ’ s words suggested an average of only 17 people per day receiving the vaccine at each clinic .
That compares with 130,000 reportedly vaccinated in the first week of the UK ’ s equivalent anti-coronavirus campaign .
In a subsequent update on Dec. 16 — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sobyanin told lawmakers on Moscow City Council that 12,000 Muscovites had been vaccinated in total , a figure that implies a further drop in the city-wide vaccination rate to 1000 patients receiving Sputnik V daily , equating to as little as 14 per clinic .
The Health Ministry has recently announced that foreign citizens resident in Russia may receive the vaccine , possibly hinting at lower-than-expected uptake among Muscovites , to whom the vaccine was initially limited .
At six Moscow coronavirus vaccination clinics visited by The Moscow Times Wednesday , ranging from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suburbs to the affluent districts around the Kremlin , the situation was mixed .
As would-be recipients are required to pre-register for the vaccine online , queues for Sputnik V are rare , with most patients visiting the clinics for reasons other than the coronavirus .
Though some clinics reported large demand for the vaccine as mass inoculation of Interior Ministry employees has begun , at several medical centers staff members spoke of difficulties finding enough patients willing to be vaccinated .
At one branch of City Polyclinic No .
3 , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different sites , staff reported especially low uptake of the vaccine .
“ Even on a good day , we don ’ t get more than ten people , ” said an administrator overseeing coronavirus vaccination at the clinic branch , who spoke under condition of anonymity .
Sputnik V — which is transported in packs of five doses and must be kept frozen at minus 70 degrees celsius — is generally administered to groups of five patients at a time , as each five-dose packet can only be defrosted for one hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen by The Moscow Times , on at least one day the clinic branch had only registered four patients willing to receive the vaccine , meaning the leftover fifth dose might have to be thrown away .
Above all , Sputnik V ’ s struggles at home reflect the Russian public ’ s underlying distrust of the healthcare system .
Overseas , over fifty countries have so far asked to buy or produce Sputnik V , while UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is exploring the possibility of combining the Russian vaccine with its own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been decidedly cooler .
“ There is a generally disoriented atmosphere in Russian society .
People don ’ t really trust the news when it comes to the virus , ” said Alexei Levinson , director of the Socio-Cultural Research Department of the Levada Center independent pollster .
According to an October survey conducted by Levada , 59 % of respondents would not take a free coronavirus vaccine .
An earlier poll taken in August showed only 13 % of those questioned expressing trust in Sputnik V. More recent polling , conducted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a government-linked pollster , has support for the vaccine on the rise , with 42 % signalling willingness to receive the jab , even as a 52 % majority of respondents remain reluctant to take Sputnik V. Although Levinson believes that Russians ’ skepticism toward the vaccine has deep roots , with many Russians instinctively preferring foreign-made medicines , the situation has been further exacerbated by the growth of anti-vaccine material online , which has exploded in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic .
“ There is no basis for vaccination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a biologist whose videos spreading unfounded claims that Sputnik V — and vaccines in general – are ineffective and possibly dangerous have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube and Russia ’ s largest social network VKontakte .
“ They are hiding information about the nature of the virus .
Until we know more , I won ’ t trust any vaccine , ” she said .
According to Alexandra Arkhipova , an anthropologist at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration who studies the spread of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine ’ s negative side effects began to surge online on Dec. 3 — the very same day Moscow ’ s mass vaccination program was announced .
“ Most popular of all is the rumour that by taking the vaccine , you ’ ll actually get sick yourself , ” said Arkhipova .

As a teacher at a large school in Moscow’s southern suburbs, Nina Zhukova should have been one of the first to receive the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine being offered to priority workers across the Russian capital. Instead, having already contracted and recovered from the virus in the autumn, Zhukova is determined not to be vaccinated. “I wouldn’t get vaccinated even if I hadn’t had Covid,” she told the Moscow Times. “I’m just not a big believer in Russian medicine.” Zhukova isn’t alone in her skepticism toward Russia’s anti-coronavirus campaign. Though Sputnik V, the first coronavirus vaccine in the world to receive regulatory approval, has demonstrated an impressive 91.2% efficacy, widespread public distrust of the vaccine’s development process means take-up remains low. The Moscow Times has previously reported that Moscow doctors are unwilling to receive a vaccine many regard as unproven, with regulatory approval granted based on test results from much smaller groups of volunteers than is standard, and before the completion of Phase III trials. Scenes from clinics across the capital two weeks into the mass vaccination program indicate that other workers eligible for the jab feel the same.
So far, the mass rollout of Russia’s vaccine that began on Dec. 4 has been aimed at key workers in certain government-designated sectors, with initial access to the inoculation limited to medics, social workers and teachers. Though the vaccine is still off-limits to the over-sixties, the range of eligible recipients has since been progressively widened to include cultural, manufacturing and retail workers as well as municipal employees, transport staff and journalists. Jabs are now underway in all of Russia’s 85 regions. Even so, the precise number of Russians to have received the vaccine is unknown. On Dec. 10, Alexander Gintsberg, head of the Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, told state television that over 150,000 people had already received the vaccine nationwide, the most in any country in the world. However in Moscow — the first Russian city to embark on a major vaccination push — the true picture remains unclear. Five days into the capital’s vaccination campaign, Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin — who has said the city will have to inoculate between six and seven million residents over the coming months — announced that over six thousand people had received Sputnik V. With 70 specialist clinics across the capital administering the vaccine, Sobyanin’s words suggested an average of only 17 people per day receiving the vaccine at each clinic. That compares with 130,000 reportedly vaccinated in the first week of the UK’s equivalent anti-coronavirus campaign. In a subsequent update on Dec. 16 — eleven days into the vaccination program — Sobyanin told lawmakers on Moscow City Council that 12,000 Muscovites had been vaccinated in total, a figure that implies a further drop in the city-wide vaccination rate to 1000 patients receiving Sputnik V daily, equating to as little as 14 per clinic. The Health Ministry has recently announced that foreign citizens resident in Russia may receive the vaccine, possibly hinting at lower-than-expected uptake among Muscovites, to whom the vaccine was initially limited.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russia Sentences Siberian Jehovah’s Witness Leader to 6 Years

The Jehovah ’ s Witnesses in Russia said Yury Savelyev , 66 , has spent almost half his sentence in pre-trial detention and is expected to be released in 2023 .
Authorities accused him of “ supervising readings and discussions of extremist literature ” in his apartment in Russia ’ s third-largest city of Novosibirsk after Russia outlawed Jehovah ’ s Witnesses in 2017 and until his arrest in 2018 .
A court in Siberia has sentenced an elderly Jehovah ’ s Witness leader to six years in prison for organizing an extremist group , authorities and the religious organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Novosibirsk found Savelyev guilty of organizing an extremist organization and handed him the six-year prison sentence Wednesday .
“ I have no enemies , and for my almost 67 years I have never been brought to administrative or criminal responsibility .
I am against any form of violence , be it verbal , psychological or physical , ” Savelyev said in court , according to the Jehovah ’ s Witnesses website .
Savelyev is expected to be the 12th Jehovah ’ s Witness to serve a prison sentence after Russia ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 .
The religious group estimates that more than 400 of its followers have been charged or convicted in Russia between 2017 and late October 2020 .
Jehovah ’ s Witnesses spokesman Jarrod Lopes called Savelyev ’ s conviction “ patently absurd ” in an emailed statement to The Moscow Times .
“ Undeterred even by Covid-19 , Russian authorities continue to unconscionably subject harmless believers , including older men like Yury , to the unsanitary and potentially deadly confines of prison , ” he said .
Savelyev ’ s defense plans to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will remain in pre-trial detention until then .

The Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia said Yury Savelyev, 66, has spent almost half his sentence in pre-trial detention and is expected to be released in 2023. Authorities accused him of “supervising readings and discussions of extremist literature” in his apartment in Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk after Russia outlawed Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and until his arrest in 2018.
A court in Siberia has sentenced an elderly Jehovah’s Witness leader to six years in prison for organizing an extremist group, authorities and the religious organization said Wednesday.
The Leninsky District Court in Novosibirsk found Savelyev guilty of organizing an extremist organization and handed him the six-year prison sentence Wednesday.
“I have no enemies, and for my almost 67 years I have never been brought to administrative or criminal responsibility. I am against any form of violence, be it verbal, psychological or physical,” Savelyev said in court, according to the Jehovah’s Witnesses website.
Savelyev is expected to be the 12th Jehovah’s Witness to serve a prison sentence after Russia’s Supreme Court banned the Christian denomination in 2017. The religious group estimates that more than 400 of its followers have been charged or convicted in Russia between 2017 and late October 2020.
Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesman Jarrod Lopes called Savelyev’s conviction “patently absurd” in an emailed statement to The Moscow Times.
“Undeterred even by Covid-19, Russian authorities continue to unconscionably subject harmless believers, including older men like Yury, to the unsanitary and potentially deadly confines of prison,” he said.
Savelyev’s defense plans to appeal the verdict. The elderly worshipper will remain in pre-trial detention until then.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russian Minister Gifted 300-Year-Old Ukrainian Icon in Bosnia — Reports

Bosnia ’ s Serb President Milorad Dodik gifted the Ukrainian Orthodox icon thought to be from the war-torn pro-Russian region of Luhansk , according to Ukraine ’ s Euromaidan Press news website .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received a 300-year-old gilded icon from eastern Ukraine on his trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina , European media reported Wednesday .
The Ukrainian Embassy in Sarajevo requested detailed information on the origin of the icon , the Bosnian news website klix.ba reported .
Failure to provide information about the Ukrainian cultural artifact would signify Bosnia ’ s “ support of Russia ’ s aggressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the embassy was cited as saying .
A number of Bosnian Serbs have fought alongside pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukraine conflict that erupted in 2014 , Balkan expert Aleksandar Brezar said on Twitter .
Dodik was the only member of the joint Bosnian presidency to meet Lavrov during his two-day visit on the 25th anniversary of signing of the peace deal that ended the country 's 1992-95 war .
The conflict between Bosnia 's Croats , Muslims and Serbs claimed some 100,000 lives .
Bosnia 's Croat and Muslim members of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lavrov on Tuesday after accusing him of `` disrespecting '' the country during a meeting with their Serb counterpart .
They were insulted notably by the lack of a Bosnian flag during the meeting with Dodik , which had only the flag of the Republika Srpska , the Serb-run zone .
The Balkan state is split into two political halves , a Serb region that is pro-Russian and a Muslim-Croat federation that is pushing for NATO membership .

Bosnia’s Serb President Milorad Dodik gifted the Ukrainian Orthodox icon thought to be from the war-torn pro-Russian region of Luhansk, according to Ukraine’s Euromaidan Press news website.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received a 300-year-old gilded icon from eastern Ukraine on his trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina, European media reported Wednesday.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Sarajevo requested detailed information on the origin of the icon, the Bosnian news website klix.ba reported.
Failure to provide information about the Ukrainian cultural artifact would signify Bosnia’s “support of Russia’s aggressive policy and military actions against Ukraine,” the embassy was cited as saying.
A number of Bosnian Serbs have fought alongside pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukraine conflict that erupted in 2014, Balkan expert Aleksandar Brezar said on Twitter.
Dodik was the only member of the joint Bosnian presidency to meet Lavrov during his two-day visit on the 25th anniversary of signing of the peace deal that ended the country's 1992-95 war. The conflict between Bosnia's Croats, Muslims and Serbs claimed some 100,000 lives.
Bosnia's Croat and Muslim members of the joint presidency refused to meet with Lavrov on Tuesday after accusing him of "disrespecting" the country during a meeting with their Serb counterpart.
They were insulted notably by the lack of a Bosnian flag during the meeting with Dodik, which had only the flag of the Republika Srpska, the Serb-run zone.
The Balkan state is split into two political halves, a Serb region that is pro-Russian and a Muslim-Croat federation that is pushing for NATO membership.
AFP contributed reporting.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russia Fines Google for Failing To Remove Banned Content

A Moscow court fined Google on Thursday for not taking down online content banned by the Russian authorities , the latest in a series of escalating penalties against the U.S. tech giant .
Google was found guilty of repeatedly failing to delete search results `` containing information prohibited in Russia '' and was fined 3 million rubles ( around $ 41,000 ) , state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said .
Roskomnadzor said Google was only partially compliant with current laws , noting that on average 30 percent of links to banned extremist or pornographic material or content related to suicide was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news agency said Thursday 's ruling was the fourth such recent fine against Google over its failure to hide banned content .
In 2018 , Russia fined Google 500,000 rubles ( around $ 6,800 ) in particular for failing to remove calls for demonstrations from opposition leader Alexei Navalny .
In 2019 , Google was fined 700,000 rubles for a repeat offense , and the Russian authorities earlier this year also handed Google a penalty of 1.5 million rubles over the same issue .
The Kremlin has in recent years ramped up controls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extremism .
But government critics have denounced official oversight of the web as a means to stifle debate and silence dissent .

A Moscow court fined Google on Thursday for not taking down online content banned by the Russian authorities, the latest in a series of escalating penalties against the U.S. tech giant.
Google was found guilty of repeatedly failing to delete search results "containing information prohibited in Russia" and was fined 3 million rubles (around $41,000), state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said.
Roskomnadzor said Google was only partially compliant with current laws, noting that on average 30 percent of links to banned extremist or pornographic material or content related to suicide was not taken down.
The state-run Interfax news agency said Thursday's ruling was the fourth such recent fine against Google over its failure to hide banned content.
In 2018, Russia fined Google 500,000 rubles (around $6,800) in particular for failing to remove calls for demonstrations from opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
In 2019, Google was fined 700,000 rubles for a repeat offense, and the Russian authorities earlier this year also handed Google a penalty of 1.5 million rubles over the same issue.
The Kremlin has in recent years ramped up controls over the internet, ostensibly to fight extremism.
But government critics have denounced official oversight of the web as a means to stifle debate and silence dissent.


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russia Banned for Two Years in Landmark CAS Ruling

Sport 's highest court on Thursday banned Russia from the international stage for two years including the rearranged Tokyo Olympics and Beijing Winter Games but the halving of the initial punishment was described by a leading U.S. official as `` a catastrophic blow to clean athletes and the integrity of sport . ''
The Court of Arbitration for Sport 's ( CAS ) ruling cut a four-year ban for systematic doping imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency ( WADA ) .
`` This Panel has imposed consequences to reflect the nature and seriousness of the non-compliance ... and to ensure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scourge of doping is maintained , '' said CAS in its judgment .
The statement added : `` The consequences which the Panel has decided to impose are not as extensive as those sought by WADA . ''
`` This should not , however , be read as any validation of the conduct of RUSADA [ Russia 's anti-doping watchdog ] or the Russian authorities . ''
The ban runs until Dec. 16 , 2022 , so includes the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar which ends two days later .
Under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to compete but only as neutrals if they can prove no connection to doping .
WADA President Witold Banka hailed the ruling from the Lausanne-based CAS .
`` WADA is pleased to have won this landmark case , '' Banka said adding that the verdict has `` clearly upheld our findings that the Russian authorities brazenly and illegally manipulated the Moscow Laboratory data in an effort to cover up an institutionalized doping scheme . ''
But there was a markedly different reaction from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ( USADA ) chief executive officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the devastating decision ... in the Russia case that hands WADA and clean athletes a significant loss , '' Tygart said in a statement .
`` At this stage in this sordid Russian state-sponsored doping affair , now spanning close to a decade , there is no consolation in this weak , watered-down outcome , '' he added .
He called it `` a catastrophic blow to clean athletes , the integrity of sport , and the rule of law . ''

Sport's highest court on Thursday banned Russia from the international stage for two years including the rearranged Tokyo Olympics and Beijing Winter Games but the halving of the initial punishment was described by a leading U.S. official as "a catastrophic blow to clean athletes and the integrity of sport."
The Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) ruling cut a four-year ban for systematic doping imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
"This Panel has imposed consequences to reflect the nature and seriousness of the non-compliance...and to ensure that the integrity of sport against the scourge of doping is maintained," said CAS in its judgment.
The statement added: "The consequences which the Panel has decided to impose are not as extensive as those sought by WADA."
"This should not, however, be read as any validation of the conduct of RUSADA [Russia's anti-doping watchdog] or the Russian authorities."
The ban runs until Dec. 16, 2022, so includes the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar which ends two days later.
Under the decision, Russians will still be allowed to compete but only as neutrals if they can prove no connection to doping.
WADA President Witold Banka hailed the ruling from the Lausanne-based CAS.
"WADA is pleased to have won this landmark case," Banka said adding that the verdict has "clearly upheld our findings that the Russian authorities brazenly and illegally manipulated the Moscow Laboratory data in an effort to cover up an institutionalized doping scheme."
'Catastrophic blow'
But there was a markedly different reaction from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) chief executive officer Travis T. Tygart.
"USADA acknowledges the devastating decision...in the Russia case that hands WADA and clean athletes a significant loss," Tygart said in a statement.
"At this stage in this sordid Russian state-sponsored doping affair, now spanning close to a decade, there is no consolation in this weak, watered-down outcome," he added.
He called it "a catastrophic blow to clean athletes, the integrity of sport, and the rule of law."


themoscowtimes--2020-12-17--Russia Tests Anti-Satellite Weapon From Plesetsk

Indications of a launch from Plesetsk came as NOTAM warnings were issued for three areas in the Russian Arctic in a straight line north from the cosmodrome .
The areas were coincident with the different stages of a space missile 's fall-down ; east of Cape Kanin , over Novaya Zemlya and the last over Severnaya Zemlya .
A top-secret missile launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region earlier this week was a weapon capable of destroying satellites in low orbit .
Probably `` Nudol '' from Plesetsk will be launched on December 16 , reserve date December 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of `` Angara-A5 '' from Plesetsk .
Is it possible that `` Angara-A5 '' , in addition to the satellite , should launch a real target for the `` Nudol '' ?
pic.twitter.com/3jfILvoVTX The Pentagon sees the missile test as a rapidly advancing threat to its own space systems .
“ Russia publicly claims it is working to prevent the transformation of outer space into a battlefield , yet at the same time Moscow continues to weaponize space by developing and fielding on-orbit and ground-based capabilities that seek to exploit U.S. reliance on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ James Dickinson , a commander of the U.S. Space Command .
According to the Space Command , Russia is developing several types of anti-satellite weapons .
This week ’ s test is a missile launched from earth that can directly hit an enemy satellite and take it out .
A second weapon under development is an on-orbit kinetic weapon .
Based in space , such weapons could take out targets from orbit , in orbit .
The U.S. Space Command also pointed to the on-ground combat laser systems currently under development by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made space a warfighting domain by testing space-based and ground-based weapons intended to target and destroy satellites , '' according to the statement by General Dickinson .
According to him , Russia demonstrated its on-orbit kinetic weapon system in 2017 and again in 2020 .
No details were attached to the statement .
In April this year , The Barents Observer reported about this year ’ s first anti-satellite missile test from Plesetsk .
That missile made a spectacular trace above two remote villages in the republic of Komi , north of the @ @ @ @ @

Indications of a launch from Plesetsk came as NOTAM warnings were issued for three areas in the Russian Arctic in a straight line north from the cosmodrome. The areas were coincident with the different stages of a space missile's fall-down; east of Cape Kanin, over Novaya Zemlya and the last over Severnaya Zemlya.
A top-secret missile launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region earlier this week was a weapon capable of destroying satellites in low orbit.
Probably "Nudol" from Plesetsk will be launched on December 16, reserve date December 20. On December 14, the launch of "Angara-A5" from Plesetsk. Is it possible that "Angara-A5", in addition to the satellite, should launch a real target for the "Nudol"? pic.twitter.com/3jfILvoVTX
The Pentagon sees the missile test as a rapidly advancing threat to its own space systems.
“Russia publicly claims it is working to prevent the transformation of outer space into a battlefield, yet at the same time Moscow continues to weaponize space by developing and fielding on-orbit and ground-based capabilities that seek to exploit U.S. reliance on space-based systems,” said Army General James Dickinson, a commander of the U.S. Space Command.
According to the Space Command, Russia is developing several types of anti-satellite weapons. This week’s test is a missile launched from earth that can directly hit an enemy satellite and take it out. A second weapon under development is an on-orbit kinetic weapon. Based in space, such weapons could take out targets from orbit, in orbit.
The U.S. Space Command also pointed to the on-ground combat laser systems currently under development by the Russian Space Forces.
"Russia has made space a warfighting domain by testing space-based and ground-based weapons intended to target and destroy satellites," according to the statement by General Dickinson.
According to him, Russia demonstrated its on-orbit kinetic weapon system in 2017 and again in 2020. No details were attached to the statement.
In April this year, The Barents Observer reported about this year’s first anti-satellite missile test from Plesetsk. That missile made a spectacular trace above two remote villages in the republic of Komi, north of the cosmodrome in northern Russia.