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The Biden administration is prohibiting Americans from engaging in transactions with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) in an effort to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his attacks on Ukraine. RDIF is an investor in Sputnik V, a Russian COVID-19 vaccine, and the backlash could hinder Russia’s push to make Sputnik V available worldwide. In a Monday statement, RDIF accused western pharmaceutical companies of lobbying for the restrictions to complicate RDIF’s ability to promote the Russian vaccine product internationally....

“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday. “The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so,” it added....

Moscow - Russian chess grandmaster Igor Kurnosov has died in a road accident. According to The Chess News, the 28-year-old Kurnosov and another pedestrian were hit by a car driven by a 20-year-old girl on Thursday in the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia’s South Urals. The grandmaster died at 2:45 p.m. local time. In the World Chess Federation (FIDE) official rankings, Kurnosov held the 89th position among all players (84th among active players) and 22nd position among the Russian players (20th among the active players)....

The Defense Ministry reports new provocations by Ukrainian nationalists New evidence of Kyiv’s criminal attitude towards the civilian population was reported by our Defense Ministry. In one settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the militants equipped their stronghold at a school, and checkpoints were set up on roads leading to the building. Local residents were not evacuated from neighboring houses. People are actually being used as human shields. Militants from the “Right Sector,” [a Ukrainian nationalist party] which is banned in Russia, and foreign mercenaries are being deployed to an educational institution in another village....

Condemning the West for its support of Ukraine is the stock in trade for Vladimir Solovyov, however the Kremlin propagandist was equally as angered about what he sees as a soft Moscow response to such moves. During a monologue on his radio show Polny Kontakt (Full Contact), which gradually grew in volume as it went along, Solovyov raged about the delivery that Ukraine would soon receive of Abrams tanks from the U....

Mediazona, a news outlet founded by co-founders of the protest group and band Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, identified the man as Adam Kalinin, a programmer from an unspecified southern region in southern Russia. Kalinin has been openly opposed to the war in Ukraine, to the point that he was previously fined and arrested for several days for “anti-war actions,” according to the outlet. When Putin announced that he would call up to 300,000 reservists into the army to join the Russian military’s efforts in Ukraine, Kalinin said that he immediately began preparing to go into hiding in a forest in the south of the country....

This action is the latest in the Russian government’s crackdown within recent months, labeling rights groups, media outlets and individuals as foreign agents, according to the Associated Press. Some individuals, including many of Navalny’s allies, have been added to the state registry as terrorists, causing them to be detained or flee the country. Russia threatened to block ten news outlets if they did not comply with deleting Navalny’s corruption investigation coverage, according to The Moscow Times....

Initial Russian reports said that authorities reported 13 people had been killed, while state news agency Interfax and the Associated Press later reported that the death toll had risen to 15. The blaze at the Polygon venue in the city, located around 210 miles north of Moscow, started after someone was believed to have discharged a flare gun during a dispute which ignited decorations on the ceiling, according to local authorities....

Paris Saint-Germain are in pole position to sign Julian Draxler from Wolfsburg, according to Le Parisien. The Ligue 1 champions face competition from Arsenal and Juventus for the Germany international, who has failed to integrate into the squad of the Bundesliga outfit, despite a €35 million move in the summer of 2014. PSG are aiming to expand their attacking options and could allow Jese to leave for Roma after a poor start to his spell in France, and they believe that the 23-year-old’s versatility would be a major boon to them....

Kaagaz Foundation is organizing the 3rd edition of ‘HSR 10K Freedom Run’ , aiming to raise awareness and campaign for a greener and healthier Bengaluru.This edition will take up various awareness campaigns and initiatives. Some of these include:- Tree Plantation drives Setting up Cycle Parking facility in HSR Layout Promote cycling as a healthier and more environmentally friendly form of transportation Organize SWM awareness programs The run has two categories:...

Some of the “answers” that have come from that analysis have led many Democratic Party officials and donors to write off the rural vote, placing their chips elsewhere. This year, many Democratic donors have been slow to open their checkbooks altogether, sensing a bloodbath at the polls. Then, when all seemed doomed, Kansans, who supported Trump over Biden by nearly 15 points in 2020, voted to uphold protections in the state constitution for the right to an abortion....

In the loss, Russell Westbrook finished with 25 points (on 9 of 17 shooting), eight rebounds and six assists, but it was his postgame exchange with LA Times reporter Brad Turner that illustrates the current state of the Lakers. MORE: LeBron James sounds off after Lakers drop to 10th in West following epic loss to Pelicans “Nothing, man. Nothing,” Westbrook said when asked what is needed to change the team’s recent losing ways....

Well, sort of. MORE: Russell Westbrook, wife Nina welcome baby boy Stony Brook head coach Jeff Boals quote tweeted the elder Westbrook’s tweet from earlier this week with the caption, “Offer.” Boals has the tweet pinned to his Twitter profile but he’d have to continue his recruitment of the younger Westbrook for roughly 18 more years for it to potentially pay off. It wouldn’t be crazy to think that Westbrook’s son could become a talented basketball player someday; There are numerous examples of great father-son duos in basketball and given Russell Westbrook’s athleticism and recent nod to the All-NBA First Team, it’s not out of the realm of possibility....

The Seahawks (1-0), in the preseason conversation for worst team in the league, escaped with an emotional and shocking 17-16 victory. That put them alone in first place in the tough NFC West after the Rams, 49ers and Cardinals all lost. Meanwhile the Broncos are already facing the early pressure to keep up with winning Chiefs and Chargers in the tough AFC West. MORE: Broncos vs. Seahawks final score, results: Geno Smith overshadows Russell Wilson in stunning Seahawks victory...

Wilson will deliver Wisconsin’s commencement speech during the May 14 graduation ceremony in Madison, the school announced Wednesday. MORE: Colleges represented in Super Bowl In a video posted to the UW website, Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell — another former Wisconsin quarterback — joined Wilson for the announcement. “It’s an honor to be the 2016 spring commencement speaker,” Wilson said. “I’m looking forward to it.” After receiving his bachelor’s degree at North Carolina State, Wilson transferred to Wisconsin for his final season of eligibility in 2011....

The Seahawks quarterback took to Twitter on Tuesday to vent his frustration after the Seattle City Council on Monday denied entrepreneur Chris Hansen’s most recent attempt to gain control of part of Occidental Avenue South and get an NBA/NHL arena built in Seattle. Wilson urged fans to start a petition over the city’s failure to bring back an NBA team. MORE: Top 15 Seahawks of all time | Sad Sonics fan gets love from T-Wolves...

The Akademik Lomonosov is a massive floating power unit containing a twin KLT-40 naval propulsion reactor nuclear power plant. Designed by Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom, the powership is the first of its kind to ever be designed for mass production and arrived last year in the Arctic, northwestern port city of Murmansk to undergo testing that concluded in March. As soon as later this month, the Akademik Lomonosov will make a 3,100-mile journey east toward Russia’s northernmost town of Pevek, located in the Chukotka region that lies just across the narrow Barents Strait from the U....

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Wednesday published research showing Russian forces closing in on Lysychansk. The city is located near Severodonetsk, which has seen heavy fighting as Russia attempts to assert control over eastern Ukraine. While the development could mean a setback for Ukraine, the report doesn’t point to an easy victory for Russia. “Russian forces continued to make gains to the south of Lysychansk and will likely reach the city in the coming days, although they are unlikely to quickly capture the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk area,” reads the report from the Washington, D....

The council’s parliamentary assembly unanimously adopted an opinion Wednesday suggesting Russia should be kicked out of the council, then the Russian government announced its withdrawal on the same day, according to a statement from the council. The Council of Europe was formed in 1949 in the wake of World War II with the goal of protecting human rights. Russia had been a member since 1996. The move is another in a wave of measures and sanctions European governments have taken against Russia since it began its invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago....

The leak, which caused a drop in pressure, took place on 29 August, 2018. After investigating the cause, the crew found a small hole—0.07 inches in diameter—and fixed it using heat-resistant tape. It was in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked at the ISS and it posed no threat to any of the astronauts on board. What caused the hole was not known. Roscosmos General Director Rogozin initially suggested it could have been the result of a tiny meteorite puncturing the spacecraft, but shortly after this he announced the hole had been “done by a human hand....