Europe

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: Belgium is interested in development of contacts with Russia on issues of military history, Russian envoy to Brussels Alexander Tokovinin said Thursday.

"The War Heritage Institute expresses its interest in development of contacts on military issues with its Russian colleagues. Agreements on working contacts have been achieved with representatives of the Russian Historical Society, but, unfortunately, those contacts were postponed due to the coronavirus-related restrictions. But we hope that this dialogue will continue," the envoy said.

KRASNOYARSK, June 11. /TASS/: The court in Norilsk arrested Pavel Smirnov, the director of CHPP-3 power plant where the fuel oil spill had taken place, until July 31, press service of the Krasnoyarsk District Court told TASS on Thursday.

"[He] was arrested for one month and 21 days, until July 31 inclusive," a court spokesperson said.

The Russian Investigative Committee earlier laid charges against CHPP-3 shop superintendent Vyacheslav Starostin. He was taken into custody.

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: The Russian government will allocate additional 15 bln rubles ($217 mln) to support promising domestic developments, in particular projects to combat the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: Scientists from the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia have developed mathematical models of the coronavirus spread in the world, predicting that the pandemic in most countries, including Russia, will end in July, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/: The Kamov Ka-52M upgraded combat helicopter armed with a new long-range cruise missile is due to complete state trials by October 2022, according to the data posted on the government’s procurement website on Thursday.

"Taking part in state joint trials of upgraded Ka-52M helicopters. Finalizing the helicopters following the results of the state joint trials. The time limits for the contractual work: December 1, 2020 as its beginning and September 30, 2022 as its completion," the documents say.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday rolled out a drug approved to treat patients suffering from the novel coronavirus, its state financial backer said, as the number of infections there surpassed half a million.

The first deliveries of the new antiviral drug, registered under the name Avifavir, were made to some hospitals and clinics across the country, Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund said in a press release. RDIF has a 50% share in a joint venture with the drug’s manufacturer ChemRar that runs the trials.

(Reuters) - The European Union is planning on filing formal antitrust charges against Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) over its treatment of third-party sellers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine’s central bank cut its main interest rate for the eighth time in a row on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government secured a $5 billion deal from the International Monetary Fund to tide the country over through recession.

The cut to 6% from 8% takes the rate down to its lowest level since Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A white nationalist Norwegian who killed his stepsister and then stormed an Oslo mosque and opened fire, hitting no one, was found guilty Thursday and sentenced to 21 years in prison, the longest jail term under Norwegian law.

PRAGUE (AP) — A man with a knife attacked a school in Slovakia on Thursday, killing one person and wounding at least five before he was killed by police, authorities said.

The attack took place at the United School in the town of Vrutky in northwestern Slovakia on Thursday morning. The establishment operates for children from elementary age up to high school. The victim was the deputy director of the high school, authorities said.